CUT Progress After RESET-Tell us your ups/downs!

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Replies

  • SweatpantsRebellion
    SweatpantsRebellion Posts: 754 Member
    Lucia - Thank you. It's been rough and a definite hump in my journey. But I'm trying so hard just to stay with it even if I'm not exactly progressing. I don't know if that makes any sense, but it makes sense to me!

    Wfte - Great progress! Down a pound and 1/2 inch in the waist - very awesome!

    Cazsyl - I find the same thing with EM2WL. While I've had a few rough days with food, overall it's really curbed some bad habits. Go figure - when we get to eat a proper amount of food the need to binge is not there as much!

    Raynn - I just think you're the Queen of consistency! You're always here doing what you need to be doing!

    AFM - When I started feeling really crappy health wise I let go of a healthy habit that I'd started this year - going to bed early and getting up early! I think I started to give up because it felt kind of pointless to go to bed early when I woke up feeling like lead whether I got 6 hours of sleep or 9 hours of sleep! But now that my meds have been adjusted and I've been getting that part in line I've felt motivated to get back to this healthy habit. I went to bed on time last night and was up at 6:00am this morning. I was definitely very groggy as it's been awhile, But at least I'm up! My goal for this week is just to go to bed on time and get up on time. Nothing more. I'm hoping that within a few more weeks of resetting my schedule I'm ready for some morning exercise. I'm starting to feel ready to go, which I think is a good sign that my meds are doing their thing. But I always feel better for a few weeks after a med increase. Sometimes I crash again and sometimes I don't - I'm hoping I'm at the right med level this time so that I don't. I really really really want to move on in my journey. The good news, at least I think it's good news, is that despite all of this crappy blah for the last two months I've maintained my loss. Well, technically I'm up five pounds, but I think that's normal when you go from cut to TDEE so I bet that will drop off quickly. I've started back at cut this week and am working on getting back on track with logging. That really went by the wayside. The nice thing is that I have a little extrinsic motivation coming up. I found out at my dance class on Sunday that one of the local theatre companies needs some cabaret dancers for a variety show coming up in December, so guess who's going to be doing a burlesque number with the other ladies in the class? Yes - yours truly. So considering we'll probably be in some cutesy get up, it does give me a little inspiration to get my rear in gear as far as food tracking goes!

    How's everyone else doing this week?
  • deevatude
    deevatude Posts: 322 Member
    after a week with absolutely no loss, i have lost another 3 pounds


    i know that weight loss isnt linear but is it normal to lose 3 pounds that fast?
  • SweatpantsRebellion
    SweatpantsRebellion Posts: 754 Member
    after a week with absolutely no loss, i have lost another 3 pounds


    i know that weight loss isnt linear but is it normal to lose 3 pounds that fast?

    I think it can happen. If a person were losing 3 pounds every week then I'd say let's tweak numbers because that's a bit fast, but given that you had no loss last week, that really averages to 1.5 pounds a week which isn't that fast. And remember that scale can fluctuate for a variety of reasons. Could it be that you were holding onto some water that your body let go of in addition to some fat, thereby creating a bit of a Whoosh? It's definitely not unheard of!
  • Raynn1
    Raynn1 Posts: 1,164 Member
    after a week with absolutely no loss, i have lost another 3 pounds


    i know that weight loss isnt linear but is it normal to lose 3 pounds that fast?

    Celebrate:)

    Crystal, Glad you are starting to get things back on track. I hope over the next little while you will start to feel better. Your dance class sounds like fun! I hope you are enjoying it!! The show sounds like lots of fun! I come from a Drama background so that would be great to partake in! I hope you enjoy yourself with it!

    AFM - doing well, plugging along.. this week has been absolutely crazy with the bloat.. Started on thursday and just continued to go up from there. I think at one point the scale was almost 8 pounds heavier than normal.. YIKES!! I actually managed to not complete lose my mind and knew it was impossible to have gained that as real weight, so I was able to let it go.. A few days of higher than normal sodium, a travel day with 4 hours in the car, plus TOMs arrival late Sunday, it was just a gong show for me... But the bloat is starting to vanish and today it took a 2 pound drop from yesterday, so things are going away. Still got about a pound or two(hopefully) left of bloat and then we'll see where I am at. Im going to take measurements in about a week or so to see where I am at there as well..

    Yesterday I couldnt hit the gym because my huby had a meeting (works from home, so I can leave the kids).. so I took out JM ripped in 30 for something quick to do. I hadnt touched her tapes since I started NROL4W, so I was a bit surprised at how much stronger I was doing it. Sure she still kicked my *kitten* and I had sweat flying off of me in every direction, but my once "heavy" 5 pound piddly weights that I had for the strength portion, I probably could have done better without them.. they did nothing for me at all and I realized that if I wanted to continue to have an option to workout at home with JM, I need to invest in a new set of dumbells.. something in the 15 range.. So that was nice to see:)
    Since schedule has been crazy I havent been able to lift since last week. tomorrow is a lift day and Im on my last 3 of NROL, then to find something new...
  • SweatpantsRebellion
    SweatpantsRebellion Posts: 754 Member
    I kind of wanted to run this morning. I didn't, but I was up early again and the thought of running made me feel wistful. It's been awhile since I've been ungroggy (yes, I'm making up words) enough in the morning to feel anything positive towards running. I'm restraining myself right now because I just feel that I need a good week or so of consistently being able to wake up on time before adding workouts to the mix. Plus, I want to put the strength training first. So I'm still trying to figure out my schedule of what I want to do when. I think I'm only going to do two strength workouts a week. I know the ideal is three, but I think it might be a bit much for me and I'd rather do two and have it be sustainable - even if my progress is a bit slower. So anyways, that's me today!
  • cazsyl
    cazsyl Posts: 89 Member
    1.5 lbs down this week - I've not been this low for a few years now :) cut level to my fitbit figures was 14.26% :)
  • Zylayna
    Zylayna Posts: 728 Member
    @cazysly- Congrats! That's awesome! :happy: :drinker:

    @sweatpants - keep plugging along and listening to your body. Be careful of excuses, and mindful of wise choices....I like that you are working on finding a plan you know you can stick to, and easing into things instead of pushing yourself too hard, too fast (*raises hand...been there, done that...not a good thing to do...)

    @Raynn - I'm right in the bloat trenches with you right now...just have to get through the week...although I'm so thankful that it's happening now, since I'm supposed to be on a beach in Mexico in a week, and I'd hate to feel like this then! So, to me I'm looking at it as a blessing...:laugh: . Silver linings....

    AFM - noticed that I'm starting to get stress pain in my inside lower calves...not sure if this is due to a little too much cardio or if my hips are tight (when hips are tight/or off kilter a bit, it can travel down and cause problems in the lower legs), or if it's due to this stupid arch issue I have in my feet that causes me pain every time I do cardio or balance work. I tend to ignore my arch pain because it's always there and just push through, but I suppose if I push too long, without sufficient rest, it might be causing the issue with the inside of my calves...not sure. Today's a rest day, and this coming week is a low key week for cardio, then vacation, so we'll see how things are going after I get back. (I really should see an orthopedist....I'm just too lazy to make an appt - I don't even like making hair appts - weird quirk of mine. I'll get it done someday...)

    Also, in regards to weight/inches...I've finally decided to just weigh in once a week (measure monthly). I might skip this week (and definitely next) due to TOM and vacation, so it may actually be several weeks now before I get any kind of true reading, but I'm ok with that. Right now with the vacation coming up...I just don't want to know anyways. :wink: :tongue:

    I hope you all are having a great weekend!
  • Raynn1
    Raynn1 Posts: 1,164 Member
    Grrrr... I really hate bloat.. I hate TOM and I hate how long it takes for things to come off...
    Been 10 days since my bloating began and its still not all gone.. Im still carrying about a pound extra in bloat, plus any additional water weight had I actually "lost" any weight over the last week..
    Sigh.. it really starts to bother me at this time of the week/month..

    I am one workout away from completing NROL and I am trying to figure out what to do next. I really want Cathe and hubby is tying to help me with that.. (linux system, so things arent all compatible)... Im also considering Nia Shanks. She has a bunch of downloadable programs for really cheap, and Im wondering if that might be worth it too...

    Other then that I am just plugging along and hoping the bloat will continue to drop and get away from me..
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    At this point, I would love to see a smaller size. If my measurements would go down, I would forget about the scale.

    Just as you can't spot reduce, you can't spot measure either.

    How many spots are you measuring, you can easily be losing where you are not measuring.

    And is that cardio done to support the lifting, or to make it less effective, so you don't get the best of both workouts?

    Do you make the cardio all out, or include HIIT or other interval types, and on what days compared to lifting?

    Because diet is a stress to the body (though this method tries to remove as much as possible).
    Intense or frequent exercise is a stress.
    You got other stresses beyond concern about weight loss?

    All these stresses mess with hormones that do NOT help weight loss, or fat loss for that matter.
  • jomatho
    jomatho Posts: 311 Member
    Tomorrow is my monthly weight and measurement day and I am a little apprehensive about it. Once a month is nice, but I don't want to be disappointed after a whole month of hard work and focus. I guess I will just collect the data and either continue what I am doing or make some adjustments, what else can I do?

    How is everyone else doing this month/week/day???
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    Tomorrow is my monthly weight and measurement day and I am a little apprehensive about it. Once a month is nice, but I don't want to be disappointed after a whole month of hard work and focus. I guess I will just collect the data and either continue what I am doing or make some adjustments, what else can I do?

    How is everyone else doing this month/week/day???

    So today is a rest day with normal sodium diet, right?

    I'd also pick the next morning after a rest day that is coming up, and do another weigh in there, just to confirm. Not see if any loss in 3 or 4 days.
  • SweatpantsRebellion
    SweatpantsRebellion Posts: 754 Member
    Tomorrow is my monthly weight and measurement day and I am a little apprehensive about it. Once a month is nice, but I don't want to be disappointed after a whole month of hard work and focus. I guess I will just collect the data and either continue what I am doing or make some adjustments, what else can I do?

    How is everyone else doing this month/week/day???

    Looking forward to seeing your update tomorrow!

    AFM - I went for a run Monday morning! I was sore and tired, but in a good and normal way I think. I feel like I'm mentally recovering a bit. I keep thinking about NROL4W. I have some things I'm working on for the business this week (grant program for home daycare - lots of paperwork) and Halloween is next week. I'm hoping after Halloween as start time for New Rules??? I have gotten back on track with logging and it's showing on the scale at least. I had puffed up about five pounds (not real gain), but three of those have dropped off. Two more to go and I'm where I was at when things started going screwy end of July. The only thing I'm really struggling with is shakiness between meals. I'm starting to research hypoglycemia more (never formally diagnosed, but pretty sure it's me) and the best way to eat for hypoglycemia. While I'm not one to jump on low-carb (I eat a lot of carbs for running purposes), I do think I might start limiting carbs that have a high glycemic index. Bah - this is going to be a process for me, but hopefully with time and practice I can learn how to eat in a way that minimizes sugar drops. So, overall, things are going much better for me. I still have all of the same stressors but I'm coping more like myself with it all!
  • dwn2erth
    dwn2erth Posts: 144 Member
    I also think that I need to work a little more on higher quality foods I'm going to make that a goal.. I need to move along here on seeing all that musle that's 'got to be' under this fat!!! laugh: :wink: :happy: :bigsmile: :smokin:
  • jomatho
    jomatho Posts: 311 Member
    Tomorrow is my monthly weight and measurement day and I am a little apprehensive about it. Once a month is nice, but I don't want to be disappointed after a whole month of hard work and focus. I guess I will just collect the data and either continue what I am doing or make some adjustments, what else can I do?

    How is everyone else doing this month/week/day???

    So today is a rest day with normal sodium diet, right?

    I'd also pick the next morning after a rest day that is coming up, and do another weigh in there, just to confirm. Not see if any loss in 3 or 4 days.

    Sort of, I still had some DOMS from Sunday, so I walked today. Yes, watching the sodium and getting my water in today. Good idea on weighing in a couple times too, thanks
  • Raynn1
    Raynn1 Posts: 1,164 Member
    Happy weekend all! I hope everyone has a good one...

    Nothing too much here. Been plugging along. Im trying to decide what to do next. NROL is over and I have stronglifts 5x5 downloaded since it was free. been debating on Slow and heavy series but we are still working on the DL and getting it on my phone.
    Im still undecided what to do with my cals. Im about to O, which generally means the next two weeks I should be free and clear of any natural forces at play with water retention. Im going to try and keep my cals where I am right now and see hwat happens.. if nothing does, then I need to seriously consider whether my TDEE is correct or not.
  • Hi everyone! I haven't posted here in AGES.

    But guess what.

    THE RESET WORKED. EAT MORE TO WEIGH LESS WORKS. I BROKE THROUGH MY PLATEAU. OMG.

    Well, I didn't break through my plateau in terms of scale weight, but in MEASUREMENTS and BODY FAT. Which is better anyway, right? After losing the 6 pounds I gained on the reset I now weigh the same as I did before I started. But I am now slimmer and more toned, with a much lower body fat percentage. Know why? I've gained some muscle :)

    And so as of today, I've decided that I'M DONE LOSING WEIGHT. I haven't made it to my original goal weight, I'm short of about 5 pounds, but I don't care. It's just a number. What matters is that I am now happy and confident with the way I look and feel, and I am so, SO much fitter and healthier than I was this time last year.

    I only lost about 12 pounds, but it's taken me an entire year to do it, thanks to eating -1200 calories a day for almost 4 months.

    Here's a (long) summary of my weight loss journey for those of you also doing the metabolism reset and needing some inspiration.

    My New Year's resolution for this year was to lose weight. In January I lost 5-6 pounds healthily, without counting calories or anything. At the very beginning of February I started counting calories, eating 1200 calories a day. My BMR is 1418. I did not know this then. I lost 6 more pounds on this VLCD fairly quickly, and then just stopped. After a month of not losing anything I began reducing my intake even MORE. It got to a point when I would make sure I never netted over 1000 calories a day, and generally my net intake was about 800. Still there were no changes. So then while researching weight loss plateaus, I found this group on MFP. So I began increasing my intake slowly, and my god it was terrifying. I ate at my 20% cut intake of about 1750 cals a day for 6 weeks, yet there were STILL no changes. So then I did a little research on the metabolism reset, I watched Kiki's video, and decided it was what I needed to do. I began eating my TDEE of 2200 a day, which felt AWFUL at first. Then I got used to it. And suddenly I was SUPER hungry all the time. So I actually ended up going over my TDEE quite often... and slowly but surely, I gained those 6 pounds I lost on the VLCD back. My clothes got tight. A pair of skinny jeans I bought a month earlier wouldn't slide up over my legs. And on about the 5th-6th week of the reset, I completely broke down. My energy levels just completely dropped, and I was in tears almost every day. It was one of the toughest weeks I have ever lived through. I just wanted to quit. To forget about all this weight loss and calorie counting stuff, and never go back. But I managed to pull through, and convince myself to keep going for another week or so. It was a struggle, but now, I definitely do NOT regret gaining that weight I did doing the reset. I NEEDED to gain that weight in order for my metabolism to heal properly. So at the end of the 7th week of the reset I was feeling much better, and I decided it was time to cut. I reduced my intake to 1800-1850, and stuck to my exercise plan religiously. I had days where I gave in, cheated, and went all out on desserts, but I generally stuck to my calorie & macro goals really well. Slowly but surely, the weight started coming off. After about 6 weeks of eating at cut I had lost 5 of the 6 pounds I gained on the reset, and my measurements were basically the same as they were when I was at my thinnest. So I then took a diet break week, (eating TDEE for a week) and ended up not doing exercise either because I got really sick with a vomiting virus. The next week was a bit of a struggle to get back on track, but I managed. And now it's the end of the third week since that TDEE diet break week, and I've lost 1-1.5 more pounds since then. Like I said, my measurements and body fat are at the lowest they've ever been. I look and feel the best I ever have. And now I can safely say that I am happy and confident with my body, and I do not want to lose any more weight.


    So today was my first day in a long time without counting calories on MyFitnessPal. I think that this next part of the journey-not regaining the weight- is going to be just as hard as it was losing it. I have to not forget about exercise, and not slide back into old unhealthy eating habits. But I don't think I will. I love healthy food too much now. Sure, every now and then I like a bit of chocolate, or some kind of dessert, but if I ever go overboard with junk food I just feel awful. It isn't worth the short satisfaction of the taste. So now I'm just eating all my favorite healthy foods, but not too much or too little either. Just enough to keep me feeling satisfied, and to keep food off my mind.

    So now that I'm going to be leaving MFP, I would just like to thank Kiki, Lucia, and all the people in this group, just for doing what you're doing: helping people like me who starved themselves too long eating too little. Thank you so, SO much. If I hadn't had found you all when I did, I would most likely still be struggling with my weight, quite possibly even with an eating disorder. I am so grateful for everything you've done for us all, I can hardly begin to explain it with words.

    Once again, THANK YOU.
  • Raynn1
    Raynn1 Posts: 1,164 Member
    Congrats Ellie!! it is so nice to hear your update!! I am so glad things have worked for you!!!
  • ANewLucia
    ANewLucia Posts: 2,081 Member
    Wow Ellie, what an awesome awesome testimony! Please send your story to success@em2wl.com. we tend to hear more about the struggling part off the journey because those that are doing great may not post here as often. This is so inspiring and we would like to inspire those here and abroad.

    Lucia
  • cazsyl
    cazsyl Posts: 89 Member
    2lbs off this week cut to fitbit this week is 11.82%.

    I can't believe how easy this is at the moment - I'm not deprived of anything - as long as I count it in my calories, and I really believe this is something I can live with forever. Long may it continue.

    Well done to everyone who's stuck with it through thick and thin.
  • SweatpantsRebellion
    SweatpantsRebellion Posts: 754 Member
    I'm planning to start NROLFW next week and I'm starting to feel excited. I need to spend time this week reviewing the workouts so that I can feel a bit more confident when I walk into the weight room. I'm not intimidated by free weights though - I've done them before. But there are definitely some exercises that I'm not familiar with so hopefully I won't screw them up or look like an idiot! I'm really really excited about it though. I'm going to take measurements and pictures and I'm pretty sure I'm going to stop weighing in every day. I had been using Hacker's Diet and tracking trends, but I might just be done with that. I think I'm really ready to just not think about the number - especially since I know my body will hold onto water while it repairs muscle. I just don't need what the scale says to mess with my head. I feel like mentally I'm in such a good place after years of obsessing. So I'm just not even going to go there. I will weigh in once a month but that's it.. I'm also going to do HIIT workouts and I'll still be doing my dance classes once a week. So I think it'll feel really well-rounded. The HIIT will help me kill two birds with one stone. It'll be great for fat loss and it'll be great to help me work on running speed!

    I'm hoping that when I start racing next year it will be with more muscle, less fat, and more speed. So we'll see how it goes!
  • Raynn1
    Raynn1 Posts: 1,164 Member
    good for you Crystal. I hope you enjoy NROL!! The good thing is come Stage 3 i think, HIIT training is part of the program:)
    I had to give up Hackers diet as well. it was killing me daily knowing what was going on, even when I knew retention was happening. I havent touched the scale since last week and I need to weigh in on Wed and I have no idea what it will say...im praying for a loss..

    Glad you are doing much better:)
  • Raynn1
    Raynn1 Posts: 1,164 Member
    Took measurements this morning after a month, and my Hips are down half an inch, chest is down an inch, thighs are either up half an inch or an inch (cant seem to get a good reading).. and everything else is the same.. So happy about the lost inches.. little upset about the gain in the thighs since these are already so large to begin with..

    I managed to make it through the week without weighing in so ill find out tomorrow what the scale says..

    Overall a decent month.. just wish the scale would start catching up now..getting really tired of seeing 237-239
  • SweatpantsRebellion
    SweatpantsRebellion Posts: 754 Member
    Awesome about the inches lost Raynn!
  • fbmandy55
    fbmandy55 Posts: 5,263 Member
    I'm feeling really discouraged today. I put my scale away for about 2 months. I ate my TDEE for about 2 weeks and then lowered to 2000- 20% cut. I wieghed in for the first time and I am up 5 pounds. My clothes feel a better than when I was eating at my TDEE but still a bit snug.

