Metabolism Reset - Eating at TDEE Support Thread

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  • techmom29
    techmom29 Posts: 103
    One week into reset. Just typical scale fluctuations. Past few days have been BUSY so by the end of the day I still have about 1/2 my calories left to eat...nom, nom, nom. I have several busy days yet this week so I am going to purpose to load up earlier in the day.

    Ok techmom - I will make a deal with you - hold me to my 100 grams of protein a day goal and I will hold you to spreading the calories through the day? Need someone to hold me accountable :wink:

    OK, You got it! How'd you do yesterday? :wink:

    I only hit 82 grams of protein - I knew I should have grabbed that protein bar at like 9 last night. Oh well today is another day and I am going to start to add chicken breast to my salad for lunch or dinner so I bump up the protein there. Dag - whoever thought it would be this challenging to eat more food.

    How did you go with the hitting your calories?

    I hit my tdee with the calories. :) Try adding more dairy into your day, your bones will thank you and you get some protein added in, too. (I didn't look at your diary. I just know that I wasn't having dairy before and now I am because I look for protein sources.)
  • skbarton
    skbarton Posts: 141 Member
    For those of you with a Fitbit-are you eating what you burn according to that or going with another calculation? I did a week's average according to my Fitbit and that is how I set my daily goal. Hoping it is accurate!!

    I used my Fitbit to come up with a TDEE because I am on the borderline of lightly active and moderately active. I did a 5 week average and dropped it a few calories to adjust for some major calorie burns that were not "normal" activities for me.
  • seobstar
    seobstar Posts: 169
    Ok ladies, so I'm BRAND new here....think I'm gonna jump in and go for it! At this point I feel like I have no other options....I've tried all of them! A little of my back story: I've recently lost 70 pounds over the last 2 years by eating about 1500cal per day. I am done having babies (3 of them) and so after my last pregnancy (she's 2 now) I set out to lose all the baby weight plus some more. As of last summer I lost 70 pounds and hit my lowest weight of 147 (I'm 5'6 and 1/2, 33yr old female) and then for the last year (since last summer) I have STRUGGLED to get off the last 10-15 and fluctuated up and down from 147 to 153 over and over and over again. I upped my calories about 3 months (after seeing some info on here about upping cals/starvation mode, etc) from 1500 to 2000 and saw a tiny bit of success (lost a couple pounds) and then stalled out again! So, again I'm back at square one, frustrated as ALLLLL get out and desperate to figure out why I work my tail of 6 days a week and see no results!!!! I workout very hard, 6 days a week (a combination of running, lifting, circuit training, HIIT training, etc) I get crazy high burns on most days and have an estimated TDEE of 2500 (although I think that's low to be honest b/c I did a little experiment with my HRM, too cheap to buy a BMF or fitbit, and it said more like 2900, although I know that an HRM worn all day long isn't necessarily accurate)....anyway, I sent a message to Lucia today and she has encouraged me to do the reset so here I go! I'm sooooo nervous but feel like there's nothing else to try! I'm hoping all of you can help me emotionally get through this!
    I will be eating 2500cal per day for 8 wks (lord help me, I'm doubting myself even as I type this)
    and then doing a cut of -15% TDEE...
    thanks new friends!
    Erica =)
  • embersfallen
    embersfallen Posts: 534 Member
    Hoping this means some positive progress... more of NSV's...but, into week 3 of reset...and noticed two things today...past few times when I have done my workouts, I am literally DRIPPING with sweat. Gross I know, but though I normally DO sweat a fair bit, NEVER like I have the last few workouts.... it has been insane! Like I was inside a sauna!! I am hoping this is a sign my body is starting to up the burn and wake that sleeping metabolism up?

