I miss food

deksgrl

All of this is completely rational and correct. I have told people the same thing myself - the thing about "blowing it" is that if you blow it typically even if you "blow it" back up to maintenance and get back on the horse again no big harm is done.

I simply have lacked the willpower to get back on the horse since October 31st.

You also do not truly know what your maintenance is, so you may not ever have been blowing it as much as you thought. Knowledge = Power

QuietBloom

This topic has made me so angry. I don't wish to sit here and reply to every single uninformed post about "just have one! Moderation!"

I have binge eating disorder. I have specific trigger foods that I WILL binge on if I have one. I avoid these foods, or only eat them on designated cheat days. This is the reason I have bounced up and down in weight my whole life. I know that I can't be trusted to buy a large bag of chips and eat it one serving at a time, so if I want chips I buy a single serving bag. I have amazing willpower when it comes to sticking to a plan, but I also have a mental disorder that tells me "it's okay to eat this just now, do it now, just do it now, if you eat it right now it's okay, don't tell anyone", which is similar to feelings drug addicts or alcoholics have. So I don't eat fast food. I don't buy chips (or I make my own tortilla chips out of baked cut up tortillas and only make 8), I don't buy large containers of ice cream, etc. etc.

Not everyone can eat one chocolate and stop, and telling people like me (and maillemaker from what I've gathered from his responses in this thread) that they can because YOU can is ignorant as hell.

Only eating them on designated days is moderation.

likitisplit

And did you have any observations when you looked back at the last three days? I looked at your diary. I have a couple of observations. And no, I'm not going to tell you not to go to Five Guys, because Cajun Fries are AWESOME.

One day you were over by 2,000 calories. Another day 800. Today you are over but by 90 calories. You said you have MFP set up for 2 lbs weight loss/week which is 1000 calorie deficit from your non exercise TDEE. (I think there is still some debate about if your calorie goal is reasonable for a person of your size and your goals but...) That means in the course of a week, you have 7,000 calories to use before you start exceeding your maintenance calories. You aren't even half way to that point. If you look at how far you are over at this point in the week, and make smarter choices for the next 4 days, you can not go any further into the red or even gain some of that back by coming in under your calories. If you just meet goal for the next few days, and don't go any further, then you should still lose a pound this week. But if you say, forget it, I've already blown it, might as well continue my quest to finish off those Moose Tracks, then you will not lose that pound and possibly even gain more.

You have two beautiful little girls in your profile picture and you mention how much they mean to you. What would you say to them if they said they can't do something, there is no point in trying, because it is just too hard and they are going to fail anyway?

All of this is completely rational and correct. I have told people the same thing myself - the thing about "blowing it" is that if you blow it typically even if you "blow it" back up to maintenance and get back on the horse again no big harm is done.

I simply have lacked the willpower to get back on the horse since October 31st.

I did that for over a year. Nothing I did made a difference and every time I started I just failed. So I quit...for awhile. and then I'd quit again. And again.

It wasn't until I started exercising three days a week and getting enough to eat that getting in shape was sustainable. And it wasn't any willpower breakthrough that got me there. It was an iPhone.

I'd like to be able to give you the perspective you might have a year from now, after you find what works for you and you've been able to meet your goals. Unfortunately I can't. All I can tell you is that an answer is out there. You will find something that works for you.

I'd really start with feeling hungry and cold. That is either a medical issue or under eating.

likitisplit

I was at 2300 when I was 215 and I was losing more than a half pound a week. I was also not starving and cold.

You must be doing a lot of exercise then.

I wasn't. That was my calories before exercise. And I'm female.

parkscs

The big thing I notice in your food diary man is the lack of protein and the excess of carbs. You also describe your binging as involving oreos, M&Ms, I see ice cream, cookies, and so on. One suggestion I would make is to up your protein intake and to avoid eating meals that don't include some sort of protein. I won't launch into a diatribe about how you should consider a low carb diet, but you might be surprised on how full you can feel when you aren't spending your calories on desserts, sandwiches and fries, and instead you're filling those calories with fresh foods and lean meats. Not to mention, it's a great excuse to fire up the grill on a weekly basis.

