Do I need a reset? (please read)
Babykeenz831
Posts: 11 Member
Hi, I am on my 3rd week of eating my tdee of 2,300-2,400 . Scooby calculator says 2,400 but I recently got a Fitbit Charge HR (had it for 2 weeks) and last week was a typical week for me, so I went by that weekly report. That report said I burned 17,139 cals, which puts me at 2,448 daily. I figured, I usually have one of those days where I miss a workout, so I should stay at 2,300 cal. I'm not doubting my tdee just letting you know where I got my numbers from.
The 2nd week (last week) of eating my tdee I began to feel ravenous and started eating 200-300 calories over my tdee. I'm sure that is part of the process, but since then I've gained 6lbs for that week. In the first week of eating my tdee I gained 2lbs, but It would also drop back down 1lb. Is eating 300 cal over my tdee the reason for my 6lb gain? Also, since I weigh myself every morning, I noticed it's a pound for everyday.
Another concern I'm having is, Do I even need a reset?
I've only been a VLCD for a year and a half. The first 5 months I spent 2 hours on the elliptical burning 500-600 calories; eating 1,200-1,300 calories without eating calories back. This method allowed me to lose 40 lbs, but then I came to a plateau for the rest of the year. Within that year I tried slashing calories to 800-900 for a week or 2, then tried low carb, and lastly tried intermittent fasting. All of these did not work except for IF; I was losing inches, but that's all. Given my diet background, Is a reset necessary? If so, how long? Do I need 4 weeks? 8 weeks like most people or maybe 12 weeks? If not, should I try a deficit?
Thank you to anyone who answers
; I've been doubting this process the whole time 
.
The 2nd week (last week) of eating my tdee I began to feel ravenous and started eating 200-300 calories over my tdee. I'm sure that is part of the process, but since then I've gained 6lbs for that week. In the first week of eating my tdee I gained 2lbs, but It would also drop back down 1lb. Is eating 300 cal over my tdee the reason for my 6lb gain? Also, since I weigh myself every morning, I noticed it's a pound for everyday.
Another concern I'm having is, Do I even need a reset?
I've only been a VLCD for a year and a half. The first 5 months I spent 2 hours on the elliptical burning 500-600 calories; eating 1,200-1,300 calories without eating calories back. This method allowed me to lose 40 lbs, but then I came to a plateau for the rest of the year. Within that year I tried slashing calories to 800-900 for a week or 2, then tried low carb, and lastly tried intermittent fasting. All of these did not work except for IF; I was losing inches, but that's all. Given my diet background, Is a reset necessary? If so, how long? Do I need 4 weeks? 8 weeks like most people or maybe 12 weeks? If not, should I try a deficit?
Thank you to anyone who answers
; I've been doubting this process the whole time . 0
Replies
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Concerning my 6lb gain: I do upper body strength (heavy lifting) 3x a week and end it with 20 minutes of HIIT. I also do lower body strength (heavy lifting) 2x a week.0
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Do a 12 week reset.
1 lb of fat = 3,500 calories.
Eating 300 cal over per day for one week is 300 cal x 7 days = 2,100 calories so thats only 0.5lb-.. 0.75lb in one week possible gain.
To gain six pounds of FAT 6lbs x 3,500calories per pound = 21,000 calories.
So to gain 6lbs of fat on top of your TDEE eat another 3,000 PER DAY. So TDEE 2,300 + 3,000 extra= 5,300 calories every day to gain six pounds of fat in a week
6 lbs in a week is water fluctuations.0 -
So you believe I should continue with my reset for 12 weeks although I have not been VLCD for long? Is the damage that bad? Ok, that gain makes sense. So when does water weight usually go away? Is it bad to be eating over my tdee?0
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A year and half is a long time doing a low calorie diet. So yes, I think 12 weeks is good.
If eating over your true TDEE you will slowly gain weight but if you havent tested your TDEE, you dont know if 2,300 is accurate. If it is and you over eat 300 a day you will slowly gain .5-.75/lb over.
Water usually in 2-4 days. If you over do sodium every day though, water weight will always be there.
If you over eat 300 sometimes its okay but if you over eat everyday, you will slowly gain. If you over every day 300 every day and do not gain, this means your TDEE is higher than 2,300. My TDEE is 2,850. I am 5'7", 145-150lbs and workout alot.
If you pair heavy exercise with a low calorie diet, damage to metabolism is likely.
Scooby underestimated my TDEE even at the exercise level 7-21 hours a week exercise.
Its hard to do a reset mentally but you can do it. Just stick to your guns and enjoy the food. Know you are nourishing your body.0 -
Ok, so in the mean time I'll make sure not to go over my tdee everyday, to let my weight go back down. Also, keep in eye on my sodium. I'm a student who is always sitting, so working out is all the activity I do. So, I believe my Fitbit monitors my TDEE pretty well. Thank you MandaLeigh123 for answering my questions 0
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We do recommend a full 9-12 week reset for those who have been VLCD for 6 months or more without a break. A year and a half is really a long time and your metabolism probably needs some time to heal. That 2300-2400 is your potential TDEE - what your TDEE should be! Most likely, your metabolism is suppressed a bit and needs time to speed back up, so your TDEE might not be that high YET, so some of what you have gained could be a bit of fat bc your body isn't back up to it's full burning potential yet, if that makes sense. No need to worry about that though...your body will speed back up and your weight will stabilize as you give it time during your reset. We do suggest raising calories slowly though to help avoid these initial gains - and it sounds like you jumped right up to full TDEE. That's ok, but just understand that's probably why you gained a bit more initially - a lot of it water weight like Manda said. Just stick with it. I would suggest the full 12 weeks for you since you did VLCD for so long. The feeling of ravenous hunger is a great sign and that means everything is speeding back up. If you are hungry and you're going above your TDEE out of true hunger, I would suggest eating some small, protein filled snacks to help. It's possible your TDEE could be higher than what the Fitbit Charge is giving you...but it's a good place to start. During your reset, just focus on letting your body and mind (mentally) heal. You're doing a great job!!0
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Good plan! Just to throw this out there- I am a student too with no kids.0
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Ok, so I shouldn't expect to see all of those 6lbs to go away but at least a few, right? Thank you, I will continue with the 12 week reset 0
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Once your body gets unstressed - that probably will drop most of that water weight. Unless your exercise picks up in a major way.
First improvement from exercise - more stored water.0 -
Good choice to continue with reset! Yes, like Heybales said, most should probably drop off.0
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When you talk about a 12 week reset does that include time only at TDEE or does that include time getting to TDEE? for example if you slowly raise your calories, and it takes 6 weeks to get to TDEE, do those 6 weeks count as part of the 12?0
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Yes I'm including the time only at my TDEE. I don't count the time it takes me to get to my TDEE.0
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When you talk about a 12 week reset does that include time only at TDEE or does that include time getting to TDEE? for example if you slowly raise your calories, and it takes 6 weeks to get to TDEE, do those 6 weeks count as part of the 12?
So during those 6 weeks you are likely eating at your average literal suppressed TDEE, if not losing weight.
So that's a sign your body is still stressed enough to slow you down. It kept speeding up each time you ate more, but not so much it ever went fast enough to cause a deficit and weight loss.
Purpose of reset is to heal the body by removing that stress of a diet or suppressed body. So it would not count.0 -
Why you gained 6# as opposed to the 3# seen in normal switch from deficit to maintnence ( or slightly above) is because of the extra water depletion from vlcd. I know the process messes with your head but you are doing the right thing. I'm a year in and can't believe how well em2wl works. Stick with it you are worth it!0
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