The "If it works for you" explained

Dayna154

Great post OP!!

ZugTheMegasaurus

A lot of good points here. I think a primary problem for many people is that they are convinced that there is a right way to lose weight and a whole lot of wrong ways. Whether they pick the diet-of-the-month or obsess over tweaking numbers, the mindset is the same, that they just can't get it and if they can just search enough, they'll find the solution. The fact of the matter is that different people will find different solutions. I usually eat twice a day, others eat eight times a day. Is either one correct? No, just different.

I get a lot of people questioning why I don't open my food diary (either friends or more general forum posts) and one major reason is that I don't want people copying me. What works for me might not work for you; find your own way. That's not meant in a rude way or because I'm keeping a secret, but because I don't want to be a hindrance to someone else's progress.

Take tips if you need them, but what you'll have to do in order to succeed is mainly trial and error. If it's not working, then change it. Forget about time constraints and deadlines; if you just keep going, you'll get there eventually.

breakthecycle

LOVE LOVE LOVE this!!!!! I'm realizing at 42 that my own MIND has held me back for YEARS. Thanks for the great post!!!

saintspoon

AWESOME!!!!!

Very well written & very good points!!

We're so worried about the little things we can't see the forest for the trees! Do things that you can maintain for a long time

MIchelleH2027

Love this post!!! Thank you for saying 'what' you did and 'how' you did. Yes, we are all unique snowflake----individual, unique, and beautiful!!! And THANK GOODNESS for that!!!! :flowerforyou:

CynGoddess

BRAVO! great post. :drinker:

SweetNaughtyLips

Loved every word :flowerforyou:

teeley

this is fantastic,

I have taken a break from counting because I have been feeling like it is consuming my every thought. My mind was not healthy anymore, and what good is a healthy body and a messed up mind!

Thanks!

Agreed with your last statement.

However, I have been always healthy, heavier or lighter. So my sole goal is to lose a few pounds. I did it last year by counting calories alone. Then I stalled. After researching I learned I need to eat more to break it. Then guess what...I ate more, exercised more, and I WEIGHED MORE...as a matter of fact, I went back to where I started right now. How frustrating! I don't know if I want to give it up yet as I know how good I felt when I was a few pounds light and my pants fit looser. but now I am bigger and heavier than ever. What did I do wrong? Someone please help me to break my mindset!

I have been eating more for a few months and havn't budged on the scale...BUT I DON'T CARE!!! I have two little girls at home and I am teaching them that when I go to the gym and choose healthy foods it is to become stronger and healthier, if I stay the same weight for the rest of my life so be it, as long as I am getting stronger and healthier while I am at it.

AlyRoseNYC

I love this post!

keiraev

I am not a bodybuilder but can relate to so much of that on my own level.

I still find myself preoccupied with numbers a lot of the time even though I am in maintenance - I need to stop obsessing and just get on with the training and eating well!

thomassd1969

Wonderful wording in this post, Its all about finding what works with your lifestyle and what makes you feel good about yourself. THere is no perfect body or fitness program, there is no magic way to count calories, fat and protein to make you a carbon copy of someone else. Its all about how your body and mind work. Thanks for the read

Awkward30

I agree but I disagree. I'm a huge proponent of don't beat yourself up and eat as you want, but there are a few variables that are widely applicable, like needing to eat sufficient protein (ie more than mfp recommends) and do some sort of resistance training to maintain lean mass.

Yes, here comes the "what works for you" - like I said, keep the basis in head, (thermodymamic, etc...) no need to overdo things.

Why your protein intakes keep changing ? (no offense, just saw you diary) : because we both know having enough prevent the catabolism, but that's it. Are you able to tell me if you are eating enough protein, did you yesterday ? what matter is you enjoyed.
We will never know if you had enough, embrace genetics and your own metabolism.

Maybe you have a too big deficit according to your TDEE, if it gives you what you want, that is all that matter, really.

