I thought I knew what I was doing until I visited this site!

Nibbles

Hello everyone -

I'm not new to the site but new to the whole TDEE concept. This being said, I have a few concerns/questions.

At what point do you decide to eat at TDEE vs. the -15% cut vs. your BMR? How do you decide if you need a reset?

As of July 5th, I restarted my eating clean regimen. I exercise 5 days a week, 3 days of lifting and 2 cardio days. All sessions are 30 mins using my Kelly Coffey Meyers DVDs. I also use Cathe Frederich and Chalene Johnson's DVDs.

For the past couple years I've managed to keep my weight between 135-140 by working out here and there and cutting calories here and there, but I've been very inconsistent. My clothing size has jumped from a size 4 to 6/8, mostly 8's. Clearly whatever muscle I had has deflated. For the last few weeks I have been getting back into a consistent routine. I THOUGHT I was doing well with eating until I read through this forum!

My Stats: 5'3, 139lbs, 44 yrs. old. According to Scooby, and stating I workout 3-5 hrs. a week, it says I have a TDEE of 2087 and BMR 1346, so I'm thinking I should be eating 1773 calories a day. Currently I've been eating 1350 and not always eating back my exercise calories. I'm assuming that if I want to gain muscle, which is my goal, I need to eat at 1773 calories?

Suggestions, corrections, honest comments are welcome.

Thanks.

sarahorange55

HI and welcome - you should eat at your TDEE figure first 2087 and stay there until you feel mentally ready to drop your cals - believe me when I say after about 8 weeks you will struggle to drop any cals from that 2087 - honestly

to gain muscle you should not really be in a deficit however many people say as a newbie to this way of life you can on cut - the issue I see more here is that you have been under eating and eating at TDEE will reset your body to the real TDEE value. Whilst resetting you will be building muscle and muscle is what helps shed the fat

its not a quick process mind - maybe worth checking out the download and articles over on the website - eatmore2weighless.com as well as that will help

but welcome
Sarah

Nibbles

So eating at this high caloric rate, working out the SAME as I currently do, will drop pounds? And, when do you decide that doing the 15% cut is necessary? And, at what point do you eat at the BMR or is that a no-no? Also, I'm assuming your diet should be super clean? What are the guidelines for eating? Thanks. I will go to the site and get further info.

sarahorange55

def suggest that you read up more as

high caloric rate - nope its not high its normal and what you should be eating always to maintain - your TDEE is what you need to eat to stay the same

so eating at TDEE won't drop you pounds no BUT you need to do this because you have been undereating - hence why its worth reading up more

BMR - nope you should never eat just at your BMR - that rate is for when you are in a coma that is the basic cals that your body needs to survive if you didn't do anything ie in a coma type thing

cut - everyone is different - but I found that it took about 10weeks before I felt ready - and its a mental thing - this is the hard part there is no fixed date / time etc to follow - its learning to listen to your own body and work out what it wants when and how to match that

Nope to super clean either - yes to macros 40/30/30 Carbs Protein Fat - but otherwise nope you can essentially eat what you want!

and yes the website has way more info - so does some of the sticky posts here too - you should read it all as this is WAY different to anything else - but if you get it - understand - you will love it!

Nibbles

Ok. Thanks. I have no problem mentally eating that much as long as continuing to workout by lifting weights will get me the muscle tone I've always wanted and cellulite decreased. My biggest issue will be HOW LONG will this take... to see results. I'm happy to give it 3 months but anything longer than that will shake my resolve. I'll give it a try.

Jennacita

My suggestions would be to read the stickies on the board. Kiki explains a lot about the process. How it works, what to expect and why you need to be patient.

Good luck on your journey.

jaeone

Hello everyone -

I'm not new to the site but new to the whole TDEE concept. This being said, I have a few concerns/questions.

At what point do you decide to eat at TDEE vs. the -15% cut vs. your BMR? How do you decide if you need a reset?

As of July 5th, I restarted my eating clean regimen. I exercise 5 days a week, 3 days of lifting and 2 cardio days. All sessions are 30 mins using my Kelly Coffey Meyers DVDs. I also use Cathe Frederich and Chalene Johnson's DVDs.

For the past couple years I've managed to keep my weight between 135-140 by working out here and there and cutting calories here and there, but I've been very inconsistent. My clothing size has jumped from a size 4 to 6/8, mostly 8's. Clearly whatever muscle I had has deflated. For the last few weeks I have been getting back into a consistent routine. I THOUGHT I was doing well with eating until I read through this forum!

My Stats: 5'3, 139lbs, 44 yrs. old. According to Scooby, and stating I workout 3-5 hrs. a week, it says I have a TDEE of 2087 and BMR 1346, so I'm thinking I should be eating 1773 calories a day. Currently I've been eating 1350 and not always eating back my exercise calories. I'm assuming that if I want to gain muscle, which is my goal, I need to eat at 1773 calories?

Suggestions, corrections, honest comments are welcome.

Thanks.

Hi There, and welcome!! As jenn38 stated be sure to read the stickies on this board and also, join us at EM2WL.com and read success stories from those who began somewhat like you!! And join the forums there for more interaction with those members.

To decide if you need a reset or not comes the questions have you followed very low calorie diets for long periods of time or if you have never taking a diet break (eat full TDEE) You would be a candidate for a reset.

You stated you wanted to gain muscle,You won't be successful trying to gain muscle on a deficit. If you want to gain muscle, you will need to eat a small surplus OVER your TDEE. So if your TDEE is 2087, you would eat 2187-2287 every day. You would need to Lift very heavy, and do minimal cardio. This would technically be a bulk. So along with the muscle gain comes some fat. If gaining muscle is your goal this is the road to take. Then after 3 or 4 months of bulk you would then cut and eat @ 10% of your TDEE to cut the fat that is covering the muscle. This cycle will probably have to be repeated several times, depending on your body type and ability to build and retain muscle.

So whether you want to do a reset, a bulk, or go right to 10% cut, This is not a quick fix, this journey is just as much mental as it is physical. You really need to plan on following this lifestyle for longer than the 3 months. This isn't a diet, it is truly a lifestyle that is maintainable, but it will take time to see results. As most EM2WL members know, you must trust the process.

As I mentioned, visit EM2WL.com for true testimonials!! I hope my info helped!! You can add me for support if you like!!