Metabolism Reset - Eating at TDEE Support Thread

SweatpantsRebellion

Alright ladies, this is our support thread for our metabolism reset. From reading and posting on several threads today it's clear that there are quite a few of us in the same boat here. Some of us are new to EMTWL. Some have been doing EMTWL for several months, but didn't do a metabolism reset in the beginning and now our weightloss has stalled (me me me). So, this is our place to check in, hold one another accountable to stick it out (even if we get a little puffier in the process), vent when we can't take it anymore, and be successful with sticking with what we know is best for out long term health - resetting the metabolism.

A few questions so that we can get to know one another's goals.

Eating at TDEE/Metabolism Reset Start Date - 5/28/2012
How long do you plan to eat at TDEE? - I'm going to start with four weeks. I really like the idea of doing a full eight weeks, but I might need someone to kick me from behind to make me stick it out that long. It just feels so good to lose - it's going to be hard for me to hold out (hence why I created this support thread).
Describe your reasons for doing a metabolism reset. - I've been doing EMTWL since the beginning of April. I actually found out about this concept through a thread in a general weight loss board called "In Place of a Road Map". I jumped right in and didn't find the EMTWL group until later. So at that point I didn't know about the metabolism reset. I thought I was fine, but being about six weeks in the weight loss is stalling out on me. I went back and forth and thought that I had made a decision to lower my calories by a couple of hundred to see if that would get me losing again. Except, darn some of the people on this forum, the suggestion was made that going up might be better for a plateau. So, I started reading more. I watched a couple of the EMTWL videos - the plateau one is really good. So now here I am trying to wrap my head around the fact that the one thing I really want right now (to see the weight come off) I am now putting on hold for anywhere from 4-8 weeks. This is going to be really hard for me, but I NEED to be successful in this long-term. I've lost these pounds several times over and I don't want to have to lose them again. I want this to be it - the final weight loss before lifelong maintenance!

So, here we go. Who's with me?

harlanJEN

I'm with you !! Great idea. I will be back to give y'all my scoop !

terrigrace

Count me! Today was day one. I'm planning on eight weeks, my metabolism is such a mess any way. Plus when I started EM2LW four weeks ago I completely messed up. First I thought I had to NET my BMR, which was only a few calories about my limit through MFP at the time. Then I thought I was supposed to NET my TDEE - 15%. Oops, again. And I completely missed the TDEE reset need. So here I go! Good luck to all of you, and thank you so much for starting this thread.

Zylayna

Consider me a part of this too.

Raynn1

Tentatively wading my foot in. Ive agreed with a friend to take a week break and eat at TDEE and go from there. I do not know if I can give it a full 8 weeks. I do not know if I can give it 4... but I can give it One right now.


I have been in EMTWL for 10 weeks and basically the scale has gone up and with with the same 5 pounds. Ive been as high as 238 (jut shortly after beginning to eat more), and as low as 232.8 (as of two weeks ago). My measurements had gone down, finally, but after I began NROL4W, the inches went up again, so I have no idea whether it is due to a plateau, or due to lifting.
I am at a point now where I dont know what else to do. I have no idea if i should be going up further in cals, or staying the same and giving it another few weeks here, or what. So for now, I am going to try a week at TDEE and reevaluate after.

I have been on this "current" weight loss journey since the birth of my second child 19 months ago.. over a year eating at basically 1400 cals gave me about a 20 pound loss, but no physical changes. I found the EMTLW group and did the reading and knew it all made sense that I needed to eat more, especially since I was doing 5 days of hard cardio.. I upped my cals to BMR for two weeks, and then made the changed to my Cut value which is where I have been for the past 8 weeks.

TripleJ3

I am in!

I plan on going for the full 8 weeks at full TDEE. I have been doing the 15% cut for 3 weeks now and it has gone by so fast. Earlier in the year I decided to try the 17 day diet. I am so not that type, but after years and years of constant exercise and low calories and never hearing about eating more, I felt it was a putting my money where my mouth is sort of thing. Proving that I was serious and was willing to give up just about anything to lose this fat!

Those were the longest 17 days of my life. Then the next cycle of 17 starts then the next. Awful, terribly slow slow days. I can't even believe its been 3 weeks already on EMTWL. I am no longer counting down the minutes until when I can eat again. Its more about having more eating time in the day!

