I'm a little sad today. I realized I'm losing weight about about 1.5lbs per week. I know thats healthy, but that leaves me at my goal weight by December 3rd. I really wanted to be there by October 15th so I could enjoy some cool fall weather and my birthday before the holiday season hit and I'd be tempted by so much food. I need to step up the weight loss just a tiny bit and I'm not sure how to do that.

Currently, Fitday says I'm losing an avg of 1.46lbs per week. To meet my goal I need to lose 2.3lbs per week. Thats not a ridiculous goal, is it?

On top of that realization, I discovered that my thighs measure slightly larger than they did before. Losing weight but gaining size? My thighs need to get smaller, not bigger. I think they're competing with my butt for the "Most fat on the body" award.

So whats a good way to drop an extra .8lbs per week?

I have to have a daily deficit of 1250 calories to do the 2.3lbs per week... don't I...? Fitday thinks I had a deficit of 1346 calories yesterday. I don't know if I believe it. I wish there were a slightly better way to determine how many calories I burn in a day. I don't think the basal calculations are right.

Hey,

Thanks for your support in my diary . Don't be too discouraged about your pace. You're not in the same category of weight loss that I'm in. You want to lose about 30 pounds. The problem is as you get close to goal the weight loss really slows down. For some people it slows down more than for others. Because of that its really hard to time a weight loss. I learned that the hard way. I wanted to get to my goal by my 40th birthday. Still, you've lost 30 pounds, judging by your avatar you're looking great and if you don't quite make that goal by your goal date think how much better you will look and feel by then anyway.

Basal calculations are tricky. At my size they are off between 1800 calories per day from the lowest to the highest estimation. On top of that, your body will change that number when you've been on a diet long enough. Congrats on your amazing progress so far!

you are doing great, don't stress about the speed, the scales are moving in the right direction and stress can slow down weight loss.

that's a little aggressive - 1 percent a week should be what you should be shooting for...

Cannon, Thank you for the encouragement. I really need all I can get. I'm struggling not to fall off the wagon with my health.

Trusylver, you're right! I shouldn't stress. *Deep Breath* Not stressing really something I'm terrible at and I might be sabotaging my progress with worrying about it so much.

Mal, is 1% really all? Ok, then thats 1.84lbs per week at my current weight. Does that mean as I go down in weight I should lose less per week? If I maintained 1.84lbs per week, I'd be at goal by about November 5th and I guess thats okay.

As you go down in weight it will come slower. You can do this. You've done great so far and you can keep it up

Hey Sunny! Ever heard the phrase :if it ain't broke don't fix it?....you're already half way to your goal, 1.5 lbs a week is a nice steady pace...and there's always the possibility that anything you do now to "speed up" the process (like significantly increasing your deficit) to get in an extra .5 loss a week might just end up backfiring. You're doing fine.

About your thighs, I don't know what your exercise routine is, but if you are doing anything that has caused you to increase your thigh muscle, at first they might get a little bigger just because of the fat layered on top, but as you continue to lose the fat they will become much slimmer.

Keep doing what you're doing Sunny. Don't mess with your caloric intake, certainly don't lower it. You're about 1500 right now correct? You're doing a great job, BE PATIENT! I know it's hard though. You're doing so well, don't fix what ain't broke, or whatever Cym said.

Cannon, thanks for being here and helping me out. You're right... I can do it. I'm being foolish and wanting to speed things up. I know its silly, but I'd really like to see my goal for my birthday. I've been promised a small shopping spree when I come to my final weight and fall is by far my favorite time of year to shop!

Cym, you're right! I shouldn't try to fix it. I'm actually kind of wondering if I'm sabotaging myself already by eating only about 1500 calories a day. (Give or take every so often). I've had a lot less energy this week but its also "that time of the month." So its hard to say if I'm feeling tired because of my calorie intake. I'll think it over when I'm not craving chocolate cake

lukewarm, I'll work on the patience. Its not something I was ever good at (unless kids are involved... strangely..) I'm having trouble with patience today since I went up 1lb. But I knew that was going to happen after eating popcorn at Harry Potter last night. I think the extra weight was probably water weight from eating so much salt. Patience... must have patience... I'm trying.

Thanks for being here.. I don't know why I suddenly got so stressed over losing weight. It was silly of me..

- Sunny

Hi Sunnygirl!

A long time ago, I was very impatient about getting to my goal--which was 130 and ridiculous for my body type. Mal was nice enough to show support and she said, when I was being really impatient, "What's 3 months out of your life?" Well it stuck with me. I was losing 5 lbs a month, then. I'd say just keep trucking, but it's totally fine to feel impatient and such--and post it here. We'll support you!

btw congrats on dumping the loser!

Awww thanks Val,

Everyone is right.. Its ok to go slow. I'm a little worried that if I don't see enough results fast enough, I'll fall off the wagon. But I'm still here and trying, right?

The first 30lbs I lost were so much easier than this. I know I was eating less and working too much (with the 3 jobs) but I didn't expect that the next 30 would be so difficult in comparison.

Oh well..

The scale sat on 183 for a second this morning. Then I guess it rounded up to 184. I must be on the verge of another lb lost.

- Sunny

Look, Sunny, Cym and I were talking and what is MOST important is re-compositioning your body. We're both a little heavier than we want to be, but firmer and we look better than we did a little lighter. BE SURE AND WEIGHT TRAIN. LOL!!!

I agree with the masses! You're doing great and you should be proud and happy with your accomplishments thus far. I only wish I was losing at that steady pace but I've never had the follow-through to average more than around .8 lb loss per week according to fitday . And that stopped a few months ago where now things have really truly slowed down even further. My fault of course. Anyway, keep up the good work.

Val, you're right. Sculpting is definitely a goal. I've run into kind of a snag with that... I have really large thighs, so I've been doing plenty of things that would address the area. It seems that while my jeans are fitting better around my butt (which is a god send all by itself! ) they're much tighter on my thighs and now harder to get into. Ya win some and ya lose some... right?

I'm not really sure what to do about this. Do I stop doing so much exercise that works the legs? And if so.... what cardio should I do then? Or do I keep going and pray that I don't gain any more bulk in the thigh area before I lose enough weight to keep the size down?? I can't afford to buy new clothes that I won't be wearing in the near future but all my pants fit me very differently than they were before and i'm not sure its a good thing at all.

Blancita, thank you for the encouragement. I don't think I could keep going if I were losing less than 1lb a week. I get too frustrated if things aren't working (as noted by above rant). So I know its going to get really difficult the closer I get to my goal.

Right now I've hit a weight-loss brick wall at 185 it seems. I'm having trouble keeping 184. *sigh* I get to hit the gym extra hard this week to see if I can move on down to 183.

I'll post food at some point. Its going to be a very large and very green salad with some chicken and 2tbsp of dressing at the most.