I am looking for advice on losing the last 20 pounds. Not pre-maintenance, not maintenance -- I'm not there yet. But I am finally acknowledging that it appears I need some experienced advice in how to tweak the basic lc way of eating enough to lose these last pounds.

I have had good success with Atkins since I began on July 7, 2003. I stayed on induction for five months. I went up to 30 carbs a day and stayed there for a good while, but avoided bars, shakes, bake mixes, and lc processed foods. I use stevia for sweetening iced drinks; avoid other sweeteners or other sweet foods most of the time. I stopped losing weight months ago, but kept losing inches, and feeling/looking more toned. I love this way of eating and feel fantastic. Significant aches and pains and little health problems melted away along with the pounds. (I am 53, by the way.)

I love drinking water and drink close to a gallon most days. I love lc eating. I love the delicious, rich food, and the freedom from inner struggle over amounts of anything but carbs. I promised myself to stick with my "long, lean project" when I began this, and I also promised myself no misery, no unnecessary deprivation.

In February I found I was willing to try an experiment of two weeks without any of the known stallers: no sweeteners (not even Stevia), no bars, shakes, mixes, smoked or processed meats, creams or cheeses, etc. I lost two pounds, and they have stayed off, but I also realized that I would not be willing to commit to that kind of eating for the long haul -- it edged toward deprivation, and it took major effort to maintain it in the real world. I would not have that energy and commitment for a lifetime.

Yet I still want and need to lose more weight/size in order to have good body fat and lean body mass percentages, and even to get in the middle of the (inflated) "normal" weight range for my age.

Four weeks ago I stumbled on this post: http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthre...&threadid=29683
and with great excitement began the fitness part of Body for Life. I stayed with lc eating but upped carbs to 45 -- that's a good level for lifting weights intensively three times a week. The visible body reshaping and confidence boost from this precise program are astounding -- I am deeply excited about how these four hours a week are changing my life for the better. Because of the way the reshaping works (heavier muscles replacing lighter fat) I am considering changing my eventual goal weight up somewhat, but even so I still need and want to lose at least 20 pounds and 1 1/2 - 2 more sizes.

So I ask for advice from people who have successfully negotiated those last 20 pounds after losing significantly more than that on Atkins. What, if anything, did you change? (Within the lc framework, I mean).

The Maintenance Club is not much help, not quite right yet, and it is not a very active forum. Hoping this forum, which has helped me so many, many times, still attracts people who have experienced success with the challenge I face now.

Thanks to all!

I am looking for the secret to losing my NEXT 20 pounds! I will keep checking to see if you get help! (actually - that would put me ~ 10lbs from my goal!) I haven't lost anything in quite a while.

Remember that since you have been exercising - your weight may not change as much. Muscle is denser than fat and you are building muscle (which is a GOOD thing!) So long as you are slimming down, and getting more defined - I would not worry about what the scale says.

It's probably not very helpful to say so, but I didn't really change much! I started LC in August 2002 and lost 35 lbs by the end of the year, then lost 13 more lbs. and an awful lot of inches over the last six months. I would really still like to lose two or three more, which I feel sure will happen over the next couple months with the amount of exercise I'm doing. The only thing that I did differently as I started getting close to goal was to cut my portions of meat down a bit, and I didn't do that on purpose -- just wasn't quite as hungry, and a pound of meat started stretching from 2 servings to 3. I keep my eating out limited to twice a week, max of 2 drinks a week, and try to keep the calories below 2000, but that's what I've done pretty much all along.

You don't mention calories or portion sizes in your post, so I am wondering if you're just eating more food than your new, slimmer body really needs. Watching your calories and portion sizes is the classic tweak to make if you're stalled about 20 lbs from goal. You don't have to be hyper-strict about it, but it's good to keep an eye on it, find a good range, and try to stay roughly within it. How about more info here?

Other thoughts: I upped my carbs considerably when I started resistance training -- too considerably, that is, and with stuff that didn't agree with me. After about a week of misery, I got really strict just to detox and get back on track, and my net carbs dropped back down to 25-30. It took a couple days to get used to it, but I found that I could still train hard and gain strength even at slightly lower levels. I rarely go above 35, and I'm doing an hour of lifting 3x/week and doing 20-30 min HIIT 3x/week. Perhaps you might try dropping your carbs down 5-10 grams, and see if that's enough to support your lifting?

I don't need to worry about this stall until after I begin an exercise program. I think that is why I haven't lost any more weight. So that is what I will do starting tomorrow.

Black57

Tracy916, Atlee, Black57 -- Thank you.

I confess to having not given calories a thought for months. I kept a fitday journal religiously for about seven months, and learned that I typically ate about 1500 calories a day, had no trouble staying at or below my target carbs, and got most of my nutrients from fat. Now may be different. I'll check that out and try backing off the carbs a little bit, too. I've been having trouble getting all the way up to the target 45 carbs a day anyway, while still eating food I really like that's nutrient rich. I also haven't really tried the Body for Life eating suggestion of six small meals a day. I usually have three meals and one snack, and so may try that change, though within a lc framework rather than the BFL (more) low fat one.

Thank you for such good, prompt replies. It's energizing!!

rrwriter... BFL is the way to go! Even if you don't lose a single pound, I bet you are already shedding inches like mad. Just remember, weight loss is a slow road and those last pounds do NOT come easy. But look at it this way, the slower they come off, with healthy eating and exercise, the more likely they are to stay off. You have learned habits and skills that are essential to that. I think if you just stick to it, it will come.

P.S. I'm starting a new BFL challenge this Monday. I am SO excited. I quit my last one halfway through when school and work got so overwhelming that I stopped. It is really the way to go. Keep it up!

Skamito:

Just noticed the graduation cap. Way to go!

You look GREAT!

Congratulations on your graduation and your LC success!

Thanks tom! It was a LOT of work. School, not LCing, that's just coming naturally these days.

Thanks again!

Skamito, I appreciate your good words about BFL. It is nearly miraculous in my case. I find myself looking forward to each workout, and seeing changes I thought would take weeks. Thanks for the encouragement and congratulations on your recent graduation.