Love the idea of my new diet being "eat more"
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Glad you had a great vacation and are ready to get back at it!
If you don't want to do a 10% cut, do a 5% one. That's totally fine, and in fact can be a better way to go rather than hitting everything straight out of the gate.
Just saying!
Ichel
Team EM2WL0 -
I actually feel like I need the 10% cut to pay more attention to my macros and what I am eating. I was used to overeating all the bad stuff. This way if I go over a little I will still be at least at a 5% cut hehe.1
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Check-in time.
I was looking at my trend weight since I started EM2WL. It goes continuously upward. Part of that is eating over my TDEE (vacation and surgery +10 lbs) and part of that I think is my TDEE is maybe a bit lower so closer to 2350 or 2400 than 2550 since the upward trend was over the whole 5 months and not just the 8 weeks of surgery and vacation. Fitbit has always said I was at 2200-2300, so with the body-weight martial arts training 2400 is probably really close.
I am trying something different by setting my TDEE to halfway between lightly active and Sedentary (with the 10% cut built in) - aka 1900 calories per day (2150 is probably where my day to day - non-workout activity really is). Then, I am logging my exercise and eating back my exercise calories.
So far this week that is working really well for me - and it encourages me to work out as well since I get more food on workout days. I also find that on the days I do not work out or do more activity that usual, 1900 really is enough.
It also allowed me to notice that I do better if I cut a little from every meal and I cut out morning and evening snacks, which I haven't needed since early on in my reset anyway. I still keep my afternoon protein bar snack - otherwise I go home and eat out the whole kitchen LOL.
So my results so far this week:
Down 1 lb, but more importantly I feel less bloated, and my pants are starting to fit better again. I still have energy for workouts, though getting back in shape after an 8 week break is a bit painful LOL. I will have averages and such next week since I only just started this on Monday.
Kelly2 -
Nice plan of action, to account for inaccuracies, and deal with workout routine.1
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Weekly check-in:
The 1900 calorie log setting is working really well for me, it forces me to rethink my options and I find myself choosing healthier foods and looking for high protein options, to get my protein in. Protein macros have been great, 25-30% every day this week!
My average for the week was about 2400 (averaging pretty high on Sat and Sun as usual), a bit higher than I was shooting for (2250 was my cut goal), but I feel good with the progress and I had 2 evenings out with friends and felt good eating what I wanted. So that killed my cut for the week, but I still stayed around the TDEE that fitbit calculated.
Overall I feel like I am back on track and going to be able to lose slowly - M-Th at a cut level was not as painful as I feared, though it's still not fun (hehe). I am shooting for a 6-8 week cut then I will do 2 weeks at TDEE and decide where to go from there. And this week is actual cut week 1 after the experimentation of last week.
I will stick to the 1900 MFP diary goal and eat back most of my exercise calories (which should even out to a 10% cut). Slow and steady really feels like where it is at, since I still have ice cream and the occasional desert. Keeping my protein up helps me not get hungry in between meals and makes me think about wiser food choices.
My goal this week is to log everything so I have a better handle on how much I do or don't lose so I can calculate my actual TDEE (probably over a month since weekly weight can fluctuate so much).
Kelly
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How do you track calories burned for a weightlifting session?0
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In MFP database under Strength Training (weight training).
It's much lower compared to cardio - but that's true.
Strength Training is the lifting with reps 5-15, and sets, and rests 2-4 min long.0 -
perfect - thank you
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Weekly Update.
I have not had a valid weigh-in this past week (sore muscles, other water retention). But the invalid results are that I am up 2 lbs. However, my clothing is starting to fit better again (those pants that had gotten too tight are less tight). so I feel like I am on the right track.
I am doing really well keeping my protein over 25%, and doing decently at keeping the 10% cut - though with my weekend splurges is probably closer to 5%. Still I am happy with that and happy with the little changes in habits that I am making that all in all add up to healthier choices overall. I will run the numbers later today and adjust as needed.
