Grrr, too many sources of potentially wrong info...I'm stuck
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sedosher
Posts: 142 Member
I have had several different professional sources give me daily calories goals that are lower then my current intake, and my current intake is much lower then most of you and probably should be higher. I am currently at 1500, my BMR. Most days I go over that 100 to 200 depending on my level of exercise that day. But my net calories are all over the place recently and sometimes WAY too low.
Anyway, I recently read Jillian Michaels book "Master your Metabolism" which told me my calories goal should be 1200-1400. JM.com told me my goal should be 1200.
Yesterday I started Chalean Extreme, which has a strength training/heavy lifting focus (strength 3x/wk with cardio 2x/wk) and reading the material last night it told me my intake should be 1400.
At 1500 I can not get the scale to budge, and if it goes down one day it is usually back up the next day. At 1700 I gained, I stuck with it for 2 weeks. Yea, I should have probably stuck it out longer but mentally I could NOT continue to see a steady gain. I literally stayed up one night crying.
I am beyond frustated. And if you are a friend of mine here on MFP you already know this from my status updates the past few days. I am not even close to giving up I am just getting very frustated and feeling hopeless about being able to lose any weight. Yes, I have seen a very small decrease in inches recently but nothing worth getting excited about. My endurance is definitely increases but I guess that just isn't enough for me.
I don't really know what to do because I don't think I can mentally handle a calorie increase right now because I can't take an weight gain. I pretty much mixed my exercise up competely this week and went to Chalean Extreme with a combination of C25K, and I am hoping to see some results very, very, very soon. Mostly for my own peace of mind and motivation.
Here is my plan...just to keep me accountable:
M-W-F
a.m. before work = C25K
p.m. after work = Chalean Extreme Strength training
(possible 1 mile lunch time walk at work)
T-Th
1 mile lunch time walk at work
p.m. after work = Chalean Extreme cardio
Saturday
cardio (probably JM Burn Fat Boost Metabolism, or whatever workout DVD looks interesting that day)
Sunday
rest day
Thanks for reading my RANT!
Anyway, I recently read Jillian Michaels book "Master your Metabolism" which told me my calories goal should be 1200-1400. JM.com told me my goal should be 1200.
Yesterday I started Chalean Extreme, which has a strength training/heavy lifting focus (strength 3x/wk with cardio 2x/wk) and reading the material last night it told me my intake should be 1400.
At 1500 I can not get the scale to budge, and if it goes down one day it is usually back up the next day. At 1700 I gained, I stuck with it for 2 weeks. Yea, I should have probably stuck it out longer but mentally I could NOT continue to see a steady gain. I literally stayed up one night crying.
I am beyond frustated. And if you are a friend of mine here on MFP you already know this from my status updates the past few days. I am not even close to giving up I am just getting very frustated and feeling hopeless about being able to lose any weight. Yes, I have seen a very small decrease in inches recently but nothing worth getting excited about. My endurance is definitely increases but I guess that just isn't enough for me.
I don't really know what to do because I don't think I can mentally handle a calorie increase right now because I can't take an weight gain. I pretty much mixed my exercise up competely this week and went to Chalean Extreme with a combination of C25K, and I am hoping to see some results very, very, very soon. Mostly for my own peace of mind and motivation.
Here is my plan...just to keep me accountable:
M-W-F
a.m. before work = C25K
p.m. after work = Chalean Extreme Strength training
(possible 1 mile lunch time walk at work)
T-Th
1 mile lunch time walk at work
p.m. after work = Chalean Extreme cardio
Saturday
cardio (probably JM Burn Fat Boost Metabolism, or whatever workout DVD looks interesting that day)
Sunday
rest day
Thanks for reading my RANT!
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Replies
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Girl I so feel your pain, I was stuck for 8 mos...I cried, whined, complained, binged when it overwhelmed me...I could go on. I know it is hard to see gain, but there is no other way around it other than to just go for it. I am telling you, the plateau won't end and you will be stuck in one vicious cycle. It is so mental and totally crippingly. I know, I don't empathize, I sympathize because I too walked through all you mentioned.
Now, when you are totally sick of it( the point I got to) and realize this really isn't about weight loss but about what is best for your body, prayerfully you will then be ready to give it a whole hearted go. To maybe even get that dog gone demon scale out of your house for a little while.
If you don't stick it out and give your body a chance to adapt and to finally realize it will be consistently fueled you will stay in the same unfortunate cycle so many get stuck in. I hate that cycle and I thank God that I did stick it through when trust me, many times I waivered, but something deep inside kept saying keep moving forward. I know why, because I can now tell you it works. Jillian, Biggest Loser, many nutritionist and even doctors recommend eating below BMR and that just makes absolutely no sense. How can you say that eating less than what it takes to stay in bed all day is taking care of your precious body? It is not. Look how many of the biggest loser contestants regained the weight...quite a few. When you lower your calorie threshold so low, the second you consume a bit over, you gain...each yo-yo cycle takes you to a new lower calorie threshold.
We tell women give it at least 4wks or best case 6wks. There is only one person that has mentioned to me personally (there could be others that I am just not aware of) that they are throwing in the towel because they had no weight loss, but then posted substantial inches lost. To me that is significant. When you lose inches you are shrinking...in my mind I don't give a flying flip what the scale says if I can fit the pants I want to fit. Right now, I am literally a weight that I would be wearing a size 8 at least. Girl I am fitting in some of my 4 pants and beautifully in 6's. With lifting I will never be the weight I was and I am ok with that. Sometimes too much cardio works against you too, but that is another long story.
Anyway, my friend, I am here for you and I understand mentally at this time you are not ready to try again. But when you are, I am here for you. I suggest going up 100 calories a week until you get to you TDEE - 15% and be consistent in eating it daily and netting BMR when you have high burn days. Make sure to get in 30% protein, 40 carb and 30 fat. Start focusing a bit more on lifting weights and getting rid of the scale for the 6 wks you commit to doing this. A tape measure is all you need and the encouragement you will get from all your fellow "Eat more" sisters!0 -
What if you are at a weight and inches loss stand still? I lost 4 lbs the first week I upped calories and nothing since. I don't believe I have lost any inches....I know I am not measuring correctly....and if I am, the inches go up and down. Don't know if I am doing correctly.
I upped my calories to 1600 on March 4th and then upped to 1630 a couple of weeks later for a 250 calorie deficit. I am not really exercising as of yet....only here and there...nothing worth counting and it isn't consistent. I am trying to get the calorie thing down first and just got the go ahead from the doc that I can exercise again.0 -
Girl I so feel your pain, I was stuck for 8 mos...I cried, whined, complained, binged when it overwhelmed me...I could go on. I know it is hard to see gain, but there is no other way around it other than to just go for it. I am telling you, the plateau won't end and you will be stuck in one vicious cycle. It is so mental and totally crippingly. I know, I don't empathize, I sympathize because I too walked through all you mentioned.
Now, when you are totally sick of it( the point I got to) and realize this really isn't about weight loss but about what is best for your body, prayerfully you will then be ready to give it a whole hearted go. To maybe even get that dog gone demon scale out of your house for a little while.
If you don't stick it out and give your body a chance to adapt and to finally realize it will be consistently fueled you will stay in the same unfortunate cycle so many get stuck in. I hate that cycle and I thank God that I did stick it through when trust me, many times I waivered, but something deep inside kept saying keep moving forward. I know why, because I can now tell you it works. Jillian, Biggest Loser, many nutritionist and even doctors recommend eating below BMR and that just makes absolutely no sense. How can you say that eating less than what it takes to stay in bed all day is taking care of your precious body? It is not. Look how many of the biggest loser contestants regained the weight...quite a few. When you lower your calorie threshold so low, the second you consume a bit over, you gain...each yo-yo cycle takes you to a new lower calorie threshold.
We tell women give it at least 4wks or best case 6wks. There is only one person that has mentioned to me personally (there could be others that I am just not aware of) that they are throwing in the towel because they had no weight loss, but then posted substantial inches lost. To me that is significant. When you lose inches you are shrinking...in my mind I don't give a flying flip what the scale says if I can fit the pants I want to fit. Right now, I am literally a weight that I would be wearing a size 8 at least. Girl I am fitting in some of my 4 pants and beautifully in 6's. With lifting I will never be the weight I was and I am ok with that. Sometimes too much cardio works against you too, but that is another long story.
