Advice for Last 10lbs

GeminiGirl

GeminiGirl

New member
I'm new to the forum, so hopefully I'm posting in the right area. I'm looking for advice on how to be approach these last 10 stubborn pounds.

I'm 5'1", 125lbs and approximately 28% body fat. I've lost 16lbs and about 4% body fat since January. My goal is to reach 115lbs and be under 25% body fat - ideally by end of May or June.

I'm really struggling with my calories - as I get smaller, I know I need less. But, I also know that going too low will only sabotage my progress. I log my food and zig-zag my calories all week - I range from 1200-1500 and then give my self a nice 1800-2000 calorie Sunday as my "cheat" day. I don't eat stuff I shouldn't eat - it's still mostly organic and unprocessed foods, I just increase the portions. I also try to keep my protein intake higher than my carb intake on most days.

So, as I was saying, cutting calories is hard for me b/c as it is, I feel hungry a lot of the time. I am constantly looking forward to my next meal and go to bed looking forward to breakfast. Is this normal??

As I get smaller, do I need to increase the intensity of my workouts to reach my goal? Or do I also need to cut back more on my calories? I read things that nothing lower than 1200 or 1000 calories for women and I'm already treading that line on certain days.

Looking for the best approach and guidance b/c some days are REALLY hard to stick to the lower end of the calories....ugh!! :willy_nilly:
 
What do you do for exercise? Have you tried weight lifting? Who cares what you weigh, if you start lifting weights, you will be more muscular, and eventually the weight will come off. Weight lifting, at least for me, really takes away my hunger.
 
GeminiGirl said:
So, as I was saying, cutting calories is hard for me b/c as it is, I feel hungry a lot of the time. I am constantly looking forward to my next meal and go to bed looking forward to breakfast. Is this normal??
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I don't believe it's good to be feeling hungry all the time. Perhaps it'd be better to increase you calories back up to what you had before?

GeminiGirl said:
As I get smaller, do I need to increase the intensity of my workouts to reach my goal? Or do I also need to cut back more on my calories? I read things that nothing lower than 1200 or 1000 calories for women and I'm already treading that line on certain days.
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Yes, I think the best way would be to increase the intensity/duration of exercise...and perhaps doing it more often during the week. As you get closer to your goal weight, the weight loss rate is going to slow quite a bit. Using 5'1", 125 pounds, and 25 years of age (just guessing), I get roughly ~1700 calories that you'll burn each day without exercise.

If we assume you're eating 1350 calories each day (average of 1200-1500) and 1900 on Sunday, that's 10,000 calories each week. And burning 1,700 per day is 11,900. This is a deficit of 1,900 calories per week...or about 0.5 pounds.

Now of course you have exercise thrown in there as well which I didn't account for. But as you can see, it's going to be difficult for the last few pounds to come off and you'll have to be extra diligent with what you eat. And obviously, exercise will really help you with the last 10 pounds by increasing that calorie burn each day. :)
 
While I would LOVE to be 25 again, I'm actually a little over a month away from turning 36. So, that doesn't help my caloric burn... :(

I workout anywhere from 3-5x per week, all depending on work and school. I work full time and go to school in the evenings 2x per week (should graduate w/my MBA this December!) So, fitting in my workouts is hard sometimes, but I do what I can.

For my workouts I had been doing Jillian's 30 Day Shred a few times per week, doing a cardio day at the gym and then on Saturdays taking a Turbo Kickboxing class. I recently changed it up to doing a longer Jillian workout - her Burn Fat, Boost Metabolism DVD (it's about 50min long).

I use weights during the workouts, but they are light b/c you are doing a lot of reps and it's just for added resistance. Additionally, a lot of her workouts are resistance training and plyometrics - so, as for REAL weight lifting, no I don't do that. I used to do more weight training when I lost my initial 30lbs (about 4 years ago) and I got stuck at about 130-135lbs.

It wasn't until I changed my diet to eating cleaner and organic, and incorporating this circuit/resistance/metabolic training that I got past it and down to 125lbs.

Thanks for doing the math for me - I hadn't tried looking at the math on a weekly basis. It was more eye-opening to see it that way vs. trying to see my daily deficit. Time to play with the numbers it seems... joy... :)
 
I just ordered a GoWear Fit to help me monitor my calories out...seems to be a pretty cool device. Between that and own personal food log, I should be able to really key in on how I'm doing.
 
GeminiGirl said:
I just ordered a GoWear Fit to help me monitor my calories out...seems to be a pretty cool device. Between that and own personal food log, I should be able to really key in on how I'm doing.
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Oh cool, you'll love it! :) I have a bodybugg (it's the same thing) and it's extremely useful knowing that burn number!

I started religiously using it and tracking my calories eaten and burned when I was at 225 pounds. My last low weight was 188.4. According to my calories eaten and burned over the past few months, I should've weighed 188.1. A difference of only 0.3 pounds between actual and theoretical weight loss according to the numbers is pretty amazing if you ask me! :)
 
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That is pretty darn awesome! I'm excited about seeing my stats and just how much my workouts are really "outputting".

I did read that it over-estimates a bit on elliptical if you use the arm bars (or if you use a ski machine) - apparently the arm movement gets it a little excited. :)

I'm not too concerned b/c I try to avoid the elliptical anyways - I tend to stick to biking, treadmill and my favorite - the stairway to hell (the dreaded stairmill).

It'll be cool to compare what the machine says vs. what the armband says. Can't wait until I get it in the mail!!
 
GeminiGirl said:
I did read that it over-estimates a bit on elliptical if you use the arm bars (or if you use a ski machine) - apparently the arm movement gets it a little excited. :)

I'm not too concerned b/c I try to avoid the elliptical anyways - I tend to stick to biking, treadmill and my favorite - the stairway to hell (the dreaded stairmill).
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I haven't used an elliptical machine before so I can't speak for it. In my experience, the thing that seems "off" is bicycling because the device does use accelerometers and can sense the motion of your arms like if you were walking/running. But you don't use your arms much when you're riding a bike so it doesn't seem to account for that as much. For me, a ~160 heart rate running will show up as a ~13-15 calories per minute burn...but a ~160 heart rate on a recumbent bike will only show up as 8-10 calories per minute. But it's not a big deal, just knowing that calorie burn number and approximately where you're at for the day is a big wake up call. :)
 
Argh....So frustrated this morning. Felt like I "looked" like I had lost more - I was holding back from weighing myself for a little longer b/c I know that I'm going to be slowing down.

My weight didn't change at all. Body Fat went down 1% - now at 26.5%.

So...does that mean REALLY mean that I technically lost weight, but gained muscle as well? Considering I'm on a calorie deficit every day (from 400-1000 calories deficit daily) how did I gain muscle???

I know I should be really stoked that more of me is muscle...but just would love to see that weight go down.:banghead:
 
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