Workouts are finally getting a bit easier again as I get back in shape after my surgery and vacation, With PT the shoulder is doing better as well.
My goals this week are to maintain the 10% cut, continue with 30% protein, add in more vegetables and do some stair work at the gym to prepare me for the stamina I will need for my Karate Belt Test coming up in 2 weeks.
So 4-5 more weeks at cut then back to TDEE for a week or two.
Kelly
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Good plan.
Curious what the karate move is when a shoulder is bad. When one arm can't "wax on, wax off" and "sand this way" just wondering what you have to do with it.0 -
Glad things are going well Kelly!!
Kelly
Team EM2WL0 -
Heybales: I actually push through the pain and do pretty much everything - until it gets overwhelming then I do scaled down moves, e.g. not lifting as high or stopping short of the full range or where it would hurt.. I have full range of motion - just a lot of pain (sometimes). I have good and bad days, the physical therapy seemed to be really helping until Monday when I had a new therapist who did some things that I think caused me to backtrack back into painful mode, this week has been rough. The one thing I discovered I can't do is swim... after 3-4 laps I am done for with the pain levels, which sucks because I love to swim. Weeks like this make me think I might end up with surgery after all, though last week was almost pain free.
Kelly: I actually finally got a valid weigh in and I am up 2.4 lbs. I figure this is water gain since I have actually been sticking to my goals and my waist went down 2 inches (though no inch loss anywhere else yet). For once this did not freak me out and cause me to either over eat or under eat ( I already get really hungry in the middle of the night so I am not pushing my calories any lower LOL). The only thing that actually scares me a bit is trendweight.com says I need to cut 700 cals per day to lose weight and I am in fact eating 500 more calories a day than I burn... I am hoping this is wrong! I will find out in another couple of weeks of cutting since before that I was over eating for 6 weeks LOL.
I just keep plugging away and know that eventually the water will have to go away and then the actual loss will show up. I am doing good with my macros and working out has been almost as easy as when I was eating at TDEE, I think because I am doing much better with my protein goals. I am almost always over 25% and usually really close to 30% on my protein, gotta love chicken! Plus I do not feel deprived - if I want something I have it - although on a scaled down level or in the case of ice cream - on a halo top level LOL.1 -
BTW--WOW, JUST WOW! 49 and getting your black belt. My husband is 48 and will be testing for his black belt in Sept. One of the things he does is eat a small, high protein snack about and hour before Karate practice. Usually half a BP&J or maybe 1/2 a grilled chicken breast with a few whole grain crackers. Then he eats dinner when he gets home. He can't eat a meal right before practice or he gets nauseous, but he can't not eat at all or he gets really lightheaded during practice.0
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This is actually my second black belt - I got one way back when I was 30
I eat a protein bar about 1-2 hours before class. That seems to tide me over most days. Sometimes I get hungry toward the end of the long days. 0 -
Weekly Check-In
Weight: no real change other than water fluctuation (that I can see)
Daily average this week: 2300 (10% cut)
Average protein intake: 26% (woohoo) Most days I was actually right around 30% but I have one day under 20% that pulled me down.
I am finding that cutting is more of a challenge than I anticipated. This is week 2 and it's hard not to look for immediate results! I am so used to taking my calories so low I lose a couple of pounds a week. In the past on an one of my "diets" after the first 2 weeks I would've lost 6-7 lbs and here I am chugging along at "maybe" 0.5 pounds per week. It's hard to see the actual loss because at this level the water weight up and down hides it. I am hoping that I can see it at the end of my 6 weeks.