I missed the part about the reset also, is there a sticky on it? I will admit I didn't watch the videos. I need a new laptop first. My current one gets so ridiculously slow when I watch videos that I avoid it like crazy. Hopefully here soon we will be getting a new one.

Anyway, I am all for this...day one down!

31prvrbs

Stickied



~Kiki

MariaMariaM

I am not sure if I fit in with all of you since I am not doing a metabolism reset but I am eating at maintenance (trying to maintain). Every where I look is people trying to lose and that is totally understandable.
I have been eating at maintenance since 5.11 and so far have lost another 1/2 pound maybe (on the week I started) but then stabilized, which is my goal. Now I am crossing my fingers and hoping that the scale doesn't go up / down.

pinkita

Hi all,

I'm a little confused here--I thought eating at TDEE -15% WAS the metabolic reset?

MUByM

I'm in!


Eating at TDEE/Metabolism Reset Start Date - 5/21/2012

How long do you plan to eat at TDEE? - Forever!

Describe your reasons for doing a metabolism reset. - When I first started I was eating about 400-900 calories a day. I would never eat my exercise calories back. That went on for over a month. In that first month I lost 20lbs. I made it a goal to have my net in the negatives. Then I started eating more but I never went over 1200 calories. I stopped losing weight. I tried lowering my cals, exercising more, exercising less and so many things. I got frustrated and started eating more on 5/14/12. I was like how am I going to lose weight eating more? What is the point in trying? I had no more options so I kept at it. I was eating about 1600 cals. I toned down the exercise to 3 days a week and not so hardcore. On Saturday I weighed in and lost 1.6lbs and 7 inches off my whole body. I was amazed! Then I found EMTWL. I figured my numbers, asked some questions and started with it on 5/21/12. I stared eating at 1800-1900, I'm adding calories slowly, and my body loved all the food. I wasn't cranky and without energy. I toned down the exercise even more. I basically wanted to let my body enjoy the food I was giving it. Today I weighed in and I didn't lose/gain anything. I did however lose an inch off my waist! It's okay that I didn't lose lbs because I lost inches. Today I started exercising again. I'm going to incorporate 3 days of Zumba and 2 days of strength training and have the weekend as rest days. I'm so pumped to get to losing more!

PS- Today I ate 2360 cals and my net was 1502, which is right above my BMR. So proud of myself!

We can do this! Don't be afraid of food!! We need it and if we treat it the right way, it will reward us!

Zylayna

Hi all,

I'm a little confused here--I thought eating at TDEE -15% WAS the metabolic reset?

You must have missed the craziness of my earlier post ... Kiki posted in it this explanation of why doing a reset is so important....

**** With all things in this thread taken into consideration, I have a few comments if you will allow me: flowerforyou

Many of us will stick w/low cal diets until we are blue in the face. frown Some of us have eaten low cal for decades . EM2WL is a lifetime venture. 8 wks, 10 wks, 6 months...... what is it in the grand scheme of things. Really? huh

I have been living this lifestyle for YEARS. I no longer yo-yo diet. I NEVER blink an eye during holiday or family events when there are food items that I want to eat. I enjoy my life. period. The freedom that I have experienced and have coached countless others in, during this journey is unreal. I chose to become a trainer in order to make sure that as many people that I could possibly reach could experience this same joy bigsmile . I have seen this process work for young, old, male, female, fibromyalgia, PCOS, hypothyroid, and the list goes on. They are still living their lives and making constant improvements as we speak. But they will never again starve.

Abusing our bodies by undereating is no small task. The damage that is done is horrifying, yet repairable. The damage is not done overnight, and neither is the repair. It is a process. This should not shock or depress us, but instead motivate us to take our time, and get it RIGHT. no matter the cost.

