Cut time frame
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@heybales i stopped measuring. I feel even though I tried to be consistent as to where I was measuring it wasn't really being consistent. If that makes sense!
I was eating the same amount all around (in the summer and when going back to work) and I know that is part of the problem b/c eating the same and being less active isn't going to get me anywhere. At least that's what I think! Lol so I need to find out what works for me during the summer: decrease food or increase exercise? The exercise part I've kinda already done...working out 6x week instead of 4x. So should I increase the time of each workout session? I feel I'm eating too much for my activity level over the summer.0 -
@ambsnic17 I don't think you should increase exercise or decrease your calories. The issue you are having is with your NEAT calories (non exercise caloric burn). Is there a way you could try to become a bit more active throughout the day? (In the days you are not so busy, at least).
If you only focus on the scale and are strength training, you will see it go up. So avoid the scale and the stress.Your body will use the surplus to eventually build muscle, which is not a bad idea, it's an excellent thing. Would you consider doing a bulk in the summer months or body recomposition instead of a cut? You could gain muscle mass and once the school year starts and you are more active, you would focus on a cut, aiming to lose body fat and keeping the muscle you gained.
How much is your TDEE and how many calories are you eating?
Tereza
Team EM2WL1 -
I was reading this article on plateaus and thought about the questions you were asking about plateaus a few months ago: http://eatmore2weighless.com/workout-or-diet-plateau/
Tereza
Team EM2WL0 -
I like Teresa's idea. Lift heavy, get PRs in the summer. Enjoy the slow pace of life. Cut during the crazy, frantic school year.0
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It's the same idea of bulking from Halloween or Thanksgiving until New Year's. Bulk a little in the summer (it's a bulk phase, not an everything goes event, macros and calories count, it just means that you eat at TDEE or a bit above and stop worrying about the scale), cut once school starts than mini bulk again for the holidays. Cut again in January. May sound crazy, but paired with a good strength training program will fire up your metabolism and results will follow. Make a plan, be consistent and trust the process! Read this for bulking and cutting http://eatmore2weighless.com/q-a-bulkinghow-long-when-to-cut/
Tereza
Team EM2WL2 -
Ya I think I was crazy in thinking of doing a cut during the summer. WTF was I thinking! LOL. School starts back up in September, thats when I think I'll do a cut. Enjoy the rest of the time
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My increased activity in the summer makes a cut quite natural.
Whereas the winter months = less activity, more comfort carbs, loose woolly clothes0 -
@heybales i stopped measuring. I feel even though I tried to be consistent as to where I was measuring it wasn't really being consistent. If that makes sense!
I was eating the same amount all around (in the summer and when going back to work) and I know that is part of the problem b/c eating the same and being less active isn't going to get me anywhere. At least that's what I think! Lol so I need to find out what works for me during the summer: decrease food or increase exercise? The exercise part I've kinda already done...working out 6x week instead of 4x. So should I increase the time of each workout session? I feel I'm eating too much for my activity level over the summer.
Most measurement methods - like those that estimate bodyfat % - aren't going for a specific spot to be measured - rather minimum or maximum girth for a body part.
Abdomen at belly button being only exception.
Therefore as you lose, where the tape goes may indeed move from last time - and it's supposed to.
The only thing is keeping the tape level or perpendicular to the body part being measured.
That may be obvious and easy on say the forearm or calf, harder but not impossible on waist (minimum girth), or hips (maximum girth).
I'd start measuring again.
And you are correct about the life lesson.
You do more, you eat more.
You do less, you eat less.
You want to lose fat - you eat less than you burn
You want to gain muscle/fat - eat more
You want to recomp/maintain - eat same as you burn
Methods mentioned above are great way to get around that fact of changes of activity level and eating level.0 -
I may just eat at maintenance during the summer. It does make sense with all the festivities that go on. During the school year it's so much easier to watch food intake b/c of being busy and not having food on hand like at home during the summer. I have about 3.5 weeks left of summer so i better enjoy while I can ;-)
My lifting heavy is nothing compared to you ladies-I have a barbell plus 30 lb plate total. So I feel like my weight loss/recomp is going to take FOREVER.1 -
@TerezaToledo thanks for the link reference. It was helpful :-)0
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@ambsnic17 That's an excellent choice! Eat at TDEE during the summer and then go back to cutting once school is back. Your body and mind will thank you for that and you may even see better cut results. Consider it a maintenance break, to remind your body of where maintenance should be and to lose more once you are back at cutting. The time will pass by quickly and you will enjoy the summer break.
Heavy is relative. Maybe what's heavy for one person is light for another. Try to lift the heaviest weight you can, the one you cannot do more than 2 extra reps. You could add a resistance band to your barbell, making it harder to lift. Also there are always more advanced options of each exercise, which would make them more challenging. Once you are able to invest more on equipment, Walmart, garage sales, flea markets and even Craig's list (always be careful on who/how to contact and meet) have excellent bargains!
Tereza
Team EM2WL0 -
I've started lifting more. My eating is on par. This morning I woke up feeling strong and lean with a small hint of hot momma LOL (might I add there is no scale progress, which I know is not the be all, say all)
This my friends is major progress :-)6 -
@ambsnic17 Yes! This is what we love to hear! Such a positive mindset!
Please may I quote your NSV to inspire others?
Well done on you awesome major progress!
Ichel
EM2WL Ambassador and Moderator0 -
@empressichel, yes you may share! :-)1
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@ambsnic17 The scale suck and lies! Yay for feeling good, strong and hot! You go!
Btw, eating more can increase your libido, as some EM2WLers already mentioned before!
