Love the idea of my new diet being "eat more"
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Glad you had a great vacation and are ready to get back at it!
If you don't want to do a 10% cut, do a 5% one. That's totally fine, and in fact can be a better way to go rather than hitting everything straight out of the gate.
Just saying!
Ichel
Team EM2WL0 -
I actually feel like I need the 10% cut to pay more attention to my macros and what I am eating. I was used to overeating all the bad stuff. This way if I go over a little I will still be at least at a 5% cut hehe.1
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Check-in time.
I was looking at my trend weight since I started EM2WL. It goes continuously upward. Part of that is eating over my TDEE (vacation and surgery +10 lbs) and part of that I think is my TDEE is maybe a bit lower so closer to 2350 or 2400 than 2550 since the upward trend was over the whole 5 months and not just the 8 weeks of surgery and vacation. Fitbit has always said I was at 2200-2300, so with the body-weight martial arts training 2400 is probably really close.
I am trying something different by setting my TDEE to halfway between lightly active and Sedentary (with the 10% cut built in) - aka 1900 calories per day (2150 is probably where my day to day - non-workout activity really is). Then, I am logging my exercise and eating back my exercise calories.
So far this week that is working really well for me - and it encourages me to work out as well since I get more food on workout days. I also find that on the days I do not work out or do more activity that usual, 1900 really is enough.
It also allowed me to notice that I do better if I cut a little from every meal and I cut out morning and evening snacks, which I haven't needed since early on in my reset anyway. I still keep my afternoon protein bar snack - otherwise I go home and eat out the whole kitchen LOL.
So my results so far this week:
Down 1 lb, but more importantly I feel less bloated, and my pants are starting to fit better again. I still have energy for workouts, though getting back in shape after an 8 week break is a bit painful LOL. I will have averages and such next week since I only just started this on Monday.
Kelly2 -
Nice plan of action, to account for inaccuracies, and deal with workout routine.1
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Weekly check-in:
The 1900 calorie log setting is working really well for me, it forces me to rethink my options and I find myself choosing healthier foods and looking for high protein options, to get my protein in. Protein macros have been great, 25-30% every day this week!
My average for the week was about 2400 (averaging pretty high on Sat and Sun as usual), a bit higher than I was shooting for (2250 was my cut goal), but I feel good with the progress and I had 2 evenings out with friends and felt good eating what I wanted. So that killed my cut for the week, but I still stayed around the TDEE that fitbit calculated.
Overall I feel like I am back on track and going to be able to lose slowly - M-Th at a cut level was not as painful as I feared, though it's still not fun (hehe). I am shooting for a 6-8 week cut then I will do 2 weeks at TDEE and decide where to go from there. And this week is actual cut week 1 after the experimentation of last week.
I will stick to the 1900 MFP diary goal and eat back most of my exercise calories (which should even out to a 10% cut). Slow and steady really feels like where it is at, since I still have ice cream and the occasional desert. Keeping my protein up helps me not get hungry in between meals and makes me think about wiser food choices.
My goal this week is to log everything so I have a better handle on how much I do or don't lose so I can calculate my actual TDEE (probably over a month since weekly weight can fluctuate so much).
Kelly
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How do you track calories burned for a weightlifting session?0
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In MFP database under Strength Training (weight training).
It's much lower compared to cardio - but that's true.
Strength Training is the lifting with reps 5-15, and sets, and rests 2-4 min long.0 -
perfect - thank you
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Weekly Update.
I have not had a valid weigh-in this past week (sore muscles, other water retention). But the invalid results are that I am up 2 lbs. However, my clothing is starting to fit better again (those pants that had gotten too tight are less tight). so I feel like I am on the right track.
I am doing really well keeping my protein over 25%, and doing decently at keeping the 10% cut - though with my weekend splurges is probably closer to 5%. Still I am happy with that and happy with the little changes in habits that I am making that all in all add up to healthier choices overall. I will run the numbers later today and adjust as needed.
Workouts are finally getting a bit easier again as I get back in shape after my surgery and vacation, With PT the shoulder is doing better as well.
My goals this week are to maintain the 10% cut, continue with 30% protein, add in more vegetables and do some stair work at the gym to prepare me for the stamina I will need for my Karate Belt Test coming up in 2 weeks.
So 4-5 more weeks at cut then back to TDEE for a week or two.
Kelly
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Good plan.
Curious what the karate move is when a shoulder is bad. When one arm can't "wax on, wax off" and "sand this way" just wondering what you have to do with it.0 -
Glad things are going well Kelly!!
Kelly
Team EM2WL0 -
Heybales: I actually push through the pain and do pretty much everything - until it gets overwhelming then I do scaled down moves, e.g. not lifting as high or stopping short of the full range or where it would hurt.. I have full range of motion - just a lot of pain (sometimes). I have good and bad days, the physical therapy seemed to be really helping until Monday when I had a new therapist who did some things that I think caused me to backtrack back into painful mode, this week has been rough. The one thing I discovered I can't do is swim... after 3-4 laps I am done for with the pain levels, which sucks because I love to swim. Weeks like this make me think I might end up with surgery after all, though last week was almost pain free.
Kelly: I actually finally got a valid weigh in and I am up 2.4 lbs. I figure this is water gain since I have actually been sticking to my goals and my waist went down 2 inches (though no inch loss anywhere else yet). For once this did not freak me out and cause me to either over eat or under eat ( I already get really hungry in the middle of the night so I am not pushing my calories any lower LOL). The only thing that actually scares me a bit is trendweight.com says I need to cut 700 cals per day to lose weight and I am in fact eating 500 more calories a day than I burn... I am hoping this is wrong! I will find out in another couple of weeks of cutting since before that I was over eating for 6 weeks LOL.
