Metabolism Reset - Eating at TDEE Support Thread
Replies
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I know it is hard, but I suggest sticking with it.
THINK about this...if I had not STUCK with this process or Kiki...so many people wouldn't be benefiting right now. I'm thankful I stuck it out because God knows I was miserable eating low cals! Hun, it is a huge hurdle the first couple of months...but well worth it. If you stick it out...you can PM me if you would like exactly where you are and I will help walk you through the rest...:-)
You guys are just so awesome and helpful:flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:
I just wanna hug you
The support is fabulous. I have some friends I am sure are looking at me like I am crazy eating as much as I do, while they eat carrot sticks and cry over it.. but Ive done the dieting.. losing 100 pounds and obviously gaining a lot back, I dont want to ever get back down to where I was a FEAR gaining it back by eating a little too I. At least now, I am confident that I will do this right, and the weight will not return..
So at least the people in here know the exact same things, and feel the exact same thing.. I cant complain to others about eating so much and gaining, because their answer is "duh, stop eating so much!" but at least in here, everyone understands WHY it is happening..
I seriously want to wear a shirt that says "I am doing this on purpose and one day you will see why!"
I need that shirt too, plus a huge sign on my profile, diary, and exercise posts. I have one " friend" in particular that has been saying things that border on rude. And I'm not complaining about weight gain! I'm debating whether to just unfriendly or try once again to explain what I'm doing.0 -
Another one that could do with the t-shirt too - I've not told anyone I'm doing this but for example this morning I just couldn't stop feeling hungry so I had porridge before I went into work then once I got to work I had a bacon roll, nectarine, satsuma, apple, museli bar all before lunch.
Thankfully after lunch the troughing mode eased - but it's quite funny to see the faces of my co workers trying not to look as I'm rustling yet again for the next item of food.0 -
I know it is hard, but I suggest sticking with it.
THINK about this...if I had not STUCK with this process or Kiki...so many people wouldn't be benefiting right now. I'm thankful I stuck it out because God knows I was miserable eating low cals! Hun, it is a huge hurdle the first couple of months...but well worth it. If you stick it out...you can PM me if you would like exactly where you are and I will help walk you through the rest...:-)
You guys are just so awesome and helpful:flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:
I just wanna hug you
The support is fabulous. I have some friends I am sure are looking at me like I am crazy eating as much as I do, while they eat carrot sticks and cry over it.. but Ive done the dieting.. losing 100 pounds and obviously gaining a lot back, I dont want to ever get back down to where I was a FEAR gaining it back by eating a little too I. At least now, I am confident that I will do this right, and the weight will not return..
So at least the people in here know the exact same things, and feel the exact same thing.. I cant complain to others about eating so much and gaining, because their answer is "duh, stop eating so much!" but at least in here, everyone understands WHY it is happening..
I seriously want to wear a shirt that says "I am doing this on purpose and one day you will see why!"
I need that shirt too, plus a huge sign on my profile, diary, and exercise posts. I have one " friend" in particular that has been saying things that border on rude. And I'm not complaining about weight gain! I'm debating whether to just unfriendly or try once again to explain what I'm doing.
I havent had anyone (thankfully) come out and be rude to me about eating more, but I can tell there are a few who are very skeptical about this.
I would love a shirt.. we should start a fashion trend..:)0 -
Yes, a shirt would be awesome:)
But I ythink no matter how many times you explain it, some people just don't want to understand0 -
I think a lot of the problem though is it appears to go totally against what the popular belief is - how often do you see how easy it is to lose weight because all you need to do is exercise more and eat less.
What we have to do is show them the results and keep posting the successes - the more of us there are the louder our voice gets.0 -
I think a lot of the problem though is it appears to go totally against what the popular belief is - how often do you see how easy it is to lose weight because all you need to do is exercise more and eat less.
What we have to do is show them the results and keep posting the successes - the more of us there are the louder our voice gets.
yup, we are going against decades of beliefs and a multimillion dollar industry that push an opposite method. That's not an easy egg to crack. It will take time, and testimony. The more people that get on the bandwagon of EM2WL all over the world, the more people we affect. I know that in my little area of the world, that I have to potential to influence a few people, who in turn have the potential to influence...etc. But, it has to start with my success....a ripple effect. With a process as slow as EM2WL is though, that takes TIME. So, patience, determination and strength to be a pioneer is all needed for those of us dropping the stone in the lake.
Oh, and don't forget we live in a world where the microwave and email is considered 'too SLOW' now! that doesn't help our cause...lol.0 -
So, a couple small things to report. Tomorrow marks the end of 3 weeks of my reset. I just started TOM today and unbelievably, I'm only up 1 extra pound from it! (I usually gain 4 so this is so strange!)
