Those who had only about 15 pounds to lose: page

[Runeatrun]

I understand that it is mostly "vanity" weight since a lot of time you are already in the healthy range. But did it take a long time for the weight to come off since you had less to lose? Did you have to cut down calories in order to see results?

[tfarny]

The problem is that the goal weight is slippery and defined differently for different folks. You might see me and say I have ten lb to lose; I might say I'm fine as is. Who knows where the "last ten" starts or ends? When I started this, I thought if I lost 20 i'd be ecstatic - lost 40 and then had to think about gaining some back!
It's definitely true that once you get relatively lean, the fat comes off more slowly and there is more of a tendency to lose muscle along with fat. Strength training and careful attention to diet and sleep and stress become more important.

[ppham27]

It was easy for me. Took about 6 weeks with no calorie counting or any tricks like IF---just straight primal. Perhaps, a lot of it was bloat. I'm also 22 and had only been at that weight for maybe 1-2 years, so my body most likely hadn't become accustomed to the extra weight, yet.

See: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/29552058/Paleo%20Story.pdf

[RitaRose]

I agree with tfarny - goal weight is constantly shifting, especially as you get closer to it.

I started out figuring I wanted to get down to 140. At the time, I was 168. I got down to 145 and suddenly that was looking pretty close to perfect, and 140 wouldn't have looked good. Plus, the amount of effort it would have taken to get those last 5 pounds off would have been way too hard, especially given that they were no longer important to me anyway.

Now I'm back up to about 150, and those 5 pounds are incredibly hard to get rid of. I'm blaming stress levels (cortisol), my job (chronic cardio) and the fact that bad food doesn't immediately impact me as badly as it used to so I'm more likely to eat something I shouldn't. Okay, it's probably mostly the last one, but I'm trying to spread the blame a little.

As far as timing, the first week I lost 7 pounds (I'm guessing water and inflamation). The week after that was 2 pounds, and that was pretty much the norm every week except for a couple of weeks after I had a concussion (who knew that could slow weight loss, but it really can). Then it slowed to about a pound every week when I was in the low 150s.

It's a lot like a curve, where it gets slower as you get closer to where you want to be.

[Runeatrun]

Yeah, it's just frustrating because I had a goal weight of about 145 from 170 before. Now I'm sitting at 140 and I'm just not happy, and I can't seem to get any lower. I've been here since August! I'm thinking my goal is about 125-130. Unfortunately I'm training for a half-marathon and I feel like this is making it difficult.

I'm extremely new to PB but I'm not sure if I'm approaching it correctly and I don't want to get discouraged easily and give up before I see results. I also don't know how to approach how many calories I should be eating...

[sbhikes]

I really didn't know what my goal was or my ideal weight. According to Protein Power my ideal weight was somewhere in the range of 128-139lbs. So by that measure, I have achieved the goal and I didn't find the last 15lbs of that to be any more difficult or slower. But according to the Fast 5 book, my ideal weight is really 115lbs. Woops, now I've got about 18lbs to go to get there. I can foresee that being incredibly difficult to do, especially anything under 125lbs. So I don't know what my goal is and haven't decided if I'm willing to do what it would take to get to 115lbs.

[RitaRose]

I can foresee that being incredibly difficult to do, especially anything under 125lbs. So I don't know what my goal is and haven't decided if I'm willing to do what it would take to get to 115lbs.

That's where I am too.

Yeah, I'd like to get back to 145, but I'm honestly not willing to do what it takes to get there. I'd rather just accept 150 and have a good life.

[jammies]

I really didn't know what my goal was or my ideal weight. According to Protein Power my ideal weight was somewhere in the range of 128-139lbs. So by that measure, I have achieved the goal and I didn't find the last 15lbs of that to be any more difficult or slower. But according to the Fast 5 book, my ideal weight is really 115lbs. Woops, now I've got about 18lbs to go to get there. I can foresee that being incredibly difficult to do, especially anything under 125lbs. So I don't know what my goal is and haven't decided if I'm willing to do what it would take to get to 115lbs.

This is exactly where I am right now as well - especially the part I bolded!!!. Healthy weight by CW standards, and below any goal I originally set, but still some fat that could stand to be lost.

It seems like so much effort is required to make it that last bit and I really love my relaxed easy version of primal....but then again, looking great in a bikini would be lovely as well

[Runeatrun]

This is exactly where I am right now as well - especially the part I bolded!!!. Healthy weight by CW standards, and below any goal I originally set, but still some fat that could stand to be lost.

It seems like so much effort is required to make it that last bit and I really love my relaxed easy version of primal....but then again, looking great in a bikini would be lovely as well

I want to feel good in a bikini this summer for the first time in my life. It's difficult trying to get there though when it seems like I'm hungry all the time lol

[smilingjustalittlebit]

When I began my journey along the weight loss road back in 2008 I never once set myself a target weight. I hit various plateaus along the way but kept at it, constantly changing things around to push on through. I'm just eating clean, doing some training, and keeping an eye (NOT obsessing) over my bodyfat %.