Check In

mamareese

I'm closing in on 1 month of Eat More-Weigh Less and NROLFW. Just checking in with everyone to see if I am staying where I should be.

Stats: 29, 5'8.5, 157lbs.

BMR: 1515
TDEE:2348
Calorie set approx: 1900

I had my initial jump after eating more to 156.2 - settled in the following week to 157. No change on that front. Measurements appear the same. My stomach does look more bloated and not as flat as it had pre-increase , just one of those things you notice when looking in the mirror. My clothes (jeans/shorts/etc) do feel tighter in the waist and thighs. Which I know could be related to the strength training and not simply the increase in calories.

My thought was that with getting in to Stage 2 of NROLFW I would look to cut back to 20% at the beginning of June. Meaning I would have completed about 6 weeks at a 15% cut since I am not seeing much change at this rate. (which I expected so I'm not deflated just looking ahead to evaluate) I don't want to take a big jump by any means- I just know that the online calculators require a little trial and error when it comes to actually seeing how what the calculators give us compared to how our bodies respond.

Thoughts?

fiveohmike

Id definitely give it to the 6 week mark before making any changes.

I think the hard part for a lot of people coming from ultra low calorie/low carb diets is that your body has to retain water.

Carbs produce glucose in the system. Glucose gets stored in the muscles when you have the following conditions

1) You go from low carbs to normal carbs (not excessive)

2) You start weight lifting

I was doing some research (ill have to find the links), but it was stating for every 1g of glucose your muscle stores, it also stores 3g of water with it as they are both integral to feeding/repairing of muscles.

This is one of the main reasons people gain weight when going from low calories to eating normal and/or lifting heavy. Also generally when going from low calorie to normal, you usually bump your sodium intake a bit. Until your body normalizes this it will retain water to compensate for the spike. This also can contribute to the bloating feeling.

This condition gets exacerbated if you have been at low calories for a long time.

But ya wait till the 6 weeks mark and adjust from there. I personally started at the TDEE - 20% cut target. My TDEE cut is much higher then my BMR, thanks to me fat lol.

Your is closer to your BMR so the 20% encroaches on this. If you do go to TDEE -20%, you just have to be extra careful that you are netting your BMR after your exercise.

As it is right now, you have 385 calories of burn, before you have to eat more. (1900 - 385 = 1515). So if you are burning more than 385 calories during exercise you need to compensate.



Ok ok....*Kiki ramble mode off*

But what I just noticed is that 1900 calories is your TDEE - 20%

2348 * .2 = 469.6 calories

2348 - 469.6 = 1878.4

So my final answer is I would not lower your calorie intake at all. If you are seeing no changes after 6 weeks, I would bump to 2000 calories for a couple of weeks.

mamareese

Weight up 2 more lbs. Stomach measurements up just over an inch and both thighs up slightly. Going to keep at it. But it is mentally struggling. And I signed on for that...but wasn't expecting an almost 8lb jump. I'll be looking to watch my sodium extra careful this week to see if that is a factor. And I thought maybe the 'bloating feeling' is TOM (and maybe it is...but she's awfully late to this party!!!!!!!)

ANewLucia

My goodness Mike is on point!!!!

Could not have said any of it better...

Here are some other tidbits:

For me, TOM retention starts the week before hits, it peaks the 4th day(no less than a 6lb gain) and then takes 6 or so days after to release all the water.

Also, if you feel a little squishy, as fat cells shrink they sometimes fill with water and then bam it just releases and you can literally see the difference. That has happened twice during this journey.

Yes hold on, everything Mike said is correct. All that we do over the couse of years dieting takes time to undue. Unfortunately for some it takes a little more time than others. Raynn1 didn't hit her corner until the 10th week....can you imagine to hold on in faith trusting in the science of it when all the markers are pointing in the opposite direction.

Your body will begin to respond...think about how long we gave low caling...I spinned my wheels for eight long months...this deserves a chance:flowerforyou:

mamareese

I'm sticking with. Just at that- did I run numbers wrong, am I going crazy mode! So I wanted to check in. I appreciate the feedback. I'm not sure if it's the increase in calories or the added strength training (have done heavy weights before but not in a year) that has left my TOM MIA this month. But maybe I'm still feeling some of the side effects of it any ways.

Honing in on those macros to know that I'm following the plan and pushing forward. Even if I'm not 100% about this- I am 100% that my workouts are better fueled and I'm seeing improvements in lifts. And that is a NSV I'll take!