Hungry? Plateau? Just not losing? Here is help!!

Kooopons

I was reading success stories and came across a thread about someone increasing their calories and losing MORE weight. I started to read it and it led me to many other threads. What I have read is fascinating and really makes sense. I keep saying how I look into the mirror and still see so much flab. Yes, I've shrunk considerably and have come a long way- but- I still don't see the changes that I'd like. For me, some of that is resistance training and the need to step it up more, but also some of that is because being on a low calorie diet (many of my days only netting 1200 or so calories) causes the loss of lean mass and retention of fat.

I could go on and on but really these threads say it all. I upped my calories to 1600+ a day now and I feel so much better knowing I can eat that much- and maybe even more and still lose.. I suggest you sit down and read this and digest it all. It's pretty earth shattering info!

The first link gives an overview and suggests a site to go and figure out your TDEE and what you should be eating in a day, the 2nd is a group of people who are eating to lose- great info in both places!

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/538381-in-place-of-a-road-map

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/3817-eat-more-to-weigh-less

tlchidester

Jen, wow, lots of great info! Ok, now maybe because I'm tired, I can't seem to wrap my mind around this completely. As in, one I have a disgusting # for body fat! Oh my gosh, so did not want to know that number! 2, I figured out my BMR 1087 and then on the chart it is 1675. With the first thread it says multiply that number by 20%. Did that, it's 2100 calories. Now this is where I get confused. Do I put this number in MFP and then eat that many calories? Or do I do the 1675 #. And do I put exercise in? Or do I just eat that many calories. Seriously, I know I'm making this much more complicated. Thanks again. I don't have a ton of weight to lose, but I want to lower that horrible amount of body fat!

Kooopons

Teal- I'm right there with you on the body fat- I am not 100% on my exact numbers based on these calculators because I'm getting a range, however, from what I have read- if they are all within 5% one way or another, it doesn't change your calories by more than 100. Either way- I'm way over what I'd like to be!!

OK- your questions are very common and to be honest, it was/is confusing to me as well. If you use the Fat 2 Fit radio site, just plug in your numbers on the BMR calculator and then look at the grid at the bottom where it gives you how many calories to eat based on activity. That is what you eat every day. That is what you set your MFP to. You are not to eat back exercise calories UNLESS you work out so much that your net intake falls below your BMR. If that happens, you are to eat back enough to get 200 above BMR. The Fat 2 Fit radio site takes into account activity over the course of the week so that is your calorie goal every day.

Now if you want to just look at numbers, you find your BMR, then find your TDEE and then eat in between those 2 numbers if you want to lose. They suggested on the thread to take your TDEE and minus 15% and that is your "cut number". The number of calories you want to eat daily. This should be similar to what the chart tells you from Fat 2 Fit radio. Again, when doing this you do not eat back calories unless you drop below BMR which you never want to do.

For example, Fat 2 Fit radio tells me to eat 1882 calories per day for light activity. When I calculate my TDEE manually and subtract 15% I get 1707 calories per day- pretty close. It also says on fat 2 fit radio that you can eat 200-300 below what they recommend in the chart to lose faster. I set my daily calories to just over 1600-- although I may need to up it, but initially I was nervous.

Now as far as your numbers, I'm confused. You said your BMR is 1087 and then on the chart it's 1675? What is 1675 on the chart- what you should eat? If you are looking at the fat 2 fit radio chart, that is what you should eat every day..... period. You don't times that by 20% because they already calculated your activity on the chart. If you want to set MFP to 1675 and you add in exercise, just enter 1 for the calories burned because you do not want to eat them back since this number already includes your activity. Just make sure you aren't burning so much that you net below 1087 (your BMR). So for example, if you burn over 600 calories in a workout- you will need to eat back some.

If you want, post your numbers and I'll plug them into the various methods to see what I come up with. I also highly recommend doing all of your measurements to track. Like I said- I'm losing weight, but it's more of the lean mass variety- not the fat variety. Obviously that is not what you want and a better way to lose is by tracking fat % lost rather than actual pounds. People can be what they call skinny fat- which isn't any healthier than fat fat!

tlchidester

Ok, I think I've got it! So set MFP to 1675 and if I workout and fall below 1087 then eat about 200 more calories. I think I can handle that. I really appreciate it.

Kooopons

Ok, I think I've got it! So set MFP to 1675 and if I workout and fall below 1087 then eat about 200 more calories. I think I can handle that. I really appreciate it.

Yes! You do that on manual settings btw.