Plus, I worked out with a good friend yesterday and she said I looked strong, and better than I did 2 years ago which made me go "say what???!!" She said my body shape was changing and it looked better than before. When I told her that I was 30 pounds heavier than I was 3 years ago (so at least 20lbs heavier than 2 years ago) she looked confused...said that didn't make sense because I looked better now. :happy: So, even if I can't see it (and trust me...I'm NOT seeing it...I tend to be blind that way - and the tape measure isn't showing me anything either), she can. And she knows better than to bluff me with garbage compliments...lol. So that was such an encouragement to me that although I'm up 6 pounds on the scale (+ 1 more for TOM) I'm still LOOKING BETTER! I can only assume that my overall shape is changing and smoothing out which may not necessarily reflect on a tape measure because of where/how it's changing.
So, an encouragement to you all...keep it up! Once you hit cut and start to shed the fat layer, that awesome body you are growing underneath with your lifting is gonna SHINE!
I can't wait to rock mine! lol0 -
A friend asked me about the reset and this is what my response was. I'm posting it here for myself primarily as a confirmation and continued commitment. That way I can come back and reread it when I'm having one of "those" moments!
The resetting of the metabolism involves eating your full total daily energy expenditure (essentially eating at maintenance) for 8 weeks. This allows your body to trust that the food supply is stable (no fear of famine). This causes the body to not hold on to every calorie as though tomorrow it will not get nutrition. After about 8 weeks it will have reset to taking in and expending equal amounts of calories and supplying your muscles and organs with the needed nutrients for muscle growth and daily organ function.
Then, you cut calories to TDEE minus 10-15% while doing the same exercising and your body allows the release of excess fat stores because it's not worried about the supply of calories anymore.
After 6-8 weeks at cut, you go back up to TDEE for a week or two so the body does not reset at the cut amount of calories. Then go back to your cut and continue the cycle.
The idea is that you will once and for all be able to eat a sufficient number of calories for life and still be able to lose excess fat. Once you get to your goal weigh you simply eat full TDEE for life!
After only losing weight my whole life by eating anywhere from 800-1500 calories a day AND exercising a great deal, leaving my body way less then my BMR (calories needed JUST for organ function and NO real body movement) to function it has reset my metabolism to a very low number. It never knows what crazy thing I'm going to subject it to and survival is all it cares about. So it's gotten really efficient at storing excess glycogen and fat stores just in case I put it through that again.
Physiologically it makes perfect sense. The tough part is doing TDEE for 8 weeks because the body in the beginning is still so unsure about whether this is a fleeting increased calorie situation so it starts to pack away stores for the next round of not eating enough.
It's really tough mentally more than anything. But I only have 51/2 more weeks and my body should start slowing down on the packing away excess stores soon. Besides, I really have not been terribly consistent the first 2 1/2 weeks with last week not exercising AND not eating my full TDEE many days. So, no wonder my body is so confused. In addition, I also started the intense 6x/wk P90 at the same time. So it's totally confused.
I do well with it mentally, and then all of a sudden I kind of melt down wondering whether I'm just crazy for doing this. Fortunately, my positive outlook on life far outweighs the doubter in me. Especially with all the support from all my MFP friends!
I am thrilled with the idea of being able to eat between 1900-2280 calories every day for life and STILL gain muscle and lose fat! My ultimate goal is to be a very fit and extremely strong 150 lb. woman. That's just 23 lbs away. I simply need to keep things in perspective as best I can.
Thanks for being there!! We CAN and WILL do this together! :flowerforyou:0 -
So, a couple small things to report. Tomorrow marks the end of 3 weeks of my reset. I just started TOM today and unbelievably, I'm only up 1 extra pound from it! (I usually gain 4 so this is so strange!)
Plus, I worked out with a good friend yesterday and she said I looked strong, and better than I did 2 years ago which made me go "say what???!!" She said my body shape was changing and it looked better than before. When I told her that I was 30 pounds heavier than I was 3 years ago (so at least 20lbs heavier than 2 years ago) she looked confused...said that didn't make sense because I looked better now. :happy: So, even if I can't see it (and trust me...I'm NOT seeing it...I tend to be blind that way - and the tape measure isn't showing me anything either), she can. And she knows better than to bluff me with garbage compliments...lol. So that was such an encouragement to me that although I'm up 6 pounds on the scale (+ 1 more for TOM) I'm still LOOKING BETTER! I can only assume that my overall shape is changing and smoothing out which may not necessarily reflect on a tape measure because of where/how it's changing.
So, an encouragement to you all...keep it up! Once you hit cut and start to shed the fat layer, that awesome body you are growing underneath with your lifting is gonna SHINE!
