EM2WL for "vanity pounds"?
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JessDixon89
Posts: 1 Member
Hi there....I'm sitting here ridiculously upset about the number on the scale. I stumbled across EM2WL just over a week ago. I'm worried that it won't work for "vanity pounds", or that i'm not "eating clean" enough for it to work on said "vanity pounds". I've been focusing on trying to get my protein to around 30%, or at least over 110 g per day, and have been successful. I mainly use protein powder, low-fat greek yogurt, chicken and tuna as protein sources. The thing is, I still eat lots of dairy and sugar and simple carbs/starches and I'm worried it won't work unless I cut all that out, which I feel like I just CAN'T do sustainably. Does anyone have any input on whether you can eat things like toast and peanut butter and honey and pasta (while still hitting 110+g/30% protein every day) and succeed at this? Or will I only lose if I cut all that out?
I'm 28, 5'5", probably around 143 lbs right now. I started a heavy lifting program two weeks ago that I do with my cousin - it's an 8 day cycle of butt, upper body/back, legs, rest, repeat. First three days focusing more on power with heavy weights lower reps, second 3 days focusing more on hypertrophy with higher reps, slightly lower weights. I'm not "new" to heavy lifting, but I did stop for almost 2 years, so I'm only getting back on it now. I've put on over 8 lbs since starting the routine and starting to eat more.
I'm not sedentary - I'm flipping a house so I'm often over there moving around working on things, although it's not terribly physical. When I work I spend a fair bit of time standing in a courtroom. I don't think I have a huge amount of weight to lose - the scale number in my head is 120 but I realize that it's quite possible for me to look the way I want to but conceivably weigh more than that.
The EM2WL calculator set at "very strenuous" gives me a TDEE of 2700 and 2300 at 15% deficit. I've been eating around 2200. The scale is sky-rocketing and I also feel much bigger/clothes feel tight. I don't think you would say that I'd been eating at a crazy deficit before, like 1200 or something....probably averaging more like 1600/1800.
Anyway. Sorry, this is rambling but I am SO upset about how fat I feel and I'm worried that I'm just kidding myself and should drop my calories and eat only, you know, tuna and kale or something. I'd love to hear from people who have success getting lean and still get to eat carbs and sugars and fat as well, that is if such people exist......? I'm scared that I'm just kidding myself and using the discovery of the EM2WL community just as an excuse to eat too much.
I'm 28, 5'5", probably around 143 lbs right now. I started a heavy lifting program two weeks ago that I do with my cousin - it's an 8 day cycle of butt, upper body/back, legs, rest, repeat. First three days focusing more on power with heavy weights lower reps, second 3 days focusing more on hypertrophy with higher reps, slightly lower weights. I'm not "new" to heavy lifting, but I did stop for almost 2 years, so I'm only getting back on it now. I've put on over 8 lbs since starting the routine and starting to eat more.
I'm not sedentary - I'm flipping a house so I'm often over there moving around working on things, although it's not terribly physical. When I work I spend a fair bit of time standing in a courtroom. I don't think I have a huge amount of weight to lose - the scale number in my head is 120 but I realize that it's quite possible for me to look the way I want to but conceivably weigh more than that.
The EM2WL calculator set at "very strenuous" gives me a TDEE of 2700 and 2300 at 15% deficit. I've been eating around 2200. The scale is sky-rocketing and I also feel much bigger/clothes feel tight. I don't think you would say that I'd been eating at a crazy deficit before, like 1200 or something....probably averaging more like 1600/1800.
Anyway. Sorry, this is rambling but I am SO upset about how fat I feel and I'm worried that I'm just kidding myself and should drop my calories and eat only, you know, tuna and kale or something. I'd love to hear from people who have success getting lean and still get to eat carbs and sugars and fat as well, that is if such people exist......? I'm scared that I'm just kidding myself and using the discovery of the EM2WL community just as an excuse to eat too much.
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I Was in your position and one persons answer didn't convience me. It took me over 6 months of studying everything I could find to learn about metabolism. Read the stickies, watch the em2lw YouTube videos. I'd also suggest you download the eat to perform podcast and start from the beginning and read all the articles on their website.
The short answer is yes you can lose. These 2 plans aren't diets, they are just recognizing that continuing to keep your body in a deficit year round only increase cortisol/ stress, and your metabolism slows down and adjusts eventually to that level of eating and excersise so at that point to move the scale you have to increase output or decrease input. There's an end to that ability and you have to reset at that point. By instead going through periods of expansion ( increased calories and work capacity) then short periods of restriction ( diet phase) you can reboot your metabolism. When you expand you will first restore your glucose levels which might appear to be a quick gain. Mine was about 5 lbs. that's why when you diet you lose " water weight " first. I've found the information vast and a bit confusing but worth the time it took to learn it. It's an excersise in patience.0 -
^ what @KickboxDiva said....plus ensure that you are taking measurements. I'm 5'4" 33 years old and jumped from 151 to 159 lbs in the last 2 months but my measurements have gone down everywhere so I don't put too much stock in my weight as long as my measurements are getting better. And yes, I still eat bread and peanut butter, probably daily.
Can't stress enough but to read through all of the stickies and the blogs on the EM2WL website - invaluable resources for you but there's no way that you're eating above your TDEE at 2300 calories considering your strength training routine and daily life activities (flipping houses) so hopefully you keep with it.0 -
I haven't gotten thin yet but since i've upped my calories i can eat the following every day:
Dark chocolate w/ peanut butter
Vodka & coke or a moscow mule or a margarita
Popcorn or pretzels
I have way more energy, am more regular, and enjoy life much more!
I'm not concerned about vanity pounds, as you called them, though.0 -
First, vanity pounds are just that. Vanity. Yes you can easily lose 5 pounds doing almost any "diet" out there. And then when you go off that diet, you gain back those vanity pounds and they bring some friends to the party.
First ask yourself what it is you are REALLY wanting. Does that number on the scale make or break your day? If it doesnt say 13x, will you binge eat and hate yourself for not being a 130? Do you just want to fit into a smaller size jean? The two things are not really related at all. You can be ten pound heavier than you want to be, but fit into a size or two smaller. Weight is just gravity at work. You can be smaller and still be "heavier"
And yes, you can eat bread and chips and PB and honey and still hit your protein.
Case in point. I eat about 250g of protein in a day. I also eat about 270g of carbs in a day. Believe me, thats a ton for toast and peanut butter and even a cookie or two:)
For the lifting, if you just began a brand new program, it doesnt matter what you want the scale to say. The scale will likely say "heavier weight" and a lot of that is because your muscles are retaining a ton of water from the new program. And it doesnt matter if you used to lift heavy or not. Every new program you do will cause your body to retain a few pounds in liquid. This is why we say you should only weight yourself at the end of a rest week, at the end of a program and before a new one. This will give you a better reflection of where your number truly is. (But even then, there are variables, like TOM and such)
Your previous cal intake was low. If you worked out TDEE out to be 2700 and you were eating only 1200-1400, then your body wasnt getting over 1000 calories a day it sorely needed. While it doesnt seem like much, it is a huge amount. I would suggest a metabolism reset, meaning you eat AT your TDEE level for 6-12 weeks. Give your body a chance to know what a proper amount is, so it trusts you again and knows you arent going to drop it right back down to 1200 the next week. Resets are hard mentally. But honestly, they are a neccessity for anyone coming from a low cal diet plan.
Hope this helps a bit.0