You may not want my advice, but just in case, I would give 2000 calories/day a try and look to up your protein to a much higher level. I would save dessert for special occasions and don't buy big tubs of ice cream and things like that when you go to the grocery store. You're making your life so much harder by having that stuff sitting around, especially since you aren't currently in a routine where you're accustomed to resisting those temptations.

rocknlotsofrolls

you could do it this way. I don't know your calorie target, so lets say you eat 1500 calories a day. Why don't you eat 1200 of those calories from the things you say you don't like, and then eat 300 calories of the good stuff? I mean, for me, it would be a 150 calorie pack of doritos and maybe half of a nutty bar which is 115, so there is only 265 calories. Do you see what I mean? Just eat a little junk food every day.

maillemaker

Willpower is a choice! Lacking willpower is many times just being indecisive. You may want to make the choice but you haven't yet. What is stopping you. There are many here in this thread who, with out knowing you, want you to make that choice.

Commit to yourself and do what is needed.

Everything is a choice. Everything is a cost/benefit analysis. It's just that frequently the benefit of immediate pleasure outweighs the distance pleasure of being thin.

It wasn't until I started exercising three days a week and getting enough to eat that getting in shape was sustainable. And it wasn't any willpower breakthrough that got me there. It was an iPhone.

I started my diet in June of 2013. I did that for about 3 months until I felt like I had a handle on eating, and then I joined a gym. I believe on my first day there I injured my right elbow joint doing bicep curls. I stayed at it though until about October. I went to my doctor and she sent me to physical therapy. I went once and they rubbed on it for a few minutes and hooked it up to a TENS device. It felt nice but seemed kind of hokey to me and I wasn't going to pay $40 a week for someone to rub on my arm. So I did not go back. I have been out of the gym now for 3-4 months and the arm is still sore so I suspect it is permanently injured. I figured I'll lay out until whenever my next checkup is and if it's not better by then I'll look into a specialist.

I'd really start with feeling hungry and cold. That is either a medical issue or under eating.

I really don't think so. I've dieted enough in my life to know what losing weight feels like. I believe it is a simple physiological response to not eating enough. "Enough" meaning eating so little that your body has to start burning fat stores. I can tell right away by how I feel whether I'm going to be seeing weight loss on the scales, and I can tell right away by how I feel when I won't.

Loosing weight is just miserable, and there is no two ways about that. It's why over 90% of people who try fail. You just have to suck it up for as long as you can. My good friend, who was a psychiatrist, felt that it was not possible. He believed that dieting was fighting the natural level of sustenance your body wanted and said that it was an exercise in pain tolerance. Most people can't tolerate the pain for very long. This was Dr. Corbett Thigpen who was the first to diagnose multiple personalities.

I wasn't. That was my calories before exercise. And I'm female.

I'm skeptical of your numbers. The rule of thumb for a man to determine his maintenance caloric intake is to multiply your weight by 10. So for me, at 281 pounds, it would be 2800 calories. At 215, for a man you'd eat 2150. So at 2300 you would be eating a surplus for a man. So you must have been doing a lot of exercise to lose weight while eating that much food.

The big thing I notice in your food diary man is the lack of protein and the excess of carbs. You also describe your binging as involving oreos, M&Ms, I see ice cream, cookies, and so on. One suggestion I would make is to up your protein intake and to avoid eating meals that don't include some sort of protein. I won't launch into a diatribe about how you should consider a low carb diet, but you might be surprised on how full you can feel when you aren't spending your calories on desserts, sandwiches and fries, and instead you're filling those calories with fresh foods and lean meats. Not to mention, it's a great excuse to fire up the grill on a weekly basis.

You may not want my advice, but just in case, I would give 2000 calories/day a try and look to up your protein to a much higher level. I would save dessert for special occasions and don't buy big tubs of ice cream and things like that when you go to the grocery store. You're making your life so much harder by having that stuff sitting around, especially since you aren't currently in a routine where you're accustomed to resisting those temptations.

I am a big believer in a low-carb diet and if you go back and see my logs from 4/1 through 10/31 you will see that I pretty much follow it. I do this for two reasons: 1) it is best to cut out the tempting foods from my diet. and 2) high-carb foods tend to be very calorie dense eating a small amount that leaves you hungry soon still consumes a massive amount of your daily allotment of calories.

Also I believe the blood sugar spike and crash caused by eating carbs can trigger hunger. Eating a high protein diet seems to level out the BSL and helps control hunger.

I mean, for me, it would be a 150 calorie pack of doritos and maybe half of a nutty bar which is 115, so there is only 265 calories.

I'm not a big chip eater, I prefer sweets. I don't think if I opened a package of nutty bars I could stop at half a nutty bar or even one.

I've just got to get back to being hungry again. I'll try on Monday.

deksgrl

I'm skeptical of your numbers. The rule of thumb for a man to determine his maintenance caloric intake is to multiply your weight by 10. So for me, at 281 pounds, it would be 2800 calories. At 215, for a man you'd eat 2150. So at 2300 you would be eating a surplus for a man. So you must have been doing a lot of exercise to lose weight while eating that much food.

There are better ways to estimate than this "rule of thumb". And there are hundreds of women on this site eating and losing weight eating >2,000 calories a day.

deksgrl

I'm skeptical of your numbers. The rule of thumb for a man to determine his maintenance caloric intake is to multiply your weight by 10. So for me, at 281 pounds, it would be 2800 calories. At 215, for a man you'd eat 2150. So at 2300 you would be eating a surplus for a man. So you must have been doing a lot of exercise to lose weight while eating that much food.

There are better ways to estimate than this "rule of thumb". And there are hundreds of women on this site eating and losing weight eating >2,000 calories a day.

Read this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

maillemaker

There are better ways to estimate than this "rule of thumb". And there are hundreds of women on this site eating and losing weight eating >2,000 calories a day.

Your scooby calculator puts me at 2750, which is within 50 calories of the "rule of thumb".

I have no doubt that anyone can lose weight eating any amount of calories a day. But if you aren't eating your way to a deficit you have to exercise your way to one.

maillemaker

Read this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

From your link:

"SETTING CALORIE TARGETS:

There are two basic ways to do this: by using the targets provided by MFP after inputting your information or by calculating your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) and taking a cut off your TDEE, assuming weight loss is the goal. "

That's what I did.

Briargrey

yep. That's how my mom does it. If you like eating it. DO NOT EAT IT. My parents simply never buy chips, sweets, cheese, nuts, etc. My dad jokes that they live on baked fish, kale and dust. My mom says you loose the cravings completely after 6-9 months if you never give in.

Oh god, that sounds just horrible to me. I make it fit my calories. I have any and all of those things you listed -- I just do it in small quantities and across several days or weeks, not at once and not in a binge fest. I regulate myself. It's way more sustainable and it also is more enjoyable

maillemaker

From your link:

"For example, say I lost 8lb over a 10 week period while eating an average of 2,000 calories a day. My TDEE would be: 2,000 x 7 days x 10 weeks (140,000) which represents the total calories consumed over the 10 week period plus 8 x 3,500 (28,000) which represents my weight loss expressed as a deficit using the 3,500 calories per pound approximation. My total expenditure over that period would be 168,000 (the 140,000 plus the 28,000) divided by 70 (7 days x 10 weeks) = 2,400 per day. This would approximate my TDEE."

Using this method, I estimate my daily caloric average intake to be 1800 calories, which I sustained for 219 days, for a total of 394,200 calories. Over this time period I lost 30 pounds, which is an additional 75,000 calories, for a total TDEE of 469,200, or 2,142.47 calories per day.

If I use the 20% idea from your link, 20% of 2,142.47 is 1713.97 calories, which is very close to the 1690 that MFP is suggesting.

nomeejerome

:huh:

Briargrey

From your link:

"For example, say I lost 8lb over a 10 week period while eating an average of 2,000 calories a day. My TDEE would be: 2,000 x 7 days x 10 weeks (140,000) which represents the total calories consumed over the 10 week period plus 8 x 3,500 (28,000) which represents my weight loss expressed as a deficit using the 3,500 calories per pound approximation. My total expenditure over that period would be 168,000 (the 140,000 plus the 28,000) divided by 70 (7 days x 10 weeks) = 2,400 per day. This would approximate my TDEE."

Using this method, I estimate my daily caloric average intake to be 1800 calories, which I sustained for 219 days, for a total of 394,200 calories. Over this time period I lost 30 pounds, which is an additional 75,000 calories, for a total TDEE of 469,200, or 2,142.47 calories per day.

If I use the 20% idea from your link, 20% of 2,142.47 is 1713.97 calories, which is very close to the 1690 that MFP is suggesting.

