When in doubt... EAT AT SUBWAY!!!

TheViperMan
TheViperMan Posts: 235 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So earlier this week I made THIS rant:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/812366-the-most-frustrating-plateau-yet

The one thing I took from responses was that I could benefit from some more "lean muscle." So I googled "How to build lean muscle" and basically learned that I should.... ...diet and exercise. "Yeah no *kitten*..."

So after a few more days of consistent weigh-ins at 204, I come home yesterday (Thursday) in preparation for a day off today (Friday) - my first non-working day in 3 straight weeks - and said "SCREW THE DIET!" I had a glorious M&M cookie, cleaned up the house a little, fixed some burnt-out Christmas lights while humming Mr. Grinch, and then took the wife out for some Subway. I decided to go all-in with a foot-long Chicken Bacon Ranch, loaded with veggies and dressings and cheese, and devoured the whole thing.

This morning I mentally prepared myself to see a minimum 2-pound increase on the scale....

...and instead saw 202.6 for the first time EVER.

I actually think it might be time to stop lying to MFP and admit to it that I am indeed not "sedentary" in my daily life, bump my activity level to "lightly active," and increase my calories yet again. Only problem is, I don't know HOW to eat that much more food (probably 300 calories or so) without either using junk food - which I know better than to do - or without costing me an arm-and-a-leg in increased portion sizes in proteins and vegetables. Meat isn't cheap these days!

Anyways, we'll see if it stays off of course, but this was a big drop, and usually when I see a big drop like this, I keep it off (speaking with 8 months of statistical data on my own weight-loss progress).

So, my apologies for b!tching the other day, and I appreciate those who tried to offer support despite my glum responses!

I hope everyone has a good weekend.

Replies

  • Greenrun99
    Greenrun99 Posts: 2,065 Member
    for 1 subway sub I can get 2-3 lbs of boneless chicken breasts.. Vegetables are fairly cheap if you buy the common ones.. shop around, check out ads, you can easily raise your portion sizes without breaking the bank..
  • onyxgirl17
    onyxgirl17 Posts: 1,722 Member
    I can maybe get one lb of chicken breast for the price of one 6 inch at subway...
  • prokomds
    prokomds Posts: 318 Member
    Congrats on your weight loss :)

    A couple things...

    From the sound of it, you're definitely not sedentary! I definitely bet you could benefit from extra calories. And adding another 300 to your day... not difficult. That's a little peanut butter, maybe extra olive oil in your cooking, get some slightly fattier cuts of meat (more steak? Assuming you eat meat, you can definitely get those calories no-problem with a little more red meat). Basically, there are a million ways to up your calories, no excuse there :)

    One other thing that stuck out to me. You said the subway day was also your first non-working day in 3 weeks. Depending how much strain your body went through in those 3 weeks, you could have been retaining some water (part of the process of damaging and repairing your muscles). The day off could have helped in you flushing some of that water, part of the loss. Maybe you've been losing all along but couldn't see it because you hadn't taken any days off? In other words, extra water could have been masking actual weight loss? Depends how active you've been over those weeks. Just a thought.
  • drmerc
    drmerc Posts: 2,603 Member
    This guy agrees

    photo%2520%25283%2529.JPG
  • FitBeto
    FitBeto Posts: 2,121 Member
    Mitttens_skydiving.gif
  • 2BeFit4Jesus
    2BeFit4Jesus Posts: 97
    Mitttens_skydiving.gif

    4b33_I5DgESLfX2V46JsHw2.jpg
  • iuew
    iuew Posts: 624 Member
    i eat there almost daily. they have a ton of healthy options that taste great, and it's portion controlled, so that makes it a great part of my maintenance plan.

    turning to the menu selection in the OP, however, i'd have to point out that the sandwich described is at least 1,200 calories with 56 grams of fat.

    that's two big macs. your body doesn't care which restaurant it comes from. calories are calories, and the key is to burn more than you take in. Subway has some awesome healthy sandwiches, but the footlong CBR isn't low cal, low fat, or low anything.

    surprisingly, even the steak and cheese is a fairly good choice : 380 cals, 10 grams of fat.
  • Polly758
    Polly758 Posts: 623 Member
    Toast with butter and a fried egg = about 300 calories.
  • wellbert
    wellbert Posts: 3,924 Member
    Mmm chicken paste pressed into shapes and sodium-chemical laced breads. Delicious.

    ps- all muscle is lean. That's why it's called muscle.
  • Brunner26_2
    Brunner26_2 Posts: 1,152
    I'm glad for your weight loss, but I want to add something. Maybe I'm interpreting this incorrectly, but your post sounds odd. It sounds like you're claiming that upping your calories for one day resulted in a two pound drop. That's not possible, something else is going on.

