<3 support group for women eating 2000+ calories per day <3

caveats

bump for my topics

currently sick and not eating right, but hope to get back on the bandwagon when I kick this cold in a couple of days!

lucyhoneychurch

I'd love to join this group, please!
In fact, after catching up on all the posts I feel like this is the place I'd like to be, because I felt like hugging every single one of you for your awesome attitudes toward eating. I've had that pissed-off-because-I'm-starving feeling in the past and I don't want to have that attitude toward food. No eating disorder issues, and I want to keep it that way.

Background on me:
38 yrs old, SAHM with 3 young kiddos.
Ht: 5' 2.5"
SW: 158
CW: 121
Lost 22 lbs before joining MFP in July, lost the other 15 lbs after joining.
I started MFP at 1200cal because that's what everyone did. Over time I was always so hungry and pissed off at everyone, so I upped my cals to around 1375-1400. I've hit my goal weight and am supposed to be in maintenance mode. I have done the 30 Day Shred, Ripped in 30, and am working on the belly fat with alternating 6 Week 6 Pack with some Ripped, as well as running on a track for 30 minutes 2x/wk. I've read the NROLFW, loved the philosophy and want to get better at lifting, but don't have a gym membership; we're looking to improve our weight system at home. I am also open to trying new exercise DVDs or systems.

I'm not looking to lose weight anymore. I want to maintain OR get to the weight that is healthiest as long as I can banish this belly fat AND improve my overall strength/musculature. I'm a work in progress learning how to eat better and learn how to fuel this body, and I'm beginning to make the right choices. My current calorie goal is set to 1500, but that's only because I'm in this sea of uncertainty on how to move forward with strength training and eating. I can tell that I am still HUNGRY and want to eat more, so I'm going to move that figure up really, really soon. Just playing around with the numbers for now, and still logging. The Fat2Fit calorie counter put me at 2,711.88 daily calories! That sounds gigantic to me, because I don't want to jump in and start eating like that and gain weight. My workout calories push me closer to 2,000 anyway so maybe I'll just start there.

Sorry for the novel. I'm learning a lot from all of you already! This thread is the first one I have read thoroughly from page 1 to 7, because it's got the right vibe, motivation and intention. :bigsmile:

tameko2

still haven't been shopping and of course I'm hungry again. My mother in law (well not in LAW) came to see our new house and then I just HAD to go and at least try to find a pair of jeans that will fit (I'm wandering around in 12s but I'm a 10 now for sure, the 12s are literally falling off) and THEN I thought we might as well stop by the Nike outlet and get some stuff.....

anyway. I had 1850 today (With the protein powder I'm having now, anyway) and over 2k yesterday because I was a little piggy.

I am not concerned about eating some special number like 2k + per day so I won't be hitting that most days but I like hanging with you ladies who DON'T think eating 1300 calories a day is required to lose weight.

Logged a loss today of 1.6 over the last 3 weeks which is exactly where I want to be loss wise. Gonna take a while to lose the weight at .5lb/week (I have about 20lbs of fat to lose to hit 20% bf) but I'd rather do that then lose 1/lbs a week at the exact same rate of flabbiness. I'm hoping it will help reduce muscle loss too since I don't eat 1gram of protein per lean. I just can't - some days I hit it but if I try to hit it every day protein starts to make me feel physical nauseus. By the 4th or 5th day I'm gagging down protein powder 2x a day to hit that macro. I don't know why. Just really gets gross after a few days - I can't even really have meat at every meal - I get to the point where I'd rather not eat at all.

And No I don't eat diet food other than stuff like skim/lowfat milk products (fat free greek yogurt is NASTY, I don't know how people eat that crap). I think it tastes icky for the most part, and fat both increases my feeling of satiety (way more than protein does) and it tastes good. I like fat way better than sugar.

I do generally have diet drinks if for some reason I desperately need a redbull or something. I don't like to drink my calories so I generally stick ot water, tea, or coffee.

scarletleavy

Welcome to all the new people! It makes me so happy to see more and more people interested in eating! Haha all the posts about eating just 1200 calories make me so sad and hungry by proxy.

I had a great day yesterday, food and exercise wise and I think today is gonna be awesome as well. I'm making one of my favorite dishes for the first time, it's a Korean beef called Bulgogi, served with kimchi and rice. I normally don't eat rice, but I'm gonna make an exception today. I had it while I was in China in September and loved it, so I searched out recipes.

And I'm so pumped, I've been looking for a bench and set of weight plates/barbell for the longest time and I finally found a set on a local online message board. I'm going over to their house tonight to pick them up. I'm getting so close to having a fully functional home gym. Woo hoo!

Also as a side note, to anyone who's afraid of upping their calories. I'm trying to maintain and eating at least 2000, more like 2200-2400 and I'm actually still losing some weight. When I reached my goal weight and started to maintain I went on a serious shopping spree: bought 6 pairs of jeans, new work trousers, new suit, new blazer, 2 new dresses, new skirt, 8 new blouses, etc. And now my brand new perfectly fitting jeans are getting loose. Boo! So I really think that if you're eating the right things and exercising you can still lose weight and maintain at higher calories.

tameko2

Welcome to all the new people! It makes me so happy to see more and more people interested in eating! Haha all the posts about eating just 1200 calories make me so sad and hungry by proxy.

I had a great day yesterday, food and exercise wise and I think today is gonna be awesome as well. I'm making one of my favorite dishes for the first time, it's a Korean beef called Bulgogi, served with kimchi and rice. I normally don't eat rice, but I'm gonna make an exception today. I had it while I was in China in September and loved it, so I searched out recipes.

And I'm so pumped, I've been looking for a bench and set of weight plates/barbell for the longest time and I finally found a set on a local online message board. I'm going over to their house tonight to pick them up. I'm getting so close to having a fully functional home gym. Woo hoo!

Also as a side note, to anyone who's afraid of upping their calories. I'm trying to maintain and eating at least 2000, more like 2200-2400 and I'm actually still losing some weight. When I reached my goal weight and started to maintain I went on a serious shopping spree: bought 6 pairs of jeans, new work trousers, new suit, new blazer, 2 new dresses, new skirt, 8 new blouses, etc. And now my brand new perfectly fitting jeans are getting loose. Boo! So I really think that if you're eating the right things and exercising you can still lose weight and maintain at higher calories.

Bulgogi is good - my favorite is the spicy pork eaten the korean way - rice on lettuce and then pile the pork on top and make sort of a wrap. Actually my favorite korean food is mool (mul) naengmyun - probably really annoying to make yourself though.

Grats on finding the weight set - I have also been looking but so much of what I see online looks ....icky.

I think the amount of calories you can eat and lose/maintain is HEAVILY dependent on a) how much muscle you have and b) how active you are and c) how twitchy you are (how much you wiggle, tap your toes/fingers/etc even thought you are ostensibly not moving your body). Someone with a desk job and a car commute probably spends about 9 hours of their day sitting on their *kitten* and then add in mostly sedentary hobbies and you just can't eat as much as someone who comes home from a job where they spend half the day on their feet and then goes out and plays with the dogs and does some gardening and housework every evening. I'm a wiggler but I'm otherwise totally sedentary - my hobbies are reading and video games and I work a desk job. I am FAIRLY certain that 2400 calories daily would make me gain. My exercise burns are typically about 250 - a big one is around 400.

Guess I won't know for sure (or close to sure) unless I get a Fit though. I'd really like one but GAH so many things to spend money on and so little money.

I found a banana (yay) but I am still sooooooo hungry. I wonder if its because I'm on my period.

psych101

Hey all,
Well I'm only just starting to eat proper FOOD since I had my wisdom teeth out a week ago! I also went for my first run in over a week today and boy was it great!! I really missed working out while I was recovering!

Having to get creative to get my calories in as my mouth is still sore. Adding almond butter and avocado to my shakes, using full fat everything helps too! I've lost 3kgs since I had my teeth out and I'm peeved about it! It's too much too fast even though I made sure I was hitting my calorie targets each day. I'm completely prepared for it to come back once I'm eating normally again. Haha if you'd told me a year ago that I'd be fighting to eat enough calories and upset about losing 3kgs in ten days I would have laughed! Still the longer this journey goes on, the more I learn about what helps me move forward in the direction of my goals, and what doesn't!

I love this group by the way!! So glad to have found likeminded ladies, I really was questioning myself after reading the plethora of 1200 a day posts. I just couldn't live on that amount!

Oh and a little NSV for me today: had to buy a dress for a friends wedding - I ended up buying an NZ size 10!!!! Holy moly I have never ever been this small before! It's strapless and DANG my guns look good in it!

For those who have tried NROLFW, what kind of equipment would I need? I really need something to spice up my training!

scarletleavy

Just had to share, I made the best protein smoothie this morning: Light soy milk, half a frozen banana, chocolate protein powder, chia seeds, flax seeds, blueberries and a raw egg yolk. The texture was perfectly thick and the egg yolk made it so so creamy. Yum!

love4fitnesslove4food_wechange

hey ladies...well today was going to be a rest day but if I do that then I have to eat about 1500 cals even after I factor in by baby "workout." I can't take a complete day off ever or else I get constipated. Not fun.

I'm not sure of what I will do. Any suggestions? Workout like usual or slightly less and eat 2000 anyway. Eat 1799-1800 and have a moderate day? Or do a low active day and stick to 1500-1600? It's been forever since iceve eaten less than 1800 because I always workout.

Collinsky

For those who have tried NROLFW, what kind of equipment would I need? I really need something to spice up my training!

I was coming here to ask this as well... I want to get NROLFW, but if it requires gym equipment it might not work right now, because I'm very limited in what I have access to at the moment.

ETA I found this thread that answers the question: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/368210-nrolfw-question-re-equipment?hl=nrolfw+at+home#posts-5007360

love4fitnesslove4food_wechange

I will be eating 1850 MINIMUM today...going to try to get a circuit training workout in to up my burn so that I can eat 2000 calories today though!

FFCLawson

I am new to this idea of eating 2000+ calories a day. I was wondering if someone could tell me how this would work for me. I am just starting out with my weight loss. I am 235lbs, 5'4", and 25 years old. I was trying to eat around 1500-1600 calories a day with doing 30 minutes of cardio 4 days/week. I had a really difficult time even getting that many calories a lot of days. Then I ended up binge eating...fast food or sweet stuff where I work. Some was just binging, some because of my busy schedule, thus, the fast food. I am a nanny for 3 kids. So I am moving a lot during the day (I work 4 days a week). Would this mean I am active (if I did no exercise)? My questions are:

1. How many calories should I be eating if I just started out doing cardio 4 days a week for 30 minutes? Also, should I be eating less calories or the same amount on days I don't work out? So basically, how many calories should I be eating on work days-2 of the work days I would not do any additional exercise and 2 of the work days I would do 30 minutes of cardio.

2. On the days I am not working, I am usually just running errands, grocery shopping, house cleaning, spending time with friends and family (which makes for sitting), and doing a lot of school work (which makes for a lot of sitting). I will also do 30 minutes of cardio on two of these days.

I'd like to just start out with this, and I will add in more exercise over time.

Anyway, hope all this makes sense, and you guys don't mind helping me out. I feel like eating more would be great for me, and I will feel better, not deprived, and will hopefully, eliminate binge eating. Any advice is welcomed! Also if you could explain some about the deficits, NET calories, exercise calories, etc. that would be great! Would like to understand how you are figuring this out for me. I have been reading on some of this. I understand some of the basics...calories in, clories out. I am just having a hard time applying it to my life.

Thanks!

mrsmorris13

I am most definitely in!! Those of you that are using protein powder, help!! I bought one from my local whole foods store and i have to fight to hold it down. What brands do you use? I would love to get one that was unflavored.

Hi! i Use MRM or Jay Robb....I buy them at Jimbo's...but you can get online also. I get chocolate or vanilla. They are tasty! No fat, 1gram of carbs and about 15-20 grams of protein per serving.

chevy88grl

Oh yay. A bunch of women who eat the way I do! I didn't think there were many of us out there - all I tend to see is women who are netting around 1200 calories a day. I can't imagine only eating 1200 calories a day. I would be starving and boy would my body be ticked off at me.

I consume 2200-2500 net calories a day. I work on my feet 4 days a week (3/ 9 hour days and 1/6 hour day). I've taken the last month off from the gym due to some physical issues, illness and personal things I needed to focus on. Back to it this week! When I'm going to the gym - I go 2-3 days a week for 60 mins. I do 1 day of pure cardio, 1 day of weights (bench pressing, squats, etc) and 1 day of cardio/strength training combined.

Nice to see others who are eating a lot and losing/maintaining.

I'm 5'4", 143-145lbs and have been maintaining for about 6 months now.

Rae6503

FFCLawson:

I'd let MFP do it's thing to figure out how many calories you should be eating. Let it do the guided goals. Set your activity level to lightly active, first enter your weight loss goals of 1lb per week. See what it tells you. Then when you do exercise, enter the exercise from the activity list and eat those calories. If this still isn't enough food you can change it to 0.5 lbs per week. Your loss will be slower, but faster than if you try to eat too litter and give up. I also track in excel so I can pay more attention to the weekly average, that way if I go over a day, I'll stay under another.

What MFP does is figure out your BMR which is what you'd burn in a coma. Then it multiplies that by something to figure out your maintenance, which is what you'd burn on a normal day without exercise (other sites include exercise but then you don't get to eat your exercise calories). It then takes your weekly loss goal and figures out how many calories a day deficit you need to achieve that. 1 pound = 3500 calories, so one pound a week = 500 calories a day deficit. So MFP takes your maintenance and subtracts 500. Now if you exercise and do NOT eat your exercise calories suddenly your deficit becomes larger than 500. This can lead to excess hungry, lack of energy, and even slower weight loss. So this is where net calories come in. You need to NET what it tells you to in order to maintain the deficit you want.

Make sense?

FFCLawson

Rachel, yes it does make sense. Thank you. After reading your post and looking at a couple other threads on this topic, it looks like it would kind of go like this:

According to MFP, to maintain with no exercise, I would need 2420 calories/day.

In order to lose 1lb a week, I would need to have a calorie deficit of 500 calories/day.

On days I work out, I would like to do a combination of eating less and working out. Once I am able to burn more calories through exercise, this will change. But my plan is to do something like: eat 2120 calories and burn 200 calories through exercise. That is a 500 calorie deficit. So if I worked out more then I could obviously eat more calories, but this is just a guideline. The goal is a 500 calorie deficit.

On days I don't work out, then I would eat 1920 calories which would be a 500 calorie deficit.

Does this all look right? Am I understanding everything correct?

Rae6503

Rachel, yes it does make sense. Thank you. After reading your post and looking at a couple other threads on this topic, it looks like it would kind of go like this:

According to MFP, to maintain with no exercise, I would need 2420 calories/day.

In order to lose 1lb a week, I would need to have a calorie deficit of 500 calories/day.

On days I work out, I would like to do a combination of eating less and working out. Once I am able to burn more calories through exercise, this will change. But my plan is to do something like: eat 2120 calories and burn 200 calories through exercise. That is a 500 calorie deficit. So if I worked out more then I could obviously eat more calories, but this is just a guideline. The goal is a 500 calorie deficit.

On days I don't work out, then I would eat 1920 calories which would be a 500 calorie deficit.

Does this all look right? Am I understanding everything correct?

Sounds like you've got it! Good luck.

love4fitnesslove4food_wechange

I'd love to join this group, please!
In fact, after catching up on all the posts I feel like this is the place I'd like to be, because I felt like hugging every single one of you for your awesome attitudes toward eating. I've had that pissed-off-because-I'm-starving feeling in the past and I don't want to have that attitude toward food. No eating disorder issues, and I want to keep it that way.

Background on me:
38 yrs old, SAHM with 3 young kiddos.
Ht: 5' 2.5"
SW: 158
CW: 121
Lost 22 lbs before joining MFP in July, lost the other 15 lbs after joining.
I started MFP at 1200cal because that's what everyone did. Over time I was always so hungry and pissed off at everyone, so I upped my cals to around 1375-1400. I've hit my goal weight and am supposed to be in maintenance mode. I have done the 30 Day Shred, Ripped in 30, and am working on the belly fat with alternating 6 Week 6 Pack with some Ripped, as well as running on a track for 30 minutes 2x/wk. I've read the NROLFW, loved the philosophy and want to get better at lifting, but don't have a gym membership; we're looking to improve our weight system at home. I am also open to trying new exercise DVDs or systems.

I'm not looking to lose weight anymore. I want to maintain OR get to the weight that is healthiest as long as I can banish this belly fat AND improve my overall strength/musculature. I'm a work in progress learning how to eat better and learn how to fuel this body, and I'm beginning to make the right choices. My current calorie goal is set to 1500, but that's only because I'm in this sea of uncertainty on how to move forward with strength training and eating. I can tell that I am still HUNGRY and want to eat more, so I'm going to move that figure up really, really soon. Just playing around with the numbers for now, and still logging. The Fat2Fit calorie counter put me at 2,711.88 daily calories! That sounds gigantic to me, because I don't want to jump in and start eating like that and gain weight. My workout calories push me closer to 2,000 anyway so maybe I'll just start there.

Sorry for the novel. I'm learning a lot from all of you already! This thread is the first one I have read thoroughly from page 1 to 7, because it's got the right vibe, motivation and intention. :bigsmile:

Can you tell me about ripped in 30 and ripped? who makes it? where can I get it? are they home workouts?

tameko2

FFCLawson: I agree with what Rachel said and that is more or less what I did myself. I'm set to .5lb/week right now.

Also to answer a few of your specific questions:
1) should you eat less on the days you don't work out? If it helps you to track how much to eat then yes but from a scientific perspective my understanding is that your body kind of manages its own burns and intakes over a few days not just a set 24 hour period. So if you don't workout monday and you want to eat more go ahead and then just don't eat as much on tuesday. When you enter your workouts into MFP it adds those calories to your daily amount so what I do is if I want to eat em, I eat em, and if I don't I don't - but I don't sweat going into the red on nonworkout days unless I've been getting close to the limit every day for several days in a row.

BUT most people seem to find it easier if they stick to more regimented daily amounts - do what works for you.


2) Deficits - There is an old saw that 1 pound of fat = 3500 calories. I read an article recently that this is only roughly true and varies by person but its a good starting point and its what everyone uses. So if you want to lose 1 lb per week, you need to eat 3500 calories LESS than you burn during that week right? So MFP says 3500 calories/7 days a week = 500 calorie deficit per week. Its good to know this number because that also lets you know when you DO go over if you are going over your daily maintenance amount or not. For example if you are set to 1lb a week and eat 300 calories over your daily goal then you are STILL eating a deficit for the day and you shouldn't feel bad. In my opinion as long as you are 1calorie under maintenance you are succeeding - its just that your success will be slower.

3) Net calories and exercise calories - the total calories you ate after your workout. You shouldn't reeaally need to worry abotu this - it comes up when there are people who go to the gym and sweat for 2 hours to burn 800 calories and then only eat 1200 calories a day -- they only ate NET 400 calories that day because they burned 800. NET calories are what you are giving your body to maintain its normal daily functions. If you have a lot of fat to lose your net can dip pretty low (although 400 calories is TOO low) because your body will tap into your fat stores (thats what they're for!) to make up the difference. If you don't have a lot of fat to lose instead of your body burning fat reserves it will just SLOOOOOW your metabolism down so that it burns less.

Exercise calories are just the calories you burned while working out. So Total calories consumed - Exercise Calories = Net. MFP will do Calorie Goal + Exercise Calories = Amount of calories you should eat.

Collinsky

For me to maintain, MFP has me at 1,680 Calories / Day... if I create a deficit of 500 cals to lose 1lb/week, then that's 1180. (I currently aim to net 1200-1400.) If I burn 300 cals in exercise, I eat those back, to maintain that deficit. It has worked pretty well over the last 5 months to create about a 1 lb loss per week as long as I was working out and logging my food.

In order to make the shift to eating more, I need to wrap my head around how to make eating more work without gaining. How much should I aim to be eating? At 2000 cals a day, even if I'm burning 300 of that in exercise, I'm still above maintenance, according to MFP. Should I scrap MFP's calculations and go by the Fat2fit calcs, which seem to be higher, and rely on increasing calorie burn and lean muscle mass?

Sorry, I know that this is probably the most simple thing in the world.

Rae6503

For me to maintain, MFP has me at 1,680 Calories / Day... if I create a deficit of 500 cals to lose 1lb/week, then that's 1180. (I currently aim to net 1200-1400.) If I burn 300 cals in exercise, I eat those back, to maintain that deficit. It has worked pretty well over the last 5 months to create about a 1 lb loss per week as long as I was working out and logging my food.

In order to make the shift to eating more, I need to wrap my head around how to make eating more work without gaining. How much should I aim to be eating? At 2000 cals a day, even if I'm burning 300 of that in exercise, I'm still above maintenance, according to MFP. Should I scrap MFP's calculations and go by the Fat2fit calcs, which seem to be higher, and rely on increasing calorie burn and lean muscle mass?

Sorry, I know that this is probably the most simple thing in the world.

The point of this group is not to suggest that eating 2000 calories a day works for every one. It probably won't. If your maintenance really is 1680 (that seems REALLY low, are you sure?) and you are trying to lose weight, no I wouldn't suggest 2000 calories a day unless you are burning 570 calories a day (that'd bring you to a half pound loss a week). For you I'd just suggesting "eating more" but switching your goal to 0.5lbs per week.