    And then today... I reached TDEE...and yes.. worked out pretty hard, but still net slightly above BMR, and I am actually still HUNGRY. THAT never happens with a cal amount like this. Plus I was SO hungry this a.m....and though I always eat breakfast, often I am not really hungry for it. This morning i felt ravenous! lol. Wake up Body! Hibernation is officially OVER! ;)
  • drusilla126
    drusilla126 Posts: 478 Member
    I'm scared to do this too. Been eating 1200 cals or so for the past few months and am now reading that that was a horrible idea. My BMR is 1800 according to a few calculators. That seems like so much food just to keep my body functioning. Wow I'm worried about the damage I may have done. Based on the reading I've done over the past few days I've drawn the conclusion that eating less than your body needs to function (BMR) is a bad idea...yes? I'm so confused.
  • cmad1225
    cmad1225 Posts: 2
    Hi. I am in too. Started reset on 5/31/12. Committing to 8 weeks. I need to work on hitting my protein macro.

    My stats are:

    5'3
    148 pounds
    26 years old

    TDEE: 2275

    Typically spin once a week and do the bar method exercise 2-4 times a week.

    Excited and scared. Clothes is fitting tight but have to make my body trust me.
  • 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.

    Oh really? I started at TDEE -15% already. Gawddd
  • Rebekah2918
    Rebekah2918 Posts: 22 Member
    Ok...I was confused as well. I started at TDEE-15% two weeks ago. I plan on upping to 2100 for the remainder of the 8 weeks. I think this is right.

    I am 5'6"
    168 pounds
    30 years old

    My BMR is 1500
    TDEE 2100
    and my cut value is 1800

    ^^^^^^^ Does this seem reasonable?

    I forgot to mention that I run 3 miles, 3 times a week. I only burn about 300 cals on a run and for the rest of the day I am pretty sedentary because I am back in school and swamped with paper writing.
  • carriea67
    carriea67 Posts: 181 Member
    One week into reset. Just typical scale fluctuations. Past few days have been BUSY so by the end of the day I still have about 1/2 my calories left to eat...nom, nom, nom. I have several busy days yet this week so I am going to purpose to load up earlier in the day.

    Ok techmom - I will make a deal with you - hold me to my 100 grams of protein a day goal and I will hold you to spreading the calories through the day? Need someone to hold me accountable :wink:

    OK, You got it! How'd you do yesterday? :wink:

    I only hit 82 grams of protein - I knew I should have grabbed that protein bar at like 9 last night. Oh well today is another day and I am going to start to add chicken breast to my salad for lunch or dinner so I bump up the protein there. Dag - whoever thought it would be this challenging to eat more food.

    How did you go with the hitting your calories?

    I hit my tdee with the calories. :) Try adding more dairy into your day, your bones will thank you and you get some protein added in, too. (I didn't look at your diary. I just know that I wasn't having dairy before and now I am because I look for protein sources.)

    Yeah - go you! I hit 113 grams of protein yesterday and was under my carbs but over my fats but it was healthy fat (avocado & olive oil). I even hit my TDEE (or close enough I was under by 9 calories) with a lunch out with a friend.

    Good tip on the dairy - I eat greek yogurt pretty much daily and am thinking about adding it as an afternoon snack (vanilla with some protein powder mixed in). But I can't handle the full fat stuff - I am not a huge dairy fan so I have been doing non-fat. I will up it to 2% and see if I can handle the taste of that.
  • carriea67
    carriea67 Posts: 181 Member
    So I have been reading this post every day and seeing that many of you have experienced feeling stronger during your workouts - and I was thinking wow that must be great - wonder why I am not feeling the same boost....

    Well today I did! I re-started the C25K program and during the running parts I was hitting 6.0 on the treadmill which is way fast for me - before I would slug along at around 5 - 5.5 and be wheezing at the end....but today I felt great!

    And also included a lifting session for legs....

    I haven't stepped on the scale since last Friday...and am doing okay with keeping off of it. Just going by how my clothes fit. I might have to buy a couple pairs of shorts/jeans to make it through this month but I am okay with that. I think I am just in-between sizes and hate squeezing myself into things.

    But I missed hitting my TDEE by 200 calories yesterday....dangit! At least I hit my cut level....