Now I also set up my diary to look like this
breakfast
snack
lunch
snack
dinner
snack

I want to eat frequently throughout the day as recommended to keep the burn going well. Also, read the "what to expect when you up your calories" thread on the one group link.

Another thing discussed- setting your macro-nutrients is a good idea. WHAT you eat is also important- so they suggested setting them to carb 40, fat 30, protein 30- then it will show you where you are with what you are eating. You don't want to be too carb heavy, too fat heavy or not enough protein to gain muscle and displace fat. I will say- yesterday I tried hard to eat my protein goal and it's not easy. I have to come up with some better protein options. On top of that, this many calories is definitely not easy to do. I won't say I'm not enjoying trying, but for the past few months I have been so careful to stay under 1300-1400, it's quite a change of thinking.

Another suggestion I found helpful was to pre-load your diary for the next day to see where you are in your carb/protein/fat ratio- that way you can adjust food as needed. Maybe you are super carb heavy and lacking in protein- then you can tweak your day before it starts and you'll be ready to go with the perfect day!

donniesgirrl

One thing that has helped me from getting too hungry is eating more protein. My name is Jennifer and I am a carb-o-holic.

And snacks - I learned that when I had GD when I was PG.

And I've started using a meal service for breakfast, lunch, and snacks during the week (My Fit Foods). We eat together as a family for dinner. With a toddler, I was having a hard time preparing a variety of healthy portion controlled meals and the salt content on the frozen ones bug me, so this was a nice option. DH thinks it is too expensive for what you get, but I like it.

I haven't monkeyed with my calories yet, but I'll wait til I hit a plateau.

McCoolMama

Totally makes sense to me! I upped my calories from 1200 to 1440 a few weeks ago. Question... How do I change the % for carbs, fat & protein on here??

Kooopons

Totally makes sense to me! I upped my calories from 1200 to 1440 a few weeks ago. Question... How do I change the % for carbs, fat & protein on here??

When you go to change your goals select custom. You can set the fats/carbs/proteins to those percentages.

McCoolMama

Thanks Jen, I found it yesterday after tons of searching. Lol. I changed my macros to 40/30/30 and was soooo close to hitting it today!!

Kooopons

Hey girls! Since upping my calories I've lost an inch around my waist already! I have stayed the same weight (more or less, sometimes fluctuating up or down 1 lb) but I feel so much more fit!

I am doing resistance training 3 days a week- I broke up muscle groups and do some on Monday, some Wed and some Friday. On Tues/Thurs I do 20 mins of high intensity intervals- like treadmill. I do abs every day. The weekends I rest!

I have had trouble some days hitting my calories- I need to get better at that, esp days I'm working out. I'm also trying to hit my macros better.

I think the biggest difference has been that I feel like I look more toned already and my clothes are feeling loser even though the scale is staying the same. That was my biggest issue before- I was losing but looking flabby meaning that essentially I was losing lean muscle mass. It's like the difference of these 2 pictures.

http://www.precisionnutrition.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/marathoner_vs_sprinter1.jpg

I highly recommend doing your measurements if you haven't already! I pull my tape measure out constantly now. It's better than stepping on the scale.

kimnmiah

wow. i am not suprised by this info but nervous to try it. It says i have a bmr of 1300. i have been shooting for 1200-1300 this whole time. probably not good for me. it says i should be eating closer to 2000. I am really nervous to try that. I have noticed that if i miss my goal i am more likely to lose weight. my husband is doing mfp and he is set to 1800 but this site says he should be eating more like 3000 a day. thats a crazy number. i have been feeling satisfied but the scale has slowed down. Maybe I will give it a try.

luvsdeals

Stuff like this makes my head spin.

I'm currently set at 1280 calories and I usually eat back most if not all of my exercise calories (and 300 calories for nursing.) I'm losing inches (I've lost 10 inches around my waist--or at least what I though was my waist--just below my belly button--but saw on the military fat calculator that it's much higher--where you get a crease when you bend to the side) as well as pounds, but the pounds have slowed down. Also my veggie consumption has been WAY low since Easter and my junk consumption has been high!

This says my BMR is 1411.

TDEE

Activity Level Daily Calories
Sedentary (little or no exercise, desk job) 1680
Lightly Active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk) 1925
Moderately Active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk) 2170
Very Active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk) 2415

So now what do I do with these numbers? does nursing impact that number too? How do I choose which one? i know I'm not sedentary. I run 3-4 miles usually 3-4 times a week. I've been doing some lifting/strength training on the other days. Usually I don't do anything on Sundays.

