I feel like I will never lose those last 10 :o(

Hi All,

I am 5' 6' and 150 pounds. I am in a constant struggle to lose those last 10 pounds. It's very hard when everyone around me constantly tells me that I am skinny and look great - I DO NOT feel like I am good enough. I think that 150 for me is pretty high - I would LOVE to be in the low 140's - I just have not (in 1.5 years) EVER gotten there without severe undereating and overexcersising. Is it possible that my body is just not meant to be there?

I ran and did weight training 6 days a week for the past year - but May of this year, I stopped it all. I was fed up! Why was I working so hard and doing all this physical activity with no results....since May I have lost 3 consistant pounds by doing NOTHING? I know its probably muscle - but it brought my whole perspective on working out to the trash. I feel confused, and know that I should start working out again, but I am afraid.
Sorry for my rant...

I understand how you feel!

I have about 10lbs I'd like to wave goodbye to, but when you're not overweight - 10lbs takes a little more work. 

My body has a BMR of about 1450, I try to eat about 1300-1400/day, exercise about 4 days/week, but I work at an office so my burn meter only reads about 1750.  On the days when I exercise I burn probably around 2000-2200 cal/day.  So Mon-Fri I average a deficit of around 4-600 calories.  (For me, it's really difficult to eat only 1200 calories/day to create that bigger deficit).

(I know this all sounds like babbling, but I have a point)...

You have to burn an excess of 3,500 calories to lose a pound, and a healthy loss is between .5-2lbs/week.  So, it's possible to see slow results for anyone who manages to have a decent deficit 7 days/week.

But for those of us who only have a few pounds to lose we have to eat a lot less and burn a lot more to see results quickly.  Then there are weekends or special events that can throw off the diet and destroy the work we've done over a few days or even week! Then it becomes so easy to give up because it takes so much effort to see results, and throwing off a couple days work of work makes it even harder to stay motivated!

However, your body may be at or close to it's "happy weight".  I have come to that conclusion for myself as well.  It's possible for me to lose weight and be at a smaller size, but it takes a lot of work and focus to get there and stay there because my body doesn't seem to want to be there.

I think it's always important to exercise for overall health and confidence.  Your body will be stronger for it.  But it's also important to work on how you feel about yourself - and be okay with the body/genes you were born with.  If your friends are telling you that you look great, take the compliments and smile!  Find a happy medium between being happy with what they're telling you, appreciating your curves, while working on your long term well-being :)

I'm with you on that also. I have been on my last 10 pounds for almost 3 weeks now. I think it was all the thought in my mind of constantly hearing the last 10 pounds is the hardest to lose.

I think my head got filled with that and it became a classic case of a self-fulfilling prophecy. AND IT SUCKS! I'm only 8 pounds away. I lost 60 with no problems at all, why is the last 8 so hard to lose???

EDIT EDIT EDIT

OK after almost three weeks the scale just moved I was 176.6 for almost 3 weeks and now I'm 174.2 I am so happy only 6.2 pounds to go

just keep goin!  you'll get there :) 

I've always heard you have to be even more diligent that usual when it comes to those last 10 lbs. Just do it the healthy way and you'll be more likely to stay there and not gain it back.

Congrats on getting this far though, that's an excellent achievement!!

Hey chickie. I am 5'5 and three quarters.. and I'm about 151 now.  I'm usually 145-146 and I do NOT get any lower than 144 without starving / obsessing over food all day / working out like a fiend.

I have a larger frame, and I just - like you said - don't think my body is meant to get lower than the mid 140s.  I've tried everything - it just doesn't happen for me, sooooo my conclusion is..

I just try to look the best for my weight.  If that means lifting more, killing my ab muscles constantly - then so be it!  My goal is hardbodied, not skinny!

Hope this helps :)

-Dana

Wow, I could have written this post today.  I'm 5'6 with a small/med frame.  I cannot get down from the 138-140 range.  I've been trying since the begining of summer, and it's just not happening.  I work out 4-5 days/week, do great during the week and blow it all on the weekends.  I hate it.  I grew up being very skinny.  It's hard to adjust to being bigger.  Though I'm not fat, I'm not happy with the way I am.  I want to lose 15 lbs so badly, but just can't seem to do it.  I think about it all the time and am getting ready to quit.  I even joined weight watchers and it's still not working.  I wish I could just accept myself and live happily b/c everything else in my life is perfect. 

God me too!

I have been a member here for almost 2 years and I haven't seen the scale budge for the last 10 pounds. All together I have lost 66 pounds, 3rd baby resulting in a 75 pound weight GAIN! I have worked out, starved, diet pills, WW, EVERYTHING and those pesky last 10 won't leave me. For almost 2 years now.

Tayna, you have the same stats as myself. 5'6" small/med frame and everyday the scale reads 137.8 to 138.8

I would love to see my weight range back in the 120's for my wedding next year, but sheesh, I am THINKING NOT POSSIBLE. I honestly can't think of anything I should do different at this point but give up. According to CC I should've hit my goal 6 months ago. But anyway aside from doing something that may hurt my body, I cant blame it on muscle either, because I am still pudgy and my arms are all flabby still. It's like the fat is covering the muscle and it just wont go away.

I'm also 5' 6" and I've always been overweight. Fifteen years ago, I started a good diet that had everything I needed (around 1800 calories). I did everything by the book. Slow weight lost: I started with 183 pounds and went down to 140 pounds in around 8 months.

I looked the way I wanted, but my body wouldn't take it. I lost my period, my blood pressure was so low it was hard to find and I fainted a few times scaring the heck out of my family. I had all the symptoms of anorexia without being underweight (according to all tables and charts) and eating properly.

I had to take tons of vitamins and had to undergo a treatment to get my periods back.

It took a while for me to realize that I was not meant to weight 140 pounds. Even if I like the way I look with that weight, it's simply not healthy for me.

That's the reason why I don't believe in charts and tables. You just need to find a weight were you feel good, you are healthy and you feel comfortable maintaining for life.

Also, take into account that if objective people tell you you look good, you should probably re-evaluate the image you have of yourself. I think this is a very usual thing in people that loose weight: since you are looking at yourself all the time, many times your body changes go unnoticed to you. Take a good picture of yourself and compare it with and old one. That's a good "reality" check.

My goal weight this time is 155. That was a weight with which I felt healthy and well enough to enjoy life.

I hope this helps!!

HEY! Yeah, me too! Except I tend to gain and lose the same 10 pounds over and over.

I go through periods where I'm supermotivated to cal count and workout every day and I will slowly lose weight, but then something will always occur to throw me off track again. Usually I go off track bc of a vacation or a stressful time at work or maybe a breakup with a boyfriend, etc...

It is very much true, though, that the last 10# are the hardest to lose, since they are generally "vanity" pounds for most of us. Meaning generally by that point, we are technically already in our ideal body weight range.