Women 200lb+, Let's Amaze Ourselves This April!!!
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@MuttiNM your story is truly inspiring1
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I did well this week in that I exercised and got sun everyday. Yesterday we only had a short walk at twilight though so we need to do some gardening or take a walk this weekend. We have had gorgeous weather. However I ate more calories this week. It was at or under my goal net calories but higher than what I usually eat to lose so I gained. I even made margarita's on Monday. Water intake was improved from the week before but not perfect. If I counted my coffee each morning I usually get 8 glasses but I don't count them. So I need to keep up the exercise and tweek the calories now.
The greatest accomplishment for the week is getting an appointment for my youngest to be vaccinated. Washington State opened eligibility for all those over 16 for vaccinated. My youngest wasn't finding any appointment so Dad took over and got one but it is 2 counties south of us so I will take time off Monday to make sure they get it. They start a Computer boot camp next month so we wanted the vaccinations done by then. If Pfizer it will be but not if it is Moderna. The cases are rising and 3 counties were taken back a phase in stay home stay safe mandate. Our County just narrowly escaped going back but the cases went up even more yesterday in the State. Until our youngest is vaccinated we aren't doing anything different from Phase 1 anyway. My mother had to have her wound dressed every other day but my brother is back and my sister helps too so not too onerous. It should be healed by next week. I will try to read some posts later. I think I missed last weekend after taking my Mom to the ER the week before. I missed some logging days as well but am back logging this week.4 -
@MuttiNM, thank you for sharing your story, that's awesome. I believe you can stay on track for the rest of the month - bummer about your 2-year streak, though!
@KeriA I think I missed your original post about your mom (if you shared it in this group at all), I gather she was injured somehow? I wish her a speedy recovery.
Hubs and I have planned a short trip away from home for next month when we're fully vaccinated, so I think I'm just going to plan on switching to maintenance for those two weeks and see how that goes for me. I'll still be logging, I'll just up my calories a bit. I'm a little ahead of "schedule" as it were - I am trying very hard to hold in my head both the idea that this will take as long as it will take, it's not a race, and if I don't make my "deadline" it's OK; as well as the idea that I do actually have to continue to put in the work now and not leave healthy choices and meal planning and all of it to Future Me. Both of those things can be true.3 -
I'm having some real issues with my hip flexibility. The yoga stuff recommended by (skinny) friends does a number on my knees. Anyone have a suggestion for ways to improve hip flexibility that doesnt require being on your knees to do side donkeys?!!
The poses that I do are a twist while lying down, Happy Baby, Half-Pigeon pose, and Warrior, as far as hips go. My issues are more lumbar and a lot of my focus is on core strength and lumbar loosening. (I have lordosis with a little lumbar scoliosis going on, and a short leg.)
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I’ve seen a couple of people mention TDEE. What is that?0
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I have been reading the last few days of posts. It was nice to read some of your stories.
@MuttiNM wow on you hiking trip and it was fun to hear all your goals you have achieved. I hope you Dad feels better soon.
I forgot to mention that the week before last I was having elbow pain. I am not sure if it is from how I have things set up with my computer or whether it was from weight training. I rearranged things with my mouse and with always picking up my water and coffee with my right hand at an angle from my body. I also took naproxen. We have been having beautiful weather so I decided to walk in the sun each day instead of weight training inside 2 days a week. I used to do it outside but it is harder to do that now that I am working. It is easier to just take a small break from work to do it. So I may pick up a day of weight training again when we have a rainy or cloudy day and see how it goes with my elbow which feels better now. But right now I am going to concentrate on getting out and walking in this gorgeous weather.5 -
trinati2001 wrote: »I’ve seen a couple of people mention TDEE. What is that?
