Opinions....please :)
carriea67
Posts: 181 Member
Hi Everyone!
So I have been reading & reading & reading some more...and would like some opinions on my situation. Here's my story - I was always fairly lucky with maintaining my weight while not eating incredibly healthy or being active but over the years my weight has crept up and found myself about 15-20 pounds over my "ideal weight" and very squishy. I began working out consistently about 2 years ago and began lifting about a year ago and have tried every fad diet out there (WW; South Beach; 17 day diet) and have had little to no loss on the scale. I joined MFP in Janaury and of course was assigned the standard 1200 which I did not stick with very often.
I found this group through another thread and frankly it makes sense. The best I have felt about myself is when I wasn't worrying about every teeny calorie and just eating fairly healthy and working out so I said "self - up your calories & be happy". I did this about 2 weeks ago and went to my TDEE - 15%. I lost about a pound the first week and have maintained that through the second week. Now here's the question: should I embrace this lifestyle change, sign up for the 8 week reset and live through it (while throwing out the scale)?
Here are my stats:
Height - 5'1"
CW - 126.8
GW - 115ish but frankly I just don't want to be squishy (am also trying to break my obession with the scale)
Per Scooby:
BMR - 1336
TDEE - 15% - 1760
TDEE - 2071
My diary is open - and meeting my macros is a work in progress so any advice or "keeping my accountable" is welcome. But I believe in enjoying life with a part of that being food & drink with family and friends so I will eat ice cream & pizza & enjoy a beer at times.
My workout schedule is heavy on the cardio for now because I am coming back from an arm injury and don't want to begin lifting to soon but I hope to bring that back within the next 2-3 weeks. The schedule that I liked the best in the past is: Run/Walk - 2x a week and Run 10 minute mile and Lift (free weights) - 3x a week.
Sorry for the length and if you have made it this far - I really appreciate it. What do you think - should I embrace the reset 8 weeks and train myself to eat at TDEE with the correct macros (those darn carbs)?
Carrie
So I have been reading & reading & reading some more...and would like some opinions on my situation. Here's my story - I was always fairly lucky with maintaining my weight while not eating incredibly healthy or being active but over the years my weight has crept up and found myself about 15-20 pounds over my "ideal weight" and very squishy. I began working out consistently about 2 years ago and began lifting about a year ago and have tried every fad diet out there (WW; South Beach; 17 day diet) and have had little to no loss on the scale. I joined MFP in Janaury and of course was assigned the standard 1200 which I did not stick with very often.
I found this group through another thread and frankly it makes sense. The best I have felt about myself is when I wasn't worrying about every teeny calorie and just eating fairly healthy and working out so I said "self - up your calories & be happy". I did this about 2 weeks ago and went to my TDEE - 15%. I lost about a pound the first week and have maintained that through the second week. Now here's the question: should I embrace this lifestyle change, sign up for the 8 week reset and live through it (while throwing out the scale)?
Here are my stats:
Height - 5'1"
CW - 126.8
GW - 115ish but frankly I just don't want to be squishy (am also trying to break my obession with the scale)
Per Scooby:
BMR - 1336
TDEE - 15% - 1760
TDEE - 2071
My diary is open - and meeting my macros is a work in progress so any advice or "keeping my accountable" is welcome. But I believe in enjoying life with a part of that being food & drink with family and friends so I will eat ice cream & pizza & enjoy a beer at times.
My workout schedule is heavy on the cardio for now because I am coming back from an arm injury and don't want to begin lifting to soon but I hope to bring that back within the next 2-3 weeks. The schedule that I liked the best in the past is: Run/Walk - 2x a week and Run 10 minute mile and Lift (free weights) - 3x a week.
Sorry for the length and if you have made it this far - I really appreciate it. What do you think - should I embrace the reset 8 weeks and train myself to eat at TDEE with the correct macros (those darn carbs)?
Carrie
0
Replies
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Hey,
Wasn't able to view your diary maybe its not completely open, but I can give some suggestions.. if you have been eating above your BMR consistently I think you could probably start right at your cut level (1760).. your probably going to have up and down weeks (or steady weeks) if your having a fun week of eating (pizza, beer, etc) but hey its part of life.. you may also want to get something to track your calories during working out and start recording that, and if you fall below your BMR eat up or over that depending on the amount of cardio.. And of course the macro's.. thats my problem those pesky carbs..0 -
Carrie,
WELCOME!! You've landed in a great place ! I've had great success with EM2WL, and I'm still a work in progress.
I believe the crux of your question is this :
Now here's the question: should I embrace this lifestyle change, sign up for the 8 week reset and live through it (while throwing out the scale)?
My Answer: An enthusiastic YES! Embrace it, be consistent. You started eating at 1760 2 weeks ago .. so 2 weeks in. That 's good.
Exercise - you said you are doing some heavy cardio now. How heavy? Sometimes too much exercise, or a significant change in exercise, isn't the best while you are also changing your calorie level. The body needs time to adjust to 1 thing at a time.
Totally agree with strength training. I'm passionate about htat being the foundation. WHat you described as your ideal program sounds good. Strength 3 x week ; HIIT cardio 2 x. Rest for the remainder of the week.
I believe you will meet some great folks and support here .. always be proactive in educating yourself and don't hesitate to ask questions.
Again, welcome !
Jen
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/harlanJEN
Active member of the forum group EAT MORE TO WEIGH LESS. Check it out ! Educate yourselves!
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/3817-eat-more-to-weigh-less
Easy & Accurate TDEE calculator: http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/0 -
Hi -
First thanks for reading my long story
. Second - good advice. Third - I have another question.....about tracking exercise calories....I do have a HRM and have been tracking my exercise calories and eating them back (most of the time) when I was eating at the 1200 level.
But when I upped my calories - I stopped tracking them because I didn't want to confuse myself. So here's the question - should I track them and just not eat them back as long as I am eating either my TDEE or my TDEE-15% or should I track them because I need to be netting either my TDEE or my TDEE-15%? Or am I just overthinking this?
Oh and another insight....I am awful at sticking with something for longer than 2 weeks....if I don't see results then I switch it up and I think that has been a contributing factor to my lack of loss.
As for exercise - have been out of the gym for the past 3 weeks and started back yesterday. I just got back from my doctor who cleared me to start using light weights (no more than 10 pounds) and to increase slowly. So my schedule will be: Mon/Wed/Fri - 10 minute mile and (for now) light weights and Tues/Thurs - Run/Walk - 60 minutes.
Thanks for the hand-holding....0