Also--I'm SO not a fan of using protein powders. What are everyone's best bets for protein then?
thoughts?

Kooopons

Hey girls. Yes, it's very unsettling to up your calories- but I have been reading non-stop for over a week about this and it is just the way to go. Your body needs fuel. You also need to be able to sustain this when you reach your goal. Let's say you lose eating a low calorie diet- then you start adding calories back on to live day to day and then you gain. Your body needs to know you're feeding it day in and day out consistently- that's how we keep the metabolism burning.

A few things I highly recommend- Fat2Fit radio. I cannot emphasize this enough!! Go to their website and read read read! You can listen online to their broadcasts or if you have an iphone they have a free app. They are a wealth of information and encouragement for this healthy lifestyle. I listen to one of the broadcasts every day and so many things hit home for me.

Second- join up at "eat more to weigh less" here on MFP. It's a super supportive group and the admins there are great at answering questions and really giving ideas and advice.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/3834-eat-more-to-weigh-less

Third- just up to your TDEE less 15-20%. I have read over and over about people creeping up vs people just going straight there. Bottom line, it's where you should be eating so just do it. It's really important to read the threads on what to expect when you up your calories (feeling SUPER full, bloated, possible weight gains). There is a thread on the eat more weigh less board that is helpful. It's not a quick fix. If you have been eating very low cal for a while or just eating your BMR, your metabolism is likely slowed- esp if weight loss has lessened. When eating low cal you are losing more lean mass than fat- so you need the lean mass to burn the fat. You may have to build some of that back. Most people on the forum see results w/in 4-6 weeks if not sooner. I'm determined to stick with it because it just makes sense, as crazy as it does sound!

Melissa- I would say you are mod active with your exercise- so you want to take 15-20% of your tdee.and that is what you eat every day. Are those numbers you listed calculated by hand with the equations or from the fat2fit site's grid? If they are from the grid they are already calculated at what you should eat. If you figured them from the equations on the eat more to lose board, you subtract 15-20% and that is your cut number.
You do not eat back exercise calories- BUT- if you exercise enough to net calories below your BMR (which in your case is 1411) then you want to eat to at least net that but maybe go over a little. Never net below your BMR.

Protein- it's HARD. I have my macros set to 40-30-30 and I have yet to hit 30% protein. In fact on the eat more to weigh less board they say to try to hit 1 gm per lb of weight- which is even more than my 30% breakdown. I just started the protein powder today. I read a TON- I mean hours of reading about protein powders, and bought the Jay Robb whey protein powder (vanilla). It's 5 ingredients, non-gmo and has 25 grams of protein, 0-fat, 0-cholesterol, 0-sugars, and only 1 gram of carbohydrate per 30 gram serving. Only cold-processed cross-flow microfiltered whey protein isolate is used as the protein source and this material comes from farm-raised, pasture-grazed, grass-fed cows not treated with the synthetic bovine growth hormone rBGH. Best part- it tastes great! I made some fresh squeezed OJ tonight and stirred it in and it was really yummy!
What is your hesitation with protein powders? I'm no expert but I too wasn't crazy about the idea until I read about the natural ones and getting that 25gm boost from a drink is helpful!

Kim- I know it does sound crazy, but just try it. You can't net your bmr and expect to continue to lose or to even live like this forever. And your dh- oh my- 1800 for a man sounds crazy! I would calculate your numbers out and use a couple different calculators and up your cals to a better number at least above your BMR. Like I said, eating this way at first is hard, esp since you've gone a while on low cal. But it's getting easier and I feel so much stronger and look forward to my exercise (which is huge for me)!

One other thing- eating whole foods is a must. I think both of you already have great diets, but fat2fit radio goes over and over the downsides to processed foods and certain things to reduce or eliminate. I hope you guys join me in this!

luvsdeals

Thanks Jen.

I copied those numbers from the fat2fit site after doing the calculations. So that would mean upping to 2170. I think to do that eating well I really need to preplan my days to figure out what to eat. I kind of wing it throughout the day and as it is I often end up with lots of calories at the end of the day. Also--the days that I eat lots of whole foods--like huge spinach salads those days are even lower calorie days because those are low calorie/high density and nutrition foods.

About protein powder--I don't know. It just seems like our food should come from food. It's not like a vitamin which seems different to me--but it's a major building block of a food and it seems weird to take it in a stripped down form--isolated from all it's other "packaging". But it seems like the only way people ever achieve these high protein levels is to use powders or bars that contain lots of protein. It just seems as if our bodies really need such a high level of protein there should be a way to get there without powders.

