Starting to Waver on my decision to increase calories.....bu
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2500 calories is a HUGE amount of food, way more than a woman needs..... if she were training 4 hrs day maybe, but I am literally sitting in an office chair for 8hrs and most of my evenings too....
*koff sedentary housewife here who eats 2500 cals a day koff koff*
Look - do what you think you need to do. It will either work or it won't right?
If you chose the wrong thing- then change it. No biggie
lol... nothing wrong with being a sedentary house wife
My concern is not trying it, my concern is that I have been doing it for a month and no results, I feel like I have wasted 30days of weight loss time... I am not in a rush but I need to see some results considering how hard I am working out0 -
Right, I'm not talking about net, but I don't net below BMR. If you go back a couple weeks, you'll notice I was eating and usually netting about 2300. That's where I was for the past 4 months. Then when I decided to lose, I only needed to drop to 2000 to see loss, that's what i'm saying about going from one extreme to the other. If you've been consistently eating at a level that feels more than enough for over a month, & you're ready to drop cals, why not take a less drastic measure and start cutting*from where you are*. On one hand, you're saying that you want to recognize yourself as an individual with individual needs, but on the other hand, you're putting yourself in the "only x amount of cals will work" group.
You have to see that the reason that original cal deficit worked is simply because it was a deficit. It really didn't matter what the deficit was, ANY deficit would have worked, for a while. It's the long term that matters. So even if you ultimately lower your cals and start losing again, it is *because* you raised the cals, that you can now lower them again and hope to see results...until the next plateau. Knowing that going in, of you're gonna drop cals, *just* drop enough to see movement on the scale. Once you see movement stay there till you plateau, then you can once again to go up or down to break the plateau.
Also, 2500 doesn't make you a man, my DH is 5'9, 165 lbs and eats 3500 cals @2500, he'd disappear. I'm also a rather sedentary housewife (other than my workouts), and I feel deprived under 2000... Just sayin...
Eating more raises your metabolism, period. No that doesn't mean you stay skinny, (macros DO matter, twinkies wont cut it) but it doesn't change the fact that metabolism raises/lowers to accommodate eating habits. It's a simple matter of homeostasis, just like the furnace or AC in your home, it turns on to keep the temp constant. A calorie (literal definition) is a unit of heat, thereby the furnace stays on and running the more cals you add to it.0 -
2500 calories is a HUGE amount of food, way more than a woman needs..... if she were training 4 hrs day maybe, but I am literally sitting in an office chair for 8hrs and most of my evenings too....
*koff sedentary housewife here who eats 2500 cals a day koff koff*
Look - do what you think you need to do. It will either work or it won't right? If you chose the wrong thing- then change it. No biggie
lol... nothing wrong with being a sedentary house wife
My concern is not trying it, my concern is that I have been doing it for a month and no results, I feel like I have wasted 30days of weight loss time... I am not in a rush but I need to see some results considering how hard I am working out
Aww. You should never feel like time is wasted. Everything you try is telling you something about yourself and how your body reacts to different methods. Plus if you were working as hard as you say, then you were building muscle, which is not a waste, it will make that much more if a difference when the fat is gone, so that you still have some shape
It has to be a "lifestyle" to you, not just about weight loss, or else you risk gaining it all back as soon as you feel it's "over" and you ease up... Google some of the biggest losers and see what happens when it's "over"...0 -
You will be happy to know that I just ate a big bowl of honey nut cheerios and another protein bar and 8oz of water.....ugh, feel like my shirt will burst the buttons...... lol
Maybe I will be a monster woman under layers upon layers of fat ..... I know I am stronger, I have built muscle that is for sure, I bet at least a pound this month, I have always put on muscle really easily.... oh and fat too apparently lol
I have 130lbs as my goal but I think with muscle I would look good at 145-150. I am at 193-196 right now.... up down up down0 -
Haha you sound like me. I can gain the muscle, but my gosh the fat that comes with it, lol. That's why I had to drop the cals a bit this month, no shame, but I am tryin to have the smallest deficit necessary. For me, that meant going from 2300 down to 2000 or so. I did 2100 the first week, then went to 2000. Since I saw a drop this week, I'll stay here for a while.