TDEE stands for Total Daily Energy Expenditure, basically the number of calories you burn in the course of a day. MFP uses a different method to calculate your calorie budget, called NEAT (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis). NEAT does not include purposeful exercise (hence the "non-exercise" part). When you indicate your activity level in the guided setup on MFP, you're basing that on how active you are OUTSIDE of the times you're deliberately exercising, and you're meant to log your purposeful exercise to "earn" extra calories to eat that day. TDEE does include purposeful exercise in determining your activity level.3 -
Name: Jane
Age: 55
Height: 5' 9"
SW: 286.5 (6/3/19)
GW: 155
Weight tracking:
Apr 1: 160.6
Apr 3: 159.0 😍
Apr 10: 162.1 😮
Apr 17: 159.5 🙂
Apr 24:
Apr 30:
Fitness goals:
Obtain average 7 day weight of 158 by end of month - Getting there
Weigh daily: 7/7
Log food consistently: 5/7 - logged every day, but was a little fast and loose with the logging
Run or Row every day: 7/7
10,000 steps/day: 7/7
45 Zone Minutes/day: 7/7
Miles ran MTD: 42.54
Miles ran YTD: 280.7
Finally, as the week winded down, I started dropping water weight. My body fat % has gone down though, even though I am not at my lowest weight. Probably eating too much sugar which is causing inflammation. Hopefully next week, I'll see weights at 158 or lower.
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Update:
Was evacuated from St. Vincent on Friday morning on the Celebrity Reflection Cruise ship and taken to Sint Maarten (arrived Saturday afternoon). I was able to make both my flights and I made it home safe and sound late last night.
Thank you all for all the thoughts and prayers.
I will try to catch up with some posts later, but for now, going to try to review some material since I still have my last board exam on Friday. Thankfully, I passed the first 2 that I took last week.
Keep up the great work everyone.11 -
Name: Jeanette
Age: 48
Height: 5' 1"
SW: 270
GW: TBD
April GW: Out of the 250 range or close to being out of it.
Weight tracking:
Start Apr 1: 257 (Last weigh-in was 3/28. I am using that weight for this number)
WK 1 Apr 4: 255.4
WK 2 Apr 11: 254.8
WK 3 Apr 18: 251.8
WK 4 Apr 25:
Finish Apr 30:
Today is weigh in day for me. 251.8. I had a big loss for the week and am really proud of myself. I have been working so hard. My blood sugar has been up and down this week but most of it has been in the 120s or lower. I had two higher numbers (148 and 134).
I am trying not to let those numbers get me down because 1) I am trying my best 2) they are still lower than my highest numbers which is an accomplishment.
I had a NSV yesterday my wedding rings fit me! I cannot tell you the last time I wore them because it's been so long.
Last night we had a bbq with my neighbors that live on both sides of me. We all have children the same age who play together. While I was giving food out to the children my neighbor's 3 year old poked me in the stomach repeatedly and said "Jeanette, why your belly so big?" This was a blow to my ego as I have been working so hard to take my life back. I ignored him and continued to hand out food then walked away. He followed me and did it again. I didn't know how to respond so I redirected him to go sit back down and start to eat then took out my phone to text my other neighbor with a request her daughter had. He sat down then began to yell across the yard to me "Jeanette. Jeanette. Why you belly so big? Why it so big?"
His mother decided to step in and began to scold him, also yelling across the yard telling him he doesn't say things like that. He naturally asked why. She began yelling "Because it is rude that is why." I. Was. Mortified. While he definitely needed to be corrected, her yelling across the yard made it a million times worse and brought a lot of unnecessary attention to the situation. I know he is just a child. Children see things as they are. They are naturally curious about things that are different and question them. His question was incredibly hurtful though, especially since I have been devoting all my time and energy to make changes to improve my life.
While talking about it with my bestie I realized the impact his question made on me. His words hurt to the core. It was just a reminder that no matter what I do or how hard I work there will always be someone somewhere who will criticize or judge me. I know I need to toughen up and learn to let things like this not effect me but it does. Does anyone have any advice on how to deal with situations like this? How do you respond when people say rude things about your weight or weight loss? Thanks so much.
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@merope2 I am so sorry for your loss. I had a similar situation with my senior who passed in March. Sending you a virtual hug (((HUG)))
@girlinkaz It sounds like you have a great plan. I hope you enjoy your trip!
@MuttiNM I really loved reading your post. Keep up the fantastic job. You are doing amazing!!!
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goal06082021 wrote: »trinati2001 wrote: »I’ve seen a couple of people mention TDEE. What is that?
TDEE stands for Total Daily Energy Expenditure, basically the number of calories you burn in the course of a day. MFP uses a different method to calculate your calorie budget, called NEAT (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis). NEAT does not include purposeful exercise (hence the "non-exercise" part). When you indicate your activity level in the guided setup on MFP, you're basing that on how active you are OUTSIDE of the times you're deliberately exercising, and you're meant to log your purposeful exercise to "earn" extra calories to eat that day. TDEE does include purposeful exercise in determining your activity level.
Very interesting. I googled TDEE and found a calculator. If I put sedentary it gives me the same calories that I get from MFP (IF I manually subtract the calorie deficit I want to lose at my current rate). Maybe I should be eating back more if my exercise calories. I don't do a lot of exercising and I like those calories as a kind of buffer Incase I'm not perfect in my tracking. I don't use the scale as much as I should1 -
@JNettie73 Thank you! Some days have been easy and some days have been really, really hard. Two years is a long time and I still have 9 to 24 more pounds to lose. I don't know what my goal weight should be so hopefully I will know it when I see it. I still have to lose about 4 pounds to get to the "normal" bmi range.
I'm sorry to hear what you went through with your young neighbor. Being 350+ pounds for many years, and 400+ for at least 5, I've had my share of comments and stares from children and adults. I don't have any words of wisdom for you. I would always just try to hold my head up and pretend I didn't hear it or it didn't bother me but really the whole time I was hoping I wouldn't burst into tears before I could leave the store, park, or wherever. As you said, little children are just curious about the world and don't really mean to be hurtful (unlike most of the adults or older children who made rude comments) but just because the intent is innocent doesn't make it any less hurtful or embarrassing, at least to me it didn't. I still sometimes feel anxious about going places because I dread the comments even though I probably don't stand out as much as I used to. Those feelings are hard to let go of and it's hard to change how you perceive yourself even after making changes. Just know you are doing great on your quest for better health. You've done a wonderful job so far and things will only get better as you continue!5 -
@JNettie73 - that sounds like a truly mortifying situation. Regarding, how to handle, I mean, let's hope that never happens again, but if it does - perhaps just own it. Say to the child," I have a big belly because I am have too much fat, and I am trying to make it smaller" Then you could also correct the behavior by saying, "Most people don't like it when other people comment on their bodies, not matter what size they are."
@uyister - so glad you are safe and sound! That sounds like it was quite an adventure - and all in the middle of finals too. Wishing you less stressful times ahead.
@MuttiNM - Loved hearing how much your life has changed over the past 2 years. You are such an inspiration. I hope your Dad recovers soon.7 -
trinati2001 wrote: »goal06082021 wrote: »trinati2001 wrote: »I’ve seen a couple of people mention TDEE. What is that?
TDEE stands for Total Daily Energy Expenditure, basically the number of calories you burn in the course of a day. MFP uses a different method to calculate your calorie budget, called NEAT (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis). NEAT does not include purposeful exercise (hence the "non-exercise" part). When you indicate your activity level in the guided setup on MFP, you're basing that on how active you are OUTSIDE of the times you're deliberately exercising, and you're meant to log your purposeful exercise to "earn" extra calories to eat that day. TDEE does include purposeful exercise in determining your activity level.
Very interesting. I googled TDEE and found a calculator. If I put sedentary it gives me the same calories that I get from MFP (IF I manually subtract the calorie deficit I want to lose at my current rate). Maybe I should be eating back more if my exercise calories. I don't do a lot of exercising and I like those calories as a kind of buffer Incase I'm not perfect in my tracking. I don't use the scale as much as I should
Yeah, if you use a TDEE calculator you have to manually subtract whatever amount of calories for your desired rate of loss. Eating below your TDEE is how weight loss happens, eating above your TDEE is how weight gain happens. It's just math. If you think of the TDEE as your body's "energy bill" for the day, the food you eat is how your body "pays" it, and if you give it less than what's due it has to dip into its "savings" (i.e., the excess fat on your body - this is what it's for, days when you can't find enough to eat to pay your energy bill).
MFP wants you to eat back your exercise calories; the tricky thing there is estimating that accurately. There's no direct way to measure how many calories your body burns; heart rate is the most accurate way to estimate it during cardiovascular exercise (and even then, chest-strap HRMs are more accurate than measuring heart rate at the wrist, thumb tip, neck, anywhere else you might put a wearable or take your pulse), but while going about your daily business or doing anaerobic exercise like strength training, heart rate isn't a good indicator of calorie burn. Metabolism varies due to a bunch of factors - age, body size and composition, sex, hormone levels, etc. If you're losing faster than you expect to be (like I am), eat more; if you're losing more slowly than you were expecting, eat less; if you're losing at the rate that you want to be, keep doing what you're doing. Calculators and estimates will only get you so far, what you need to do is track that data and tweak your plans in response to how your actual human body behaves.
Edit to add: not to muddy the waters, but if you're looking into TDEE, you'll probably run across the term "BMR" - this stands for "basal metabolic rate," which is basically the number of calories you would burn in a day if you were in a coma. It's the absolute, bare-bones minimum number of calories your body requires each day to keep you alive. For most adults this is somewhere around 1000-1300 calories, which is why 1200-calorie diets don't work for hardly anybody except tiny old ladies trying to lose five pounds, because those are the people with BMRs lower than 1200. You don't want to eat below your BMR - at that point, your body isn't so much "dipping into its savings" to pay the day's "energy bill," it's more like "selling off possessions to pay the mob," where "the mob" is "keeping your heart beating and lungs breathing." Your body will divert energy away from non-essential functions like hair/skin/nail maintenance and digestion (since we're getting so little fuel as it is, we need to make what we have last!, is your body's logic here), higher-order cognition, etc.8 -
@uyister glad you are home safe and working on you exams again.
@JNettie73 I lost my pregnancy weight with my 1st born then had an ectopic pregnancy. I couldn’t eat the whole time and it affected my metabolism so I wasn’t able to lose as easily. I had a similar incident with a neighbor child but it wasn’t as public. However it doesn’t help you to lose to be embarrassed. As @speyerj said recently part of what worked for her was to be accepting of her body as she lost. Because it will often take months after we lose for all the loose skin to tighten up. My last pregnancy was rough too. Morning sickness lasted a long time and I wasn’t able to keep food down for months and again it slowed my metabolism. People kept thinking I was pregnant. I tried to work on it but gave up. I think I decided I would rather look fat than be embarrassed by children asking if I was pregnant. I always thought I would be able to lose when I tried but as you get older and busier and have slower metabolism I found it wasn’t as easy as it was when I was younger. So I applaud you for the progress you are making. I wonder if we and others were able to accept our bodies when we were 198 lbs we wouldn’t end up getting in the 200s and beyond. Be proud of your 251 lb body. You worked hard to lose. Congrats on getting back in your wedding ring. I can’t wait to get back into mine.
Yesterday was a good day but not seeing it yet on the scale. I did well with water intake. I wasn't hungry for dinner after our brunch and a late lunch so I just didn't eat it. We didn't have much of a walk Friday since we didn't get out till twilight so we decided to have a walk yesterday to make up for it. My youngest drove us down the hill from our house. We live near the top of a ridge with views over Puget Sound with the Olympics. We can see some mountains and some Sound at least in the winter assuming we are home when it is light out but we have them when we walk. The best are down the hill but my knees don't like downhill. So she dropped us off at the bottom and then walked down to meet us as we zigged zagged up the hill. It took us more than an hour to walk up and it was a push for me with so much uphill. Since I can't do downhills I am out of shape doing uphills even with all the stairs I do going up and down to my home office in the basement. Tonight I will go to my Mom's to dress her wound. It should be healed soon.6 -
goal06082021 wrote: »You don't want to eat below your BMR - at that point, your body isn't so much "dipping into its savings" to pay the day's "energy bill," it's more like "selling off possessions to pay the mob," where "the mob" is "keeping your heart beating and lungs breathing.".
You certainly have a way with words @goal060821. I love the way you explained all of that.2 -
@speyerj thank you! LOL, I try.2
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It's Monday weigh-in for me!
Age: 44
Height: 5'4
SW: 242.4 (1/25/21)
Month SW: 226.4 (3/29/21)
4/5: 229.2
4/12: 229.5
4/19: 226.3
4/26:
April GW: 220 lbs
I had another week off from exercise, but I did log meals for most of the week. I didn't expect to see much of a drop, if at all, so I was pretty surprised this morning. I'm not going to make my initial goal for the month, but I feel like it's been incredibly successful for me anyway. There have been a lot of mental hurdles to overcome, and some I didn't know I had until this last week. I'm discovering that this is less a weight loss endeavor and more a healing process. Healing my relationship with my body, with food, with exercise. Healing the way I talk to myself. Healing my perspective of myself and of what is "healthy."
