support group for losing those last 10 lbs.

I'd love to join a support group too! I'm so happy I can finally say I'm within 10 pounds of my goal :bigsmile:

But it definitely has gotten more challenging lately, weight coming off slower and gaining much easier on those not-so-good days, not surprising when even maintenance calories are down to about 1500... Not to mention I've been non-stop busy with applying to graduate schools this season plus spending 13 hours a day at work or commuting, it doesn't leave much time to exercise and I'm a royal mess without 8 hours of sleep.

For the time being, until applications are finished in about a month, I'm planning to just stick with what I've been doing and then work on increasing exercise, but I could definitely use some support or stress relief options!

Wow you are busy..hang in there and if you can sneak in moments of deep breathing, prayer, and 20 minute "naps". Also I have some cheap awesome massage places wether it be a pedicure (ask for extra massage) or I go to the mall and get a 15 minute chair massage..it makes a world of difference. Take time for yourself whenever you can!! good luck..this is just a season of your life..a busy one..but it too shall pass ..try and enjoy what you can:-)

Thank you for the support :flowerforyou: Actually, taking a moment to try some deep breathing techniques sounds perfect, it isn't something I've really tried before but I do need to take a few minutes out to relax and get things straight now and again. I also found a 10 minute massage for 10 dollar spot right by my workplace that may be perfect for a midday de-stress haha. It's good to get some perspective and remember that things won't always be so hectic!

I wrote a 6 day plan for myself involving increasing distance running (3-4 miles so far) as well as upper body / lower body weight lifting.

Today I did 50 mins worth of upper body, as well as 5 min cardio on treadmill before and after. Very proud Hoping I can really keep this up and see what my plan can do for me.

Calorie-wise I have been very very good for the past week or so.

I'm trying to lose the last 10-15 too. I've tried something a little different, but I won't be able to tell you if it's working until the end of this week. So I just ran my first half marathon last sunday, and in planning for it, I decided to do a "full diet break" - http://www.leighpeele.com/diet-break-plan
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-full-diet-break.html

I ate at or above maintenance (usually above) for the past 2 weeks. I wasn't losing eating 1600 calories a day (I'm 5'8 btw) and guess what - I didn't gain eating 2600 -3000 for 2 weeks. And I feel awesome.

So today is the first day back on my deficit and I'm only doing half a pound a week (netting 1675). If all goes as planned, I should start losing again, but I'm not going to weigh myself until saturday, so I'll let u know.

Welcome!! Awesome job on your half marathon...its tough I ran my first marathon last year and it takes so much dedication way to go!!!
Question: so you are netting(calories in - exercise..1675?) Im trying to increase my calories b/c I realized I was netting some days 1000 or so calories even though before exercise I was eating 12-1300..I think this is my problem. Am I configuring right? So when you were eating 2600-3000 that was net calories too? thanks :-)

Short answer - yes, right now I'm netting 1675 (actual calories are about 2200 - 2500 after exercise). Before when i was at maintenance I was netting 1990 (actual calories were about 2600 - 3000 after exercise + 100 or 200 some days).

Long answer - Before I found MFP I was doing WW for about 3 months - ate around 1200 -1400 actual calories a day, lost about 20 pounds and then seriously plateaued. I actually thought I was eating too much fruit and vegetables (because they're unlimited on weight watchers), but when I plugged my calories in to check, I was eating only about 1400, was not hungry, and was running about 25-30 miles a week. I started tracking with MFP and started eating around 1900 actual calories and lost 5 pounds like that! But then I hit another plateau and actually saw it go up a little (could've been just a fluctuation) but I got scared and lowered my calories again - not too far, but a little bit. I lost a little more, so I lowered a little more - and soon I was netting 1000 cals a day and had no energy in my runs (now running 30-35 miles a week) - and I plateaued AGAIN. So my race was coming up, so I decided to try out maintenance and this diet break thing. I started by raising to .5 pound a week loss for a week - I lost another pound, and then I upped to maintenance. I decided not to weigh myself the week before or after my half (my weight always goes a little wonky after long runs) and I didn't want my stupid diet head to get in the way of my performance. I think spending a good amount of time (at least 14 days) at maintenance or has done wonders for my body. My nails are stronger and long again, my skin and hair looks better, I have A LOT more energy, and I'm appropriately hungry. I don't think I could EVER eat only 1400 calories again. I'm really looking forward to seeing if now dropping my calories to .5 pound a week will work (I'm secretly hoping I lose more than .5 pound this week so I can raise my calories a bit more). From now on, I will never eat below my bmr (even on my day off from exercise - ps my bmr is more than my net calorie goal), and I will give myself a cheat day once a week, and I will do another full diet break within 12 weeks. At least that's the plan for now. I'll let you know how it all works out - hopefully I'll have good news for you:

Well I weighed in as usual this morning and I am still stuck!!!! The zigzagging last week didn't seem to work for me. . .

So I'm going to copy those of you that are upping the calories a bit and I'm going to change my MFP settings to losing 0.5lbs per week (instead of 1lb) to see if that helps.

In terms of the age old debate regarding exercise calories, have those of you that have had sucess with increasing your calorie deficit been eating them all back?

Thanks!

One thing i have noticed about a lot of people in this group is that you do a LOT of exercise, but eat very few calories (ie 1200 isnt really enough in most cases). the best way to lose the final few pounds is to eat ALL your exercise calories and hit your calorie goal each day!