Those last five pounds are a...

[elainevdw]

Well, suffice to say, those last five pounds SUCK! I think I've lost and gained the same three pounds since my most recent low a dozen times. It's super frustrating.

Who else has gone through this? Any tips?

I'm running three times a week for about 1/2 an hour and doing yoga at least twice a week. I do this mostly for fitness, but exercise occasionally curbs my appetite. And I've always found that yoga makes me more aware of my body and less likely to junk out.

I've been trying to restrict my calories while still maintaining a decent volume of food (veggies, vegan chili, etc). Sometimes I'll replace a meal or snack with something caffeinated. I eat breakfast, and when I get hungry, instead of picking at junk food, I usually just eat a small, healthy meal. I only eat after 8:30 p.m. when I get home at 8:30 p.m. and haven't had anything else since midafternoon.

At least, that was my habit for about a month.

Then, last weekend, I really fell off the wagon. My bf came back from his last business trip, and we decided to go out and eat all of our favorite foods, and totally overdid it. Ever since he flew back out last Monday, I've been ... so ... hungry!! I don't know if it's the time of the month, or some sort of weeklong blood sugar issue, but I swear, I could eat a (tofu) horse. Maybe twice a day. With peanut butter... mmm.

And NO, I'm not pregnant. (That's the first thing I get asked whenever I say I'm hungry -- why is that? It's rather annoying.)

Also, it's definitely not a "You've gained muscle and lost fat" sort of deal. My "skinny jeans" still result in the most horrific muffin-top you've ever seen (if they button at all).

How do I get my appetite back under control and lose those last five (well, it's more like eight at this point) pounds?

[Frans]

As long as you don't gain weight, you don't need to restrict your calories.
Instead, spread your total daily calories over more (small) meals per day (5-6) and drink lots of water (and keep running, of course).

After two weeks, post your results in this thread.

[Cron]

I've been reading the free, online, downloadable book THE HACKERS DIET. It is written by an engineer. It is fairly down to Earth focusing on monitoring of food intake and weight. It includes excel spreadsheets that will show your weight in trends. The book explains that you can gain or lose several pounds of water on a daily basis. The graphs in the excel sheet can weed this out and show you the trend of your weight. It is great for not getting psyched out and it also is great for getting an early warning if you are backsliding.

I've read that people tend to be diligent about their weight when they feel uncomfortable, but once they lose enough to go about their lives without being self conscious about it they backslide. I also read that people who successfully keep the weight off for 5 or more years monitor themselves on a frequent, regular basis.

So I would say, keep it in your mind and don't give up.

Weight lifting may help. Protein drinks are good for reducing calories and killing your appetite.

[shesaboutspirit]

I was wondering how you feel about the boyfriend coming and going. I would think having him leave again would make you really hungry...and nothing but him can satisfy that kind of hunger.

I may be off, but in my life...the emotions tend to rule. Holding those few pounds you gained while he was sharing the fun with you might be a way of holding onto him.

Something to consider anyway.

best of luck,

Pam

[Michelle]

Are three pounds really worth that much annoyance and suffering? Maybe they are if you are an Olympic athlete or a Supermodel ...

[Ibanez]

Some people have leptin problems when they get real low. There was a article write up about this, I'll try and find it if I can.

[Angela]

Elainevdw, since you mention appetite control ... I found the Shangri-La Diet on the Internet and used it to conquer a pretty monstrous sugar addiction and completely eliminated my afternoon slump. Lost some tonnage, too.

It's pretty simple, you just add a tablespoon or two of light in flavor olive oil (not the regular yummy kind) to your diet at specific intervals. You don't have to buy anything (except the oil), as you can find all the information on the 'net without buying a book. It sounds pretty unlikely, but it worked for me.

Michelle: a few pounds does make a difference in quality of life. Imagine picking up a 5-pound bag of sugar and being forced to carry that around all the time, and the relief on your muscles and skeleton when you finally put it down. Elainevds's 8 pounds can be the difference between her clothes fitting comfortably and attractively, or NOT. Also, we all know how fast 3 extra pounds can multiple to a lot more!

[Devlyn]

Originally Posted by elainevdw

I'm running three times a week for about 1/2 an hour and doing yoga at least twice a week. I do this mostly for fitness, but exercise occasionally curbs my appetite. And I've always found that yoga makes me more aware of my body and less likely to junk out.

Hi Elaine,
it's very simple: run!
Run for 45' + 15' warm up + cool down
5 days/week
Stick to this routine for at least 2 months and you'll see what a difference.

Remember, running you burn 1 calorie per kg per km. So, if you weight 110 pounds you burn 80 cal per mile.

Run, and wait, it will happen

ps sorry for my english

[and]

One way to lose 5 lbs is to have a goal of losing 10.