If we fail to put oil in our car, yet run it into the ground, and blow the engine, we have one of three choices: repair the engine, buy a new car, or accept life without a car and the limitations of it.

upping cals to TDEE -15% is like repairing the engine - it will get the car running again, but it may or may not ever run the same

doing a full metabolism reset is like purchasing a brand new car. It may take us some sacrificing to save up for it, or be approved for financing, etc, but when it's all said and done, we have the car, and can go where we need to go.

staying at or dropping cals back down to low levels, is like accepting life without a car and saying "oh well" I don't mind walking even though it's more of a hassle for the rest of my life. ohwell


Or better yet, imagine that you were sick. You got a flu of some sort. You go to the Dr, and at his suggestion, you take some over the counter stuff, and feel better for a while, but just not 100%. a few weeks go by and the OTC stuff just isn't cutting it, although the Dr tried to give you the most general suggestion, to see if it would work first. You go back to the Dr, and he gives you a stronger Rx, and feels confident that it will help you. It doesn't. a few more weeks go by and you go back again, and he tells you "ok, I kinda thought it could be 'this' but wanted you to try the other stuff before jumping to conclusions in case it was a simpler fix, but now I wanna run some tests" ....the tests come back positive, and he tells you, that it is most certainly cancer, and if you don't get it removed, it will eventually run it's course...."

Do you:

a) deny the cancer and just go back to life the way that it was before you ever realized you were sick?
b) continue on w/the OTC stuff since it made you feel "a little better"
c) get the surgery, and whatever else the Dr says it takes to get well again.


I'm sure we all get the point by now. But going back to low cals is NOT the answer. If you've discovered that you should take a metabolism reset, then by all means take it. No you will not fit into your jeans by friday, but, in the grand scheme of things it won't matter. If it weren't for talking about my own reset all the time for the sake of others, I wouldn't even REMEMBER it. It just seems like such a distant memory. I've been where I want to be for so long now, that it.doesn't.matter. drinker


~Kiki

*****************************************************************************************************************************

I hope that helps clear up anyone's confusion in this thread so we don't start all over again! lol :happy:

mishkat

Eating at TDEE/Metabolism Reset Start Date - 5/28/2012

How long do you plan to eat at TDEE?

At least 6 weeks, but I will need the motivation from friends to stay on track and not get depressed/frustrated by weight gain.

I did 1200 for a few months, I increased to 1400 6 days ago and now I decided to go on reset mode.

Very scared, especially since I am not sure how it will turn out since I'm just lightly active.

PLUMSGRL

I'm in too.
I started May 21 after reading about the metabolism reset and the blog Kiki did on "The Starvation Experiment".
Being a life long dieter and treating my body like crap for way to many years, I decided last week that I was gonna jump in the deep end and commit to eight weeks. Scary? Nope~
I started with the typical 1200 cals, upped it to 1350 plus eating back all exercise calories, so averaging 16-1700 daily since the beginning of April. Now eating around 2100.

A little about me: 55 year old, female, have been walking (5 mph) 30-60 minutes 5-7 days a week, Started 30DS (3 x week) last month. I don't have a HRM yet, but will be getting a BodyMedia the middle of June and will start a lifting program (NROLFW or Strong Lifts) at that time (2-3X week). Wasn't sure which activity level I'm at (cut back on walking to 30 min/day x 5 days), so I'm going with the "light activity" for now.
STATS for May 21st: CW 175, HT 65 ", BF 33.5%, BMR 1511, TDEE 2100, weighing in tomorrow and remeasuring.
I LOVE eating more, but it's gonna take a few weeks to get the macros straight.
I also read the post by JadeRabbit08 "Patterns emerging for hunger, satiety, energy, and fatigue"...I'm currently on #5...ugh.

I refuse to be intimidated by numbers any more, but rather how comfortable, flexible, and strong I feel in my own body. I accept that I WILL gain some pounds in doing the reset, but my body will soon reward me with lost inches. I'm looking forward to this because I've done the research and read so many posts by members of EM2WL. I feel positive that this is a sustainable healthy lifestyle based on my life choices (food, exercise, daily activities), and not some new crazy fad of the year.

Feel free to send me a FR, like minded people welcomed!

regmcc

Ok today was day 1 for me too. I went shopping and bought myself some extras to try and get those extra cals. Greek yogurt with granola....yummy..and hummus and snack crackers...another one of my favorite treats....I ate a ton of food today but definitely healthier than I was eating a year ago.

JessLLoser

I'm in! Have been eating what I thought was tdee 2400, for 3 weeks, found out with daily life it's more like 2700. I'm in for the long haul, but hate the measly 7 or so lbs I gaind so far, just bought baggy shirts to hide in, it's really embarrassing after being so thin just last year. I really can say, hcg works, until you eat food again! Sigh.