Hence why I agreed and disagreed. No one day actually matters, it's the balance, and on average I get a lot of protein. I'm also not using MFP "correctly" in that I have a body bugg which I use to measure my calories burned and eat a roughly 500 cal deficit off that. If I'm hungry at the end of the day, I eat more, if I'm full with 200 left, I eat less. Most variables don't matter and you are right that people stress over things that really don't matter, but when I was training for a half marathon I lost 8 pounds of muscle with the fat I lost and now that I've strength trained consistently I've put on a half pound of muscle with no change in my other habits aside from eating more protein. That is why I'm such a strong proponent of not losing lean mass, I'd be at my goal body fat % if I had maintained my lean mass, but as it is, still about 7 more pounds

PercivalHackworth

I agree but I disagree. I'm a huge proponent of don't beat yourself up and eat as you want, but there are a few variables that are widely applicable, like needing to eat sufficient protein (ie more than mfp recommends) and do some sort of resistance training to maintain lean mass.

Yes, here comes the "what works for you" - like I said, keep the basis in head, (thermodymamic, etc...) no need to overdo things.

Why your protein intakes keep changing ? (no offense, just saw you diary) : because we both know having enough prevent the catabolism, but that's it. Are you able to tell me if you are eating enough protein, did you yesterday ? what matter is you enjoyed.
We will never know if you had enough, embrace genetics and your own metabolism.

Maybe you have a too big deficit according to your TDEE, if it gives you what you want, that is all that matter, really.

Hence why I agreed and disagreed. No one day actually matters, it's the balance, and on average I get a lot of protein. I'm also not using MFP "correctly" in that I have a body bugg which I use to measure my calories burned and eat a roughly 500 cal deficit off that. If I'm hungry at the end of the day, I eat more, if I'm full with 200 left, I eat less. Most variables don't matter and you are right that people stress over things that really don't matter, but when I was training for a half marathon I lost 8 pounds of muscle with the fat I lost and now that I've strength trained consistently I've put on a half pound of muscle with no change in my other habits aside from eating more protein. That is why I'm such a strong proponent of not losing lean mass, I'd be at my goal body fat % if I had maintained my lean mass, but as it is, still about 7 more pounds

That is a a great mindset Award30, and congrats for your recomp. it is because you have that vision that you make things way easier to manage, as for the extra lbs, they are always the harder, but they only would reinforce/ confirm your commitment.
When it comes to such thing, I see the challenge, and I patiently try to figure it out. But seeing it as a challenge, not as a burden is even more interesting :-)

So keep going, in no time, you'll have the differences

wackyfunster

"reducing calories" that is the deal breaker. I already eat minimum of 1200 calories. I cannot reduce further. Even with 1200, I often feel hungry and craving for more...Everybody said it worked for them but nothing works for me. Does that mean I don't really know myself as I thought I did?

I actually started strenth training and that was when I put back the weight. I can clearly see my thighs more toned...but much bigger. One possibility is that I might grain muscle faster than I lose fat? Anyhow, anything I tried, results in I am bigger than before I started the weight loss process. How irritating!

Closed diary?

It's simply not possible to not lose body fat if you are actually eating at a deficit.

Great interview with Lyle McDonald where he tackles the subject:
http://muscleevo.net/lyle-mcdonald-interview-one

Excerpt:
In one of the all-time classic studies (the Minnesota semi-starvation study), men were put on 50% of their maintenance calories for 6 months. It measured the largest reduction in metabolic rate I’ve ever seen, something like 40% below baseline. Yet at no point did the men stop losing fat until they hit 5% body fat at the end of the study.
Other studies, where people are put on strictly controlled diets have never, to my knowledge, failed to acknowledge weight or fat loss.
This goes back to the under-reporting intake issue mentioned above. I suspect that the people who say, “I’m eating 800 calories per day and not losing weight; it must be a starvation response” are actually eating far more than that and misreporting or underestimating it. Because no controlled study that I’m aware of has ever found such an occurrence.

---

If you are eating 1200 and not losing, it's because of one of four things:
1) Mislogging food calories
2) Mislogging exercise calories and "eating them back" (could be using wrong activity multiplier, and double-eating workout calories as well).
3) Mislogging/not logging "cheat days"
4) Water retention, in which case you should see weight come off in substantial chunks over time. You can stimulate this effect with a refeed.

If you are really small, it's possible you have a BMR <1200 calories as well (would have to be <100 lbs. lbm).

Awkward30

"reducing calories" that is the deal breaker. I already eat minimum of 1200 calories. I cannot reduce further. Even with 1200, I often feel hungry and craving for more...Everybody said it worked for them but nothing works for me. Does that mean I don't really know myself as I thought I did?

I actually started strenth training and that was when I put back the weight. I can clearly see my thighs more toned...but much bigger. One possibility is that I might grain muscle faster than I lose fat? Anyhow, anything I tried, results in I am bigger than before I started the weight loss process. How irritating!

Closed diary?

It's simply not possible to not lose body fat if you are actually eating at a deficit.

Great interview with Lyle McDonald where he tackles the subject:
http://muscleevo.net/lyle-mcdonald-interview-one

Excerpt:
In one of the all-time classic studies (the Minnesota semi-starvation study), men were put on 50% of their maintenance calories for 6 months. It measured the largest reduction in metabolic rate I’ve ever seen, something like 40% below baseline. Yet at no point did the men stop losing fat until they hit 5% body fat at the end of the study.
Other studies, where people are put on strictly controlled diets have never, to my knowledge, failed to acknowledge weight or fat loss.
This goes back to the under-reporting intake issue mentioned above. I suspect that the people who say, “I’m eating 800 calories per day and not losing weight; it must be a starvation response” are actually eating far more than that and misreporting or underestimating it. Because no controlled study that I’m aware of has ever found such an occurrence.

---

If you are eating 1200 and not losing, it's because of one of four things:
1) Mislogging food calories
2) Mislogging exercise calories and "eating them back" (could be using wrong activity multiplier, and double-eating workout calories as well).
3) Mislogging/not logging "cheat days"
4) Water retention, in which case you should see weight come off in substantial chunks over time. You can stimulate this effect with a refeed.

If you are really small, it's possible you have a BMR <1200 calories as well (would have to be <100 lbs. lbm).

Thanks, every time I see somebody that is obese that says that they are eating 1200 and not losing, I think this exactly. I've looked HARD to find any study where obese people went on a very low calorie diet and didn't lose weight. When the metabolisms slow, it is slight, and mostly accounted for by the loss of lean mass, which DOES happen with very low calorie diets.

I frequently find myself saying "I really want this, but I don't want to log it, so maybe I won't log it, it's only 100 cals!" But then I think "No, if something goes wrong, I wanna know why." Instances like that or small snacks or a bite here and there are easy to forget about and subsequently end up off by more than you think.

And I honestly suspect that for the majority of people that "eat more to lose more" works for it's because when they have a higher allowance, they "cheat" less. I've read some online sites that give case studies with citations, but I can't find these studies in pubmed, so I think it is just internet stuff. All reliable sources I can find run the party line of "You can't be fat and starving" MAYBE some of the people that are trying to lose the last few could be in starvation mode, but most people... doubt it.

susannamarie

And I honestly suspect that for the majority of people that "eat more to lose more" works for it's because when they have a higher allowance, they "cheat" less. I've read some online sites that give case studies with citations, but I can't find these studies in pubmed, so I think it is just internet stuff. All reliable sources I can find run the party line of "You can't be fat and starving" MAYBE some of the people that are trying to lose the last few could be in starvation mode, but most people... doubt it.

I have wondered about this. I think also some people depress their movement more than others when hungry. I had a friend who was on a lower calorie diet ... not sure precisely how low ... but I swear to goodness when she was dieting you practically had to rotate her so she'd get even sunlight.