Weight loss sloooooowwwww dooooowwwwn......

[TheEndlessArete]

Been on healthy eating/lots of exercise since Nov. Have lost 19lbs althogether. Weight loss fast at start then settled into a 2lb a week loss, then a 1lb a week loss and now seems just to be at 0.5lb loss a week.....

Anybody else experienced this? It's not a super strict diet or anything, but am not snacking and am doing exercise 4/5 times a week (more than normal..!). Have got about 5.5.lbs before I reach the arbitary target weight that I want to get to (am within the healthy bmi now).

Should I just press on, or are these last few lbs going to be really tricky and should I just be content with where I've got to ?

Any tips ?!

It will slow down as you reach your target weight. Keep persevering and hopefully those last few lbs will eventually drop off. Everyone I know who is on a diet has found that the last few lbs are the hardest to shift. Even at 0.5lb a week you could reach your goal in 11 weeks. Well done on the weight loss so far! :)

Yes.

Cut out bread/pasta/wheat/noodles/ryvita/wraps....anything like that. Do not snack. Eat three filling meals a day.

This will jolt you again, promise.

Oh yes - I feel your pain... I've lost 35lb but have around 21 14 to go and it's incredibly slow now - around 0.5 - 1lb a week.

I'm trying to see it as steady progress - I've upped my exercise (from none at all to wii sit-ing 4 - 5 times a week). I've tried to keep snacking to a minimum but do have a treat at the weekend - usually manage to squeeze a bottle of wine in and a meal out/curry. Ahem.

But slow is good -it means it's sustainable and the weight's still coming off, not going on

I think, though, I'm already nervous about whenever I decide to stop losing weight - will it come back on again ?! Almost like I'm working so hard (well not that hard really) and only losing a little bit - when I stop working so hard at it, will the lbs just come back on ? I'm not intending to start eating any more than I do, but will prob stop exercising as much - cut it down to 2/3 times a week rather than 4/5...

It shouldn't come back on (says Queen Yo-yo ) but why don't you keep the exercise up rather than cutting it down then you don't have to be so strict with the diet.

For weight loss now, maybe try upping the intensity of your workouts, ie if you can put in sprint intervals or something. I was reading somewhere that to lose the last 5lbs you should train harder as those last lbs are the hardest to lose. I'll try to find where I read it and put it on here.

Sorry that probably wasn't very clear I meant if you run put in sprint intervals, because interval training will burn the fat much faster (it will also raise your fitness much quicker so you will be able to exercise harder and for longer thus burning more energy).

Thanks VSM, I'd wondered whether a new fitness plan might help things progress a little more - have been shredding/jogging so might try upping the running or trying a new Jillian.

Although no offence to you (Queen yo-yo), I really really don't want to be a yo-yo-er - this is the first time I've lost weight, am I being unrealistic to think I can just keep it off??

You definitely don't want it to come back on it's too hard to lose it in the first place without having to do it all over again!!
It's not unrealistic to keep it off I just think you have to work nearly as hard to keep it off as you did to get it off. Especially in the beginning after you're at goal you can't think that you're off the diet so you can now eat all the things you couldn't when you were on the diet. This is your new way of life and it will have to be for life.

You should enjoy life too but keep an eye on what you're putting into your mouth

I am very committed to my maintenance and sometimes i think it's harder work than it was to lose it! But I don't ever want to go back to the way I was so I try every day. I don't want to be a yo-yoer anymore either.
I will probably have to try everyday of my life but I have accepted that I can't eat whatever I like if I want to look and feel a certain way.

I actually do more exercise now than I did when I was losing weight, I have upped the intensity and frequency probably because I am carrying over 4 stones less of me and can move a lot better and easier

What are you eating each day?

I do try to do lower carbs but I do quite a bit of training so I do eat some, I have weetabix and skimmed milk for breakfast (it's the chocolate weetabix!) A lean protein snack or a protein bar. Lunch is chicken salad or smoked salmon salad (if I'm flush) with seeds, then I snack a bit later on some protein, some dried apricots, some chocolate, dinner can be baked sweet potato, chicken and salad or veg, chicken/beef homemade curry with brown rice and salad/veg or something like that. I may have something to eat later but what it is does depend on what I've eaten during the day. I drink a lot of water too. And coffee.

Sometimes I am hungrier so I will eat more, but then other days I count up what I have eaten and it's not enough so it balances it self out but because of my exercise I try to eat well every day.

This is what I do so far! I am hoping it will be my diet forever

I have some fruit too.

I also do a lot of training.

Breakfast for me - eggs (omelette) and natural yoghurt with added oatbran. Ditch the weetabix - too high GI esp with the chocolate, also I'm not a fan of wheat. If you need carbs go for porridge, or maybe oatabix?

Chocolate - 85% good couple of squares a day.

Ditch the jacket potatoes, very high GI. Some protein and if you need carbs eg after training small portion of brown rice / quinoa / buckwheat / or couple of new potatoes etc. Maybe cut out the carbs for a couple of weeks to see if you get the weight loss going again.

Fruit healthy good, but again if only 4-5 pounds to lose try cutting it out for a few weeks. Once you are at target can gradually reintroduce.

Hope that helps.

I'm already noticing a difference after upping my exercise recently - lost 2lbs last week and am hoping for another 2 - 3lb this week. The exercise is definitely making a difference - am doing about 40mins on the wii fit (mainly jogging and step) while watching telly, about 5 times a week. Am hoping this will shift the rest of my weight fairly quickly if I can keep it up and not have too much wine at the weekends.