Confused AF (long post, help needed)

ashleyjongepier · March 2016

Hello everyone!
My stats are 5'4, 214lbs, age 25, female.

SO I started again around 305lbs (lost 70lbs, then got pregnant.) I lost basically the first 80 lbs in 5-6 months time and the last 11 in the last five or so months.

I admit I was doing this very wrongly, netting 500-800 cals a day, working out for 3-4 hours a day, etc. My B12 levels went so low, my hair was falling out, etc.

Then I was using a food scale and trying to keep with the numbers that MFP worked in for me, using a polar and chest strap to account for the burn aspect. I felt like the scale wasn't moving fast enough (was a daily weigh in type) and that would make me feel like whats the point and I'd eat like mad.

Then I would have four really on point days but have 3 really really high cal days so it all evened out to maintenance.

Since December I have been shoveling in the junk food like there is NO tomorrow, I don't even tend to like junk food. While eating it I wouldn't even be hungry but I'd still keep going, feel so upset then do it again over and over..
(Lots of people assumed I got to 360 lbs by eating junk and honestly, I rarely had it, what i did have was 3000cal of pasta daily, 1000cal bread, went through 4l of milk in two days etc. )

SO the major thing I am so confused about is figuring out which method is best I guess.

I use Fitness Blenders 8 week FB FIT plans as my workouts. (5 days, strength training, cardio, HIIT, 6th day is stretching. They rate their videos from 1-5, most of these are 4-5, some 3's, 55min approx daily.) I also walk (will walk more now that its spring almost.)

I wanted to try the TDEE method because I hate wearing my polar and I feel I push myself more without it. I also stress out wondering if the burn is accurate etc. When I plug my stats into the calculators I get numbers from 1340 to 2750. It averages out to 1500 cals.

Now I should be able to lose at a 2lb/ week rate. However on 1500 cals I feel like I am starving. I don't know if thats because I'm coming off of eating 2600+ cals or if I am not eating enough? I don't know If I simply need to dial back how much weight a week I feel I should lose? If I am using the right calculators?

I am tired of having disordered thinking towards food. I just want to be a healthy well rounded person. Any advice or help would be great.

ElizabethOakes2 · March 2016

Here's my two cents worth.

You can put in a penny jar and save it up, or spend it. That's up to you.

You're trying too hard too fast and blowing yourself out.

Slow down! That weight didn't suddenly jump on yesterday and it's going to take time to get rid of. You need to be making serious lifestyle changes at this point, not starving yourself into losing weight or working out so hard that you're damaging your body.
Start small, with tiny changes.
Start eating at the top of your TDEE for a week, and record everything you eat- Just log! Don't make any changes other than logging. Once you've logged for a week, it gets a lot easier to see things you can cut out of your diet, or substitute with healthier choices. Start replacing unhealthy foods with healthier choices, and large portions with smaller ones and just cut out 100 - 200 daily calories per week until you're in weight loss. That way you can see what's right for you and your body. The systems and calculators are all just estimates, and every body is different.

You can do this! I have faith in you! The first step is to take tiny ones. I know we all want fast results, but you've seen for yourself what rushing can do.

MommyMeggo · March 2016

I think you're on the right track!!
If the HRM stresses you out more than helps/motivates you- ditch it for a while.
I like the TDEE version of tracking until I got my Fitbit- however after wearing it for a while I see the FibBit and my TDEE calculations come out to about the same.
I spent some time with a very modest calorie deficit- .5-1lb loss per week. This way I wasnt over-restricting myself as well as monitoring my intake/burns/loss. If I went from no restrictions to a 1000 deficit per day I couldnt sustain that- would burn out and eat my weight back.

Like PP said, start smaller. This is a marathon- changes for life. Its not going to happen overnight, or next week. Over a year expect great progress!
You are changing the way you relate to food AND working to change your body so Id suggest baby steps, a modest calorie deficit of 300-400/day, some exercise and above all- perhaps the hardest of them all - patience.

Plan your groceries, your meals, your snacks, log accurately and remember to feed your body.

upoffthemat · March 2016

ElizabethOakes2 wrote: »

Here's my two cents worth. You can put in a penny jar and save it up, or spend it. That's up to you.

You're trying too hard too fast and blowing yourself out. Slow down! That weight didn't suddenly jump on yesterday and it's going to take time to get rid of. You need to be making serious lifestyle changes at this point, not starving yourself into losing weight or working out so hard that you're damaging your body.
Start small, with tiny changes.
Start eating at the top of your TDEE for a week, and record everything you eat- Just log! Don't make any changes other than logging. Once you've logged for a week, it gets a lot easier to see things you can cut out of your diet, or substitute with healthier choices. Start replacing unhealthy foods with healthier choices, and large portions with smaller ones and just cut out 100 - 200 daily calories per week until you're in weight loss. That way you can see what's right for you and your body. The systems and calculators are all just estimates, and every body is different.

You can do this! I have faith in you! The first step is to take tiny ones. I know we all want fast results, but you've seen for yourself what rushing can do.

Totally echo this. Make small changes and make them stick. I have a lot to lose and am losing slowly. I am far from perfect yet, but the trend is down.
My mindset has changed to the fact I am changing my entire lifestyle. What I am doing now is what I will be doing for the rest of my life and the changes I am making are all things I can do for the rest of my life.

Kullerva · March 2016

I eat between 1500 and 1800 and usually net between 12,000 and 15,000 steps per day through walking, running, MMA and strength training. You shouldn't be starving. Eat foods that will fill you up (lots of protein and fiber). If you're still hungry, bump up your calories a little and see what happens.

SonyaCele · March 2016

if you are hungry you can stuff yourself on non starchy vegetables, and drink lots of water. 90% of the volume of what i eat is non starchy veggies, i mix them with everything to make my meals huge and filling, and i eat often. You can feel full and satisfied on 1500 calories this way.

kristysaurus · March 2016

Coming from both ends of disordered eating (too little and too much) I can empathize with how it feels to struggle with the battle you're currently facing. I have done exactly what you are doing right now (eating too little, working out a ton but it is paired with binge eating so it doesn't have any effect) and it is an awful feeling. I've done it more times than I would like to admit, along with every fad diet I could get my hands on.

This isn't the case anymore. I only really became dedicated to losing weight in a healthy way since October but I haven't "fallen off the wagon" since then.

The biggest help for me (and this is just me) has been to adjust my expectations and realize that even if I lose 1lb per week (or heck even 0.5) that I am better off than starving and losing 2+lbs/week. At my current weight I should be able to lose 2lb/week but I find it too restrictive and I feel like I am starving all the time. Losing even a small amount of weight puts me in a healthier place than I was in before and even if it takes years to get to my goal I am still going to get there. Having a healthier outlook about weight-loss has been really helpful for me to not feel so defeated all the time.

I currently eat 1800 calories per day and work out 4x/week for an hour of weight lifting and high-intensity workouts. I bumped it up from the 1500/day that was given for a 2lb/week loss that i originally put in. I'm no longer starving and feel like I can enjoy my food

I'm sorry for the long reply! Feel free to add me as a friend or message me if you want to chat

adinterim · March 2016

Hi! Congrats on the weight loss so far (and the realization that starving yourself was the wrong way to go about getting healthy).

I did a small breakdown of your stats and info in this post, leading me to the general notion that your BMR is ~1700. (The Harris Benedict formula.) 1700 calories per day is what your body needs to function based on that, so it's a good point to start.
You didn't mention much about your nutrition situation, but I will obviously recommend a balanced combination of lean protein, complex carbs and healthy fats. Weigh your food. Drink water. Plan your shopping so you don't fall in the junk trap.
With no knowledge of your workout programme, other that what you described, it seems you work out quite a bit. It also seems very varied, which is good as long as you're enjoying it and you can maintain proper form. If you don't like the strap, don't use it.
I suggest not eating back all of your workout calories based on the fact that most burn calculators/devices/whatever overestimate your burn.

Other than that, I say pick a calorie goal and be consistent with it. At least a months worth of pure consistency. If you can manage it, you'll see where you're at and how your body responds.
Weigh yourself of a semi-weekly basis (or less) if the numbers on the scale affect you negatively. Also remember that your weight is not an accurate measure of your fitness, your strength or you as a person.

ashleyjongepier · March 2016

I eat a lot of complex carbs, whole grains, lean meats, health fats and veggies and fruit. My daughter is two and I don't want her to eat the way I did as a kid (loads of pasta, very little veggies and lots of junk food/pop) So I try to make sure we only have good stuff.

I'd eat my 1500 cals and be okay then all the sudden feel like I need more. So rather than simply eat some carrots or an apple, I'd go to the store once the baby was sleeping and load up on chips. Eat until I feel like puking, be upset, the second I felt fine, eat the rest of the junk. Then the next day I'd eat on point, maybe for another day or two, then repeat. I don't even like the taste of junk food and I do this anyway. It's been five days which isn't lots but I have resisted the urge. I did eat three waffles last night but it could have been worse.

I feel like at 214 I should be able to lose 2lb a week and be fine. I don't want to lose any LBM and I want to eat to fuel my workouts since I really enjoy them. I think half of it is I don't think I'm full unless I'm stuffed.

If I just lost 4 lbs a month from when I started to really stall to now I'd be 190 by now. So I will deff try to dial it back and stay consistent and see how it goes. I guess a lot of this is trail and error and thats not something I'm used to doing.

Its so hard not to feel like the scale number is what is most important. Growing up I was always obese. My mom was very petite (100 lbs) and my younger sister was the same as her. She put me on restrictive diets since I was around 8 but would also let me eat the way she did (lots of pop and pasta) which was fine for her but just made me worse. I was never forced to play outside and she was never active because she was naturally thin. The message I got growing up was some people are just fat and some are just thin and I need to starve to look like her. When I moved out I ate everything and I know from the time I was old enough to know better on, its my poor choices that lead me to where I was/am. I don't want my daughter to have to go through any of this. She sees me workout daily and will grab her foam weights and say "Momma workin' out." She also started to stand on the scale and frown which motivates me not to weight myself daily or in front of her anymore since shes a sponge.

I know my fitness is improving. When I started I did Leslie Sansone walking videos and couldn't do more than 15 minutes without dying. I can now do high impact HIIT and for the most part keep up with the fitness blender people. Its SO important to me to make these things into healthy life long habits.

Thank you guys so much for the advice! Sometimes you just need other peoples opinions!

breeana1202 · March 2016

I too am a chip and french fry fanatic. Luckily I do low all kinds of veggies and fruit. Just simply put for years I have not eaten healthy. But for over 2 weeks now I am on track. I bought cheesy rice cakes when I have chip cravings. Only 45 calories for one. I actually used restroom in a Wendys recently because of all my water intake now and the greasy smell was actually nauseating to me. Imagine that, I lived on McDonalds frys and double cheeseburgers for almost 6 years. So the more we stay away from the crap food the better. Get healthy stuff that replaces your urges, also stay strong. We can do this.....

Confused AF (long post, help needed)

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