Those with only 10-15 to lose

same here. the first few weeks i would lose a pound or two each week, then one week nothing, then the week i would slack i would lose 2 or 3 pounds. but overall its coming off, so im not too worried. if you see some loss overall then just keep going...its just gonna be a bit slower for us.

It has taken me over 7 months to lose 22 lbs...the avaerage is only 2.75 lbs per month! It has been a long slow process for me, but I keep it up. I have 3 lbs to go to hit my goal and know it will take me about 2 more months. It can be very frustrating to lose so slow...

I am 43...I run 6 days a week and take fitness classes...this past week I have been horrible with eating but usually maintain a good balance...

Don't worry so much about the scale, just remember that you are getting healthy!

I definitely relate! I've lost about 16-17lbs (it goes back and forth every day) and they seemed to just fall off the first 5 months I started dieting. Now I've stayed the same for the past month and a half or so, only losing about 1lb per month, and I'm totally at a loss. I AM working out and toning up, though, so I'm hoping it's only muscle mass increasing!

I also am slacking on my eating, I think because I got so comfortable at this weight I figured, "a little extra cals won't hurt", even though they are. I'm trying to get back into my 'dieting' mode to eat a lot healthier - I always feel better when I do.

Don't concern yourself with weight. Think more about body composition (lean body mass and body fat%). When you have body fat to lose, nutrition is the key (especially when you have just a little left to go, as it is the hardest to get rid of). You must make sure you are measuring your food accurately, watching your calories, and recording your stats. Also, a good thing to do if you haven't tried is to get a heart rate monitor when you work out (by the way, I suggest 5 or 6 days of working out, not just 3!). That way you can really dial in your calories.

I'm at the same point, siting at 212, 210 or 211. Never getting lower than 210. Goal is 200. Down from 260. So I've decided watch what I eat closer (hence joining the site MFP) and changing up my workout routine and working out more. At least once a day doing something. I'm going to give it some time and manage it from there.

Keep in mind, that it's great to workout for your heart/health as well. I'm sure you know this, just felt like saying it

I'm 47 and the weight dropped off me at a slow buy very steady pace. I lost EVERY WEEK. It took me 5 months to lose 35 lbs. Every week was different but every week i lost. maybe only .2 ozs, but every oz counts. I did join a gym and went and still go every day even if it was just for a 30 minute walk on the treadmill. Stopped eating at all fast food restaurants, and gave up all fried foods

I stalled for a month after 30 pounds lost, but then a read about taking a break from the strict dieting for a little bit. I did just that - started eating more carbs and "restaurant food" and then went back on my diet. I started burning again.

Just food (no pun intended) for thought. You're doing good - but perhaps you need a break!

FORGET
THE
SCALE

You should focus on measurements, body fat % etc...set goals unrelated to what it says on the scale or you will be FOREVER frustrated. For example besides reaching 18% BF my "goal" waist is approximately 25-26 inches...but more importantly for "me" is that I want my butt to look like this:

I am so happy to find this board - I am going crazy with this issue.

I gained about 8 lbs with the sudden death of my mother in law and the holidays right after (too much drinking + bad eating + depression = 8lbs).

Not feeling great and wanting to attack the weight sensibly, I joined MFP the first week of February and bought a Fitbit. Using my fitbit, I know I get between 10,000 and 17,000 steps most days. Some days that includes my exercise, some days it doesn't (weight lifting, circuit training & biking don't register).

For the first few weeks, I stayed with eating 1200 calories (not understanding net calories) but was only getting a few hundred calories a day due to my exercise offset. 21 days into this effort my weight loss was hovering between 1 and 0 lbs lost. Then I read thread about eating back exercise calories and started doing that and within a few days went to total of 3 lbs lost. Two days later though, that loss was gone - back to zero lbs lost. Now after a month, of eating healthy and under calorie allotment, weight training and cardio, I am STILL at zero lbs. lost. Thought I would take measurements, hoping that I am simply displacing fat with muscle and I am actually bigger than when I started. WTF?

I am so incredibly frustrated right now!! I have read everything I can find including some of the great threads by experts on MFP. I know I could be retaining water, so I have been watching my sodium, trying to avoid prepared foods as much as possible and drinking tons of water. I NEVER eat fast food. I am neurotic about logging everything I put in my mouth. I stay under my calories for each day, though my total calories consumed varies each day to offset how much I exercised. Right now, I have my settings set to lose .7 lbs per week because I have less to lose.

Anyone have any ideas about what the heck I am doing wrong? I have opened up my diary if you want to take a look.

BUMP

It seems for the past 8-12 months, regardless of exercise and the fact that I document every calorie I eat (it is starting to get on my husband's nerves), not only have I NOT lost weight, I've gained. I'm up about 14 pounds in just those few months. This is scary for someone who used to weigh what I did.

I'm thinking about going to an endocrinologist. Something isn't adding up. The only difference is #1- I'm in a healthy relationship now (happy weight???) and #2- my GP put me on hormone replacement therapy (estrogen). I'm thinking this may be the culprit, and being on the hrt isn't helping my symptoms anyway.

Yep, definitely going to look into an endocrin doc...

That sounds so frustrating! Probably a good idea to see your doc, hopefully a small tweak (dietary or activity - not medical) will reverse the trend!

Any ladies feeling the same pain: feel free to add me as a friend

Julie

I was reading another thread last night that when you start lifting heavier or try another workout that is challenging your muscles often respond by holding on to additional water to deal with the inflammation. I am hoping that the extra weight it in part due to this given that I lost then gained the same three pounds. The website said it can take 1-2 weeks for the muscles to let go of the excess water.

Yup, sitting on a 3 month plateau myself. A few things I've done in the past that worked. Take a 1-2 week break from exercising. No, really, it works!!! I trained heavily for a half-marathon (running & bootcamp for a total of 6 days/wk). After my half-marathon, I took an exercise break and lost more weight for those two weeks than ever before. Another thing that helped was zig-zagging calories (check forums here, or go to freedieting.com for a profile). Right now I decided to go on maintenance calories for two whole weeks. Then I will go back to a deficit to try and kick my last 10-15 pounds. When you diet for extended periods, your body steadys itself and your metabolism slows down. You have to shake things up, by changing exercise, eating, or both. I also have thyroid issues, PCOS, and am over 40, so I've got those constantly working against me. Hang in there, mix it up, and keep plugging along.