Anyway, my friend, I am here for you and I understand mentally at this time you are not ready to try again. But when you are, I am here for you. I suggest going up 100 calories a week until you get to you TDEE - 15% and be consistent in eating it daily and netting BMR when you have high burn days. Make sure to get in 30% protein, 40 carb and 30 fat. Start focusing a bit more on lifting weights and getting rid of the scale for the 6 wks you commit to doing this. A tape measure is all you need and the encouragement you will get from all your fellow "Eat more" sisters!
Thanks Lucia! I actually cried last night reading your response. I am just getting so stressed about it, and I know that isn't helping anything either. Honestly I am working harder right now to lose weight then I have EVER and NOTHING is happening. In the past I would starve myself to lose weight. So eating 1500 calories is a big step for me. I am just so scared to increase again and gain again. But being stuck in one spot isn't helping either because it is stressing me out SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO bad.
Thanks so much for your help!0 -
I'm at the point you are as well. I thank all of you for posting this, it gives me hope!!!0
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What if you are at a weight and inches loss stand still? I lost 4 lbs the first week I upped calories and nothing since. I don't believe I have lost any inches....I know I am not measuring correctly....and if I am, the inches go up and down. Don't know if I am doing correctly.
I upped my calories to 1600 on March 4th and then upped to 1630 a couple of weeks later for a 250 calorie deficit. I am not really exercising as of yet....only here and there...nothing worth counting and it isn't consistent. I am trying to get the calorie thing down first and just got the go ahead from the doc that I can exercise again.
Were you at a plateau before you upped your cals?0 -
Sedosher - I have a sweet spot in my heart for Jillian Michael's because I originally lost my weight with her vids/books, etc. But I gained it all back using the exact same methods. She is awesome for a quick fix, for getting your heart rate up, and getting you excited about taking charge of your body....BUT I would not recommend it for long term. Same thing w/Jackie Warner. They both have some really awesome and intense workouts, but because there is a large cardio factor to their workouts, and because they are celebrities, they have to stick to the "quick fix" kinda mentality, because it gives people what they want, results, NOW. The only problem with that is that results now, does not mean results "forever." And that is the goal of what you're trying to accomplish right now. After YEARS of being completely faithful to Jillian to no end, I had to reluctantly set her to the side and go into a hard metabolism reset to get back on track. I did not touch her vids/show or read her books or anything, until I had completely revamped my thinking process. It is only now that I could (if I wanted to) pop in one of her workouts and use them for the resource that they are to me. Cardio. I can now watch the Biggest Loser from a personal trainers perspective and truly shake my head and the methods being used on the show, not allowing myself to be emotionally drawn to that way of life again.
The reason that I also mention Jackie Warner, is for the same thing. She produces some awesome workouts, and had a ton of books out and such, but they are HORRIBLE. Her previous book instructed a diet somewhere around 1200-1400, and her newest one suggests 900 cals!! I wanted to scream when I read it. I try to keep myself abreast of what's being promoted in the media, sold on the shelves, and touted by "famous" trainers and doctors, and each time I find myself being saddened that I and so many people become enslaved to that mentality, because we want to trust these people. They are "professionals" after all.
But we must become educated on our own, and unfortunately, nowadays , it seems like we really have to "dig" to find the truth :ohwell:
Kiki0 -
Your story is so inspiring. I have been in a vicious cycle for about 5 years and have been struggling to lose and maintain a few pounds that I actually gradually put on a few more! I hit rock bottom, not knowing what else to do. It made no sense to me to have to keep going at such a pace (eat less, move more) that I figured I'd give this a try. So I gain a few more pounds...considering my history, what do I really have to lose! I started 3 weeks ago knowing full well that I would gain, and here I am 2-3 lbs more. I do feel fantastic though...in the sense that I don't have to stress over food all day long, I feel like I can concentrate better, sleep better and just plain satisfied. But at what cost!? My instincts tell me to keep doing this...I put my trust in the posts of successful women (Lucia and Kiki and more). I have also been listening to Fat2Fit.com.
Tonight I read about eating at maintenance first tin order o reset my metabolism (right now I'm at 15% below my TDEE). Seems this method worked for Kiki and Lucia mentioned if she were to start over, that's how she'd do it too. So...might up it to 2000....
