Raspberry Ketones for the rest of us!

Helloitsdan

Mmmmmmm Bacon!

jeaninemckinney

:drinker: wow i loved this and im saving to read again later! So greatly worded and what i needed to hear! Got me out of my slump! thank you:bigsmile: and u look simply amazing! keep it up...cuz its working! :flowerforyou:

sarahz5

Yay, Bean!

:flowerforyou:

That's what *I* was gonna say! Sheesh! <creativity zapped>

ETA - And you look totally strong and completely hawt.

firstsip

I wish I had something useful to add but it's already been said. You didn't leave me any room.

Soo uhhh...eat ice cream and/or beer? That's the best I can do.

:drinker:

sjohnny

All you do is win!

jofjltncb6

Yay, Bean!

:flowerforyou:

That's what *I* was gonna say! Sheesh! <creativity zapped>

ETA - And you look totally strong and completely hawt.

Well, thank you. That's very kind of you. :flowerforyou:


(Oh, you were talking about Bean? Ok. :ohwell: :kicks rocks:)

sarahz5

One thing to reiterate: don't cling to numbers from TDEE calculators if your results prove them wrong. If I started again, I'd test out mfp's maintenance numbers first. It might or might not cause a slight delay in starting your weight loss, but at least you'd know if mfp was a good calculator for you without accidentally eating too little. I have yet yo find a calculatoor that works for me, but mfp was one of the worst.

I want to second this. I remember when I first got here and started reading about TDEE and BMR and I thought I didn't want to "waste time" upping my calories or trying to figure out what my maintenance calories were. If you are going to succeed, you are in this for the loooooong haul - your lifetime, in fact. So taking a month or even two to figure out what your optimal intake is to maximize energy while still eating at a deficit is well worth the investment.

This patience is key in so many ways. I have a bunch of friends who just realized they have been freaking out every month over "weight gains" that are nothing more than hormonal fluctuations. Weight loss is not linear, you will not lose exactly what you are shooting for every week, and chances are very, very good that even if you eat at a deficit all the time, there will be weeks and most definitely days when the scale shows a gain. If you know that you are exercising and eating at a moderate deficit, like Bean suggested, in the long run you WILL get healthy, strong, and smaller.

sarahz5

Yay, Bean!

:flowerforyou:

That's what *I* was gonna say! Sheesh! <creativity zapped>

ETA - And you look totally strong and completely hawt.

Well, thank you. That's very kind of you. :flowerforyou:


(Oh, you were talking about Bean? Ok. :ohwell: :kicks rocks:)

Welp, I knew that was coming before I hit post, so take that as you will.

Nataliaho

Awesome awesome post!!

My only addition would be that while metabolically/scientifically you are NOT a special snowflake... you are unique... in that you will have personal preferences about how you like to live... If those preferences don't break Beans' rules then don't feel like you have to change everything about yourself...

you like pizza - eat it (just hit your cals and macros)
you hate breakfast - skip it (just hit your cals and macros)
you like to snack at night - snack it (just hit your cals and macros)
you love to run (weirdos) - run it (just hit and eat your cals)
You hate to run - DON'T run it (just hit your cals)
etc etc etc

Don't make it sooooo hard by trying to become a completely new person.
Not every single thing about you is wrong!

vj2wis

,.

MoreBean13

Awesome awesome post!!

My only addition would be that while metabolically/scientifically you are NOT a special snowflake... you are unique... in that you will have personal preferences about how you like to live... If those preferences don't break Beans' rules then don't feel like you have to change everything about yourself...

you like pizza - eat it (just hit your cals and macros)
you hate breakfast - skip it (just hit your cals and macros)
you like to snack at night - snack it (just hit your cals and macros)
you love to run (weirdos) - run it (just hit and eat your cals)
You hate to run - DON'T run it (just hit your cals)
etc etc etc

Don't make it sooooo hard by trying to become a completely new person.
Not every single thing about you is wrong!

LOVE THIS! :flowerforyou:

And yeah, totally agree with the rest of your post. Hit your goals, and do whatever you like/need to to feel satiated. For me, that's skipping breakfast and having 2 big meals a day and a bedtime carby snack. But those are my preferences- YMMV.

jha1223

Printed and hung this near my workout equipment. This should keep me motivated!

suthernbelle

Love this post!

chocl8girl

:flowerforyou:

kmakar

Love this! So much common sense....

