Introduction for New Members

getsveltEagain

Hello! I am Carrie. I started MFP in Jan 2011 and lost weight steadily until the summer. Then with vacations it staggered a bit. Then in the Fall I dropped my weight loss goal and increased my calories to keep losing. Then over the winter I decided to drop my weight loss goal to half a pound and eat more calories since I was staggering again. Finally in this new year I went to eating my "maintainance" calories per MFP which is 1920. I am still losing weight because of my exercise levels. But I know that sometimes I don't hit the high level I am suppose to so I plan on using this group to make sure that I have my TDEE calculated right so that I know how many calories to eat. Then also finding the right foods to fill that large number. I am not afraid to eat the calories I just don't want to fill them with junk!?

I am pro eating to lose and I recently (yesterday) tried to help my friends see that you can lose weight while eating more. I have many that are in starvation mode and I hoped they would see that. I know they have to on their own but three of them are trying to eat more and I am excited to encourage them. I am still learning about eating more so I want to help them as much as myself!

I will take the next couple days to read through the threads with the stickys to figure it all out and meet people in the group. I can't wait to learn with everyone!!

ETA:

I used the website (http://www.health-calc.com/diet/energy-expenditure-advanced) to figure out everything.
I am 30 years old
I am 161 lbs
I am 5'3"
I have 1 hour light exercise
I have 1 hour standing/walking
I have 8 hours sleeping
I have 14:30 hours sitting
My BMR is 1572
My TDEE is 2353

So if I am suppose to be eating 2352 and I am striving for 1920 that is why I am still losing weight so well!? I will work on getting to an even 2000 on non workout days and increasing that on days that I workout. *I am currently training for a half marathon so I have some days with Intense exercise and Moderate exercise, but not every day. If anyone has helpful insight I am all ears!!

Time2LoseWeightNOW

MrsKosal

Hey everyone! I am new to this eating more to lose more thing! After reading a ton of info and talking with Lucia, I think I've got it down and I am ready to do this for good. I am not looking for a quick fix, but permanent and healthy lifestyle.

I am Rachael! I'm 29 until July 26th , mother of 2 girls and 1 angel baby, and have been married for 10 years. My husband is in the Air Force and I work full time as a Property Manager.

I weigh 158 lbs as of now, 5'6.

Now I just need to figure out if I should set my daily goal at my BMR or TDEE, or what have you. Any tips would be appreciated. I work out doing cardio classes two days a week with a burn of 460 each, bootcamp 2 days per week with a 960 burn, and then weights two days w/ some lighter cardio.

darcialarosa

Hi, I'm new and scared too. But plateauing for the last 3 weeks is not to be ignored, and last week I really started feeling weak, achy, and hungry most of the time, but especially like an hour after dinner.

I've been seriously trying to lose since 1/2/12, and have lost 13lbs which to me is awesome, but I have so far to go and can't seem to lose a consistent pound a week. I first changed my settings on Monday from 1220 to 1380. Then yesterday, after joining this group and reading a lot of posts, I changed it again to 1580. That's just above my BMR of 1569 and my TDEE is 2894 (from health-calc.com). I do cardio at least 4 days a week, sometimes 5 (mostly elliptical and C25K). I try to mix in circuits at least 2 days a week, but it sounds like that's not enough "weight training".

Because I still have 30+ more pounds to lose, I just can't let go of the cardio, and an hour at the gym 4-5 days a week is all I can do. Plus, it's HARD to eat all those calories! And I can't imagine trying to eat 2460 cals (TDEE-15%). Thoughts? Advice?

srogers01

Thanks for the advice! I have one question...I have been upping my calories by about 200-300 per day but I noticed that since I've been eating more I'm also feeling hungry?? Is this normal? is my body adapting?

oonga

Hey Guys,

Firstly like so many others i am petrified of eating more
But i also know that i need to try this so i don't lose muscle!
I am from Australia and have done the Michelle Bridges 12wbt, and then the Shannan Ponton online challenge and they are full on about the whole 1200cals

So for 7months i have had 1200cals drummed into me!!
I have lost 29kg over 12 months. The first half was just sensible eating not counting calories and in hindsight i probably ate over 1200cals!! well over! LOL

40 year old female
160cm tall (5foot 2)
60kg (132 pounds)

I want to lose about another 5kg (10pounds) but more so i want to tone up. I have this thing about being in the middle of my healthy BMI range, but if i don't do that its not as important. I just want to get rid of the fat on my belly thats left

So i have taken what seems like a huge risk LOL and started eating 1500cals!!

I have started a 1/2 marathon running program this week as well, i was burning around 500/600 cals a day up till this week (using my HRM) but at the start of this 1/2 marathon program i am not burning as much, running a bit less obviously, as it builds up to more running.

It consists of day 1 running at a speed of not being able to talk but spit out words for specified time or mileage ,
day 2 resistance work
day 3 sprint intervals,
day 4 slow recovery jog
day 5 stretch type exercises
day 6 a long run, first one is 9km builds up from there.

I have also a few weeks ago started kettlebells, doing a 45min class once a week, and was doing another learning to use it class on another day. Not lifting heavy, between 8kg and 12kg bells at this stage
I am unsure if i will continue with the second kettlebell class or just do 1 class and the resistance training included in the 1/2 marathon training. Its basic resistance stuff like push ups, ab work, lunges, squats, step ups etc... Not lifting like what some of you guys seem to be doing But centred around core work to build up running ability.
They say not to overdo it, so i am not sure if doing 2 kettlebell classes a week will be too much, or if the extra strength will actually be good for me, i will see how i go

I also HAVE to have one day a week that is my splurge day. I know its silly and maybe unhealthy, but its what helps me stay on track other days!! I am not ready to give these up, and it means i go over calories on that day. I have once or twice done an estimate and i probably go over by about 1000 cals!!! Mind you i have never eaten exercise cals and if i did then it would be far less over. Thats going by my 1200cals a day!
So i figured if i start at 1500calories daily intake, it gives me some extra calories for my once a week splurge day.

ANyhow just wanted to say hello and check in Looking forward to watching how everyone does

Have you calculated your BMR and TDEE? It is possible with you workout routine and 1500 cals that you still may not lose. I didn't. I didn't see a real lose until I fed my body TDEE - 15%. Honestly now wish I had done a metabolic reset first. Anyway, when you eat that consistent amount at 40 carbs 30 prot and fat...take it from the biggest binger there was...bec you a literally satisfied most of them time you spluge days are not a huge as they were. Also, you can spluge on your long run days which your body will need tbe extra cals.

If you are really loking for the benefits, life long healthy eating/fueling, then run the numbers eat the tdee minus 15%, net at least BMR on high burn days and you will see reults.

I couldn't lose consistnently at 1200, 1350, or 1500. I started eating 1800 everyday and on workout days from 2000 to 2500 and finally lost visible fat and gained so more more tone and had effective heavy lift sessions. Then. Actually plteaued again 8 wks ago..why?? Bec my body demanded more food.

Really it is no longer about the scale but listening and acting upon the needs of my body...the weight comes off in the process.

Hey ANewLucia,
Thank you for your input!!! Truly appreciated

I did my TDEE with the sticky post on here and if i put it at
lightly active TDEE -15% it comes out at 1557cal
Moderately active TDEE -15% is 1755cal

I am on holiday atm so not moving as much as i normally would be at work ( i am a disability support worker, so although i don't move as much as a nurse would, i do spend the first few hours of the morning assisting people out of bed, making beds, washing etc.. then there are some days where about half a shift is moving around, the other half sitting down doing paperwork and spending time hanging with the people i support) so that is i guess moderately active.

But with being on holidays and just starting the 1/2 marathon program to give you an idea i have been only burning about 400calories in exercise a day and not doing anywhere near as much moving around LOL.

when i go back to work i will seriously think about jumping up to 1700cals. Then on my long run days, which also coincide with my splurge day i can eat more I would expect my long run this saturday will burn around 600 calories, so i guess i will still be a bit over in calories eaten. (1500 allocate + 600 burnt) but i am also guessing with the bit of extra calories i haven't eaten during the week, about 50 to 100 calories per day? it should all balance out.