I can't wait to rock mine! lol
Well that's what I would call a proper NSV! Way to go girl!0 -
So, a couple small things to report. Tomorrow marks the end of 3 weeks of my reset. I just started TOM today and unbelievably, I'm only up 1 extra pound from it! (I usually gain 4 so this is so strange!)
Plus, I worked out with a good friend yesterday and she said I looked strong, and better than I did 2 years ago which made me go "say what???!!" She said my body shape was changing and it looked better than before. When I told her that I was 30 pounds heavier than I was 3 years ago (so at least 20lbs heavier than 2 years ago) she looked confused...said that didn't make sense because I looked better now. :happy: So, even if I can't see it (and trust me...I'm NOT seeing it...I tend to be blind that way - and the tape measure isn't showing me anything either), she can. And she knows better than to bluff me with garbage compliments...lol. So that was such an encouragement to me that although I'm up 6 pounds on the scale (+ 1 more for TOM) I'm still LOOKING BETTER! I can only assume that my overall shape is changing and smoothing out which may not necessarily reflect on a tape measure because of where/how it's changing.
So, an encouragement to you all...keep it up! Once you hit cut and start to shed the fat layer, that awesome body you are growing underneath with your lifting is gonna SHINE!
I can't wait to rock mine! lol
I was getting ready for bed last night, washing my face in the bathroom. It was later than usual so I was leaning forward on the counter while taking my eye makeup off when I looked at my arms and seen this bump where a persons bicep is! I have always had muscle and definition, but not such noticeable biceps! You know I then started posing! My belly may be bigger but so are my muscles!!0 -
So, a couple small things to report. Tomorrow marks the end of 3 weeks of my reset. I just started TOM today and unbelievably, I'm only up 1 extra pound from it! (I usually gain 4 so this is so strange!)
Plus, I worked out with a good friend yesterday and she said I looked strong, and better than I did 2 years ago which made me go "say what???!!" She said my body shape was changing and it looked better than before. When I told her that I was 30 pounds heavier than I was 3 years ago (so at least 20lbs heavier than 2 years ago) she looked confused...said that didn't make sense because I looked better now. :happy: So, even if I can't see it (and trust me...I'm NOT seeing it...I tend to be blind that way - and the tape measure isn't showing me anything either), she can. And she knows better than to bluff me with garbage compliments...lol. So that was such an encouragement to me that although I'm up 6 pounds on the scale (+ 1 more for TOM) I'm still LOOKING BETTER! I can only assume that my overall shape is changing and smoothing out which may not necessarily reflect on a tape measure because of where/how it's changing.
So, an encouragement to you all...keep it up! Once you hit cut and start to shed the fat layer, that awesome body you are growing underneath with your lifting is gonna SHINE!
I can't wait to rock mine! lol
I was getting ready for bed last night, washing my face in the bathroom. It was later than usual so I was leaning forward on the counter while taking my eye makeup off when I looked at my arms and seen this bump where a persons bicep is! I have always had muscle and definition, but not such noticeable biceps! You know I then started posing! My belly may be bigger but so are my muscles!!
LOL! Love it!0 -
So, a couple small things to report. Tomorrow marks the end of 3 weeks of my reset. I just started TOM today and unbelievably, I'm only up 1 extra pound from it! (I usually gain 4 so this is so strange!)
Plus, I worked out with a good friend yesterday and she said I looked strong, and better than I did 2 years ago which made me go "say what???!!" She said my body shape was changing and it looked better than before. When I told her that I was 30 pounds heavier than I was 3 years ago (so at least 20lbs heavier than 2 years ago) she looked confused...said that didn't make sense because I looked better now. :happy: So, even if I can't see it (and trust me...I'm NOT seeing it...I tend to be blind that way - and the tape measure isn't showing me anything either), she can. And she knows better than to bluff me with garbage compliments...lol. So that was such an encouragement to me that although I'm up 6 pounds on the scale (+ 1 more for TOM) I'm still LOOKING BETTER! I can only assume that my overall shape is changing and smoothing out which may not necessarily reflect on a tape measure because of where/how it's changing.
So, an encouragement to you all...keep it up! Once you hit cut and start to shed the fat layer, that awesome body you are growing underneath with your lifting is gonna SHINE!
I can't wait to rock mine! lol
Aww Yay!! what a great NSV!!! Im actually contemplating taking pics again, even though I havent lost any inches, in fact gained in some, and the weight is pretty much even, I wonder if there is anything different in my composition now..Im scared too though:)
I got back at the gym this morning after a 4 day gym rest. I really wanted to go for the full 7 day rest, but I just couldnt do it. I felt like a lump on a log and just felt awful about myself. But I did at least rest.. 4 days is longer than I have ever taken a break working out, so it was at least something different. GOt back to Stage II of NROL and we'll see how this nest stage goes0 -
A friend asked me about the reset and this is what my response was. I'm posting it here for myself primarily as a confirmation and continued commitment. That way I can come back and reread it when I'm having one of "those" moments!