    I cannot figure out what is going on. I am coming to the end of my second year on MFP and almost 1 entire year now since I have lost any weight. I lost 50lbs my first year before I plateaued. Should I lower my cals again? I was at 1300 before and think that was too low and causing my plateau. Maybe around 17-1800?
  • Raynn1
    Raynn1 Posts: 1,164 Member
    I'm feeling really discouraged today. I put my scale away for about 2 months. I ate my TDEE for about 2 weeks and then lowered to 2000- 20% cut. I wieghed in for the first time and I am up 5 pounds. My clothes feel a better than when I was eating at my TDEE but still a bit snug.

    I cannot figure out what is going on. I am coming to the end of my second year on MFP and almost 1 entire year now since I have lost any weight. I lost 50lbs my first year before I plateaued. Should I lower my cals again? I was at 1300 before and think that was too low and causing my plateau. Maybe around 17-1800?

    So if Im understanding this correctly, you ate around 1300 cals for a year or more? Then you ate at TDEE for two weeks, before dropping to a cut?

    Honey, you need to give it some time. Your body has been surviving off of way too little for too long, so two weeks at TDEE, your body just thinks you are on "vacation" so its stock piling everything in case of the next famine. You need to give it longer than two weeks before dropping from TDEE, let alone going to cut.
    Have you read through the stickies? They talk in detail about what repairing your metabolism takes, and why we recommend giving it longer than a few weeks, and definitely consider a TDEE reset. I would highly recommend taking a TDEE reset for at least 6 weeks to allow your body some healing and time to repair the metabolism. Then take a 10-15% cut value and see what happens.

    Keep in mind, this process is not a WEIGHT loss program.. its a FAT loss program. So while you may want the scale to move down, it may be inches that go down long before the scale shows it.. And this is definitely slower than a diet program.. You may not see 1-2 pound losses here.. you may only get a max .5 a week. Everyone is different so its hard to say how things will go for you. But if you truly want to make it work, give yourself some time before dropping cals down again.. Sit at TDEE, or at least stay at a 10-15% cut for a about 4-6 weeks before making any changes..

    Hope this helps
  • Raynn1
    Raynn1 Posts: 1,164 Member
    Well Im hoping I finally found my Cal amount to finally see weight loss and this isnt just a fluke.. dropped 1.8 this week. My highest weight loss drop since I began over 6 months ago. Sadly I am still about 1.5 pounds away from my lowest weight prior to reset, but now its a lot closer:)
    Lets hope this trend comtinues for me!
  • fbmandy55
    fbmandy55 Posts: 5,263 Member
    I'm feeling really discouraged today. I put my scale away for about 2 months. I ate my TDEE for about 2 weeks and then lowered to 2000- 20% cut. I wieghed in for the first time and I am up 5 pounds. My clothes feel a better than when I was eating at my TDEE but still a bit snug.

    I cannot figure out what is going on. I am coming to the end of my second year on MFP and almost 1 entire year now since I have lost any weight. I lost 50lbs my first year before I plateaued. Should I lower my cals again? I was at 1300 before and think that was too low and causing my plateau. Maybe around 17-1800?

    So if Im understanding this correctly, you ate around 1300 cals for a year or more? Then you ate at TDEE for two weeks, before dropping to a cut?

    Honey, you need to give it some time. Your body has been surviving off of way too little for too long, so two weeks at TDEE, your body just thinks you are on "vacation" so its stock piling everything in case of the next famine. You need to give it longer than two weeks before dropping from TDEE, let alone going to cut.
    Have you read through the stickies? They talk in detail about what repairing your metabolism takes, and why we recommend giving it longer than a few weeks, and definitely consider a TDEE reset. I would highly recommend taking a TDEE reset for at least 6 weeks to allow your body some healing and time to repair the metabolism. Then take a 10-15% cut value and see what happens.

    Keep in mind, this process is not a WEIGHT loss program.. its a FAT loss program. So while you may want the scale to move down, it may be inches that go down long before the scale shows it.. And this is definitely slower than a diet program.. You may not see 1-2 pound losses here.. you may only get a max .5 a week. Everyone is different so its hard to say how things will go for you. But if you truly want to make it work, give yourself some time before dropping cals down again.. Sit at TDEE, or at least stay at a 10-15% cut for a about 4-6 weeks before making any changes..

    Hope this helps

    Thanks, I will go back up to TDEE. It shouldn't be too hard because I haven't eating under 2000 in weeks! I'm in no rush! I still feel so much better now than I did when I was at 1300. Even IF I was seeing weight lost, I was not happy.


    Could having PCOS make a difference on what I eat. I know with the insulin resistance I had to watch my carbs quite often to see results before, even though I wasn't eating enough..
  • Raynn1
    Raynn1 Posts: 1,164 Member
    I'm feeling really discouraged today. I put my scale away for about 2 months. I ate my TDEE for about 2 weeks and then lowered to 2000- 20% cut. I wieghed in for the first time and I am up 5 pounds. My clothes feel a better than when I was eating at my TDEE but still a bit snug.

    I cannot figure out what is going on. I am coming to the end of my second year on MFP and almost 1 entire year now since I have lost any weight. I lost 50lbs my first year before I plateaued. Should I lower my cals again? I was at 1300 before and think that was too low and causing my plateau. Maybe around 17-1800?

    So if Im understanding this correctly, you ate around 1300 cals for a year or more? Then you ate at TDEE for two weeks, before dropping to a cut?

    Honey, you need to give it some time. Your body has been surviving off of way too little for too long, so two weeks at TDEE, your body just thinks you are on "vacation" so its stock piling everything in case of the next famine. You need to give it longer than two weeks before dropping from TDEE, let alone going to cut.
    Have you read through the stickies? They talk in detail about what repairing your metabolism takes, and why we recommend giving it longer than a few weeks, and definitely consider a TDEE reset. I would highly recommend taking a TDEE reset for at least 6 weeks to allow your body some healing and time to repair the metabolism. Then take a 10-15% cut value and see what happens.

    Keep in mind, this process is not a WEIGHT loss program.. its a FAT loss program. So while you may want the scale to move down, it may be inches that go down long before the scale shows it.. And this is definitely slower than a diet program.. You may not see 1-2 pound losses here.. you may only get a max .5 a week. Everyone is different so its hard to say how things will go for you. But if you truly want to make it work, give yourself some time before dropping cals down again.. Sit at TDEE, or at least stay at a 10-15% cut for a about 4-6 weeks before making any changes..

    Hope this helps

    Thanks, I will go back up to TDEE. It shouldn't be too hard because I haven't eating under 2000 in weeks! I'm in no rush! I still feel so much better now than I did when I was at 1300. Even IF I was seeing weight lost, I was not happy.


    Could having PCOS make a difference on what I eat. I know with the insulin resistance I had to watch my carbs quite often to see results before, even though I wasn't eating enough..

    I would defnitely focus on how you feel rather than the number on the scale. Its great you are feeling so much better eating more. Amazing what food can do eh?:)
    PCOS could make a difference. I would try and keep your carbs down and concentrate on protein and fat and see if it helps..
  • cazsyl
    cazsyl Posts: 89 Member
    0.5lb on this week but it's TOM and I've eaten out twice this week (eating within my cut %) so I'm pleased with that. Cut level this week 11.13% according to my fitbit.
  • Well I had my first official NROLFW strength training workout on Saturday. I'm off to dance this evening. I'm going to try for doing NROLFW/HIIT 2x a week, my dance classes 1x a week, and this Spartacus class at my gym (strength/circuit) 1x a week, and hopefully a longer run 1x a week. Sooooo, we'll see how that goes. Hopefully it's not too much for me, but I really want to try. Right now my struggles are with my food. I'm having trouble logging. I'm working on increasing protein now that I'm running less and starting my strength training. Also, I've learned that more protein is better for hypoglycemia. So I'm going to work on that. I can't afford protein shakes right now, so I can just do what I'm able to do for now. I don't like to do a ton of bars (I prefer real food), but with my busy lifestyle I need things that I can grab and throw into my mouth quickly. So for me nutrition is where I really need to get on track right now. I need to take starting measurements. I weighed in this morning and from here on out I think I'm only planning to weigh in once a month. We'll see how well I stick to that. I do need to get my pics done too - although I don't think they've changed much since last pics.

    Anyways, I hope everyone is hanging in there!