FitterGill

I'm in!!! Will post details later

FitterGill

Hello again! Can you help me out please re activity levels ?!

I started using MFP after years and years of yo-yo dieting and eating only about 1200/1400 cals on WeightWatchers. I also started about six weeks ago on TDEE -15%. I haven't lost any weight or inches, to my disappointment, I was wondering what changes I could make to get things moving. Im so glad these threads emerged yesterday.

Im using the Scooby Fitness calculator to work out my TDEE. Im always a little confused about activity levels. I walk briskly for about 2.5 miles every day (to work), I do Body Attack classes twice each week and burn about 800 cals a session (wearing Polar HRM). I also work out at the gym twice a week also burning 800+ cals a session. My gym sessions include 20 mins HIIT and then lifting heavy, I also lift heavy after Body Attack. So, I work out four times each week for about 1 hr 20 mins a time - in total about 51/2 hours each week. I would say my workouts are strenuous, Im always soaking in sweat after!

My question is - do you think I should take the '5/6 hrs/wk of strenuous exercise' figure which is 2510? The '3-5 hrs/wk of moderate exercise' figure is 2256. OR, do you think I should go somewhere in between, say 2,400? Im confused because everything other BMR/TDEE calculator bases activity levels on number of workouts each week rather than hours per week. I seem to fall between doing strenous workouts but not enough times each week to warrant the higher level. Hope this makes sense!

So, I started my metabolism reset yesterday (28 May) and have set my goal at 2400 - but will increase to 2,510 if you think I should!!!! I really want to do this right!!! I was previously eating about 2000 cals each day but more if my net fell below my BMR of 1450. Im going to do the whole 8 weeks!!

If anyone on the same journey wants to be friends, Im here

Gill

bevpb

Have I got this right? TDEE-15% is the metabolic reset? I use the fat2fit calculations and I just eat at the suggested calories?

FitterGill

NO!! Thats what we've all been doing wrong here! TDEE is the reset. Eat at TDEE, then cut by 15% after 8 weeks and should start losing then. Have a look at the Scooby Fitness website calorie calculator.

terrigrace

Woke up very happy with myself on Day 2 of my metabolism reset. I slept good. Woke up to a bit of a loss on the scale ( half a pound of the four I've gained) a lovely surprise since the day after a big (23 plus) mile bike ride I'm usually up due to muscle soreness. The extra protein seems to help keep that to a minimum! Hope I can keep this momentum (and metabolism) rolling. Oh! And I don't need a jacket. It's cool this morning, and I'm usually freezing first thing in the morning. I'm comfortable in my shirt sleeves. Hooray for metabolism fires burning. Have a great day!

CampinGal34

Okay! I have been eating at 1260ish cal or about a year. The first few months dropped almost 20 lbs....then nothing....for 7 months..... I swear I have tried everything! Saw the EM2WL group and joined, upped my calories because it made sense to me and I was hungry 6 weeks ago I upped to 1800 (TDEE-15%) and still no progress (no gain or loss). So, I'm baffled and a bit frustrated. I keep hearing so many conflicting ideas... and I'm going crazy. So, I think this reset may be the answer for me, but honestly, I don't trust myself!! So, someone needs to just tell me what to try next!! LOL!! So, I'm asking all of you good ladies, from the sounds of my situation is a reset for me or do I give it more time or adjust calories more??? *Sigh* I'm thinking a new car sounds nice though

~Jamie

ANewLucia

Okay! I have been eating at 1260ish cal or about a year. The first few months dropped almost 20 lbs....then nothing....for 7 months..... I swear I have tried everything! Saw the EM2WL group and joined, upped my calories because it made sense to me and I was hungry 6 weeks ago I upped to 1800 (TDEE-15%) and still no progress (no gain or loss). So, I'm baffled and a bit frustrated. I keep hearing so many conflicting ideas... and I'm going crazy. So, I think this reset may be the answer for me, but honestly, I don't trust myself!! So, someone needs to just tell me what to try next!! LOL!! So, I'm asking all of you good ladies, from the sounds of my situation is a reset for me or do I give it more time or adjust calories more??? *Sigh* I'm thinking a new car sounds nice though

~Jamie

Honestly, when I got started with the eating more thing, I sure didn't know about reset. I learned about TDEE and eating cut. Knowing what I know now, I sure would have done that first. I am close to goal and eating TDEE so I guess I am resetting because I have never done one.

techmom29

I'm in. I was going to do a diet break starting next week but with all of those starting now and the support I know that will be available, I am going to start today. I am officially at week 11 of em2wl as of today. I have lost inches but not any pounds. However, in the 11 weeks of this journey, I have begun to know my body's needs so much better and I realized that this is what it needs right now.