Tereza
Team EM2WL1 -
Planning on eating at tdee for the next 2 1/2 weeks. Feeling stressed and I normally tend to eat and go overboard. Upping in hopes to avoid this and then plan to cut when school starts back. Keeping fingers crossed...4
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And I would love to not hop on the scale in that time frame, but I doubt that will happen!2
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@ambsnic17 The idea of eating for TDEE for a certain period of time is not a free for all, but it will avoid the cycle of feeling bad for eating that may lead to bingeing. Isn't it funny how the feeling that we are eating too much can lead us to eat even more? The same with restricting too much. Having a plan takes the guesswork out of the equation and will definitely be good for you!
And about the scale, let it enjoy the last weeks on vacay, lol!
Tereza
Team EM2WL2 -
And in case you are not sure why, this is why you need to give the scale the boot: http://eatmore2weighless.com/why-you-need-to-break-up-with-your-scale/1
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@TerezaToledo I know, I hate the scale. I've made leaps and bounds though. I used to weigh myself daily, now I don't! Lol at one point I told my husband to hide the scale. He did, which was great! I didn't even go looking for it like I thought I would! Haha. Then I found it as I was cleaning one day!2
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Breaking up with my scale was the hardest thing I did:) I broke up with it for about a year.. then one day decided to see what it said. I didnt like what it said then, so I decided to break up once more and that was 18 months ago:) Don't get me wrong, I have days when Im very curious to see what it says, but I know if I do, I might not be able to distance my emotions from it...
No bother looking at anything that is going to make my mood crappy:)
Kelly
EM2WL Ambassador and Moderator2 -
I think the moral of the story amber is to not clean.
I used to have my whole day's attitude controlled by the scale. If I was down= happy. If I was the same or up = angry (especially if I had been really trying).
I went a month without it and did fine. I had a mental switch in that time and now I can weigh daily (to help monitor my tdee - no Fitbit here) without any issues.3 -
Same thing here regarding the scale. To be honest, even though I am in a happy place with how I look, steping up on the scale can mess up my mind. If the reading is higher than what it was last time, my mood will get messed up, even though my size is the same and it might as well be muscle gain (which is what I'm working for). If the reading is lower, I worry that I may be losing muscle mass. Either way it won't do me any good. Using a different scale (as in the doctor's office) doesn't have the same effect because I know that different scales give different readings and that it's ok with me, it doesn't work as comparison. Living wihout the scale is so much better.mit allows me to celebrate all the small changes that show progress and that I would not value if I was weighting myself.
Tereza
Team EM2WL1 -
@saranharm - I know, right?!? Who's dumb idea was it to clean anyway!?!
I can weigh myself daily and be ok with it. I know numbers fluctuate for many reasons. It's just the fact of anticipating a loss on the scale which isn't always the be all way of measuring success. Wish I was better at measuring- I feel like my accuracy is crap. Lost all my before pics when my phone died for good...so need to do new ones.0 -
I'm like @Raynn1 and haven't weighed myself for about 18 months. It just makes no difference to me now what it says. Some people swear by it as a measure of progress, but me......not so much.
It's just such a fickle creature.
Yes, progress pics are the best way to go. That is rotten luck that you lost your first ones, but start taking them now!
The other thing that helped me with my progress ics was letting someone else look at the, ( in my case my trainer) as we look at ourselves with such negativity that we are naturally drawn to our worst parts and focus on those rather than seeing subtle changes elsewhere. She taught me how to see that changes were happening, maybe not easy to see months by month, but 4 months apart, 6 months apart the changes were very noticeable.
Now I can look at my own pictures without a critical eye and spot changes for myself ( wait! Is that tattoo moving?) partly because I have changed my mindset so I am not so negative t what I see but also because I look at it like anatomy rather than my body if that makes sense.
Human body is fascinating how you can change things, but it does take patience and time.
Ichel
EM2WL Ambassador and Moderator1 -
@Raynn1 when you decided to step back on the scale after a year and didn't like the numbers, did you at least see some other NSV? Clothes fitting better? Smaller size? Measurements down?
Everything was on its way up along with the scale. But it didnt matter. I knew that I was coming from a very diet restricted background and that my body needed to replenish all that muscle I had lost over the years. My freedom began by allowing my body to heal and that meant a larger size. My NSVs at the time were I was eating DOUBLE or more than my WW days, My Nails stopped breaking so easily, My hair stopped falling out in chunks and I was sleeping better. Last summer I started noticing muscles in my back that I never had before. My shoulders were becoming more defined, my delts were starting to pop out. THESE are the changes I focused on and stopped caring that my clothing size went up. My top half HAD to go up in size to allow for things to fit my muscles properly:)
DO I like being a larger size? Of course not. But I stopped focusing on that Stupid tag number and started just loving what I had become, a healthier, STRONGER version of myself. Those are the changes that matter, not the scale and not my clothing tag.
Kelly
EM2WL Ambassador and Moderator2 -
Looking good @Raynn1 !!!
Well today I DID NOT weigh myself, but took some new pics because of loosing ALL my old pics on my phone. :-( so I'm
hoping to see some changes in the future.
Just curious...what all do you take progress pics of? Mine is side and front view (whole body) and flexed arms.0 -
My backside1
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Usually front, side and back, without flexing, for comparison. But the flexing ones are so fun to take, it's impossible to resist, lol! What matters is to take pictures. They tell a much better and more real story than the scale. They show us things that we may not see or pay attention on a daily basis, they are a great tool to measure progress. The bigger the time gap between the pics, the more differences we see.
Tereza
Team EM2WL1
