In need of something today - support, encouragement, tough love - just help. Let's start with I didn't do well with recording my food intake last week. It's hard to do when you don't prepare all of your own food! So I can't say exactly what my macros and calories were, but I tried to choose foods high in protein and with easily recognizable ingredients. Birthday Thursday = dinner out and wine, date night Friday with dinner out and beer, music festival and another meal out and beer on Saturday. (That really makes it sound like I drink a lot but I don't always do that. ) We brined pork chops for dinner last night, so probably too much sodium. Only worked out twice from Monday - Friday (back on schedule on Saturday). Just lost it last week. Weekly weigh in this morning shows me up over 2.5 pounds. I doubt I ate enough calories to actually gain 2.5 pounds - Saturday and Sunday were only two actual meals because of sleeping in and having a late breakfast. Anyway - I feel so upset with myself today! The mean voice in my head has been scolding me all morning for my failures to record, work out, eat better, and for gaining weight. I know that's not helpful but I just feel like I've failed today. I guess the diet mentality is alive and well.

Working on it - logging today and planning ahead for tomorrow as well. Weights tonight, hoping I can get my mental state to be better. The "recognition" that it wasn't fat comes from reading so much of the EM2WL material, and I'm glad I have that. The frustration is from the old mindset which I wish I could get rid of!

Wow, Kelly just said it better than anyone else could! You did have a great summer week indeed! And as much as your diet mentality is saying mean things, they are not true. Those are mind games. You did have workouts and made protein choices. The EM2WL lifestyle tells us to enjoy life, everything can fit your diet,you can have treats and indulgences every so often. They should actually be part of your diet so you can be consistent, instead of restricting and bingeing. As you said, you don't always drink, so enjoying it twice in this specific week is not an issue.
The weight difference is most likely water retention, so it will go down. Don't go punishing yourself cutting calories, just move on.

If a friend of yours had done the same, you would never be as harsh as you are being with yourself. You would be understanding and supportive, so do the same now.

Tereza
Team EM2WL

Hi all. My name is Laura and I am new to EM2WL. I decided to look for a group like this after meeting with a Registered Dietitian last week. I have been dieting on and off my entire adult life with little long term success. Last September I stared this process of dieting again in the hopes of making permanent lifestyle changes. I had lost 40 pounds when I decided to meet with a health coach after the scale stopped moving. I bought into the process of focusing solely on macros and not counting calories. After 7 weeks the scale stopped moving again and I got curious just how many calories I was eating. I was SHOCKED to find out that I was only eating between 900 - 1,100 a day. I knew this was not right. After ending the program with the health coach I gradually got my calories up to 1,200 - 1,300 some days of the week. I still felt pretty tired most days and found it challenging to fit in a 3-4 mile walk. I did a little reading and decided to reach out to a certified and experienced RD who offered metabolism and body fat analysis. I met with her and was floored when she told my my BMR was 1,620. She said, at a minimum, you need to be eating this. Just to exist, your body needs this many calories. I sat there dumbfounded. I have never in my life had someone tell me I need to eat more. I am currently working with her to gradually increase my calories to the minimum amount on a consistent basis. She also has me working to get and stay on a consistent food schedule as well.

Learning to eat more has definitely been difficult. I am still struggling when I log my food to see my calories increasing, but, I do have to say - I am already feeling better. I am hoping over the course of the next month or two to finally have my calories up to my BMR and am looking forward to the next leg of the journey. Looking forward to getting lots of info from the group and getting to know everyone.

Welcome to the group @NewMe9597 ! It sounds like you have a great RD who is helping you along. Thats wonderful. So many of them think that 1200 cals is the magic number and refuse to believe we need higher calories. You found a good one if she knows about BMR and boosting your cals up. Awesome start and keep at it getting those cals up. It will be slow just because of the so little cals you were eating before, but trust that you are on the right path. You even said you are feeling better. Thats a huge factor! Keep going!

Kelly
EM2WL ambassador and moderator

Hi @NewMe9597
Your story i sadly very common. So many people here come from similar backgrounds.
But that means the good news is we get you! We understand your struggles and your concerns and can give you all the support you need.
I think reading this post from our website should be really helpful for where you are right now.
http://eatmore2weighless.com/upping-cals-what-to-expect/

Ichel
EM2WL Ambassador and Moderator