I feel so stupid ;(

ProjectTae

So I was reading the pinned boards and I realized something very crucial! About 3 weeks ago I was put on the 1200 cal a day diet to lose 2lbs a week, about after 3 days I realized this was not even close to enough calories for my body and upped to 1650 which would put me at about 1lb a week, this was pretty good except I was not eating back my exercise caloreis, then I joined this group and found out about TDEE and BMR, so I went to a random website and calculated my TDEE, and began to eat that, I thought I was set, I didn't have to worry about exercise cals unless I netted under my bmr, but then fast forward to today and I'm reading the 'so you have your bmr and tdee what next' board and realized that I did not cut from my tdee so was eating at maintenance the whole time!? I gaind back all my progress which I wasn't too worried about I figured it was A water weight or B just the process from reading the 'what to expect after upping calories' board. I just feel so dumb, I may have set myself back and undone all my progress (unless it is in fact water weight, and I had only lost 5lbs) I'm just glad I had myself logged under sedentary so I wasn't actually eating my full tdee. So now my calories are set at 1970 (a 21% cut) my bmr is 1570, and i usually burn 400 to 200 cals during my work outs so I'll net around 1570 or 1770 on days I work out which is usually 5-7 days a week does this seem ok?

HeidiHoMom

First, don't feel dumb. You are not the first person who has done that, nor will you be the last. Plus your body was probably happy to get fueled.

I also doubt that you undid your progress. You are most likely retaining water.

jackiecroberts

Don't feel stupid at all. I was like you, eating 1200 calories and many times I netted way less. I am doing a metabolism reset where I eat at my TDEE level for about 8 weeks to get my body working again. Then when I cut back my 15% percent I am still getting good fuel and my body won't freak because I am still feeding it!! You actually did the right thing and didn't even know it!! Good luck to you.

ProjectTae

Thanks guys! It makes me feel better to know I'm not the only one! and I am contemplating doing a metabolic reset, but i was only easting at 1200 for about 2weeks so I think I'll try bumping for 4-6 weeks and see where that gets me since I was at maintenance for a week.

mommamuscles

Sounds good to me, chalk it up to a "metabolism reset" and move on! I agree the weight you gained is most likely temporary and will go away soon!