How to Lose Those Last 10 Pounds

So…you want to lose pounds. Not just any pounds though. Those pounds. You know…those last 10 pounds.

The pounds that are hanging on for dear life around your belly, thighs, arms, etc?

It seems like you’ve been dieting for the past few months and have lost a significant amount of fat.

Congrats on that by the way. That’s awesome. Go you.

But for some reason, those pounds seem to have claimed your body as free real estate.

I totally understand.

It’s aggravating, frustrating, and demotivating.

It feels like you’re doing everything right, but the fat just won’t GTFO.

Luckily, I’m here to give you 5 simple tips to help you shed those, what seems like, stubborn ass pounds.

5 Simple Tips To Help You Lose Those Last 10 Pounds

1. Calorie Deficit

Obviously this has to be number one on the list. Without a calorie deficit, you won’t lose fat.

What is a calorie deficit?

It’s when the calories in < calories out. In other words, eating fewer calories than your body burns over a consistent period of time.

This is often easier said than done of course. Especially as you’re getting leaner and leaner.

You can’t just pick a random number like 1,200 calories and expect results (sadly I’ve seen this ridiculously low number recommended by fitness “goo-roos“)…

The bottom line is, the more restrictive your calorie deficit is, the harder it will be to stay consistent. And when you’re less consistent, you will be less successful. Also, you also increase your chances of losing muscle the bigger your deficit is (which is something we don’t want, more on this later…).

But all hope is not lost, there is a way to make the calorie deficit work better and feel better.

Enter Calorie Cycling

Having used this type of dieting with both clients and myself, it proves as an effective way to break through a fat loss slump both physically and mentally.

First off, what is calorie cycling?

It’s when you maintain a calorie deficit, but “cycle” your intake between higher and lower intakes on different days.

For example, here are two same diets, but one with calorie cycling and one without:

You see, when you calorie cycle, it allows you to:

• Reduce fatigue
• Better preserve muscle mass
• Manage hormonal levels
• Break up the perceived monotony or repetitiveness of dieting

And to be clear, on the “high” days, we are:

• Only increasing calories slightly higher than “low” days
• NOT eating extremely high or unlimited calories

And on the “low” days, we are:

• Only decreasing calories slightly lower than “high” days
• NOT eating an extremely low number of calories or next to nothing

And by combining all this, it still creates a calorie deficit which is essential to fat loss, but makes it feel more sustainable.

Now, how to apply this for yourself? Here’s a general formula:

Generally, you want to have about 3 “high” days and 4 “low” days per week. By doing this, you will still be in a weekly deficit, but the high calorie days should give you an extra “boost.”

Side note: It is typically recommended to have your high days on workout days and low days on nonworkout days. Not a requirement, but most people generally find it helpful to have more calories on a workout day.

Why People Like Calorie Cycling:

• You aren’t stuck eating the same things/number of calories every single day
• Seems more sustainable/doable than eating at one low number all the time
• Still slow and steady progress, nothing magical or extreme
• Can be “fun” to change things up on a day to day basis

2. Increasing Protein Intake

Ah, protein.

The most coveted food group.

I feel like this one has the least controversy surrounding it.

Throughout all of my years in the fitness industry, I have heard my fair share of demonizing carbs and fats, but protein has remained largely untouched – except for those rare instances of course.

However, even though most diet trends say protein this and protein that. They do so not because they want to help or educate you, but rather to sell you some supplement or shake only they provide.

Firstly, what are the benefits of protein? (Yes, even if your goal is primarily fat loss)

• Aids in building and maintaining muscle mass – which is so underrated because muscle mass literally turns your body into a calorie burning furnace
• Keeps you feeling full longer – which is extremely helpful in a calorie deficit as it is normal for you to experience moderate levels of hunger
• Protein has the highest Thermic Effect of Food (TEF) – the amount of energy it takes to digest, process, and convert that food into energy for your body. (Fun fact – this is why people get “meat sweats” when they eat a lot of meat and why it’s called the ‘thermic’ effect of food because it produces a lot of heat.)
• Helps prevent your body from ‘eating’ your muscle when dieting

So How Much Protein Do You Need?

