Getting ahead...
ibtmas
Posts: 111 Member
Hello healthy friends! I joined EM2WL in Feb 2016 and started to increase my calories and focus on protien. I reached till 1800 but could not bear the weight treding upwards and quitted. Went back to 1300/1400 for 4 months but focused on strength training. I lost a few kgs then. Now when i wanted to lose more i had to go for more cardio and more drop in cals but i knew that i would be doing wrong with myself so i planned to up my calories again and see how far i could go. I started fr late August and slowly crept forward adding 50-100 cals each week. I maintained my weight till 1700 cals but gained 4 lbs on moving to 1800 but did not fret coz my inch sizes remained the same so i knew it would be water retention or glycogen storage due to more carb intake. While consuming 1800 i felt myself like a fat chicken and could see my tummy bulging out of my body filled with food! But this just stayed for two three days and to my surprise i felt more and more hungry and loved food after that that one day i directly jumped to 2000 cals and did not regret a bit!! I could not believed my eyes that i had consumed 2000+ cals and the other day i'm still hungry lol!i've started loving food and i enjoy eating with my family! the awsome part is that i get my protien target close to 25-28! While starting increasing cals i was not sure i would reach above 1800 and i decided to give my body some time at this point but my body reacted opposite to what i thought and instead craved for more! I'd plan that i would start my discussion seperatly if i could consume more than 1800 and here i am!! I've totally cut down cardio and am doing strength workouts 3-4 days per week. I've lost 2 lbs that were gained during this process and feel my upper body much toned. I am 5'7 and 35y and weigh 165 lbs. while lightly active ( reduced my workouts)my maintenece calories are 2085 and i am planning to eat these for 6 to 7 weeks and then go for a cut. I feel i've got my life back and i know it would feel even better as i continue. I 'm not going back now and i feel so happy and proud about myself that i joined you guys! I respect the loyality each one of u r giving out here
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Replies
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@ibtmas Your post just made my day! That's exactly what we are talking about! I am so glad you stuck to it and kept going, CONSISTENTLY, until you finally started seeing results. You will probably have moments in the future when you will second guess this process and want to quit, but make sure you keep this feeling strong in your mind so you can keep going again.
You came a long way from 1300 cals and lots of cardio and you should be proud of yourself! Yes, being able to eat and enjoy your life while having the look you want is possible, but it does take time and consistency.
Thanks for starting this thread and we all want to hear more from you!
Cam I share your post with the EM2WL fam?
Tereza
Team EM2WL3 -
@Tereza Thankyou for your support and response. I'm ready for all the ups n downs i would be having in my journey. I'm now mentally and physically ready for it specially when i know i have amazing ppl helping me out here!!sure u can share my thoughts anytime. I would too like ppl to know how exactly em2wl works2
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Thank you so much @ibtmas! The journey may not always be easy, but trust me, it is worth it! The changes and transformation, not only physical, that I had in those 5 years of EM2WL are priceless! Thanks for letting me share and keep updating!
Tereza
Team EM2WL0 -
Great job @ibtmas !
Keep with it. The mental game is hard, and you will encounter rough times (I am right now and I've been em2wl since last November) but keep the positive attitude and push through.
Do you feel beastly during your lifting sessions with more food?
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jerilynconn wrote: »Great job @ibtmas !
Keep with it. The mental game is hard, and you will encounter rough times (I am right now and I've been em2wl since last November) but keep the positive attitude and push through.
Do you feel beastly during your lifting sessions with more food?
Thanx @jerilynconn. U have been a long way! I've been following u the day u started and i tried to get through but could not continue. Maybe i was nt mentally ready then. I am not lifting much heavy just doing some strength workouts in my home gym. I'm looking forward to increase the weights in my dumbells i'm already using. U've been a great motivation and i wish u success3 -
Hey @ibtmas you are doing so well! Smashing it!
Look how far you have come already! Keep on going! This is just the start of great things to come and life changes.
Ichel
EM2WL ambassador and moderator1 -
That's great @ibtmas ! You are similar to me with your calorie levels...............I had been at 1300-1350'ish for YEARS and am trying to get to 2,000. So far, I am at 1500, but have gained 1.8 pounds after a month. Not sure whether to keep it at 1500 for a while or exactly what to do, BUT...............I have added strength training now and cut back on lengthy cardio sessions all while significantly increasing my protein, so I do think I have made some positive changes. I would be so happy to get up to 2,000 like you have! Way to go!
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Thankyou so much for your supporting words as expectedempressichel wrote: »Hey @ibtmas you are doing so well! Smashing it!
Look how far you have come already! Keep on going! This is just the start of great things to come and life changes.
Ichel
EM2WL ambassador and moderator 1 -
As far as i think u r doing great! It was hard for me to quit cardio at first so i did it gradually and same with the calories. I planned to stay at those calories once my body will get accustomed to it and it did worked for the better! To my surprise, after bloating for a few days, my body demanded more food. And dont worry about the weight it will diminish after a while..... i concentrated more on my inches rather than scale which increased at the start but levelled out after some time. I'm just 2 lbs up so far but the good point is with 800+ caloriesmisskitty0816 wrote: »That's great @ibtmas ! You are similar to me with your calorie levels...............I had been at 1300-1350'ish for YEARS and am trying to get to 2,000. So far, I am at 1500, but have gained 1.8 pounds after a month. Not sure whether to keep it at 1500 for a while or exactly what to do, BUT...............I have added strength training now and cut back on lengthy cardio sessions all while significantly increasing my protein, so I do think I have made some positive changes. I would be so happy to get up to 2,000 like you have! Way to go!))