    If I missed the point entirely, then I'm sorry.
  • lizzybethclaire
    lizzybethclaire Posts: 849 Member
    I always end up preaching this: try TVP (textured vegetable protein). You can get it in bulk for about 2.19 a pound (whole foods) and a cup rehydrated is equal to a pound of meat. You have to flavor it. We usually mix it with rice or pasta sauce, but it is a great way to boost your protein without busting your wallet. My kids don't even notice the difference. Also, you can mix it (3/4 meat and 1/4 typ) for a yummy meatloaf.
  • Raya1980
    Raya1980 Posts: 67
    I'd rather have Subway than a burger. Weird, I know.
  • alabamaworley89
    alabamaworley89 Posts: 16 Member
    That's funny, something similar happened to me on Saturday. I went out on a girls night, but planned to stay under my calories. Well once you start drinking and party mix and cupcakes are offered to you, it's harder to say no. Plus I was having a good time! Went out dancing all night and had a blast. When I got up the next day, I dreaded getting on the scale, because it hadn't been moving at all the past couple weeks... but I sucked it up, stepped on... and lost 2lbs. :D Told myself I needed to go out drinking more. Ha. ;)
  • dinosnopro
    dinosnopro Posts: 2,177 Member
    only 300 calories?.....eat a snickers bar.
  • lilRicki
    lilRicki Posts: 4,555 Member
    I use almonds and avacados to up my calories, or a good ol' smoothie with spinach, whey isolate and fruit :)
  • thomasbf
    thomasbf Posts: 47 Member
    It's entirely possible and is often the only way to lose weight once you plateau. Your body goes into "starvation mode" and stops dropping weight. By eating more, you tell your body that "it's OK, there is more food available" and the body will begin letting go of the fat stores once again.
  • BarackMeLikeAHurricane
    BarackMeLikeAHurricane Posts: 3,400 Member
    Post hoc ergo propter hoc. Just because you weighed less the next day doesn't mean it was because of subway.
  • YoungDoc2B
    YoungDoc2B Posts: 1,593 Member
    People are missing the point of this thread entirely...
  • juliedozier
    juliedozier Posts: 184 Member
    I think sometimes you need to mix it up a little, eat different, exercise different, eat a few more calories, etc. becuase your body gets used to the same old thing. Whatever it was, great!!!! Keep it up!
  • dare2love81
    dare2love81 Posts: 928 Member
    Mitttens_skydiving.gif

    Da faq? WHO DOES THAT???
  • now_or_never12
    now_or_never12 Posts: 849 Member
    That's funny, something similar happened to me on Saturday. I went out on a girls night, but planned to stay under my calories. Well once you start drinking and party mix and cupcakes are offered to you, it's harder to say no. Plus I was having a good time! Went out dancing all night and had a blast. When I got up the next day, I dreaded getting on the scale, because it hadn't been moving at all the past couple weeks... but I sucked it up, stepped on... and lost 2lbs. :D Told myself I needed to go out drinking more. Ha. ;)

    I would imagine it was dehydration that caused the loss... Always happens to me after a night of drinking.
  • Captain_Tightpants
    Captain_Tightpants Posts: 2,215 Member
    Mitttens_skydiving.gif

    I sincerely hope whoever decided to do that to that poor terrified animal gets cancer and dies rotten.
  • 2BeFit4Jesus
    2BeFit4Jesus Posts: 97
    Mitttens_skydiving.gif

    I sincerely hope whoever decided to do that to that poor terrified animal gets cancer and dies rotten.

    I second that.
  • TheViperMan
    TheViperMan Posts: 235 Member
    i eat there almost daily. they have a ton of healthy options that taste great, and it's portion controlled, so that makes it a great part of my maintenance plan.

    turning to the menu selection in the OP, however, i'd have to point out that the sandwich described is at least 1,200 calories with 56 grams of fat.

    that's two big macs. your body doesn't care which restaurant it comes from. calories are calories, and the key is to burn more than you take in. Subway has some awesome healthy sandwiches, but the footlong CBR isn't low cal, low fat, or low anything.

    surprisingly, even the steak and cheese is a fairly good choice : 380 cals, 10 grams of fat.

    Yeeeeeeeeeeeup - 1,200 calories of F%$KING AWESOME. Thus the "screw the diet" declaration. :smile:

    I'm not at all saying "Eat anything you want at Subway and you'll lose weight." I'm saying that I decided to take a "break" from all the counting and measuring and worrying and the results were frankly surprising. I didn't add the sub to my diary yesterday, but prior to dinner I had about 850 calories "left". So in reality I didn't go that far over - and that's for "sedentary" activity.

    Today is actually my day off, and I've "sat" for all of maybe an hour...! I think I'm going to go relax now!

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