March Check-in&Chat - Green beer to fuel your lifts!
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So my advice would be:
1) stop counting lifting cals as edible
2) take 2-3 days off from exercise, keep your sodium and carbs low and see if any water weight disappears and/or your pants get looser
3) reevaluate your intake, but definitely go for a lower % cut than you're suggesting
I agree with the above. I don't know how much weight you have left to lose, but I'm betting the 20-30% is way too agressive. That's the cut I should be doing and I need to lose 95-100lbs. Also, with the TDEE - %, you don't eat your calories back. They're already included (if you chose the correct activity setting).
I agree, too, with all of this. Also give yourself some credit for the hard work you are doing and don't give up!! You are doing awesome!! If you are enjoying SL keep with it. Make sure you are getting the rest days and getting enough to eat (odd how your body sometimes won't lose when it's hungry).
If you think the thyroid problem might be affecting you, I would really suggest you consult your physician or a nutritionist if you can. They might be able to give you a more personal and accurate calorie goal.
Other thoughts Julie... What are your macronutrient %'s set at? I found I couldn't really recover from workouts with the pre-sets from MFP and I think their protein is kind of low.
Juliej.....I agree with all of the above 100%. I think the other thing that is important to mention is that you are NOT gaining fat and recomp is NOT a fast process. So many of us have gone through so much to just lose weight up until this point that the whole concept of not losing is devastating. This part of the journey truly is about becoming healthier, not just about being skinny. I'm also really hoping that the person that said you are looking "chunkier" is not your BF because if so he deserves a quick kick in the nuts....sorry....but if he knows about your struggles with ED and how hard you have been working then that REALLY is not a supportive thing to say. I think your first step should be to not eat exercise calories back. Eat TDEE at a 20% cut MAX. SL is really only 3 days/week so you have plenty of time to throw in extra cardio should you want to. Maybe stop progressing on your lifts so fast...once/week instead of every workout in order to preserve some energy for other activities.0 -
I'm at a crossroads and I'm really wondering where to go at this point. SL is not getting me where I want to go, maybe I'm not giving it enough time, Idk. I'm trying to be calm about this and rational...but the facts are that I've gained 5lbs since starting this January and I just can't live with that. I really love the program, but am wondering if I need to go down to twice a week and go back to some cardio. I also think that maybe I shouldn't be eating my exercise cals back, mainly because I'm probably over estimating them.
So questions...
1. TDEE -30% or -20%, I've been bouncing back and forth between these two numbers (1200 and 1400) since January...as both are below my TDEE with is 1760...you'd THINK I would actually lose weight not put on 5lbs. (freaking special snowflake status isn't making me happy :grumble: I know my thyroid is compromised, but it always has been, this isn't new).
2. Too much lifting? move from 3 days a week to 2 days a week?
3. Stop using a cals burned number for my lifting and just eating within that range mentioned above. exercise history, been circuit training since May, really ramped up in January with cardio and circuit, then started lifting heavier with DL and squats. Started SL first week of Feb, am in 4th week now.
Two months doesn't really seem long enough to judge anything by, but to be honest this extra weight has made the inches go up, the pant size go up, and made someone actually say I looked chunkier....and it is sending me into depression. Yeah, weight and bf can effect me like that....
I guess my problem is I really enjoy the challenge of SL, really like pulling down heavier and heavier numbers...but if I gain much more I'm going to be in a world of hurt that will take me months to get out of...
I could really use some advice...I will do my utmost to take it..and for the record I think I'm pretty good at logging cals in...so I don't think I'm doing any major miscalculations.
The phrase that I underlined really stood out to me, and I am just wondering, Julie. Is it really the five pounds that bother you? What if you weighed five pounds more but had a lower body fat %? What if you weighed five pounds more but fit into a smaller pair of jeans? Is the 5 pounds (or whatever the scale number is) more important than those factors?
It's just something that I think you should think about. If you are too attached to the numbers, it can become a game that you can never win. For example, if my goal is to get to 150 pounds, and I keep stalling at 155, how hard do I really need to keep pushing to hit that number? I took progress pics recently and was quite surprised to see that in spite of hardly any scale movement at all (like, maybe one pound lost, max) I can actually see a lot of visual changes. I don't see those things when I look in the mirror, and if I had seen the pic by itself I would not have realized I had changed. But when I compared it to 5 months ago, there were changes. Like, the good kind. So should I punish myself for not losing pounds in the last 5 months? I don't think so.
I am slowly getting it through my thick head that the good kind of changes take a reaaaaaaaaaaaally long time to achieve. And even though I want to lose a little more fat, I'm not willing to kill myself in the process. (For me, that means I'm not willing to eat less than 1800 calories in a day, because it makes me feel like I am DYING.)
If you are looking for some more thoughts on eating to properly fuel your body, I recommend checking out Go Kaleo. You can google her blog or follow her on facebook.
I also agree with what auddii said about how your body has adapted to eating at a lower caloric intake. It really is worth it to work on getting back to a more appropriate intake and seeing the benefits. You will feel better, have more energy, and eventually...if you have more energy you will be able to burn more calories again.0 -
@doozer.....sometimes it just takes one little thing to make us realize how far we truly have come! Have you tried to drink some of your calories? Jacked up protein shakes and such? Or even cereal? Something like Kashi cereal and milk can really add up quick!0
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I'm at a crossroads and I'm really wondering where to go at this point. SL is not getting me where I want to go, maybe I'm not giving it enough time, Idk. I'm trying to be calm about this and rational...but the facts are that I've gained 5lbs since starting this January and I just can't live with that. I really love the program, but am wondering if I need to go down to twice a week and go back to some cardio. I also think that maybe I shouldn't be eating my exercise cals back, mainly because I'm probably over estimating them.
So questions...
1. TDEE -30% or -20%, I've been bouncing back and forth between these two numbers (1200 and 1400) since January...as both are below my TDEE with is 1760...you'd THINK I would actually lose weight not put on 5lbs. (freaking special snowflake status isn't making me happy :grumble: I know my thyroid is compromised, but it always has been, this isn't new).
2. Too much lifting? move from 3 days a week to 2 days a week?
3. Stop using a cals burned number for my lifting and just eating within that range mentioned above. exercise history, been circuit training since May, really ramped up in January with cardio and circuit, then started lifting heavier with DL and squats. Started SL first week of Feb, am in 4th week now.
Two months doesn't really seem long enough to judge anything by, but to be honest this extra weight has made the inches go up, the pant size go up, and made someone actually say I looked chunkier....and it is sending me into depression. Yeah, weight and bf can effect me like that....
I guess my problem is I really enjoy the challenge of SL, really like pulling down heavier and heavier numbers...but if I gain much more I'm going to be in a world of hurt that will take me months to get out of...
I could really use some advice...I will do my utmost to take it..and for the record I think I'm pretty good at logging cals in...so I don't think I'm doing any major miscalculations.
The phrase that I underlined really stood out to me, and I am just wondering, Julie. Is it really the five pounds that bother you? What if you weighed five pounds more but had a lower body fat %? What if you weighed five pounds more but fit into a smaller pair of jeans? Is the 5 pounds (or whatever the scale number is) more important than those factors?
It's just something that I think you should think about. If you are too attached to the numbers, it can become a game that you can never win. For example, if my goal is to get to 150 pounds, and I keep stalling at 155, how hard do I really need to keep pushing to hit that number? I took progress pics recently and was quite surprised to see that in spite of hardly any scale movement at all (like, maybe one pound lost, max) I can actually see a lot of visual changes. I don't see those things when I look in the mirror, and if I had seen the pic by itself I would not have realized I had changed. But when I compared it to 5 months ago, there were changes. Like, the good kind. So should I punish myself for not losing pounds in the last 5 months? I don't think so.
I am slowly getting it through my thick head that the good kind of changes take a reaaaaaaaaaaaally long time to achieve. And even though I want to lose a little more fat, I'm not willing to kill myself in the process. (For me, that means I'm not willing to eat less than 1800 calories in a day, because it makes me feel like I am DYING.)
If you are looking for some more thoughts on eating to properly fuel your body, I recommend checking out Go Kaleo. You can google her blog or follow her on facebook.
I also agree with what auddii said about how your body has adapted to eating at a lower caloric intake. It really is worth it to work on getting back to a more appropriate intake and seeing the benefits. You will feel better, have more energy, and eventually...if you have more energy you will be able to burn more calories again.
I also agree with this ^^^^ great post jay!0 -
I know it's hard to accept, but if you are undereating, your body will slow it's metabolism to match those calories, and then it will do everything it can to preserve your weight or even gain a little (you have historical times of famine to thank for that). While it was incredibly useful when we ran around in animal hides, it's really annoying right now. I can't remember if you're eating at 1200 or not, but that really just isn't enough with your activity level. You're going to find it hard to lose at that level due to your body trying to match your energy expenditure to your intake (it's called adaptive thermogenesis). It's a very long process, but if you've eaten at 1200 for years, that may explain why you aren't losing. Your body may have learned to live off those calories (in theory, you could lose by eating lower, but it will adapt again, then you will need to go lower, and pretty soon you are causing your body serious damage due to under eating).
