Introduction for New Members

Options
1101113151621

Replies

  • angelina2585
    angelina2585 Posts: 273 Member
    Options
    I don't know how I managed to miss this intro page and I have already posted on a couple of threads. How rude of me eeek!

    So I guess it's time to say my name's Angelina, I'm 42, I live in the UK and I really want to lose weight for the last time, maintain and stop with all the yo-yo-ing that I've done over the years.

    I went on my first diet when I was 18 after gaining 14 lbs in 2 and a half weeks on my honeymoon whilst in Florida and also a cruise. So that first diet I started was a low calorie one - 800 cals a day - I felt sick on day 2 and stopped! Then I hit WeightWatchers and it's more or less been that on and off over the years.

    I've fluctuated between maybe 182lbs (there was definitely a period of time when I just ignored the scales) after having my children (they're 16 & 19 now and I can't really keep blaming them) and 130 lbs which I hit 6 years ago and managed to stay there for a few weeks. The weight has since gradually increased and I've probably been hovering between 147 & 158 lbs for the last 5 years.

    This weight loss journey began 12 months ago when my clothes were getting too tight and at 158 lbs decided that I wanted/needed to lose some weight ahead of a Caribbean cruise we were going on in August. I didn't diet as such because I really couldn't be doing with working out points and tracking, I just ate 3 meals a day, smaller portions of the meals I was cooking for the family and did the 30 Day Shred. I lost 7lbs, painlessly, before we went and only gained a pound while we were away...woo hoo!

    For one reason and another, not that I can remember what they were, I sort of didn't keep it all up and over the winter and Christmas I gained a little, told myself that I must have washed my trousers at too high a temperature, making them shrink and then found MFP and felt my head was in the right place to keep going. So I weighed in at 151lbs in February and started tracking my 1200 cals and exercise.

    3 weeks of 1200 cals and being a cow to live with I eventually logged on to MFP on the laptop and spotted the 'community' tab, did some reading about eating more, BMR & TDEE and thought that sounded like my sort of thing but would it really work as I have PCOS?.

    I've lost 12 lbs since starting my MFP journey, gradually increased my calories and am in my second week of 1800 cals a day, my trousers that had shrunk ;) are now falling off me, I have more energy, better skin and very soon will have less money because I really really need to shop for clothes. One girl at work asked me if I'd put my husband's trousers on by mistake :)

    I think I'd like to lose another 13lbs but I don't know. I can't remember the last time I weighed that. I'm doing mainly cardio at the moment and every now and then I grab my 2kg dumbells and throw my arms around. I really don't have an excuse not to have a go at lifting a bit heavier as my son has a proper set of weights in the garage.

    So that's my long winded tale so far! Now all I have to do is stop messing around with my calculator and all of 'the' calculators I see links to here (Fat2Fit & Scooby's) and just keep going.

    Oh my stats:-

    Height - 5' 4"
    SW - 151lbs
    CW - 139lbs
    GW - 126lbs?
    Clothing size - was a very tight UK14
    Clothing size - now a comfy UK12
  • HelloSweetie4
    HelloSweetie4 Posts: 1,214 Member
    Options
    Hi all!

    I just joined this group after reading thread that really spelled out how to calculate everything. I joined MFP just over 45 days ago and my first couple weeks I did "by the book" with 1200 calories a day. After two weeks and no results I was getting pretty discouraged. Someone suggested I up my calories, but I didn't that it is supposed to be based on your BMR so i just added another 300 calories to my daily goal. I have gotten some slight results in the past week, but I think that's more because I started 30DS and I'm getting a bit more toned, so my clothes are getting baggy.
    So after reading the post about how to calculate everything, I decided to give it a go. I've heard a lot of MFPers praise the eat more weigh less method, and with the amount of members in this group, I'm feeling pretty confident that I will see results.

    My current stats:
    Age: 24
    Height: 5'3"
    CW: 196.2
    GW: 150
    I'm upping my calories from 1500 to 2000 and I won't be eating back exercise calories.
  • bubblegirl58
    Options
    Hi, I'm 54 years old and have about 60 pounds to lose. I have severe arthritis in one knee and gained a lot of weight because I quit working out completely. I recently started working with a trainer to develop circuit training workouts that I can do without severe pain. I was on a roll, then got bronchits, which turned into pneumonia and couldn't do anything for over 6 weeks. :grumble:

    I'm back now, got a fitbit for Mother's Day, and I'm slowing trying to incease my activity without exhausting myself. I plan to return to intense workouts as soon as I can.

    The reason I joined this group is that I have been trying the "super low calorie" diet and it's not working. When I was in my forties, I was in the best shape of my life, eating a LOT, lifting heavy and training in tae kwon do.

    I'm also tweaking my diet to see if I can reduce my arthritis pain. I'm increasing Omega 3's and eliminating nightshades right now, so no potatoes or tomatoes. :frown:

    Wish me luck!
  • grimm1974
    grimm1974 Posts: 337 Member
    Options
    Hello,

    I've been on MFP since September of last year. I've sort of come to a standstill since losing 40ish pounds. I've by interested in this concept, but never really tried it since things were going well. However, now I feel this is a good time to try out this concept since I've stalled with my old method. I'm keeping a weekly blog going on my progress using this concept. I joined this group to make sure I give it a fair shot.
  • amanda8o
    amanda8o Posts: 352 Member
    Options
    Hello everyone,I've been on MFP for about two and a half months,so far I've lost about 25lbs,but this past week I haven't gained or lost anything so I've heard so much about this group I am willing to give it a try to keep myself from getting discouraged. I went to the website http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/#results to get my results and I'm really nervous about eating all those extra calories,anyone who has done this and has had success please add me for motivational support,I can use all I can as I try this. According to the website I should be eating about 2255 calories which is a big jump from what I was doing which was anywhere between 1200 and 1600.Hopefully I'm doing this right.I look forward to meeting you all and continuing my journey :flowerforyou:
  • JessicaMurch5515
    JessicaMurch5515 Posts: 150 Member
    Options
    Hi all! I posted this in the topic for 5'2 people, but I wanted to introduce myself here too :) I'm looking forward to not feeling lethargic all day.

    Im new to upping calories, but the 1200/day has me tired and yawning all day, cranky and not even wanting to work out when I get home from work. If I'm doing the math correctly...

    BMR is 1617
    TDEE is 1954

    1954 minus 15% deficit is 1660 calories/day.

    I'm 5'2 1/2, 29 yrs old and 185lbs.
  • Cclancaster
    Cclancaster Posts: 368
    Options
    Hi all! I posted this in the topic for 5'2 people, but I wanted to introduce myself here too :) I'm looking forward to not feeling lethargic all day.

    Im new to upping calories, but the 1200/day has me tired and yawning all day, cranky and not even wanting to work out when I get home from work. If I'm doing the math correctly...

    BMR is 1617
    TDEE is 1954

    1954 minus 15% deficit is 1660 calories/day.

    I'm 5'2 1/2, 29 yrs old and 185lbs.

    Which activity mulitplier did you use? Unless you don't do any exercise you should be at least at lightly active.
  • ANewLucia
    ANewLucia Posts: 2,081 Member
    Options
    Hi all! I posted this in the topic for 5'2 people, but I wanted to introduce myself here too :) I'm looking forward to not feeling lethargic all day.

    Im new to upping calories, but the 1200/day has me tired and yawning all day, cranky and not even wanting to work out when I get home from work. If I'm doing the math correctly...

    BMR is 1617
    TDEE is 1954

    1954 minus 15% deficit is 1660 calories/day.

    I'm 5'2 1/2, 29 yrs old and 185lbs.

    If you workout at least 3 times a week you need to use moderate activity multiplier and sub 15% from that.
  • JessicaMurch5515
    JessicaMurch5515 Posts: 150 Member
    Options
    Hi all! I posted this in the topic for 5'2 people, but I wanted to introduce myself here too :) I'm looking forward to not feeling lethargic all day.

    Im new to upping calories, but the 1200/day has me tired and yawning all day, cranky and not even wanting to work out when I get home from work. If I'm doing the math correctly...

    BMR is 1617
    TDEE is 1954

    1954 minus 15% deficit is 1660 calories/day.

    I'm 5'2 1/2, 29 yrs old and 185lbs.

    Which activity mulitplier did you use? Unless you don't do any exercise you should be at least at lightly active.

    The TDEE of 1954 is for the Lightly Active. I have a desk job, and Im up walking around the office quite a bit during the day.
  • JessicaMurch5515
    JessicaMurch5515 Posts: 150 Member
    Options
    Hi all! I posted this in the topic for 5'2 people, but I wanted to introduce myself here too :) I'm looking forward to not feeling lethargic all day.

    Im new to upping calories, but the 1200/day has me tired and yawning all day, cranky and not even wanting to work out when I get home from work. If I'm doing the math correctly...

    BMR is 1617
    TDEE is 1954

    1954 minus 15% deficit is 1660 calories/day.

    I'm 5'2 1/2, 29 yrs old and 185lbs.

    If you workout at least 3 times a week you need to use moderate activity multiplier and sub 15% from that.

    Ah ok. So I have just started working out, easing into 30DS that I had good results with before, but I have been doing it every other day. With the moderate activity it would be...

    BMR 1617
    TDEE 2203

    2203 minus 15% is 1872/day.

    Thank you :)
  • ANewLucia
    ANewLucia Posts: 2,081 Member
    Options
    Hi all! I posted this in the topic for 5'2 people, but I wanted to introduce myself here too :) I'm looking forward to not feeling lethargic all day.

    Im new to upping calories, but the 1200/day has me tired and yawning all day, cranky and not even wanting to work out when I get home from work. If I'm doing the math correctly...

    BMR is 1617
    TDEE is 1954

    1954 minus 15% deficit is 1660 calories/day.

    I'm 5'2 1/2, 29 yrs old and 185lbs.

    If you workout at least 3 times a week you need to use moderate activity multiplier and sub 15% from that.

    Ah ok. So I have just started working out, easing into 30DS that I had good results with before, but I have been doing it every other day. With the moderate activity it would be...

    BMR 1617
    TDEE 2203

    2203 minus 15% is 1872/day.

    Thank you :)


    Ok if you use moderate that is 2506 tdee so cut is around 2100 daily. If it seems way too high start at the 1872 for the 4wks, if your just doing 30ds then you should be ok, I didn't burn over 250 doing the program. If you add some strength training that would be great. If you trend down the stay there if you don't budge then we will go up 100 cals.
  • AmyLRed
    AmyLRed Posts: 894 Member
    Options
    Hi All!! I have been a member for a few weeks, but i am currently on day 11 of eating more!!!
    My name is Amy, i live in Maine. I have had fair to great success so far, but started out as a 1200 cal girl in November, increased to 1400 in February or so, and just increased to 1600--1800 11 days back. I dropped weight quickly in the beginning, then still at a great pace for awhile, and now its sort of a trickle. I am ok with that, but really want to maximize my fat loss and maintain/increase muscle mass and strength while doing it.

    age: 32
    Height: 5'1"
    Current weight: 147.2 (for the last week and a half, then up today to 148.6. SW was 193.6 in November))
    Clothing size: 8, sometimes 6 for jeans, tops usually a L (started at a tight 14 and XL to XXL tops)
    Goal weight: 125ish
    Goal clothing size: 4 or so
    BF%: currently 32% (according to the hand held "thingy" my fitness instructor uses, and down fro 38% in December)


    I still eat some processed foods but no where near the amount that i used to, and i aim for over 100g protein per day. Currently i work out regularly T, TH, and Sat, fitness classes that include cardio kickboxing, strength training, bootcamp, etc. I have just begun to incorporate some running on days in between, but i am brand new to running so it is minimal and not yet a consistent part of my routine. (goal is to run 3x week) I do not have a gym membership and its difficult for me to get to one consistently, so that is why i do the classes that take place with an independent trainer at a former karate facility. I live in a very rural area.

    I have read the articles linked as helpful info, etc and i am planning to hang in there, but to be honest, i am a little anxious that the scale was UP this am. staying the same was one thing, but i dont know if i can watch the scale go up. I did read that this CAN happen though, so trying to hang in there. My diary is open to friends, and i dont mind requests from others here at all, and if you want me to open my diary i certainly can do that as well.

    I just wanted to introduce myself and put it out there that i am trying, would love some tips or advice if my cal intake needs to be higher, lower, etc.

    Thanks!!!

    Edited: i forgot i am not 31 anymore. i turned 32 almost 2 months ago! lol


    I am quoting my previous post, with an update. I am now on day 15. I lost the pound i had "gained", then lost 1.6lbs by Saturday. My first real loss in weeks! Today, i am down 2 more pounds! this is after the scale frolicking up and down 2-3 lbs or almost 2 months. WOOHOO! Hooray for more cals :)
    CW today is 144.0
  • moerketid
    moerketid Posts: 12 Member
    Options
    I figure I may as well introduce myself as a nervous newbie!

    I'm Sarah and I just joined this group yesterday after reading about the concept of eating more to weigh less a few days ago, and thinking it over since then. I had used the Fat2Fit calculator to work out my TDEE as 2030 calories, but for the longest time I've been eating between 900 and 1300 per day.

    Age 27
    Height 5' 9"
    Current Weight 203.7lb / 92.4kg
    Clothes size UK18/ US16/ EU44 (Hourglass figure)
    Goal Weight 187lb (for now!)

    Now for the longest time - well over a year - I've simply been bouncing between 90 and 94kg arbitrarily despite the restrictive diet. So it feels like no loss to give this a go! At the moment I've chosen to increase to 1650 calories.

    I do have a few barriers to my weight loss. My doctor and a nutritionist have advised me they don't think I can lose weight because I am hypothyroid and on a couple of medications that cause weight gain. I have hypermobility syndrome which has caused me joint problems (especially my knees) and bad back pain, and have been advised that I should definitely not run/jog, do any remotely heavy lifting or any other high impact exercise. Swimming is meant to be my number one exercise, but due to my weight I'm completely miserable about going to the pool since the last few times have attracted looks and s******s, and I have no one who will go with me.

    What I am doing is walking as much as I can, and doing low impact workouts with light weights at home. Hopefully getting an exercise bike soon too! In the meantime I hope that a change in diet will be able to shift a few pounds so that I feel a bit more confident about getting to the pool and into a regular swimming routine.

    I admit I am nervous about the calorie increase, but I'll never know if I don't try! I'll be keeping an eye on the group for tips and motivation. Any suggestions are welcome!
  • Srivera40
    Srivera40 Posts: 9
    Options
    Hi Everyone!

    I just joined the ELWL group a couple of days ago. I'm a thyroid cancer survivor and have been cancer free since 2001, yay!! Besides not having a thyroid I am pretty healthy. Not into sodas, or sweets or candy. I started gaining weight 5 years ago. I'm at my heaviest, 30 lbs. overweight. My doctor says there is no reason why I shouldn't be able to lose the weight and has given me the OK to workout without dietary restrictions. I don't drink soda, eat sweets or candy. My family doesn't understand how I can't lose weight when I eat the healthiest in my household.

    Started working out again last summer and joined MFP. I did Jillian Michaels Ripped in 30 and didn't lose a pound, but I lost 12 inches. I was always under the 1200 cal. and didn't get the eating back calories concept. Everything stalled after that.

    Fast forward, took the Insanity challenge on April 16, 2012. I love Shaun T.!! Today I start my week 4 and I haven't lost a pound. So far I've lost 7 inches total. My goal is to finish the Insanity challenge which will be on June 16, 2012. Then immediately start P90x from June to August.

    These are my stats:

    Age: 40
    Height: 5'3
    CW: 160
    GW: 130
    Workout schedule: Insanity 6 days a week (Calorie burn 500 - 700)
    BMR: 1452
    TDEE: 2252

    After reading posts from this group I've changed my diary settings. I would really appreciate it if someone could check my diary and give me suggestions and let me know how many calories should I really be eating a day.

    ANY suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
  • donna9089
    donna9089 Posts: 87
    Options
    Hello everyone!

    I joined this group a few days back as well. I am looking to lose 40# or so. I workout 5 days a week lifting and cardio with one day dedicated to cardio only. I was fit as a fiddle in 2008 when I fell during a hiking trip and blew out my rotator cuff, surgery in Dec to repair it so no gym time for a while. Just getting back into the swing of things in 2009 and training for my first ever 5K, I jumped off a too high platform and blew out my left knee miniscus and ruptured the ACL. Surgery in Dec 2009. At rehab March 2010 for the knee, they were not watching my form and it ruptured again. Surgery again. Now I am a little paranoid to do anything running or jumping.......Go figure. AND have gained this weight. I could not figure out how I did because I just did not eat very much. I am so excited to find this group to maybe get me on the right track again.

    My stats:

    Age; 53
    CW: 180
    GW: 140
    Height: 5'3"
    Female

    Fat2Fit website has my BMR at 1485, TDEE with mod activity as Lucia suggested in another post is 2032, and with 15% cut my calorie intake is today set at 1750. Excited to get on with the changes!

    I have made my diary public so you can see how I eat. I am a carboholic and am trying to eat more protein. Just almost impossible to eat that much for me.

    Thanks to the ladies who have made this group what it is!