So what is your point? I'm unclear. If I use MFP set at like 1 pound per week, it puts me about 1360 calories, and I eat back exercise calories. If I use TDEE-20%, it puts me around 1750 or thereabouts. I aim to keep my calorie intake between 1400-1800 so I don't eat too low but I don't go over the TDEE deficit I set up for myself too. I tend to exercise about 300 calories worth so the 2 methods are close in calories. The good thing about TDEE method is that it won't set you lower than estimated BMR, whereas MFP will cut off at 1200.

I get that you started off and did something (lost 30) and you've slipped and gained most of it back. But what I have seen over the multiple posts in this thread by you is that you aren't actually looking for a solution. You are trying to justify something? I guess that excuses work in keeping you fat? Not sure.

Barring some sort of bizarre medical condition, you will lose weight at a deficit. Too much of a deficit is bad for your overall, long-term health, and it may slow your metabolism and wreak havoc with your body because you aren't getting good or adequate nutrition. You're not some special snowflake, more than likely, and this should work for you.

If, like the OP, you can't find it in yourself to figure out how not to binge on foods and go over on calories, then yeah, I guess you're going to have to be ever wanting and whining about not being able to eat certain foods. I feel for you, because that is miserable for sure. And while willpower is hard to do, the concept is simple, and you can PLAN and PREPARE and DECIDE. The excuses are just that, excuses. You either will do it or you will choose to fail.

It sucks. I chose to fail for the last decade. I lost 86 pounds restricting carbs but eating a lot of crap. I felt like crap. I stalled out and got discouraged. I never wanted to truly change what I was eating or figure out how much I was eating, so I slipped back into my old ways, gained it all back and 5 more, and waited a decade before getting sick of it and realizing it was time for a permanent lifestyle change. MFP gave me the tools and I gave myself the power. By tracking what I intake accurately and honestly, I can make good choices and sometimes those choices include a Lindt ball or Domino's! But instead of eating a container or a whole pizza, I eat what my calorie allotment allows -- which means not 1500 calories worth of chocolate but instead a normal day of eating, perhaps trimming here and there to build up some extra free calories, and then 2-3 Lindt balls. Or some extra exercising and 4 slices of pizza.

It is a choice. It is simple. It isn't easy. But it is doable if you let it be. Don't be a victim to your own eating.

WallyH4EverVersion

Have them then. There's no reason you can't eat these things in moderation

^This.

maillemaker

So what is your point? I'm unclear.

There were people up-thread saying I was not eating enough calories at the 1690 that MFP was recommending.

But the link the person recommended ended up within 24 calories of the same target number.

So it looks like 1700 calories is the correct target.

likitisplit

There are better ways to estimate than this "rule of thumb". And there are hundreds of women on this site eating and losing weight eating >2,000 calories a day.

Your scooby calculator puts me at 2750, which is within 50 calories of the "rule of thumb".

I have no doubt that anyone can lose weight eating any amount of calories a day. But if you aren't eating your way to a deficit you have to exercise your way to one.

But your estimates are way off the experience of other people who weigh as much or less than you. I think you should at least try 2000 calories a day and see what happens. I found that my weight loss/gain was a bit broader banded than a strict calories in - calories out would suggest.

Also, considering that the last time I had to lose weight, l did it successfully without feeling hungry all the time and kept it off for seven years (until I got pregnant) and then lost it without feeling hungry and have kept it off so far, I'd argue that being hungry all the time isn't necessary. There's an awful lot of successful dieters that agree with me.

And you are right. I netted between 1900 and 2000 kcals most days. I just added 350 for breastfeeding first thing every morning so I remember it as higher. I was still eating more than you and losing sustainably (and maintaining an adequate milk supply). My diary is completely open if you want to take a look.

Mr_Knight

I'm skeptical of your numbers. The rule of thumb for a man to determine his maintenance caloric intake is to multiply your weight by 10. So for me, at 281 pounds, it would be 2800 calories.

That "rule of thumb" is for non-obese people. For heavy people, it will overestimate by several hundred calories. For significantly obese people, it can overestimate by 1000+.

deksgrl

There are better ways to estimate than this "rule of thumb". And there are hundreds of women on this site eating and losing weight eating >2,000 calories a day.

Your scooby calculator puts me at 2750, which is within 50 calories of the "rule of thumb".

I have no doubt that anyone can lose weight eating any amount of calories a day. But if you aren't eating your way to a deficit you have to exercise your way to one.

