Can't lose last pounds..

[Ayaril]

Hi guys, I'm an 18y/o girl. I started my journey about 3 years ago at 180 lbs.
At the moment I'm at 130lbs, 5'4'', but I don't look as I want to. I started lifting one year ago and I can see progress in my strength, but not with my body image. For lose weight I need to be on 1200-1300kcal/day, way to low, but if I eat one day something more I go up 2-3lbs of water and that make me go crazy. What I should do? Someone says to start reverse, bulk and cut later, but summer is coming.. Someone else says to cut more calories but it's not sustainable for me. Help me please!

[Fiction2Fitness]

Just a friendly reminder that your body weight is going to fluctuate throughout the week and month even when you are maintaining and not trying to gain or lose. It isn't static and there are a number of influences on the scale weight. Some things that affect how the scale include: food, water, sodium, and hormones. That's why it's better to have a desired weight range instead of fixating on a single number, at least in my opinion.

[ironwill2008]

Hi guys, I'm an 18y/o girl. I started my journey about 3 years ago at 180 lbs.
At the moment I'm at 130lbs, 5'4'', but I don't look as I want to. I started lifting one year ago and I can see progress in my strength, but not with my body image. For lose weight I need to be on 1200-1300kcal/day, way to low, but if I eat one day something more I go up 2-3lbs of water and that make me go crazy. What I should do? Someone says to start reverse, bulk and cut later, but summer is coming.. Someone else says to cut more calories but it's not sustainable for me. Help me please!

You've made good progress in one year.

What you should do is to continue to eat at a moderate calorie deficit (don't starve yourself; eating too little is counter-productive) and weight train. Keep in mind that the leaner you become, the harder it is to get even more lean. Stick to your program and don't allow temporary water-weight swings to mess with your mind.

[katya422]

IME it just gets tougher to knock out that last bit.

Have you been dieting straight through for awhile? If so (and you are stalled) it might help to take a couple of weeks at maintenance. I wasn't up for reversing myself.

I got to that last 20# I wanted to lose and got stuck. Kept training. Kept tracking. Got down 5-10 pounds and the weight would bounce up and down in a 5# range. Per this calculator the difference in daily maintenance calories for me between where I am and 20 pounds less is 100 calories a day.

https://www.sailrabbit.com/bmr/

Says I need to stick to 1200 to lose also. I was doing 1400 - 1600 with quite a lot of exercise. Haven't gotten motivated enough to try again yet.

If/when I do I will probably incorporate some kind of IF...8 hour eating window or EOD diet.