Last ten pound troubles

Not only am I struggling, for a year now, with the last ten horrid pounds. Everyone around me has decided I should be the weight I am right now, and I'm sick and tired of being told "Oh you don't need to lose anymore" "I think you look fine." "Everyone says you should just stay the way you are now."

Well I bloody well don't want to stay the weight I am. I am BARELY in a healthy BMI, so my goal is hardly unrealistic. Any advice for dealing with the people in my life and of course shedding those last ten?

Thanks

Gina

160 lbs. 5'9.75" BMI 23.9

This is my EXACT same situation. We are the same height, but I'm 165lbs...and I have desparately been trying to get down to 155lbs for the past few months now.  Everyone keeps telling me the same thing, but I want my BMI to atleast be 23 and not 24. I'm barely hanging in there too so I feel your pain girl!

So here's what I did to handle those people - I stopped mentioning that I wanted to lose 10lbs.  If everyone is giving you **** about it - stop telling them. Period end of story.  Going on about having a 'healthy BMI' makes it seem like you're obsessive about it and the people that love you are going to try and tell you over and over again that you look just fine the way you are. It's a GOOD thing they're telling you that.  But in the future - just stop telling them and the comments will slowly subside. Just focus on your goals and stay on track and you'll be fine. Good luck!

Agreed! In the last two monthes I gained 10lbs! I hate my weight...and it's even worse when your family says "you're eating again?" ...Just for snacking so I don't overeat for dinner, :(. They don't understand though because they aren't overweight and really understand the struggles of always being the "Fat one"....guh.  

The Western concept of a proper weight is so out of whack it's laughable.  You could explain to them this fact, and watch their reactions!

Frankly I just ignore the naysayers.  I attribute it to a mix of jealousy and guilt.

LALA- I can almost just change your name to igloogal and leave everything the same. I just haven't yet struggled for a year, but I am certainly getting impatient.

I'm sick and tired of being told "Oh you don't need to lose anymore" "I think you look fine." "Everyone says you should just stay the way you are now."

ME TOO DAMMIT!

I am almost 5'7(34 year old female) and sitting at 153.4. . . CC tells me my goal weight should be 143.7. . . geez I was thinking 135. . . but anyways, I can't reach either!!!! UHG. My BMI is barely in the healthy range too. Weird.

If you find the miracle please keep us posted.

How do you feel/look when you're not basing things on the scale? If you're fitter and have more muscle, your BMI is naturally higher. BMI is a generally helpful but flawed number.

If you're really set on losing 10 more, I'd say don't tell a lot of people if they're unsupportive. Try to find a supportive friend/relative who you can trust to keep you motivated to keep going.

Good luck!

It's been quite a while for me now (2 years overall on weight loss goals) of course the "last 10" has changed multiple times but now I'm actually there and working on it.

I've started a pretty no-nonsense diet routine and I've been at it for a few weeks now, pretty sure it's working (Waist has dropped .5" at least) although hard to tell becaue I weigh in irregularly and my water intake is off. I'll know within 2-3 weeks though.

But definitely never plan on giving up and settling for less than a great physique, even if it takes me 5 more years of hard work.

I agree-don't tell anyone-or anyone that is not supportive. That's what these forums are for-support from people with  similar goals. There are groups on here specifically for people trying to lose the last ten, last 5 etc.

Are you complacent about it most of the time and then occassionally get ticked off about it?

For me-that is what it is. I have about 5-6 more lbs left to go and right now all my clothes fit-I feel good-look pretty good-so I'm just not trying that hard. I'm having alot of maintenance days I guess. (I also think I am a little scared of "success"-but that's what therapy is for )

If you are doing everything right and it is still not budging-I would suggest taking a break and seeingif you can maintain for a month. Then go back into it-add something a little different to your routine and see if it doesn't kick back into loss mode.

P90X...the last 10% or so will need to be sculpted by working out...diet alone will not do it for most people.