Great post! You ought to start yourself a blog and then it would be quickly and easily available to you.0 -
I'll be starting week four tomorrow. I'm starting to think that four weeks might be it for me. I just dont know about sticking it out for eight weeks. I just feel my body getting antsy - ready to move on. I feel good (despite my blah whiney day that I posted about earlier), rested, fueled, and ready. I don't know. I'm going to think hard this week. It could just be that my body is saying it's really ready or it could just be me being impatient with the process. Even though I started MFP in Feb., the months before were honestly a binge-fest for me after a failed weight watcher's attempt. I was only on MFP a month and a half before finding the eat more concept. Prior to that I ate my exercise calories a lot, so I was below BMR quite a bit, but not all the time. Of course once I found the eat more concept I started eating well over BMR every day - that was the beginning of April. I really think this might be my last week of reset before I go to a cut. Unless someone has a really good reason to talk me out of it....
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I'll be starting week four tomorrow. I'm starting to think that four weeks might be it for me. I just dont know about sticking it out for eight weeks. I just feel my body getting antsy - ready to move on. I feel good (despite my blah whiney day that I posted about earlier), rested, fueled, and ready. I don't know. I'm going to think hard this week. It could just be that my body is saying it's really ready or it could just be me being impatient with the process. Even though I started MFP in Feb., the months before were honestly a binge-fest for me after a failed weight watcher's attempt. I was only on MFP a month and a half before finding the eat more concept. Prior to that I ate my exercise calories a lot, so I was below BMR quite a bit, but not all the time. Of course once I found the eat more concept I started eating well over BMR every day - that was the beginning of April. I really think this might be my last week of reset before I go to a cut. Unless someone has a really good reason to talk me out of it....
Im giving it 4 weeks myself. All in all I will have been eating more for about 4 months by the time Im done in two weeks, with 12 weeks of that being at cut and above, so I am going to go back to cut and give it another shot. Heres hoping it will be all I need..0 -
I'll be starting week four tomorrow. I'm starting to think that four weeks might be it for me. I just dont know about sticking it out for eight weeks. I just feel my body getting antsy - ready to move on. I feel good (despite my blah whiney day that I posted about earlier), rested, fueled, and ready. I don't know. I'm going to think hard this week. It could just be that my body is saying it's really ready or it could just be me being impatient with the process. Even though I started MFP in Feb., the months before were honestly a binge-fest for me after a failed weight watcher's attempt. I was only on MFP a month and a half before finding the eat more concept. Prior to that I ate my exercise calories a lot, so I was below BMR quite a bit, but not all the time. Of course once I found the eat more concept I started eating well over BMR every day - that was the beginning of April. I really think this might be my last week of reset before I go to a cut. Unless someone has a really good reason to talk me out of it....
Well I sure can't make you give it another four weeks but for the body to truly adjust to TDEE and reset the metabolism it really needs the time. My thought is why not complete the entire time so you won't second guess yourself down the line...you would have completed as described and have no doubt as to whether your body was ready or not. The antsy part is normal but this whole process is about patience and allowing our body to readjust after low caling for so long. We give low cals long periods but tend to not give eating a fair shot....
I'm in week six and wish I had done it in the beginning, but hindsight is always 20/20.
Lucia0 -
While I have not fell off the reset wagon yet, I fell off the hide the scale one. But I did notice something positive out of it.
I've been hitting almost 3000 (29-3000) for 5 weeks, TDEE should be 3092 and I am almost there most of the time. I'm feeling good, but I weighed in on Tuesday and I was 264 (again). But my clothes were loser (I know, I know I should have measured). So I WI again:
Wed 262 (OMG I was ecstatic)
Thur 263
Fri 264
Sat 264
I hid the scale, but it is so easy to get hooked back on weighing....
I've also noticed that those up fluctuations come when I drink less than 2.5 litres of water a day.
And I noticed that some refined sugars have been creeping back in, especially on low cal days (I had a massive bowl of ice cream on Wed to add 500 cals. I should have had a protein shake instead).
Props to all of us for toughing this out. It is such a mental game.0 -
I'll be starting week four tomorrow. I'm starting to think that four weeks might be it for me. I just dont know about sticking it out for eight weeks. I just feel my body getting antsy - ready to move on. I feel good (despite my blah whiney day that I posted about earlier), rested, fueled, and ready. I don't know. I'm going to think hard this week. It could just be that my body is saying it's really ready or it could just be me being impatient with the process. Even though I started MFP in Feb., the months before were honestly a binge-fest for me after a failed weight watcher's attempt. I was only on MFP a month and a half before finding the eat more concept. Prior to that I ate my exercise calories a lot, so I was below BMR quite a bit, but not all the time. Of course once I found the eat more concept I started eating well over BMR every day - that was the beginning of April. I really think this might be my last week of reset before I go to a cut. Unless someone has a really good reason to talk me out of it....
Well I sure can't make you give it another four weeks but for the body to truly adjust to TDEE and reset the metabolism it really needs the time. My thought is why not complete the entire time so you won't second guess yourself down the line...you would have completed as described and have no doubt as to whether your body was ready or not. The antsy part is normal but this whole process is about patience and allowing our body to readjust after low caling for so long. We give low cals long periods but tend to not give eating a fair shot....
I'm in week six and wish I had done it in the beginning, but hindsight is always 20/20.
Lucia
I agree. I just started week 4 and I'm antsy to cut, but even though I have also already spent 5 weeks before that at tdee - 15% (and a few weeks before that upping cals), I'm going to go the full 8. It's hard, and I really want to start losing, but I don't want to cut the process too short and cause problems later on. It's not easy when all you want to really do is start losing some pounds/inches, but if you can dig up enough patience to go another 4, I encourage you to do so.0 -
While I have not fell off the reset wagon yet, I fell off the hide the scale one. But I did notice something positive out of it.
I've been hitting almost 3000 (29-3000) for 5 weeks, TDEE should be 3092 and I am almost there most of the time. I'm feeling good, but I weighed in on Tuesday and I was 264 (again). But my clothes were loser (I know, I know I should have measured). So I WI again:
Wed 262 (OMG I was ecstatic)
Thur 263
Fri 264
Sat 264
I hid the scale, but it is so easy to get hooked back on weighing....
I've also noticed that those up fluctuations come when I drink less than 2.5 litres of water a day.
And I noticed that some refined sugars have been creeping back in, especially on low cal days (I had a massive bowl of ice cream on Wed to add 500 cals. I should have had a protein shake instead).
Props to all of us for toughing this out. It is such a mental game.
I was surprised Ive been ok with not weighing daily. I was an addict there for a long while. Its been nice and relaxing to not have to step on that scale daily.. been a huge boost to my mental state. .. And I hear you on the refined sugars. Ive been noticing that a few times myself, hving a extra treat here and there because I have so many cals left.. working on it..0 -
I'll be starting week four tomorrow. I'm starting to think that four weeks might be it for me. I just dont know about sticking it out for eight weeks. I just feel my body getting antsy - ready to move on. I feel good (despite my blah whiney day that I posted about earlier), rested, fueled, and ready. I don't know. I'm going to think hard this week. It could just be that my body is saying it's really ready or it could just be me being impatient with the process. Even though I started MFP in Feb., the months before were honestly a binge-fest for me after a failed weight watcher's attempt. I was only on MFP a month and a half before finding the eat more concept. Prior to that I ate my exercise calories a lot, so I was below BMR quite a bit, but not all the time. Of course once I found the eat more concept I started eating well over BMR every day - that was the beginning of April. I really think this might be my last week of reset before I go to a cut. Unless someone has a really good reason to talk me out of it....
Well I sure can't make you give it another four weeks but for the body to truly adjust to TDEE and reset the metabolism it really needs the time. My thought is why not complete the entire time so you won't second guess yourself down the line...you would have completed as described and have no doubt as to whether your body was ready or not. The antsy part is normal but this whole process is about patience and allowing our body to readjust after low caling for so long. We give low cals long periods but tend to not give eating a fair shot....
I'm in week six and wish I had done it in the beginning, but hindsight is always 20/20.
Lucia
I agree. I just started week 4 and I'm antsy to cut, but even though I have also already spent 5 weeks before that at tdee - 15% (and a few weeks before that upping cals), I'm going to go the full 8. It's hard, and I really want to start losing, but I don't want to cut the process too short and cause problems later on. It's not easy when all you want to really do is start losing some pounds/inches, but if you can dig up enough patience to go another 4, I encourage you to do so.
Alright. I will dig deep. I didn't expect this waiting to be so hard. I don't know. I think I'm just feeling discouraged. I've started letting my eating go a bit and falling into the trap of "What the hell? Might as well eat this crap food so that I can get all my calories in for the day." I KNOW that's not the point of EMTWL. Plus I know I've been letting stress get to me in certain areas of my life, so I'm now all of a sudden struggling with healthy choices, logging food, and other things that up until this point had become second nature. Maybe that's why I feel the impatience to start my cut - it'll make me accountable to not shoving in an excess over TDEE everyday.
But I'm going to start fresh. Today is not done. I'm going to work hard to end very close to my TDEE and start week four strong. Maybe the whole "fake it 'til you make it" kind of mentality. I don't know - perhaps that awful fatigue that everyone's talked about has hit and maybe that's what I'm feeling.
