My first 4 weeks....
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ellie78
Posts: 375
So many people have been posting about struggling in the last few days I thought I would do a more detailed post about how my first 4 weeks went and hopefully someone will find it helpful. So overall I am down 1 pound. As much as I would have loved to see more I have to say its better than nothing because prior to this that was all it was, nothing! Nothing was happening with my weight while I was doing low cal/high cardio and hadn't been for a year. That's right, a year. As a matter of fact I actually gained 7 lbs over the holidays which is what put me at my starting weight of 160 4 weeks ago.
So over the last 4 weeks my weight has bounced between 157 and 162. I saw the 157 when I upped my protein but that seems to have quickly come back on as a result of wight lifting bloating. My first 3 weeks I was doing the same routine that was a weight lifting cardio combo and the bloating didn't seem too bad but I was already bored with it by the end of the second week so I decided to go for NROL4W which I started this week. Boy am I bloated! Particularly in my hips, I can both see and feel it and I will admit it is discouraging but I will trust what I continue to read all over the forums that says it takes your body a few weeks to adjust to a routine and then the swelling will go down.
So on the up side I have really been enjoying eating! I love food, I love to cook and I have a ton more energy! This has truly allowed me to go back and enjoy a lot of things I was missing. Like the Cobert Report since I was too exhausted to stay up and watch and peanut butter. Yup, the simple things
But seriously the difference in my energy levels is amazing! I'm also really enjoying lifting weights, something I had actually never done before 4 weeks ago and as we all know we are much more likely to stick with something we like. I also can tell that a lot of my bloating is from the weight lifting as I can see the swelling in areas around the muscle groups I'm working hardest.
So for the down side. We sure, I'm not super happy that I'm really bloated and all my pants are tight. I'm not super happy that I haven't made more progress than this. Yes, I've thought about giving up and going back to my old ways but so far I've managed to talk myself out of it. Partially with the help of all the great people in this group and partially by falling back to the facts. I keep reminding myself that my BMR is a medical fact. It exists, it is real and it is really is the amount of fuel my body needs to function at top form. This is not the latest fad diet Dr Phil is promoting or the informercial on the TV at the gym, this is real science. To add to that I would also say I did some reading up on BMR and I really think everyone should keep in mind that we are using a formula that is considered to be best on average but it is not an actual medical test and outside of getting a medical test there will be some trial and error and figuring out what the right number is for each of us individually. I'm not sure I'm at the right level, but I'm willing to play with it and try to figure it out. I do not know why the little devil on my shoulder keeps trying to convince me that what did not work for a year is what I should go back to. I know it did not work but I suppose we can't expect to deprogram years of bad advice in such a short time.
Well 1 pound down is better progress than I have made in a year so I'm keeping at it! Thanks everyone in the group for continuing to provide all the great information and support!
So over the last 4 weeks my weight has bounced between 157 and 162. I saw the 157 when I upped my protein but that seems to have quickly come back on as a result of wight lifting bloating. My first 3 weeks I was doing the same routine that was a weight lifting cardio combo and the bloating didn't seem too bad but I was already bored with it by the end of the second week so I decided to go for NROL4W which I started this week. Boy am I bloated! Particularly in my hips, I can both see and feel it and I will admit it is discouraging but I will trust what I continue to read all over the forums that says it takes your body a few weeks to adjust to a routine and then the swelling will go down.
