I saw this. This is what Kiki said:

Kiki: 4-6 weeks is minimum, 8-12 is even better. I did take 3+ months, because most research that I'd done showed that it could take up 6 months, and I didn't wanna chance it, & quit early. It's personal, which is why there is no definite time given. The whole point of the reset is for the individual to get in touch with their own body and understand it better. Most people will rush the process, which is fine, because, they feel overly bloated and full (& again, it's personal) The only thing to consider with that is that there is a high probability that if you're still feeling stuffed, you haven't fully reset. So as far as signs to look for, that was mine. When I went to cut, I had completely "plateaued." Meaning, I was no longer gaining and did not feel overly stuffed. I didn't have any more bloating, & was completely comfortable eating that amount of food. When people are feeling "relieved" at the thought of cutting, because they are looking forward to less food, it's kind of a red flag for me, that things aren't *completely* fixed. But, at the very least, they've eaten at higher cals long enough to give the metabolism a little boost, & if they take diet breaks every 6-10 wks, it can typically still work out fine.

I think so...but even if not i'm happy at this calorie range. Right now i'm very very uncomfortable with the gain. I don't have the crazy bloating i used to have in the beginning, i'm sleeping better etc
But i don't like at all the way i look now, so i want to g back to my pre-reset weight. I'm just wandering if there are any signs that would tell me that the reset has or has not worked..

The reset is as much a mental reset as it is a reset for your body. Honestly, if you're still worrying about the weight gain and WANT to cut calories, you aren't done with your reset. Give it some more time. Love your body as it is now and keep fueling it at TDEE until your mind has reset. AND DITCH THAT SCALE!!! :flowerforyou:

Trust me, I know how hard it is. I did TWO resets. One from July-August 2012 and another from October 2012-mid April 2013. Forcing it to end to soon will only cause you to need to redo it later when you don't get the results you're looking for when you cut.

I'm with Holley. I am planning another reset once my gym membership starts as I feel that I didn't give myself enough time to mentally heal as well as physically heal. I want to get to the point where my mind isn't focused on what the scale may or may not say and just enjoy my body and myself. I know it's hard, but it is so worth it. Hope all works out for you.

I know this isn't helpful but I know exactly how you feel ... I cut after 4 weeks coz I couldnt take it anymore ..!!
However ... Some days especially this week I have gone up to TDEE :-(
Some days at 10% cut.
I haven't weighed or measured.
Time will tell ... I just would be happy to lose 7 lbs or go down to a UK Size 10 from a size 12 .. So what I'm really hoping is that my short reset will get me those goals ... Even if I stall again ... If I'm 7lb lighter or a size 10 I don't mind x

Thanks linski! To be honest, what you said IS helpful! It is helpful to see that some other feel the same way as I do

the thing is, I am NOT obsessed with the scale. truly, I am not. I am obsessed with how I feel. And lately I am not feeling "myself". For sure these 4 weeks at around tdee and 4 weeks at/above tdee have helped a lot. I am not obsessed about food, I don't think about food all the time, I had the chance to eat many "forbidden" food and realise nothing will happen. I have also realised that I can eat much more than I think. So it HAS helped.

BUT my gym sessions suffer (note: I love my gym sessions!) plus I don't feel nice with the extra puffiness in my everyday life. Truly, I don;t care about the number on the scale, just how I feel and look. Some people don't mind that much, others don't gain that much but everyone is different. And the fact that I'm the heaviest (not only by scale weight but also cloth sizes) makes me feel uncomfortable

Again, I'm not sure if this has worked or not. That's why I was trying to get different opinions & experiences from people that did it/doing it. Time will tell, i guess

If you aren't feeling "yourself", you definitely need to keep pushing. Give your body a chance to catch up with the increased amount of food. I gained 21lbs altogether and a few inches in my hips, but lost inches other places AND lost a bunch more body fat during my second reset. Yeah, I felt gross occasionally, but I knew I was on the right track and needed to give my body time to sort itself out. Give it time!

Maybe it's just me, but the fact that I weigh over 200lbs doesn't bother me at all. I'm beautiful every day even if my tummy is bloated. I wear clothes that make me feel good and fit right depending on how "svelte" I am that day. It helps to pick clothes wisely! Own your size NOW. Love your body NOW. That is the best thing about the reset. You have a chance to reflect on all the reasons you're trying to lose weight and get healthier. I learned that I don't want to lose weight. I want to lose body fat and inches. The scale does not accurately reflect those loses, so I don't really weigh-in except to make sure I'm on target calorie-wise. I only weigh-in every week right now because of this Fat Loss Challenge at my gym.

I'm not sure why your gym sessions are suffering due to extra weight. If you're eating at TDEE, you should be seeing good strength gains right now! My gym sessions tend to suffer if I'm eating too much sodium, not enough carbs right before, or if I'm dehydrated. Maybe it's one of those things rather than the weight! How are your sessions suffering? Are you tired? Doing less than before?

Also, if you still have the urge to lose weight, you do still care about the scale to an extent. You just have to stop weighing in until you don't associate beauty with that number. Focus on measurements. This is so hard. I know how it is! I have been there. I started at 198lbs and didn't gain until my first cut, which is when I decided I needed to do a longer reset. After that, I gained 21lbs. I just started cutting two weeks ago and I'm already down to 219lbs. However, during that time that I gained, I also lost 4-7% body fat (it's a range due to margin of error). So not all of the gain was fat! Some was LBM. I would highly recommend checking your body fat now and then once a month to see if there's any progress there.

Weighed and measured this morning ... After a wee and before eating or drinking .. Which is what I always do .... Scales are exactly the same 142lb... But I'm out if the whole scales thing so I'm not that bothered ... However I'm a bit bothered that my waist is still 30inches ..!!! Hasn't moved a jot ..!!! But I did my usual HITT type class last night and a lot of people report an abdominal bloat after exercise ... So ill check again tomorrow :-)
I KNOW if I'm a size 10 ill be happy ... I KNOW that if I lose another 5-7lb ill be happy ..!! I don't want to get to 120's lbs ... Just 135lb would be ace :-) or just drop 1 dress size x

Also I totted up my food fir the last two weeks when I made the cut ... And due to the days that I went over, as a weekly average I ended up at TDEE ... So no cut taken lol ..!!! Oops .. Still looks like I'm doing a reset ... Bugger ... I will try harder this week lol but as I said I don't think I'm doing right anyway as the scales are definitely not moving ..!! TDEE I think is higher than I think it is ..!! Maybe it's 2100 not 1900 .. I'm going to a skinny pretty girl wedding in June .. If I up my cals again and I gain then I shall be big fir the wedding ... Sigh .... IF my TDEE is higher than I think then 1900 will be a cut which is what iv been eating ... And nothing is happening .. Then I'm obviously stalled and need to do something about it .!!
Am I making any sense at all..??

I completely understand that if you were Size 10 before reset and now you're a 14 you will not be happy ..!! I can't see how people would be happy with a gain of two dress sizes .! Maybe it's me ..! But I'm a 12 and if I went up to a size 16 I'd be devastated ..!!! Become a hermit and in no way could I learn to live my body at that size when I was pervious a 12 and not looking too bad .!
I'm with you all the way on that one my lovely x

Weighed and measured this morning ... After a wee and before eating or drinking .. Which is what I always do .... Scales are exactly the same 142lb... But I'm out if the whole scales thing so I'm not that bothered ... However I'm a bit bothered that my waist is still 30inches ..!!! Hasn't moved a jot ..!!! But I did my usual HITT type class last night and a lot of people report an abdominal bloat after exercise ... So ill check again tomorrow :-)
I KNOW if I'm a size 10 ill be happy ... I KNOW that if I lose another 5-7lb ill be happy ..!! I don't want to get to 120's lbs ... Just 135lb would be ace :-) or just drop 1 dress size x

Also I totted up my food fir the last two weeks when I made the cut ... And due to the days that I went over, as a weekly average I ended up at TDEE ... So no cut taken lol ..!!! Oops .. Still looks like I'm doing a reset ... Bugger ... I will try harder this week lol but as I said I don't think I'm doing right anyway as the scales are definitely not moving ..!! TDEE I think is higher than I think it is ..!! Maybe it's 2100 not 1900 .. I'm going to a skinny pretty girl wedding in June .. If I up my cals again and I gain then I shall be big fir the wedding ... Sigh .... IF my TDEE is higher than I think then 1900 will be a cut which is what iv been eating ... And nothing is happening .. Then I'm obviously stalled and need to do something about it .!!
Am I making any sense at all..??

I completely understand that if you were Size 10 before reset and now you're a 14 you will not be happy ..!! I can't see how people would be happy with a gain of two dress sizes .! Maybe it's me ..! But I'm a 12 and if I went up to a size 16 I'd be devastated ..!!! Become a hermit and in no way could I learn to live my body at that size when I was pervious a 12 and not looking too bad .!
I'm with you all the way on that one my lovely x

I guess this is where things get hairy a bit. Some people believe that just because their weight has plateaued at let say 2200 that thats their tdee which could be true or untrue. What if you aren't giving you body much fuel that its just stuck. Just like, for instance, people stalling out at 1200. You wont know your tdee until you up cals and start gaining consistently. Like 1 lb over a 2 week period would mean you are 250 cals over your tdee. This is without any changes and weighing on a valid weigh in day of normal sodium the day before and no water retention from lifting etc.

I maintained at 2200 and now I'm maintaining on 2450. I could've said oh my tdee is 2200 lets cut! And I would have possibly suppressed my metabolism or have a huge cut because i dont know my true tdee. Right now I will up my intake every two weeks until I gain consistently over a two week period. Next week I will be upping to 2700 calories because it seems my weight is on a downward trend but wont know for sure if its fluctuation or true loss until Thursday. Hope this helps!

You should care about how much you weigh just not let it dictate getting your metabolism in a healthy state. I came into reset memtally prepared to possibly gain 10-20 lbs back but i havent gained anything so maybe its easier said then done. But i prepared myself for the gain. After all i wasnt in my current size or shape for very long so although id rather be smaller I'm lookin at the long term effect. If i did gain weight long term is im increasing my metabolism, getting healthy and eating more so that i can lose weight eating more and feeling better. But everyone is different and has thier preferences. I would just hate to cut too early and find out im still stalling out because i didnt eat my potential or stay in reset long enough. Time will tell whether we've reset effectively when we cut. I think another potential problem is cutting to soon and possibly gaining more weigh because of a second reset. But we all have to do what we feel is right for ourselves. Everything is a learning process. I cant say whether those total 8 weeks is enough. Thats partially why I just jumped up to 2200 because i didnt want to wonder whether those days near or at tdee counts toward reset. Ive made it a point to be at least 10 calories within my goal so i have valid data on whether im maintaining or not. You will know whether its enough or not when you cut for a few weeks

Lol dont be jealous. And the fact that youre struggling about cutting shows committment. In the end its your decision and we really dont know anything unless we try it. Do what feels right for you and see how it goes. You should read through the reset thread. I think I read a few stories of people gaining about 20-30 lbs that stuck it out. They had the same feelings you do. But if cutting will help you by all means do it.