Anyways, thanks for the encouragement. I really appreciate it and I needed to hear someone encourage me to keep going. Deep down I'm pretty sure that's the right choice for me - I just don't wanna - lol!0 -
While I have not fell off the reset wagon yet, I fell off the hide the scale one. But I did notice something positive out of it.
I've been hitting almost 3000 (29-3000) for 5 weeks, TDEE should be 3092 and I am almost there most of the time. I'm feeling good, but I weighed in on Tuesday and I was 264 (again). But my clothes were loser (I know, I know I should have measured). So I WI again:
Wed 262 (OMG I was ecstatic)
Thur 263
Fri 264
Sat 264
I hid the scale, but it is so easy to get hooked back on weighing....
I've also noticed that those up fluctuations come when I drink less than 2.5 litres of water a day.
And I noticed that some refined sugars have been creeping back in, especially on low cal days (I had a massive bowl of ice cream on Wed to add 500 cals. I should have had a protein shake instead).
Props to all of us for toughing this out. It is such a mental game.
I think you hit the nail on the head when you said this is such a mental game! That's great that your clothes are looser. Hang in there!0 -
It is so hard to decide how long to reset. I never really plateaued, and only did the VLCD for the first month or so of my weight loss journey, which started at the end of December 2011. I just kept my cals above my BMR and tried to shoot for a pound and half loss a week deficit. It wasn't always easy to keep it that close. So tomorrow marks my 3 weeks on reset and I'm having a super hard time having low calorie burn days. Today was supposed to be one, but I had some shopping to do and I managed to almost get to my proposed TDEE of 2750, well I pretty much did. I started the first week at 2550 and upped it as I went along finding that I was burning too much for that, I use a fitbit.
So I have a lot of physical labor looming ahead, mowing, log splitting and decluttering of barn buildings, with my husband being gone for seven week stretches, it falls to me. I've tried to hold back, so I wouldn't have to eat so much, which sounds so strange, but I think I will begin my cut tomorrow by burning more and keeping my food goal at 2750. I just have too much work to do, and I really want to get it done. I've been dreaming about having the energy to get this place all cleaned up for so long and now I have it. I don't want to hold back. I will attempt to not let the deficit become any more than 15%.
I had originally gained around 3 pounds the first week and lost a little over a pound of it the second week and have stayed pretty consistent since then, so what do you guys think. Does this sound like a plan? Or do you think I should try and eat even more and continue the reset a little longer?0 -
Hang in there. Another 4 weeks is noting compared to the years we (at least me) have been on VLCD. I know it can be really hard at times to keep it up. But you can do it. Just stay strong.I'll be starting week four tomorrow. I'm starting to think that four weeks might be it for me. I just dont know about sticking it out for eight weeks. I just feel my body getting antsy - ready to move on. I feel good (despite my blah whiney day that I posted about earlier), rested, fueled, and ready. I don't know. I'm going to think hard this week. It could just be that my body is saying it's really ready or it could just be me being impatient with the process. Even though I started MFP in Feb., the months before were honestly a binge-fest for me after a failed weight watcher's attempt. I was only on MFP a month and a half before finding the eat more concept. Prior to that I ate my exercise calories a lot, so I was below BMR quite a bit, but not all the time. Of course once I found the eat more concept I started eating well over BMR every day - that was the beginning of April. I really think this might be my last week of reset before I go to a cut. Unless someone has a really good reason to talk me out of it....
Well I sure can't make you give it another four weeks but for the body to truly adjust to TDEE and reset the metabolism it really needs the time. My thought is why not complete the entire time so you won't second guess yourself down the line...you would have completed as described and have no doubt as to whether your body was ready or not. The antsy part is normal but this whole process is about patience and allowing our body to readjust after low caling for so long. We give low cals long periods but tend to not give eating a fair shot....
I'm in week six and wish I had done it in the beginning, but hindsight is always 20/20.
Lucia
I agree. I just started week 4 and I'm antsy to cut, but even though I have also already spent 5 weeks before that at tdee - 15% (and a few weeks before that upping cals), I'm going to go the full 8. It's hard, and I really want to start losing, but I don't want to cut the process too short and cause problems later on. It's not easy when all you want to really do is start losing some pounds/inches, but if you can dig up enough patience to go another 4, I encourage you to do so.
Alright. I will dig deep. I didn't expect this waiting to be so hard. I don't know. I think I'm just feeling discouraged. I've started letting my eating go a bit and falling into the trap of "What the hell? Might as well eat this crap food so that I can get all my calories in for the day." I KNOW that's not the point of EMTWL. Plus I know I've been letting stress get to me in certain areas of my life, so I'm now all of a sudden struggling with healthy choices, logging food, and other things that up until this point had become second nature. Maybe that's why I feel the impatience to start my cut - it'll make me accountable to not shoving in an excess over TDEE everyday.