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2 lbs up with an extra 800 calories a day! Who wouldn't take that?!
Winning!
Ichel
EM2WL ambassador and moderator
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Moving ahead this week i have changed my calorie goal to 2100.... since last two weeks i was on 1800 cal goal but my net calories counted as 1968 some days being over 2k. Now is the time to know my true Tdee so i'll check if i gain this week eating 2100 cals right? If not i should increase by 50-100 the next. Till now i'm steady on my weight n inches.3
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6 days i'm on my Tdee numbers fr EM2WL calculator (2085) and i'm up 2 lbs more. Since i've started upping my calories i've gained 4lbs,inches being the same. I know its water and glycogen retention due to more sodium and carbs as a result of more calorie intake. Focused.1
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Love this!
It's so hard not to let a gain on the scale throw us off moving forwards.
Love your focus and determination!
You've so got this!
Ichel
EM2WL ambassador and moderator0 -
It's stinking hard to stay off the scale. Last week I was a naughty girl and was on it every day. This week I got on it Sunday for my Valid Weigh In day and haven't been on it since. It's hard, it's staring me down each morning but I just ignore it.
We are all in this together and need to help push each other through. So glad you are all here to keep one another from jumping off that bridge of lowering our calories!!!4 -
My new NSV. I've started using table spoon instead of teaspoon to feed myself 3
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After continuosly strength training for two months i went to a week break and eating according to new tdee. Lost 2.5 lbs of water weight. Will be back to working out from tomorrow with upping calories too.1
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@ibtmas Excellent job on taking a break! It will recharge you physically and mentally making you crave going back to your workouts while helping your body recover and avoiding injuries. Here is an excellent article on rest weeks: http://pin.it/p1ZxRPE
Tereza
EM2WL Moderator and Team Member2 -
Yaaay!!
First week eating at Tdee. Tdee at moderately active is 2350.
Ate 2304 weekly.C43P26F31
SW 74kgs
CW 78kgs
Inches fluctuate between 1 more or one less.
Workouts(no cardio) 4 times/week almost 40-45 mins.
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Yay in getting to TDEE! How have you been feeling? Good job on the workouts! Are you feeling more energy? How is your mood?
Tereza
EM2WL Moderator and Team Member0 -
@TerezaToledo Yes the workouts were great, also added an extra set for total three sets of 10-12 reps. Mood? Uh? Was this the reason?Even though had to shovel food into my mouth I've been smiling more and less tensed the whole week!!! Early mornings r better with less growling stomach!1
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Nice work on the TDEE eating!
Start of a new phase for you!
Ichel
EM2WL ambassador and moderator0 -
@ibtmas We usually overlook our mood when eating more or less, but it is a huge measure of progress when braking up with the old diet mentality. Besides the fact that eating the right amounts will help us with hormones and moods changes they cause, not being so stressed out about constantly thinking about food (the moment we start restricting, we start dreaming about more food) is a good gauge to measure improvement. Try to take note of good and bad days, how often you feel better or worse about yourself. The idea is to have it all whine not being "hangry" all the time.
Tereza
Team EM2WL2 -
Another 2lbs up eating at Tdee after 9 days. I find half inches increase everywhere too. Should i be consistent on eating 2350 cals and see what it brings? I have selected moderately active but i see that even if i workout four days a week it does not mean four hours of workouts. Sometimes my workouts r 35 mins maximum being 50-55 mins. I'm a being at home mom with no outdoor activities at all! My house duty is to cook food for kids and help them with thier school assignments in the evenings.I iron clothes but washing is usually in the automatic machine. Cleaning is done by a hired maid so its just some light activities of arranging house etc....... Any suggestions?0
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Moderately active sounds fine as it's definitely not sedentary!
Yes, I would hold at those calories for a month and see where you are after that.
You may be more active than you think and may need to inch up the calories again.
But definitely sounds like you are in a good place to wait it out and evaluate after a few more weeks to make sure there are no anomalies.
Ichel
EM2WL ambassador and moderator0 -
2nd week on eating at TDEE 2350. Average cals this week were 2303.
I got confused about my numbers so with the help of haybales spreadsheet i got to know that my tdee would be more than 2350 with 4x times of workouts. I am now lowering my workouts to 3x which still gives me a number of 2550 which as also increased due to 10lbs+ during increasing cals.! So i'll be increasing gradually and also will eat according to NEAT as well. i am a SAHM . some days are too active and some are sitting around all day long so i'm averaging it to be 2500.0 -
3rd week TDEE 2500( according to @haybales spreadsheet working out 3×)
weekly cals 2437 + 2lb
previous week weight 79.5kgs
CW 80.5kgs
Now is the time to watch the scale and see. since i started increasing cals i was 74 kgs then. gained 8 kgs till 2300 intake. after that every week is up 2lb approx. total gain till now is 6.5kgs! (13lbs).0 -
4th week
Cal- 2421(TDEE 2500)
last wk wt-80.5kgs
CW -81kgs
This was an excellent week since i started increasing cals. no bloating, no weight fluctuations(weight was constant mostly),better energy and most of all i was confident of what i'm doing!!4 -
I loved your confidence and everything else from you post! WTG!
Tereza
Team EM2WL0
This discussion has been closed.