MoreBean13

First off, you. look. FABULOUS. No need to be nervous posting those pictures, because you look absolutely BANGIN'!

Secondly, I am so effin' glad you're on my FL. Everything you said was spot on, and I agree with it 110%.

I'd like to add a bit about plateauing, though, because that seems to be another topic that attracts LOADS of broscience.

Sometimes, our weight loss comes to a halt. This doesn't happen for all of us, but it happens to a lot of us, myself included. Stalled out for two damn years. Tried EVERYTHING (well, all the wrong things, like cutting my calories too damn low), and the scale would not budge. If this happens to you, my best advice would be to either A. try upping your calories. The closer you get to goal, the smaller your caloric deficit should be. B. Take a maintenance break. This has worked for me twice already. Chill out with the deficit. Don't necessarily stop tracking, but up your caloric intake to maintenance for 7 to 10 days. You can even chill out on the exercise if you want. Trust me. It works.

Also, one more thing to add: This has been said so many times, but it's always worth repeating. Do NOT gauge your progress by the number on the scale. Take photos and measurements. Pay attention to how your clothes fit. So many times the number on the scale might say we're not making progress, but the smaller clothing sizes/measurements say otherwise. It is NOT all about the number on the scale. Not at all.


Just my two cents. Again, phenomenal post, Beansie!

This is great advice. I have been lucky that I have not hit any plateaus since I started losing- but I 'felt' one was coming at the end of September and took a 14 day maintenance break. By 'felt one coming' I mean everything started to feel hard and tedious- both sticking to my diet and my workouts. At the end of the maintenance break, for a couple weeks I actually lost weight FASTER, and so after about a month I was actually back on track as if the break never happened. I wrote a blog on it and can give a link if anyone wants it, but feel like it's a little too shameless (even for me!) to promote a link to my own blog here, haha.

Oh, one note- when I first started and started lifting, I went 6 weeks before losing a single pound. During that time, I lost 6" from my waist, though (and inches pretty much everywhere!) so yeah, the scale sucks as a measurement of progress. During that time, if the scale was the only measure I was using, I would have monkeyed with my diet and workout regimen and probably screwed it up. It was working, the scale just didn't know it!

Cait_Sidhe

1) Bean, you look incredible.

2) Raspberries are yummy, especially when combined with chocolate.

3) On a serious note, I'll add my own advice on what has been the hardest thing for me to overcome. Be honest with yourself. If you find yourself gaining or plateaued, take a look at your logging. If you're eating back your exercise calories, don't add things like grocery shoping. When logging your food, choose the most honest option. If you consistantly log the lowest calorie option for everything in the database, you're screwed. For instance, I occasionally eat vegetarian cheesesteaks. The database had a listing for a veggie cheesesteak for 275 or so calories, so that's what I chose. I knew this likely wasn't accurate, but who was I to argue with the database? So, I gained back some of the weight that I'd lost. I looked at the food I eat and how I log it. I made a recipe with all the ingredients that go in a veggie cheesesteak. Turns out it's more like 650 calories. This one item was not the only culprit. But it makes a good point. I was consistantly under-logging my food to the point of gaining back 15 or so pounds. So, be careful out there.

moostrodamus

It was so nice to finally come into a thread and just simply nod my head in agreement rather than wanting to throat punch yet another person on the boards today.

You're awesome. Thank you for this!! :drinker:

* Note to self...do not upset MacInCali

Jxnsmma

Awesome post

Mia_RagazzaTosta

I thought I was the only one who felt that way about my HRM My clothes and how they fit will be the ultimate tool.

I need to somehow make this post my screensaver.

motherbetty

I needed to see this today - thanks!

whiteheaddg

Great post, Bean. I believe you helped a lot of folks today with your common sense (and proven) approach to this whole process.

thetemplateblog

Thank you!

stephanj

Bump! Saving this for when I star freaking out or losing patience. Thanks!

justjenny

BUMP

Alyssa__Lauren

I love this. Thank you

SunshineT83

Bump for re-reading whenever necessary

triceever

This was an awesome post.

yoovie

sorry just feeling like dancing through everyone's posts today.... I already licked this one AND said something constructive, so I can dance right? I promise after this Ill dance in my own posts.

riclyn247

Great information! Thank you!