A general formula for most people:

0.7 – 1.0 gram of protein per pound of current bodyweight per day*

*If you have a significant amount of weight to lose (30+ lbs), stick to the lower end of the range and use goal weight instead of current bodyweight

*If you’re a leaner individual, trying to lose those last <20 lbs, stick to the higher end of the range. You can even eat more than 1g/lb if you’re able to and feel comfortable doing so (obviously don’t go overboard on this, you can have too much of a good thing)

Example 1:

Person A weighs 150 lbs and is relatively lean and just wants to lose 10 more lbs or so.

Their protein intake would be as follows:

0.7 x 150 = 105

1.0 x 150 = 150

So their protein goals would be somewhere in between 105 – 150g per day.

Example 2:

Person B weighs 240 lbs, has a significant amount of fat to lose, and wants to get down to a goal weight of 170 lbs or so.

Their protein intake would be as follows:

0.7 x 170 = 119

1.0 x 170 = 170

So their protein goals would be somewhere in between 119 – 170g per day.

The key takeaway here is to find a protein range that works for you.

The leaner you are, the less fat you have to lose, or the more active you are, stick to the upper end of the range and use current bodyweight for your calculations.

The more fat you have to lose or the less active you are, stick to the lower end of the range and use goal bodyweight for your calculations.

In addition, protein has SO many other health benefits like:

• Helps maintain bone mass and density
• Aids in repairing injuries
• Can assist in lowering blood pressure

3. Tracking Your Calorie and Protein Intake

This one is so essential, especially if your goal is lose those last several pounds.

Why?

Two reasons:

• We generally tend to underestimate the number of calories we eat
• We generally start our journeys off being on point and meticulous, but as we get more comfortable with the process, we also get more lenient with our accuracy

And when we combine these two things, little by little, these inaccuracies add up and we often eat way more calories than we originally planned on.

By getting back to the basics of tracking exactly what you’re eating and how much, you’ll get a much better idea of calorie density and serving sizes.

Here are some tips make tracking easier:

• Having a go-to list of meals and protein sources ready
• Find the number of calories and protein for each of those meals and food choices
• Make a record of those meals and food sources for future use
• By doing this, you won’t have to second guess the calorie and protein content of your meals and food sources and can easily plan your meals and make necessary swaps

If you are new to tracking calories, I would highly suggest using MyFitnessPal. It’s free, easy to use, and has a huge database of foods to log.

I do want to note that although there are a ton of different calorie tracking app options out there, MyFitnessPal is the one that I have the most experience using and find the easiest to use.

And a few words of caution when using any calorie tracking apps:

• Be aware that some food items are not verified and are uploaded by other users on the app so they may be inaccurate
• The preset calorie calculators based on your height, weight, etc. on those apps are highly inaccurate – instead, check out my YouTube video on How to Calculate Your Calorie Deficit
• MyFitnessPal likes to add your “calories burned” back into your calorie intake, DO NOT eat these calories back. The calorie deficit calculator I linked above already accounts for you being relatively active.

Here’s a quick list of my go-to protein and food sources:

Protein Sources	Other Foods
Eggs/Egg Whites	Spinach
Chicken Breast	Broccoli
Ground Turkey	Zucchini
Greek Yogurt	Strawberries
Fat-Free/Low Fat Cheese	Oats
Ground Beef (93%+ Lean)	Blueberries
Steak	Cabbage
Tuna	Potatoes
Shrimp	Popcorn
Protein Bars	Coffee
Protein Powder	Diet Soda

Note that these aren’t the only foods I eat.

This is just a list of my go-to foods for just a typical day or meal and I don’t feel like planning or spending too much time preparing food.

This works because I know the calorie and protein breakdown of these foods and there is enough variety for me to rotate, pair, and easily create meals.

I’m going to be honest, if you were looking for a list of special foods to lose fat, you won’t find it here.

And most of the time, keeping things simple is what you need to make progress.

Ultimately, it doesn’t matter how you track your calories and protein, but just a matter of how consistent you are.

Other notes about tracking to keep in mind:

• You don’t have to use an app. You can use a spreadsheet or even use good ol’ fashioned pen and paper.
• Keep your calorie and protein target at a range. This will help you reduce the “stress” about hitting your exact number target. And besides, we humans aren’t calibrated machines that need an exact number of calories every single day. We’re allowed to eat a little less or a little more depending on our needs.
• When eating out, many restaurants have a nutritional information chart on their websites or on their menus. Make use of these ahead of time to plan out what kind of meals can fit into your needs.
• And lastly, I cannot stress this enough. The goal of tracking is not to do it forever. The goal of tracking is to educate and familiarize yourself with the calorie density and macronutrient breakdown of common food items and using this knowledge to help you understand and make better food choices in order to achieve or maintain your fitness goals while also enjoying life.

4. Strength Training

Listen.

If you want to be a calorie burning furnace, you have two options:

• Do HOURS of cardio every single day – and not your typical leisurely walk on the treadmill, I’m talking about intense, hard cardio that makes your heart want to burst out of your chest
  • As a comparison, Michael Phelps eats about 12,000 calories a day only because he trains 5 to 6 hours a day 6 times a week. So yeah, your brisk walking on the treadmill at your local gym isn’t going to cut it.
• OR…Strength train and increase your muscle mass – I highly recommend this one

And if you aren’t quite convinced yet, here are just a few other benefits of strength training:

• Getting stronger
• Becoming a better fat burner
• Build muscle
• Reduce pain
• Improve flexibility
• Increased bone density
• Living independently for longer

So, how exactly can muscle help you burn more fat?

If you want a more in-depth answer, check out my other article here.

However, long story short, muscle is an extremely energy costly tissue to maintain and build.

There is nothing that will even get you remotely close to burning as many calories as putting on a significant amount of muscle on your body.

Sidenote for ladies:

There seems to be an extremely common myth that strength training and lifting heavy weights will “make you bulky.”

This is complete and utter bullshit!!

In fact, it will do the exact opposite.

Let me explain it like this…

In order to get “bulky,” you need to gain weight.

However, when you’re in a calorie deficit, you’re eating less than you burn, which means you’ll get smaller.

If you add strength training on top of that, that means you’re getting smaller while building muscle.

Which leaves you with the end of result of being smaller, stronger, and toner!

And I’ll make this part quick.

You won’t get muscular like a man unless…well, you’re a man.

What kind of strength training should I do to lose those last 10 pounds?

Generally, you want to do large, compound movements – which are movements that work and train multiple muscle groups. This way, you can train more muscles in less time and studies show that compound movements build more muscle than isolated, single joint movements.

Think movements movements like:

More explained in my other article here, The Best Exercises For Losing Weight.

Ultimately, strength train. Train hard. Train heavy.

5. Consistency, Patience, and Enjoying the Process

This is by far the most important point.

Because honestly, you could have the perfect workout plan, the perfect nutrition guidelines, the best coach, and access to the best workout equipment in the world…

But if you don’t put in the consistency, patience, and enjoy the process…

Then you won’t succeed.

This is not to scare you into not trying, but to tell you the truth about what you need to do if you want to be successful.

Let’s talk consistency.

It’s about nailing your nutrition, crushing your workouts, and learning to love the process rather than just going through the motions and always thinking about the “finish line.”

And not just once a week, a few times a month, or for only two weeks after every January 1st, but day in and day out for the rest of your life.

Does this mean you’re a failure if you aren’t always 100% focused on your fitness goals?

Nope.

Does this mean you won’t have slip ups from time to time?

Nope.

Look, we all have slip-ups and setbacks from time to time. It’s normal and is just a part of life. Nothing ever goes exactly as expected.

But what matters is not if you slip up or not.

It’s what you do after that counts.

Listen, one day of not nailing your nutrition or missing a workout is NOT going to ruin all of your progress.

I know because I’ve done it myself. I used to be deep in the “all-or-nothing” mentality. I felt like if I missed one workout or didn’t know how many calories I was eating for one day, I’ve ruined all of my progress and there would be point to keep trying.

And ironically, for many people, this exact mentality isn’t the reason why they’re successful, but the reason why they don’t progress.

However, once you let go of that mentality, and accept that this journey is long-term and for the rest of your life, you start to look at all of these small “mistakes” and setbacks as insignificant when compared to the bigger picture.

And as long as you get back on track, you can’t fuck this up.

Now, let’s talk patience.

Weight Loss vs Fat Loss Expectations

Here is a realistic graph of what you should expect on your weight loss journey.

What you see on the scale will never just be a straight line (red). However, as long as the trend line (green) is going down, that’s how you know you’re on the right track.

Here’s where patience becomes sooooo important.

For someone just focused on the short term results, the number on the scale the first couple weeks, and just wants a rapid, quick fix, they can easily give up after seeing the scale spike after a couple of weeks.

But listen, results will not happen just after a day, a few days, weeks, or even months – especially if you only focus on the scale.

There are so many other ways to measure progress. The scale is a great tool, but it can cloud your mind if that’s the only thing you focus on.

And I know patience is one of the hardest things to come by when we’re living in a world of instant gratification, but if you stay patient, you will be successful.

And lastly, enjoy the process.

Because truthfully, that’s where you’ll be spending most of your time.

Not the beginning, not the end, but everywhere in between.

After all, what’s the point to life if you can’t enjoy it?

Final Thoughts On Losing Those Last 10 Pounds

Look, nothing really changes whether you have 50 lbs or 5 lbs of fat to lose.

The basics still remain the same: calorie deficit, protein, and strength training.

The only thing that changes is the difficulty and length of the fat loss phase.

Which brings me to my final point…

Even if you do everything 100% correctly, the most important point is to apply #5.

Consistency, patience, and enjoying the process is what will ultimately decide whether you succeed or fail.

Truthfully, there are no shortcuts. The fat loss journey is a hard one.

Some days it will feel like a breeze. Some days it will feel like you want to give it all up.

And the fact of the matter is, it will only get progressively more and more difficult the leaner you get because:

• Your body fat just simply becomes more and more essential as you get leaner – humans actually need enough body fat to maintain optimal hormonal and bodily function and health, which can vary from person to person
• The proportion of fat you want to lose and fat mass you have increases as you get leaner if you were to math it out, here’s an example:

As you can see, if you wanted to lose, let’s say, another 10 lbs…

At your starting point, 10 lbs out of the 60 lbs of fat is only 17%.

But at your new weight of 170 lbs, 10 lbs out of the 25.5 lbs of fat is now a whopping 39%.

Which means it’s most likely going to take you twice as much time and effort to lose more fat than it did to lose the initial 30 lbs.

However, that shouldn’t discourage you. I just want you to know the truth about the process. It’s better than having false expectations, not meeting those expectations with reality, and giving up.

Ultimately…

As long as you stay consistent, patient, and enjoy the process, you will succeed.

You got this.

Hope this helps you get a better idea of how to lose those last several pounds!

Talk soon,

-Aus

Coaching Opportunity

I am currently taking on new clients for online coaching.

A few benefits of this program include:

• Customized nutrition plan tailored to your individual needs and goals
• Customized training plan to help you build muscle, lose fat, and get fit
• Daily accountability and support to ensure that you never feel “alone” or “stuck” on your journey to bettering yourself.

The best part: you can do this from anywhere in the world.

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