Eat More 2 Weigh Less

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This Process Sucks.

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  • avalynsmom
    avalynsmom Posts: 78
    Hi all! I'm Brittany. 26 years old. My stats:

    Height: 5'9"
    Weight: 209
    My BMR is 1760 and my TDEE is 3036, which puts my daily calorie requirement at 2429.

    I have lost about 19 lbs (eating 1950 cals/day), but it has taken about 6 or 7 months. I'm wondering if I really need to eat that 2429. My trainer says no; her take on it is that because I'm not eating oatmeal, broccoli, and steamed chicken all freaking day, the weight loss is slow. It's annoying because I stalk MANY MFP forums and many say that weight loss is all about the caloric deficit, which I always have. If that's true, I should be losing weight like crazy, no?

    I'm starting to wonder if I'm doing too much cardio. I strength train 3x/week and do cardio 4-5x/week for 30-45 minutes and burn an average of 600 cals each time, according to my HRM. Should I reduce cardio to 2-3x/week? I'm thinking my decifit is too high, thus hindering my loss. Should I eat that 2429? I log EVERYTHING, good and bad - my diary can get pretty ugly at times haha. I'm just frustrated with this entire process and I currently feel like saying *kitten* it, throwing on my stretchy pants, and eating a large pepperoni pizza.

    I would also agree with pretty much everything everyone else has said. I have similar stats to you, except that I'm shorter, and now I workout less, and I eat more than you do. I have my MFP set to 2300/day, and I add 200 in on weight days. I do New Rules of Lifting for Women 3x/wk and I just lowered my cardio again to only 2x/wk, and not on lift days. When I first started on MFP and "started" eating more (I only tried 1200 for 4 days lol, I have ALWAYS known that's not the way to go!) I was working out 6 days/wk for around an hr to an hr and a half. I was doing a mix of weights and cardio, but more cardio than now, and my weights were only on machines, so not "heavy" lifting. I was eating at 2500 cals and doing all that working out and I was losing quick. I lost about 13lbs in around 4-5wks or so. When I changed to New Rules and less cardio, my weight loss stalled out a bit, but mainly due to the increase in muscle, and I also had lowered my cals a bit. I raised them back up last week AND took the whole week off of cardio, so just lifting 3x/wk, and I lost 2 more lbs that way.

    I know that's a lot of rambling, but my point was mainly that you should try increasing your cals and decreasing your cardio and see how that goes:) And make sure you're tracking your weight so you can see the trend rather than the day to day:)
  • graysmom2005
    graysmom2005 Posts: 1,882 Member
    Hey,
    Just a quick post that might help if your thinking of staying at your current eating level.. if your only eating 1950 calories, and burning 600, thats 1350 calories a day.. you need to eat up to your BMR(1760) at the minimum, so if your not eating back exercise calories I suggest doing that (410 calories more needed).. So ya that 2429 you may want to start eating daily

    That makes so much sense. I can see clearly now! Just an FYI, if I gain even .25 of a lb while doing this, I WILL have a nervous breakdown and need medical assistance. I warned you.
    HAHAHA! My advice is to NOT go on the scale. I'm starting week four and I haven't stepped foot on it. I know it will freak me out, so until I hit weeks 6-10 ish...I'm steering CLEAR! :-D
  • aj_31
    aj_31 Posts: 994 Member
    Hey,
    Just a quick post that might help if your thinking of staying at your current eating level.. if your only eating 1950 calories, and burning 600, thats 1350 calories a day.. you need to eat up to your BMR(1760) at the minimum, so if your not eating back exercise calories I suggest doing that (410 calories more needed).. So ya that 2429 you may want to start eating daily

    That makes so much sense. I can see clearly now! Just an FYI, if I gain even .25 of a lb while doing this, I WILL have a nervous breakdown and need medical assistance. I warned you.
    HAHAHA! My advice is to NOT go on the scale. I'm starting week four and I haven't stepped foot on it. I know it will freak me out, so until I hit weeks 6-10 ish...I'm steering CLEAR! :-D

    Same here. I totally get freaked out by the scale. I try only to get on it once a week if that.
  • mrs_dwr
    mrs_dwr Posts: 189 Member
    No new advice from me, but welcome to the group! I love your attitude - I think you'll do well!
  • tenpets
    tenpets Posts: 423 Member
    Hey, Brittany.

    Sounds like you're in a good place to join a group of us who are plunging head first into a full metabolism reset. Here's the link to the thread http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/612353-metabolism-reset-eating-at-tdee-support-thread

    BTW, You made me giggle! Love your attitude!:laugh:
  • ANewLucia
    ANewLucia Posts: 2,081 Member
    Hey,
    Just a quick post that might help if your thinking of staying at your current eating level.. if your only eating 1950 calories, and burning 600, thats 1350 calories a day.. you need to eat up to your BMR(1760) at the minimum, so if your not eating back exercise calories I suggest doing that (410 calories more needed).. So ya that 2429 you may want to start eating daily

    That makes so much sense. I can see clearly now! Just an FYI, if I gain even .25 of a lb while doing this, I WILL have a nervous breakdown and need medical assistance. I warned you.

    Ok, I just about fell out of my chair on this one...too funny. Hun, please just throw away the scale or ask someone to hide it. You must read what to expect when upping...gaining is almost inevitable in most cases, and I don't want you to have a nervous breakdown:smile:

    It is a process, but a truly rewarding one, especially once you really start to understand your body, the cause of most fluctuations, and how to tweak the process on your own. It takes time and patience and a reliance on this amazing group of people in the EM2WL family. The support here is truly amazing, so you come right here and cry cause trust there are a few that will be doing so with you...shoot I may join ya too!

    Lucia:flowerforyou:
  • MyHighestPraise
    MyHighestPraise Posts: 87 Member
    It may have been mentioned already and I missed it, but when was the last time you ran your numbers? You know every time you lose say 5 pounds or so, you should re-calculate your new goals. At least that it is what I see on the boards when I'm reading...

    Just a thought :D
  • Greenrun99
    Greenrun99 Posts: 2,065 Member
    That makes so much sense. I can see clearly now! Just an FYI, if I gain even .25 of a lb while doing this, I WILL have a nervous breakdown and need medical assistance. I warned you.

    If you gain .25 of a lb.. I will tell you to take your belt off.. or shoes.. or high heels.. or earrings.. or whatever else you girls weight yourselves down with (cell phone, ipod, house/car keys, purse)!
  • bdotshaw
    bdotshaw Posts: 90 Member
    Thank you ALL for all the fabulous advice and encouragement! After reading all your comments, I looked at my net calorie history and for the most part, I was always netting around 1300 when my BMR is around 1800 Starting TODAY, I am reducing cardio and making sure to at least net my BMR every day. I'll *try* to wait two weeks before tackling that b*tch called the scale. As far as the reset...that takes much more courage than I have at this moment. We shall see what the future holds :) I'll be posting my results...

    Thanks again! Awesome group of people!

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