Last Five Pounds

I have lost 15 pounds by counting calories and exercising. I am very pleased with my progress, but really want to get that last 5 pounds off. I am plateauing and losing motivation because now I'm at a reasonable weight, even if it's not my goal. My theory is that my body has halted because I lost 10% of my body weight, so now I have to let my weight stabilize for a while before I can get it to drop again. I really want to get down to my goal weight before the mini-candy bars begin to show up in October. Then the holidays...Well you get the picture.

I'm going through the same thing.

I've lost almost 40 lbs and have 5 more to go. I was soooo motivated all along until NOW. You'd think being this close would make you eager to cross the finish line, huh?

But, now I don't have the NEED to be healthy to motivate me. I AM healthy.

I can't imagine I'll look much different than I do now after losing a mere 5 lbs.

Where's the motivation?

So.....I'm trying to change my focus. I'm concentrating on strength training to sculpt and up my metabolism and I'm eating my goal maintenance calories. I figure it's good practice and I should slowly lose the rest.

Of course, I toy with the idea of full-on dieting/cardio-ing off the last 5. I just don't know if I can get that motivated again. 

It's a mind**** with the goals. I always thought that when you set a goal and you reach the last 10 or 5 pounds and it's hard to get off it's something of a mind control thing.

We read on these forums all the time that the last few pounds are the hardest to get off so we have it planted in our heads that this is the case. SO when we hit that magic 5 or 10 more to go we stop losing and get all de-motivated. Same thing happened to me. I was stuck at 10 more to go for 3 weeks.

What I did was increased my goal date and weight to 10 more pounds to lose and tthe very next day the plateau was over and I dropped 1 pound. That was 3 weeks ago and now I got 4 more pounds to go to meet my real goal and 14 for my fake gaol.

Aha!!! My new fake goal is 110! (This better work )

I am going through the same thing - the plateau - and I'm also wondering how to get my weight to drop again.   I hope someone on this post can provide some recommendations on what to do...

One idea I've had is that I've gradually increased my calories just enough to be at a maintenance state.  Maybe we've accidently settled into a calorie comfort zone?  Just a thought. 

I think I'll try changing my goal weight like epiphany - I'll try anything at this point.  So frustrating!

I'm having the same problem.

I did the math.  

Based on my current weight (129ish) and daily activity (desk job=sedentary) I need to consume about 1540 to maintain and 540 to lose 2 lbs a week.  

Since 1200 is as low as my calories can be (to ensure proper nutrition) that means that I would have to burn off 660 a day to reach my goal.

That like running 6.6miles (11k) a day seven days a week or equivalent... and who can do that!?

I guess if I reduce my weight loss goal to 1 pound a week then I would only need to net 1050 calories a day which would be a bit easier.

Anyway - you all see the problem here... the lower one's weight the harder it is to lose. Without adding daily cardio activity it'll be hard to reach our goals.

Anne

Thanks for all of the great ideas!

I love the fake goal idea. That's hilarious. I actually originally made my goal 5 pounds lighter, but thought it would be too much. My new fake goal is, (((drum roll))) 120 pounds. That means I have to lose 10 pounds. It's weird, but it's almost like needing a worthy weight-loss opponent. I get lazy because five pounds doesn't seem like that much.

Nodiscipline- you are so right about the annoying math that makes maintenance lower and lower. I am resigning myself to the idea that running is the only way to make life worth living. Otherwise, it's nothing but skinless chicken breasts from here on out...

I have also been trying to pay more attention to my measurements than to my weight. But, even with the serious firming up I have done, I still need to get rid of some extra fluff, especially on my butt.

Original Post by nodiscipline:

Based on my current weight (129ish) and daily activity (desk job=sedentary) I need to consume about 1540 to maintain and 540 to lose 2 lbs a week.   

2 pounds a week isn't a realistic goal when you weigh as little as you do.  You should never aim to lose more than 1% of your weight in a week.  For you, even that's too much.  If you're sedentary and small (like you are), half a pound a week is a more realistic goal.  So, if you burn 1540 calories per day, you need a deficit of about 375 calories/day.  Eat 1200 and that gets you pretty close.

I did go through a period of about 3 weeks only losing a pound, instead of the 0.5-1lb per week I was losing before, when I was very near my original goal, but it quickly passed. I actually started eating a little bit more and then I started losing again :) 

I have since reached my goal but decided I would like to lose a few more pounds so set a new goal and am only a pound away :)  I'm sure you will reach your goal in no time :)

This is in reply to Anne (aka nodiscipline). 

Hi Anne, I'm not sure what your goals are, but it doesn't sound like you have too far to go.  I'm guessing a few vanity pounds?  I have read a lot of different books, articles, etc. on losing the last few pounds of fat, and getting to a lean body fat % (my current goal is 19%).  They all suggest that once you are so close to your goal, and don't have a lot of fat to lose, that you should really only try to lose 1/2 lb per week of fat.  I know this seems like a slow, creeping rate, but they say that if you take it off too quickly, it increases your chances of putting it right back on due to the decreased metabolism.

I would suggest eating at your sedentary maintenance level of 1540 calories, then use exercise to create the calorie deficit, rather than cutting calories too severely.