Still petrified of all this! Its amazing how almost brainwashed i have been You kind of think well these people are trainers (michelle bridges and shannan ponton) they train people professionally, they get lots of big people to a smaller weight, they MUST know what they are talking about! But having read more from not just here but other sources as well, this all makes sense too, and although it was i guess ok to eat less while having so much fat to lose, now i am too high at risk of losing the muscle rather than fat, and i really don't want to do that

I am hating and dreading the thought of gaining weight on the scales, unfortunately that mindset is still there, however i have promised myself that i will stick to this for at 4 weeks, regardless of what the scales say and then reevaluate. Let's just hope i don't end up gaining 5kg or so! *eeekkk* lol

I still need to take my measurements again too, so will do that today as well

Snapplejac

do any of the new people want to add me?! be interested to see how others are doing! I'm really struggling to hit my BMR!

jpaulino2

So I have been doing some reading in this group and have realized that since I've been fluctuating between the same 2-3 pounds for almost 2 months now, I must need to increase my calories as well. What I'm confused about is whether I should still eat the calories that my TDEE gives me on days I don't work out. Should I recalculate TDEE and put that I am sedentary on those days? . And how is the TDEE correct if it does not account for how many calories I burned in a specific workout? Math is my worst subject! haha. I definitely don't want to overestimate or underestimate the numbers. I have a million questions and would definitely appreciate some help.

Weight: 130
Age: 19
BMR: 1413.2
TDEE (moderately active): 2181
15% cut: 1854

oonga

Yes i failed maths too! LOL
I always get my friend to work stuff out for me!!

I saw somewhere here that the other way to do it is to set MFP to our BMR and always eat that?
The only thing with that is that i don't always know what my calorie burn will be for the day?
Though i guess i have a rough idea?

ARGHHh it makes me feel so much better when i read all the other posts about all this doing people's head in LOL

I was saying how it was so much easier before i started counting calories and stuff!! I used to just eat sensibly, and do a bit of exercise, mostly c25k and lost 13kg over about 5 months.

Then i joined up 12wbt online with Michelle Bridges started counting calories and doing more exercise etc and now with starting kettlebells, i have even bought a protein powder LOL

Funny thing is i don't think i could go back to just doing a bit of exercise and eating sensibly either LOL Its like exercise and wanting a toned body has become somewhat of an addiction!

Its funny i finished saying that to my partner last night and he was watching some challenge on TV like a 12 week challenge of people shaping up, and one guy started saying how life used to be so much less complicated before he got into all this stuff!! Now he has to watch all his food, take all these different powders pre workout, post workout, make sure he does X amount of training etc ROFL ROFL

I am thinking i might have to get my partner to hide the scales!! I am scared it will be too hard to keep my resolve if i keep seeing gains!!

Also a friend of mine told me last night that in her opinion even while i am on holidays i am probably at least between lightly active and moderately active!! She said i am dreaming if i think i am sedentary on holidays LOL It's funny because it got me thinking that since i do more exercise it feels normal!! So when i do slightly less it feels i am doing bugger all??

Surely others are feeling the same and that's why A New Lucia has that in the TDEE sticky thread about people underestimating their lifestyle LOL

ANewLucia

Hey everyone! I am new to this eating more to lose more thing! After reading a ton of info and talking with Lucia, I think I've got it down and I am ready to do this for good. I am not looking for a quick fix, but permanent and healthy lifestyle.

I am Rachael! I'm 29 until July 26th , mother of 2 girls and 1 angel baby, and have been married for 10 years. My husband is in the Air Force and I work full time as a Property Manager.

I weigh 158 lbs as of now, 5'6.

Now I just need to figure out if I should set my daily goal at my BMR or TDEE, or what have you. Any tips would be appreciated. I work out doing cardio classes two days a week with a burn of 460 each, bootcamp 2 days per week with a 960 burn, and then weights two days w/ some lighter cardio.

I set mine to the tdee cut value. I know I only need to eat more if on my home page that net cal number is less than my bmr.

ANewLucia

So I have been doing some reading in this group and have realized that since I've been fluctuating between the same 2-3 pounds for almost 2 months now, I must need to increase my calories as well. What I'm confused about is whether I should still eat the calories that my TDEE gives me on days I don't work out. Should I recalculate TDEE and put that I am sedentary on those days? . And how is the TDEE correct if it does not account for how many calories I burned in a specific workout? Math is my worst subject! haha. I definitely don't want to overestimate or underestimate the numbers. I have a million questions and would definitely appreciate some help.

Weight: 130
Age: 19
BMR: 1413.2
TDEE (moderately active): 2181
15% cut: 1854

What I do is eat my tdee cut value everyday for consistency and ease. So for you that is 1850...then when you workout you will only start eating back cals if you burn over 440 cals so you atleast net bmr. I rather eat a consistent amount and a little more if needed on workout days.