It's all about making it work for you.
Btw, how are your macros set up? I've found that sometimes by skewing my macros just so, I can eat the exact same cals, yet lose.0 -
Haha you sound like me. I can gain the muscle, but my gosh the fat that comes with it, lol. That's why I had to drop the cals a bit this month, no shame, but I am tryin to have the smallest deficit necessary. For me, that meant going from 2300 down to 2000 or so. I did 2100 the first week, then went to 2000. Since I saw a drop this week, I'll stay here for a while.
It's all about making it work for you.
Btw, how are your macros set up? I've found that sometimes by skewing my macros just so, I can eat the exact same cals, yet lose.
They are set up 30,30, 40....but honestly...the only one I try to comply with is the protein one lol the other two fall where they may0 -
I'm 5'4" and also 200lb, I have a muscular build under the fat thanks to genetics. 200 seems to be the stumbling point for me as well. I figured I would try this eat more thing and since I knew I didn't gain weight over night, I knew that upping the cals to lose wasn't going to work over night either. It took me years to put it on, and trust me my highest weight was 230lb; so I know what it's like to want it off and want it off now.
The first week of upping my cals I lost 1lb, it was exciting, the second week i gained it back;
heartbreaking, the third week I lost 2lbs; and I knew I would most likely gain it back so I said "eff it!, I'm putting the scale away for a month" Hence my "no scale" March. I have been concentrating on macros instead of the scale. I set my Carbs to 40%, my Protein to 30% and my fats to 30%. I'll be honest I have trouble hitting them all dead on .. some days I'm 40% Protein 40% Carbs and 20% fat; but I think I'll be ok with more protein. I make sure I get at least 30 min in a day and take my rest days. I notice that I bloat up when I eat certain foods, like, broccoli is awesome but whew the gas >.< and once its out of my system wow do i feel so light lol. Same with yogurt and cheese.. bloat bloat but you need it, so I don't cut it out, I just expect and know that my body will react with a bit of bloat.
Since I put away the scale, I've become more aware of my body, how it reacts to foods, and exercise. I notice the muscle soreness I get from certain weight lifting routines; I notice I start sweating like 15 minutes into my cardio workout; I notice when I set an incline on my treadmill instead of just walking the same way I get my leg muscles burning.
What I'm trying to say is listen to your body, try something for a while; if it doesn't work, try something else. I think I see what these ladies are talking about.. you raise cals now, then lower them, then raise them, then lower them. It's like a zig zag approach. Most importantly learn your own body, how it reacts to food, how it feels with exercise.0 -
I want to look like this girl... I am 5"4 too.....ugh...... see this is what derails me, she is only eating 1400-1600 calories a day, netting 1400 approx....... this is why I struggle with eating more
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/535773-from-being-5-4-157lbs-size-11-to-competing-in-a-figure-com0 -
Joy, you make great points! One of my biggest struggles with doing this has been the fact that I can't stay away from the scale. I feel like I have to check and make sure I'm not gaining, not super concerned about not losing, but really concerned with making sure I'm not gaining. I'll admit I'm a daily weigher and have been for ages so perhaps I will try to put the scale away this week. It is important to be able to focus on the positive changes in our entire selves and not just focus on one sign of improvement.0
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I want to look like this girl... I am 5"4 too.....ugh...... see this is what derails me, she is only eating 1400-1600 calories a day, netting 1400 approx....... this is why I struggle with eating more
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/535773-from-being-5-4-157lbs-size-11-to-competing-in-a-figure-com
Yes, she look great! Given her current weight and height wouldn't 1400 be around what her BMR is? So she' eating light, yes, but still in a healthy range. I would also say that from looking at her diary she looks to be on a very specific training diet, that's pretty much exactly what the diets looked like for trainers on another site I use sometimes. Not saying that's bad, but I don't think most people stay on that type of diet outside of preparing for a competition. I'm sure someone who is a trainer can probably speak more accurately to that than me, though
