RillaVanilla's 125 lb loss thread

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  • sodakat
    sodakat Posts: 1,126 Member
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    So maybe you want to determine your personal TDEE now, instead of going by charts. Since you've been logging everything you eat for 5 weeks you can use this formula to see exactly how many calories you burn a day on average:

    Total calories consumed+(Total lbs lost x 3500)/# of days =TDEE

    So your equation will look something like this:

    63,000 +(1.9 X 3500) / 35 = TDEE

    (63,000 + 6650) / 35 = 1990

    1990 * 80% = 1592 (if you want to eat TDEE minus 20 percent)

    The number you need to determine based on adding all your daily calories together over 35 days i 63,000. I just took a guess on that one. It could be more or less.

    This only works if you have logged every single thing you ate, very accurately. However even if you are "close" it will give you an idea.

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  • inchwormbyinchworm
    inchwormbyinchworm Posts: 180 Member
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    Hey rillavanilla!

    I think you are very brave to put your story "out there" for everybody to read. I had never heard of PCOS before. I don't think I have the symptoms, but I could have so been there, given a little more time and weight gain.

    For me, I have learned so much this past year about sweeteners. It has been relatively easy to admit that I am obese -- but a little more difficult to admit that I have a sweetener addiction. Or, more properly speaking, that I can only make real progress in improving my health after I deal with an addiction. Addiction. Addiction.
    I thought you would like this link. It is from a blogger who has the most compassionate, sensible, "been there done that got the XXL T shirt" on the internet.
    I hope this blesses you over the weekend. May you have the health and happiness you deserve!!
    http://blackgirlsguidetoweightloss.com/food-101/the-extremely-thorough-and-rather-compelling-case-against-sugar/
  • IslandSneezerooo
    IslandSneezerooo Posts: 268 Member
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    @sodakat THANK YOU!! That's exactly what I needed... I just did the math for me:

    Total Net Calories eaten over 35 days = 70,974
    70,974+ (1.9 lbs lost x 3500)
    70,974+6650=77,624/35 days = 2218 calories/day to maintain
    2218-500/day calorie deficit=1718 calories/day to lose 1 lb/week

    That's actually really accurate, as I ate 1735 last week and lost 0.9 lbs! I generally eat back all my exercise calories, so that's already figured into the equation. :smiley:

    @inchwormbyinchworm Thanks for the kind words. I'll check out that link! :smile: As you say you're not familiar with PCOS, I wanted to clarify that it isn't caused by weight gain, I started having symptoms when I was a slim teen... Losing weight can help reduce some symptoms for sure, but there's no known cure, just different ideas on how to treat symptoms...

    @LubGunther Amen, sister. I am right there with you, that's a perfect description of what happens when I start trying to restrict one thing or another! LOL
  • Nuka_Gina
    Nuka_Gina Posts: 92 Member
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    RillaVanilla wrote: »
    Weekends at our house are food prep time for the upcoming week. I have a pan of chicken veg fajita filling baking in the oven right now to eat mixed with organic spring mix greens & spinach, cheese, salsa and sour cream. When that's done I'll bake a package of all natural bacon to have with eggs or crumbled on other salads. For snacks I have stocked up on greek yogourt, organic cheese, and natural pepperoni. For fruit I have some canned pineapple chunks and frozen fruit cause there isn't much fresh in season at the moment, at least not for a reasonable price. When the fajita mix is gone I have other salad ingredients like tuna (I mix it up with unsweetened relish, caesar dressing and red onion), or feta, bacon, bell peppers, red onion, and pumpkin seeds in a green salad.

    I'm leaving my macros to what MFP sets them at for the time being, but most days I'm well over the protein and fat goals, and well under the carbs, which is perfect for someone like me who has PCOS and insulin resistance.

    Exercise wise I'm taking a break from the walking and biking because my hips and lower back are very tight and hurting a lot. Instead I put on my HeavyWeight Yoga 3 DVD and did the bed top session today. If you are quite obese like me (high 200's or 300's), Abby Lentz has some AMAZING yoga dvds customized for large figures. I have all three and I LOVE them. Highly recommend googling them and checking them out, great help in easing into a more active lifestyle.

