New To EM2WL? Introduce Yourself Here!
Replies
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Hey Wendy!
Welcome to the group. So sorry to hear what you have been going through, that's really tough.
Having a goal can help is refocus our energy and hopefully you can get that here. You certainly will get plenty of help and support.
Have you read through all the stickies posts at the top of this group? These are chock full of info and will answer most questions.
Have you input your data into our calculator?
http://eatmore2weighless.com/weight-loss-calculator/
Any questions, just ask!
Ichel
Team EM2WL0 -
Hi Everyone,
My name is TrueW and I am new to MFP and EM2WL! Today is my second day & I looking forward to being a Member! I truly need the help on EM2WL I have been on my new "LIFESTYLE" for 7 months I was on WW 4 months what a waste of time. In the beginning the leader would only tell me to eat more without explanation. I am looking forward to a new lifestyle & meeting my goals and new friends to help each other!
Thank you TrueW1 -
Hello I am Benjamin
The group name got my attention, as it was similar to a title of a Dean Ornish book.
I currently weigh about 251 lbs and am 189cm
I am a chef and am around food all day, problem is its carbs and meats. My biggest problem snack is buttered toast.
Currently MFP says I am not eating enough, I use protein powder almost every day, ......
i walk every day, at least 3 km per day, last Wednesday I walked 24.9 km, then Friday felt the soreness.
It is a process but I am finally seeing some results
Lost 4.3 lbs this month1 -
Welcome to the group @TrueW ! Feel free to ask any questions you have. Read through our stickies on the top of the community page to get a feel for what we are all about and what to look for along the way:) Once you realize what "real life" should be, you won't want to go back to dieting again:)
Welcome to the group @ChefBlueEyes Feel free to look around our stickies on the top of the community page to see what we are all about. May I ask why you were walking 24.9km in a day? is this a normal thing for you to do?:)
If MFP is telling you you arent eating enough, its probably true you are eating far below what you should be. Please use our calculator to give you an idea of what your intake should be
www.eatmore2weighless.com/weight-loss-calculator/
Be honest with your activity level. As a chef you are likely on your feet all day long so you are not anything less than moderate.. likely higher
Kelly
Team EM2WL1 -
Hello everyone. My name is Tammy and I discovered EM2WL just 4 days ago. I am still trying to wrap my head around the concept (not chastise myself for eating) but have started to track my calories based on a "normal" week. I tend to be a binge eater on my days off from work and now I know why. My average caloric burn according to Fitbit is about 2273 (some days 2600+ and other days as low as 1900). This is my total burn for 1 month divided by 30 days. Would this be my TDEE?
The calculator is difficult to determine my activity level because I don't really workout, but my job as a cashier consists of standing on my feet for 8 hours and can rack up almost 3 miles in walking just at work, not counting the 3 dogs and housework. Some days I feel like I never sit down, then other days I rebel and never even get out of my pjs. I am 49yo (in 3 days), 5'3 and 210lbs.
Over the past 4 days I have learned it is not too difficult for me to eat 2300+ calories a day and haven't been restricting or tracking in 2 years. Honestly, 2300 calories is feeling like a deficit over the past 4 days because I ended up binging last night on ice cream and turtle pie totaling the day at almost 3k calories. I am confused why 2300 cals would not be enough if 2273 is my average daily burn.
Any help/advice will be greatly appreciated. I am tried of the starve/binge diet that has awarded me with an extra 50lbs over the past 2 years.
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If you are doing workouts that the Fitbit will estimate calorie burn on - then yes that would be your TDEE - which means total daily calories burned.
You'll actually be underestimated a tad - because standing no steps gives you BMR level sleeping calorie burn - and obviously standing uses more calories than that.
Why do you think 2300 cals would not be enough if 2273 is average daily burn? (depending on correction of course, though it sounds like little is needed).
And yes - the charts discuss exercise only, and since you don't do much but are very daily active - they estimate poorly.0 -
I believe 2300 is still too low because I ended up binge eating after 3 days of close to 2300 and many of the others talk like getting to their TDEE is difficult to fit in that much food in the beginning.0
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@Truckerwife92207 I don't know what my calorie intake is? The 2300 came from age, height & etc on MFP! I am still trying to figure out the formula in EM2WL?0
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Oh - you hit right ratio of carbs to protein (too much usually) - and you'll find you can get low blood sugar and feel very hungry, enough to pig out.
