The #1 reason it’s hard to lose the last 10 pounds and what it will cost you to get there
Congratulations on your weight loss mama! If you’re here and ready to drop the last 5, 10, 15 pounds to hit your weight loss goal, then I want to celebrate you and your hard work!! But, let’s evaluate why you’re struggling to lose those last few pounds and what you need to do to get to drop those last few stubborn pounds and get to your goal weight.
You’re probably familiar with the weight loss cycle, where the weight comes off quickly in the beginning but slows down as you approach your goal. I want to assure you that this is normal, and there’s a scientific reason this happens! You aren’t broken, the system isn’t broken. It’s just part of biology!
The two things you need to know are
Why your weight loss slows down.
What it costs to keep the weight loss going.
From there, you need to decide if the cost of being lean is worth it to you. I’m going to walk you through all of these issues so that you can make a decision that works best for you and your lifestyle!
Your caloric ceiling has dropped
When you started losing weight small changes in your lifestyle like cutting out soda or going for a walk created quick results. However, as I’m sure you know, those small tweaks aren’t cutting it anymore. There are a few reasons for this.
First, the body has a steady-state weight that it tries very hard to maintain. When we’re overweight, the body tries to increase calorie expenditure to help us lose weight, but when we try to go under that steady-state weight it holds on to the weight to try and maintain.
Each steady-state weight has a caloric ceiling that it needs to maintain that weight at. As we lose weight, the caloric ceiling drops as well. For example, if you weight 200 lbs when you started losing weight, it was easy to cut a few calories and see a big drop. But if you’re at 175 lbs, you need a bigger calorie deficit to lose the same amount of weight.
Your caloric ceiling will change as your weight does. As you head into those last 10ish pounds of weight loss, your body struggles to let go of any remaining fat with small changes.
When it’s time to lose those last few stubborn pounds, you will have to go into a bigger caloric deficit or a cut. Going into a cut allows you to burn more calories than you’re consuming so that you can drop the more stubborn weight. The big caveat here is that in order go into a cut, you have to have food to cut!
If you’re only eating 1200 calories right now, you can’t go into a cut. You need to be eating at maintenance or in a surplus to go into a cut. If you don’t know if you’re at maintenance yet, then let’s chat! I can help you figure out if a cut is right for you or if reverse dieting can help you hit your goals.
A cut is not something you stay in long term. It’s something you do for 6-8 weeks and then you reverse back up into maintenance calories. You shouldn’t be living in a cut! A lot of people are taught that their calories should remain consistent; however, your calories should actually change based on where you’re at in your health journey.
You have to give up some flexibility
Being in a cut causes you to give up some of the flexibility you might be used to. You’re going to have to dial in your nutrition when you’re in a cut because each calorie or macro counts!
I always tell my clients that there are a few dos and don’ts when you’re in a calorie deficit.
Do
Drink water
Prioritize sleep
Measure everything
Be kind to your body
Don’t
Haphazard track
Drink alcohol
Start a new workout program, but you should keep doing what you’ve been doing.
Go YOLO
Haphazard tracking is when you don’t make or measure food yourself. This includes eating out, taking bites of your kids’ meals, etc. Anything you can’t measure needs to be eliminated during a cut so that you can hit your macros and get the results you want.
Another important part of a cut is choosing foods that nourish you instead of fun foods. I do not believe in cutting out foods or restricting foods long-term; however, because you’re in a calorie deficit you need to make smart nutritious choices.
A sweet potato and a piece of white bread are both carbs, and you may have room for each of them in your macros, but a sweet potato and a piece of white bread are going to nourish your body in different ways.
A sweet potato will give you fiber and complex carbs that contribute to sustainable energy. Whereas a piece of white bread will give you energy for a few bit but will leave you hungry again soon. During the cut, you may have to choose the foods that serve you over the foods that sound good.
Giving up food flexibility is a big part of losing the last 10 pounds. It’s not as much fun as having absolute food freedom, which is why you need to decide if you’re willing to pay the price of being lean.
You have to be the one to decide if it’s worth the cost
I do not recommend that people live in a cut for a long time for a few reasons, but the biggest one is that it’s hard.
It’s hard to cook and track every meal.
It’s hard saying no to going out to eat.
It’s hard not to enjoy a drink, especially around special occasions.
It’s hard to not have the energy to crush it in the gym.
All for a number on the scale.
As important as your weight is to your overall health, sometimes we have unrealistic expectations around our weight. You may think that being 130 pounds is going to make you happy, but the road that you have to take to that weight might not make you happy.
After I lost weight after having my three kiddos, I decided I wanted to do a body-building show. I loved feeling in control of my body and wanted to prove that I could push it further. In preparation for that show, I went into a huge cut.
I was eating 1050 calories a day for 6 weeks. I spent countless hours in the gym. I couldn’t eat out for date nights or grab ice cream with my kids. I tracked every morsel of food that went into my mouth. I even went on a 3-day family reunion where I packed all 26 meals so that I could be precise about my goals and tracking. I was incredibly diligent with my nutrition.
It was hard, but it taught me an important lesson: I can’t live my life like this. I absolutely loved the way I looked. But, as a busy mom who spends her weekends running from baseball games to soccer matches, that intensity around my nutrition just didn’t work for me long-term.
Sometimes it takes going into a cut and learning what it feels like to figure out if hitting the number on the scale is worth it. You might go into a cut and realize that the last 5 pounds aren’t as important to you as having flexibility in your diet.
And that’s OK, mama! You don’t need to feel bad or like you’re weak for making that decision. Nutrition is meant to fuel your life, not determine how much you love yourself.
If you decide that it is worth dialing things in and really pushing yourself to reach your goal, that’s ok too! You might need to push yourself a little bit outside of your comfort zone to show yourself that you can do hard things!
Both options are acceptable, but you have to understand what’s best for you and if you’re willing to do the work to get there!
If you’re struggling to lose those last few pounds and you can’t seem to get there on your own, then I highly suggest working with a coach. I found that having a coach during my cut was crucial to my success. I needed someone to keep me accountable, to help me work through cravings and keep me focused when my mind wanted to go squirrelly. And trust me, when you’re in a cut your mind will go squirrelly!
Schedule a free discovery call with me so I can be there to support you through one of the hardest parts of your weight loss journey! I got you, Mama!