    Do you like the Yoga? I've done pilates before but I was thinking about giving it a try. I have hip problems, too.
  • Nuka_Gina
    Nuka_Gina Posts: 92 Member
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    RillaVanilla wrote: »
    @melodyesch All very good points. I tend to get caught up in numbers (I loves them), trying to predict the outcome of this or that if I do this or that. I've been tracking my numbers on a spreadsheet (geek alert!) and there's no rhyme, reason or trend emerging. Surprise, surprise. LOL One week I lose over 6 lbs eating a lot, the next I gain 2 eating just slightly less... I eat a lot less and only lose 0.2, I eat slightly less and lose 2.6... Who even knows?! It's SO HARD to trust the process. What's even harder is getting OUT of my own head!!

    So... I'll probably always tweak and edit my plan (it's fun), and I'm going to weigh when I want... but I'll TRY not to worry about the ups and down throughout the interim & keep my eye on the big picture. A a loss is a loss and I'll take it!

    I use an awesome excel spreadsheet that will, one day, with more progress I hope, show all of my achievements on my goal. So I totally get what you mean about loving numbers.
  • bring444
    bring444 Posts: 7 Member
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    Seems like your doing a great job so far. A low carb diet definitely works better for me too since I have some insulin resistance issues and stomach problems! I still get craving for sweets but I've been working on coming up with great substitutes, like cookies with mashed bananas instead of sugar.

    Can you use barbells and do some arm exercises? Even while sitting using 2-5 pounds weights and doing various arms lifts.

    I recently suffered a bad ankle injury and couldn't do much of anything. So, I got some ankle weights and did a bunch of floor leg lift exercises. I'm not sure if that would work for you with hip issues, but just another idea for a low impact type of strength training activity.

    good luck!
  • IslandSneezerooo
    IslandSneezerooo Posts: 268 Member
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    Nuka_Gina wrote: »

    Do you like the Yoga? I've done pilates before but I was thinking about giving it a try. I have hip problems, too.

    I love it! I highly recommend the Heavyweight Yoga 3 DVD by Abby Lentz. She's awesome... It's perfect for people who have a lot of weight to lose, or injuries/mobility issues.

    I have an excel spreadsheet to... LOL I like comparing how many cals I ate versus how much I lost...

    @bring444 I'm not sure weight lifting is a good thing for me. I have pretty bad carpal tunnel syndrome and tendonitis in both arms/wrists (downside of years of office/computer work), so I'm just focusing on getting the cardio in to burn fat for the time being, and once my weight is down I'm hoping to add in some weight training.
  • IslandSneezerooo
    IslandSneezerooo Posts: 268 Member
    edited February 2015
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    Yesterday was not good. I woke up with yet another headache (I swear I've had one everyday for weeks on end with this damn early spring hayfever!). Ate out twice, worked all day, started having the runs near the end of the day (isn't that an extra special good time when you're not at home?! NOT!!), did our weekly marathon grocery shopping, came home starving. First time I've been over my daily cal goal in weeks, so I'm not going to fret about it, what's done is done. Went to bed at 8 PM and fell asleep immediately (normally it takes me hours to fall asleep) and didn't wake up till 6:30 am when the boys were leaving for an off island soccer game and making lots of noise (last game of the season, our 11 yo son is an amazing soccer player and wants to be a professional!).

    Today I'm going to whip up a logo design for a local rec centre logo contest (if yours is picked it's $250 cash plus $100 rec centre credit). I wasn't going to enter because I don't think graphic designers should have to compete by DOING the work without guarantee of pay, or be underpaid for their work, but I ended up with a full day home alone, so why not... It'll be good practice anyway and something to add to my portfolio... I graduated 6 months ago and been trying to build my freelance business... I've only had 2 projects so far so lets hope that changes... LOL

    Food prep for the week happens today. On the menu:

    Breakfasts:
    • Blueberry or strawberry greek yogourt with a decaf coffee & cream

    Lunches:
    • Big bowl of mixed spring greens/spinach tossed with baked chicken breast, feta, sweet baby bell peppers, peppercinos, red onion, pumpkin seeds, homemade roasted crispy chickpeas, and caesar dressing
    • Tuna salad on gluten free high fibre bread with cheese melted on top

    Dinners (I love leftovers so I make lots of each and eat for a few nights in a row):
    • Homemade Thai red curry chicken with cauliflower
    • Homemade meat & veg pasta sauce on gluten free brown rice spaghetti
    • Homemade pepperoni & veg pizza with light cheese, on a gluten free crust


  • IslandSneezerooo
    IslandSneezerooo Posts: 268 Member
    edited February 2015
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    Today I adjusted my macros to be 15% carbs, 20% protein, and 65% fat. I also lowered my calories to 1735 after calculating my personal TDEE from the last 5 weeks of stats.

