Increasing calories helped--thanks!

Lilith200

My goodness...really I had no clue posting a "thank you" would result in all of this. I am like many people I think in that I am learning as I go and don't know many of the in depth things talked about in this thread. I don't doubt everyone contributing is right about what they are saying, even if it may come across arrogant or insensitive at times (that's just personal communication style I think). I was hurt by some some of the assertions that I was incompetent, calculated in spreading myths, and dishonest with myself and others. Hurt because none of those things are true...for real!

So here is my 'attempt' to calm the waters a bit....maybe? Increasing my calories to 1600 did not include changing what I was eating beyond paying more attention to the vitamin and mineral calculations in my log (yes I log and no, I won't share because I don't trust anyone after all this nonsense ha!). I don't buy "diet" food, just stick with whole grains and high fiber, lean proteins, plenty of vegetables and some fruit (mostly things like a kiwi fruit for vitamin c or banana for potassium...still learning about what whole foods give what nutrients). So clearly I don't know enough to have an agenda lol! Like I said before, calories in is calculated the same with 1600 as with 1100 so any errors would have carried over if I was somehow deceiving myself. The foods have not changed, just increased a bit (perhaps why getting to the 1600 goal sometimes is such a challenge?).

Probably CICO is still at play (I am not denying that!) in that the extra nutrients increased my CO because I haven't had the extreme fatigue and difficulty concentrating from nutrient deficiencies, which probably also reduced my cortisol and water retention as I have noticed doing more non-workout activity during my day (I feel like running up my stairs at home whereas before I would slowly make the long trek up ha!). So I think everyone who has contributed is mostly right (except the nonsense about me being a 'secret eater'...good lord! Again this would have carried over to the new calorie goal and I already shared that there were many medical experiences that led to the weight gain, obviously 1100 calories didn't get me here years ago!) but the messages got lost in the perhaps unintentional personal tones used regarding disbelief and such.

I think if people want to have a nuanced discussion about CICO and metabolism, they should start their own thread that isn't attached to a poster simply sharing an experience resulting in gratitude and overall feelings of hope and even dignity. Because my change did result in gratitude, hope, and a renewed sense of dignity that I can feel good about progress after taking care to listen to my body.

At some point I will have to reassess what my calories look like as I expect future plateaus along my journey. I just happen to be in a good place for where my body is at now with the current caloric intake combined with current workout regimen (I know that too will eventually need to be switched up as my metabolism adapts to what I demand through workouts).

So please be kind to one another and maybe extend the benefit of doubt to others. When hearing something that contradicts what you 'know' to be true, use critical thinking to explore how something could be true assuming what someone shares is also true. Things are often not as simple as an either/or dichotomy, especially in human physiology where complex dynamics may be at play to challenge such dichotomies. Because when we do this we have the opportunity to deepen our knowledge for why we know what we know, which is much more rewarding than dismissing others and leaving our assumptions unexamined. The point is to grow in our knowledge after all, right? Also, it might make people like me less inclined to isolate from a community that could help us.

I am typically a very private person who doesn't reach out for help with such a personal journey, so while I may benefit from not having to defend my integrity, I miss out because I am alone so am limited by what others post, who are brave enough to ask for help. Seriously, my husband knows about my lifestyle changes but I haven't talked about my efforts with any of my friends or colleagues! And I also tend to be overly wordy (clearly!) when I do participate due to less experience sharing my thoughts! So please be kind to one another and 'argue' with fairness of personal assumptions and tone in mind. This will help people like me feel more inclined to reach out for help when we need it!

Love to you all (even those with snark...I can be snarky too sometimes lol!)

catecholamine

So I don't know about other people, but for me specifically, what caused me forgetfulness, "brain fog", and cognitive problems so bad that my doc did a CT scan of my brain was...not enough fat. I went too low on fat, and after a few weeks, I became depressed, couldn't think worth a darn, like static in my brain. Went on for like a month. Upped my fat intake, within 48hrs, bam, 100% better. Your body needs minimum 30g fat a day for brain health, it turns out.

ogtmama

I stopped here " I suffered many, many, many health problems after pregnancy that resulted in multiple surgeries and long term immobility. I have been (mostly) better for the past 3 years but haven't led an active lifestyle until this year after my last health issue was resolved".

you maintained while undereating because you were immobile. You lost because you became active again. Ta-da!

