Macro fiddling or sustainable lifestyle?

bexxgirl
bexxgirl Posts: 260 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi all

So there seem to be two loose camps here on MFP -

First there's the camp who have lost weight via the "eating less and moving more", keeping it simple and just slowly and steadily letting the lifestyle change take effect.

Then there are the people who put a lot of stock in different macros, what you eat pre/post-workout and fine-tuning their diets with protein supplements and whatnot.

I have to be honest, the second way sounds too much like hard work and something that would be unsustainable for me, because it seems too much like a 'diet', which I would chafe against and give up on, like I have with every other thing I've tried for the past 20 years.

So needless to say, I would really prefer to be successful doing things the way the first group does. However, it seems the forums are full of people who have lost tons of weight using both approaches. Sadly, I am not one of them.

I have lost 10kgs, but that all happened between Nov 2011 and Feb 2012. That was exciting and I thought "I can do this - I can keep this up and I will reach my goal in no time, like all the other success stories on here!"

Then I stalled. Feb-May, there was no movement, and so I started to slide a bit, through frustration at doing all this work for no results. I went on holiday in May, came home and I had gained a couple of kgs and decided to have another big push.

It's been nearly three months now. I lost the 2.5kgs I had gained back, but now I've been dancing around with the same half-kilo coming on and off again for over a month.

I'm 5'7" (173cm) and I weigh 90kgs (198lbs). My TDEE is 2,000 most days, before exercise. I try to net around 1,700 cals, to keep the deficit okay to fuel my workouts. I do cardio 3-4 times a week and strength training (heavy) 2-3 times a week and I eat back most of my cals.

I drink plenty of water. The measuring tape isn't moving either. I've taken pics and the difference is only slight. I don't watch my sodium, particularly, but it doesn't spike, so my body should be used to it and it shouldn't cause me to retain more water than usual. Even if it did, it's consistent, so differences should still be showing!

I trawl the forums constantly for inspiration and advice and my frustration has led to this (rather long-winded, sorry!) post.

PLEASE someone tell me this will start working again, without me having to 'low-carb' it, or some other such thing that means I can't just cook healthily for my fiance and myself and live a normal life?

Replies

  • beachlover317
    beachlover317 Posts: 2,848 Member
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12 <---

    And here is the third camp. It's easy to follow and you eat enough food that you feel great, feel like exercising and continue to lose. It's very difficult to get your head around eating more. But believe me, it works and it is sustainable for the rest of your life! Good luck!
  • RuthSweetTooth
    RuthSweetTooth Posts: 461 Member
    The only ladies I see eating as many calories as you are are very muscular and fit, and their metabolisms are very high, and they eat alot just to feed their muscles. I think it's too many calories and you are eating back too many exercise calories. Can you shave off another 200-300 and still be comfortable?

    Ruth
  • mmarcy7
    mmarcy7 Posts: 227 Member
    The only ladies I see eating as many calories as you are are very muscular and fit, and their metabolisms are very high, and they eat alot just to feed their muscles. I think it's too many calories and you are eating back too many exercise calories. Can you shave off another 200-300 and still be comfortable?

    That's kind of what I was thinking. I started at about 200 lbs and I've only been eating 1200 calories plus eating back all my exercise calories.
  • bexxgirl
    bexxgirl Posts: 260 Member
    The two pieces of advice in response to this are contradictory! I read the link beachlover posted and following all of that, I should increase by 200-300 cals.

    But Ruth and Marcy say take it down by that amount.

    Back between Feb and May, I was down at 1400 cals, but that wasn't doing anything either!
  • mmarcy7
    mmarcy7 Posts: 227 Member
    The two pieces of advice in response to this are contradictory! I read the link beachlover posted and following all of that, I should increase by 200-300 cals.

    But Ruth and Marcy say take it down by that amount.

    Back between Feb and May, I was down at 1400 cals, but that wasn't doing anything either!

    I guess if you tried lowering and it didn't help, you can try the other route and see what happens.
  • Eve23
    Eve23 Posts: 2,352 Member
    I can certainly see what you are striving for and totally agree with the train of thought. I so think that if you have not seen movement then perhaps adjusting your calories down. You are smaller than I am and I am currently eating around 1500 calories. I do not feel hungry or deprived. I also do not workout for hours at a time. I do like to get out and walk, hike or bike or sometimes swim but it is not everyday and I generally do not stress over it.

    You may take a look at my diary if you like.
  • bexxgirl
    bexxgirl Posts: 260 Member
    Any further advice would be great - Do I need to drastically lower or raise my cals? Surely, since I'm eating at a deficit, something should be happening, however slow?
  • bexxgirl
    bexxgirl Posts: 260 Member
    Bump to catch the night crew!
  • beachlover317
    beachlover317 Posts: 2,848 Member
    Message Dan at Helloitsdan. Give him the numbers you have run from that thread. Tell him your problem, how much your exercising (what type) and height, weight, age, etc. He will send you back a few ideas to help get off this plateau. I know it sounds ridiculous to raise your calories - but it does work. Most people eat way less than their bodies need and it messes with your hormone levels. I'm 54 and have been dieting for years. I lose only so much and then stall out and quit. At that point, I gain all the weight back plus more. This time I have made it past the point I usually stall out (around 40 pounds lost). I think I am finally giving my body what it needs to do its job and drop the weight. I feel fantastic. Whatever you decide, I truly hope that you succeed! You look young and it would be awesome if I had been successful at your age! Have a great weekend.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    The two pieces of advice in response to this are contradictory!

    Welcome to the internet. Home to fables like "you have to eat more than your BMR", "muscle weighs more than fat" etc.
  • jessjov
    jessjov Posts: 1
    I don't see it as being two camps, rather a spectrum or scale. On one end there is the basic calorie counting and workout, and on the other there is taking the details into account.

    I like to think I am somewhere in between and focus on five key things as below that mainly focus around metabolism. I'm still a newbie and have a long way to go, but these things have helped me lose 9% body fat and 7 kilograms over the last couple of months, whilst still feeling comfortable.

    1. Weight training: more muscle the more calories your body will burn even at rest

    2. Food focus: if you time your meals correctly, and eat the right things you should be able to feel satisfied on 1200 (not sure what your weight or exercise level is but as a general rule for cutting). Breakfast is a must and I like to not have carbs after 3:00 pm.

    3. High intensity interval training: working for 25 minutes with intervals can burn mega calories - i.e. in my recent session I burnt 430 compared to the 150 I burnt going for a walk for the same amount of time. A heart rate monitor is a great tool.

    4. Rest: Body needs to recover and rebuild itself

    5. Shake it up: keep your body guessing - change your workout program, increase calories for one day a fortnight, etc. Don't let your body get used to one particular way of operating. The body becomes efficient and results can stall.

    Hope this helps. Best of luck.

    Jess
  • MFPBrandy
    MFPBrandy Posts: 564 Member
    I'm inbetween the two camps. I know I feel better and my body works better when I get more protein, but I also know that left to my own devices, I won't prepare a lot of protein-heavy foods (I dislike cooking most meat, I don't want most my protein coming from soy, and a girl can only eat so much cheese and yogurt). So I have a protein shake in the morning. The rest is just re-learning my eating and exercising habits, making gradually healthier choices with both.
    Other than upping my protein goal because I lost a lot of musle mass over a couple years of inactivity due to medical issues, I don't play around with the macros. I only looked through the past week on your diary, but even on your binge day where you ate almost twice your calorie goal, you didn't come anywhere close to your protein goal (which I assume is the MFP default, which might be too low). So you might want to try upping your protein and see if that gives your body the boost it needs.
    Other ideas -- many people on these threads have done side-by-side estimates using MFP and their own heart rate monitors, and say that the MFP calories-burned estimates are much higher. I think they're ALL WAGs (wild-*kitten* guesses), so take them with a grain of salt.
    Maybe you do need to eat more, maybe you need to eat less, maybe you need to eat more of the right things -- a calorie may be a calorie, but nutritious calories give me the oomph to work out more than throwaway calories do. You'll hear a lot of people swear theirs is THE way to lose weight. All I can say is, if you're in a rut, try something for a few weeks. HelloItsDan and I don't always agree, but he does his research. He may have a different perspective on what your intake should be.
  • azalais7
    azalais7 Posts: 187 Member
    I think part of the difference between the camps comes down to the EM2WL emphasis on strength training over cardio (not necessarily NO cardio, but more on the high-intensity interval training side). If you are trying to add muscle (which will raise your overall BMR more over time than cardio does, as muscle takes more energy for your body to sustain), you simply can't eat at too much of a deficit. If you are, that strength training may be wasted time.

    Be aware if you go that route that your loss will be much slower. However, many folks find it more sustainable, because they're eating more closely to what they will when they reach maintenance level. The potential problem with drastically reduced calorie diets is that your body gets used to it, and you have to keep reducing and reducing, or when you reach your goal and up your calories to what SHOULD now maintain you, you gain. Slow and steady can help avoid that.
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12 <---

    And here is the third camp. It's easy to follow and you eat enough food that you feel great, feel like exercising and continue to lose. It's very difficult to get your head around eating more. But believe me, it works and it is sustainable for the rest of your life! Good luck!

    This looks like the same thing as the eat more to weigh less philosophy. It's pretty much what I have been doing.

    I don't worry about macros too much, but I do monitor my protein to make sure that I don't lose muscle as I shed pounds, and I make sure I get enough fiber to stay regular. I also check my calcium intake every so often to make sure I don't get osteoporosis later in life. Beyond that, I am learning to eat healthier, learning to cook with real food and slowly eliminating pre-packed crap. Meanwhile, I exercise 6 days a week and rest for one. I don't deprive myself of my favorites, but I am learning how to work them in. I had to have a c-section with my daughter, then just as I was healed up, got preggo with my son and had another c-section. The pain kept me from being as active as I normally would have, then it wasn't long before I took a desk job and barely moved at all. Exercise has played a very important role in my journey. Portion control is brand new to me, so I m very careful to measure everything. As a young person, I always ate whatever I wanted, in whatever quantities and stayed fit because I was so active that I burned off what I ate. I am approaching 40 now, so I am ready for a new lifestyle.
  • azalais7
    azalais7 Posts: 187 Member
    I only looked through the past week on your diary, but even on your binge day where you ate almost twice your calorie goal, you didn't come anywhere close to your protein goal (which I assume is the MFP default, which might be too low). So you might want to try upping your protein and see if that gives your body the boost it needs.
    .

    ^^And this. Conventional wisdom says 1 g per pound of lean body mass to build muscle. That can sound like a lot--I should be getting something like 140 g/day, but my basic goal is to get over 100. Usually it's right about there, sometimes I actually reach 140. But muscle is definitely building.

    If you're not a big meat-eater (or even a meat-eater at all), it still can be done. I have a vegan MFP friend who almost always manages 100 g protein every day.
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
    Also, if I may ask, what are you doing to burn so many calories in one day? Granted, I am just starting out, but I usually only burn around 250 a day and on intensive days I might burn 400. Is it possible that you are over-estimating your burn?
  • bexxgirl
    bexxgirl Posts: 260 Member
    Also, if I may ask, what are you doing to burn so many calories in one day? Granted, I am just starting out, but I usually only burn around 250 a day and on intensive days I might burn 400. Is it possible that you are over-estimating your burn?

    I usually burn about 500 cals by running for 45mins and then about 300 for a strength training session.
    I use a bodybugg, so technically my cal burn should be as accurate as it can get without a science lab set up!

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