I've shared this with two people already today, and I think some other EM2WL ladies need to hear this. Sometimes even though you are eating more, you are STILL not eating enough. Listen to your bodies! And do NOT be afraid to increase your calories if you aren't losing weight. When in doubt, eat at maintenance for at least 2 weeks. And quit worrying about gaining weight. It's just a number.

My EM2WL story is weird. I ate 1200 calories/day for 14 weeks as part of a weight loss study. During that time I went from 226lbs to 197lbs. When that ended in June I had already found EM2WL and started planning to EAT again. I ate at BMR (1700) plus some exercise calories for one month and maintained at 197-199lbs. I went up to what I thought my sedentary TDEE was (2200 calories) plus some exercise calories for 8 weeks in an attempt to reset. My weight went up a bit 198-202, but not enough to concern me. AND I LOST A DRESS SIZE. DURING A RESET. Crazy. Except that it wasn't a real reset...

Anyway, turns out my TDEE was way off according to my fitbit. Long story. (Basically I went by the amount of hours I exercise without factoring in my crazy crazy life.) It's actually 2700-3500 depending on the day. So I decided rather than do another reset, I would do a small cut from my correct TDEE. I ate 2500-3000 depending on the day (obviously when I burned 3500, I ate 3000.) I should have lost 1-2lb in one month according to math, but I somehow gained weight (202-205lbs) :noway: and my measurements stayed the same, though my body fat shifted around in my thighs and tummy.

Since I gained a bit, I decided my body clearly needed to continue resetting at my true TDEE that I get from my fitbit. I switched back to TDEE and my weight is already back down to 200-202lbs in the two weeks since the switch back. Very weird. I'm getting my RMR tested sometime in the next week or so and I just ordered an HRM to figure this out better.

So, I have not lost weight during EM2WL, but I've lost a pants size and a bunch of inches. Gained a tiny bit of weight, but not enough to upset me in any way since I am smaller. OH AND I LOST 5% BF. I'm not sure how I forgot that earlier, but yeah, I lost 5% BF and put on about 8lbs of muscle during my "not really a reset" reset.

I have had many NSVs from this whole journey of June to now, but the biggest thing for me is how other people think I'm STILL LOSING WEIGHT. For real. Even when the scale went up during my cut, people still complemented me on how I look and said, "Wow, you've lost a lot of weight, haven't you?" These are people I see at least once a week. Some of the people I didn't see this summer and saw again this fall thought I had lost 10 lbs over the summer. HA! If only that liar of a scale would show a loss! Every time I told them I hadn't, they didn't believe me. So I stopped correcting them. :laugh:

Please stop looking at the number on the scale and do not be afraid to re-think your activity level and eat more. If something's not working, the answer may be that you need to eat more than you're already eating. I could post a whiny "why am I not losing post" (sorry ladies, but they are whiny :flowerforyou: ) since I haven't dropped below my lowest weight of 197lbs but losing weight isn't the point of EM2WL. The point is to fuel your body. Yeah, yeah, we all want to weigh less eventually, but now may not be the right time for your body. If you aren't losing, you probably aren't supposed to be or you need to do something differently. Don't get defensive when people suggest eating more or changing something. Take the advice to heart and make a change or quit complaining about not losing. There's always a reason why something isn't working. And maybe the answer is that it's not supposed to work right now. Don't be afraid to play the waiting game. Stop weighing in if you can't handle maintaining, chill out, eat at maintenance, and lift heavy! I am and I'm smaller, healthier, and happy at 5'5" and roughly 200lbs. :happy: