Two Weeks Down

TiffsMethod

Hi! I’m Tiffany. Late 30s, customer service rep, singer, and aspiring healthy person. I’ve struggled with my weight off and on since college. A lot of people would think I’m at a reasonable healthy weight, but at 5’8” and 195, I’m overweight, and not anywhere near where my body is comfortable. I’d like to be much closer to 140-150. I’ve done WW several times with varying levels of success, but at this point in my life, I feel like I know enough about healthy food and movement that I shouldn’t need to pay to get healthy.

I’m 2 weeks in to being really honest about my food and drink, and tracking everything. My food struggles are alcohol (not that I think I have a problem, but I do REALLY enjoy a couple of drinks in the evening), and sweets. Also carbs of any kind, sweet or savory. As far as fitness goes, I’ve never been very athletic, and I’ve been in a desk job for 3+ yers after having more active jobs all through my 20s and early 30s. I do like walking, and I’ve been enjoying bike riding for the last year. I’d like to have better endurance and flexibility.

I haven’t really lost anything yet. The first week was right after a vacation, so I lost some travel weight right away. Then I undid some of that over the weekend. This week I had a lot of rehearsals and a concert I sang in. That meant my schedule was very hectic, and I ate out a lot. It was also “shark week” for me, so I’ve been craving carbs and salt. But on the flip side, I burned A LOT of calories during the concert.

I’m still trying to find what the best calorie range for me is, as far as what my goals are to eat, do I eat all of my exercise calories, and such. I’m doing what I call intuitive tracking: I eat the things I want to eat in portions that feel good, but I track everything and try to stick to my calorie goal. My ultimate goal is to become an intuitive eater, but right now I need the guidance of tracking to get my body to a comfortable place.

Looking forward to a healthier me, and always happy for accountability partners or new friends.

callsitlikeiseeit

Hello from one theater geek to another!

Trying to log and track during a performance week (for me, and I'm an old hand at this)... is difficult at best. On the flip side, usually the calorie burn (especially since I do tend to keep up with my normal workout schedule) is significant, so it more or less cancels itself out. And QUITE OFTEN, for me, at least, I end up losing quite a lot those weeks.

Personally, I don't find intuitive eating a good place to start because, lets face it, if we were good at listening to those signals, we would not be needing to lose weight, right? right.

I've lost a STUNNING amount of weight. Relatively speaking, I have a small bit to go, and now my goals (or primary focus) have shifted to other areas. I can maintain without gaining (I maintained for about 2 years while I 'rested' lol) I can not LOSE without logging. I've been at this since 2014.

As far as knowing where to set your calories - let MFP do the work. Input your data. Eat to that for 4-6 weeks (a full cycle for women). See what your weight does. Make sure you are logging CORRECTLY- because THAT is a BIGGIE. When you eat back your exercise calories - start by eating back about half. The estimates given by MFP are usually REALLY high.

So, for the first 4-6 weeks, eat what MFP tells you to, plus about half the exercise calories. IF you are losing according to 'plan' - perfect! Faster- eat back a few more exercise calories. Slower- eat back a few less.

Also, don't set your calories too low. The fastest rate of loss (1200 for women and 1500 for men) is not the best rate of loss. Although very tempting to set it to lose faster, it will make it harder for you to maintain and stick to your calorie goals because you will be ... well, hungry. Be kind to yourself, give yourself a few more calories, and you will still lose weight and be less likely to deviate from your plan and therefore more likely to succeed.