How hard was it for you to get to your goal when you started to get close?

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weight3049
weight3049 Posts: 72 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I am about 20 pounds away from my goal but things are really slowing down. This month I only lost 1 pound, not to worried about that as long as I am not gaining weight.

Is this normal for everyone? I am in no rush but I would like to lose at least 3-5 pounds a month so I can reach my goal before the year ends.

Any advice?

Replies

  • cupcakesandproteinshakes
    cupcakesandproteinshakes Posts: 1,092 Member
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    I gave up on the idea of losing the last 15 pounds and stayed at about 155 for 4 or so years. Extended diet break. I didn’t even know diet breaks were a thing. I just got on with life and tried to stop focussing on the scale.

    The point is you have maintained a loss for a year which is more than a lot of people.

    It is possible to lose the last few; it does take ages though. There’s no easy solution and I think for most people a goal of half a pound a week is best ( unless you are an advanced body builder or something)

  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    It wasn't any harder for me to lose the last bit of weight - I had my calorie goal, food and exercise estimates dialled in and lost at my chosen rate.

    Not sure there is any such thing as "nornal for everyone" though, people's situation, motivation and even diet methods are very, very different. And these are not normal times with COVID-19 lockdowns, could that be a factor in losing a pound this month instead of your expected rate?

    If you have effectively a slow transition to maintenance at goal weight that might actually be helpful to you - many people who lose quickly to goal seem to struggle with that transition.


  • nighthawk584
    nighthawk584 Posts: 2,001 Member
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    the first 95 were tough but I consistently lost every week for a year. these last 5-10 are my hardest, BUT I have been going over my calorie goal, so I have nothing to blame but myself.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,406 Member
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    I didn't think the last pounds were harder, personally: It was just the same kind of fun science fair project the rest of the loss had been (around 50 pounds total). I did intentionally slow down the loss rate as I got close to my initial provisional goal weight, shooting for around 0.5 pounds/week for the last 10 pounds-ish, because I think it's sensible to take a gradual off-ramp to maintenance (and had slowed the rate before that at 20-25 or so to go, too).

    There is no one thing that's "normal" in the sense of exactly the same from everyone. If you've been sticking to the same calorie goal all the way through, your loss rate will naturally slow as you get lighter, because it takes fewer calories to power a lighter body through the world. But, as I said, it's also IMO a better plan to slow down, so maybe that works out OK . . . or maybe the deficit that was fast loss at the start becomes no-loss before the end. Details matter. And so do refeeds or diet breaks, for some people, as discussed in this thread:

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10604863/of-refeeds-and-diet-breaks/p1

    I've been in maintenance for a while (4+ years). Last few months, I've been chipping away at losing a few vanity pounds ultra-slowly (half a pound a week or less). It doesn't seem appreciably harder than it ever did, but I wouldn't expect that experience to be universal either. ;)

    Best wishes!
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
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    I typically like to take it slow the last 10-15 lbs. I have found the leaner and lower bodyfat I get, the longer I like to take and more diet breaks work best for me. I wouldn't say it was harder, but it was harder to get that push to get leaner (Ahhhh I look great already why bother...) unless I have a specific goal and timeline in mind. If I am leaning down to bulk, I am ultra motivated and will lean down with ease. Otherwise I will stall and take my time. But I get there eventually!

    My advice would be to slow the weight loss down as you get close to goal, work on learning how to maintain and take diet breaks (eating at maintenance) as needed
  • kcmcbee
    kcmcbee Posts: 177 Member
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    Well for me, and I stuck to it really closely, 1st 4 months down 56 lbs )1st goal). Next 4 months down 24 more lbs (2nd goal) eating the same and now incorporating regular exercise (mainly about 30 min/day treadmill interval walks/runs). So then decided to go down about 5 lbs more to set the bottom of my range. So a few weeks of that and I was there. But I was very diligent about it. Weighing myself and food and particularly logging every tiny crumb (what a pain!). Still doing that. So maintenance now since Nov after starting in March ‘19. Those last few are a bit slower/harder but you can do it. One last push to get where you want it sounds like. Good luck! And good job!

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