I'm very happy for you, but discounting cico is not necessary, nobody but nobody would recommend that you eat less than 1100, that is absolutely too little for most of the population and 1600 is a more reasonable amount.

stevencloser

To make one thing perfectly clear. Adaptive Thermogenesis/Metabolic adaptation/starvation mode or whatever you want to call it, will not make anyone maintain at 1200, then lose pounds at 1600, that's a TDEE difference of almost 1000 calories.

GottaBurnEmAll

stevencloser wrote: »

To make one thing perfectly clear. Adaptive Thermogenesis/Metabolic adaptation/starvation mode or whatever you want to call it, will not make anyone maintain at 1200, then lose pounds at 1600, that's a TDEE difference of almost 1000 calories.

Yes it will. But hold on, I'm not going to be derpy!

It will make them binge, take bites they don't log, and all sorts of things where they're basically not eating 1200 calories but then swear up and down they're eating 1200 calories.

It will also possibly make them over restrict after the binging which will really make them slow down. So that for their low calorie periods, their TDEE is down, down, down.

But none of this gets reported. Because you think that the binges "aren't that much". And the little bites are "just a teeny bit" that "doesn't make a difference" because "I exercised all this off anyway". After all, everything is just an estimate, it will out come out in the end with rounding, amirite?

People who have had weight problems are masters at fooling themselves about their own behaviors. It's all too easy to carry this tendency for fooling yourself over into weight loss.

DebSozo

I would tell anyone not to increase calories quickly or binge. Definitely research reverse dieting to reboot metabolism if you have gotten stuck stalling at low calories for a long time.
http://www.bodybuilding.com/content/the-ultimate-guide-to-reverse-dieting.html

goldthistime

I'm someone who experienced something similar to what @GottaBurnEmAll posted. After I'd lost the "easy weight" I had real trouble sticking to 1200 calories a day and I found myself doing things like refusing to accurately measure many things (because I didn't want to find out I was underestimating), choosing the lowest calorie version in the database and STILL skipping logging (ie overeating) every 4th day or so because I was SO HUNGRY. For me, the real success began when I lowered my target to 0.5lb a week and all my little head games stopped.

arditarose

goldthistime wrote: »

I'm someone who experienced something similar to what @GottaBurnEmAll posted. After I'd lost the "easy weight" I had real trouble sticking to 1200 calories a day and I found myself doing things like refusing to accurately measure many things (because I didn't want to find out I was underestimating), choosing the lowest calorie version in the database and STILL skipping logging (ie overeating) every 4th day or so because I was SO HUNGRY. For me, the real success began when I lowered my target to 0.5lb a week and all my little head games stopped.

I have a problem similar to this except I can't pull it together for a 250 calorie daily deficit either.

goldthistime

arditarose wrote: »

goldthistime wrote: »

I'm someone who experienced something similar to what @GottaBurnEmAll posted. After I'd lost the "easy weight" I had real trouble sticking to 1200 calories a day and I found myself doing things like refusing to accurately measure many things (because I didn't want to find out I was underestimating), choosing the lowest calorie version in the database and STILL skipping logging (ie overeating) every 4th day or so because I was SO HUNGRY. For me, the real success began when I lowered my target to 0.5lb a week and all my little head games stopped.

I have a problem similar to this except I can't pull it together for a 250 calorie daily deficit either.

Definitely the lower bf% you go the tougher it is.

ogtmama

arditarose wrote: »

goldthistime wrote: »

I'm someone who experienced something similar to what @GottaBurnEmAll posted. After I'd lost the "easy weight" I had real trouble sticking to 1200 calories a day and I found myself doing things like refusing to accurately measure many things (because I didn't want to find out I was underestimating), choosing the lowest calorie version in the database and STILL skipping logging (ie overeating) every 4th day or so because I was SO HUNGRY. For me, the real success began when I lowered my target to 0.5lb a week and all my little head games stopped.

I have a problem similar to this except I can't pull it together for a 250 calorie daily deficit either.

You know what I did? I set it for a 500 deficit so I have something to shoot for but don't care so long as I stay under maintenance...I lost one whole pound last month lol but one pound while living comfortably is better than either alternative.