5’4 last few pounds are so hard to lose

ki77ie

New member
sw-150lbs cw-117 goal weight- 110lbs. I’ve been gaining and losing the same 1-2 lbs for the past month it feels like. I religiously weigh and track my intake based off my tdee which is 1500 calories for a 500 cal deficit. I did up my daily steps to 10k last week after only getting around an average of 6k previously so I’m hoping that’s it but dang is it taking forever😭 feels like the first 20 lbs were so easy
 
@ki77ie This is why a lot of us eventually decide to compromise. Would I love to be 115? Sure. But at 5’4” and 120, losing and maintaining another 5 lbs. would require me to be so compulsive and militant. Not worth it.
 
@ki77ie I went from 152 to 123 at 5'4" over the last 6 months. I could feel things were starting to stall in Feb, so went back to maintenance for a recomp and will likely stay here for a few months. Those last 5-7 are incredibly stubborn, everyone is different and has to tweak things to find what works for them.

I wanted to give my body a break after 6 months of restriction along with the muscle loss I've encountered in the process. I wanted to try to gain some of that back. It's been about 7 lbs between the long layoff and the weight loss. To my mind it's like running a marathon, except I'm going to stop at the 20 mile mark, eat, recover, and then the run the last 6 miles another day a few months out.
 
@billbennet hey there! i’m currently at your starting weight and would like to get down to the 120s again. what regimen did you follow to lose those 30lbs over 6 months, if you don’t mind me asking??
 
@shanewu93 Not at all. I actually posted it here a week or so ago. So I'll copy it:

The last six months I've been actively dieting (or calorie restricting) and working out. This is what I did:

I'm 5'4" 54 and was 152. I am now 123. In August I stopped drinking wine, downloaded Cronometer, a sleep app, and a heart rate app onto my iPhone and purchased an iWatch. I also use the Apple fitness app. I like Cronometer over Macrofactor because it gives me a breakout of my nutrition. I have a hard time meeting my potassium and fiber numbers and wouldn't have known it without the tracker. (Potassium and sodium balance are important for blood pressure and I've been dealing with some hypertension that has me concerned)

I started walking 8,000 steps a day and then moved it to 10,000 steps a day after about 3 weeks. I often broke it into two sessions, at least one immediately after a meal, which has been shown to help with weight loss. I also started drinking 60 oz of water a day (now this is up to 80-110 oz). I try to drink a huge amount right before a meal because that has also been shown to help with fat loss. (I wanted to see what new research was available since I've been out of the game a while and these were new pieces of information to me so I incorporated them)

I started eating 100-140 grams of protein. Some days I fell short, I've added a Whey protein shake so that I can keep those numbers up. Protein is even more important in middle age as protein synthesis declines. I cut my calories to 1500 (after looking at several TDEE Calculators) and hit the gym 3-4 times a week to lift, using progressive overload, including squats, deadlift, bench press etc. I hardly ever use machines because they just aren't built for people my size.

Outside of the typical vitamins, I supplement with Creatine and added HMB. Creatine helps muscle strength and building and HMB helps prevent muscle loss (I started this one a month ago and should have added it sooner). I also just added Urolithin A. Ladies, I encourage you to look into this supplement even though the research is fairly recent - but it's looking incredibly promising for middle age energy, protein synthesis, muscle building, endurance, energy, mitochondria repair, inflammation, brain fog and memory. I actually didn't even look into it for the fitness aspects but because I'm having inflammatory issues related to menopause and it came to my attention. I just started so haven't been on it long enough to report anything but after 3 weeks if it's useful I will report back here.

I really had no idea how this would go because while I've been fit before I've never been this old or this overweight and everyone said it was harder to lose weight in middle age. My joints, especially pain in the backs and sides of my heels, made walking a challenge sometimes. I think I may have plantar fasciitis in both feet or bilateral insertional tendonitis so I did have challenges. I had to back off the walking some days, and running was out of the question carrying extra weight. I have never really successfully lost weight without weight lifting and some form of cardio. If swimming were an easier option around here I would add it to my routine.

My weight came off at 1 lb a week. I'm now down to 123 from 152 starting August 7th. So it was about 29 weeks. 123 was my original target because when I was 42, I was 20% bodyfat at that weight. However, this time I've lost muscle, around 7lbs of it, after a decade of inactivity and I'm sure some sarcopenia thrown in, so I'm continuing downward to whatever 20% is going to be on me now, while I try to add back muscle that was lost, this will be a recomp where the calories are increased by 100 a week until I get back to 1700-1900 which will be maintenance unless I increase my muscle and activity where it would have to be higher. (which will happen over time)

This has been the hardest and longest I've ever had to work for it. 6 months of calorie restriction is no joke and I did take some breaks for a week here and there over the holidays. I drank wine, I ate without restriction because life is for enjoying. I also enjoyed a meal of whatever I wanted about once every 2-3 weeks. These breaks are important for metabolism and overall mental health I think.

I hope this information helps. I used to be a personal trainer in my 20s and then had a career in health and wellness for over 17 years until I realized I needed some health insurance (yes I'm in the US) and a retirement, so joined the rank and file of government workers where I sat at a desk for a decade. Work from home is in part what made the last six months possible for me. Trying to work out this much while at a desk job would be very difficult. We did purchase a treadmill for the home and some kettlebells, a bench and powerblock adjustable weights for the days getting to the gym was not possible.
 
@billbennet wow, this is a lot of absolutely stellar info. i will comb through it later tonight when i have more time, thank you SO!!! much for your insight. congrats on your progress, it’s amazing :)
 
@ki77ie I hear you, I’m 5’4” and would personally really struggle to get to 110 lbs- I haven’t been that weight since I was 19 or 20 and so busy I hardly ate. If I don’t worry about my food much I’m usually around 124 lbs and my goal weight is 115-117 range but the lowest I’ve managed to get in years was 118.2. Trying to incorporate running now because it’s such a good calorie burn
 
@ki77ie You’re already at a relatively low weight for your height, so yes, going lower is going to be hard. That might be your body’s way of telling you that it’s a bad idea. I’m 5’3” and at my thinnest was 112 lbs. The things I had to do to sustain it were not mentally or physically healthy, and it was impacting my ability to live a normal life and socialize. My period became irregular but I didn’t think it was related because I wasn’t medically underweight (spoiler alert—it wasn’t a healthy weight for me physically or mentally).

There is no medically-justified reason why you need to lose weight, so don’t let a number on the scale define you. Focus on how your body feels and functions.
 
@ki77ie wow these comments really put things in for perspective for me as someone at the same height and (who used to be the same weight) with the same mindset of feeling like I need to lose an extra few pounds to get near 110 again.
 
@jodi1028 definitely! peoples advice on here has reassured me that the reasoning I have for wanting to lose weight again is stemming from deep rooted insecurities that won’t just leave from me continuing to lose a few pounds.
 
@ki77ie 5'4 and 115lbs here. Last 6 pounds took me 6 months to achieve by upping exercise. Until this day I still cannot say whether it's worth it. Have been maintaining for 2 years, and again I don't know how long I'm able to do this. Because it's hard.

5'4 and 110lbs is about the size of an Asian actress in Asia. I have doubts whether it's achievable through healthy living, unless you are one of those genetically blessed person with super tiny frame.
 
@jc09 It’s crazy I had to scroll down this far to see this comment. It was my first thought when I read this. What good reason would she need to be 110 for?
 
@jc09 I see people mention certain way when they were teenagers and I'm like if you're in your twenties are older you're not going to be having the same body you did as a teenager like it changes
 
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