    I feel good but man I am hoping this works.....anyone else struggling a bit with anxiety?

    This made me so excited to get back into C25k, which I have been avoiding lately. Thanks! :drinker:

    I have stopped and started the C25K program at least 4 times. But I was looking for something that is on the lighter side of cardio and figured 30 minutes was long enough. And I add a leg session - squats; lunges etc after I am done so I get my full hour of working out in.
  • carriea67
    carriea67 Posts: 181 Member
    So I know we are supposed to go lighter on the cardio but on lifting days - do you all do a warm-up before starting lifting or do you just go in and hit the weights?

    In the past I have done cardio (20 min); short lifting session (20-25 minutes) and then another round of cardio (20). I have cut that back to now doing a 20 minute warm-up and about 30-35 minutes lifting....

    Thoughts on this?
  • techmom29
    techmom29 Posts: 103
    One week into reset. Just typical scale fluctuations. Past few days have been BUSY so by the end of the day I still have about 1/2 my calories left to eat...nom, nom, nom. I have several busy days yet this week so I am going to purpose to load up earlier in the day.

    Ok techmom - I will make a deal with you - hold me to my 100 grams of protein a day goal and I will hold you to spreading the calories through the day? Need someone to hold me accountable :wink:

    OK, You got it! How'd you do yesterday? :wink:

    I only hit 82 grams of protein - I knew I should have grabbed that protein bar at like 9 last night. Oh well today is another day and I am going to start to add chicken breast to my salad for lunch or dinner so I bump up the protein there. Dag - whoever thought it would be this challenging to eat more food.

    How did you go with the hitting your calories?

    I hit my tdee with the calories. :) Try adding more dairy into your day, your bones will thank you and you get some protein added in, too. (I didn't look at your diary. I just know that I wasn't having dairy before and now I am because I look for protein sources.)

    Yeah - go you! I hit 113 grams of protein yesterday and was under my carbs but over my fats but it was healthy fat (avocado & olive oil). I even hit my TDEE (or close enough I was under by 9 calories) with a lunch out with a friend.

    Good tip on the dairy - I eat greek yogurt pretty much daily and am thinking about adding it as an afternoon snack (vanilla with some protein powder mixed in). But I can't handle the full fat stuff - I am not a huge dairy fan so I have been doing non-fat. I will up it to 2% and see if I can handle the taste of that.

    Good job on the protein. Keep going. :) I mix my protein powder with 1/2% milk...give me another 8 grams of protein and makes it taste way better than water. :tongue:
  • TripleJ3
    TripleJ3 Posts: 945 Member
    So I know we are supposed to go lighter on the cardio but on lifting days - do you all do a warm-up before starting lifting or do you just go in and hit the weights?

    In the past I have done cardio (20 min); short lifting session (20-25 minutes) and then another round of cardio (20). I have cut that back to now doing a 20 minute warm-up and about 30-35 minutes lifting....

    Thoughts on this?

    I don't lift first thing in the morning, so I get loosened up after all the moving around and things I get done before I lift. I do stretch after my lifting. This works for me. I would think a 5 min warm up would be enough but I am no pro!
  • Raynn1
    Raynn1 Posts: 1,164 Member
    So I weighed in this morning after 8 days of no scale. Last Tues I was at 237.6 (but 236 a few hours after the morning)..and this morning I was down to 234.8. So a loss of 1.2 to 2.8 pounds depending on what number I go with from last week.
    Alas, the inches did not go down anywhere. In fact, my waist and hips went up .5 - 1 inch. Very confused about that.. Plus Im nearing the end of NROL and Im a bit disappointed that in 6 weeks there have been zero changes in the inches. I will take them again when i have completed the program next week and had a few days rest from lifting (pending AF's arrival of course) to see hwat my actual inches are..

    So scale wise Im pleased to see it down, especially eating at TDEE. I would have liked to have seen some inches gone
  • terrigrace
    terrigrace Posts: 199 Member
    So I know we are supposed to go lighter on the cardio but on lifting days - do you all do a warm-up before starting lifting or do you just go in and hit the weights?

    In the past I have done cardio (20 min); short lifting session (20-25 minutes) and then another round of cardio (20). I have cut that back to now doing a 20 minute warm-up and about 30-35 minutes lifting....

    Thoughts on this?

    I just started New Rules of Lifting for Women yesterday - actually it's New Rules for ABS, since I"m waiting on my equipment to get here for Women . . . but I followed the "plan" in the book. It worked out to be about 20 minutes of the "dynamic" warm up and then 20 minutes of strength stuff. I'm not sure what the pros recommend, but it felt good. I'm a bit sore today, but in a very good way.
  • terrigrace
    terrigrace Posts: 199 Member
    Day 10 for me. My scale is pretty stable (a gain over the weekend disappeared, definitely a sodium deal). I started lifting yesterday and feel amazing. Ate a huge protein heavy breakfast. I'm definitely more comfortable and more "regular" eating this way. None of the stomach slow downs that plagued me before. (Sorry if that's TMI) I finally found a protein supplement I like (Any Whey by optimum nutrition) I love that it's just plain, no artificial anything. I can mix a couple of scoops in a couple cups of milk and use it all day long in my coffee, tea, scrambled eggs, oatmeal, or whatever. And did better on my macros yesterday than at any point so far. Yahoo!
  • JessLLoser
    JessLLoser Posts: 235 Member
    sounds great Rayann. They do say it is hard to build muscle while losing. So I think losing is good. It is all such a game.

    Great job Rayann`s Body! Eating at TDEE is good for you!
  • Raynn1
    Raynn1 Posts: 1,164 Member
    sounds great Rayann. They do say it is hard to build muscle while losing. So I think losing is good. It is all such a game.

    Great job Rayann`s Body! Eating at TDEE is good for you!

    Bwahaha!! I can just see this hand coming out and patting my belly going "good job belly!!":laugh:
  • Zylayna
    Zylayna Posts: 728 Member
    Day 10 for me. My scale is pretty stable (a gain over the weekend disappeared, definitely a sodium deal). I started lifting yesterday and feel amazing. Ate a huge protein heavy breakfast. I'm definitely more comfortable and more "regular" eating this way. None of the stomach slow downs that plagued me before. (Sorry if that's TMI) I finally found a protein supplement I like (Any Whey by optimum nutrition) I love that it's just plain, no artificial anything. I can mix a couple of scoops in a couple cups of milk and use it all day long in my coffee, tea, scrambled eggs, oatmeal, or whatever. And did better on my macros yesterday than at any point so far. Yahoo!

    That's awesome! :)
  • Meaganandcheese
    Meaganandcheese Posts: 525 Member
    Can someone explain why we're supposed to limit cardio? I love cardio.
  • kblue2007
    kblue2007 Posts: 2,564 Member
    Can someone explain why we're supposed to limit cardio? I love cardio.

    I think its just a suggestion so you don't have to end up eating a ton of calories back to reach your BMR.
  • jomatho
    jomatho Posts: 311 Member
    Can someone explain why we're supposed to limit cardio? I love cardio.

    I think that is for the people that have overdone the cardio and eating too little <raises hand>
    Your body is stressed from being overworked and underfed and this reset period should be lower stress. We want to convince the body it is getting fed.
    I have read Lucia and Kiki say that too much cardio is counterproductive during a reset.
    I still do some, just not to the extent I did before.
  • jomatho
    jomatho Posts: 311 Member
    Just wanted to jump in here and let you all know I am four weeks into my reset today! Yay! Halfway there, just decided today I will do 8 weeks. I was waffling before, but I think my body is getting used to this and I want to do it right if I am going to go through it!!!
    So my thoughts so far?
    Food is good.
    I love lifting weights.
    I don't miss the hours and hours I spent on cardio.
    Overall, I feel amazing.
    Yes, so far I have gained the freshman five, but I am okay with that. I am rebuilding my body from the foundation up and it just makes me feel so good that I am doing this. :love:
  • missdimpley
    missdimpley Posts: 192
    Just wanted to jump in here and let you all know I am four weeks into my reset today! Yay! Halfway there, just decided today I will do 8 weeks. I was waffling before, but I think my body is getting used to this and I want to do it right if I am going to go through it!!!
    So my thoughts so far?
    Food is good.
    I love lifting weights.
    I don't miss the hours and hours I spent on cardio.
    Overall, I feel amazing.
    Yes, so far I have gained the freshman five, but I am okay with that. I am rebuilding my body from the foundation up and it just makes me feel so good that I am doing this. :love:

    ME TOO! I decided to finish 8 weeks. First 3 weeks was unintentionally doing reset (was measuring with cups most of times without realizing I was over doing it and I was licking, biting and tasting things. so I was eating way more than my TDEE-15% Last week I offically did reset plus 3 weeks.. today is 4 weeks and day of reset. I am excited to finish this in 4 weeks. I can see how this will help me. I mean my body need to trust me again then wheN i do the cut (my body will say OH, ok let's lose some fat LOL) I hope so. How many % are you planning on doing? I am thuinking about doing 10% first and add 5% if needed.

    I love lifting weights too! I limit cardio to 3x a week (most of times intense 30 minutes of cardio (hiit, etc). :love:
  • Meaganandcheese
    Meaganandcheese Posts: 525 Member
    My goal is 4 45ish-minute workouts a week - I do a lot of Firm dvds (cardio + strength) and C25k. Too much? I have never been one to over-exercise, but I have gotten into the habit of it in recent years and I don't want to lapse.
  • mishkat
    mishkat Posts: 99 Member
    Check in:

    I started the repair/reset a week and a half ago. As I said before, I ate between 1100-1300 for a couple of months then I started the EMTWL mentality and upped to 1400 for a wk, then decided to do reset and eat at tdee.1700.

    I haven't gained or lost weight so far, I have been coasting at the usual 120-121lbs (depending on water and leftover food on my stomach from previous night).

    So now, I'm just concerned if I have the right numbers for my TDEE. I have been using the "light exercise" for calculating it.

    I only started working out about a month ago I think, and only go to to the gym a few times a week. Although the last couple of weeks, I feel I'm more active than I was before. Even if I don't go to the gym, I may still be busy with cleaning, gardening and recently trying to do some workout at home if I cant make it to the gym.

    I don't feel it warrants moderate exercise though but I was expecting some gain from eating at tdee and 1.5 wks later, nothing.
    Should I be concerned or just keep at 1700 for the remainder or the "reset/repair"?

    Wish I had a bodymedia/bodybugg to see what I am really burning but all I have is a hrm. =(
  • MrsKosal
    MrsKosal Posts: 415 Member
    I know I've probably said this before, but I just feel so FREE and amazing right now! I've been upping cals for about a month, but only 1 week into reset as of tomorrow.
  • Noor13
    Noor13 Posts: 964 Member
    I know I've probably said this before, but I just feel so FREE and amazing right now! I've been upping cals for about a month, but only 1 week into reset as of tomorrow.
    Finishing my first week of reset tomorrow too :)
    So far so good. I feel really good and have lots of energy
  • MrsKosal
    MrsKosal Posts: 415 Member
    I know I've probably said this before, but I just feel so FREE and amazing right now! I've been upping cals for about a month, but only 1 week into reset as of tomorrow.
    Finishing my first week of reset tomorrow too :)
    So far so good. I feel really good and have lots of energy

    Same here! And I feel like everything in my body is working better. My digestive track, skin, sleep, etc.
  • ANeWcRe8N
    ANeWcRe8N Posts: 1,180 Member
    Day 7 of the reset for me and when I weighed in this morning I had a .2 loss :smile: I know that is not a lot, but it's exciting for me because I have seen the same numbers on that scale for several months now and seeing it go a little bit lower gave me hope that this reset is what I really need. Can't wait to see what week 2 brings me :bigsmile: