Losing last 10 pounds..seems like the scale's standing still

This topic contains 6 replies, has 5 voices, and was last updated by MaybelleW 9 years, 10 months ago.

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Sarasue

8:12 pm
29 Dec 14
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Hi all,

This is my first time posting here and was curious if anyone has advice for how to lose the last 10 pounds or so. I’m getting married in May 2015 and wanted to lose a little wieght before the big day.

I’m 5’5″ (165.1 cm) and weigh 129 pounds (58 kg) and have been doing the 4:3 diet relatively consistently since mid-November (with a couple of total fast day disasters around the holidays. so much cheese…). I had lost seven pounds in the summer and fall with the 5:2, but the last 5-10 pounds don’t seem to want to budge. I seem to lose and gain the same two pounds over and over again.

I run three times a week and have been trying to incorporate HIT into my workouts and to increase my overally activity (10000 steps) other days. I stick to 500 on my fast days but seem to go overboard on my feast days.

Anyone else in a similar spot?

Thanks in advance for taking the time to read this! I really appreciate it.

annette52

10:40 am
1 Jan 15
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Have you tried writing down everything that you eat and drink for a week, with the calories contained in each? I found that when I learned what calories were in some foods, then I could choose what I was going to eat. Have you reduced your TDEE in accordance with your weight loss to date?If you eat to your TDEE on non fast days, then the weight will reduce again.

Skinnythisyear

2:59 pm
1 Jan 15
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Have you tried 4:3, this works for me when I want to speed things up a little and also making sure you don’t go over TDEE and the other 4 days. I have lost 2 stone during 2014 which was my original target but I would now like to lose another 7-10 pounds but think the only way I can do this is by doing 4:3 as I am not prepared to reduce my cals too much more on my feed days. I don’t do any regular exercise apart from dog walking.
I have used My Fitness Pal to count cals and I don’t use it all the time but find it useful when I need to be a bit stricter with my diet. Good luck and keep us informed of your progress.

MaybelleW

1:03 am
2 Jan 15
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Hi, Ah, yes, the last ten pounds. That stubborn, tenacious ten pounds. I’ve been on the Fast Diet for 16 months and my loss has slowed to almost nothing in the last several months. I am counting steps and being sure to walk my goal number each day but I think that exercise is not going to budge those pounds because so much would be required. Exercise is good and important for our health but I think I will just have to be more careful on feast days if I’m to lose any more. The one thing I am going to try that I think might make a difference (I just lost a tiny amount since trying this) is to cut my sugar intake down to the advised 6 teaspoons a day of added sugar. I know I’ve always eaten way too much sugar and I’m finding this a challenge but I think it might be the thing to get my weight loss going again. The more I read about sugar the more I am convinced that it is poison and the thing I should focus on changing more than anything else. Good luck!

Sarasue

5:41 pm
5 Jan 15
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Thanks so much for your replies! Lost a pound in the past two weeks and am feeling hopeful once again!

annette52 that is such a good point. i hadn’t thought to recheck my TDEE as I assumed it wouldn’t be that different, but it is about 50-100 calories less. Honestly, I haven’t been holding myself as accountable on the non-fast days; i think you’re right-the only way to get the scales to move is to tighten up of the non-fast days.

skinnythisyear i have started using 4:3 and every other day fasting too, and am finally noticing some movement in the scales! i do feel like i get hungrier on non-fast days though- do you notice this? around 10 pm on a fast day I start daydreaming about what I’ll eat the next day.

MaybelleW congrats on your progress so far and good luck with those last pounds! sugar is absolutely my downfall. i used to avoid it a lot, but after starting the fast diet, i convinced myself that i could have “treats” on non-fast days. Slowly those treats became an every non-fast day ritual which i’m trying to break myself of.

Emilyashen

6:40 pm
5 Jan 15
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Hi Sarasue,

We have the exact same measurements, so I can relate to your post. I lost about 10 pounds in Oct. & Nov. on 5:2. Now I am at 129 lbs. too, but I’m not sure if 120 is a realistic goal – it maybe too low… I’m trying to get under 125 over the next 2 months and see how I feel at that weight. I do not count calories currently, that would take out the “fun” of 5:2 for me.

I do exercise at an intense level twice a week and make sure to get in 10,000 steps on the other days.

It sounds like you’re almost there, maybe don’t worry about losing the 10 pounds, try to get to a place where you feel good and can maintain?? Good luck!

MaybelleW

11:30 pm
5 Jan 15
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Hi, again, Sarasue, I am guessing that you are young and that you didn’t start this way of eating with a huge amount to lose. That means that you should be able to lose successfully but that you won’t lose a huge number of pounds quickly because your TDEE is not very high to begin with. I have become convinced that ANY weight I lose is a win for me and that I don’t have to lose quickly because I will be eating this way for the long-term. If you are trying to be a certain weight for your wedding then being more disciplined on an eat day is do-able but I have resisted being too strict on my eat days because that would make this seem like all the diets of the past and it would not work for me. That I’ve stayed on this for 16 months AMAZES me. So, just be careful that you don’t get so strict that you can’t stay with this for long. The thing I fear most is not a slow loss, but losing my commitment to staying on this forever.

And, oh, yes, the daydreaming at the end of a fast day about what I can eat the next day. I actually get a real emotional high on the evenings of a fast day because I am pleased with myself for fasting and I am so looking forward to an eat day. Those two evenings a week feel so good.

I hope you reach your goal and feel good about your weight by May. You have one of the most inspiring goals to keep you going–a wedding!!!