I keep second guessing my reset and thinking that maybe I am overestimating my TDEE (2550) and my 10% cut (2330) is not low enough to actually lose weight. At 2330 I am for sure not gaining weight, but maybe I need to cut to 2100 etc. But since I am a bit hungry at 2300, my body does seem to think I am indeed cutting LOL. So for 6 more weeks I will stay at 2300. At the end of 6 weeks I should be able to recalculate my TDEE based on how much weight I lose and how many calories I consumed. I am really hoping for 3 lbs down which will mean my TDEE is actually 2550 after all. Then I will get to go back up to 2550 and eat again at that level for 2 weeks! hehe
Kelly0 -
Good plan.
Just confirm that the beginning or end of 6 weeks doesn't include known times of big water weight fluctuations - since BMR literally does change through the month for women.
Or might pick the correct 4 week time span in there to use for math.
And just remember that initial big weight loss going into a diet that almost everyone gets - is usually eating less sodium and less glucose stores being in a diet.
Also, while 3 lbs is minor is scheme of things - if lost then your TDEE will be lower.0 -
That's good advice on the 4 week extrapolation.
Thanks for the reminder about the TDEE recalculations as I lose weight. I tend to check it every once in a while - but I should recalculate after every cut. It won;t be much but it will keep me on track and make sure I don;t overeat after successive cuts.
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Weigh in update - YAY I finally lost a pound and trendweight now says I am burning more than I eat That makes me happy - 4 more weeks of cutting then a couple of weeks off. 4
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Got back on the scale today to make sure yesterdays weight wasn't a fluke. I really did lose that pound (which is exactly on target with .5 lb a week 10% cut) and trendweight.com is still saying I am now burning more than I eat (and the number of calories I am burning is going up as I continue with my cut).
This makes me happy because I am losing weight eating normal food (and icecream and morning cold brewed coffee hehe)... with just a little bit of a cut. My cut mainly comes from making healthier choices when I eat out and cutting out a morning snack which I discovered I don't really need. So 4 more weeks and 1 weekend of cutting left then back to TDEE which will feel so good. Getting that protein level to 30% REALLY makes a huge difference for me in being hungry or tired. The only time I actually crave carbs now is after a workout - when I probably need them.
So all I have to say is YAY this works!! The whole 6 month reset was so worth it to lose weight while eating an average of 2300 cals a day (I eat less during the week to eat more on the weekends for those who peruse my journal and see me under 2300 cals a day). I feel that eating this way will finally allow me to get off the Yo-yo wagon and lose steadily and keep it off. No strange diet rules, no starving, just working out and eating real food. And working out is so much more fun when I actually have energy!
Kelly3 -
Check in time
Week 3 of a 6 week cut.
TDEE: 2550
Goal 2350 calories
Fitbit TDEE last week: 2514
Average Cals per day: 2235 (right around 10% cut)
Other goals:
Log everything - DONE! woohoo that was a big thing for me.
Protein 30% - actual 28%
Weight loss since start of cut: somewhere between 1 and 2 lbs (weight in is on Thursday)
Things went really well last week. I do find that I am hungry and wanting that morning snack back. Not having issues with evening binges like when I was dieting before, I just notice I am hungry when I wake up, hungry sooner after breakfast and really ready for dinner LOL.
All in all I feel like I can do this for 3 more weeks and it puts me on track for a 3 lb loss. Not much in the scheme of needing to lose 44, but a real victory in that I am pretty much eating what I want and I do not feel deprived of anything. So basically losing weight without "dieting" and I love it. If I can continue with 6 weeks cut 2 weeks TDEE in a year I will be halfway (or more) to my goal. I am not normally a patient person, but to be able to eat and lose weight - and then keep it off, I can have the patience for that!
On a different note, my husband and I have been wanting to run a PKSA (Tang Soo Do style karate) school, and that dream will soon be coming true! Goodbye desk job!! I will be the lead instructor running the school, my hubby will be finishing up the last 5 years of his current job then retiring and joining me. My 17 y/o daughter will be with us to take over in 10 or so years when we are ready to retire or move to a less active role.
It motivates me to try a 15% cut next cut cycle...
Kelly0