My issue some days is what do I eat to get to that amount of cals?! Sometimes I'm just too full to eat all that....
I say give it a go...but you do have to be mentally prepared!0 -
What if you are at a weight and inches loss stand still? I lost 4 lbs the first week I upped calories and nothing since. I don't believe I have lost any inches....I know I am not measuring correctly....and if I am, the inches go up and down. Don't know if I am doing correctly.
I upped my calories to 1600 on March 4th and then upped to 1630 a couple of weeks later for a 250 calorie deficit. I am not really exercising as of yet....only here and there...nothing worth counting and it isn't consistent. I am trying to get the calorie thing down first and just got the go ahead from the doc that I can exercise again.
Were you at a plateau before you upped your cals?
It may have been a week w/o loss. I can't remember. I was so excited when I read about eating more that I figured out my TDEE and BMR and upped 200 calories the next day.
I just weighed. I am up .5. I wish I was measuring properly. I know things are, super slowly, starting to fit better. I do mean super slow...LOL.
I don't know if I am just frustrated do it the pace or the fact that I can move from 180lbs. I don't know. I am just tired of being overweight....it has been all of my adult life.0 -
Your story is so inspiring. I have been in a vicious cycle for about 5 years and have been struggling to lose and maintain a few pounds that I actually gradually put on a few more! I hit rock bottom, not knowing what else to do. It made no sense to me to have to keep going at such a pace (eat less, move more) that I figured I'd give this a try. So I gain a few more pounds...considering my history, what do I really have to lose! I started 3 weeks ago knowing full well that I would gain, and here I am 2-3 lbs more. I do feel fantastic though...in the sense that I don't have to stress over food all day long, I feel like I can concentrate better, sleep better and just plain satisfied. But at what cost!? My instincts tell me to keep doing this...I put my trust in the posts of successful women (Lucia and Kiki and more). I have also been listening to Fat2Fit.com.
Tonight I read about eating at maintenance first tin order o reset my metabolism (right now I'm at 15% below my TDEE). Seems this method worked for Kiki and Lucia mentioned if she were to start over, that's how she'd do it too. So...might up it to 2000....
My issue some days is what do I eat to get to that amount of cals?! Sometimes I'm just too full to eat all that....
I say give it a go...but you do have to be mentally prepared!
My diary is open to the public please feel free to review it. I eat 1900 and up daily. Yesterday was a spike day and I ate 3194. I don't usual ever eat that high but I tel you I felt full this morning and had so much energy in zumba this morning... I tend to go over in fat ... I'm still working on my macros...we are all work in progress.0 -
What if you are at a weight and inches loss stand still? I lost 4 lbs the first week I upped calories and nothing since. I don't believe I have lost any inches....I know I am not measuring correctly....and if I am, the inches go up and down. Don't know if I am doing correctly.
I upped my calories to 1600 on March 4th and then upped to 1630 a couple of weeks later for a 250 calorie deficit. I am not really exercising as of yet....only here and there...nothing worth counting and it isn't consistent. I am trying to get the calorie thing down first and just got the go ahead from the doc that I can exercise again.
Were you at a plateau before you upped your cals?
It may have been a week w/o loss. I can't remember. I was so excited when I read about eating more that I figured out my TDEE and BMR and upped 200 calories the next day.
I just weighed. I am up .5. I wish I was measuring properly. I know things are, super slowly, starting to fit better. I do mean super slow...LOL.
I don't know if I am just frustrated do it the pace or the fact that I can move from 180lbs. I don't know. I am just tired of being overweight....it has been all of my adult life.
I totally understand how you feel. The frustration of wanting weight off now. This is not a drop 10lbs a week process. It is a slow process of finally treating your body right by fueling it to run efficiently and higher which over times cause you to burn fat and lose weight and inches. It takes time. The diff bet this and the drop it quick eat nothing calories...this a sustainable life long lose that you will experience that is maintainable. It is not a drop it quick, lose muscle, reset metabolism lower with each deprivation cycle which causes you to regain more than you lost.
Please be patient my friend, you are worth it!0 -
I am willing to be patient....no problem. I just wasn't sure if I was/am doing something wrong. I just am hoping I am on the right track.0
