The last 5 pounds are the hardest?

xoxohopeann
xoxohopeann Posts: 12 Member
edited December 21 in Motivation and Support
Anyone else feel this way? I get into that mindset of “oh I’m so close anyways” so I slack at counting calories or being more active. But I’m so close!!

Replies

  • whmscll
    whmscll Posts: 2,255 Member
    I’ve been slacking a bit. But I’m still losing. Contemplating losing 3 more “insurance” pounds when I’m finally at goal. The way I’m eating isn’t difficult and is very healthy, so I don’t mind it. Plus I’m looking pretty good now, so I’m not in a huge rush to lose the last few.
  • auburngirl06
    auburngirl06 Posts: 153 Member
    Yup!! I could have written your post. I have 5 more to go and the last month have gained and lost the same pound. You are not alone! I know it’s because I slack on the logging during the weekend. I continue to exercise and eat within my calories 5 out of 7 days but those other two....ugh. Every. Single.Weekend. That 250 cal deficit is so tiny we have to be super diligent to get the last five off. I have no one to blame but myself🤦‍♀️
  • missysippy930
    missysippy930 Posts: 2,577 Member
    Wondering, you are so close to maintenance, and weight can fluctuate daily between 3 to 5 pounds for me, so when do you call it, you’re there?
  • getrealgirl
    getrealgirl Posts: 201 Member
    I have been as close as 1.1 lb to goal and just cannot get there. Making me crazy!!! I have been playing around with my calories as I have gotten closer so I think it is just going to take time and consistency. Always looking for new friends. Anyone is free to add me 😊
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    Yes it seems harder to lose the last few pounds and that's because there is so little room for error. Hence why so many of us will say its necessary to weigh every single thing you eat and log it because eating some extra calories can make all the difference between losing and maintaining.

    It took me 5 months to lose my last 5lbs, it was slow and steady and felt at the time that it wasn't happening at all but I stuck with it. For me it was about cutting out an extra snack that helped, that shaved 200 calories just like that.
  • Panini911
    Panini911 Posts: 2,325 Member
    For me I think the issue is i kept moving the goal post. i'm on my third "5 more pds". things were fine til the last "5 more".

    Water fluctuations and random "stuff if your body" end up hiding much of the progress for what can be lonnng periods of time which i think is what makes it harder. I haven't fudged my eating or logging - if anything I've double downed to get this over with. But yea
  • 88olds
    88olds Posts: 4,539 Member
    At some point we have to find the right balance. There are things we do to lose and things we do to live our lives.

    A friend found that he had two numbers- the weight he could attain and the weight he can maintain. I’ve found that I can now maintain in a range nearly 10lbs lower than I could years ago. I a way I just wasn’t ready then. It seemed like I was giving up a lot. Doesn’t seem that way now.

    All that said, sometimes the last few lbs is a matter of slowing down. Folks want to charge ahead to GW thinking something is settled when they get there. If you want to stay at GW, not much changes.

    Keep trying. You don’t really know what it will be like for you until you get there. But there’s only one way to find out. It’s all just a big experiment.
  • AwesomeOpossum74
    AwesomeOpossum74 Posts: 106 Member
    Yes, that last 5lbs was hard for me also. I know it's more psychological than physiological. But it felt good when I finally met the goal.
  • bigbandjohn
    bigbandjohn Posts: 769 Member
    The closer you get to your goal. the smaller the caloric intake becomes to lose weight. When I started here, I could eat 1900 calories and lose 1.5 lbs a week. Now, for the same 1.5 lbs I'm at 1500. That's a huge difference. So, either you eat more and lose slower, or you eat less and feel hungrier. Either way it becomes harder.

    The first 20 times I lost 5 lbs it was easy. Slowly it became harder. Now it's a struggle, but that's ok. I am in my maintenance range now, so I am happy, though I still want to hit my goal.
  • daltontf
    daltontf Posts: 63 Member
    I find that each five pounds is twice as difficult to lose as the previous five. When people set a goal to lose 5 pounds a month for X months, they are not taking that in to account.

    The "insurance pounds" are a good idea because one tends to gain water weight after hitting the goal when they bump up calorie intake and have more glycogen stored up. For me, that gain seems to be as high as 2.5 pounds
  • cbstewart88
    cbstewart88 Posts: 453 Member
    edited June 2019
    I have been working on the last five for about a year now :( Close, closer, almost there, oops...further, a bit further, close again....I have to laugh sometimes. I think the universe is ****ing with me.....
  • MrsTitus2
    MrsTitus2 Posts: 61 Member
    I was 10 pounds away and got too comfortable. I gained 10 pounds back now I'm 20 pounds away. And to be honest its going up. I need to snap out of it.
  • JMinney7
    JMinney7 Posts: 61 Member
    Thank you for this post. Two years ago I was 3 pounds from my goal weight. I decided to try life without mfp and estimate my food intake. I maintained for a year and then put on 17 pounds because I thought I was doing ok and had put away the scale. I was horrified to find out how much I had gained back. I just changed my goal for an additional 5 pounds and hope to get the weight down and keep it there. All the challenges of the "last" 5 pounds, learn from my mistake. Don't get overconfident and let things slide. You can do it.
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