I'm not arguing about it at all--just trying to wrap my head around it to figure it out. I'll hang out on that board and do lots of reading. Please keep sharing what you're doing. How many calories are you set out now? Do you have a daily plan on how to get there? What activity level do you have your numbers based upon? What's your strength training look like? I have a variety of dumbells, but they only go up to 15lbs. Think I might need to invest in some heavier ones.

Kooopons

OK, the fat2fit numbers were a tad high for me. I think you and I are almost the same numbers. I'm 5'5, 155lbs right now. Fat2fit told me about 2170 for mod active too. I did the actual equations on the eat more to weigh less board (EMWL) and it gave me a BMR of 1457 and a mod active tdee of 2253. Now that is not a cut number, so I took 20% of that and get 1802, which is what I set my number at. Now, on EMWL they say to add 10% in for digestion, which I didn't do. So while I have been reading about just upping and don't creep up- I'm not a very good example, LOL!

Protein powders- I 100% agree with you! I wish I could get it from regular foods, but it's hard. And I guess it depends on your goals. I hope to build up some muscle and that's why I want to get my numbers up, but I'm not even reaching 30%- but that's OK for me. I think you could experiment with other protein rich foods and see how it plays out. I really trust the Jay Robb brand- it's free of GMO/heavy metals, pesticides and tastes so good. If you do go for a shake or powder, just read read read about ingredients and fillers and other crap. Jay robb is pricier, but when it's going in my body, I want it to be clean. I eat all organic grass fed meats and free range eggs from a nearby farm, I don't want to then eat protein filled with junk. I think it's about as pure as you can get.

As far as my daily plan, I tried to up my breakfast. So before I was doing 1 egg and 1 slice of toast, now I do 2 of each- and sometimes some fruit. I figured if I loaded up in the am, I wouldn't be left with 500 calories to catch up on at bedtime. I also added snacks in between each meal to try to eat frequently. it is a good idea to pre-plan your days, many people do that so you can see how it plays out with your macros.

Weights- I discovered fitness blender.com and it's awesome! They are a husband/wife team that makes full length videos for free. They have all kinds including strength training routines. I have used those with my free weights a lot. I also have an app for my iphone called Jetfit or jet2fit- something close to that. It has weight lifting routines and shows how to do each movement. It also tracks everything for you. But check out fitness blender, they are really awesome!!
http://www.fitnessblender.com/

I have free weights that go up to 25lbs and I haven't used the 25lb ones yet. I don't have much else. I use a bench in my house for a weight bench and I have an exercise ball and some bands. With fitness blender, you don't need much and if you aren't lifting a lot yet, up to 15lbs will be good for a little while. I also do a lot of body weight exercises, like push-ups for example. Great for your muscles, but doesn't require extra weights. Another is pull ups if you have a bar you can do them on- although they are KILLER!!

Yes, hang out on the EMWL board, they have so much great info and support!

luvsdeals

Thanks again. I have to look more at this, but just looking through my diary if I look at my "food calories" I seem to be consuming around 1500-1600 calories generally. But that includes -300 calories for nursing, so if I add that back in I'm consuming about 1800-1900 calories a day already--am I reading that right? Which it seems to be much closer to the numbers you're talking about right?

Also--are you logging your exercise on here or just keeping track somehow else since you don't want it subtracting those calories?

I've been doing weights ala Body for Life style and just using the exercises that work with dumbells or body weight. My husband and I are also a couple weeks into onehundrepushups.com (I'm also doing the dips one.) I want to check out Fitness Blender.

Kooopons

I'm tracking my exercise on my iPhone. I did buy new rules of lifting for women and I love it. Can't wait to start the program. I highly recommend reading as he goes into a lot about the damage low calorie diets do to your body long term.

Your -300 is confusing me for some reason, lol. But I think you may be already eating at a better level. The other thing that the book and the board emphasize is cardio isn't the way to go for weight loss. It's great for your heart and conditioning , but muscle burns fat and muscle transforms your body. This book emphasizes lifting like s man but look like a woman. Anyways, I could go on and on. I'm just loving the prospect of lifting and lifting heavy weight to transform my body.

I may have typos, Omp at hair salon :-)

MommaBranam

Thanks for this info. I feel like my mind is realing. It was so much easier when I lost weight at 20 before kids!