I don't doubt that this is only the beginning of a long journey, but I have never felt more peace about the process of losing weight and "getting into shape" before. I honestly didn't know that it was possible to feel anything other than stress and white-knuckling my way through overexercising and whatever restrictive plan I was attempting - both in a desperate race to "not be fat" and, I'm learning now, an unconscious punishment for failing to be fit.
I am adding back exercise this week, but guided by a trusted trainer. She has me starting from the very beginning. I'm okay with that. I've been working the last few months to have a better relationship with food, and I'm looking forward to the work of building a better relationship with exercise.
I hope everyone has a good Monday!8 -
Me: 44yo, 5'4, living with depression and anxiety (medicated)
Highest weight: 250.6 in Jan 2021 (Pandemic gain of 54lbs)
Not my first weight loss rodeo, but hoping it will be the last time and for life.
April SW: 232.6lbs
5/4/21: 230.8lbs
12/4/21: 230.8 lbs
19/4/21: 233.2 lbs
26/4/21
UGW:125lbs ideally.
It was my birthday towards the end of this week, and while I was set to maintenance and rolled over a little buffer, I indulged. But not so much that the increase is fat, so I'm sure it'll be off again next week if I can get back into deficit.
My mental health nosedived at the start of last week, so I'll do what I can this week whilst being gentle with myself.8 -
Monday Weigh-In
Age:49
Height: 5'7"
Weight: 246 (again)
I live with chronic pain from trauma to weightbearing joints as well as fibromyalgia, and have ADHD and am on the autistic spectrum.
I have been weighing between 246 and 244 for the last four months. Of course, I have also been in a phase of not being willing to log and being impatient and done with focusing on weight loss exclusively, and so unsurprisingly I'm not losing weight any more. But fifty pounds off has made a tremendous difference to my energy levels and my ability to get through my days. I've added in weight work three days a week, and my body is definitely showing signs of change; I'm down to a 34 band on my bra, and my waist and back are showing much less fat roll and more shape. From the back, my waist is definitely starting to define. Front is taking longer as I have a lot of loose skin there, and a fair amount of fat, but it's happening there too. My legs are definitely losing weight from the ground up; I've lost two inches in my calves, and another two just above the knee where a band would go if I were wearing historical dress. The outline of my rump and thighs is thinning down too.
So there's a lot of progress being made even if it isn't reflected on the scale.
I have a ton more energy, and I'm just "doing more" on a daily basis, living up to my personal cleaning standards, and starting to really enjoy a life not spent sitting in a chair. That's really exciting to me. I've sat in a chair long enough.9 -
Name: Jessica
Age: 38
Height: 5' 6"
SW: 238.4 (5/10/16)
GW: 190
April GW: 226
Weight tracking:
Start Apr 1: 235.8
WK 1 Apr 5: 234.9 (-0.9)
WK 2 Apr 12: 231.4 (-3.5)
WK 3 Apr 19: 229.4 (-2.0)
WK 4 Apr 27:
Finish Apr 30:
April goals:
WK 3: all goals from week 1&2 plus track before I start to eat
WK 1 & 2:
- drink 100oz of water a day
- stick to a 16:8 IF schedule (during the weekdays)
- Take two 10 min breaks during work to stretch/yoga
This was overall a week of ups and downs. I had a couple of days where I binge eated. Thankfully because of fasting I wasn’t able to start eating until 11am. Fasting also stopped me from eating late last night, which normally isn’t an issue for me. But I had just pulled a new type of sourdough loaf out of the oven and I really wanted to try it. I had already eaten my base calories and some of my exercise calories so since it was in my fasting time I ended up going upstairs to bed. Guess what? Since I was away from the kitchen I was all of the sudden no longer hungry!! Fancy that 😁
I was really happy with the scale today. I forgot to weigh in yesterday before I started drinking water and I really wanted to be below 230. My only concern was that we had corned beef for lunch and dinner. So a high salt day for me. Even though I drink 136 oz of water yesterday I'm still feel a like I'm caring extra salt water in my fingers. So fingers crossed extra comes off tomorrow.6 -
Tried a HIIT exercise video this morning, my god I thought I was going to die, I didn't think I was that unfit, only managed to do half of it but I'm determined so I'm going to try again tomorrow. Also got the weights out and spent some time working on my arms in the hope of toning up the bingo wings. I'm trying to keep switching exercises so my body doesn't get used to doing the same thing all the time and hopefully it will make a difference, if not it's still exercise and all adds to my overall health and fitness.5
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@MuttiNM very inspiring! The goals list is such a great thing to do! It’s great when you’ve achieved them without realizing.
