Tips for the last 30 lbs?
lgill1127
Posts: 47 Member
I've lost 71 lbs over the past 21 months -yay! I'm now facing the last 30 lbs (35 lbs if I'm lucky), and the weight-shedding has slowed immensely. For those of you who've reached goal, do you have any tips for losing the last bit of weight?
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Replies
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Get a lot of high-fives, cause you're doing a great job!5
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Patience. I've got about 20 to goal and I don't think I will get there until the summer.2
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Congrats on your success so far! How slow is slow? Weight loss will naturally slow as you get smaller, but with 30-35 lbs to go, you should still be able to average @ 1 lb per week for a bit longer.
How is your logging? When you have more to lose, you can afford to have small inaccuracies in your logging because you have more wiggle room. But as you get smaller those small inaccuracies can become a big deal. So...
Are you using a food scale? If not, pick one up and start using it to check that the portions you've been logging are accurate.
Double check the entries that you are using in the database are correct. Many have been incorrectly entered by the users.
Are you logging everything? Be really honest with yourself about this, because I think most people who log for an extended period of time go through stretches where they get a little lax. Maybe the salad dressing or the late night nibble don't make it into the numbers.
Are you logging exercise and eating back those calories? If so, calorie burns are a little hard to nail down accurately, and it's possible you aren't burning as many calories than you think. Try eating back a smaller portion.
I hope those questions help you figure out where you need to tweak to keep moving forward. Good luck!2 -
It becomes alittle bit harder. But here you go.
1. Count everything! Even the butter and oils
2. Learn to like healthy *kitten*
3. If your not doing any physical activity, then you really need to diet hardcore.
4. Start counting how many calories burned. But don't take that as an excuse to eat more unless it's *kitten* ton.
5. Kitten is the word they use to replace cuss words.
6. Have a good day and smile because the world is both beautiful and cruel.4 -
I have 10 to go, and it's slooooow. So patience is key. Stick with logging and be accurate, but don't hate yourself if you have a social occasion or whatever that might wipe out your deficit for a week or day **here and there**. Enjoy some of the fruits of your labor and give yourself a little room to enjoy food more. Realize this is truly a marathon and not a sprint and approach it with a pre-maintenance mindset.5
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It's real tough. I have about 10-20lbs to go and I have to be very meticulous with my tracking. One big day of splurging on calories can wipe out my entire week's deficit.
- Aim for .5lbs to 1lbs of loss per week
- Fill up on high-volume, low-calorie foods (fresh fruit and veggies, lean proteins)
- Track meticulously (pre-planning your day and meal-prepping can help a lot)
- Eat back 50-75% of the calories you burn through exercise, unless you KNOW the numbers are accurate1 -
I've got ~25 to goal, so I'm right there with you in that regard.
Weight loss at this point can slow a fair bit, especially depending on what else you are doing. For example, I'm trying very hard to rebuild lost muscle after an injury a year ago. So, fitness and muscle gains are more important than fat loss, so fat loss is very slow for me right now. I don't always like it, but need to accept it on some level, too.
1% of your weight per week is a good goal if you're focusing hard on losing weight. What that means, however, is that number will decrease the closer you get to goal. Near the end, you're going to want to start thinking about maintenance and the weight losses may be very, very small as you adjust.
You've done awesome so far, so just stick with it and trust the process. If you plateau for several weeks, then you may need to review macros, switch up your workout routine, or do something else to "shake things up."1 -
Congratulations on a fabulous loss! You are amazing. You will have to be very, very patient now. It does slow down because you are so much smaller
Celebrate your victories and take the time to learn what you need to. Don't get frustrated and don't give up. I agree that stepping up the exercise can also help not only with better calorie burns but for me it also destressed me and reduced my hunger (who knew?). Keep going you are almost there and don't get locked into that magic number. You'll know when you get where you need to be. 1 -
Tip: Expect it to take a long time so you're pleasantly surprised when it doesn't. Even if it takes a year or two to lose that 30lbs, a year is nothing! Clearly you know this, how fast did those 21 months go by?
Look at making some new goals in the meantime. Whether fitness related or another aspect of your health you want to change for the better. This is the home stretch and you've created the habits to lose 70lbs, you just have to stay on track and cruise to the finish line.
I'm on my last 20lbs after losing 82lbs and I don't even care how long it takes me now. I'm way happier now than I was 82lbs ago and now I think I want to focus on fitness more.