Even though the body requires NO extra calories.
That is a problem at maintenance too.
Despite the mantra "listen to your body" (which frankly causes many to be here losing weight) - it's a foreign language, and unless you know it, you can't listen and understand with meaning.1 -
Truckerwife92207 wrote: »I believe 2300 is still too low because I ended up binge eating after 3 days of close to 2300 and many of the others talk like getting to their TDEE is difficult to fit in that much food in the beginning.
First, welcome to the group! I hope you take the time to read through our stickies at the top of the community page which will help walk you through EM2WL and what we believe in.
Your Fitbit is an estimate. So take it with a grain of salt. Chances are your TDEE could be higher because the fitbit cannot account for the standing around part of your job. Just the act of moving your upper body scanning things is still movement, even if the fitbit doesnt register steps. So yes it is possible your TDEE is above that 2300.
That said, if you are eating near 2300 and still binging, there can be two reasons.. One.. which we touched on, TDEE is incorrect and should be higher. And two, your calories are not lining up well with your macros. Chance are your eating is very high carb based, which means your protein levels are too low. This will cause an imbalance in your caloric intake and make you hungry. (Protein fills you up, keeps you feeling satisfied..)
It can also be both of these issues at once..
Its a learning curve when you come to EM2WL from a dieting back ground. This is why we have the stickies above to read through. They will help break things down for you and give you a bit of knowledge of whats to come. Take your time and continue to ask questions. We are here:)
Kelly
Team EM2WL
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@Truckerwife92207 I don't know what my calorie intake is? The 2300 came from age, height & etc on MFP! I am still trying to figure out the formula in EM2WL?
Here is our calculator:)
www.eatmore2weighless.com/weight-loss-calculator/
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Hello:
My name is Nilsa and I have been struggling with my weight for a couple of years now. I have gone through many things in the past few years including loosing my mom and getting divorced and having to move from state and jobs. I had been very unhappy with myself, I would be losing weight like a yoyo up and down. I am currently weight 214 right now. I have lost a total of about 25lbs but need about 75 more. I stopped working out and not caring about anything for a while. Now everything is a bit better, started over in a new job and state and have a man that really loves me and cares for me. I really want to make that change needed in my life. I have been trying not to eat any junk food, sodas or processed foods and started working out. I'm here for motivation.0 -
nilsatorres46 wrote: »Hello:
My name is Nilsa and I have been struggling with my weight for a couple of years now. I have gone through many things in the past few years including loosing my mom and getting divorced and having to move from state and jobs. I had been very unhappy with myself, I would be losing weight like a yoyo up and down. I am currently weight 214 right now. I have lost a total of about 25lbs but need about 75 more. I stopped working out and not caring about anything for a while. Now everything is a bit better, started over in a new job and state and have a man that really loves me and cares for me. I really want to make that change needed in my life. I have been trying not to eat any junk food, sodas or processed foods and started working out. I'm here for motivation.
Hi Nilsa
Welcome to the group.
As you have a history of yo yo dieting, it sounds like you may benefit from a metabolism reset.
You can find all the info here;
http://eatmore2weighless.com/the-metabolism-reset-guide/
Ichel
Team EM2WL
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I'm Jaci. I'm 51 and currently at 254.4 on my weight loss journey to 155 lbs. I'm about 2 months into my Fitbit journey and I must say, it's been nice to see what I've actually been doing to myself and how I'm fixing it.1
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Hi all. I just found this group today and am intrigued by how it works. Last year I lost 40# on the McDougall diet and felt great. It is starch and plant based and all you can eat. It was pretty easy as long as I kept up with the cooking and preparing. I then went overseas for 10 days and ate like a queen.
The problem was when I came back to reality (stressful home life), winter arrived, I got really lazy and gained 30# back.
So I know I can eat a lot and lose weight! Which is why this group and plan caught my eye. I am definitely going to give it a go! So excited! I am sick of feeling like I need to starve myself. I have my numbers (scary yet liberating!!!!) and because I haven't been really dieting, just punching my numbers into MFP while trying to eat better I don't think I need a reset.
Christine0 -
If it appears eating up at maintenance - or you lost that weight in nice reasonable order, pretty good sign your body is in a good state.