Perhaps try not to get so hung up on the idea that you will have to be increasing calories over and over. To me, the point of this is that we need to lose weight by eating in range that doesn't force our body to change how it naturally performs. How it performs may change some as we change our body composition but you will eventually get to a maintenance level. For example, I used a calculator for BMR at my current weight (160) gives me a little over 1500, closer to my goal weight (140) it is 1400. What I need to eat isn't going to change by huge amounts. The key here is to make sure you eat a healthy amount of calories.0 -
Ellie.. exactlyyyy, the key is to eat a healthy amount of calories for your current height, weight and lifestyle (ie. deskjob, activity range etc) Also what many people forget is the MACROs they are VITAL. You must hit your macros, protein, carbs and fat are very very important, so the cals you are eating must be within that range. Also pay attention to your sugar intake, that was a killer for me. I like coffee creamer and so i have to make arrangements to fit that in. Most people don't realize but its not fat that makes you fat.. it's the sugar.
Tabinmaine - one thing I will let you know now... we are all different genetically so I will never look like Jennifer Garner ( she's who I wanted and was wishing to look like for a long time, lol) even if i weighed the same as her and had the same amt. of muscle/fat ratio as her I will never look just like her. Why? Because my parents don't have that same build and neither do I. I was blessed with a short stalky Greek Boxer as a father lol. I'm not saying we shouldn't have a goal or have mental pictures of what we want to look like. I'm just saying, don't compare yourself to anyone else, because you are you.. always will be. You can choose to eat the proper calories, and the proper foods (ie. broccoli, leafy green lettuce, cauliflower, nuts, etc etc..) and stay within macros (by the way, did you know that asparagus has protein?) http://www.3fatchicks.com/top-8-vegetables-high-in-protein/ and put the time in with the weight training (which for me sometimes is hard to figure out how heavy is heavy?, but I'm learning
) and mix with cardio etc..
For me lately, being fat is a little like having cancer ( no offense to the people that actually have cancer ) Once you find out you have it.. you want to get it out ASAP. Just basically remember you didn't get fat over night so getting thin wont be over night either. Give it time, know that you are doing what you can, love your body and tell it that all the time :P and you'll see it will begin to love you too ;-)0 -
I want to look like this girl... I am 5"4 too.....ugh...... see this is what derails me, she is only eating 1400-1600 calories a day, netting 1400 approx....... this is why I struggle with eating more
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/535773-from-being-5-4-157lbs-size-11-to-competing-in-a-figure-com
She looks great, has made awesome progress, and isn't afraid to lift, gotta love it!
But, you have to look at the whole picture. For one, she's 21, and tiny. Young enough that, she still has the rest of her life to make mistakes and learn from them, and to make all the newbie gains that come with it. On a good ameateur stage, she may do ok, but many women have unrealistic views of what you have to do to get stage ready. But, hopefully she'll be hiring a coach to tell her these things. I mention her size because as you get smaller, you will burn less cals during exercise, therefore having a lower TDEE.
Her diet does seem like a typical contest diet right now, however, if she's trying to compete in November, it's WAY too early to have the cals/bf% so low. She should be focusing more on size/muscle building right now, w/a bit higher intake until around August/Sept. then she can have about 12-16 wks (usually tecommended for newbies) to diet down for the show. Then theres the post show rebound, lets not even discuss that. If she's still eating 1200 cals leading up to contest, shes gonna have one nasty rebound.
Again, not as big of a shock if she hires proper coaching, & is prepared for the mental aspect of eating normal again, & the lbs come back. And that brings us back to her age, she's still got plenty of time to learn, make mistakes, & fix them.
