How To Lose the Last 10 lbs {The Hard but Honest Truth}
You might think when you get within 10 pounds of your goal weight, that things should get easier. But in my experience, they are the hardest of ALL the pounds to lose! In fact, your brain will talk you out of even doing it with a MILLION reasons why it “isn’t worth it”, just to keep you comfortable.
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Those stubborn “last 10lbs” takes the patience of a saint, but it also takes some new skills, new strategy, a new mindset, a renewed dedication, and lot’s of willpower! It’s not for the faint of heart. In fact, most people will decide they’d rather have an extra cookie because “10lbs really isn’t that big of a deal anyway. I’m close enough!”
Well, as someone who spent 50 years trying to reach my goals and never getting there, I can tell you that it WAS worth it! It was worth saying no to the cookies for a season. It was worth tracking my meals. It was SO WORTH IT. The idea that I let myself believe that it wasn’t worth it, prevented me from getting the physique I didn’t know was possible. Our minds are so good at talking us out of quitting on our most desired goals as soon as it gets hard.
As a 5’0 tall woman, those last 10lbs were quite transformative. I didn’t realize how drastically my body would change, and how more confidence and pride I would feel when I finally reached my goal. So, I’m going to challenge you to say, It actually might be 100% worth it. What’s a crummy old cookie when you can gain the confidence you never knew was in you. Don’t give food that kind of power over your life. It’s overrated!
To be honest, although I wish I had reached my goal earlier in life, I love what the process I went through taught me. I love that I could finally experience the contrast of joy I got from the jar of peanut butter, vs. reaching my goals. I mean, I let the peanut butter win for 50 years. I don’t think it has to take priority over my decisions the next 50 years. Been there. Done that.
And to explain what I go through to lose those last 10lbs, I wanted to outline how I got there. I’m currently 8 weeks into a 16 week cut (bikini prep), for the 5th time in 5 years. And each time, the timeline has been the same. I start pretty flexible with my diet. And then the closer the bikini show gets, the stricter I get with my diet and workouts.
- First, I spend the first few weeks cleaning up my diet and tracking my food with more intention. I always track, even when I’m not losing weight, but it’s a loose tracking, and not very accurate. Perhaps I include a few “free meals”, but overall, I’m 90% compliant.
- Then, I dial it up a little more and start counting veggies, gummy vitamins, zero calorie foods, and even sugar free drinks. (this lasts the longest. 2-3 months)
- Then, for the final month, I kick it into high gear and cut out the sugar free foods, increase the water to 2 gallons, simplify my meals, and take out all the processed stuff (Including protein bars, protein powder, bread, etc.)
Let’s take my journey this year. When I decided to start getting lean again to do another bikini show, I was pushing 120lbs. Admittedly, there were a few days when I hit 123, after a particular day of “overeating. It’s a slippery slope and I was sliding down the mountain.
But once I decided for real- for real that I was going to stop eating everything and anything I wanted, anytime I wanted, the weight actually dropped off pretty quickly . Within the first 3 days I was down to 117. YEP. Dropped 6 lbs right away. 3 of it was likely excess water and overfilled glycogen stores, and then another 3 was extra food I had probably not digested in awhile. Right away, I felt more comfortable in my clothes (They were getting PRETTY tight!)
Then, within the next 3 weeks, I was close to 113. That’s a full 10lbs the first month I “got serious” and HONEST with myself about losing. But, for me, it’s THEN that the hard work really BEGINS. No longer can I coast on quick drops of excess water and food that shed itself by me just cleaning things up.
Nope. Now, it was time to actually BURN FAT!
So, I wanted to outline how things change between my first 10lbs and the last 10lbs, and my strategy to get to my goal!
My strategy to lose the first 10lbs:
Admittedly, this is just water weight and extra food, fluids, etc. that have been hanging on in response to overeating, and under hydrating. But, one thing about this first 10lbs, even if it’s water weight, your clothes fit better, and it’s INCREDIBLY motivating to see the scale move.
- Drink a lot of water! I start with 1 gallon per day. This actually isn’t far off from my normal liquid intake, but I get more intentional about it.
- Minimize the salt. I tend to overdo it on salt, and some days, if my fluids aren’t keeping up, I get a lot of water retention. So, this first 10lbs while I’m trying to balance electrolytes, I stop oversalting all my food.
- Cut SLIGHTLY back on carbs. I’m always going to keep carbs in my diet, but when the carbs are double my protein intake, it gets stored with water in the muscle, leading to excess weight. Just cutting a little back on carbs, will also help you shed that initial water weight.
- Increase sweat. I like to say I’m a lazy but consistent exerciser. I do whatever I’m in the mood for, but I never skip a day. However, if I’m trying to lose a few pounds, I’ll increase the intensity so I’m actually sweating through a workout.
- Start being honest about tracking. I generally still eat by what I’m in the mood for, and then I track the food after the meal (rather than before I eat). A lot of times I’ll track through my afternoon snack, and if I have a few hundred calories left, I just have a sensible dinner and I don’t track it.
- I intentionally stop eating between meals. Honestly, If I could do this ONE THING year round, I really think maintenance would be easier for me! It’s ALL the handfuls of untracked food because it’s “not that much” that gets me in trouble. Recently, we’ve been drying apples, because it’s fall. We keep an OPEN bag of apples in the pantry that I literally eat from EVERY SINGLE TIME I PASS THE PANTRY!! This is probably the single biggest reason keeping me from staying at my goal. I can be so impulsive between meals! (I have several posts about not eating between meals, but this is one of my best!)