    Onward and (hopefully) downward :happy:
  • MotherGoddess
    MotherGoddess Posts: 49 Member
    Options
    Hi Everyone!
    I joined MFP ages ago, but have only been using it consistantly for the past two to three months or so. Christmas 2010 I had a 1 year old baby, a 3 year old and a 5 year old, and was at my all time heaviest. 162, on a 5'1" frame, just 3 lbs shy of my delivery weight for my third baby. I was 145 when I delivered my first. By Christmas 2011 I had lost 12 or so lbs, it was very up and down. When I started back with MFP I didn't lose an ounce for the first month and a half. When I cut out grains again (how I lost weight last year) I saw a little progress, but not much. I was tracking calories the whole time and coming in under 1200 most days, with splurge days up to 1350 or so. In reading around I stumbled on the "scared to increase calories" thread, and that led me here. Especially in conjunction with primal eating, I'm excited about lifting heavy and defining some muscle. I really don't care about the number on the scale, but damn if I don't want to get back to my pre-kids clothing!
  • shreddin_mama
    shreddin_mama Posts: 1,076 Member
    Options
    Hello all, my name is Sarah. I've been on MFP for over a year now. i have lost 62 pounds getting my BMI back in healthy range. I do strength training, running, and i would love to do more yoga as well.
  • lyricalLies13
    lyricalLies13 Posts: 151
    Options
    Hello everyone! Im new to the group but have been on MFP for almost 2 months. In the first two months I ate the amount of calories it told me to eat and ate back my burned off calories and I lost 14 pounds but I have since stalled and I am usually still hungry. So I started researching the eating more approach and as long as Im understanding it correctly it seems like this is what i need to be doing. A bit about me:

    SW: 286
    CW: 272

    BMR: 2021
    TDEE: 3132
    Cals a day with 25%cut: 2349


    So I should be eating the 2349 and NOT eating back my exercise calories or should I also be eating those back? Good luck to everyone =]
  • ANewLucia
    ANewLucia Posts: 2,081 Member
    Options
    Hello everyone! Im new to the group but have been on MFP for almost 2 months. In the first two months I ate the amount of calories it told me to eat and ate back my burned off calories and I lost 14 pounds but I have since stalled and I am usually still hungry. So I started researching the eating more approach and as long as Im understanding it correctly it seems like this is what i need to be doing. A bit about me:

    SW: 286
    CW: 272

    BMR: 2021
    TDEE: 3132
    Cals a day with 25%cut: 2349


    So I should be eating the 2349 and NOT eating back my exercise calories or should I also be eating those back? Good luck to everyone =]

    Your cut is a bit high. We usually suggest 15% but no more tan 20%. If you eat 2349 daily you need to eaback any exercise cals burned over 328. So if you burn 428 cals one day you need t eat 2449 that day.
  • ANewLucia
    ANewLucia Posts: 2,081 Member
    Options
    Hi Everyone!

    I just joined the ELWL group a couple of days ago. I'm a thyroid cancer survivor and have been cancer free since 2001, yay!! Besides not having a thyroid I am pretty healthy. Not into sodas, or sweets or candy. I started gaining weight 5 years ago. I'm at my heaviest, 30 lbs. overweight. My doctor says there is no reason why I shouldn't be able to lose the weight and has given me the OK to workout without dietary restrictions. I don't drink soda, eat sweets or candy. My family doesn't understand how I can't lose weight when I eat the healthiest in my household.

    Started working out again last summer and joined MFP. I did Jillian Michaels Ripped in 30 and didn't lose a pound, but I lost 12 inches. I was always under the 1200 cal. and didn't get the eating back calories concept. Everything stalled after that.

    Fast forward, took the Insanity challenge on April 16, 2012. I love Shaun T.!! Today I start my week 4 and I haven't lost a pound. So far I've lost 7 inches total. My goal is to finish the Insanity challenge which will be on June 16, 2012. Then immediately start P90x from June to August.

    These are my stats:

    Age: 40
    Height: 5'3
    CW: 160
    GW: 130
    Workout schedule: Insanity 6 days a week (Calorie burn 500 - 700)
    BMR: 1452
    TDEE: 2252

    After reading posts from this group I've changed my diary settings. I would really appreciate it if someone could check my diary and give me suggestions and let me know how many calories should I really be eating a day.

    ANY suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
    [P/quote]

    Wow you do Insanity 6 days? I hear that is a serious workout. Is there any way to maybe throw some strength training in the mix? Like doing 3 days and Shawn two? Lifting wgts is what brings the toned look and increased lean muscle mass which increases fat burning. You need to def must eat enough on those high burn days to net bmr. So eat tdee -15% daily but add cals if your burn takes you below bmr.