New here...need some help please! :)
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mel_2812
Posts: 66 Member
Three years ago, I have lost 40 pounds and gained 30 pounds back, because I'm pretty sure I wasn't doing the right thing. Now, I want to do things right.
I have started 31 days ago and I have lost so far 6 pounds (which is an average of 1.5 lbs per week).
I'm 5'3, 177 lbs as of this morning, 27 years old, PCOS (if that matters) and I have calculated that my TDEE, which is 2184 (I have a desk job and I train 3-4 times per week).
I am trying to NET 1200 calories at a minimum but yesterday, I ate for 1787 calories, exercice for 915 calories as per my Garmin watch (but have entered 850 calories in MFP just to be on the safe side) so I NETTED 937 calories...
Should I eat even though I'm not hungry?
And what about my rest days? Should I eat less? The same as I was training?
My diary is open to public (I think) so feel free to take a look at it. I am still educating myself. In the mean time, I'll continue to read but there is so much information!!
What I am currently doing seems to work good (I'm not starving myself at all, I never feel hungry...) but I just want to make sure I'm doing this right this time!
Thank you for your time!
I have started 31 days ago and I have lost so far 6 pounds (which is an average of 1.5 lbs per week).
I'm 5'3, 177 lbs as of this morning, 27 years old, PCOS (if that matters) and I have calculated that my TDEE, which is 2184 (I have a desk job and I train 3-4 times per week).
I am trying to NET 1200 calories at a minimum but yesterday, I ate for 1787 calories, exercice for 915 calories as per my Garmin watch (but have entered 850 calories in MFP just to be on the safe side) so I NETTED 937 calories...
Should I eat even though I'm not hungry?
And what about my rest days? Should I eat less? The same as I was training?
My diary is open to public (I think) so feel free to take a look at it. I am still educating myself. In the mean time, I'll continue to read but there is so much information!!
What I am currently doing seems to work good (I'm not starving myself at all, I never feel hungry...) but I just want to make sure I'm doing this right this time!
Thank you for your time!
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Replies
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Hi there
I've only been toodling around the site for about a month or so now.
What I see right off the bat that will be recommended is that your NET should never go lower than your BMR. And ideally, you should be NETTING a hundred or so calories over your BMR.
Why? Because your BMR is your bare minimum. It's what your body needs if you are just laying around all day. If that's all you are feeding it, then you can't be asking it to perform anything more than that.
Rhoda0 -
Thanks Rhoda!
So, I read a bit more and as per this Scooby website, this is what I get:
27 yrs old
177 lbs
5'3''
I chose moderate activity (I have a desk job, but I train 3 to 4 days a week for 1h30 (30 minutes elliptical, 30 minutes treadmill doing C25K at the moment and 30 minutes strenght training). Sometimes, I will go for an hour walk or a 1-2 hrs road biking during the week,
BMR: 1588
TDEE: 2462
TDEE - 20 %: 1970
Sooo...I should eat 1970 calories per day, regardeless of the exercices I do (unless I go under my BMR)? 1970 calories seem so high! I ate 1717 calories today and wouldn't be able to eat more...
I thought I was doing good...
Any help, advice, etc. would be very appreciated, I'm kind of scared to it that much...before I started 1 month ago, I was eating at least 2000 calories, trained as I do now and I was gaining weight. Since I lowered my calories intake, I lost 6 lbs in 31 days...seems fair to me, no?0 -
Hi and welcome to the EM2WL crowd :flowerforyou:
If you have been gaining weight by eating around 2000cals it indicates that you have been undereating before. That was also the reason you gained the weight back you lost before.
You have probably damaged your metabolism by eating to little and exercising too much.
If you only net 1200 cals or even less, you don't even eat enough to support the basic needs of your body. Over time, your metabolism will adjust to the low intake and it will hold on to the fat and eventually you will stall. And what will you do then> Lower your cals even more? Do more exercise?
I think your body would benefit of doing a metabolic reset. Eat at your TDEE for about 8, better 12 weeks so your body learns to trust you again and it will know you are feeding it properly. Then go to your cut of 10, maximal 15%.
I know it might be scary at first, but your body will thank you in the long run. This is not a quick fix, and it might take a few months, maybe more than that. But, it is sustainable for life and I think that makes it all worth while.
Try to get in as much strength training as you can to build up muscle mass, as muscle is metabolically active.0 -
Hi and welcome to the EM2WL crowd :flowerforyou:
If you have been gaining weight by eating around 2000cals it indicates that you have been undereating before. That was also the reason you gained the weight back you lost before.
You have probably damaged your metabolism by eating to little and exercising too much.
If you only net 1200 cals or even less, you don't even eat enough to support the basic needs of your body. Over time, your metabolism will adjust to the low intake and it will hold on to the fat and eventually you will stall. And what will you do then> Lower your cals even more? Do more exercise?
I think your body would benefit of doing a metabolic reset. Eat at your TDEE for about 8, better 12 weeks so your body learns to trust you again and it will know you are feeding it properly. Then go to your cut of 10, maximal 15%.
I know it might be scary at first, but your body will thank you in the long run. This is not a quick fix, and it might take a few months, maybe more than that. But, it is sustainable for life and I think that makes it all worth while.
Try to get in as much strength training as you can to build up muscle mass, as muscle is metabolically active.
^^^^^Perfectly said - great advice! ^^^^^0 -
^^^^ I third that too....lol
If you need some friends here check out one of the threads. I'm a shorty too with PCOS but of course older than you. Lots of PCOS woman here, it does make things a bit trickier at times.0