Oh I am so happy I read this post.  I am 5'6" and 156.  I've lost a total of 70 pounds and need to drop two more to be in a healthy bmi range for the first time in twenty years.

It was so nice to read that there are other people out there who are not looking to be supermodel thin.  I feel really good where I am at but need to lose the two just because I am stubborn.  I mean really, is two pounds going to make a huge difference?

My advise would be to continue on.  It may take several weeks but eventually you will get there.  Determination is the word of the day!

I am in the same boat with you.  I have been trying to loose the last 10-15 lbs for a year now and they just won't budge.  Even though I am doing everything right in terms of diet (I went to a nutritionist and she couldn't figure out why I wasn't loosing anymore either).  I agree with joe603 diet alone doesn't seem to be working for me (although I have been working out as well).  The only thing that has helped at all in the past year was doing the 30 day shred (Jillian Michaels DVD).  Although I didn't loose any weight I lost 2 inches around my waist in 16 days!  The fat around my tummy is the last hurdle for me so even if the pounds don't come off but the inches do that is good enough.

^^ I love love LOVE jillian michael's workouts! I love her period. I download her podcast off of itunes and listen to it while I go for walks. She has a lot of information about losing the last ten pounds, and I'll do my best to relay that information correctly here.

The last ten pounds is a completely different obstacle than the first 10 pounds. When you are overweight, the body doesn't resist weight loss because it knows that there is excess fat and that it's unhealthy. So overweight people don't have to worry much about going into "starvation mode" or having too large of a calorie deficit. But as you get closer and closer to your goal weight and become a healthy weight, you have to change what you're doing, because your body starts holding onto fat if you try to lose weight the same way you did before.. your body likes to have a little bit of extra fat in case of times of famine (not that we have that issue now, but that's just how we're programed). You have to work around that defense to lose the "vanity" pounds.

You need to eat at least your BMR and really focus on eating good quality, clean foods. If you eat below your BMR at this point, your body will fight against you and hold onto fat (particularly the stomach area because it's easier for the body to access). A lot of people (myself included) get really frustrated with those last 10 "vanity" pounds won't come off, and reduce their calorie intake even further in hopes of accelerating the process. From personal experience, I can tell you this does NOT work. You can't have too high of a calorie deficit at this point because your body will think you're going through a time of famine and will hold on to fat as a last resort and start eating away at your muscle.

Exercise is very important when it comes to the last 10 pounds. I personally love Jillian Michael's workouts because they don't require equipment and show amazing results. If you're committed to losing this weight, you're going to have to exercise more intensely and consistently. Cardio is one of the best ways to get really lean but it's also good to do some strength training to maintain muscle mass.

Sorry if it was long and if it seemed like I'm trying to sell Jillian Michael workout DVDs lol. I know a lot of this is basic information that everyone knows.. (I already knew most of it, except fot the whole never eat below your bmr thing..) I just wanted to post the hows and whys that I have learned through her podcasts, because I think knowledge is power. It has really helped me to accept that I there is no easy quick fix for the last 10 and that if I'm patient it will come off in due time.

Allison

I can sympathize!!

These last 10 pounds are harder than the all the previous pounds combined.  D:< I swear I'm this close to just taking a kitchen knife and slicing inches off my waistline.

Hey Allison, thanks a ton for that great information!

Does anyone here know how to figure out their BMR properly? I'd love to do that, just to be sure I'm not eating below.