ANewLucia

Hi, I'm new and scared too. But plateauing for the last 3 weeks is not to be ignored, and last week I really started feeling weak, achy, and hungry most of the time, but especially like an hour after dinner.

I've been seriously trying to lose since 1/2/12, and have lost 13lbs which to me is awesome, but I have so far to go and can't seem to lose a consistent pound a week. I first changed my settings on Monday from 1220 to 1380. Then yesterday, after joining this group and reading a lot of posts, I changed it again to 1580. That's just above my BMR of 1569 and my TDEE is 2894 (from health-calc.com). I do cardio at least 4 days a week, sometimes 5 (mostly elliptical and C25K). I try to mix in circuits at least 2 days a week, but it sounds like that's not enough "weight training".

Because I still have 30+ more pounds to lose, I just can't let go of the cardio, and an hour at the gym 4-5 days a week is all I can do. Plus, it's HARD to eat all those calories! And I can't imagine trying to eat 2460 cals (TDEE-15%). Thoughts? Advice?

Ok since you asked, I would suggest bumping cals to 1900 to get used to eating more cals. I know it is so hard when not used to doing so. Eat that daily and make sure to always net bmr on workout days. Maybe try cutting cardio by 30 min and start focusing on lifting. Get NROLWFW. Lifting will help you keep muscle to burn more fat. I can't stress enough the transforming power of weight lifting.

jan1755

I've been dieting for a very long time now and not really losing any weight. I've been tracking and keeping my calories low with no real weight loss for a long time. I am ready to try something new. I don't know how to calculate my tDEE but I was on my net diary and they listed my resting rate as 1379 and my maintenance rate at 1757 so I was thinking of upping from 1200 to 1500 calories a day. I also plan to walk five days a week for 30 minutes. I hope this works!

jan1755

I've been dieting for a very long time now and not really losing any weight. I've been tracking and keeping my calories low with no real weight loss for a long time. I am ready to try something new. I don't know how to calculate my tDEE but I was on my net diary and they listed my resting rate as 1379 and my maintenance rate at 1757 so I was thinking of upping from 1200 to 1500 calories a day. I also plan to walk five days a week for 30 minutes. I hope this works!

jan1755

Never mind. I read further and found the link for the TDEE calculations. I should up my calories to 1579 calories. That's if I walk 1-3 days a week. I plan to walk 3-5 days a week but estimated conservatively. I'm easing back into an exercise program so as of now, I'm not doing any weight lifting. Hope this works.

dj_phx

Hey All,

I'm new to this philosophy of eating more to weigh less. I have to admit it feels like one of those if it sounds too good to be true it probably is, though at the same time it makes sense. Anyway I think I am most apprehensive because a lot of the success stories I have read about people who have done this are people who had lost a bunch of weight and then the weigh loss leveled off. I am just starting out(again), so I hope it'll work for me. So if I have this right I will be eating 1800 a day and eating back exercise calories if I go below a net of 1780 up to 1780.

Age: 27
Height: 5' 6"
SW: 221
CW: 218
GW: 155ish
BMR: 1781
TDEE: 2137 - 15% = 1817

ANewLucia

Hey All,

I'm new to this philosophy of eating more to weigh less. I have to admit it feels like one of those if it sounds too good to be true it probably is, though at the same time it makes sense. Anyway I think I am most apprehensive because a lot of the success stories I have read about people who have done this are people who had lost a bunch of weight and then the weigh loss leveled off. I am just starting out(again), so I hope it'll work for me. So if I have this right I will be eating 1800 a day and eating back exercise calories if I go below a net of 1780 up to 1780.

Age: 27
Height: 5' 6"
SW: 221
CW: 218
GW: 155ish
BMR: 1781
TDEE: 2137 - 15% = 1817

Yep sounds right.

ANewLucia

Thanks for the advice! I have one question...I have been upping my calories by about 200-300 per day but I noticed that since I've been eating more I'm also feeling hungry?? Is this normal? is my body adapting?

If you have broken up your meals to 6 times a day your body sure will start to demand it.

kirstyfromscotland

i have weighed in 3lbs heavier im devastated :0(

ANewLucia

i have weighed in 3lbs heavier im devastated :0(

Hey Hun did you read the topic "what to expect when you up" yet? It is expected. Think of this, one pound of true gain requires 3500 cals. Did you eat and extra 10500 cals??? Probably not....it is a part of the process...