Okay,I am really not trying to bump this thread over and over out of impatience, I am just adding info either as I think of it, or as I have time to add. So I hope you read my above entry with the strength training info. It has warmed up here, and probably will be mostly warmer up until March, where it likely will get very pleasant, so I am planning on going back to the program above next week, alternating 3 days of strength and 3 days of running. If I'm not sick. Yesterday and today I've felt really crummy, just run down. Often that is the beginning of the viral stuff that floats around this time of year. I hope not, since I've got a big week at work.

Unfortunately, the wonderfulness of losing 1/4 lb every day last week has stopped and I am going back up now (as I expected), but I am still down some, and yesterday I measured my waist--usual trouble zone--and I was down 1 inch from the holiday season. So we will see what happens over the next weeks. With hormones, sometimes it is best to compare month to month for me anyway.

Anyway, I was inspired by SideSteel's running of my averages this month. That is something that I have done regularly, but I think it has been about three months since I have done it. I was also appalled at the protein average you got! I thought I was doing better than that. But the numbers don't lie.

So I broke it down into weekly averages. Besides calories in, I also looked at TDEE per my misfit, deficit per my misfit, protein, carbs, and weight. Actually I think average weekly weight may be a better way for me to assess progress, rather than looking at a specific days weight every week. Probably I should take an ab fat measurement with the calipers as well, but I am still having a hard time trusting it. It seems like if I am even an inch off-site, I get a very different number. (Any suggestions on being accurate here?).

Just FYI, mifflin st Jouer calculator puts me at about 1800 cals per day maintenance if I set it for daily exercise (the calculator I use figures 20 minutes a day as an exercise session--I usually do 30-45 minutes per session). Most weeks I get at least five days of exercise, usually six.

I tried to run my numbers again with heybales spreadsheet, but the app I'm using crashed, so I will have to re download, etc when I get a chance. Going by memory from the last time I looked, I believe it gave me about 1700-1750 for maintenance. Of course the problem I had with it was estimating non exercise activity which is so variable for me.

Anyway, Here is what the averages look like:

Dec. 29- Jan. 4
Cals in--1397
Misfit TDEE--1823
Deficit--452
Pro--53
Carbs--159
Weight--131.1

Jan. 5-11
Cals in--1388
TDEE--1854
Deficit--444
Pro--57
Carbs--158
Weight--131.8

Jan. 12-18
Cals in--1470
TDEE--1800
Deficit--331
Pro--65
Carbs--163
Weight--131.8

Jan. 19-24
Cals in--1438
TDEE--2011
Deficit--575
Pro--76
Carbs--149
Weight--130.9

So, I got protein headed upward after seeing the average this month! Actually that is more in line with my overall long term averages (probably 65-80 most of the time). I think I was still finishing off holiday treats during the first two weeks!

I figured carbs in there so I can watch for trends, comparing intake to weight. I've always been a calories-in-calories-out gal, but I am reading that "women of a certain age" might not do as well with carbs. Since I definitely fit that description, I thought I would watch!

Also, I would say my logging is more accurate this last week because of the types of food I had.

In all honesty, I have to say that I am not going around feeling starved all the time. Yes I often want MORE of all the yummy stuff (don't we all?), but really, if I make moderately good choices, most of the time I'm ok. It is those days when I use up a boatload of calories on a treat that I suffer. (It probably doesn't help that I have to watch my teen boy swimmers--and even my high metabolism husband-- scarf down uncountable calories of all kinds of junk while I eat a turkey sandwich on one slice of wheat bread and worry about overeating. And I have to COOK all that stuff for them or they lose weight. Of course up to 4 hours a day in the water earns that! But sometimes I do feel a little deprived. Not hungry, deprived.)

So, here are my concerns/questions:

My results, especially for the first part of the month, don't match well with my numbers. My results look more like maintenance. So, either my TDEE is wrong, or my logging is off. I always assume there is a certain amount of inaccuracy with logging, but 400 difference seems a little steep. Any thoughts?

I am thinking to drop 100 calories a day. Either way, whether it is logging or TDEE that is off, that should create more deficit. Sound reasonable?

And when I go back to the lifting schedule noted in my last post, I may have to drop even a few more cals, since it won't have cardio components. I do feel I get my heart rate up, though.

Thx in advance for any help. And there is soooo much good information in your group's threads. Thanks for that too.

Bumping.

I was all psyched up to go back to my lifting (non circuit training) this week, but then I apparently overdid my Monday run and ended up with a sore knee and hip. So it is one more week of circuits via body revolution, since it is easier to modify them to be less demanding on the knee and still get a decent workout. There is no way I could have done heavily weighted squats and lunges yesterday. I'm better today, so I am hopeful for next week. Anyway I'd love your opinions re the lifting program mentioned above and my weekly averages.

Thx.

Still frustrated. Losing stopped. Gained most of the last loss back. I was eating a bit more (prob averged 1500 this week but I haven't done the math.), but I also ran more (3 days), and as I mentioned I did one more week of circuit training (3 days). On circuit training days I even added a 15 minute run to meet my step goal. I was planning on going back to non circuit training lifting as outlined above next week, but. . . .

. . . . now I have one more challenge. I fell yesterday and roughed myself up a bit. I am very fortunate it was not worse, as I have no broken bones and needed no stitches. But I will have to give myself a week of no workouts, or gentle workouts only. No weightlifting--my hand looks like chopped meat and my wrist is sore. No running--banged up the knee, foot, and ankle. Again, I am lucky because this is the first time in 5 years I have been sidelined more than a day or so by an injury. Yes, I have missed workouts because of soreness, or because of sickness, but no major injuries at all.

So I really haven't any idea how to eat properly when not working out. I even usually work out when on vacation. I guess this might give me an idea of non exercise daily burn. I'm just hoping not to gain since it seems to be impossible for me to lose it again. I've still got every bit of my vacation gain from this summer. And last summer, and. . .

Anyway, awaiting any advice on the issues mentioned in my previous posts.

Am it the right track here??

@labyars --thx! I often feel like a broken record. And a whiner. And sometimes I AM whining. It is hard to eat at around 1300-1400 cals, and watch your weight go up, up, up!

Which is why I think I've given up trying to lose. I hope to not gain, continue working out, and see what happens .

@DancingMoosie --good ideas, thx! Yes I always try to use the heaviest bells I can on each exercise and complete my sets of 6. I think I will be good for awhile on the upper body! And I am adding sets as needed. The lower body is a bit more difficult, because my resistance load is limits somewhat by the (lesser) strength of my upper body. I've heard of folks putting weights in backpacks, but I would think I would have to strap the thing on backwards, or I would just fall over! Any other ideas?

I've done sumo squats as a part of an earlier program. I will have to look the others up. Likely they show up later in this program. I'm not sure because I've never gotten past week six. This summer I did six weeks and then went on vacation. When I saw the vacation gain, I went back to running daily to try to get it off! Then in the fall I started the program again and was very dedicated to it for about two months right up to Christmas. Then I was out of town for a good while with no access to any kind of fitness equipment, and then I got sidetracked by what the cold weather was doing to my running/lifting schedule and went to the other, more aerobic body revolution until it warmed up. (Luckily here in the south it never stays cold for long. But I am definitely anti cold!)

I've seen several differing opinions on schedules. When lifting, do you have to have a day of non-lifting in between? That's what I've always heard, but I've seen a few people on here who lift daily and have good results. Does it "kill" your muscles to do that? I'm just wondering from a scheduling perspective--like if the weather is bad on a running day, can I just lift again and swap days, even if that puts me lifting two days in a row?

@scrittrice --Thanks for some good points. I had forgotten about that post. Also, definitely something to think about regarding time-efficiency of workout. Especially as I continue to progress. I think that is why I did not like the "Body for Life" program that I tried several years ago. It felt like the workouts went on forever, and so boring! For every muscle group you did like 48 reps!

DancingMoosie wrote: »

It sounds like you've learned a lot and figured some things out. What I like to do, and what has worked for me,is to mix up the workouts. I do a morning and evening workout 4 days a week, and then one workout the other days. If I need a rest day, I usually still take a walk or do yoga. I like your exercises, the only thing I can add is to try to do them all with as much weight as possible, since you don't use barbells. You can even put a dumbbell in between your shoulder blades for push-ups, or put your feet on an exercise ball. Another good idea for upper body strength is pull-ups. I have a door-frame pull-up bar and it works great, and can be used for push-ups if your wrists get sore. I didn't see sumo or plie squats, goblet squats, or pistol squats on you list. You could also add pec flys with glute bridge, back flys, and good mornings.

I looked up "pistol squats" and actually those ARE in my program. They are called one-leg get-ups. The last time I got to them in the program I could barely do them!

@bonniejo I have teens! They don't want to do anything with us! My younger will go on a run with me occaisionally if he misses a workout during cross country season. And during the week, there is no time for anything but survival with their swim practice and school schedule. It takes all we can do to make sure everyone is delivered to their activities/schools in a timely manner and picked up, homework is done (one really struggles in school with a slight learning disability and needs nightly one on one), clothes are washed and dealt with, food is prepared and cleaned up, grocery shopping is done, things are gathered for the next day for each of us, paperwork is corralled, etc. It is not really quality leisure time I am talking about here that I am missing, it is really more just household management in a family with two working parents. It probably doesn't help that in our area the public schools for the most part are pitiful, so you no longer send your kids to the neighborhood school where they can walk to classes, and probably to all their extra curricular activities too. That's how it was when I was a kid. But here, we enroll our kids in private schools, often somewhere across the metro area, or we at least enroll them in the one public district (again probably across town) that is known to provide a decent education. And then we work our butts off to be able to afford the tuition for these schools. But if you are a mom, you probably know all this already!

heybales wrote: »

Page 1 of this thread has some comments for you about body recomp.

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10009722/have-a-question-how-about-a-live-q-a-starting-in-3-2-1-go#latest

Okay, probably typing waaaay more than I should, but I am sitting at this swim meet for the next four hours, and I forgot a book. . .

This thread was awesome! So encouraging (and yet. . . )!

Mostly encouraging because it makes me feel not so alone. What I am experiencing is not uncommon! And I am not a crazy woman doing everything wrong.

Also, once again time to re-evaluate goals. Yes, I do want to continue to improve my body, but I probably fall into the "abs won't show until I'm a skeleton" category because of my basic genetic body shape and fat patterns. So, yes, I will keep trying to reduce that waist measurement, both for vanity and health (waist-hip ratio), but as my husband has tried to point out to me, "you look fine overall, stop worrying about it"! Of course partly I've been concerned with the slow gain because if that continues. . . .

So, stay the course, watch, make small adjustments, repeat.