2750 is what number? Scooby gives you 3 numbers. Did you enter sedentary? You are probably not sedentary unless you barely move out of bed. What percent loss did you enter?

jonnythan

There are better ways to estimate than this "rule of thumb". And there are hundreds of women on this site eating and losing weight eating >2,000 calories a day.

Your scooby calculator puts me at 2750, which is within 50 calories of the "rule of thumb".

I have no doubt that anyone can lose weight eating any amount of calories a day. But if you aren't eating your way to a deficit you have to exercise your way to one.

2750 is what number? Scooby gives you 3 numbers. Did you enter sedentary? You are probably not sedentary unless you barely move out of bed. What percent loss did you enter?

Sedentary is not coma. I fall into sedentary after walking to work, going down the hallway to the bathroom a few times, going home, making dinner, doing dishes, doing laundry, and going to bed. Most people are closer to sedentary than lightly active unless their job involves a lot of walling.

maillemaker

But your estimates are way off the experience of other people who weigh as much or less than you. I think you should at least try 2000 calories a day and see what happens. I found that my weight loss/gain was a bit broader banded than a strict calories in - calories out would suggest.

MFP
http://www.myfitnesspal.com
TDEE: 2740
Recommended deficit to achieve 2 pounds per week: 1050
Recommended daily intake: 1690

Sarauk2sf
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets
Based on a 30 pound weight loss over 219 days consuming on average 1800 calories per day:
TDEE: 2142
Recommended deficit (20%): 428
Recommended daily intake: 1714

Scooby
http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/
TDEE: 2757
Recommended deficit (20%) to achieve 1 pound per week: 551
Recommended daily intake: 2205

These three sources agree on a recommended daily intake within 500 calories. And Sara's calculations based on my actual weight loss agree with MFP within 24 calories. I'm afraid of eating more because I suspect the weight loss will be even more meager than I achieved over 30 weeks.

Also, considering that the last time I had to lose weight, l did it successfully without feeling hungry all the time and kept it off for seven years (until I got pregnant) and then lost it without feeling hungry and have kept it off so far, I'd argue that being hungry all the time isn't necessary. There's an awful lot of successful dieters that agree with me.

But you are also in a very tiny group of people who diet. Somewhere between 80% to 95% of people who diet are unsuccessful. It may very well be that you are in a small minority of people who can cut their caloric intake without feeling hungry all the time. All I can tell you is I have done this off and on for 30 years and the results have always been the same. I can literally feel it when I am losing weight. I can tell immediately when I have slacked off before I ever get on a scale.

It's interesting that while I was googling to find out the percentage of people who fail at diets, I came across this:

http://healthread.net/why-dieters-regain-leibel.htm
" From Dr Leibel's studies of formerly obese (who are keeping weight off), he observed that they are hungry all the time, are cold and other symptoms of the biochemical system kicking in to force a weight gain. When they exercise, these individuals burn 15 to 20 percent LESS calories than a normally thin person and they evidence large amounts of cortisol in the blood (the cortisol has been observed in some studies to cause weight gain in and of itself). Dr Leibel's comment was:

> "the system is set up to defend bodyfat so if you monkey with it down here, all hell breaks out and the body goes haywire!" <

Dr Leibel feels that even a small weight loss (as little as 10 lbs) can be beneficial but comments that for most people it is impossible to keep the weight off even WITH medications like Meridia (which he said posed an independent cardio-vascular risk and must be taken constantly). "Even with that," he concluded, "after a few years, the medication seems to lose its effect and the individual re-gains the weight." "

Now the above web site seemed a little 1995ish so I went and looked up this doctor and he does seem to be a legitimate scientist and is a professor at the Columbia University Medical Center.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolph_Leibel

Here is a lecture of his hosted by the NIH:

http://videocast.nih.gov/summary.asp?live=2993&bhcp=1

maillemaker

2750 is what number? Scooby gives you 3 numbers. Did you enter sedentary? You are probably not sedentary unless you barely move out of bed. What percent loss did you enter?

I entered "Desk job with little exercise", as that is me. I work at a desk job, I come home and play on the computer until dinner and bed time. Sometimes I putter around in the workshop, but nothing strenuous.

FindingMyPerfection

So what is your point? I'm unclear.

There were people up-thread saying I was not eating enough calories at the 1690 that MFP was recommending.