    I'm aiming to eat high fat, low carb, moderate protein in the keto style of eating to hopefully see some positive changes with my insulin resistance (PCOS related, not diabetes). I still haven't had TOM start this month, and my hormones are REALLY whacky at the moment. Getting my carbs down that low is going to be a real challenge! I know I'm going to be over my macros and probably my calories too (1960 is MFP's goal for me) for awhile while I figure this out... I like seeing everything in the green, so I thought if I set it to what my ideal is, rather than my maximum, I'd end up getting closer to those numbers in time. It worked for getting my calories down, now I want to work on the macros... It also motivates me to figure out my menu plan ahead of time...
  • goingforahundred
    goingforahundred Posts: 590 Member
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    Your awesome! Keep it up girl!! You are fighting the fight, for yourself, and it is wonderful that you are sharing your story and your experiences. Thank you so much!
  • IslandSneezerooo
    IslandSneezerooo Posts: 268 Member
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    goingforahundred wrote: »
    Your awesome! Keep it up girl!! You are fighting the fight, for yourself, and it is wonderful that you are sharing your story and your experiences. Thank you so much!

    Thanks for reading and your nice comment... It helps to document as I go, and if I need to recall something, it's all here... :)
  • lcdblue1026
    lcdblue1026 Posts: 34 Member
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    Good for you for setting the hubby straight about "junk" food. I find that I have best results when everyone around me knows about my journey, but the downside is that everyone feels the need to put their two cents in. And yes its okay if I have bread and butter because I've counted it and adjusted for it.
    I'm suffer from PCOS and insulin resistance as well. I'm 5'10 and started 7 weeks ago at 275 and am down 21 lbs.
    It sounds like you're doing great and have the right mindset. One of the biggest things for me is not to tell myself I can't have something as soon as I do that I want it 10x more. The "trick" I use is that if I have a craving on Sun I put off having it for a few days and make sure I work into my plan. I think its all that much "sweeter" if I don't give in to instant gratification.

    Congratulations on the work you've done so far!
    Lisa
  • goingforahundred
    goingforahundred Posts: 590 Member
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    Sounds like a plan. I think I was on another thread with you, but it became so big that I backed out. I think you have a good thing going here. I hope you have a great rest of the day.
  • Spreyton22K
    Spreyton22K Posts: 323 Member
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    Hi there Rilla,

    Have read all this thread and enjoyed it.

    I wish you all the best on your 'journey', finding out what works for you weight wise and discovering aspects of yourself that may not have been apparent....

    I found that weight loss opened up unexpected good and bad ie. pride in progress - regret in how much I had lost due to the excess weight both mentally and physically.

    I have had personal success for which I am grateful - MFP and the community was/is a vital resource and for me counting calories and watching macros will be a part of the rest of my life. Over my time I have had multiple fertility issues and whilst PCOS was not a part of my life, I vividly recall many of the difficulties that you mention.

    Just a thought that occurred to me, with MFP they greatly overestimate the amount of calories expended with exercise.....I have seen it recommended that if you feel the need to eat back your exercise calories you only eat back 50% of the number amount. Just a thought that may be affecting your losses or end up causing stalls.

    All the best.
  • Spreyton22K
    Spreyton22K Posts: 323 Member
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    Oooh also I forgot to mention that retaining muscle mass is really beneficial.....it is inevitable that muscles will be lost along with fat during weight loss and anything that you can do to minimise this is only going to help you in the long run. Have a look into strength training for women.....I cannot stress how much it can help especially if you have chronic pain.

    Cheers.
  • IslandSneezerooo
    IslandSneezerooo Posts: 268 Member
    edited March 2015
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    @spreyton22K Everyone keeps recommending strength training... I don't have weights or a gym membership, or money/space for either, so yoga and cardio is it for the time being. Going from zero activity to what I'm doing now is a huge improvement already. :)

    @lcdblue1026 Sooooooooooo.... As soon as I changed my macros to be more in line with keto percentages I started having anxiety and feeling deeply resentful and angry about feeling deprived... And finished off the ice cream. Fortunately there wasn't even a full serving left, but interesting reaction... I know it's been less than a few hours, but I'm going to go back to what I was doing, slowly decreasing calories each week because I do NOT want to get caught up in unhealthy "dieting" mentality. The key thing that has made me feel successful so far is that this feels like something I could do for the rest of my life, whereas using those new macros amounts? Not so much... I'd literally have to eat food I wouldn't normally eat, and won't eat long term, just to make the macros work. The reason I felt like I needed to change the macros is that I joined a PCOS group on MFP and that's what everyone recommends. Ugh...

    @goingforahundred Was that the committed thread? The group isn't nearly as active as the thread was... but I post here anytime I have something to share/thoughts/progress, and am always happy for input and would love to hear how other's are doing on their journey. this isn't just for me and my chatter about myself (although there's a lot of that! haha).
  • Spreyton22K
    Spreyton22K Posts: 323 Member
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    Yes Rilla you are doing fantastically and have a workable and sustainable plan that will see you succeed, I have no doubt the introduction of strength training at some point when it feels right for you was my motivation to post the suggestion.
  • goingforahundred
    goingforahundred Posts: 590 Member
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    The straw that finally broke the camel's back for me was when I checked into getting bariatric surgery. I will never forget the day, I had been lying in bed hurting all over, depressed and hating myself. I could hear the kids in the other room, living life. I decided at that moment I was not going to live like that anymore. I was going to either fight to get better or remove myself from this life, but either way life as knew it had to end. So, I got on the phone and called my dr. to see about getting a referral for a surgeon who does weight loss surgery. I then called my insurance company and found out that they won't cover anything related to weight issues, not even to see a dietition. My heart sank when I went online and researched how much it would cost for the various options available for surgery. There was no way I could ever afford it. So, knowing that I had only two options, either life or death, I decided on life. This was not an easy choice. I was depressed at that time and death actually sounded welcoming. But, something clicked in my head during this back and forth conversation with myself. I decided that these pounds are the enemy. I decided to fight for my life. I think I hit rock bottom and there was no way but up. This was in Nov '14. I have since lost 53lbs. I know how hard it is, but I also know that if I can do it, you can do. I am only able to walk for exercise due to a heart condition. And walking is very difficult due to some foot problems, but I do it. I am very excited to see where I am in six months. I am just as excited to see where you will be. You can do it!!
  • inchwormbyinchworm
    inchwormbyinchworm Posts: 180 Member
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    goingforahundred wrote: »
    . I decided to fight for my life. I think I hit rock bottom and there was no way but up. This was in Nov '14. I have since lost 53lbs. I know how hard it is, but I also know that if I can do it, you can do. You can do it!!

    Goingforahundred! You are in my prayers! You might really enjoy "a black girls guide to weight loss". She is very compassionate, and recommends anybody who is gearing to lose significant weight to see a therapist. She suggests caring for the mind and body. I especially recommend her series, emotional eating and the art of self care. Her website has a search engine that is very useful.
    God bless you on this day: Psalm 1 says "choose life!"
  • tlbev2015
    tlbev2015 Posts: 28
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    goingforahundred wrote: »
    The straw that finally broke the camel's back for me was when I checked into getting bariatric surgery. I will never forget the day, I had been lying in bed hurting all over, depressed and hating myself. I could hear the kids in the other room, living life. I decided at that moment I was not going to live like that anymore. I was going to either fight to get better or remove myself from this life, but either way life as knew it had to end. So, I got on the phone and called my dr. to see about getting a referral for a surgeon who does weight loss surgery. I then called my insurance company and found out that they won't cover anything related to weight issues, not even to see a dietition. My heart sank when I went online and researched how much it would cost for the various options available for surgery. There was no way I could ever afford it. So, knowing that I had only two options, either life or death, I decided on life. This was not an easy choice. I was depressed at that time and death actually sounded welcoming. But, something clicked in my head during this back and forth conversation with myself. I decided that these pounds are the enemy. I decided to fight for my life. I think I hit rock bottom and there was no way but up. This was in Nov '14. I have since lost 53lbs. I know how hard it is, but I also know that if I can do it, you can do. I am only able to walk for exercise due to a heart condition. And walking is very difficult due to some foot problems, but I do it. I am very excited to see where I am in six months. I am just as excited to see where you will be. You can do it!!

    You can do it...look at you go! Keep a journal so you can reflect each day and ref back so the high and lows

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