Weight-loss beyond your lowest?

[blackcherry2002 5]

Ok so my lowest adult weight, or atleast weight at this height was about 161...well I'm at 157.6 exactly and that number is just NOT budging! And I'm still....12.6 pounds away from a BMI of 25...

Anyone who has "been there, done that" know if it gets really hard to go past that lowest number? (As in every pound is going to be a battle?)

[Bandster25 0]

I am having a very similar experience, and it's extremely frustrating! Up to this point, the weight has come off pretty reliably, as long as my calorie consumption is where it should be (not much over 1000 calories). If weight loss did not show up one week, it would almost always be close to the expected number for the next week.

However, now it seems like there is nothing I can do to lose the weight. My lowest ever weight was also around 160, and now I have not been able to get below 158 for over a month. I wear a body bugg, which shows daily deficits of 1000 calories (for a 2 pound loss per week), but the scale will not budge. I have been exercising for over 6 months, so I don't think I'm currently in a substantial muscle gaining phase, although I have recently started to jog/run. The interesting thing is that for a week or so around Christmas I overate, which caused a temporary scale increase that was easily reversed when I got back on track. And varying calorie consumption (within reason) has had no effect on my weight, so it seems like my body is pretty happy with where it is currently.

Sorry I don't have any advice for you, but I hope that some other people will reply. I also hope that the scale starts to move for both of us very soon.

[blackcherry2002 5]

haha, I also had the same issue during the holidays. My weight was at 160/162 and bounced up to 167...I'm down to 157 or 158 now but that's the lowest I've ever been and it's been quite a few months since I've lost any substantial weight--not Water weight or whatever. I'm not going to beat myself up on that though as my body is finally getting back to normal again--I'm hypothyroid and since November my thyroid has been climbing, so weight loss stalled and then gained...especially with holiday eating. My meds are on track now and I"m ready to lose! lol

--How tall are you by the way?

[Jachut 487]

My previous lowest adult weight was about 155lb, something I only held for a few months two or three times, typically I was always about 180. At 5ft 10, that's not terribly overweight, just a bit pudgy.

By pure coincidence my weight loss petered out at about 155, and stayed there effortlessly. Not a problem because that's a BMI of about 23. But over time, I've dropped a little more, I was 147 this morning.

I tended to stall at all previously held weights and it was just coincidence that I ended up where I did, AT my original goal weight and also at my lowest adult weight.

I dont lose easily now, not at all. I havent worked for these last few pounds though, they're more a result of returning to full time work in a new career and just plain not eating. I dont have time, I'm stressed etc. But I dont lose easily because I dont really have any to lose, not necessarily anything to do with weights being held before.

[blackcherry2002 5]

See that's more of what I'm worried about--is that this is what my body wants to stay at and that it is still so far away from just being in the normal range...not that I couldn't ever get there but the work it would take to maintain there...I guess at this point it's just keep chugging along...

[Jachut 487]

I may not lose easily, but honestly, its absolutely effortless to maintain this weight.

I will be honest and say that i exercise a LOT and I work out very HARD. I'm very athletic, its stuff like you see on Biggest Loser, and actually, at Boot Camp the other day, a newbie did puke their guts out. That's how hard I work out and i do it almost every day, either bootcamp or a run of between 6 and 10kms. But I absolutely love it, so I dont call it effort.

On the food side, I eat absolutely whatever I want, whenever I want. I never ever gain, its like a miracle.

[greytz 4]

I was 120 at one time but I was in the military and worked, worked worked at it and I was a lot younger then. In my late 20's and early 30's I was healthiest at about 150 to 155. I too am struggling with the last few pounds. Although, it is coming off just much more slowly than before. I think it is because my body is shifting the weight and I am building more muscle. I joined a supervised gym and they assess me with measurements and muscle to fat ratio every two months so it gives me incentive to work out really hard but in doing so, I do stay hungrier and have had to be careful about my eating during the day. I was eating twice a day and I have switched to much smaller portions a little more often to help.

[Bandster25 0]

I am between 5'4" and 5'5", so according to the BMI charts I should definitely lose more. My surgeon said 10 more pounds would be good, but honestly I would like to lose at least 20 more. Another thing to consider is the fact that excess skin can weigh a lot. I have recently been looking into getting a Tummy Tuck. I am strongly an apple body type, so my entire abdominal area is looking pretty bad. I was pretty disgusted with my body, thinking that I still have so much fat on my stomach, but now I am realizing that a lot of it is probably excess skin rather than fat. Plastic surgery is the only way to get rid of it, and I am hoping to have a tummy tuck this summer. In hearing about other peoples' experiences with this procedure, I am thinking that probably at least 10 pounds of excess skin will be removed (maybe closer to 20 since the majority of my fat was stored in this area). So maybe I really only need to lose like 10 more pounds before getting a tummy tuck.

Also, I have heard that previously obese people have heavier bones than people who have always been a normal weight, so weighing slightly more than average might be a good goal. I'm not sure if this is true, but it makes sense to me. Also, do you exercise? I have really been getting into exercise over the last several months, so I think that my body type is becoming more athletic, which could justify weighing a little more.

How many calories do you consume, and what type of diet do you follow? I have found that I have to pretty much completely avoid carbs except for veggies to keep the cravings in check. It just seems so weird to me that whether I eat 1000 calories a day or 1500, it doesn't seem to matter, and my weight just stays the same. Like you, I am worried that this is just where my body likes to be. I guess we just have to give it time, though. Losing so much weight has probably been a shock to our bodies, and maybe we just need to be okay with taking several months to lose a few pounds at this point. My surgeon was very happy with my progress, and she said that most lap-band patients don't lose nearly this much weight, so I guess we both should keep in mind that we have been very successful.

[AirKuhl 1]

I went from losing 10lbs a week to 10lbs a month to 10lbs a year (projected).

Although I'm below my goal and no longer "overweight" per the BMI charts, I think I can still lose 10 more lbs.

It's hard. My belief is that your body adjusts to exercise and calorie levels, and that you need to shock it every once in a while. If you focus on cardio, try weight training for a week or so. If you are on a 1,000 calorie level, try 1,500 for a week and then go to 800 for a week. Your metabolism is fighting against you during weight loss because it's a built-in survival instinct to store energy (fat). And we're all great survivors, lol.