But I'm going to start fresh. Today is not done. I'm going to work hard to end very close to my TDEE and start week four strong. Maybe the whole "fake it 'til you make it" kind of mentality. I don't know - perhaps that awful fatigue that everyone's talked about has hit and maybe that's what I'm feeling.
Anyways, thanks for the encouragement. I really appreciate it and I needed to hear someone encourage me to keep going. Deep down I'm pretty sure that's the right choice for me - I just don't wanna - lol!
Stress can be evil and can throw us off the way easily. But don't be upset about what happened-look forward and say to yourself that you can do it. You are one strong lady.0 -
So, a couple small things to report. Tomorrow marks the end of 3 weeks of my reset. I just started TOM today and unbelievably, I'm only up 1 extra pound from it! (I usually gain 4 so this is so strange!)
Plus, I worked out with a good friend yesterday and she said I looked strong, and better than I did 2 years ago which made me go "say what???!!" She said my body shape was changing and it looked better than before. When I told her that I was 30 pounds heavier than I was 3 years ago (so at least 20lbs heavier than 2 years ago) she looked confused...said that didn't make sense because I looked better now. :happy: So, even if I can't see it (and trust me...I'm NOT seeing it...I tend to be blind that way - and the tape measure isn't showing me anything either), she can. And she knows better than to bluff me with garbage compliments...lol. So that was such an encouragement to me that although I'm up 6 pounds on the scale (+ 1 more for TOM) I'm still LOOKING BETTER! I can only assume that my overall shape is changing and smoothing out which may not necessarily reflect on a tape measure because of where/how it's changing.
So, an encouragement to you all...keep it up! Once you hit cut and start to shed the fat layer, that awesome body you are growing underneath with your lifting is gonna SHINE!
I can't wait to rock mine! lol
Well that's what I would call a proper NSV! Way to go girl!
Yes. This is awesome! :happy:0 -
Hang in there. Another 4 weeks is noting compared to the years we (at least me) have been on VLCD. I know it can be really hard at times to keep it up. But you can do it. Just stay strong.I'll be starting week four tomorrow. I'm starting to think that four weeks might be it for me. I just dont know about sticking it out for eight weeks. I just feel my body getting antsy - ready to move on. I feel good (despite my blah whiney day that I posted about earlier), rested, fueled, and ready. I don't know. I'm going to think hard this week. It could just be that my body is saying it's really ready or it could just be me being impatient with the process. Even though I started MFP in Feb., the months before were honestly a binge-fest for me after a failed weight watcher's attempt. I was only on MFP a month and a half before finding the eat more concept. Prior to that I ate my exercise calories a lot, so I was below BMR quite a bit, but not all the time. Of course once I found the eat more concept I started eating well over BMR every day - that was the beginning of April. I really think this might be my last week of reset before I go to a cut. Unless someone has a really good reason to talk me out of it....
Well I sure can't make you give it another four weeks but for the body to truly adjust to TDEE and reset the metabolism it really needs the time. My thought is why not complete the entire time so you won't second guess yourself down the line...you would have completed as described and have no doubt as to whether your body was ready or not. The antsy part is normal but this whole process is about patience and allowing our body to readjust after low caling for so long. We give low cals long periods but tend to not give eating a fair shot....
I'm in week six and wish I had done it in the beginning, but hindsight is always 20/20.
Lucia
I agree. I just started week 4 and I'm antsy to cut, but even though I have also already spent 5 weeks before that at tdee - 15% (and a few weeks before that upping cals), I'm going to go the full 8. It's hard, and I really want to start losing, but I don't want to cut the process too short and cause problems later on. It's not easy when all you want to really do is start losing some pounds/inches, but if you can dig up enough patience to go another 4, I encourage you to do so.
Alright. I will dig deep. I didn't expect this waiting to be so hard. I don't know. I think I'm just feeling discouraged. I've started letting my eating go a bit and falling into the trap of "What the hell? Might as well eat this crap food so that I can get all my calories in for the day." I KNOW that's not the point of EMTWL. Plus I know I've been letting stress get to me in certain areas of my life, so I'm now all of a sudden struggling with healthy choices, logging food, and other things that up until this point had become second nature. Maybe that's why I feel the impatience to start my cut - it'll make me accountable to not shoving in an excess over TDEE everyday.
But I'm going to start fresh. Today is not done. I'm going to work hard to end very close to my TDEE and start week four strong. Maybe the whole "fake it 'til you make it" kind of mentality. I don't know - perhaps that awful fatigue that everyone's talked about has hit and maybe that's what I'm feeling.