@wanderinglight You’re pictures are so darling.
@JNettie73 I like the suggestion by @spyerj. While it’s mortifying I think we do have to remind ourselves that children aren’t coming from a judgmental/coitizing space, especially that age (5 and under). They’re curious on peoples’ differences and many times stating facts. Still hurtful when we hear the words. Just a reminder to yourself that you’re working on it and doing great to keep at it. Definitely take progress pictures. I have not done so but friends have with monthly (or whenever they realized differences if it wasn’t monthly). They used the same outfit in comparison. Having the same outfit helps me even without the pictures full body. While it wasn’t an official progress one I have a picture I can compare to. I’m just waiting for my next cruise for the same spot to compare (even though I could with just the outfit).
The weekend saw some new weight lows so movement on the scale is coming down. I did find out one of the meals I had, was horrendous on sodium. I thought it was a better choice but MFP was showing pretty high sodium. I won’t have it again when I go back to that restaurant. A bit light with exercise last week, trying to take care of the outside chores, husband wanted to go out to dinner at my usual time to go, the gym had a power outage when my friend and I tried to go, and Sat she didn’t have a lot of energy so didn’t do the full time she normally likes. Back to going daily this week as much as possible.
I also found my jeans to be extremely baggy in the butt. Have to wash them to see if they’ll stiffen a bit otherwise I’ll have to find my others to see if they now fit. I think I can pretty much pull these down without buttoning; so huge win there.
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April 2021 stats
38 years old
Height: 5' 7"
SW (6/9/2020): 330.0 lbs
Month SW (3/27/21): 235.6 lbs
Goal weight: 180 lbs
Weigh-in day: Saturdays
4/1: 230.6lbs (-5lbs) (Wanted to weigh today just because I felt lighter and TOM is also about to start)
4/3: 233.4lbs (+2.8lbs) TOM started yesterday!! 🙄🙄
4/10: 231.0 lbs (-2.4lbs) Happy with the drop, especially with the amount of stress I am dealing with right now!!
4/19: 232.0 lbs (+1.0lb) A little late on the check-in. I am very happy that I only gained 1lb with all the stress in the past couple of weeks.
4/24: lbs
Total month loss: lbs
Weekly and Monthly Goals:
* Keep logging in to MFP ✔✔✔ Some days I went over my 1200 calorie goal and others, I met the goal, and a few days, I was below because I just did not want to eat. Glad to be able to get back on track now.
* Do either a quick yoga, stretch, or walk (Reps to the Rhythm) or dancing workout in addition to my regularly scheduled workout (Body fit by Amy, Sidney Cummings, or Brian Suyki Workouts) ✔✔✔
* Do a separate 10 - 30 minute stretch exercise at least 3x a week - This is a new goal and I am happy to report that I did a stretch yesterday and today.
* Keep meeting my daily steps goal on my Garmin ✔✔✔ Just got to day 126!! On the 13th of April, I apparently got a 60-day x2 badge from Garmin for hitting 120 days, but, did not realize that they gave it to me due to everything that was going on.
* Get as much sleep as possible - I am getting my usual amount which is between 5-7 hours. ✔
Mid-year Goal:
* Get to 220 lbs (Hopefully by the end of May) - Adjusted this from the previous months to be more realistic!!
Update:
Settled in at my sister's place and have continued studying for my last board which is on Friday. I am very grateful for the extra study time. Thanks for all the support and encouragement everyone.
Keep up the awesome work!!
