Hi boys and girls;)

NWCountryGal

I want to go back on the TDEE thing and was figuring my calcs. lastnight. I wanted to get some feedback because I so believe in eating to fuel and eating enough, nutritious foods, but I feel a bit discouraged.

I have lost a lb here and there but understand it isn't all about the scale. But..I have not lost any inches at all and today I just had 65 days. Although most of that time I have been doing the 1200 MFP sets up for me. Some days over, some days under. I have built muscle, quite a lot in my legs or at least hardened mine up. My legs look a lot better in other words. My upper body needs work and I was kayaking til I sprung a leak, well, the kayak did anyway:sad:

So now I have no upper-body resistance going on but in late Sept. I can join the gym.

I am sure eating only 1200 on days I don't walk(my main cardio)is not enough. I'm not hungry but my gut tells me I am stalled and probably need to up my cals. I am 59, 5'2" and right at 131 now. My ticker says 130 because the scale said that last week. The scale, yuuuuuuuuuuck!!

So any feedback, any personal stories, anything at all would be appreciated. I guess I just want to hear some advice and please, feel welcome to view my diary,

Denise:drinker: :drinker:

calund06

Hi NWCountryGal, I am relatively new to MFP and to EM2L but it sounds like you a not consuming enough calories. You mention that most of the time you are at 1200 day but that amount is just below your BMR which should be around 1239 based on your current age, height, weight and goal weight. Everything I have been reading on MFP says you shouldn't have daily net calories that are below your BMR + 20% (1547 calories). If you go the TDEE route I believe your dzily calorie goal would go up a bit more but to get your number you would need to have your activity level calculated into the equation.

Hang in there as it sounds like you are on the right track by realizing that this is a lifelong journey and your body needs the proper amount of fuel to be healthy. I am also just starting the TDEE approach as I have been gradually increasing my daily calories over the past 6 weeks. I will be watching this and will most likely do a metabolism reset starting in October---I just recently joined the EM2L group and have been rreading the posts on TDEE, Cut Value and Metabolism Reset.

As you can see from my profile, I lost 94 pounds over the past year and have been maintaining that weight for about 4 months. I am exercising regularly now (started about 9 months ago) and exercise 5-6 times a week. I am making much better food choices and believe that I am well on track of developing and maintaining lifelong habits so that I will keep the weight off for rest of my life. It is definitely a new concept for me to eat more. During my journey I had to retrain myself to stop focusing on the number on the scale as indicator of success but rather to focus on inches and % of body fat. It was so exciting to see the inches melting off and to see my body toning and shaping up.

Oops, sorry for the long ramble. I really appreciate MFP and this group. Insights gained are wonderful.

NWCountryGal

Excellent! Your journey sounds not just a total success but a healthy one!! It's great we are both starting at least near the same time on the emtwl. I am using both the Military Calc and the Scooby to get my BMR, TDEE, Body Fat % and finally, I am going to use a 20% deficit. I know newannalicia recommends 15% but I just feel 20% will be best for me. I don't know, I may try the 15% for 2 weeks and then the 20%. It's all about sticking to something and proving it right or wrong for my body. We can have a great starting point and all the advice but trying it on ourselves and most of all, being honest with myself is the biggest deal. Am I truly eating right? Am I truly eating enough or not enough.

I'm way excited and glad we hooked up as friends. I'm going to have a late lunch and then put in my new numbers;) denise:drinker: :drinker: