Marissa's EM2WL Journey

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This week's weigh in:
Start Weight (July 2015) - 320.4 lbs
Last week (8/24/16) - 299.6 lbs
This week (8/31/16) - 295.4 lbs

Current calorie goal: 2200
Avg intake this week: 2210 (low 1469, high 2839)


That is a loss of 4.2 lbs this week, bringing me to 25 lbs lost total. This is also par with the lowest weight I've been since making this mfp account in July of 2015!

I am still struggling to consistently hit my current calorie goal of 2200, some days I'm able to exceed it, others like last night I was a few hundred under. I know my body is still adapting, but it is just such a LARGE volume of food! Especially upping my protein intake so much, There isn't much time where I feel hungry. It is amazing that I am struggling to eat enough instead of stopping myself from eating too much. So much better for my mental health, too!

I'm working my way up to my cut value of 2600-2700. This might change since I am about to start increasing my activity beyond daily activity and walking the dogs again.


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Replies

  • jerilynconn
    jerilynconn Posts: 524 Member
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    Maybe try dense foods. Peanut butter, nuts, etc pack a big caloric punch without being too voluminous.
  • jvezzsb01
    jvezzsb01 Posts: 115 Member
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    Yes, to the nut butter! Maybe avocado on your toast? Glass of milk with some chocolate and nut butter to dip it in? Basically what saranharm said. The protein was easier for me to hit once I started to drink a protein shake after workouts, made a huge difference and didn't leave me eating chicken and Fage all.the.livelong.day.
  • TerezaToledo
    TerezaToledo Posts: 613 Member
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    Replace fat free milk, yogurt, cheese for full fat. The real deal will keep you full and help you reach you calorie goals. Eating chicken? Dark meat is ok. Steak? A NY strip is ok. Fish? Salmon instead of tilapia. Omelet? Whole eggs, not just the whites. Plus don't wait to be hungry to eat. Spread small snacks through out the day. Don't save up your calories for the night, consume the steadily all day long. You will get the hang of it in no time.
    You will not be bored of the food and your metabolism will thank you.

    Tereza
    Team EM2WL
  • MarissaTriesAgain
    MarissaTriesAgain Posts: 766 Member
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    Replace fat free milk, yogurt, cheese for full fat. The real deal will keep you full and help you reach you calorie goals. Eating chicken? Dark meat is ok. Steak? A NY strip is ok. Fish? Salmon instead of tilapia. Omelet? Whole eggs, not just the whites. Plus don't wait to be hungry to eat. Spread small snacks through out the day. Don't save up your calories for the night, consume the steadily all day long. You will get the hang of it in no time.
    You will not be bored of the food and your metabolism will thank you.

    Tereza
    Team EM2WL

    I already do all of those things lol I find that I do better when I have time to make a nice big breakfast to start off my day, and mostly graze throughout the day.
  • MarissaTriesAgain
    MarissaTriesAgain Posts: 766 Member
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    This week's weigh in:
    Last week (8/31/16) - 295.4 lbs
    This week (9/7/16) - 295.6 lbs

    That is up 0.2 lbs this week. Not a big deal, as this is the only day this week that has showed any sort of gain, and I did start my period yestderday so I know my body is in a weird state right now. Here is what my weight looked like throughout the week.

    9/1: 295
    9/2: 294.6
    9/3: 294.6
    9/4: 294.6
    9/5: 294.6
    9/6: 293.8 (period start)
    9/7: 295.6

    Avg Intake 2152 calories
    Range: 1669 to 2359
    Most days I was betweetn 2100 and 2200. I will be bumping my calories up to 2300 for the next few weeks. I have a pretty good handle on hitting my protein goals now, but struggling to hit my fiber goal of 30g a day. I think this next bump up in calories will help me get more produce in so I can hit that goal!

  • jerilynconn
    jerilynconn Posts: 524 Member
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    Very steady weights, awesome!

    If you want to make room for a little treat, fiber one baked bars are super yummy. Haven't tried any other products. Its okay to have a mix of wet (produce) and dry fiber (grains and such).

    Upping my fiber was hard too but its been very helpful ;)
  • MarissaTriesAgain
    MarissaTriesAgain Posts: 766 Member
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    saranharm wrote: »
    Very steady weights, awesome!

    If you want to make room for a little treat, fiber one baked bars are super yummy. Haven't tried any other products. Its okay to have a mix of wet (produce) and dry fiber (grains and such).

    Upping my fiber was hard too but its been very helpful ;)

    I like the fiber one oats and chocolate bars. I have struggled greatly with binge eating disorder since I was a kid. Breads, baked goods, pasta, rice, etc are my trigger foods, so I limit them as much as possible.

