Metabolism Reset - Eating at TDEE Support Thread
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So here's my weekly check-in....I am officially on my Week 8!!!! Wow - I can't believe that I have stuck with it for this long....it has been a (mostly) rewarding and fun journey but I must admit to my days of "sigh I am not hungry" or "dang it - how the heck am I going to hit this protein macro" :bigsmile:
I am planning on weighing in and taking measurements and the dreaded pictures on Saturday so I will post my results.
Hope everyone has a great Monday!0 -
Hi everyone! After several weeks of dreading the inescapable weight gain, I started my reset 2 weeks ago. Based on what I've read in these forums, I was planning on a big weight gain once I started my reset because I have a history of eating disorders that have involved some VLC periods. I relapsed last year so my metabolism is probably still pretty shaky from that.
Two weeks in and I have gained 13 pounds, which I'm pretty certain is mostly water since I feel terribly bloated. I know that's a big number but my calories have been in the 1200-1600 range for a while now. They were as low as 400 last Fall and Winter. I'm really trying to approach the weight gain with patience and with the intention of healing my body and mind.
One of the things that has really surprised me after reading other people's experiences is how crazily hungry I am. I got the impression that my appetite would be easily squelched and that I would have a difficult time eating everything I'm suppose to. That has not been the case and I'm actually feeling more hungry on 2400 calories/day than I was on 1600-1800 calories per day. I'm not sure what to make of that. When I did the Scooby TDEE it said with my weight and activity level (endurance training and NROL4W), I should be eating somewhere around 2600 calories but I figured with my hypothyroidism and insulin resistance, that was probably an over-estimate so I bumped it down a bit. I suppose I could add another 100 calories and see if that helps with the hunger issue but I'm worried about adding too much and seeing my weight continue to sky-rocket. I'm planning to get pregnant soon and my doctors will not help me do so if they start seeing a big weight gain. Any thoughts are appreciated :-) I wasn't able to log food for the first couple of weeks because of some Internet problems but today and yesterday's journal are pretty indicative of my typical food & exercise day, in case anyone wants to look at it before responding.0 -
So here's my weekly check-in....I am officially on my Week 8!!!! Wow - I can't believe that I have stuck with it for this long....it has been a (mostly) rewarding and fun journey but I must admit to my days of "sigh I am not hungry" or "dang it - how the heck am I going to hit this protein macro" :bigsmile:
I am planning on weighing in and taking measurements and the dreaded pictures on Saturday so I will post my results.
Hope everyone has a great Monday!
Carrie~ WOW is right~ it went FAST!! So very, very happy for you for sticking it out. I am in Week 5, so this week and 3 more till I cut. I can not wait~ it's getting really hard to move around.
Make sure you remind us of your last day in Reset so we can send you to Cut with a nice, big, PROUD, Smiley post!!!:drinker:0 -
Well today was the end of my 9th week of reset, I'll weigh in tomorrow.
Does anyone remember where Kiki posted how you know when you're done? I looked through the stickies and Vids, but I must have overlooked it. I wouldn't mind doing 12 weeks, lol, but if I can cut sooner I will. For reference : lost 1# the first week (up activity rate), and only gained a total of about 2.5# so far.0 -
Is it worse to be under or over your TDEE?? I keep eating like about 100 calories over it, and I actually seem hungry. I'm hoping this is a sign my body is healing, but I'm just worried I'm actually gonna gain fat....0
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Hello everyone! I've been part of EM2WL for months, but I guess I was in denial about actually needing to do a complete reset. I thought I was fine....that I hadn't screwed up my metabolism too badly. Until I got a BodyMedia Fit. I've been wearing one for 3 weeks, and I've been very good about maintaining a 400-500 calorie defecit every day (burning ~2200, consuming ~1700). If it's all just "calories in, calories out" I should have lost almost 3 pounds by now, right? No. The scale hasn't budged at all. When I really started thinking about it, the scale hasn't made any significant movements in months, up or down. I really only want to lose 10 lbs, so that makes it even more frustrating.
So after talking to my coworker, who is a nurse, I've decided to just do a reset. I'll do at least 8 weeks, and then reassess......the good thing about the BMF is that I'll have a very good idea of how many calories I should be eating! The timing really sucks though, because my husband should be coming back from Afghanistan in about 3 months. I was hoping he'd be coming back to a thin, fit, sexy wife......now I worry I'll weigh more when he gets back than I did when he left. That would be a bummer.
But I'm ready. I'm dedicated. And boy, do I love food.
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Well today was the end of my 9th week of reset, I'll weigh in tomorrow.
Does anyone remember where Kiki posted how you know when you're done? I looked through the stickies and Vids, but I must have overlooked it. I wouldn't mind doing 12 weeks, lol, but if I can cut sooner I will. For reference : lost 1# the first week (up activity rate), and only gained a total of about 2.5# so far.
Plum~ that's awesome. I think you're done when your weight gain stabilizes. It doesn't sound like that was an issue for you at all so you COULD stop now if you wanted. Someone will have KiKi's post for you.
For me, I am in Week 5 and have gained 16 pounds in a total of 12 weeks (started at cut, grrr). I am having a difficult time moving around with the excess weight and my stamina is way down too.
SO~ when I complete Week 8, I am cutting and that's that!
Great job, Plum!!0 -
Hello everyone! I've been part of EM2WL for months, but I guess I was in denial about actually needing to do a complete reset. I thought I was fine....that I hadn't screwed up my metabolism too badly. Until I got a BodyMedia Fit. I've been wearing one for 3 weeks, and I've been very good about maintaining a 400-500 calorie defecit every day (burning ~2200, consuming ~1700). If it's all just "calories in, calories out" I should have lost almost 3 pounds by now, right? No. The scale hasn't budged at all. When I really started thinking about it, the scale hasn't made any significant movements in months, up or down. I really only want to lose 10 lbs, so that makes it even more frustrating.
So after talking to my coworker, who is a nurse, I've decided to just do a reset. I'll do at least 8 weeks, and then reassess......the good thing about the BMF is that I'll have a very good idea of how many calories I should be eating! The timing really sucks though, because my husband should be coming back from Afghanistan in about 3 months. I was hoping he'd be coming back to a thin, fit, sexy wife......now I worry I'll weigh more when he gets back than I did when he left. That would be a bummer.
But I'm ready. I'm dedicated. And boy, do I love food.
EP~I know how you feel about wanting to look good for your husband~ I'm an old married lady and I still want to look "somewhat pleasing" for my husband too!!
I am in Week 5 of the Reset and have gained a lot of weight. This is just MY experience and not everyone's.
The OLD ME would have quit a LONG time ago but the NEWLY ENLIGHTENED me is going to hang and take this to completion.
I am hoping to come out of this a mentally and physically healthier person who no longer has anxiety issues with food.
And as physically uncomfortable as I feel right now, the mental "cleansing" that I am experiencing is making it all worth it!!
Hope this helps you decide!!0 -
Hello everyone! I've been part of EM2WL for months, but I guess I was in denial about actually needing to do a complete reset. I thought I was fine....that I hadn't screwed up my metabolism too badly. Until I got a BodyMedia Fit. I've been wearing one for 3 weeks, and I've been very good about maintaining a 400-500 calorie defecit every day (burning ~2200, consuming ~1700). If it's all just "calories in, calories out" I should have lost almost 3 pounds by now, right? No. The scale hasn't budged at all. When I really started thinking about it, the scale hasn't made any significant movements in months, up or down. I really only want to lose 10 lbs, so that makes it even more frustrating.
So after talking to my coworker, who is a nurse, I've decided to just do a reset. I'll do at least 8 weeks, and then reassess......the good thing about the BMF is that I'll have a very good idea of how many calories I should be eating! The timing really sucks though, because my husband should be coming back from Afghanistan in about 3 months. I was hoping he'd be coming back to a thin, fit, sexy wife......now I worry I'll weigh more when he gets back than I did when he left. That would be a bummer.
But I'm ready. I'm dedicated. And boy, do I love food.
What's your exercise level like? With a 400-500 defecit, do you think you were netting below BMR some days? I definitely think a reset will never do any harm, but can do a world of good. I hope you decide to stick with the reset. Once you've completed your reset we recommend keeping to a 10-15% defecit, which would be closer to 300ish calories.
And I assure you that if your hubby is coming back from Afghanistan, you will be a sight for sore eyes no matter what!0 -
Is it worse to be under or over your TDEE?? I keep eating like about 100 calories over it, and I actually seem hungry. I'm hoping this is a sign my body is healing, but I'm just worried I'm actually gonna gain fat....
When you're doing reset, it's better to go over TDEE than under. Do you know if you're gaining weight and/or inches or are you stabilized at this point?0 -
Hi everyone! After several weeks of dreading the inescapable weight gain, I started my reset 2 weeks ago. Based on what I've read in these forums, I was planning on a big weight gain once I started my reset because I have a history of eating disorders that have involved some VLC periods. I relapsed last year so my metabolism is probably still pretty shaky from that.
Two weeks in and I have gained 13 pounds, which I'm pretty certain is mostly water since I feel terribly bloated. I know that's a big number but my calories have been in the 1200-1600 range for a while now. They were as low as 400 last Fall and Winter. I'm really trying to approach the weight gain with patience and with the intention of healing my body and mind.
One of the things that has really surprised me after reading other people's experiences is how crazily hungry I am. I got the impression that my appetite would be easily squelched and that I would have a difficult time eating everything I'm suppose to. That has not been the case and I'm actually feeling more hungry on 2400 calories/day than I was on 1600-1800 calories per day. I'm not sure what to make of that. When I did the Scooby TDEE it said with my weight and activity level (endurance training and NROL4W), I should be eating somewhere around 2600 calories but I figured with my hypothyroidism and insulin resistance, that was probably an over-estimate so I bumped it down a bit. I suppose I could add another 100 calories and see if that helps with the hunger issue but I'm worried about adding too much and seeing my weight continue to sky-rocket. I'm planning to get pregnant soon and my doctors will not help me do so if they start seeing a big weight gain. Any thoughts are appreciated :-) I wasn't able to log food for the first couple of weeks because of some Internet problems but today and yesterday's journal are pretty indicative of my typical food & exercise day, in case anyone wants to look at it before responding.
I'm hypothyroid and I did not adjust my calories down. In fact, I had to raise my calories halfway through my reset! Some do gain more in the reset than others. I would keep an eye on your gain. If it continues at that rate without stabilizing, then my next question would be how sure you are that your thyroid is properly managed? Especially in terms of getting pregnant, I know personally how much hypo can get in the way if it's not managed properly. So that's another reason to keep a close eye on it.
Anyways, welcome to the reset. I've just completed mine and it was a GREAT decision. It's harder mentally at times, but you can do it!0 -
Hello everyone! I've been part of EM2WL for months, but I guess I was in denial about actually needing to do a complete reset. I thought I was fine....that I hadn't screwed up my metabolism too badly. Until I got a BodyMedia Fit. I've been wearing one for 3 weeks, and I've been very good about maintaining a 400-500 calorie defecit every day (burning ~2200, consuming ~1700). If it's all just "calories in, calories out" I should have lost almost 3 pounds by now, right? No. The scale hasn't budged at all. When I really started thinking about it, the scale hasn't made any significant movements in months, up or down. I really only want to lose 10 lbs, so that makes it even more frustrating.
So after talking to my coworker, who is a nurse, I've decided to just do a reset. I'll do at least 8 weeks, and then reassess......the good thing about the BMF is that I'll have a very good idea of how many calories I should be eating! The timing really sucks though, because my husband should be coming back from Afghanistan in about 3 months. I was hoping he'd be coming back to a thin, fit, sexy wife......now I worry I'll weigh more when he gets back than I did when he left. That would be a bummer.
But I'm ready. I'm dedicated. And boy, do I love food.
What's your exercise level like? With a 400-500 defecit, do you think you were netting below BMR some days? I definitely think a reset will never do any harm, but can do a world of good. I hope you decide to stick with the reset. Once you've completed your reset we recommend keeping to a 10-15% defecit, which would be closer to 300ish calories.
And I assure you that if your hubby is coming back from Afghanistan, you will be a sight for sore eyes no matter what!
I'd say I'm in the moderate activity level. I usually do NROL 3 days a week and cardio 1-2 days. I use a BMF so I knew my burn (which is very close to Scooby's estimate of my TDEE) and I'd eat 400-500 calories below that. No logging exercise or anything, but I made sure to eat well above my BMR every day.
I'm definitely due for a reset. I've treated my body poorly since high school over 10 years ago. I had no problem eating at my TDEE today, but I didn't lift. I'm actually really excited to get my body working properly again.0 -
Is it worse to be under or over your TDEE?? I keep eating like about 100 calories over it, and I actually seem hungry. I'm hoping this is a sign my body is healing, but I'm just worried I'm actually gonna gain fat....
When you're doing reset, it's better to go over TDEE than under. Do you know if you're gaining weight and/or inches or are you stabilized at this point?
Well last time I measured, on the weekend, I had only gained 1/4 of an inch on my waist and half an inch on my thighs. In terms of weight, I'm pretty sure it's stabilizing now, it hasn't moved in about 2 weeks and I'm now at the weight I was when I joined MFP and started eating 1200 calories per day- so it would make sense for it to stop now, after I have gained back all the 'fake' weight that lost on the VLCD. I'm glad to hear it's better to be over in calories- I've actually been quite careless about logging foods and going over my calorie goal recently, and just eating till I'm full. (and i have been reeeeallly hungry in the last two weeks, so it's safe to say I went over my goal like every second day)0 -
Hi everyone, I just decided to start eating more today after finding this community and realizing that I've been eating below my BMR for WAY too long. My BMR is around 1400 but I've been sticking to 1200 for a very long time now. I started this low calorie diet in November of 2011 and I lost about 30 pounds, then plateaued for a little while. In the summer of 2011 I took a three-week vacation and fell off the wagon hard. I was probably averaging anywhere from 2200-3000 a day. At the time, I thought I was doing horrible things for my body and I was filled with guilt the entire time! When I got home, I set myself back on track and dropped another ten pounds within a month at 1000-1200 net calories. I think now though that that's because of the drastic decrease after I was eating closer to my body's actual maintenance for about three weeks during the summer. I wish I had realized that at the time.
But now I've been on a plateau since November of 2011!
I would like to know if I should do an entire metabolism reset or simply eat at my TDEE -20%? For me, that would be about 1900 calories. I increased today from 1300 to 1600. Am I supposed to jump straight to 1900 from 1300 and then just ride it out until I start losing again? Or should I be eating my TDEE for eight weeks? How much weight will I gain, and should I expect my measurements to go up? I'm unclear on this, I know it won't be fat gain (or that the fat will drop off once my body realizes it doesn't need to hold onto it), but I honestly hate seeing my measurements go up since the first place I gain weight is in my waist! That, and the fact that I'm only 5'1, means that my waist measurement can go up an inch with only a 2 pound weight gain, which it has done many times over the course of this journey. It's so frustrating!
Overall though I'm really excited about starting this. I can't wait to get my body healthy again! I'm always unhappy and so irritable, and I never get hunger cues anymore. I'm sleepy all the time and I dread lifting because I don't even have the energy to do that, and now I know why! Thanks so much, I'm so glad I found this community today :happy:0 -
Gabrielle~ Welcome to the first day of the rest of your life!! I'm not being dramatic about that~ this eating method could truly be the start of a diet-free rest of your life!
That being said, it's not going to come easy. After reading your post and your profile, it looks like Yes, you could use a Reset. You mentioned that at some point you took a vacation and "diet break" and ate what you consider huge amounts of food. You also stated that when you went back to the VLCD, you started losing again.
The EM2WL Reset is KIND OF like that except you are NOT going to go back to the metabolism- damaging- very-low- calorie- diet.
You will eat your TDEE for at least 8 weeks. You will most likely gain weight. You WILL be upset by this. You WILL want to quit every 5 minutes.
But DON'T!! This is part of the healing process that you must go through~ that your body WANTS you to go through so it can be healthy and work properly. AND so you will NEVER have to DIET EVER AGAIN!! EVER!!
When the Reset is complete, you will go to Cut and start losing again~ at a healthy rate of loss and you will be feeding your body the proper amount of food it needs and NOT the amount of a 4 year old child.
Read through some of the posts from others and you can look for my posts about how frustrating and scary it can be to go through the Reset process.
I truly believe that I am going to come out so much healthier, happier and hopefully smaller on the other side!!
Good Luck and keep in touch!0 -
Hi,
I am in SHOCK this morning!!! I just weighed myself out of curiosity, and I am at the same weight as I was 10 days ago when I started out! I feel good! If not great! Hitting all my macros and even have room for 2 treats (Protein bars aka my new chocolate bar
). Wow!
If my weight says the the same for the next few weeks I may not be doing the full 8 week reset, I am thinking that 6 weeks may be enough for me!
But I have already learned alot about my body and food, what makes me full, what makes me hungry!
I DONT HAVE TO WORK OUT 24/7 TO LOSE WEIGHT!!0 -
Hello everyone
I ate at CUT for 9 weeks and decided it was time for a "diet break", so now I'm here and just wanted to update everyone on my progress through my "mini" reset. I started 3 weeks ago eating at TDEE. I weigh myself daily, but only log my weight on MFP on Wednesdays, so here are my last 3 "official" weigh-in's since eating at TDEE:
July 4th: 157.6 lb (also start of TOM, so my weight was probably a little high due to that...)
July 11th: No weigh-in (on vacation--end of TOM)
July 14th: 152.7 lb (weigh-in after vacation--actually LOST weight on vacation??? Whaaa???)
July 18th: 154 lb
July 25th: 154.5 lb
Now, my weight has been bouncing around daily (no biggie), but I've been holding pretty steady over the last two weeks. I show a loss of about 3 lbs since initially starting my "reset", but there were other factors in play when I started (TOM, obviously), so my starting weight was a little "bloated", LOL!
I plan on eating one more week at TDEE, and then going back down to cut. I was concerned after I got home from vacation and saw the big drop that I had miscalculated my TDEE, but now looking at my numbers from the last two weeks, I'm thinking I'm pretty spot on with my numbers...
I will continue eating at TDEE for one more week (but my weigh-in might be a little goofy because TOM should be coming for a visit again around that time), and then plan on going back to CUT after that...
Any thoughts??? Am I on the right track???0 -
I posted this in another thread but I think it was the wrong one lol. This is a reset update:
I am entering week 4 of full reset and my weight is holding steady eating 2500 calories a day.. woot woot!!! Stats are 5'10" 158 pounds. I NEVER thought I could eat this much and not gain tons of weight. I am going to complete the entire eight week reset, maybe more just to make sure my body is clear as to what's going on!0 -
To reset or not to reset? That is the question.
I was never really on a VLCD...The lowest I netted was 1400 when I started out, only about 100 cal below my BMR. I ate that way for 3 months, and saw modest weight loss. Then I found out about EM2WL and I started that in May. I went directly into the 15% cut and my weight went up three pounds and then down two pounds and now it has stalled out completely. (Also, I haven't really had any non-scale victories other than my exercise-induced headaches going away. No change in measurements or anything).
I started paying more attention to my macros and not going too much over on carbs, but that made no difference.
Should I do the reset or not? I feel like since I wasn't eating below BMR for very long, I don't need to do the fill eight weeks if I do it. But what do you all think?0 -
To reset or not to reset? That is the question.
I was never really on a VLCD...The lowest I netted was 1400 when I started out, only about 100 cal below my BMR. I ate that way for 3 months, and saw modest weight loss. Then I found out about EM2WL and I started that in May. I went directly into the 15% cut and my weight went up three pounds and then down two pounds and now it has stalled out completely. (Also, I haven't really had any non-scale victories other than my exercise-induced headaches going away. No change in measurements or anything).
I started paying more attention to my macros and not going too much over on carbs, but that made no difference.
Should I do the reset or not? I feel like since I wasn't eating below BMR for very long, I don't need to do the fill eight weeks if I do it. But what do you all think?
Hi,
I am pretty new to this, but based on what you are saying, I think a diet "break" for 2 weeks at your TDEE would be suffice as most people do that every 6 weeks, and then return to their cut. I hope this helps0