The winter gain helps there too, obviously not for the gain part.
But winter is one of those proofs of the life lesson.
You do more, you eat more.
You do less, you eat less.
In a diet, eat a tad less in either case.
Sometimes it's hard to account for seasonal changes - both directions actually.0 -
Welcome Jaci and Christine
This is a great place to be. 0 -
Hi! I'm Greg. I have been on the diet rollercoaster for years. I do well, and then I fall down the well. I'm looking for a lifestyle change. I've read multiple books on fitness and diet, but I never really put any of this knowledge into practice. I have about 60 pounds to lose. I look forward to working with all of you!!!0
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Hello! Currently, I'm in a 5 month prep for an NPC Bikini category competition. 2 months in, 3 more to go. I've consistently logged my foods. I am seeing fat loss, but minimal muscle gain. For the next 3 weeks, I am upping my carbs to see if this helps any towards those goals. I will still by cycling, but not as extreme as weeks 6 to competition. (As in higher carb days to lower)
My maintenance calories are 1,400. Higher days are 1,800. Anymore than that and my body does start to gain fat, I assume because of my Hashimoto's. I typically never count calories. I'm more interested in my macros. Primarily the carb. My proteins are typically around 120.
Current Weight- 115.8 lbs
Height- 5'5''
Classification: Ectomorph
I weight train for 45 minutes in the morning. I do not do cardio (that's at the end of the prep)
Anyone on here know how to help guide me? I do not have $700 to shell out on a nutrition/prep coach. I'm already an intuitive/healthy eater. I'm allergic to sweet potatoes, almonds, salmon, apples...which kind of makes that a wee bit difficult... I've just never eaten to gain muscle. Only ever to maintain, really.
My goals are truly just to try and gain more muscle mass before I start shredding down those last couple of weeks.
Help!!! AND Thank you to anyone who just read all of that!0 -
With fat loss will indeed be minimal muscle gain, especially with being so light.
So you need to maximize anything you do for best recomp effect if you indeed want to gain muscle.
In some studies men were able to recomp at rate of 3.5 lbs in 16 weeks, on a good progressive overload program.
That doesn't mean muscle gain, merely LBM gain and fat loss. LBM includes water weight though.
Women won't be that fast, generally about 1/2 the speed potential.
You mention 45 min each morning - what is the program then, what sort of split routine?
I'd also suggest you don't have solid idea of calorie counts because you say you typically don't count but intuitive eat, like knowing that more than 1800 you start to gain fat.
Like if you were eating 2050, 250 over that if indeed true TDEE - it would take you 2 weeks to slowly gain 1 lb - and if lifting, it wouldn't even be all fat.
If you gained faster than that - it couldn't be fat. Impossible.
So I'll bet what you think is fat gain (unless you really did test for month or two at a time with minimal gain) is not.
Probably just water weight your body has been itching to store with more carbs in muscles (makes them look fuller).
And with perhaps not accurate counts - probably eating more anyway than you think. Which is neither here or there if you are maintaining weight.
It just could be at a suppressed TDEE rather than potential TDEE.0 -
Hiii.. this is moumita
I m not morning riser.. so the gym is not for me... sometimes I do the workout at home... that's it... do yogas and physical workout.0 -
Hi, everyone! I'm Nadine, and I'm 58 years old. I am also very petite. A few years back I lost about 25 pounds, and some have creeped back. All of a sudden what I was doing didn't work anymore. Even though I'm older, I'm very active and couldn't understand why I was having trouble managing my weight...and getting more belly fat. Also, I'm an anxious person on a good day, and I was getting increasingly agitated.
My "gut" was telling me I needed to eat more food but cut back on carbs...also to cut back on cardio. I felt like I was trying too hard. Yet this was foreign to anything I had read. And people will tell us that our metabolism slows as we age, so I was starting to buy in to that notion. When I found this program I got very excited, because it's everything my body has been begging for!1 -
@spawoman
Hi and welcome to the group.
Have you been to the start here section of our website?
http://eatmore2weighless.com/faqs/
Ichel
Team EM2WL1 -
Hi, thank you for adding me to your group. I have dieted most of my adult life. The last one being Ideal Protein. It worked great and I kept my weight down for about five years. Now the weight has crept back and the extreme diet is not working. I've been trying this program for about 2 weeks. All of the sudden I have gained four pounds. Very scary for me, but I'm going to try to stick with it. Glad to have the support of this group.1
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Hi @marybeth062 So happy you found our group! Welcome!