So on the up side I have really been enjoying eating! I love food, I love to cook and I have a ton more energy! This has truly allowed me to go back and enjoy a lot of things I was missing. Like the Cobert Report since I was too exhausted to stay up and watch and peanut butter. Yup, the simple things
But seriously the difference in my energy levels is amazing! I'm also really enjoying lifting weights, something I had actually never done before 4 weeks ago and as we all know we are much more likely to stick with something we like. I also can tell that a lot of my bloating is from the weight lifting as I can see the swelling in areas around the muscle groups I'm working hardest.So for the down side. We sure, I'm not super happy that I'm really bloated and all my pants are tight. I'm not super happy that I haven't made more progress than this. Yes, I've thought about giving up and going back to my old ways but so far I've managed to talk myself out of it. Partially with the help of all the great people in this group and partially by falling back to the facts. I keep reminding myself that my BMR is a medical fact. It exists, it is real and it is really is the amount of fuel my body needs to function at top form. This is not the latest fad diet Dr Phil is promoting or the informercial on the TV at the gym, this is real science. To add to that I would also say I did some reading up on BMR and I really think everyone should keep in mind that we are using a formula that is considered to be best on average but it is not an actual medical test and outside of getting a medical test there will be some trial and error and figuring out what the right number is for each of us individually. I'm not sure I'm at the right level, but I'm willing to play with it and try to figure it out. I do not know why the little devil on my shoulder keeps trying to convince me that what did not work for a year is what I should go back to. I know it did not work but I suppose we can't expect to deprogram years of bad advice in such a short time.
Well 1 pound down is better progress than I have made in a year so I'm keeping at it! Thanks everyone in the group for continuing to provide all the great information and support!
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Oh thank you so much for sharing. This battle of the mind is so powerful...the litte monkey keeps teling us to go back to what doesn't work and many fall for it. I too study the medical facts and when I learned and understood...seing so many benefits such as just stopping all the ridiculous binging, getting rid of the guilt from always binging, the foggy brain that plagued me, the irritability, the deprivation...why would I ever go back?
The key is if you are not consistently trending upwards, but bouncing around the body is readjusting...it sometimes takes weeks. You deprived it for so long it doesn't plan on being tricked, then all of a sudden the weight starts moving. Now another factor you threw in and I as well...the heavy lifting...whew what a wrench butttt a great wrench, as you build those muscles no the weight doesn't fly off but the fat sure does.
You stay encouraged your body is so thankful and you look for it in the mirror and with the tape measure...I tell you it is like approaching a bend then bam you make that turn you see it and the scale eventually reflects it too.0 -
Love your story, Ellie- thank you for posting it! I'm having a bit of a downer at the moment and reading your story really helped remind me what I'm doing this for.
BMR- is fact. I love that- because it's so easy to get swept up in Acai berries or 'eat nothing but cheese for a month' type diets and marketing that it's easy to overlook that BMR is real, scientifically provable and each of us (assuming we have the money) can pay a doctor to find our exact BMR (or really really close).
I recently upped my cals to 2100 and I slept for two days. 1500 up to 1800- everything was grand! 2100? SLEEP. Sleep like I'd been up for two days kind of sleep, sleep like first trimester pregnancy sleep. I'm still in the middle of it- what I'm hoping will happen is that this means my body is off of 'high alert' for food or famine signals. It's relaxing, it's resting, it's trusting me again. Not very medical I know- but that's what it feels like. Like my body is saying 'whew- ok you got this, I'm going to take a break'.
So I'm down ten pounds, about three and a half weeks in now. I am really starting to see the difference in my arms- not BAM! but - oh hey, you can see something move under there that isn't jiggle lol I notice I'm stronger now- I can stand up on my own for longer (profile page for more info on that), I am carrying groceries in from the car, I'm putting away dishes and carrying laundry. This is HUGE for me
I've even put one of my canes into storage today- amazing from six months ago really.
I really needed to hear some other story today- something close to mine and really thank you for putting up your experience! 0 -
Love your story, Ellie- thank you for posting it! I'm having a bit of a downer at the moment and reading your story really helped remind me what I'm doing this for.
BMR- is fact. I love that- because it's so easy to get swept up in Acai berries or 'eat nothing but cheese for a month' type diets and marketing that it's easy to overlook that BMR is real, scientifically provable and each of us (assuming we have the money) can pay a doctor to find our exact BMR (or really really close).
