Am I the only one that finds it difficult to eat more?
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Have you tried more calorie dense foods to help get the cals in without actually eating a ton more? Nuts and seeds are a great way to get in cals and good fats without eating a lot. an ounce of nuts is about 200 cals on average but might only be 15 nuts. I hope the bit of protein in them wont be a lot for your kidneys?
Cook with oil if you can. another way to add a few more cals without adding volume of food.
You are doing good. Keep at it.. slow and steady!1 -
I really don't care for nuts, but will eat almonds or peanuts once in a while. They are just so expensive, and Rick will eat them till they're gone if they're in the house. The poor guy is getting tired of steamed broccoli, carrots, and cauliflower. LOL1
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My main goal this week was to go over the 1700 calories a day. I did it! An average of 1834 calories per day, and I didn't gain any weight even though it's that time of the month!
March 28, 2016
Weight = 279.8
Down/Up – 0 pounds
Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) = 1952
Daily calories to maintain weight (TDEE) = 2343
Daily calories based on goal in step 6 = 1874
Average calories = 1834
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Great results. Is the fear gone of eating more, even if the difficulty isn't yet?
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I won't say it's completely gone, but it's lessened a lot. I'm getting there. LOL2
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Love the look of disbelief on the cardiologist's face when I told her the 25 pounds I had lost in the last year were because I had eaten MORE! LOL I know she thought I was lying through my teeth.2
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Non-diet specialists and general Dr's that don't keep up with studies/research, and whose own education was probably 1 unit of nutrition that probably wasn't even up-to-date when they took it - should indeed find it perplexing.
It would be great if these few examples they see that are opposite of what they'd normally believe, would at least cause them to go investigate what is going on.0 -
You said it heybales. I've lost count of how many doctors have told me that it was simply calories in vs calories out and that was all there was to it, and if I "claimed" to be only eating 800 calories or less a day, I was lying to them and myself and they couldn't treat anyone who lies to them. Because it was impossible to weigh 305 pounds and eat under 1000 calories a day.
I even had one doctor tell me to leave her office and never return. Best thing she ever did for me.4 -
Was down a little on calories this week, but not too awfully bad. I refuse to beat myself up over it. Big step for me! Sometimes I even enjoy eating now.
Lifting 2 pounds 1-2xs/day 10 reps each arm 3-5 days a week. Added in isometric arm exercises trying to get this shoulder stabilized again. With the EDS repairs don't happen very fast, so I have to remember to take it very, very slow and not cause more damage than will heal.
April 4, 2016
Weight = 279.2
Down – .6 pounds
Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) = 1952
Daily calories to maintain weight (TDEE) = 2343
Average calories = 1778
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April 11, 2016
Weight = 282
Up + 2.8 pounds
Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) = 1952
Daily calories to maintain weight (TDEE) = 2343
Average calories = 1874
A Little discouraged this morning, but oh well.1 -
Good job getting that little bit of extra calories.
You didn't have a good workout or eat increased sodium yesterday did you?0 -
I don't think so. We did eat out for breakfast, so it may have had more sodium than usual. And we did do a small amount of walking, but not a lot. I'm thinking I may not have drank quite as much as I have been because we were on the road a lot yesterday.0
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I'm so glad I found your thread! I'm inspired and encouraged and I'm really happy for your progress! Like you, I too gained weight not eating enough and I was always sluggish and tired. My doctor told me that my problem was the lack of food. Initially I didnt listen to her. I started MFP not too long ago and went with its calculations, trying to eat, and then I thought I'd drop it even lower just because I wasn't meeting those goals. It was easier at 1700 for me than 2050. But I stumbled on EM2WL and decided to trust this system, even though it makes total sense, and up my calories to 2400 or so, my TDEE minus 20%. Goodness, i struggle trying to meet it, most days I do though. I'm waiting for hunger pangs to start sometime.
I'd love to have you as a friend! Together we can do this!!!2 -
Good to meet you NewDeb! I'm glad my struggles can help you. LOL That sure sounds funny doesn't it.
I'm finding I have to raise my calories slowly, very slowly. I tried for a very short time to jump up 100 calories a week, that didn't work for me because every time I hit the higher calorie mark, I'd be sick to my stomach so bad that I'd start vomiting. Now every time I increase by 100, I try to stay at that level for three to four weeks before raising again. That way I'm not pushing my poor underfed stomach to the point of feeling sick.
I guess we each have to find what works for us and run with it. I won't say I don't still get discouraged, because I do, but I haven't fell into that severe depression state lately.
For a long time (decades in fact) every single bite of food that passed my lips I heard a nasty comment that someone had said to me in the past because of my weight. That has been the biggest struggle of this year long commitment to eating more. Even now, when my brother makes a comment like "it wouldn't hurt any of us to miss a meal now and then" it hurts, but I force myself to forgive myself for eating that next meal. I may still be working on it, but I have come a long way, and I am a much better person for it.
I hope we can continue to encourage each other.
PS, I am starting to remember what that hunger pain feels like. I do still attempt to ignore it though, until I remember that it's there for a reason.1 -
It's terrible what people can say regarding weight and food! Smh. I'm just disgusted. Hooray for you to get through it. Forgiveness is everything, for ourselves and for others, we are much better off not holding on to stuff that hurts and leave it in the dust. I'm excited to follow your progress. As of now, I'm laying down feeling gross and really trying I wrap my mind around the 300 calories I have left to eat, although it feels like I've been eating ALL DAY LONG! Lol. Nice to meet you hon!0
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does anyone mind if I jump in? I recently met @NewDeb16 and she introduced me to the concept of em2wl. I haven't learned everything yet, and I've got a lot of information to get through, but I increased my calories to what the recommended TDEE and BMI calculator told me to, and guess what! This week I've lost almost 1.5 lbs! woo hoo! I'm not feeling famished anymore either, which is a double bonus.0
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AZLisaLou,
Welcome! You are most welcome to jump in! Isn't it amazing, I've been severely under-eating for literally decades (under 1000calories/day off and on for 25 years) and to be finally losing the weight, by EATING of all things, I'm still shaking my head in wonder. Why did I ever listen to those doctors to begin with? Even the nutrition class I took for college stressed the eat less exercise more. I'm hoping with the light strength training I'm doing, now that I have the energy to, I will get my muscles to do the job of my tendons and ligaments and I will be able to get out and geocache more.
We actually got to find three "park and grab" caches yesterday. It kind of made me want to do more, but I didn't want to push too hard and dislocate something. But my ankle is telling me about it today, I guess I should have had the ankle brace on as well as the knee brace. Oh well, it will forgive me eventually.
Anyway, I'm enjoying the conversation, it helps a lot in this difficult journey. We really do need each other especially on those tough dark days.0 -
Well, the eat less and exercise more is the correct idea - because you create a deficit.
The problem comes in that most people when they diet also radically change what they eat, and that by itself has them eating way less than prior, and they have no idea how many calories they ate prior that was likely close to maintenance.
And then they go all-in with exercise compared to prior.
If people would merely drop 500 cal from existing diet by merely leaving something out - not by wholesale changes - that would be better at the start.
Then start exercising 250-500 cal worth almost daily.
That would be reasonable and work.
But the way it's typically done creates unreasonable deficit and the problems at some point.
Like many that have success with MFP and never seem to get into discussions followed it to the letter - even if they picked an unreasonable deficit amount, like 2 lbs weekly.
Then they logged workouts that are of the type to be inflated in calorie burn - so that made the deficit less.
Then inaccurate with food logging - so that made deficit less too.
So they accomplish a reasonable deficit despite their intentions by the inaccuracies.
It's when people pick the biggest deficit, don't log or don't eat back exercise calories, and undercut their goal anyway - then they eventually cause themselves issues and you hear about it in many topics.
Sorry to hear about the fun day giving not fun after-effects. Not exactly the same as nice sore muscles from a good workout. Though hopefully that's ligaments and tendons that will now feel the need to improve to support the stress placed on them.
Sounds like for you it's always going to be a delicate matter of finding that level of stress to cause improvement - but not so much to cause harm. Very narrow margin of error it appears - hope you success on that part.0 -
does anyone mind if I jump in? I recently met @NewDeb16 and she introduced me to the concept of em2wl. I haven't learned everything yet, and I've got a lot of information to get through, but I increased my calories to what the recommended TDEE and BMI calculator told me to, and guess what! This week I've lost almost 1.5 lbs! woo hoo! I'm not feeling famished anymore either, which is a double bonus.
Awe, I'm honored to be mentioned!0 -
my scale was down again today. Tomorrow is my official weigh in day for the week, and I can't wait to see what it says.0
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I admit, I don't have any idea what I was eating before I started mindfully watching what I was eating. Mostly because I started "dieting" at such a young age. I was in the fifth grade when I stopped eating breakfast, and in the sixth grade when I stopped eating lunch. By my senior year I was eating lunch again, but often skipping supper to make up for eating that very unhealty lunch (single serving size bag of Lay's Sour Cream and Onion potato chips, and a box of cherry Hi-C 5 days a week) and walking 2 miles any day that it wasn't raining or snowing and I didn't have an ankle injury.
After graduating high school I went to work in a chicken processing plant. I started eating every day, but attributed my weight loss strictly to being on my feet and tossing 3-10 lb bags of chicken around for 8-10 hours a day 5-6 days a week. I went from 225 lbs down to 185 lbs in two years. By the time I was laid off the last time I had started to gain weight again. (I was back to skipping lunch most days)
My eating habits got insanely bad after that. I was to the point I would eat once every 2-3 days. I'd wait until I thought I would pass out before I'd eat. Then I'd only eat a peanut butter sandwich or a piece of chicken. I went right back up to 225 lbs in just a few short months, then went right on past that to 265 lbs.
Same thing when I started college in my 30s. Skip breakfast and sometimes lunch, go home and cook supper, eat till I felt sick and do the same thing the next day.
I was diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome when I was 43. Shortly after that I dislocated my knee putting cinnamon rolls in the oven, then my ankle two months later walking down the hallway. Sometime between graduating college at 39 years old and turning 44 I jumped up to 305 lbs.
I'm now 45 and not quite a year into eating more. As you can see from this brief history my eating habits have been horrendous for a very, very long time. That's most likely why it's been so difficult for me to get to where I am now.0 -
Scaryann, thanks for sharing your story. I had to look up what EDS is and I have to say, ouch! I'm sorry you have to go through it but at the same time, I hope your story can help someone else immensely!!! Let's turn all our bad into good, eh? Like you I am not sure what I was eating before either. Although I didn't skip meals, I have always seen that I ate less than my now, 11 year old stepdaughter. I just recently starting eating more, and some days I can actually go over! It's usually with high calorie drinks (beer) if I do. But, no matter what life throws us, we can and will take back our bodies. Yes ma'am, we will!!!!1
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April 18, 2016 Week 7
Weight = 281.4
Down – .6 pounds
Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) = 1952
Daily calories to maintain weight (TDEE) = 2343
Average calories = 1879
I'm not sure what to do with all the energy I had this week. Between Spring cleaning and window shopping I've done more in the last week than I normally do in an entire month! But in doing so much I have angered my knee so bad that I'm having day two of having to keep it elevated to try to get the swelling down. (I can't use ice, it and I don't get along) I'm suddenly not liking sitting still!0 -
Energy is good to have! Yay! I too have much more energy trying to eat up my calories. I'm so glad too.0
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Me August 17, 2015
Me today April 18, 2016
Some difference isn't it? Except the mirror is still dirty. LOL I've gone from a large 24 to a medium 22. I laugh because I have like ten pair of size 22 jeans. One pair is so small I can't even pull them all the way up, let alone button or zip them. Three are tight, but I can button and zip them. Four fit just right. And two I can put them on and take them off without unbuttoning or unzipping them. LOL
And yes NewDeb, I am enjoying the extra energy! But not on the days when my body won't let me do what I want to. LOL
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The pounds will come! Keep doing what you're doing to get your body right! You've got this hon!0
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How and what can I eat to increase my food
Right now maybe 1200
Spend at least 2 hours exercising
So now what can I eat Jenny Craig main food then add plenty vegies so many I just can't eat any more
So what fruit too much sugar
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