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@goal06082021
"Edit to add: not to muddy the waters, but if you're looking into TDEE, you'll probably run across the term "BMR" - this stands for "basal metabolic rate," which is basically the number of calories you would burn in a day if you were in a coma. It's the absolute, bare-bones minimum number of calories your body requires each day to keep you alive. For most adults this is somewhere around 1000-1300 calories, which is why 1200-calorie diets don't work for hardly anybody except tiny old ladies trying to lose five pounds, because those are the people with BMRs lower than 1200. You don't want to eat below your BMR - at that point, your body isn't so much "dipping into its savings" to pay the day's "energy bill," it's more like "selling off possessions to pay the mob," where "the mob" is "keeping your heart beating and lungs breathing." Your body will divert energy away from non-essential functions like hair/skin/nail maintenance and digestion (since we're getting so little fuel as it is, we need to make what we have last!, is your body's logic here), higher-order cognition, etc."
Oh my goodness! This is so helpful and a great way to illustrate weight loss and the body's need for fuel. When I first started here, you pointed out that my thinking about food was ED thinking and you were so right. In March I dipped into a bad thought pattern and calorie intake of 800-1000cal/day with my lowest day being in the 600s. My weight loss all but stopped. Since the end of March, I have "practiced" daily and have gotten my cals up to 1500/day and I eat ALL of them. No more nutty thinking. Pre logging my food in the morning takes the anxiety out of the situation and my stress over eating has subsided.
A funny thing that I noticed... when I was eating very low calories, I was rarely if ever hungry. Now that I am eating more, I am ravenous in the morning! I hope this is a sign that my metabolism is healing.
I can tell you with certainty that I could not go through this without logging, and the support and education that I get from all of you. I am so grateful because this is life changing and that is no small thing.
@uyister
I am happy to here that you are safe and have done well with your exams. I hope you get a break for a while.
@MuttiNM
I really enjoy reading your stories. It amazes me when you talk about hiking and cycling. You have come so far. Amazing.
@speyerj
You are an inspiration and much appreciated. I like what you said ... " Comparison is the thief of joy." That really helps when I worry that I am losing at different rates than others.
Have a great day everybody.8 -
@goal06082021 really excellent explanation of NEAT, TDEE and BMR reminded me of an article by Aadam from Physiqonomics. For those of you not familiar with his blog, I encourage you to check it out. This particular article called "The Truth About your Slow Metabolism" cuts through a lot of the bunk that is out there about how weight loss works. Hope you find it informative. https://physiqonomics.com/slow-metabolism/5
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Respectfully, I disagree with the blog post relating to the notion that slow metabolism and weight gain is "BS."
That would mean that advice from a cardiologist, endocrinologist, GP, and 2 licenced nutritionists would all be wrong. Not to mention my own experience with how my body is responding to my caloric intake. Scientific data has shown that when calories are very limited, the body's metabolism slows down to compensate for that.
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Spotteddingo wrote: »Respectfully, I disagree with the blog post relating to the notion that slow metabolism and weight gain is "BS."
That would mean that advice from a cardiologist, endocrinologist, GP, and 2 licenced nutritionists would all be wrong. Not to mention my own experience with how my body is responding to my caloric intake. Scientific data has shown that when calories are very limited, the body's metabolism slows down to compensate for that.
What part are you disagreeing with, then? The "BS" part is when people claim they gain weight because of having a slow metabolism - if you're eating so little that your metabolic activity has slowed down, which does happen as you say, you are probably not gaining weight. His point is that some people claim to have a "slow" metabolism and that's why they gain weight no matter what they eat, when in reality, their metabolism is working exactly as it should - they're just eating more and moving less than they think they are, because people are bad judges of that kind of thing.
edit to add: The situation may be different for people with metabolic disorders, but he also says that right up front in the article.2 -
@goal06082021 really excellent explanation of NEAT, TDEE and BMR reminded me of an article by Aadam from Physiqonomics. For those of you not familiar with his blog, I encourage you to check it out. This particular article called "The Truth About your Slow Metabolism" cuts through a lot of the bunk that is out there about how weight loss works. Hope you find it informative. https://physiqonomics.com/slow-metabolism/
@speyerj the website is amazing. Thank you for sharing. I've sent it off to two of my friends that don't get onto the MFP forums3
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