First healthy weight loss results! TDEE and 30DS

ellaloveslove

Hello!

Its been 15 days since I started trying to lose weight in a healthy way and decided to get active. I was one of the many people who misunderstood dieting and my body and had set MFP to a goal of losing 2lbs a week and to only eating 1200 calories. I'm 5'5, 24 years old, and at that time weighed 151.8lbs. It was horrible! I was cranky, tired, irritated at food and at everyone who got to eat it because let me be the first to say how fast 1200 calories goes by! By dinner I would only have like 200 calories left ha. I had lost some weight that way in the past, but obviously it didn't stay off (or I wouldn't be here now!) and it definitely wasn't worth the heartache.

Then I discovered and started reading the forums, kind of religiously! So many people were so knowledgeable about BMR and TDEE (things I had never really heard of) and they were doing so well on their weight loss journey's! (Thank you so much everyone who posted guides!!) I was skeptical but getting to eat more caloies definitely sounded enticing, so I figured my BMR and TDEE-20% and changed my MFP goals to reflect this, also upped my fiber intake, and started the 30 Day Shred and Ashtanga Yoga.

Well, it's only been 15 days, (but I have to admit that although my eating habits are no where near perfect, they are infinitely better than how they were and 15 days is kind of a personal best for me when it comes to working out and eating better!), I changed my calories from less than 1200 and never eating my exercise calories back, to eating 1650-1750 calories, started doing the 30 Day Shred (I've been doing level 1 for 13 days, 2 days off) along with about 40 minutes of Yoga and I've also started hula hooping again for fun, and have so far seen these results:

Weight lost: 2.4lbs - I now weigh 149.4! I haven't been in the 140s for at least 3 years!
Inches lost: 4in - So glad I took measurements! Thank you everyone who recommended doing this!
Body Fat: Changed from 42.3% to 36.3%

I couldn't be happier! For anyone considering whether to switch from 1200 calories a day to their TDEE-20% I couldn't recommend it more! I feel so much healthier and happier! I also feel like I'm making a life change now, not just trying to stick to some diet that means I can't have my favorite foods haha but rather I have a new way of looking at everything - I can have my favorite foods, it's all about moderation and keeping my calories in a healthy range. I never feel deprived
I did gain about 2lbs after switching my calories and starting to work out, but that evened out and went away after my body adjusted.

Thank you so much to everyone who posted about how to find your BMR and how to do TDEE-20%, you literally changed me life, as corny as that sounds! I took before pictures so in another month I'll post my final results from 30 Day Shred!
Again, thank you so so much everyone who answered questions and posted guides about BMR and TDEE, if anyone is reading this and is curious, I found these two links to be so very helpful to me:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/931670-bmr-and-tdee-explained-for-those-needing-a-guide
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/968182-i-lost-a-person-but-i-found-myself-leaky-s-story
Also the In Place of a Road Map but I guess I don't have that link anymore.

natski_83

Thanks for this! I just stared the 30DS and eating at TDEE. After a couple days I've already gained about 2lbs, but I have to learn not to get discouraged. I'm not going to weigh myself again until after I've completed level 1 and go from there.

I ate my 1700cals yesterday and was unbelievably full and it felt weird being that full and on a "diet". I was the same way before - eating 1200cals, always hungry, tired and cranky.

omma_to_3

I'm glad you're happy and found something that works for you. Good job!

But as a clarification for others, if you're eating at the 1200 that MFP set, and NOT eating back your exercise calories, you're not actually following MFP's plan.