Change the "Diet"?

I've been happily tripping along on 1600-1800 calories (sometimes a little less, sometimes a lot more ) and finding myself gaining and losing the same 2-4 pounds.  This wouldn't be so bad if I was maintaining -- but I still have some weight to lose.

I consider changing the "balance" from my 45-50% carbs, 25-30% protein, 25-30% fats, to a 40-35-25 -- but I find it hard to eat that much protein -- or maybe to eat that few carbs -- I am a fruit and veggie person.

I am a cardio person, not because I don't know that weights are good for me, but because what I train for requires cardio first.  I throw in weights when I can.

Anyway, my point is -- what changes are you making to your "diet" to help you get past those last 10 lb?

I find a good way to get protein and still have your fruits and veggies is with cottage cheese. It is really high in protein, and not big like a chicken breast etc.

What I like to do is take a Granny Smith apple and slice it thinly and place in bottom of a bowl. Then put a 1/2 cup of cottage cheese over it, and top with berries.  I often use a four-berry frozen blend that I have thawed out, so it has lots of juice, but any fresh or frozen berries are good.  and it is delicious. 

Considering my whole life I hated cottage cheese until I started trying to change the way I eat and lose weight, I love it now. I have it 3-4 times a week.

Train with weights! or some form of resistence training. one pound of muscle takes 50 calories more to maintain, so by putting on a few more pounds of muscle you raise your resting metabolism. Also your metabolism can remain elevated for up to 48 hours after an intense resistance workout! spend your workouts out and you'll maintain a higher metabolism.

If your really all about cardio mix some Intervals in like every other day with your steady state cardio. Interval training has a similair after-burn effect as resistance training.

Strength training is the way to go.  It will tone everything up and you will lose inches, not to mention pounds. 

If you are having trouble bumping up the protein, consider one of the zero-carb protein shakes.  They run about 220 calories and 50g of protein...they dont taste that bad!

Good luck.

I've been at the 3-4pound bounce point myself and getting threw it and staying motivated was tuff.

One thing that really helped was putting up a picture of myself on the fridge from before I started loosing weight.  This ment that everytime I open the fridge I am reminded of how far I have come (I've lost 20 pounds this summer but I got stuck after 15). This really helped me to remember my goal and choose foods that kept me moving on the path.

Another thing that helped was taking a yoga class 1-3 times a week. I was not a big yoga person but I've learned to love it. I started toning up and loosing pounds and best of all... NO WIEGHTS involved.

Last of all around this time my friends at work wanted to do a no carb dare. first one to eat a carb had to pay each girl $50 bucks. I'm a college student so loosing money is not an option for me but loosing weight is. 

Hope this was usefull to someone. GOOD LUCK!

I can't say that I've made it past the last 5 or so myself, but I've been trying to incorporate more protein too.  I've been making my own fat free yogurt, I like ff cream cheese, and as a last ditch I throw a scope of whey powder in my coffee or skim milk. The whey doesn't taste bad, isn't usually gritty (I guess some brands are) and is about 22 gms/oz protein. If you buy some, be aware that some brands have quite a bit of cholesterol and some have none. It isn't really an issue unless you're really going to use a lot of it per day (my SS uses about 6-10 scoops!)