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Reset complete! Random + Sweat ? at end...
decblessings
Posts: 113 Member
So I've been eating at or above TDEE since July 3rd. I'm trying to go to cut but I might eat at cut one day, feel starving the next so I eat TDEE (or even a little over), wash, rince, repeat. So, basically, I'm still at TDEE. I just added cardio back in as I had been running very regularly prior to the reset. I've been lifting as frequently as I can since the reset began as well, although my husband and I work opposite shifts and the gym we go to just started offering childcare included in our family membership - so YAY! Anyway, the point of that is that I started Stronglifts and I'm gonna stick to it! I am a little worried I'm doing too much now though, with the cardio and the lifting. I may cut back on cardio again a bit once I get back into the swing (lost a lot of speed!).
ANYWAY... so some very interesting things have come from this journey. 1) I had started a medication back in April or May for an ED (binge and/or purge), and it really, really helped! It reduced my appetite though, but still, I wasn't losing weight. I had gone from either VLCD with a lot of exercise with random break downs resulting in B/P for years, but the last two years have been the worst. I don't like taking meds, so I was seeking other help and found EM2WL.
I'll try not to be long winded, but basically I stopped taking that medication two weeks ago. I'm doing pretty well without it! Turns out, feeding your body helps you resist the urge to binge. Don't get me wrong. I'm not completely healed, but it's a vast improvement.
Other changes. I used to have closer to a 40 day cycle. Now, 28 days. Like clock work. I'm not going to lie... I miss the longer cycles... but hey - hopefully no surprise additions to the family now that I know what to expect and when!
Also, yes, I gained 5-6 pounds... but I think a couple of them are in my chest! Woo hoo! It needed a boost!
My nails are long, strong, and healthy. The dark circles under my eyes are showing improvement. I'm not as tired as I once was. I'm getting strong!
One complaint... in the past few weeks I've begun sweating a LOT - particularly from under one arm. I do come from a sweaty family and thought I escaped that for the most part, so maybe it's just age? (I'm 31.) Between the meds I was taking causing my hair to fall out and my HR and BP to rise, I thought the sweating might be from that too. It's one of the reasons I stopped. But everything I read said the drug has a short half-life and should be out of your system within a week. I sweat whether I'm sitting at my desk at work or working out. Last night I was doing a light warm up on the elliptical before lifting and I literally had beads of sweat running down my arm. I've NEVER had that, even when running a half marathon! Thoughts?
ANYWAY... so some very interesting things have come from this journey. 1) I had started a medication back in April or May for an ED (binge and/or purge), and it really, really helped! It reduced my appetite though, but still, I wasn't losing weight. I had gone from either VLCD with a lot of exercise with random break downs resulting in B/P for years, but the last two years have been the worst. I don't like taking meds, so I was seeking other help and found EM2WL.
I'll try not to be long winded, but basically I stopped taking that medication two weeks ago. I'm doing pretty well without it! Turns out, feeding your body helps you resist the urge to binge. Don't get me wrong. I'm not completely healed, but it's a vast improvement.
Other changes. I used to have closer to a 40 day cycle. Now, 28 days. Like clock work. I'm not going to lie... I miss the longer cycles... but hey - hopefully no surprise additions to the family now that I know what to expect and when!
Also, yes, I gained 5-6 pounds... but I think a couple of them are in my chest! Woo hoo! It needed a boost!
My nails are long, strong, and healthy. The dark circles under my eyes are showing improvement. I'm not as tired as I once was. I'm getting strong!
One complaint... in the past few weeks I've begun sweating a LOT - particularly from under one arm. I do come from a sweaty family and thought I escaped that for the most part, so maybe it's just age? (I'm 31.) Between the meds I was taking causing my hair to fall out and my HR and BP to rise, I thought the sweating might be from that too. It's one of the reasons I stopped. But everything I read said the drug has a short half-life and should be out of your system within a week. I sweat whether I'm sitting at my desk at work or working out. Last night I was doing a light warm up on the elliptical before lifting and I literally had beads of sweat running down my arm. I've NEVER had that, even when running a half marathon! Thoughts?
