How do you lose the LAST FIVE lbs? It's rough!

[reasonle]

My weight loss journey began back when I was a junior in highschool (~8 years ago).  At that point I was 165 lbs and I always assumed I was "big boned" for a girl as well as being overweight.  I am about 5' 6" and I guess I just tried to make myself feel better by saying that I was big boned too.

Now that I have reached and lost more than my original goal weight (125), I have discovered my body can go a bit farther!  I have now realized that rather than having a large frame, I have a small one.  So now my goal weight seems to be a few pounds less than where I am now, about 5-7 lbs.

I know that my deficit needs to be small, and believe me, I am going slow!  I don't really track my calories anymore (although I used to religiously, scale and all), I just eat when I am hungry and try my best to eat whole foods amd protein at every meal, but of course I let myself splurge sometimes.

I run, walk, and do bodyweight exercises at home.  My current calorie goal with my fitbit is 2250 cals a day.  Normally I hit it, sometimes during the week I am just under, but on the weekends I am always over.

So my real question is, does anyone have any advice for loosing the last 5?  I am so used to eating just enough so that I am slightly hungry when I go to bed, but should this not be my goal anymore?  I think on most days I eat about 2000 cals.  I know this is an estimation but after YEARS of intense calorie counting and food weighing, I am pretty good at guessing what I am eating.

[Yani29]

I got my fitbit Charge last christmas, just started using it last week.  During holiday I gained some weights and my goal is to loose 5 lbs or more.  My daily exercise: Zumba for 1 hrs (4 times weekly) and speed walking for 2 or 3 times a week.  I drank a lot of water during Zumba.

Just wondering my weight is fluctuates up/down to 1 Lbs to 2 lbs.  I feel it is getting so hard to loose this 5 lbs.  I may need to go back to my indoor bootcamp or cut down on my calories.

I do my own protein-shake in the morning- not the SHAKELOGY since it is so expensive.  But anyone who think that it might help me to loose by taking this Shakeology- I might considerate it.

My friend did it - she looks so good. I want to tune up those belly.

Any suggestions I would be appreciate it

[ipress123]

Last 5 lbs.  [1] Never eat if your are not hungry. [2] Make water your main beverage! [3] Make salad your main course. [4] NEVER eat desert (fruit OK). [5] Only eat chocoalte on Thursdays. [6] Your main enemies are sugar (treat it as poison) and red meat (too much fat).

Check out the OKINAWA diet on the web.  Proportionally more Okinawans reach 100 than anywhere else in the world.  They work in the fields and have sex into their 90's.  They have the lowest rates of prostate cancer, breast cancer and heart disease in the world.  100000 Okinawans moved to Brasil, and their life expectancy is the same as Brazilians.  It is all in the diet.

[missmia]

I love this advice. Thank you....

[patrickd123]

How to loose the last 5 most difficult pounds?

1-By fixing a larger goal!

Like when you know you running your last 5 miles, the brain kicks in easy mode because he thinks "Hey, we're almost there anyway".

2-By focusing on each pound, one at a time

Get your next pound to be your best friend! Concentrate on it. Even be loyal to it lollllll Then, once you're at it, stay on it for a week. MAINTAIN IT. Then, once your body has stabilised on it, shoot for the next. Etc.....

[katgal13]

Hello;

I need to lose the 5 lbs I gained over the holidays.  I have lost a total of 35 so far.  I am looking for a range of 143-145.  I am now 150.  The weather has been snowy here and has made me not walk outside.  But just today I joined a Walking Group at the local mall and will be going there.  

[spingurl]

What worked for me for the last 5lbs was to commit to eating 5 - 6 small "meals" a day and no eating after 7 pm...I work out pretty much every day, so that's breakfast, work out, snack right after working out, lunch 2 hours later, mid afternoon snack, sometimes another afternoon snack, and then dinner.  I also make sure to do some exercise after dinner, even if it's 5 minutes of jumping jacks and squats while I'm brushing my teeth.  Everyone's different, but that's what worked for me - maybe it will work for you too!

[missmia]

Yeh. I like this idea. Basically ramp up the exercising. And I get hungry every two hours anyway. I just almost always get hungry after 7 p.m.

[Heybales]

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@missmia wrote:

Yeh. I like this idea. Basically ramp up the exercising. And I get hungry every two hours anyway. I just almost always get hungry after 7 p.m.

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Don't let the after 7 pm phase you.

No study has shown that for strictly weight loss, meal timing or frequency or eating late matters at all.

Purely personal choices on what helps you adhere. Some can't stop the snacking after dinner, so saying no food can help.

If hungry that much, either your attempted deficit is too aggressive, and the scary part will be when the body adapts and you no longer feel hungry. And weight loss also slows or stops.

And if every 2 hrs, look at what you eat, if high carb, or the carbs are first in the meal - you may be dealing with insulin spikes and then resulting low blood sugar, leaving you feeling hungry when you really aren't.

[Eclectus]

I understand, you want to look great and hence need to lose those last few pounds.

First- your calorie intake is too high. It should be around 1300-1400 pet day until you have reached your goal. You need to continue your workouts, an hour walk/some running and weightlifting three four times per week. Your protein intake should be 100 g per day. limit carbs. It should take you about two weeks. Snack on cabbage or other extremely low calorie vegetables.Good luck!

[Heybales]

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@Eclectus wrote:

I understand, you want to look great and hence need to lose those last few pounds.

First- your calorie intake is too high. It should be around 1300-1400 pet day until you have reached your goal. You need to continue your workouts, an hour walk/some running and weightlifting three four times per week. Your protein intake should be 100 g per day. limit carbs. It should take you about two weeks. Snack on cabbage or other extremely low calorie vegetables.Good luck!

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So without a good understanding of how much is burned, but are understanding how much is left to lose - you think you know the correct eating level without many stats?

While it's true there are no special snowflakes when it comes to weight loss, neither are 2 snowflakes the same as to what is needed to work.

And you are recommending over a 1000 cal deficit daily for 2 weeks for someone thas been dieting for awhile and reached their last 5, rather than only needing to lose 5. Big difference in scenarios there.

Yes, that would take a lot of luck to succeed.

[Eclectus]

No offence- this works for most athletes who need to lose weight quickly - I can even boast of an Olympic medal. 1400 Kcal per day is not life threatnening. Protein is needed as to not lose muscle mass. The traning suggested is not that heavy. 5 lbs is not very much to lose, the person is young and in good health. There is no need to get upset-   

[SunsetRunner]

The best weight loss program is the Pritikin Plan https://www.pritikin.com/

Body weights, for aerobic athletes, are calculated as:

Male (4.0 times height in inches) minus 128

Female (3.5 times height, in inches) minus 108 

[bettyboop1975]

Hey bales I dislocated both shoulders in august last year and was a boxer. After 6 months I'm finally walking 10000 steps every day , x trainer and cycling but what strength training can I do to lose my new bingo wings on my arms and shoulder blades. I can't stand it

[SunsetRunner]

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@bettyboop1975 wrote:
Hey bales I dislocated both shoulders in august last year and was a boxer. After 6 months I'm finally walking 10000 steps every day , x trainer and cycling but what strength training can I do to lose my new bingo wings on my arms and shoulder blades. I can't stand it

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Loose skin is often due to rapid weight/muscle loss.

If you are young enough, the natural skin elasticity will take care of it.

[Heybales]

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@bettyboop1975 wrote:
Hey bales I dislocated both shoulders in august last year and was a boxer. After 6 months I'm finally walking 10000 steps every day , x trainer and cycling but what strength training can I do to lose my new bingo wings on my arms and shoulder blades. I can't stand it

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Oh, that's a bummer.

Did you have surgery to tighten them up, or always a threat now of being lose?

Strength training will be good.

But sadly none will get rid of fat where you want it gone. No such thing as spot reducing.

You must eat less than you burn, by reasonable amount to make it mostly fat.

That also allows a strength training workout to cause the most body improvements.

So any compound moves for upper body pushing and pulling will use the triceps and biceps. Don't waste time on curls and kickbacks, those muscles will be used with each pull and push.

Shoulder press, bench press, incline, pullups, ect.

Start here and pick full body routine, just follow instructions as to what lifts to pick out.

http://www.exrx.net/WeightTraining/Instructions.html

[nkotblove]

I just can't loss weight YET!!! I been walking for a 1 year and no luck for me... I been walking for 1 mile sometimes I walked for 4 miles sometimes.... I do enjoy walking

[fitntrimming]

Sadly nkotblove,

It sounds like your body has gotten use to walking and it will not work to help you loose weight or give you much benefit at all. You need have some muscle confusion in your exercise routine. Do some exercise your body is not use to doing. If you do the same exercise over and over your body gets comfortable with it. That's why you like it. Maybe try to get on a bicycle and ride for an hour. Do some squats, push ups, leg lifts, crunches and lifting with some light weights. (Lift weights slowly in both directions so the muscle you are working stays engaged. You will see better results and get stronger faster.) If you have access to a gym, do a spin class then go straight into a yoga class. Run on the treadmill then do a pump class. Back to back classes are great for weightlose and muscle confusion. Weight bearing exercises will help you burn the most calories, but you need to remember to do different muscle groups. Mix that up with some good cardio like spints and the walking that you love, you will see a change in your energy level and you will get stronger if you do these things. So bottom line...Mix it up. Good luck:)

[Heybales]

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@nkotblove wrote:

I just can't loss weight YET!!! I been walking for a 1 year and no luck for me... I been walking for 1 mile sometimes I walked for 4 miles sometimes.... I do enjoy walking

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Walking won't make you lose weight.

Exercise with no other changes usually has ones gain weight actually. Though walking is usually pretty un-intense, so perhaps not that problem.

Eating daily less than you burn daily will have you lose weight, but you mention nothing about that prime factor to weight loss.

Are you accurately logging eveything you eat by weight to know if you are eating less than Fitbit is estimating you burn?

[jangoandphoenix]

I'm going to mention sometihng here because I believe it is VERY important.

Please research something called BDD. It is body dismorphic disorder.

Don't get angry with me for mentioning it. I know two young women who have it and it rules their lives.

If I can reach just ONE person who has this, I've done my job as a good samaritan.

[dancefoxtrot]

NKOT

Listen to your own body and do what is good for your age and health situation. Tracking food intake, controling portion size and burning more than you are eating by at least 500 calories daily is essential. Walking is a great exercise especially at a pace to put you in the fat burning zone, but are you getting in 10,000 steps a day? Also, make sure what you eat has protein, lots of veggies, some fruit & nuts. 

If you do this and find that you are burn more and not losing maybe you need to consult with a MD to check thyroid function. 

Stress also causes our bodies to hang on to weight. 

Best to you,

Barbara