Food, Exercise, or other Reports
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conniewilkins56 wrote: »I have a question...is it really necessary to eat back your exercise calories that you have used?....our neighborhood pool has finally opened and I recorded my exercise VERY conservatively only logging about half of the time I was actually moving in the water...and then I ate half of the calories that I was allowed....I am not in any danger of starving!...I just do not want to eat too many or too little calories....btw I hit 80 lbs lost 1 day after my 1 year MFP anniversary!...not bad for an old girl!...now to work on the next 75 and stay in Onderland!
I'm still not sure. I don't normally eat them back unless it's a lot (like over 500) but I have to admit there are times when I feel tired and run down and I think that's my bodies way of telling me I need more calories. It's times like this that I wished I tracked my weight and could tell what was really going on but alas I cannot.
I had a hard time weighing myself every day for a long time...I finally took the plunge and decided I needed to so I could track my losses better..I hate seeing the scales go up and down...I haven’t been eating my exercise calories back either but starting this week I am making a conscious effort to become more active...and I think I might need to eat some of them...the past week I have noticed I have cut my protein way too low and my body is telling me I need a steak!...I haven’t had a binge for a while and I think I am ready to try eating some exercise calories!....also planning a two week maintenance plan from June 21 to July 4.... this will be my first planned break in a year...I am excited and scared!....0 -
conniewilkins56 wrote: »I have a question...is it really necessary to eat back your exercise calories that you have used?....our neighborhood pool has finally opened and I recorded my exercise VERY conservatively only logging about half of the time I was actually moving in the water...and then I ate half of the calories that I was allowed....I am not in any danger of starving!...I just do not want to eat too many or too little calories....btw I hit 80 lbs lost 1 day after my 1 year MFP anniversary!...not bad for an old girl!...now to work on the next 75 and stay in Onderland!
It depends on the situation. If exercise causes you to lose must faster than you should then the answer is absolutely yes. My opinion is that you should not lose faster than .2 pounds per week above your goal so to me exercise calories are optional until they routinely exceed an average of 125 calories per day. This assumes you allow MFP to set your goal and you have not accidentally included exercise in your activity setting when you went through the guided set-up.
This is not an area to mess around a lot. This can cause a lot of stress on your body. It can increase muscle, not fat, being used for energy, it can cause a binge-restrict cycle, and it can make you sick like my week of chores did to me. It took over 10 days for me to stabilize back at my normal energy levels.2 -
conniewilkins56 wrote: »conniewilkins56 wrote: »I have a question...is it really necessary to eat back your exercise calories that you have used?....our neighborhood pool has finally opened and I recorded my exercise VERY conservatively only logging about half of the time I was actually moving in the water...and then I ate half of the calories that I was allowed....I am not in any danger of starving!...I just do not want to eat too many or too little calories....btw I hit 80 lbs lost 1 day after my 1 year MFP anniversary!...not bad for an old girl!...now to work on the next 75 and stay in Onderland!
I'm still not sure. I don't normally eat them back unless it's a lot (like over 500) but I have to admit there are times when I feel tired and run down and I think that's my bodies way of telling me I need more calories. It's times like this that I wished I tracked my weight and could tell what was really going on but alas I cannot.
I had a hard time weighing myself every day for a long time...I finally took the plunge and decided I needed to so I could track my losses better..I hate seeing the scales go up and down...I haven’t been eating my exercise calories back either but starting this week I am making a conscious effort to become more active...and I think I might need to eat some of them...the past week I have noticed I have cut my protein way too low and my body is telling me I need a steak!...I haven’t had a binge for a while and I think I am ready to try eating some exercise calories!....also planning a two week maintenance plan from June 21 to July 4.... this will be my first planned break in a year...I am excited and scared!....
I am please you are willing to try and I am pleased you are willing to try a break. I know it could trigger a binge but I think you have to start treating them like data for your education. You can establish a mindset for losing weight so you can establish a mindset for a slightly higher calorie goal and maintenance. Weight management is not as fragile as we might have believed. It can handle that we have some problems.
You definitely want to keep your protein levels high to help protect yourself from muscle loss.1 -
Hi all! I'm sorry I've been MIA for a while. I've been here & read every single post, but haven't made the time to comment in a while. I know the tax deadlines getting extended are a good thing, but MAN it has done a number on us CPAs!
From mid-February to April 15th, I pretty much unintentionally maintained. All of the food brought into the office was from local places with no nutrition info available (we had lunch & dinner brought in to keep us working) & I was working crazy hours, so I was very loosely logging. I'm actually just happy I was able to maintain within a pound or two through that time. I tightened everything back up April 16th & have been making progress again.
@bmeadows380 I identify a lot with you. We're at about the same weight (although I'm shorter, so have a bit further to go) & I too have recently come to the point where I had to intentionally increase my activity to maintain my rate of loss. My base calories for sedentary went down to 1240 when I recalculated a few pounds ago. That just wasn't going to be sustainable for me & since I still have over 100 lbs to lose, I'm not ready to drop my rate of loss from 2 lbs a week yet.
Although... I'm not actually averaging 2 lbs per week... it's been closer to 1.2 - 1.5. over the last 6 or so weeks. I think there's several things going into that. First, I'm sure there's a bit of water weight masking going on with the increase in exercise. I also think I need to change my height. I am about 5' 4.5" & my Dr always puts 5' 5", so that's what I put as well. I think I need to lower it to 5' 4". Small thing, but maybe it will help a bit with both my allowance & my CO. Finally, my CO part of the equation runs a bit lower than the estimates due to a medication issue that goes back years.
One recent milestone I've hit is that about a week or so ago, I finally got out of "obese class III" and am now in class II. I was wondering if I'd ever get out of class III & it finally happened! My next milestone will come in about 2 more pounds lost... I'll finally be able to say I have less than 100 pounds left to lose. I'm looking forward to that. I'm also almost at the 1 year mark of joining MFP. Although I haven't made it quite as far as I hoped in the first year, it's the longest I've been consistent with anything relating to weight loss and fitness & I don't see stopping any time soon!
I know I've said it before, but I'll try again to make more of an effort to be more active in this group. I do appreciate each of you & really enjoy reading all of the posts!
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@jlucas210 I'm a CPA, too. This has been the WEIRDEST year! After the tax deadline got extended we went back to normal hours in our office and there wasn't a ton of pressure. But a couple of weeks ago I got overwhelmed with stuff, and NOW I'm feeling the need to work extra hours.2
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Sneaking in for a quick update though I’ll keep it short for me because I detest the phone app....
@jlucas210 congrats on maintaining! When things get hectic just being able to hold the line is a huge win-I’d sat that means some things are becoming your routine. And getting out of obesity class III was a big one for me, too. I think I’m around 10-20 lbs away from class I but I’m not sure.
@conniewilkins56
If you used MFPs guided setup and are at sedentary then you must absolutely eat back exercise calories or at least a portion. The activity level is the important part of the guided setup; I’ve been told that MFP doesn’t factor in the workouts you say you’ll do in the guided setup so it’s only the activity level that counts. If you don’t want to have to include exercise and have it as a very routine part of your week you can then set your activity level to active or very active depending on the length of time you exercise. I personally am finding I prefer to use MFPs NEAT method and count back my exercise since I don’t know how consist I can remain in my activity levels; by using the NEAT method and counting back activity calories, on days I’m more active I’ll have more calories and on slow days I’ll have less.
Some prefer the TDEE method which is the one where you set your activity level to include routine exercise, keep your daily regimen steady, and just focus on that one number each day.
But as NovusDiez says, pick one method or the other and monitor your weight loss weekly rate and adjust your calorie intake to the safest rate for you.
Right now during diet break I chose to use TDEE but I’m not liking that as for me and my fluctuating activity levels, it makes it all very fuzzy and I’m not really sure where I’m at on activity or appropriate calorie intake. So when diet break is over, I’m going back to the NEAT method and counting back 75% of my exercise calories, though I might set myself at lightly active instead of sedentary.2 -
Also, it’s been fun trying to get enough calories in! I have been routinely going over the daily limit I set myself for but it’s been needed apparently.
My weight 2 weeks ago when I started was 239.1 lbs. my weight during these 2 weeks did pop up to as high as 243.5, but has been dropping from that high since and today I was 239.5 lbs. to me this indicates a huge success for me because it means that I did indeed maintain-I expected the pop up in weight because I was eating more which meant more carbs which meant more water weight but as I also expected, that quick spike was to have dropped back off during the next few days-which it has.
