I'm in the final stretch and it's getting TOUGH now.

Options
2

Replies

  • melimomTARDIS
    melimomTARDIS Posts: 1,941 Member
    Options
    I changed my calories to 1630 and I will aim to eat below that when I can, but eat up to it if I can't. Thanks for the advice everyone. I will not give up! I can do this!

    I'm probably in the minority with this opinion, but I believe this is counter to your goals. It could be part of the the reason it's "tough now"...because it's tough to work around actual hunger because of too great of a calorie deficit...and one of the ways you end up in too great of a calorie deficit is falling short of your calorie target. (The other way is having too low of a calorie target.)

    I'm killing myself for 1400 cals, but with the binge I had, the scale went up, not down this week. And I like seeing it go down, dammit.
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
    Options
    And finally...

    (...and this may be a gender thing...)

    ...but I do not understand the quest to reach an arbitrary number that is just 2-5 pounds less than someone is now...especially if it's particularly elusive. Wouldn't it make more sense to focus that energy on increasing strength? Or some other metric of health? Or even some positive lifestyle change/habit not even related to weight/fitness/health? Sure, I understand not being satisfied with where someone is at a particular time and setting a goal accordingly, but there seems to be a lot of effort/energy/focus being spent on some very specific goal weights to the exclusion of other more meaningful metrics.

    /soapbox
  • rosehips60
    rosehips60 Posts: 1,030 Member
    Options
    bump
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
    Options
    I changed my calories to 1630 and I will aim to eat below that when I can, but eat up to it if I can't. Thanks for the advice everyone. I will not give up! I can do this!

    I'm probably in the minority with this opinion, but I believe this is counter to your goals. It could be part of the the reason it's "tough now"...because it's tough to work around actual hunger because of too great of a calorie deficit...and one of the ways you end up in too great of a calorie deficit is falling short of your calorie target. (The other way is having too low of a calorie target.)

    I'm killing myself for 1400 cals, but with the binge I had, the scale went up, not down this week. And I like seeing it go down, dammit.

    Then I propose you make sure you reach your calorie target every day for the next 2-3 weeks...and if the scale still isn't moving in the right direction, then reconsider your calorie target. You can't blame your calorie target if you aren't hitting it (in either direction) and you're more likely to binge if you're falling short of it too often. Also, against contrary to popular opinion, I recommend daily weigh-ins *but only if you can resist the urge to undereat on days where the fluctuation is in the "wrong" direction*. Scale weight is ridiculously volatile...so if your weekly weigh-in says you're +2, you may not actually be +2. You may be -1 for the week, but the timing of the scale volatility led you to believe you were +2 (which led you to conclude that what you were doing wasn't working when in actuality it was). (I have daily weigh-in records for several years...and if I take a one week interval, there are many times where the answer would have been inconsistent with the "true/smoothed average" weight.)
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
    Options
    And finally...

    (...and this may be a gender thing...)

    ...but I do not understand the quest to reach an arbitrary number that is just 2-5 pounds less than someone is now...especially if it's particularly elusive. Wouldn't it make more sense to focus that energy on increasing strength? Or some other metric of health? Or even some positive lifestyle change/habit not even related to weight/fitness/health? Sure, I understand not being satisfied with where someone is at a particular time and setting a goal accordingly, but there seems to be a lot of effort/energy/focus being spent on some very specific goal weights to the exclusion of other more meaningful metrics.

    /soapbox

    I think you are correct...it's a gender thing. Not all females but lots are the same way...ran into one today...she is at goal but wants to lose another 2-3lbs...:huh:

    It blows my mind as well. I hit goal today..bam done...I've been reverse dieting for almost a month now. Couldn't wait to hit that number...Yah food...
  • stealthq
    stealthq Posts: 4,298 Member
    Options
    Honestly, if you ate out and usually don't, your scale probably went up due to water retention. Lots more sodium in restaurant foods as a general rule. I did the same Mother's Day weekend. Took mom out to dinner, ate plenty, and added 3 lbs overnight. By the end of the week, my weight was back down to where it was when I took her out (not a good thing for me since I am bulking, but oh well).
  • becs3578
    becs3578 Posts: 836 Member
    Options
    First of all.. YOU ARE DOING GREAT and congratulations on your success. I know it is hard with those last five.. I am fighting right there with you right now. I just keep telling myself that slow and steady is PROGRESS it just isnt the pace I want. Also I take a cheat here and there. Like yesterday, I had one serving of my mom's (to die for) carmel cup custard. IT WAS TOTALLY WORTH IT.
  • melimomTARDIS
    melimomTARDIS Posts: 1,941 Member
    Options
    Hmmm. I don't know why the last 5 lbs matter. But I'd like fluctuation room. And 140 feels too high for a lady who is 5'5....
  • albayin
    albayin Posts: 2,524 Member
    Options
    Hmmm. I don't know why the last 5 lbs matter. But I'd like fluctuation room. And 140 feels too high for a lady who is 5'5....

    Seriously...we are not lost twins? :love:
  • kerricus
    kerricus Posts: 165 Member
    Options
    I second whoever blamed your recent wight gain on sodium. I gain 5lbs over night if I eat pizza. It's gone a couple days later.

    As for dizziness, I would say that you need to eat more complex carbs and protein. There's a good possibility that your blood sugar is getting too low because of the foods you are eating. Here are some symptoms of hypoglycemia: hunger, shakiness, nervousness, sweating, dizziness or light-headedness, sleepiness, confusion, difficulty speaking, anxiety, weakness

    Here's a quick read on hypoglycemia: http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/dm/pubs/hypoglycemia/#what

    I get hypoglycemic and I am not diabetic. If I eat something like pancakes, an hour later I will have the shakes and need to eat more (even if I've just eaten 1000 calories in pancakes). It's all about how my body reacts to the simple carbohydrates.

    Definitely switch up your calories. I'm almost at my goal weight too and I think I've discovered that I actually lose weight after I've had a weekend of eating way above my MFP calorie goal. That tells me I'm doing something wrong and that it's time to start increasing calories (but I will do so with whole foods, veggies and protein).
  • DanaDark
    DanaDark Posts: 2,187 Member
    Options
    I had 1 serving of David Sunflower Seeds and gained 2.8 pounds last night... while still at my calorie goal for the day.

    Sodium will play with the scale like CRAZY lol.

    But yes... seems everyone and you know the right stuff for now. Good job.

    Just remember, WATER WEIGHT. Especially when picking up more food. Even if the extra food has NO sodium at all, you'll still retain extra water to process it... I'd actually go through it in detail (put that college education to work!) ... but then you might not eat at all lol.
  • feyapl
    feyapl Posts: 9 Member
    Options
    Hmmm. I don't know why the last 5 lbs matter. But I'd like fluctuation room. And 140 feels too high for a lady who is 5'5....

    http://www.nerdfitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Screen-Shot-2011-07-21-at-9.23.11-AM1.jpg

    ^
    Staci Ardison, 5'4". 131 pounds on the left, 142 pounds on the right! ^_^

    (She's awesome and why I started lifting)
  • geebusuk
    geebusuk Posts: 3,348 Member
    Options
    Don't take this as 'science', but 'my story'...
    I did mean to do 1lb/week, but eating a net average of 2000 calories a day, I found myself losing at 2lb/week.
    I stuck to that for around 20 weeks for 40lb loss.
    I planned to go another 5lb or so more, but seemd to hit a plateau where previous calorie levels were keeping my weight consistent.

    What I found particularly interesting was that a bit of strength I'd lost (doing an ultramarathon knocked my squats down even more) was returning.
    A logical guess would be my body's BMR was lower - which gives more energy to go to muscles and explains a lack of weight loss.

    I decided I was happy enough where I was - so for the next five weeks I've added an extra 250 calories a day each week. Through that time, I consistently lost about .5lb/week. So it would seem my body was adjusting up at a similar rate.
    I expeect if I went back to a deficit, I could lose a fat again without going down to really low calories, but happy enough on my 'lean bulk' (thus five weeks adding 250 calories) for a bit.
  • traceywoody
    traceywoody Posts: 233 Member
    Options
    Bump
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
    Options
    And finally...

    (...and this may be a gender thing...)

    ...but I do not understand the quest to reach an arbitrary number that is just 2-5 pounds less than someone is now...especially if it's particularly elusive. Wouldn't it make more sense to focus that energy on increasing strength? Or some other metric of health? Or even some positive lifestyle change/habit not even related to weight/fitness/health? Sure, I understand not being satisfied with where someone is at a particular time and setting a goal accordingly, but there seems to be a lot of effort/energy/focus being spent on some very specific goal weights to the exclusion of other more meaningful metrics.

    /soapbox

    I think you are correct...it's a gender thing. Not all females but lots are the same way...ran into one today...she is at goal but wants to lose another 2-3lbs...:huh:

    It blows my mind as well. I hit goal today..bam done...I've been reverse dieting for almost a month now. Couldn't wait to hit that number...Yah food...

    Because being happy with how you look doesn't really depend on the number on the scale. I know I'm still trying to lose my last 3 pounds, but ideally I'd like to lose more... I'm just trying to be realistic and know it's hard enough as it is, at some point I would just like to be able to eat more, lol (plus I'd lose more calories maintaining lower)... so I'll probably stop at 3.
  • fudJy23
    fudJy23 Posts: 87 Member
    Options
    Any thoughts on the light headed ness? I felt like I was gonna pass out this morning. My diary is open if anyone cares.

    I get light headed when I've been active for consecutive days and know I'm not eating enough. I've done this a few times in the past, a couple of times by accident when I wasn't counting calories and a couple of times when I was and had my calorie goal set a little too low. When my calorie goal was too low, I started adjusting it upwards (200-250 calories) until I stopped getting light headed when I tried to do anything.
  • mdcoug
    mdcoug Posts: 397 Member
    Options
    What is your carb intake like? I've noticed that when I have low carb days that I get light headed. As soon as I start adding it back in, it goes away.
  • melimomTARDIS
    melimomTARDIS Posts: 1,941 Member
    Options
    Mdoug, my diary is totally open. I eat a high carb diet, it agrees with me.
  • gmallan
    gmallan Posts: 2,099 Member
    Options
    Nope, I don't always eat back my excersize calories.

    Thanks for the advice Dana, and the congrats. I really do feel like I have succeeded, it's just this end game bull**** is throwing me.

    Any thoughts on the light headed ness? I felt like I was gonna pass out this morning. My diary is open if anyone cares.

    Hydration, low blood sugar, low blood pressure. anemia. All things that can cause or contribute to light headedness. Could be worth a quick trip to the Doc for some blood work and a blood pressure check
  • melimomTARDIS
    melimomTARDIS Posts: 1,941 Member
    Options
    I just had a blood pressure check( two weeks ago)it was good. I do take a multi with iron to cover bases whilst dieting.

    I upped my cals since starting this thread, and attended that kid's birthday party, where I ate had enough cals for cake and ice cream.

    I have 1600 cals to play with, which feels doable. I'd like to lose a pound a week, but I won't suffer for it.

Categories