I am going to commit in two week increments.

As I said in a thread yesterday, I think I was in a bit of denial of how much damage I had done to my body.

In early high school I began going for days without eating just to see if I could get away with it (control issues with my mom). I was 5' 7" and 106#. After high school, marriage and kids my weight has gone up and down 20-30#. However, each time it went down it was because I would do very restrictive diets as well as purging. Very unhealthy to say the least.

In my late 30s I was refused to get on the purging cycle again so I had a small victory in the fact that I let myself gain 30#. I know that sounds weird, but mentally it was a victory. As I approached 40 I knew I had to lose weight but determined that I had to do it in a healthy way (without the purging). I lost 33# on ww without any exercise, getting down to 130#, and kept it off for a year. (I now realize that the ww diet was not healthy or sustainable.) Eventually though, I had put back on 30# (I am now 43).

At Christmas time, my mom, who is 64, fell and broke an ankle and a wrist. She was so feeble and helpless and I know it is because she is inactive. I determined that this time I needed to not only lose weight, but be strong and fit as well.

In January I picked up a free elliptical off of Craig's list and began to workout again 5-6 days a week and quickly lost 10# but stopped there. That 10# hadn't been there long....mostly it was the holiday pounds so I think they would have come off anyway as soon as the holiday treats were no longer around.

I began mfp in early March to lose the 20# that I still needed to, giving a short go at the 1200 calories again, but soon my body was crying out for energy. I began a search on eating more and found this group. I began eating more on 3/20/12. That was a HUGE leap for me because my son's wedding was just three weeks from then, but I knew that for the long haul that I needed to do this.

I had been eating 1900, but as of today I am going to 2200.
SW 160#
CW 150#
GW 130#
Age 43
Ht 5'7"

autumnk921

Okay...Here goes...

Age: 37
HT: 5'2"
SW: 169 (on Jan 23, 2012)
CW: 163lbs -Got down to 159 on May 5th but next day was 163 and have been holding steady)
GW: 130 or so...Depends on how I feel

Calories per/day when I first started were set at 1200 b/c that is what MFP set them as....I realize now that I was eating less then 1000/day including exercise (I knew nothing about BMR or eating back exercise calories.

My exercise used to be on schedule - Lifting 3x/week and some cardio 2x/week....Now my son is out of school for summer so I am still lifting at least 2x/week but walking and going to the playground with my son (and actually climbing, sliding, etc. with him - I never knew how much fun that would be) and we go to the zoo on occasion and I walk for hours...So, I have my exercise set to moderate - which is what I had it at before as well.

*Was told by Dan on here to eat 1559 cals/day around April 1st (before I knew about EM2WL) I did this for less than 2 wks b/c I didn't understand the concept YET..I wish I had stayed with what he told me now (Don't you hate that??) Actually lost a little weight that week...1.4lbs but by the next week I went back down to 1400/day - I was still losing - 0.6lbs that week...On April 25th I upped them again to 1500/day and went back down less than a week later to 1400/day again...Finally on May 5th I had reached the 10lbs lost mark....YAY!! Well, the next day I was right back up to 163lbs again (+4lbs)...I upped my cals again to 1600/day on May 6th....Finally I spoke with Lucia on here (who is great btw) and asked her if I should move up to 1800 slowly from 1600 or just do it....She said if it were her, she would just up them right away...I upped them on May 17th to 1800 cals/day and have been TRYING to get my calories in each day....I am still holding steady at 163 give or take a few ounces either way....I am FINALLY trying to stick with one goal consistently b/c all of the calorie upping and lowering has not done much...Now I am trying to figure out if I should go up to TDEE of 2029 (2000) for a while now??? I am so scared to up it AGAIN!! But like I said I have not lost or gained since upping my calories which tells me my body likes all of this food....So, my question to all of you doing the reset...Does it sound like I need to up my cals again to 2000 and keep it there for at least 4wks....This is so hard for me to be consistent but I am going to definitely need some help with this one....



Sorry my story was so long but I wanted to show you how inconsistent I am with routine....Thanks to all of you in advance for any advice...

Feed_the_Bears

I,m kind of hoping my recent 20 lb weight gain served as a matabolism rest. But I am taking a plunge eating around 2000 cal with heavy exercise for the first time in 14 yrs. Usually stick around 1500 or 1700 with heavy exercise and weekend binges, those have to go.
It is nerve wracking. I just want to lose this weight and reveal my muscle.

secretlobster

I seriously need some support.

I don't really know what I want my GW to be, because I'm not overweight.

I lost about 40lbs four years ago by sticking to a strict 1200 calorie diet even though I was in kickboxing classes and on the elliptical almost constantly.

I finally started eating like a "normal human being" last week. This weekend I've been incredibly active (I usually am). Ran 4 miles, biked 30 miles, lots of walking and running/jumping at the beach playing frisbee. I've been eating just above my BMR. On the days that I ran and biked, I ate about 1800-1900 calories. On the day I was sedentary, about 1550 calories.

I feel sluggish, my stomach has noticeably puffed out and swollen, and I've gained 2-3lbs on the scale.

I realize how badly I damaged my metabolism when I went so long eating 1200 calories, but I feel so incredibly awful when I eat as much as I probably should. I use a FitBit and heart rate monitor so I have a really good idea of what my TDEE is.

Age: 29
BMR: 1450
TDEE: 2100 normally (1700 if sedentary, but I am using 1700 and eating exercise calories back because my TDEE varies a lot)
Cut at 15%: 1785
Activity: I'm training for a 5K and so I run 3-4 days a week. Boxing usually 2 days a week. I am not doing weight training at the moment but boxing incorporates a lot of lunges, squats, pushups, crunches, and muscular resistance (hitting a bag).

jbella99

I am in.. I started this a week ago and gained like 5lbs got scared and started eating at my cut. But i think I just need some support.

I am 37 5ft 6
My weight today was 183.6
My Goal is 145

I workout 6 days a week 5 days of weights one cardio and one rest.
I also do alot of yard work and try to be pretty active so I used 5-6 strenuous on the scooby website which gave me

BMR 1581
TDEE 2728
CUT at 15% 2318

I am gonna try to stay on the reset for 8 weeks. I also plan to get a fitbit to see if 2728 is accurate. I assume I would do this by keeping track of my daily burn for a week and dividing that by 7 to get my daily TDEE??

Feel free to add me so we can help each other stay on track.

Meaganandcheese

I started my TDEE experiment on 5/23, so I am about 1 week in. I am still adjusting to hitting those calories on leaner and cleaner things, but since I plan to do this until August 1, I have time to tweak and learn. Very much enjoying it so far!

giag09

I'm in start date may 28
Terrified but am going to try it

Cw134.8
Gw 130
27 yo
5'2 1/2"

Exercise circuit train with weights 3 days. Cardio 2-3 days

Raynn1

Ok, so I did my NET graph over the last 90 days, (Reports, then Nutrition, then Net) and realized that only 23 out of the last 90 days did I actually NET 2400 which is my Cut value. And those days generally were Rest days where I didnt work out. Every other day in that period, I Netted between 1800-2100, which is still above my BMR of 1800, but obviously not enough. I go back and forth on whether I am at the right activity level, but Im certain I am moderate with 3 days Lifting for 45 mins and 2 days cardio, usually 45 min 5k runs or a 60 min step class.
So I will continue with this first week at eat TDEE which is 2800 for me. after a week I will reevaluate. (I think its easier for me to take it a week at a time rather than commit to 8 weeks off the bat.

Im scared sh!tless of gaining even more weight since it took me so friggin long to even get 20 pounds off, but I need something to work. I cannot take this any longer. I am fighting the urge big time to drop back down to 1500 cals and get a quick 20 pounds off again, but I know that will not help my cause.

Sigh.. so, here I am..

MrsKosal

Ok....I am at almost 8 weeks of eating at TDEE and I am just maintaining. I am not losing anything. So, what do I do next? Do I lower them again? I don't want to mess everything up! Help!