I have no words of encouragement. At some point, it will get better, but when you eat more, your body needs to realize that it doesn't have to hold on to every calorie in case of another famine. Until it realizes that you're going to gain. It takes time, and it's horribly frustrating. And I have no good advice for how to deal with it, except put away the scale. I know that's really hard for you, but right now it just isn't your friend. I'm so sorry that you have to go through this.
All of the above - I try not to go by my scale anymore cause all it does is make me feel bad, like I'm not achieving anything. That's why I take pictures and go by how my clothes feel.
For the whole counting calories as edible - the ONLY thing I count calories for right now is when I do a crazy amount of cardio like I am this month for my project I am on. But I do not count back my calories as edible for weights - but I do try and eat higher amounts of protein on those days. I've been trying to hit upwards of 130-160 grams of protein a day and try and keep my carbs under 130, this is hard and some days I do awesome at hitting it, but carbs are in a lot, plus I do need some to fueld my workouts lately. Maybe adjust your macros to account for higher protein and fat with lower carbs, see how that works for you.
I am not sure who said it before a few pages back, maybe Audii cause she's a wise woman, but seriously.....be happy with yourself more so than anything else. Counting calories and looking at the scale and obsessing about losing weight can be just as dangerous as gaining weight. Don't risk your quality of life just to look the way you think you should look. Be happy in your own skin no matter what skin it is at the moment, cause that won't change then no matter what size you are.0 -
To throw my two cents in, I have to confess I absolutely get this...The part about NOT making it about the scale numbers, I mean. It's hard...because that is how many of us knew how to gauge our health; by the scale numbers.
I KNOW that the numbers are just numbers, and that the scale is a liar..I know that if you way over-indulge in salty foods one day, your Wii fitness board calls you a fattie lard-*kitten* when you put 3.3 pounds on in less than 24 hours, and it doesn't care that it's water weight due to the over abundance sodium you inhaled. It's still a kick in the teeth, because we have all, quite simply, been inadvertently brainwashed into believing what the scales tell us.
Juliej, my friend, I agree with everything the wise folks have said before this post, and want to add that 8 weeks (aka 2 months) might not be long enough to see what you're looking for. I see a LOT of before and during/after photos because I want to really look good this summer, and many of the results that I saw that *I* want have mostly occurred after the 12 week point, which initially was a hard pill for me to swallow. I'm an instant gratification kind of girl (which is why I went to digital rather than film photography...I want to see it NOW, dammit), so patience is obviously not my strong suit.
Maybe bump your calories a little bit, and give it another month or two?
MHO, FWIW.
:flowerforyou: 0 -
thanks, there is a lot of good advice in there. I did download the Heybales spreadsheet and had a cow when it said I should be eating 1705 cals per day. I set it up and I made the changes on MFP..so I'll try...but holy hell I can't see how eating 500 MORE cals a day will help me lose weight...even knowing all the science behind it...and I do...
AS for the scale number, 5lbs wouldn't bother me if I was getting smaller, but I'm not..my pants size is going up...I'm about ready to go up another pant size..that would be two pant sizes since January...that just CAN'T be right...it just can't be.
So today is a gym day...I had backed off the cardio last week since I was just so damn tired after lifting...I'm planning on throwing it back in there and maybe only changing the weights weekly...or maybe I should put two rest days in between my lift days...I don't know...still open for suggestions there..I like having a whole day off from the gym...but maybe I should alternate the cardio and lifting days...It is also supposed to start warming up and I'll want to do one walk in the woods a week...sooo...
Anyway, @ Vegas...nonononononononono my BF wouldn't be so stupid as to call me chunky. It was a co-worker who said it to me. ...and they're right, I am chunkier as witnessed by my clothing. My BF doesn't know that I lost 40lbs, he met me last summer when I was down to 127lbs. I'm now at 137lbs...but he still only tells me he loves my body...if he mentions the added weight (in response to something I may say) he only says that he likes it because it all went to my boobs. Good boy! lol.
I've changed my goal weight to 115lbs (not that it HAS to be that number) and that is right in the middle of my BMI category. At 137lbs I'm considered overweight...yeah..thanks. Being short sucks sometimes...
OOOh forgot, the macros I shoot for are 40/30/30 - but heybales just told me to change it to 55/30/25 (I think)..
Going to go breathe...0 -
Well in that case your co-worker deserves a punch!
It's not fat though....I really think it's important that you let that sink in. I totally get that it still sucks and that your pants are still tight.....I gotcha....but you aren't gaining FAT!
Also, I think that there might be a direct correlation between how much you are eating and how much energy you have. Eating as per Haybales spreadsheet, you will probably see a huge difference in your energy levels which is a great thing! Also though....and here's the big one.....you have to commit to eating at that level for AT LEAST 6 weeks. And I'm really going to stress that you put the scale away for that time! Measure and pics and I think you will start to see good things happen!0 -
thanks, there is a lot of good advice in there. I did download the Heybales spreadsheet and had a cow when it said I should be eating 1705 cals per day. I set it up and I made the changes on MFP..so I'll try...but holy hell I can't see how eating 500 MORE cals a day will help me lose weight...even knowing all the science behind it...and I do...
@Juliej - Glad you are willing to give it a try though! Also I just caught a little note in the spreadsheet - if the goal is more than 200 above what you are eating now, heybales recommends going up each week in 200 cal/day intervals. I don't know what the exact science behind that is but I think it's so your metabolism can adjust easier. So 1400 for a week, 1600 for a week, then the 1705! And that way you get to ease yourself into too - maybe easier on the psyche?0 -
Well done for plugging in the Heybales numbers! We'll help you stick with it.
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thanks, there is a lot of good advice in there. I did download the Heybales spreadsheet and had a cow when it said I should be eating 1705 cals per day. I set it up and I made the changes on MFP..so I'll try...but holy hell I can't see how eating 500 MORE cals a day will help me lose weight...even knowing all the science behind it...and I do...
@Juliej - Glad you are willing to give it a try though! Also I just caught a little note in the spreadsheet - if the goal is more than 200 above what you are eating now, heybales recommends going up each week in 200 cal/day intervals. I don't know what the exact science behind that is but I think it's so your metabolism can adjust easier. So 1400 for a week, 1600 for a week, then the 1705! And that way you get to ease yourself into too - maybe easier on the psyche?
Yes that - tis also because after a long time dieting your metabolism is probably genuinely LOWER and it may not ever adapt back to normal, but if it does it takes time (a week to two for the hormonal changes).
Alllso - enjoy the extra carbs, I switched mine a bit recently (or well, I upped my cals and I made most of them extra carbs) and the energy increases and overall feeling of well being have been good for me. I move around a lot more because I feel better.0 -
Lets talk sodium....what limit do you guys set?0
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Lets talk sodium....what limit do you guys set?
Personally I try and be under 2000mg I think it is... otherwise I tend to gain water weight like there's no tomorrow...0 -
I just popped in to say I agree with everyone here. It's great to be surrounded by such smart women! I'm not sure why it took me until last summer to actually hear/learn that you don't have to workout 10+hours a week while eating 1400 to lose weight.
To all the ladies fluctuating sizes- I used to have to dress semi professionally at my last job, and I fell in love with knit skirts. I have 4 from target that were $15 each. They fit, look great, and don't bind, for a personally tested range of 20 lbs. Probably more! I picked them specifically because I was trying to lose weight when starting that job, and I didn't want to have to buy new pants all the time. I probably fluctuated between 3 different pants sizes while I worked there, but knit skirts saved me! :laugh:0 -
Lets talk sodium....what limit do you guys set?
Mine is set at a default of 2500, and of course, I blew past that yesterday like it was standing still...which would explain why the additional 3.3 pounds when I got on Wii Fit this morning. "Do you think you know why you gained?" Well, yes...because I strapped a feedbag of sunflower seeds on, ate half the bag (it's only a 2/$1 sized bag), and then topped that with pasta, so yes, I think I know why that is.
I've been guzzling water to try and flush that mess out of my system. I love crackflower seeds, but damn...if it's gonna do this to me every time I have a handful or two?
I am having a real issue with "healthy" foods secretly harboring sh!tloads of sodium.0 -
Just dropping by for a quick *kitten* slap for everyone...unless you aren't into that, then you get a high-five or a hug or something.
Ugh, we're doing our state testing today, Weds, and Thursday--3 hours of testing fun. SO FRELLING BORING. I'm going to be so excited to lift tonight!! I'm doing workout A--and I'm going to try the lifts I failed on before and then deload next time if I do. BUT I'M NOT!!0 -
Lets talk sodium....what limit do you guys set?
I set my limit at 2000, and get close to that on good days, and blow by it when I go out to eat. As others mentioned, that reflects on the scale the next day.0 -
I seem to stick in the 1400-2000mg range without really thinking about it but I certainly notice when I go much over, and I try not to go too far down because I do sweat when I work out.0
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Lets talk sodium....what limit do you guys set?
2500/day. Although have been over that here lately.0 -
Just dropping by for a quick *kitten* slap for everyone...
I call it a "good game," and I heartily accept them!
I never pay attention to sodium. Unless I get a margarita. Then I pay a lot of attention. Yum!0
