12 more pounds...Help!

smithskiman06
smithskiman06 Posts: 29 Member
edited October 4 in Health and Weight Loss
Hey everybody,

So I am on the lastish leg of my weight loss journey. When I graduated college I weighed 212lbs and due to the lack of partying and a regular schedule I got down to 198lbs.

I am now at 189. My goal weight is 178 but I have been seriously stuck for about 4 weeks.

Anybody have any suggestions how I can mix it up to get to 178 without crash dieting. I want to MAINTAIN my weight once I get there.

Thanks!

P.S. I said 12lbs because I fluctuate between 187 and 190 depending on what I eat/drink.

Replies

  • fionat29
    fionat29 Posts: 717 Member
    I'm in the same situation, 5ish lbs to go and I've stayed the same for 2 weeks, very frustrating! I'm just trying to persevere, keep with the program, keep exercising and hope that eventually my body will decide to sort itself out. Lol!
  • agthorn
    agthorn Posts: 1,844 Member
    Crash dieting is the last thing you want to do. With 10-ish pounds to go, you should be aiming for small deficits and a goal of half a pound a week. This will also naturally help you transition to maintenance level eating.

    I've said it several times around these boards, but your body doesn't care about you losing those "last few pounds" - it cares about whether or not it thinks you have enough food available to survive, and so you have to reassure it by working with very small deficits (250-300 cals below maintenance) so that it knows it's okay to burn off a little more of its fat reserves.
  • someonelikemyself
    someonelikemyself Posts: 192
    Hi there it's perfectly normal you have reached a plateau meaning your body got really used to your caloric intake and exercise level all together so to get rid of this i'm sorry to say you are going to havvve to maintain your caloric intake but up your exercise level or just lower your caloric intake you can google more stuff abt plateau and how to beat it but this is the way i know you can lose weight with
    goodluck!!
  • cee134
    cee134 Posts: 33,711 Member
    What I've read from many different posts is the last 5-10 pounds are the hardest. Keep pushing through, you will get there, due to the science of weight loss. Don't be in a rush either, because if you lose too much to fast, your body packs it on back just as fast.
    I just went through a plateau which is what it sounds like your doing. I didn't seem to lose any weight for 3 weeks, and then one day, boom, down 4 pounds. (I reset my goals so I don't get lazy and think that losing 33 pounds so far is where I want to be)

    Keep up what your doing, it sounds like it's been working. Give your body time to adjust and you should see results, based on what I've read in other posts.
  • funkycamper
    funkycamper Posts: 998 Member
    I see you've chosen 178 as your goal weight because that's what you weighed in high school. Most people, especially men, will probably find their high school weight too slender as they get older. Are you sure you need to get that low? Seems awfully low for a guy unless you're really short.

    I think your focus now should be just on getting more fit. If you want to see a change in your physique, do more strength training. If you don't want to bulk up, don't. Do a weight training plan that doesn't create bulk but, rather, tones and defines your muscles.

    And don't worry so much about what the scale says. Go by your clothes and how they fit and how you look in them. And, if you wish, how you look naked. My husband looks great naked (well, in clothes, too, LOL) and weighs over 50# more than he did in high school because he has more muscle now. In high school, he was rail skinny.
  • cee134
    cee134 Posts: 33,711 Member
    oh, one thing I've tried that seemed to work, and I heard worked for others, (always ask a doctor before changing too much of a diet) is Calorie cycling. Eating something like (for example) 100 cals less, normal intake for the day and then 100 cals more over 3 days. Also sometimes eating alittle more cals then your suppose too, i've heard, works. But only if you do that for a couple days. Don't know if it worked for my plateau or not, but I did do both of these and got off my plateau.
  • tywiseman
    tywiseman Posts: 8
    I, like you have that 12-15 pound window to go...I am working through the Couch 2 5K and it is working well. I think the focus should be to get your BMI within the healthy range and not worry about weight as in numbers. Maintenance is just as important as the end goal and should be on your radar somewhere. Learning how to exercise regularly and know that it is sustainable....that is more important. Good Luck!
  • smithskiman06
    smithskiman06 Posts: 29 Member
    Thanks for the help. Sounds like calorie cycling is the concensus on here. I do this indirectly because when I work out I usually burn about 400 calories. Which I definitely make sure I eat back ha.

    Funkycamper...Actually I have never been THAT skinny. I am 5'10", which although isn't super tall, I wouldn't consider short.

    Based on BMI charts I should be about 168lbs. BUT I think that BMI is bull**** and feel that 178 is the best weight for me.
  • H_Factor
    H_Factor Posts: 1,722 Member
    try some sprint interval training (see my workout blog below for different versions). really, any form of HIIT could fire up that fat burning furnace of yours.
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