So don't worry, one day you may NEED to eat like that, but remember that time is many lbs from now. It's fine to have role models, but real expectations must go with it.
Dropping cals lower than necessary, does not mean you get to goal faster. It only means that you plateau sooner. Don't rush it.0 -
Can't I pretend I have a competition in 16 wks right now and start leaning out ? lol0
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Can't I pretend I have a competition in 16 wks right now and start leaning out ? lol
Lol. Sure...if you only have about 16 lbs to lose, a fairly low bodyfat% now, & are wiling to put most of it back on immediately following the show.
Show prep is about taking an already hot, muscular bod (that took all year to build) into unattainable, single digit bf% territory, to reach a VERY temporary (1-2 days) peak.0 -
Right, I'm not talking about net, but I don't net below BMR.
Seriously? And you can drop fat that way? That would awesome!!!! I'm trying to gross 1900-2000 but on extreme cardio days I can burn 950-1050 and on most cardio days I burn at least 750 (6x/week). With a BMR of 1470 that would put me grossing 2220-2520. If I could eat 2220 and lose 1/2# of fat a week, I'd be in heaven!!
I lost 75# years ago (and kept it off) through extreme calorie reduction and zero exercise. I realize I probably lost a lot of muscle and have spent the past 4 years trying to rebuild and repair the damage....but losing on 2220.
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Right, I'm not talking about net, but I don't net below BMR.
Seriously? And you can drop fat that way? That would awesome!!!! I'm trying to gross 1900-2000 but on extreme cardio days I can burn 950-1050 and on most cardio days I burn at least 750 (6x/week). With a BMR of 1470 that would put me grossing 2220-2520. If I could eat 2220 and lose 1/2# of fat a week, I'd be in heaven!!
I lost 75# years ago (and kept it off) through extreme calorie reduction and zero exercise. I realize I probably lost a lot of muscle and have spent the past 4 years trying to rebuild and repair the damage....but losing on 2220.
I eat 1900 a day and on high cardio days as much as 28oo(like last night)... I can't say .5 weekly but I will say I am consistently leaning out and tone increasing. I no longer focus on the scale but I now listen more to the needs of my body.
I would suggest putting up the scale it lies most of the time...too much salt..lies...heavy lifting...lies...we know TOM...more lies.0 -
Right, I'm not talking about net, but I don't net below BMR.
Seriously? And you can drop fat that way? That would awesome!!!! I'm trying to gross 1900-2000 but on extreme cardio days I can burn 950-1050 and on most cardio days I burn at least 750 (6x/week). With a BMR of 1470 that would put me grossing 2220-2520. If I could eat 2220 and lose 1/2# of fat a week, I'd be in heaven!!
I lost 75# years ago (and kept it off) through extreme calorie reduction and zero exercise. I realize I probably lost a lot of muscle and have spent the past 4 years trying to rebuild and repair the damage....but losing on 2220.
Lol. Yep. I'm actually losing too fast for my taste, lol. I lost exactly 1.7 lbs last week, & today's weigh-in, unfortunately (to me) showed the same loss (1.7, totaling 3.4 for the last two weeks). I was hoping that the first week was mostly water, so I stayed consistent this week, only to see another (almost) 2 lb loss
I assume that its because I added in cardio (wasn't doing any, now doing 2 days/wk) so my activity level has changed. So I didn't really have to even drop cals.. I'm considering upping them a couple days (to 2100-2200 or so) during the week to slow things down...0 -
save to read later because I'm feeling the same way.0
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save to read later because I'm feeling the same way.
What is your BMR, TDEE? What is your cut value and workout routine?0 -
My BMR is 1403. I wear a Fitbit and last week my high burn day was 2553 and the low burn day is 2253. I averaged out the week it comes to 2402. So I took 500 calories away from and I'm trying to eat 1902 calories.
I do body pump twice a week and a tabata workout twice a week. On Sunday's I usually go for a 3 mile run/walk.0