But the link the person recommended ended up within 24 calories of the same target number.

So it looks like 1700 calories is the correct target.

I know when you start you want to lose as fast as you can so many times people fall into the trap of trying to jump to a large deficit. Maybe it would be good for your sanity to first start with a week maintaining your weight. Then slowly reduce your daily intake by 100-200 cals a week till you hit 1lb loss a week. Stay here for 2-4 weeks and then reduce again if you feel you can do so and still keep sanity. In the long run it doesn't matter how fast you lose, what matters is that you teach yourself to eat responsibly and in a way you are willing to sustain.

For this to stick beyond the dieting faze you must develop a healthy relationship with food or you will gain it back again.

OllyReeves

I miss...chips and salsa. Chips and Guac. F lamming Cheetos. More than one dinky ounce of cheese. Potatoes with cheese and salsa and onions and peppers..a whole baked one. Ice cream. Cashews. Damn I really miss cashews. Nuts. Peanut butter. One spoon is pathetic. Hummus. Chick Peas out of the can. Cheese enchilada. Eggplant Parm. Garlic bread with cheese. Eggs with cheese, peppers, onions, diced potatoes and salsa scrambled. Hash browns.

Talk dirty to me....

grassette

I miss...chips and salsa. Chips and Guac. F lamming Cheetos. More than one dinky ounce of cheese. Potatoes with cheese and salsa and onions and peppers..a whole baked one. Ice cream. Cashews. Damn I really miss cashews. Nuts. Peanut butter. One spoon is pathetic. Hummus. Chick Peas out of the can. Cheese enchilada. Eggplant Parm. Garlic bread with cheese. Eggs with cheese, peppers, onions, diced potatoes and salsa scrambled. Hash browns.

I know. We are such gluttons without even being aware of it.

maillemaker

For this to stick beyond the dieting faze you must develop a healthy relationship with food or you will gain it back again.

Yes, this has been known for the 30 years I have been trying to lose weight.

Also, very interesting point at the 35 minute mark in this video:
http://videocast.nih.gov/summary.asp?live=2993&bhcp=1

The symptoms he mentions match mine exactly. It was such a relief to see affirmation after hearing everyone tell me I'm wrong!

FindingMyPerfection

For this to stick beyond the dieting faze you must develop a healthy relationship with food or you will gain it back again.

Yes, this has been known for the 30 years I have been trying to lose weight.

Also, very interesting point at the 35 minute mark in this video:
http://videocast.nih.gov/summary.asp?live=2993&bhcp=1

The symptoms he mentions match mine exactly. It was such a relief to see affirmation after hearing everyone tell me I'm wrong!

My suggestion to work down slowly, is it one you are willing to consider?

debrag12

I meant to quote that. And I went and got the blood work and resting metabolic rate test done at a gym, and my metabolism is very low. According to most charts i should have rmr of about 1394, but mine is 1167. So to actually loose without spending two hours in the gym every day, I was told to eat a thousand calories a day by a nutritionist. That makes a lot of salads with minimal dressings, vegetable soups, and yogurts. So, I basically eat salads, soups, steamed veggies and yogurt. Sometimes a veggie sausage patty, usually a string cheese. Lots of fruit.

And my mom is physically active, sleeps enough, and never ever ever gets sick. I also don't think shes ate anything processed, or non free range/organic/locally farmed in years.

you're meant to eat below your TDEE not your BMR or have I missed what rmr is?

debrag12

I meant to quote that. And I went and got the blood work and resting metabolic rate test done at a gym, and my metabolism is very low. According to most charts i should have rmr of about 1394, but mine is 1167. So to actually loose without spending two hours in the gym every day, I was told to eat a thousand calories a day by a nutritionist. That makes a lot of salads with minimal dressings, vegetable soups, and yogurts. So, I basically eat salads, soups, steamed veggies and yogurt. Sometimes a veggie sausage patty, usually a string cheese. Lots of fruit.

And my mom is physically active, sleeps enough, and never ever ever gets sick. I also don't think shes ate anything processed, or non free range/organic/locally farmed in years.

not sure I would trust the test done at a gym...nor would I trust a "nutritionalist" period...registered dietician maybe...as long as they were current on their studies.

What kind of gym has the type of setup and staff required to perform an actual metabolic rate test?

well my gym has a nutritionist but I'm scared to go for this reason