Tomorrow I have to run into the office for a bit and tomorrow is record day. There might be a bit of a spike tomorrow morning but overall I think I’ve been successful with this break. My body however is being contrary as I was supposed to have started Monday and have not yet so I’m officially late. Stupid hormones.....
Still, I’m bracing myself for the return to deficit fight I know is coming. Glutton me is enjoying the food intake and has acclimated to it now; at first it seemed to be way too much food but I’ve gotten used to it so getting back to deficit will be a challenge. One part of me enjoys the food and wants to stay where I’m at; another part wants to keep losing. I want the keep losing part to win but it’s going to be a battle I’m afraid.2 -
bmeadows380 wrote: »Also, it’s been fun trying to get enough calories in! I have been routinely going over the daily limit I set myself for but it’s been needed apparently.
My weight 2 weeks ago when I started was 239.1 lbs. my weight during these 2 weeks did pop up to as high as 243.5, but has been dropping from that high since and today I was 239.5 lbs. to me this indicates a huge success for me because it means that I did indeed maintain-I expected the pop up in weight because I was eating more which meant more carbs which meant more water weight but as I also expected, that quick spike was to have dropped back off during the next few days-which it has.
Tomorrow I have to run into the office for a bit and tomorrow is record day. There might be a bit of a spike tomorrow morning but overall I think I’ve been successful with this break. My body however is being contrary as I was supposed to have started Monday and have not yet so I’m officially late. Stupid hormones.....
Still, I’m bracing myself for the return to deficit fight I know is coming. Glutton me is enjoying the food intake and has acclimated to it now; at first it seemed to be way too much food but I’ve gotten used to it so getting back to deficit will be a challenge. One part of me enjoys the food and wants to stay where I’m at; another part wants to keep losing. I want the keep losing part to win but it’s going to be a battle I’m afraid.
In the past when I have had two warring sections of my brain I remember that I ultimately choose which side to give the gun and which side to give the knife. Give the part of you that wants to lose a mental cannon and tell the other side the next break and mostly permanent maintenance is not that far away because it isn't. I say mostly because I think most of us will have to manage our weight with intermittent deficits to correct small gains.2 -
At least the side that wants to eat is only growling grumpily and not roaring like before! Though it’s pretty insidious especially when my willpower is down and I’m tired.
I will probably get my thyroid levels checked when I get back. That burst of jittery energy I had a while ago is gone and I just feel tired all the time. My mom was talking this morning how after my brother had the wls his energy levels tripled but even after dropping 130 lbs I don’t see where mine have changed much. I get my activity in despite the tired filling but it can be a battle-especially when my BES at my cabin is like a rock and I find myself waking up every hour 😡
Well I just finished a five mile hike and I’m off to get lunch except using mfp stats and only counting half of the 3 hours I spent on that hike I apparently burned over 1000 calories *sigh* and I’m sure I did that and probably more as I got 10000 steps in on the hike alone, I was wearing a backpack with about 5 lbs in it and the trail was up and down the mountain side for 3 hours. I don’t think I’ll be taking a walk this evening-I don’t you be adding any more calories!1 -
bobsburgersfan wrote: »@jlucas210 I'm a CPA, too. This has been the WEIRDEST year! After the tax deadline got extended we went back to normal hours in our office and there wasn't a ton of pressure. But a couple of weeks ago I got overwhelmed with stuff, and NOW I'm feeling the need to work extra hours.
Yes! That's how it has been here, as well. I've already increased my hours again & can't seem to keep on top of it all. Adding in CPE on all these new things doesn't help either. It has definitely been the weirdest year! Here in Nashville, it kicked off when the tornadoes/lost power, then the virus. I'm still here & standing... mostly!
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I'm back at my office briefly for a couple of hours to run a report, so I thought I'd give a quick update before I take off for the wild mountains again
I weighed in this morning at 239.1 lbs, which looks like a 4.8 lb loss but wasn't really because I was retaining water last Thursday. What I AM happy to report is that when I started this diet break on 5/21, I weighed in at 239.5 lbs, and on that Sunday 5/24, I was at 239.1 lbs. So 2 weeks later, I'm statistically at the same weight, which I'm taking to mean that I actually managed to maintain!
I thought about continuing the diet break until Sunday, but think that instead, since thursday are my record days and today marks the 2 week period, I'm going to go back into deficit, but at 1 lb/wk for the next week, then ease back into my 2 lb/wk on 6/11. Meanwhile, I'm going back to MFP's NEAT method; I feel that I can get the math more precise that way; I tried the TDEE method during the diet break but felt like I was all over the place; I managed to maintain, but I was really guessing on the calorie amounts.
However, I'm setting myself to lightly active as my goal instead of sedentary. When I go back to full deficit, that will put me at 1500 calories before exercise, which I know is doable. I also will count back 75% of my exercise, though since I'm setting myself at lightly active instead of sedentary, I won't count the elliptical in the mornings or if I miss the elliptical, the cardio at lunch time.
This is what I've seen here for activity:
Sedentary = less than 5000
Low activity = 5000-7499
Somewhat active = 7500-9999
Active = more than 10000
Highly active = more than 12500
So in other words, I won't start counting my exercise until I hit 5,000 steps, which is pretty much that one 20 minute elliptical session or one 30 minute cardio session. Everything after that will be counted back at 75%.
Which come to think of it means that for today, I need to go back and adjust that hike since I did the cardio first thing; I need 75% of that hike, not 50%! Which is good - that covers my pizza for supper, and maybe an extra smore if I get the other walk in I want to do this evening
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@bmeadows380
The main purpose of the TDEE system is to eat the same amount of calories each day. It is an average of your energy needs from both active and less active days. It sounds like you were doing your own NEAT system.
What travel eating teaches me is that if I do a good job of logging when I can be precise I can get away with a higher margin of error when precision is impossible. I would be curious to see how far I am actually off but that would be hard to figure out. I know I log my meals too high but I also know if I am on vacation and I am snacking I will miss some food or report the wrong quantity so I use the meals as a buffer. The only thing I really care about is getting the calories in the ballpark of right for the day. The macros and fiber are not crucial since I am hardwired now to keep my protein high.1 -
Vacation is now over, and I have one thing that I need to get off my chest:
I HATE THE #$#*&$ PHONE APP!!!!!!!
the stupid app is so stinking slow, not to mention it is so hard to get it to search for what I want to search for, horrible in trying to get it to make a post, and it drains my phone battery like crazy. I despise having to use that stupid app!
Now I feel better
What I was doing during the diet break was the TDEE - I set myself at active calories and ate to that number, but on days like I had this week where I knew I was getting into the very active category, I knew I needed to eat more. But the week before that, I was under the active category, though I still ate to calorie level. But I definitely prefer the NEAT system.
Go figure, though, that yesterday's weight was 236 lbs, though back up to 237.7 lbs today. Still both are well under the 239 lbs I had on Thursday morning, which leaves me wondering if I was truly maintaining during this week of vacation, or if I hadn't slipped back into a slight deficit - I apparently dropped a ton of water on Thursday going into Friday, and while I know going back into a deficit can lead to that, can it do it in 24 hours?
My cousin house sit for me, and bless her heart, she swept the house and cleaned the cat pans before she left - I thought I would be coming home to needing to clean house, but that's not the case! Which is good, because I need to mow grass and get my insect dust out and dust my garden plants and spray my fruit trees. The 13 year cicadas are here and I can tell something has been gnawing away on my vegetable plants, and I don't want to lose them - especially my egg plants, and I've already lost one of those. I also am going to have to put up more fencing around my garden boxes. I usually wrap them in plastic fencing about chest height to discourage the deer from eating my stuff, but I saw a rabbit in my driveway the other day, so now I need fencing around the lower half as well. I also have laundry to do left over from vacation, so I really need to get off the PC and get to it!
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I can’t believe your vacation is already over!....maybe you burned more calories exercising than you thought you did or lost more water thru sweating?...I like swimming because you don’t know you are sweating!...still have to drink water...I like the pink 0 Gatorade....it’s raining here all day and the next two....I need to find at least one other exercise I enjoy...I envy you all of your projects!....enjoy your day and don’t kill yourself mowing that grass!0
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I had to take a break and go to Lowe's because I realized my big mower wasn't mowing correctly - I accidentally ran over a big rock on Saturday when I mowed last, and I had been afraid I'd done something, and apparently I did, so I went and bought a pack of new blades for it and put them on with dad's air wrench by myself - I was rather proud of myself lol Didn't ask for his help at all!