I am in the same boat as many of you! Over the last 18months, I have lost 100 pounds! I am so happy to be here, HOWEVER, I still need/want to lose 15 more pounds. (I am 5'6" 180lbs. roughly) I have been stuck here fpor over a month.  I have been watching portions, eating healthier - I try to stay around 1500-1600 cals/day, and I have been using an elliptical trainer for at least 30 min./day. Yesterday, I was very careful to keep calories down (1400) and I did a 50 min. elliptical on hill setting (8.5mph) and this morning I had gained 4 oz!!!!! WTF! My scale shows body measurements; my water has been consistant 46percent but my muscle has gone up - I know that muscle weighs more than fat but I just can't seem to cut the belly fat out! I'm with igloogal (slicing it off is looking more and more appealing!!!! OK I am not that crazy to do it, just TREMENDOUSLY FRUSTRATED!!!) Should I cut out more cals?(I don't think this is something I can maintain long term) Or should I find another workout? I also do 5 lbs. weights for arms, crunches on my balance ball (at least 100/day) and other calesthetics(sp?). Anyone have any advice?

Allison, So my BMR is 1544.  To lose my last 10 pounds, I want to eat at least 1544 calories and then also eat back the calories I burn through exercise?  Sorry, I am easily confused, so I wanted to be sure I understood.  Thanks!

Hey "igloogal" - I found another website www.bmi-calculator.net which gave info and calculators for BMR and BMI, plus a lot more...some good info - in addition to this site, of course!

Original Post by ellek:

Allison, So my BMR is 1544.  To lose my last 10 pounds, I want to eat at least 1544 calories and then also eat back the calories I burn through exercise?  Sorry, I am easily confused, so I wanted to be sure I understood.  Thanks!

 

you should eat your BMR and don't eat back your calories ULESS the exercise would put your overall deficit over 1000. Then you can add enough calories to get your deficit between 500 and 1000.

Basically what I was trying to say before is that when it comes to the last 10 pounds you need to eat AT LEAST your BMR to prevent your body from going into "starvation mode". You can bump your intake if you are active enough to need the extra calories to keep your deficit, but you cannot bump that intake down if you're not active enough. If eating your BMR doesn't put your deficit high enough to lose weight because you're not active enough, your ONLY (healthy) option is to increase your activity and lose the weight through exercise.

am i making any sense? i've been told that im not very good at writing things down in a way that makes sense.. my mind works too fast for my fingers! lol.

Allison

Original Post by triffid2002:

Even though I am doing everything right in terms of diet (I went to a nutritionist and she couldn't figure out why I wasn't loosing anymore either).  I agree with joe603 diet alone doesn't seem to be working for me (although I have been working out as well). 

The problem starts when people tell themselves this.

If you're not losing weight, you're not doing everything right in terms of diet.

Doing everything right in terms of diet would be ridiculously difficult and a typical diet is just a stab in the dark comparatively. There are so many factors at play in fat loss; and a nutritionist is not going to consider or even know about all of them. Plenty of people who are supposed to know a lot about weight loss based on their titles really only know generally what is good; and they've often never been in the position of having to lose weight themselves.

Have you tried adding fasted morning cardio? Have you tried low-carb options? Have you gotten rid of cheat meals? Have you tried adding a refeed day or week to stimulate metabolism? Have you tried HIIT or just adding some extra low intensity cardio? Have you tried weight lifting? With low reps, high weight, to failure?

The list goes on; nobody who thinks they've tried everything ever really has.

I never said my diet was perfect but based on what I am eating all of the math points to me loosing weight.  Over the past year I have tried many changes to my diet to jump start things, each for at least a month, and exercise program.  I have tried low-carb, never had cheat meals, tried increasing calories for a week or two, tried HIIT, tried low intensity cardio, tried weight lifting with low reps high weight and to failure.  The only thing left on that list is fasting morning cardio.  If you can think of anything else please let me know.  I have been stuck for over a year now so I have had plenty of time to try many things to get the ball rolling again.  

-_- I completely understand how you feel. I'm 5'7.5" 145 lbs and I wanna be 135. All I get to hear is "you're so thiiin! Why don't u eat some cake?" I have a healthy BMI but my body fat is 32.5%! But they don't get it..

Just don't tell them you're dieting, and if you're asked why aren't you eating more or something, say your stomach aches. Works for me all the time :) (though I do have Crohn's, so they don't mess with my stomach:P)