    I love that I don't even think about sneaking food or binging in the few weeks ive been doing em2wl, I'm too focused on eating enough healthy, whole foods to worry about adding in any extras!
  • jerilynconn
    jerilynconn Posts: 524 Member
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    Very nice. Its important to make your own rules and find your patterns!
  • jvezzsb01
    jvezzsb01 Posts: 115 Member
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    On the fiber, I love my Kellogs All Bran Buds on top of Fage(plain) with some craisins or berries or if I'm feeling desserty--chocolate chips(!). My local Albertsons stopped carrying them and Ralphs only has the regular non bud cereal so I bought a 4 pack on Amazon for less than the grocery store was selling them.
    I also suggest lentils. I make lentil soup in large batches and freeze and eat for lunch. You can always add an open face ham sandwich or sausage to the lentils for extra protein. Any legume actually. :) along with all the other obvious choices that you know about.
  • ibtmas
    ibtmas Posts: 111 Member
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    Replace fat free milk, yogurt, cheese for full fat. The real deal will keep you full and help you reach you calorie goals. Eating chicken? Dark meat is ok. Steak? A NY strip is ok. Fish? Salmon instead of tilapia. Omelet? Whole eggs, not just the whites. Plus don't wait to be hungry to eat. Spread small snacks through out the day. Don't save up your calories for the night, consume the steadily all day long. You will get the hang of it in no time.
    You will not be bored of the food and your metabolism will thank you.

    Tereza
    Team EM2WL

    I use 8 egg whites per day including yougurt chicken, milk and peanut butter but using whole eggs would up my fat intake. Should i still use eggs with the yolks?.
  • MarissaTriesAgain
    MarissaTriesAgain Posts: 766 Member
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    I eat 2 to 3 whole eggs per day, and I don't have trouble managing my fat macros.
  • TerezaToledo
    TerezaToledo Posts: 613 Member
    edited September 2016
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    @ibtmas, I use one or two whole eggs and then some egg whites for my breakfast protein cake because I do have other sources of fat throughout the day and don't like when it tastes too "eggy". It's entirely up to you to use the yolks or not. The same thing with fat free milk. I love milk, but I hate the cream on top when I heat it up, so I stick with skim. The key is to make it work according to your own rules and taste.

    Tereza
    Team EM2WL
  • jerilynconn
    jerilynconn Posts: 524 Member
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    I eat whole eggs too. 2% milk. Cream in my coffee. I only seem to go over my fats if I eat something fried.
  • Wiccandothis
    Wiccandothis Posts: 860 Member
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    The past few days, I have been trying to make better choices and have found that I have an excess of calories at the end of the day. Then I make bad choices and fill up on junk just to use up my calories. I wonder...is it better to go to bed with unused calories or to fill them up with junk. As in "junk" I mean like for example, today I had a brownie with milk. I like to think I had something bad along with something healthy to balance it out, lol. I know I have to change my way of thinking and just say NO! Don't even look at my food diary for Sunday night...it wasn't pretty :neutral:

    I have also changed from egg whites to whole eggs and drink 1% milk (skim is too watery and 2% is too thick for me). I love a giant breakfast so I try to use a lot of my calories in the morning, usually like 500-700 calories. I could probably bulk it up a bit more and be okay by the end of the day. I feel that if I eat more in the morning and less towards the end of the day it is better because you have the whole day to work it off versus going to bed after eating, plus I feel a lot more energetic throughout the day.
  • MarissaTriesAgain
    MarissaTriesAgain Posts: 766 Member
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    @Wiccandothis Yeah, I find myself doing the same. If I end up with extra cals at the end of the day I try not to think about it and only eat if I am actually hungry. If I don't have a pretty large breakfast than that usually does end up happening.
  • scaryann1
    scaryann1 Posts: 259 Member
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    A brownie or other "goodie" is fine, it's when that brownie becomes half the pan that you might want to re-think the brownie. At least that's my opinion. I firmly believe now that any time you consider a food as "off limits" you tend to crave that food and then binge on it. The way I now see it is the only time you want to remove a food from your diet is if you are allergic to it or have an intolerance to it. (Even then I just can't seem to remove tomatoes from my diet...thank goodness for Benadryl and Singulair) I just love pizza, spaghetti, lasagna, and goulash way too much.
  • jvezzsb01
    jvezzsb01 Posts: 115 Member
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    I echo scaryann1. It's been happening to me a lot because well during the day, 5 kids, a house, and errands it gets busy and sometimes I don't have a chance to snack! So I end up eating another snack/meal to balance out the calories and macros. Honestly, the chocolate and sweets fit into my macros along with the nutritious milk. I don't sit and eat and entire cake or brownie but I do have something sweet along with the other more nutritious stuff to balance out the macros and calories.
  • empressichel
    empressichel Posts: 730 Member
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    Yes, at this point, it's most important just to get your calories up there.
    Brownie and milk sounds good to me! This lifestyle is all about having your cake and eating it! As in, you can be hitting your calories, nailing your macros and that can include a brownie every day if that's what you choose.
    Get the calories up, aim for 30% protein, everything else will fall into place, brownies and all!
    Ichel
    EM2WL ambassador and moderator
  • MarissaTriesAgain
    MarissaTriesAgain Posts: 766 Member
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    This week's weigh in:
    Last week (9/7/16) - 295.6 lbs
    This week (9/14/16) - 298.2 lbs

    That is up 2.6 lbs this week. Can't wait for this water weight to go away so I can get back on track!


    Avg Intake 2761 calories
    Range: 1976 to 4659

    With going out of town, I did get a little out of hand with the eating but I did try to make better choices when I could. I still way over ate though! Dealing with quite a bit of water weight, but I'm glad to spend this next few days getting back on track with my normal routine.
  • empressichel
    empressichel Posts: 730 Member
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    Glad that you can recognise the logic that it is just water weight and will come back off as routines return.
    Hope you had fun while you were out of town!
    Ichel
    EM2WL ambassador and moderator