Anyways, thanks for the encouragement. I really appreciate it and I needed to hear someone encourage me to keep going. Deep down I'm pretty sure that's the right choice for me - I just don't wanna - lol!
Stress can be evil and can throw us off the way easily. But don't be upset about what happened-look forward and say to yourself that you can do it. You are one strong lady.
:flowerforyou: Thanks!0 -
It is so hard to decide how long to reset. I never really plateaued, and only did the VLCD for the first month or so of my weight loss journey, which started at the end of December 2011. I just kept my cals above my BMR and tried to shoot for a pound and half loss a week deficit. It wasn't always easy to keep it that close. So tomorrow marks my 3 weeks on reset and I'm having a super hard time having low calorie burn days. Today was supposed to be one, but I had some shopping to do and I managed to almost get to my proposed TDEE of 2750, well I pretty much did. I started the first week at 2550 and upped it as I went along finding that I was burning too much for that, I use a fitbit.
So I have a lot of physical labor looming ahead, mowing, log splitting and decluttering of barn buildings, with my husband being gone for seven week stretches, it falls to me. I've tried to hold back, so I wouldn't have to eat so much, which sounds so strange, but I think I will begin my cut tomorrow by burning more and keeping my food goal at 2750. I just have too much work to do, and I really want to get it done. I've been dreaming about having the energy to get this place all cleaned up for so long and now I have it. I don't want to hold back. I will attempt to not let the deficit become any more than 15%.
I had originally gained around 3 pounds the first week and lost a little over a pound of it the second week and have stayed pretty consistent since then, so what do you guys think. Does this sound like a plan? Or do you think I should try and eat even more and continue the reset a little longer?
I say go for it. I have found in life if I have the energy to do something big, get it done! If you feel like your body is being stressed too much, then just feed it a little more to make up for some of the work, but otherwise, I don't see why you can't start a cut with extra movement rather than less food. Just my opinion, someone correct me if I am wrong It's not like you are going out marathon training, you are doing something you need to get done, it sounds like a win-win. 0 -
I'm starting my cut a little early! I've been maintaining for about 6 weeks now and know that after still eating TDEE it hasn't moved. I think before when I was loosely calculating cals, I was eating at or above TDEE. I am starting my 15% cut today, at 2021 cals. I just cannot remember what macros should be set at???0
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Well, just thought I'd check in. Nothing great to report...just pushing through TOM week which is making me miserable. I'm into my 4th week of reset now. I gained 1 lb from it, but TOM has me up another 3 as of today. (fyi that puts me at 8lbs up total since starting EM2WL) My fat clothes are tight, my skin is tight from water retention to the point it aches, my mood sucks, my appetite is gone (not good during reset) and all I want to do is start my cut...sigh.
BUT, I know that in about a week, the extra 3 lbs will be gone, my body won't be bloated and gross feeling anymore and my appetite will be back. Plus my mood will be better..hehe.
So, trudging on....0 -
Well, just thought I'd check in. Nothing great to report...just pushing through TOM week which is making me miserable. I'm into my 4th week of reset now. I gained 1 lb from it, but TOM has me up another 3 as of today. (fyi that puts me at 8lbs up total since starting EM2WL) My fat clothes are tight, my skin is tight from water retention to the point it aches, my mood sucks, my appetite is gone (not good during reset) and all I want to do is start my cut...sigh.
BUT, I know that in about a week, the extra 3 lbs will be gone, my body won't be bloated and gross feeling anymore and my appetite will be back. Plus my mood will be better..hehe.
So, trudging on....
((HUGS)) This is such a hard process. I'm in my 4th week. I'm going to hang in there and get to the full eight. We'll be starting our cut around the same time. It will be so fun to see the inches and pounds melt away once we get to that point. TOM makes everything harder and makes it all feel worse. Hopefully you'll feel better soon.0 -
Bump to read all the new posts for later... going into week 5 tomorrow... it's going to be harder to track, because I will be out of town...that being said, I have been stable since TOM ended...and even though I still feel gross and semi-bloaty... I DO think a lot of it IS water weight. I have an omrom Bodyfat monitor, and measured it at my * current* weight since reset started... even though it is technically up a bit, my lean body mass is actually higher because my total weight is slightly more.. so not sure what to make of that...but lean mass up is always good, right? lol. My scale shows water % too..and that was higher then normal also...
I also had to go shopping yesterday for some shorts ( going to Atlanta this week...and had NO shorts.....not a fan of death by heat. LOL. ). Still in the same sizes... though some of my jeans are a lil' snug... due to the bloating I think....so thinking this is working... I think I might start with maybe a 5% cut when i return and see what happens since I've been stable for almost 2 weeks if that sticks while I am gone.... we shall see!!!0
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