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Replies
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One thing caught my attention, eating at TDEE, added cardio back in.
So you increased your TDEE with the cardio right, and your cut is a deficit from that higher value then?
And how do you know you were eating at potential TDEE during the reset?
Only guessing you had eaten as much lower levels in the past and didn't gain or lose weight, but that wasn't potential TDEE, because you are eating more now.
The running could still be done day after a good lifting workout, but to not add more load that needs repair or to kill repair from the lifting, any cardio should be 60 min or less and in the Active Recovery HR zone (aka fat-burning zone).
Due to the fact tired legs trying to repair will likely raise the HR higher than normal for the pace done, which means you are running even slower, many give up running that slow and just walk for recovery.
Also, since metabolism is heat, and hopefully your metabolism has come up, you are hotter than prior. So some other abilities of the body for staying cool may not be working real well yet.0 -
Boo! I lost my reply!
I guess I'll start over.
I redid the spreadsheet after I knew my BF% from BodPod. With my workout game plan in mind I entered my numbers to get a current, accurate TDEE estimate and my cut goal is based off of that. I did just realize that I underestimated my mid-high cardio exercise minutes by probably 45 minutes weekly though, since I failed to include my pre-lift warm-ups. I will fix that but knowing both numbers also gives me a little leeway if I miss a cardio session weekly. Plus I have a fitbit that I adjusted based on the spreadsheet as well. I don't base my meals on the fitbit, but I do keep the numbers in mind. I seem to be having a hard time eating below my predicted TDEE, so I don't think I'll be undereating any time soon.
As far as how I know if I found TDEE, I guess I'm not sure. I started this reset at 137. I quickly jumped up to 139.5, which is where I stayed for a month. We then went on vacation for a week and I didn't count calories. When I returned I weighed 143. That was 2 months ago. Since then I seem to fluctuate between 141-144. (I'm 5'1" - 28% BF)
I don't tend to be good at sticking to an exact number goal. I have three young children and my husband works the opposite shift that I do, so we both tend to basically be single parents flying by the seat of our pants. So basically I end up under my goal one day and over the next. It's more like an average goal.
Very interesting information regarding the heat factor. I do tend to run warm lately. Drive my husband crazy as I have the a/c in our room turned on when he gets home even though it's getting down in the 40s at night. Also interesting info regarding being slower during my runs for recovery. That will be hard for me, because I'm very competitive with myself (not really others - just hard on myself). I'm not that fast to begin with, but I enjoy running because I have a group of friends that I run with. I also just like the way I feel after a good cardio workout, although I'm finding I get that same good feeling after a good lift too!
Thanks for your input! If you have any other helpful0 -
Ok, you did it right then, and 45 min cardio won't change the numbers a whole lot.
it's just every once in awhile you'll find someone attempting the reset that uses their planned workout TDEE from the simple 5 level chart, but during reset does a whole lot more exercise.
So they really weren't at TDEE for reset. The were below, yet they lost no weight.
So I know the spreadsheet if anything will error on the side of safety, and slightly over sometimes, if honest activity entered.
Your body must really be trying to make improvements from the lifting.
Do you have the means of doing a slight form of intermittent fasting, put the brunt of the day's calories post workout for 24 hrs.
May help.
May also help after a few weeks, and seeing when exactly you are the hungriest, to move 100 calories from one day to another. Like if the day after lifting is really hungry, take 100 calories pre-workout from day before, and eat it on the hungry day during the repair.
If you have HRM for running, compete to keep the HR low. If your mind is desiring challenge, make it on HR, not on pace.0 -
More great tips - thank you! I do have a HRM but the battery died this week. There is a new one on order. 0
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Sounds like you are on the right track.
I too have a past with ED and I can only agree, feeding your body does make a huge difference.
Since I did my reset over a year ago I have not binged once!
Keep up the great work.0
This discussion has been closed.