I recently upped my cals to 2100 and I slept for two days. 1500 up to 1800- everything was grand! 2100? SLEEP. Sleep like I'd been up for two days kind of sleep, sleep like first trimester pregnancy sleep. I'm still in the middle of it- what I'm hoping will happen is that this means my body is off of 'high alert' for food or famine signals. It's relaxing, it's resting, it's trusting me again. Not very medical I know- but that's what it feels like. Like my body is saying 'whew- ok you got this, I'm going to take a break'.
So I'm down ten pounds, about three and a half weeks in now. I am really starting to see the difference in my arms- not BAM! but - oh hey, you can see something move under there that isn't jiggle lol I notice I'm stronger now- I can stand up on my own for longer (profile page for more info on that), I am carrying groceries in from the car, I'm putting away dishes and carrying laundry. This is HUGE for me I've even put one of my canes into storage today- amazing from six months ago really.
I really needed to hear some other story today- something close to mine and really thank you for putting up your experience!
It's weird, I had a similar experience this week with the sleep/exhaustion. I had committed to eating more, and then Monday came around and I had to drag myself upstairs to work out. The whole first part of the week was like that. I'm feeling better now though.0 -
That's funny because I have increased my calories from 1200 to 1700 -1800 about 2 weeks ago, and I have felt like i could sleep at my desk every day. Is this typical because of the increased food? Im assuming this will taper off.....0
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That's funny because I have increased my calories from 1200 to 1700 -1800 about 2 weeks ago, and I have felt like i could sleep at my desk every day. Is this typical because of the increased food? Im assuming this will taper off.....
Gemi and I were talking about this on our feed. Ive been sleeping like a bear.
I went from 1200 to 1400 and then 1600 and felt my energy go up with each increase (no weight loss though) . When I went to 1800 I really felt a jolt of energy and wanted to devour my food all of a sudden I was hungry like I hadnt been before it felt like I was in overdrive. That week I lost 1.5 kilo (3.3 pounds). Next stage I took a bigger jump and went from 1800 to 2100.
7 days now and I have been grabbing nana naps whenever I can. Tired like I havent been since I started eating healthy. I have no idea why. Maybe my body wasn't reved up enough to take all the extra digestion that goes on with an additional 300 cal a day?
Anyway 7 days after going 2100 a day I am showing .5 kilo heavier but lost 1cm around the waist. So goodness knows what that all means. I have a few more weeks at this calorie level before I decide what to do next. I am all chilled about it though.0 -
That's funny because I have increased my calories from 1200 to 1700 -1800 about 2 weeks ago, and I have felt like i could sleep at my desk every day. Is this typical because of the increased food? Im assuming this will taper off.....
I'm hoping it's a sign that I'm finally feeding a good level of food. It has been three days of sleeeeep for me and today I woke up and was back to my 'new' energy level- that is I have energy to burn again I'm back to having so much energy I don't want to sit still- I want to run and play- even if it's just running errands lol
So I'm hoping that this is just another adjustment period. I do know I'm SO ready to up my weights- I'm chomping at the bit 0 -
That's funny because I have increased my calories from 1200 to 1700 -1800 about 2 weeks ago, and I have felt like i could sleep at my desk every day. Is this typical because of the increased food? Im assuming this will taper off.....
I'm hoping it's a sign that I'm finally feeding a good level of food. It has been three days of sleeeeep for me and today I woke up and was back to my 'new' energy level- that is I have energy to burn again I'm back to having so much energy I don't want to sit still- I want to run and play- even if it's just running errands lol
So I'm hoping that this is just another adjustment period. I do know I'm SO ready to up my weights- I'm chomping at the bit
This is just what happened with me, it was like all of the sudden I had an amazing amount of energy! I'm sleeping great, though, for 8-9 hours a night. I've never been much for naps so maybe that's why I didn't experience that. My problem was falling asleep around 8 at night because I was so exhausted, usually only on weekdays, but still pretty sad.0