Yes, many diets work short term but (I forget the exact number) but it's something like 80 or 90% of people who lose weight on a diet gain it back within 5 years. But don't worry, you didn't fail, your diet did!
Here at EM2WL we show how to make lasting lifestyle changes that are doable for life so you never need to stop doing them! Plus, it's sustainable and it's all about fat loss rather than weight loss.
Don't be scared about the weight gain in the first few weeks, it's completely normal.
Have you got our starter kit? It explains all the normal things that will happen as you go through the process so you know not to be worried when you don't have to (easier said than done I know!) but it does help put your mind at rest.
http://eatmore2weighless.com/faqs/
This group will offer lots of support and we also have a community Facebook page where there are lots of conversations and like minded people so please join us there too!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1754102281470874/
Ichel
Team EM2WL1 -
Hello!
This is terrifying. Does anyone else find this terrifying?
I'm doing it anyway.
Great to meet you all!1 -
Hey @Pocket__Cthulhu
Don't be scared!
It is hard taking that step for all of us at first, but it gets better and then it becomes amazing!
Community here and in our FB group will help you and give you the best chances of success.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1754102281470874/
Ichel
Team EM2WL1 -
Hi I'm Emma, from the UK. I currently weigh 196lbs and I'm aiming for 160.
I've worked out my TDEE and I'm going to start on a 15% cut. I've been "off" my previous diet for a couple of months and using stress as an excuse to eat whatever I wanted.
I am a bit worried about trying to eat so many calories with healthy food (obviously it'd be easy with cake and chocolate!). I'm also struggling a bit with the macro percentages.
Possibly a silly question, but do people plan ahead or just try to work out what they can eat based on what they have left?
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Hi Emma and welcome
I personally do a little of both. I use MFP to divide up my calories for the day based on how I like to eat (500 for breakfast - 600 for lunch - 200 for afternoon snack - 600 for dinner) then I plan my meals around those.
I have pretty much the same breakfast everyday (yogurt, protein powder and some sort of fruit with a coffee) and I switch up my lunches, though I tend to have pre-planned ones so I can pack them quickly based on what sounds good. It also helps me grocery shop and know that I need to keep certain things stocked up for my lunches. Some of my go to's are: Salmon with miracle whip and a bagel, chicken with hummous and a flour tortilla, Greek salad with chicken and half a pita, I try to eat some sort of veggie too - whole cucumbers are a personal favorite. For lunch I focus on my protein and fill in the gaps with whatever else works. My diary is open, so feel free to check it out - you will see that I do have go crazy days for parties and such LOL.
My snack is usually a well balanced protein bar (one that has protein fat and carbs) to eat before I work out. Dinner is my most variable, since I tend to eat out with my hubby when we can fit it in, so I match what I have left with what I can eat. I also eat back my exercise calories (pretty much however I want as long as I have hit my protein goal for the day), so some days I get a really big dinner.
I think the main key to eating this many calories without too many sweets (I do leave room for some sweets though!!) is to avoid diet foods - eat the full fat variety of mayo, dressing etc. and focus on getting in your protein for the day. Cheese and nuts help with increasing calories too. You will be surprised at how easy it is once you get the hang of it.
I have found that what works best for my MFP goal is to go with my non-workout TDEE (2250) minus 15% (1900) then I eat back my exercise calories (or save them for a splurge if I know I have a party or some big event on the weekend). I find that if I set my diary for the full 2200 cut value (which is my workout TDEE 2550 minus 15%) It makes me think I have a lot of calories and tend to eat too much even when I am not hungry hehe. When I do my reset week I move it up to 2200 and feel like I have so much more to eat. It's just a trick for my brain - I know its a trick but it still works LOL. I do get a lot of water fluctuation eating this way but I also watch the scale slowly go down over time and I only count my once a week weigh in, plus it gives me the flexibility I need and love.
It may take some time to figure out what works for you (it took me a couple of months to settle on what I do now), but it is worth it and you will be happier and have more energy. Even without losing weight quickly I am happier with my body and my energy levels. I am also excited because I know that when I reach my goal I will be able to keep it off since I lost it eating like a normal person.
Kelly2