Congratulations on the 71lbs lost!!!2 -
Congrats on your success so far! How slow is slow? Weight loss will naturally slow as you get smaller, but with 30-35 lbs to go, you should still be able to average @ 1 lb per week for a bit longer.
How is your logging? When you have more to lose, you can afford to have small inaccuracies in your logging because you have more wiggle room. But as you get smaller those small inaccuracies can become a big deal. So...
Are you using a food scale? If not, pick one up and start using it to check that the portions you've been logging are accurate.
Double check the entries that you are using in the database are correct. Many have been incorrectly entered by the users.
Are you logging everything? Be really honest with yourself about this, because I think most people who log for an extended period of time go through stretches where they get a little lax. Maybe the salad dressing or the late night nibble don't make it into the numbers.
Are you logging exercise and eating back those calories? If so, calorie burns are a little hard to nail down accurately, and it's possible you aren't burning as many calories than you think. Try eating back a smaller portion.
I hope those questions help you figure out where you need to tweak to keep moving forward. Good luck!
Thank you so much for the tips! My logging is on-point during the week, I could definitely tighten it up over the weekend. I can tell those inaccuracies you mentioned are sticking out like a sore thumb and are even more crucial to log.
I do use a food scale (correctly lol) when I cook at home/measure treats. Will continue with that. I err on the side of overcompensating for things when I eat out.
I rarely eat back exercise calories, if I do it's <100/day. I could tighten this up a bit too.1 -
Have you taken a 2 week diet break? Let hormones reset or done periodic refeedrs? If not, consider it. After awhile in deficit, adaptive thermogenesis works against you. Refeeds and diet breaks help counter this and keep fat loss on track.
There is a whole thread devoted to this.5 -
Tip: Expect it to take a long time so you're pleasantly surprised when it doesn't. Even if it takes a year or two to lose that 30lbs, a year is nothing! Clearly you know this, how fast did those 21 months go by?
Look at making some new goals in the meantime. Whether fitness related or another aspect of your health you want to change for the better. This is the home stretch and you've created the habits to lose 70lbs, you just have to stay on track and cruise to the finish line.
I'm on my last 20lbs after losing 82lbs and I don't even care how long it takes me now. I'm way happier now than I was 82lbs ago and now I think I want to focus on fitness more.
Congratulations on the 71lbs lost!!!
Congrats on the 82 lbs loss! I appreciate the mindset and tips you've shared with me.
It did go by fast - makes me wish I'd stuck with it the 182456x before! When you're ready to make the change (for life), you're ready I suppose!
I like the idea of making new goals - especially for fitness. My current routine is stagnant and could use some shaking up.2 -
Have you taken a 2 week diet break? Let hormones reset or done periodic refeedrs? If not, consider it. After awhile in deficit, adaptive thermogenesis works against you. Refeeds and diet breaks help counter this and keep fat loss on track.
There is a whole thread devoted to this.
Thanks! I've done a similar thing, but for a week instead of two. I could definitely try for a longer stretch to see if that helps. I think this could be especially helpful when I'm even closer to goal and the weight sheds even slower.0 -
2 weeks is optimal for the hormones to reset on a diet break.
Take a look at the refeeds thread. There are great links there that explain the science. As you get leaner, diet breaks become more critical.1 -
Drink your water too!
Great job so far!!1 -
cheryldumais wrote: »Congratulations on a fabulous loss! You are amazing. You will have to be very, very patient now. It does slow down because you are so much smaller Celebrate your victories and take the time to learn what you need to. Don't get frustrated and don't give up. I agree that stepping up the exercise can also help not only with better calorie burns but for me it also destressed me and reduced my hunger (who knew?). Keep going you are almost there and don't get locked into that magic number. You'll know when you get where you need to be.
Thank you for the reminder on trying not to get fixated on a number - it's about feeling content and healthy, not a number.0 -
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10604863/of-refeeds-and-diet-breaks/p1
Here is the link to the refeeds and diet break thread. I was at the gym and don't copy and paste well from my phone. A wealth of useful info there. In particular the Lyle McDonald stuff.2 -
Patience and Determination. And it's gonna slow down, but really, what's the rush? Use this time to develop good habits and healthy ways so maintainance isn't hard.
BTW, congrats on the first 70! That's amazing!1 -
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10604863/of-refeeds-and-diet-breaks/p1
Here is the link to the refeeds and diet break thread. I was at the gym and don't copy and paste well from my phone. A wealth of useful info there. In particular the Lyle McDonald stuff.
^^So much this 3
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