My strategy to lose the last 10lbs
OK! So, this is where I CURRENTLY am in this 16 week bikini prep of 2024. I’ve effectively lost 10lbs, but I’m going to need another 10lbs before I hit the stage on Dec. 14th. So, I have to take things up a notch if I want to continue to see progress. So, it’s time to add these next 5 things to my strategy.
- Start to weigh and measure vegetables. This one is kind of a bummer. I could get caught up in the thoughts “it’s not fair that I have to measure veggies! But, that’s just my mind trying to talk myself out of doing it. The truth is, 8 weeks of counting vegetables isn’t the end of the world. I can handle anything for 8 weeks.
- Weigh and measure “zero calorie” foods, including sugar free syrups, non-caloric sweetener packets, and sugar free pudding mixes. Again, not fair. But, If I’m in a calorie deficit, I wouldn’t put it past me to take these “free foods” to the extreme. And suddenly, in volume, they aren’t exactly zero calories after all.
- No more licks, bites, or tastes. Man, this is a slippery slope for me. I cook a lot of food every Sunday night for my kids to come over for dinner. Even if I’m making something like zucchini bread, I LOVE to lick the spoon and bowl. I’m kind of a batter junky. So, for the next 8 weeks, no tasting. There’s a time and place for that, but it’s after I’ve reached my goal, and not before.
- Plan and track my meals ahead of time, so you aren’t stuck at the end of the day before you realize you “went over”. This is different from my normal MO, which is to track AFTER I’ve eaten something.
- Simplify meals, even if it means eating the same things over and over. The final week before my first bikini show, the food choices were: Ground turkey, rice, and asparagus! Literally for 6 meals a day. I no longer am that crazy, but when your choices are limited, you truly have less desire for food.
- To make peace with hunger. To be in a true calorie deficit, you’ll probably get hungry! When I share a 1200 calorie day, or a full day of eating on Instagram, someone always comments: “That’s not enough food!!” I always respond with, “Well yeah. That’s the point! If it were enough food, I wouldn’t be in a deficit. Haha. What I think people FAIL to realize is that during weight loss, you will be undereating. But, it’s not forever. You won’t continuously cut calories indefinitely. It’s just for a short time. And although I actually don’t get hungry too often (perhaps because I drink so much, and I like to eat high volume, low cal foods), when I do get hungry, I’m OK with that!
So, that’s where I am right now in this 2024 Bikini prep journey! I’ve got under 8 weeks to go, so stay tuned!
Latest from my camera roll: My husband and I at our daughter’s Halloween party!
Amy, I’ve been follow you for over a year. I use your recipes religiously. ❤️ Loving the fact that you share so much of the real life aspect of your nutrition and your fitness journey. I know you’ll smash your goals for your bikini contest and I admire you so much for your perseverance and focus on the mission! Here’s my question. I too am petite and have reached my low weight goals a number of times but find they never seem to be sustainable for more than a few months. Any recommendations on how to sustain the lower weight range ? I’m getting so tired of having to push my body back through the 7- 10 lb weight struggle every few months and just wondered what your plan was after the contest for maintenance. Thanks so much and look forward to your amazing contest pics!
Dawn! Thank you so much for following along and connecting with me. That is the question I ask myself every day!! Because quite honestly, I haven’t been successful with it. It seems every time I start to relax, I just keep pushing my weight close to my “higher Limit”, and I have to diet all over again to get back down.
I want to figure out maintenance more than anything! So, my plan after this bikini show I think is that during the week, I’m going to have to be as disciplined as I am right now. I always think I can “let loose” a little bit every day, and not be so strict, but I spiral FAST. I want to try being strict during the week, and then have a free day or free meal on the weekend. I’m going to at least try it for a little while and then see if I can’t let that spill into a few more meals untracked. but at the beginning, maybe just one meal a week untracked. The sad thing is, only a few hundred calories puts me into “Excess”, so fast!! It’s so sad.
So, that’s my first strategy. We’ll see how it goes!!
Thank you for posting this information, Amy. I don’t think I’ve ever really reached my goal weight, and its because I start the weight loss that I was able to achieve, and then think I can be not quite so strict. But if I really want to get to my goal, I’m going to have to be strict for just a little while longer. I hope I can psyche myself up to keep on the plan, and be careful about tracking the foods I eat until I actually reach my goal. Your posts help me believe that it really is possible to reach the goal.
I was there so many times Annette! It seems like we should be ABLE to take our foot off the pedal when we get close to the goal, but it’s such a slippery slope! I always say, if I give myself an inch, I take a mile! One day I only have an extra bite of something, and 5 days later, I’m elbow deep in a box of cereal. haha.
Wow, Amy. I’m impressed. You’re doing great! I’m 40, and I resonate greatly with what you said about not letting myself acheive my fitness goal because I get to a place where I’m looking better and think, “it’s good enough.” Looking at where I am in my life and what I’d have to do to actually achieve it, I’m thinking it might be another 10 years before I’m able to actually do the things on that “last 10 pounds” list! LOL
Thanks for sharing Ginger! Glad I’m not alone. hahaha
Hi Amy~ I watched you go through your last bikini journey. It was so motivating! So I’m going to hang here with you and hoping that I will also lose 10 pounds by December.👻
Love your Halloween pictures🎃
Thank you so much Debra!~!
This next one is getting so close, I’m getting nervous. hahaI’m excited for you, and I know you can lose 10bs by Christmas too!