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Back again, 3rd time
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I am in the same boat as you @beastmode_kitty. This is my 3rd time starting EM2WL. This time I am in it for the long haul. Ran into the issues of the scale not moving fast enough so I started eating less to see results then ended up feeling tired all the time which led to overeating anyways
Ive been back at it for 2 weeks now and feel sooo much better and my workouts have improved because I am actually eating enough to fuel them! 0 -
I am in the same boat as you @beastmode_kitty. This is my 3rd time starting EM2WL. This time I am in it for the long haul. Ran into the issues of the scale not moving fast enough so I started eating less to see results then ended up feeling tired all the time which led to overeating anyways Ive been back at it for 2 weeks now and feel sooo much better and my workouts have improved because I am actually eating enough to fuel them!
That is totally me right now! I also can't imagine what it would be like eating less than I do now. I've gotten so used to it.
A bit of an update - I'm progressing very nicely on the weights. I actually had to add another 5lbs to each lift. The biggest being the Overhead Press. I've been stalling at 30lbs for such a long time, bad shoulder, and trying to compensate for it. BUt for some reason today I wanted to try 40lbs and I managed to squeeze out 5 reps for 3 sets. I'm going to keep it at this number until I can hit 8 reps for 3 sets! When I did lat pull downs I managed to sneak a peek in the mirror and saw all my muscles in my sun burnt back pop out. I was quite impressed with everything I have seen. So happy I returned back to the EM2WL way of life
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It's a work of patience, consistency and time. The old ways that we used before just do not work. Fad diets and products offer us a quick fix, promise us results that if we reach, we cannot maintain.
When we focus so much on the scale and it doesn't move, it can become really frustrating and tempting to go back to dropping the calories lower and exercising even more. But it just does not work. It's easier said than done, but dumping the scale is the way to go. Aiming for feeling good, sleeping well, getting stronger, hitting PR's shifts the focus of the scale and it's quite liberating.
Time will go by anyway, in a heartbeat the summer will be gone and unless we did it the right way (fueling and nourishing our bodies and workouts), we will just have spun our wheels and won't get anywhere new.3 -
Left pic is about a year ago, right is from today. Obviously the damage of eating too little has clearly shown i haven't progressed too much in a year. This is why eating too few calories doesn't work! With the amount of work I have done, obviously I was just preserving the muscle I did have and any weight that I was losing on the scale was more muscle than fat. Seeing this picture just drives me even more to continue on the Em2WL way of life! A year later I should see more progress than that!1 -
LOVE LOVE LOVE this!!!
You are doing amazing progress and looking lean and fierce! Smally waist, tighter buttocks, back dimples, stronger traps and delts, the whole shebang!!!
Yay for eating and lifting!
Tereza
Team EM2WL0 -
That's great progress, ditto's to above observation on changes.
I'm sure you did preserve what you had since lifting - which means you didn't lose more muscle than fat, if any.
So obviously lost fat in order to see that muscle - this mis-termed "toning".
I'll bet a huge issue with fat loss was that big a deficit at first - your daily burn slowed down to compensate - so you didn't have the deficit you thought you had.
So any sick weeks eating more, or vacation, or binges, ect, just made it easier to go into surplus or maintenance mode - and you had more time of no deficit than you think.
And if course with body in this state - it doesn't respond to workout with as much improvement, and usually you don't get as good of workouts anyway.
Look at that left bicep - hope you didn't break the phone holding it!0 -
That's great progress, ditto's to above observation on changes.
I'm sure you did preserve what you had since lifting - which means you didn't lose more muscle than fat, if any.
So obviously lost fat in order to see that muscle - this mis-termed "toning".
I'll bet a huge issue with fat loss was that big a deficit at first - your daily burn slowed down to compensate - so you didn't have the deficit you thought you had.
So any sick weeks eating more, or vacation, or binges, ect, just made it easier to go into surplus or maintenance mode - and you had more time of no deficit than you think.
And if course with body in this state - it doesn't respond to workout with as much improvement, and usually you don't get as good of workouts anyway.
Look at that left bicep - hope you didn't break the phone holding it!
LOL my bicep may look huge but I still have a good layer of fat around it. Hoping to boost my metabolism now by i eating more and staying consistant with it which is something I used to lack in the past. But it takes a lot of trial and error to get the confidence you need to push yourself.0 -
I'll bet your daily activity has gone up very decently - that's the first thing the body does to slow you down when you undereat by too much - makes you move less.
And - having great workouts that actually cause some good damage and require good repair - that's a great change too.
Have you experienced yet the extra hunger in the 24-48 hrs after lifting was done?
You now have some experience with what is possible in pushing yourself - you can be very confident that continuing to do that will continue to cause improvements.
And I gotta tell you - you should really arm-wrestle someone now to compare to later - just don't beat them too badly. ;-)0 -
I'll bet your daily activity has gone up very decently - that's the first thing the body does to slow you down when you undereat by too much - makes you move less.
And - having great workouts that actually cause some good damage and require good repair - that's a great change too.
Have you experienced yet the extra hunger in the 24-48 hrs after lifting was done?
You now have some experience with what is possible in pushing yourself - you can be very confident that continuing to do that will continue to cause improvements.
