WEEP!

sugarplumj

I have been following the EMTWL group since early May, right around the time I increased my cals. I have been definitely feeling a lot puffier and fuller of late, and just now put on my once very comfy, somewhat loose skinny jeans and I am officially sausaged in them.
I am still really unclear about how long to do the cal increase before another decrease. It seems like maybe never? I am afraid of adding more cardio to my workout right now for fear of falling below TDEE (roughly 2300). Right now I average between 1900 and 2100 cals per day--up from 1200.

I just can't seem to get a grip on this and what I should be experiencing.

Anyway, I am keeping the jeans on and gonna waddle my way to a gal's night.

Thanks, team EMTWL!

HeidiHoMom

This sounds like exactly what you should be experiencing!

Almost all of us have felt bloated and gross at some point, some it lasts for longer than others.

Are you doing a reset or eating at a cut?

Either way, you should give it 8 weeks and then see where you're at.

sugarplumj

ok....I thought i went through the initial bloat then unbloat phase, but i guess this is the gain phase.
i will do it for a few more weeks, up to 8 weeks, but then what? right now i am eating at a cut so it ends up being around 2000. without cut would be 2400ish.
this science is crazymaking.

mommamuscles

ok....I thought i went through the initial bloat then unbloat phase, but i guess this is the gain phase.
i will do it for a few more weeks, up to 8 weeks, but then what? right now i am eating at a cut so it ends up being around 2000. without cut would be 2400ish.
this science is crazymaking.

Could you let us know if you are doing TDEE - 15% (cut) or TDEE (reset)? If you are doing the reset, you do that for 8 weeks (max), then drop down to TDEE -15%. If you are doing cut, you stay there for at least 6 weeks.
It is very important that you are keeping your eating choices clean (easier said than done, I know) and that you are using the correct activity level. So many of us want to underestimate in order not to mess anything up, but that is actually just as detrimental as the undereating.
If you look at your activity over the last week, how many hours did you work out? Then you take that amount of time and input into the scooby calculator.

Hope that helps!

sugarplumj

ok....I thought i went through the initial bloat then unbloat phase, but i guess this is the gain phase.
i will do it for a few more weeks, up to 8 weeks, but then what? right now i am eating at a cut so it ends up being around 2000. without cut would be 2400ish.
this science is crazymaking.

Could you let us know if you are doing TDEE - 15% (cut) or TDEE (reset)? If you are doing the reset, you do that for 8 weeks (max), then drop down to TDEE -15%. If you are doing cut, you stay there for at least 6 weeks.
It is very important that you are keeping your eating choices clean (easier said than done, I know) and that you are using the correct activity level. So many of us want to underestimate in order not to mess anything up, but that is actually just as detrimental as the undereating.
If you look at your activity over the last week, how many hours did you work out? Then you take that amount of time and input into the scooby calculator.

Hope that helps!

I have been going with a 15% cut (2134) but mostly aiming for around 1900 cals a day-often going over by about 100 or so. I guess I have been hitting a range of 1900-2100. Full TDEE is 2511, which frankly terrifies me to no end.
I am doing Tracy Anderson Continuity-just the mat / strength exercises, not the cardio, so it is 35 mins a day, 6 days a week. I am getting my numbers from the moderate range. I have a desk job, but I am often running around all day, up and down two flights of stairs, and I walk quite a bit on my commute, as well as with the dog, etc.

Should I use the light exercise range? that would bring me down to about 1800-2100 cals a day (depending on cut or not).