Thanks for the welcomes x I'm not nursing and with three kids now I'm on my feet alot so not feeling the energy for workouts yet lol I'm going to wait til I'm 6 weeks post partum to start some light workouts. Tdee is around 1800call if I remember rightly and I'm trying to stick to it but usually come 100-200 under but it's going OK so far.

Hello every one. I'm Charles and I live in the STL. I've dieted on and off for years, looking for a long term solution. From the reading so far, I like what I see. Errbody have a safe and enjoyable 4th weekend.

Hi All,
I am here after much deliberation. Last year in June I joined MFP because I had lost a few pounds and wasn't seeing any more success and so I figured I would log what I was eating and stick to my morning walks and progress. My goal weight was ultimately 110, maybe 115. I started on MFP and weighed, logged and walked. Kept my calories within range and in January got down to 130(129 earlier before the final weigh-in). I was wearing a size I was comfortable in, and starting to feel comfortable in my own skin. Then in January I was pregnant. As soon as I was pregnant I packed on weight immediately. By the time February rolled around I was 7 pounds heavier and still eating just under maintenance because I was not feeling great and couldn't eat more. When I wasn't pregnant the husband and I had date nights every week and I enjoyed a drink or two and an indulgent dinner and dessert with him and would still lose. Flash forward to the beginning of March and I lost the baby. We were saddened and it was a long process of waiting to miscarry and ultimately ending up in a D&C. After the D&C I ate in maintenance mode of about 1800 calories some days, by my estimate. I had some nice folks drop dinners off and there was no way for me to count the calories accurately. I should mention that in December I had started the Strong Curves lifting by Bret Contreras. When I was pregnant I was still strolling around the neighborhood for a good 4 mile walk. I didn't understand why I gained. I allowed myself to heal and then hopped on the scale to see it tip at 142. I felt defeated and angry because it was as if I let myself go even though I never truly ate at maintenance for very long. Its been months of a thicker waist and still eating under the requirement and I am now in the 3rd phase of Strong Curves first program(miscarriage delayed progress). Still no moving on the scale. I am 5'1" (not quite 5'2") and would really just like to fit into some of my new "old" clothes and see the scale move and shred some body fat.
I am very hesitant to up my calories to even 1700. I see that I might need to but am worried I will gain even more than I have.
Is it advisable to go with a 10% cut right now according to the calculator on this site? Were MFP calculations for my weight loss that I followed accurate enough that I didn't ruin my metabolism? I love chocolate, a glass of wine and martini on the weekend. I make my food from scratch and weigh and log my food even my chocolate chip cookie recipe.

Thank you, Tereza for your encouragement and kind words.
In January and when I was pregnant I never ate at maintenance because I wasn't feeling well. I ate as well as I could but I still didn't hit maintenance calories and still gained the weight. After the miscarriage I gained 4 more pounds up until now, I was closer to what I think my maintenance was according to MFP calculator for lightly active. When I went up to calculators on scooby and the EM2WL site my maintenance was calculated much higher than MFP. Which I had no idea and logged myself as lightly active with MFP and then just ate some of my walking calories back, it might have been too low because I just assumed I was lightly active and would only eat the cardio calories back and didn't start strong curves until I had lost a good chunk of the weight. I was turning into a cardio lady and I didn't know how to account for strength training. I am a stay at home mom.
All in all I hovered between 1300-1600 while really losing weight. My husband thinks it was too low for my level and that when I was pregnant my body just started saving everything for the pregnancy. My doctor gave me the green light to modify the lifting from Strong Curves while pregnant so I continued with lighter weights and higher reps but still gained.
I have been trying to up my calories since April/May but have been up and down with it because I would pull out my jeans and then Want to go to 1200 calories or so just to shed the extra to have them fit properly again.

How long would you suggest a reset for?

I am so happy to have found this board.

Hi! I did 8 weeks on beach body and plateau'd early on. Just switched to MFP this week and saw 2.4 pounds fly off! MFP has me eating way more carbs and a little more calories. Yay!

Hi Everyone, my name is Tonya. I am new to this EM2WL group. I am trying so hard to lose weight especially my stomach looks bloated all the time and I get so frustrated that I usually go back to old habits. I do Cardio kickboxing 3 times a week and I just joined YMCA to weight lift. I walked 3 days a week also. My problems are I drink Mt. Dew about 3 a day. Yes I know that they are bad for me.I am trying really hard not to stop. I also, love to snack on nuts pistachio's are my favorite and fruit. I have learned portion control I just need some support. I usually do good during the week but then mess up on the weekends. Don't know how to break this cycle.

I hope to learn a lot from this group.

Hi, I'm CSO. I'm 5'6", 222 lbs, middle aged, menopausal woman. My ultimate goal weight is 135, but more importantly my body fat goal is 15-18 percent. I've not been very kind to myself as far as a commitment to a food plan. I know what works for me, but I allow myself to be swayed off, mostly emotional reasons. I'm hoping to be accountable here. Also, I've been wanting to start a home circuit workout with bands and hand weights. I can't afford to go to the gym, so I need some ideas for home.

tddsmith1 wrote: »

Hi Everyone, my name is Tonya. I am new to this EM2WL group. I am trying so hard to lose weight especially my stomach looks bloated all the time and I get so frustrated that I usually go back to old habits. I do Cardio kickboxing 3 times a week and I just joined YMCA to weight lift. I walked 3 days a week also. My problems are I drink Mt. Dew about 3 a day. Yes I know that they are bad for me.I am trying really hard not to stop. I also, love to snack on nuts pistachio's are my favorite and fruit. I have learned portion control I just need some support. I usually do good during the week but then mess up on the weekends. Don't know how to break this cycle.

I hope to learn a lot from this group.

Hi Tonya
Usually when we eat more on the weekend it's because we are restricting too much during the week. I used to do that. Then beat myself up about how 'bad' I'd been on the weekend and vow to be'good' all week.
This group is all about losing that diet mentality mindset. I eat the same things during the week as I do on the weekends now. Same things on holiday. There is no restrict/binge cycles anymore!
Have you checked you are eating enough with our calculator?
http://eatmore2weighless.com/weight-loss-calculator/
It's often surprising how much we should be eating. If you are eating too few calories for a long period of time, that's often when the cravings/binges come in.
Also this lifestyle gives you plenty of room to enjoy the things you love. No need to cut out nuts. They are a great source of protein and fats as well as micro nutrients. Fruits are great too! Fibre, vitamins, antioxidants. I definitely wouldn't restrict those.
If you work out the calories you should be eating for your activity level and try to reach that every day with 40% carbs/30% protein/30% fat, you will find plenty of room for your favourite things and find that the weekends are just like the week days!
Here is a blog to leave you with about restriction/diet mentality, hope it helps.
http://eatmore2weighless.com/3-ways-to-tell-if-a-diet-will-work-for-you/
Ichel
EM2WL Ambassador and Moderator

TerezaToledo wrote: »

Welcome to the EM2WL Forum on MFP, @CSO50364 !
Emotional eatng and triggers can be hard to deal with, but once your body is using to you eating enough and not restricting calories, you will see huge improvement. Binges and cravings go away. It takes time, it's. Ot a quick fix, but it works for life. First thing is to check the quick start on the EM2WL site. It's free and will tellyou how this works in a nutshell: http://training.eatmore2weighless.com/get-your-quick-start-guide/?utm_source=mfp&utm_medium=DM&utm_campaign=quick start

For free workouts that can be done at home, go to www.em2wl.com/results and http://eatmore2weighless.com/category/workouts/

Tereza
Team EM2WL

empressichel wrote: »

tddsmith1 wrote: »

Hi Everyone, my name is Tonya. I am new to this EM2WL group. I am trying so hard to lose weight especially my stomach looks bloated all the time and I get so frustrated that I usually go back to old habits. I do Cardio kickboxing 3 times a week and I just joined YMCA to weight lift. I walked 3 days a week also. My problems are I drink Mt. Dew about 3 a day. Yes I know that they are bad for me.I am trying really hard not to stop. I also, love to snack on nuts pistachio's are my favorite and fruit. I have learned portion control I just need some support. I usually do good during the week but then mess up on the weekends. Don't know how to break this cycle.

I hope to learn a lot from this group.

Hi Tonya
Usually when we eat more on the weekend it's because we are restricting too much during the week. I used to do that. Then beat myself up about how 'bad' I'd been on the weekend and vow to be'good' all week.
This group is all about losing that diet mentality mindset. I eat the same things during the week as I do on the weekends now. Same things on holiday. There is no restrict/binge cycles anymore!
Have you checked you are eating enough with our calculator?
http://eatmore2weighless.com/weight-loss-calculator/
It's often surprising how much we should be eating. If you are eating too few calories for a long period of time, that's often when the cravings/binges come in.
Also this lifestyle gives you plenty of room to enjoy the things you love. No need to cut out nuts. They are a great source of protein and fats as well as micro nutrients. Fruits are great too! Fibre, vitamins, antioxidants. I definitely wouldn't restrict those.
If you work out the calories you should be eating for your activity level and try to reach that every day with 40% carbs/30% protein/30% fat, you will find plenty of room for your favourite things and find that the weekends are just like the week days!
Here is a blog to leave you with about restriction/diet mentality, hope it helps.
http://eatmore2weighless.com/3-ways-to-tell-if-a-diet-will-work-for-you/
Ichel
EM2WL Ambassador and Moderator

TerezaToledo wrote: »

Hello Tonya, welcome!
Instead of removing things from your diet, how about adding more of other things? Maybe if you add more water, carbonated water, with or without lemon, for instance, you would have less room for MD. You don't need to deprive yourself from it. Nuts are an excellent source of proteins, fats and energy.
What are your goals? Have you checked out your TDEE? I loved this post from Kiki (EM2WL co-founder and ceo) on Instagram from today:

Tereza
Team EM2WL

Hi Empressichel,
Thank you.