And I gotta tell you - you should really arm-wrestle someone now to compare to later - just don't beat them too badly. ;-)
I have actually. I do get hungry quite easily despite the macros I eat. But I try and fix that with having some water as sometimes I know its my body telling me its thirsty. Doesn't always work but I check it anyways. Its amazing what your body tells you when you really listen to it!0 -
beastmode_kitty wrote: »
I have actually. I do get hungry quite easily despite the macros I eat. But I try and fix that with having some water as sometimes I know its my body telling me its thirsty. Doesn't always work but I check it anyways. Its amazing what your body tells you when you really listen to it!
EAT!!! Lol.
I always get hungry the day after a huge lift day.. I usually work to get in more protein, but I dont fret if I go over my cals by a 100 or two if I need to. It usually balances out by the end of the week:)0 -
Ya i'm quite hungry today! But it feels good to increase my cals by another 100. I actually feel leaner today. Go figure LOL0
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I love reading your posts you put here.
the body is a fickle thing and sometimes it takes that bit of extra food to make you feel leaner. I know from when I started EM2WL I was always surprised the next morning after a pizza or something how lean i felt in the morning.
It's just your body having a conversation with you! ' A little more food please!' and then 'See! Told you those extra cals would do you good!'0 -
rastaempress wrote: »I love reading your posts you put here.
the body is a fickle thing and sometimes it takes that bit of extra food to make you feel leaner. I know from when I started EM2WL I was always surprised the next morning after a pizza or something how lean i felt in the morning.
It's just your body having a conversation with you! ' A little more food please!' and then 'See! Told you those extra cals would do you good!'
Thats totally true. And seeing anything gained extra on the scale i now know is not fat. And its not scary anymore. That was a huge step for me to overcome. I just want to be able to help as many people as I can to see what I see and feel what I feel and that eating more is only just going to help you in the long run. No crash diets, no pills, no special wraps!1 -
I'm with Raynn, big lifts make me hungry and a couple hundred extra cals while keeping my macros on the right spot only give me ever bigger lifts! In the big scheme they do not hinder your progress.
Tereza
Team EM2WL0 -
Woke up this morning with a 3lb gain on the scale from last week. Is it bothering me? Nope. I checked my body fat % on my omron monitor and it shows im down half a percent from last week. Obviously i'm doing things the right way! Screw the number on the scale
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beastmode_kitty wrote: »rastaempress wrote: »I love reading your posts you put here.
the body is a fickle thing and sometimes it takes that bit of extra food to make you feel leaner. I know from when I started EM2WL I was always surprised the next morning after a pizza or something how lean i felt in the morning.
It's just your body having a conversation with you! ' A little more food please!' and then 'See! Told you those extra cals would do you good!'
Thats totally true. And seeing anything gained extra on the scale i now know is not fat. And its not scary anymore. That was a huge step for me to overcome. I just want to be able to help as many people as I can to see what I see and feel what I feel and that eating more is only just going to help you in the long run. No crash diets, no pills, no special wraps!
It is a MASSIVE thing to not be scared of the scale. It's one of those things that makes other things slot into place. Can you believe I have not been on my scale for nearly 2 years! It doesn't even have batteries in! (disclaimer; my 2 eldest sons compete in taekwondo sparring and they have to weigh to know which weight class to compete in, otherwise I would not have it at all!)
The mental freedom to let go of that stress and just keep doing the protein, fibre, water, lift.
When a friend saw me a few months ago, she said,'Have you lost weight?' I replied,'I have no idea! I never weigh myself!' She was like What! What! What! Like never? NOPE!
Some people do fine with a scale and can use it as a tool in their new healthier lifestyle. But I can't. I used to do excessive cardio the day before weighing. Not eat anything 'heavy' SMH.
Finding our strengths and weaknesses is part of the great bonus benefits of EM2WL. Just have to accentuate the positive! Always!
I have a quote on my profile which sums up me and the scale perfectly.
I'll copy and paste it and post it here.
~Ichel
EM2WL Ambassador and Moderator1 -
Here's the quote;
"... the scale can only give you a numerical reflection of your relationship with gravity. That’s it. It cannot measure beauty, talent, purpose, life force, possibility, strength, or love. Don’t give the scale more power than it has earned. Take note of the number, then get off the scale and live your life. You are beautiful!” ~ Steve Maraboli
~Ichel
EM2WL Ambassador and Moderator3 -
Thats a great quote! The scale is only a tool for me. Seeing gains on the bars is what drives me. Food is fuel pure and simple. Wish i thought like this a year ago1
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Wow, @beastmode_kitty, -.5% when eating more and weighing more is huge! That's what we are talking about!!! Wowza!
It's a major acomplishment to be able to let go f the scale (and one one the hardest ones in this process). I haven't been on mine in awhile and I'm really interested in it. I'm happy to eat and enjoy life. I'm happy t be able to lift and see progress. I'm happy whith my size and to know that even if I don't see or measure it, progress is ongoing.
Ichel, great quote!
Tereza
Team EM2WL2 -
So its been a few days eating 2100 calories now. Stepped on the scale again this morning and im only up a pound from a week ago now and feeling lean. Yesterday I had to add 100lbs onto the leg press machine when doing calf raises on it. I couldn't believe the weight I did the week prior felt so light this time around.
My body is responding so well to eating more and I really wish I could have done it a lot sooner. Looking forward to my power lifting days this week to really test and see where my strength is at now 1