I also got the weed-eating done, but had a small section of the pushing mowing that I missed because thunderstorms moved in, but the weed-eating got most of the worst of it, so what was missed can wait. I also got seven dust on my plants, but of course it rained, so I'll have to get them again tomorrow morning.
I now need to make an Apple Brown Betty for tomorrow's dinner, then get a shower in. You should see the bug bites on my legs The trails I was walking were not well kept, so I was going though grass and weeds, and in many places, it took some hunting to find the next trail marker because there wasn't really a trail - you were just walking through the woods! Thankfully, I did not pick up any ticks, but I'm thinking I did get my fair share of chiggers and perhaps some fleas. And probably some poison ivy, too. but other than the few patches here and there that are itching, I'm fine, and that will last a few more days and that will be over. I consider it totally worth it lol 1 -
My son hiked on the Appalachian trail for a few days a while back....he went the first time with his wife and they had to leave one day in because of the weather...next he went with two guys and one quit after four hours!...Matt and the other guy did three days...he was going to do another section before Corona and had to postpone it...He said the ticks were awful...I will stick to sidewalks!0
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I've always thought it would be fun to do the entire trail, but I'd need to be in much better shape than I am now! Besides the fact I'd need a job that would allow me to take so much time.......
There is a 78 mile long trail here, though, that I'd like to give an over-night hike on for 1 night to see how I do, but that's nothing something I'm willing to do by myself. I'll hike for a few hours in a park by myself, but doing an overnight hike alone is probably asking for trouble.
though I intend as of right now to go camping by myself in July - but its a state park and I'll be in a small camper with a lockable door and a bolt! We'll see how this goes; I said I wanted to camper so I could go by myself, but we'll see if 1) I actually end up going by myself and 2) how well it will work 1 -
Ewwww, ticks! I'm with you, Connie. I would love hiking but for the ticks. But I'd still do it, if I had someone to go hiking with. @bmeadows380 that's cool that you got a camper to go by yourself! I hope you do it. That 78-mile hike sounds intriguing, but that seems like a lot more than a 2-day hike. 1
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ok, ya'll I've just started hiking and have been thinking about longer hikes and whether I want to go alone or not. OK, so, I've technically only done two and those eweren't even very long...
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@bobsburgersfan lol yeah, 78 miles isn't a 2 day hike for sure! I was thinking more of walking 1 segment of it, but that's not the sort of thing I think I'd be doing alone. I don't have anyone really to go with me, so I hike by myself, but I try to be sensible - stick to known areas, let someone know where I am and what trail I'm taking, take a backpack with some supplies because while its a day hike, if something should happen, I might find myself stuck out and want a few basic essentials with me, including a first aid kit. And that gives me a 10 lb back pack to carry to add to the calorie burn lol
There are some wilderness areas here with trails through them, but I would never attempt one of them by myself and not an overnight hike, either. i stick to the state parks in fairly well used areas. My dad still worries himself to death, and I know that both him and mom are not thrilled with the idea of me camping by myself, but that is why I got the camper in the first place. I'll just stop by the park office before I go on a hike and let them know where I am and plan to be back before the office closes and leave something there so that if the ranger sees it still there, they'll know to come looking for me!
When I was out west and visited Yellowstone, I did the same thing - I wasn't afraid to be alone, but I tried to be prudent, staying in public areas, etc. But like I told Dad and my aunt - I'm not going to let fear tie me down; bad things happen, yes, and we see stories all the time, but the odds are actually fairly low, I'll take precautions, be prudent, won't go off deep into the woods, stick to more traveled locations, let someone know where I am and approximately when to expect me back, that sort of thing - but I'm going to live my life and if that means doing the things I want to do alone, then I'm going to do them.
Its like last summer when I took off to St. Louis for a conference I wanted to attend by myself. My dad worried the whole time I was gone! I plan to go out west by myself in the next few years, too. I had a lot of women including my sister in law who marveled that I went to St. Louis by myself and at the things I do by myself - they'd never contemplate trying it; even my sister is like that. But most of the women in my family are pretty adventurous and independent, and I'd rather forge ahead with my adventure, using caution of course, and do what I want rather than wait around for someone to take me.
Besides, when I go by myself, I can see what I want to see when I want to see it for as long as I want to see it, stay where I want to stay, eat where I want to eat and I don't have to worry about whether or not someone else is enjoying what I'm enjoying and having a good time. It can be a very liberating experience3