I just keep plugging away and know that eventually the water will have to go away and then the actual loss will show up. I am doing good with my macros and working out has been almost as easy as when I was eating at TDEE, I think because I am doing much better with my protein goals. I am almost always over 25% and usually really close to 30% on my protein, gotta love chicken! Plus I do not feel deprived - if I want something I have it - although on a scaled down level or in the case of ice cream - on a halo top level LOL.1 -
BTW--WOW, JUST WOW! 49 and getting your black belt. My husband is 48 and will be testing for his black belt in Sept. One of the things he does is eat a small, high protein snack about and hour before Karate practice. Usually half a BP&J or maybe 1/2 a grilled chicken breast with a few whole grain crackers. Then he eats dinner when he gets home. He can't eat a meal right before practice or he gets nauseous, but he can't not eat at all or he gets really lightheaded during practice.0
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This is actually my second black belt - I got one way back when I was 30
I eat a protein bar about 1-2 hours before class. That seems to tide me over most days. Sometimes I get hungry toward the end of the long days. 0 -
Weekly Check-In
Weight: no real change other than water fluctuation (that I can see)
Daily average this week: 2300 (10% cut)
Average protein intake: 26% (woohoo) Most days I was actually right around 30% but I have one day under 20% that pulled me down.
I am finding that cutting is more of a challenge than I anticipated. This is week 2 and it's hard not to look for immediate results! I am so used to taking my calories so low I lose a couple of pounds a week. In the past on an one of my "diets" after the first 2 weeks I would've lost 6-7 lbs and here I am chugging along at "maybe" 0.5 pounds per week. It's hard to see the actual loss because at this level the water weight up and down hides it. I am hoping that I can see it at the end of my 6 weeks.
I keep second guessing my reset and thinking that maybe I am overestimating my TDEE (2550) and my 10% cut (2330) is not low enough to actually lose weight. At 2330 I am for sure not gaining weight, but maybe I need to cut to 2100 etc. But since I am a bit hungry at 2300, my body does seem to think I am indeed cutting LOL. So for 6 more weeks I will stay at 2300. At the end of 6 weeks I should be able to recalculate my TDEE based on how much weight I lose and how many calories I consumed. I am really hoping for 3 lbs down which will mean my TDEE is actually 2550 after all. Then I will get to go back up to 2550 and eat again at that level for 2 weeks! hehe
Kelly0 -
Good plan.
Just confirm that the beginning or end of 6 weeks doesn't include known times of big water weight fluctuations - since BMR literally does change through the month for women.
Or might pick the correct 4 week time span in there to use for math.
And just remember that initial big weight loss going into a diet that almost everyone gets - is usually eating less sodium and less glucose stores being in a diet.
Also, while 3 lbs is minor is scheme of things - if lost then your TDEE will be lower.0 -
That's good advice on the 4 week extrapolation.
Thanks for the reminder about the TDEE recalculations as I lose weight. I tend to check it every once in a while - but I should recalculate after every cut. It won;t be much but it will keep me on track and make sure I don;t overeat after successive cuts.
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Weigh in update - YAY I finally lost a pound and trendweight now says I am burning more than I eat That makes me happy - 4 more weeks of cutting then a couple of weeks off. 4
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Got back on the scale today to make sure yesterdays weight wasn't a fluke. I really did lose that pound (which is exactly on target with .5 lb a week 10% cut) and trendweight.com is still saying I am now burning more than I eat (and the number of calories I am burning is going up as I continue with my cut).
This makes me happy because I am losing weight eating normal food (and icecream and morning cold brewed coffee hehe)... with just a little bit of a cut. My cut mainly comes from making healthier choices when I eat out and cutting out a morning snack which I discovered I don't really need. So 4 more weeks and 1 weekend of cutting left then back to TDEE which will feel so good. Getting that protein level to 30% REALLY makes a huge difference for me in being hungry or tired. The only time I actually crave carbs now is after a workout - when I probably need them.
So all I have to say is YAY this works!! The whole 6 month reset was so worth it to lose weight while eating an average of 2300 cals a day (I eat less during the week to eat more on the weekends for those who peruse my journal and see me under 2300 cals a day). I feel that eating this way will finally allow me to get off the Yo-yo wagon and lose steadily and keep it off. No strange diet rules, no starving, just working out and eating real food. And working out is so much more fun when I actually have energy!
Kelly3 -
Check in time
Week 3 of a 6 week cut.
TDEE: 2550
Goal 2350 calories
Fitbit TDEE last week: 2514
Average Cals per day: 2235 (right around 10% cut)
Other goals:
Log everything - DONE! woohoo that was a big thing for me.
Protein 30% - actual 28%
Weight loss since start of cut: somewhere between 1 and 2 lbs (weight in is on Thursday)
Things went really well last week. I do find that I am hungry and wanting that morning snack back. Not having issues with evening binges like when I was dieting before, I just notice I am hungry when I wake up, hungry sooner after breakfast and really ready for dinner LOL.
All in all I feel like I can do this for 3 more weeks and it puts me on track for a 3 lb loss. Not much in the scheme of needing to lose 44, but a real victory in that I am pretty much eating what I want and I do not feel deprived of anything. So basically losing weight without "dieting" and I love it. If I can continue with 6 weeks cut 2 weeks TDEE in a year I will be halfway (or more) to my goal. I am not normally a patient person, but to be able to eat and lose weight - and then keep it off, I can have the patience for that!
On a different note, my husband and I have been wanting to run a PKSA (Tang Soo Do style karate) school, and that dream will soon be coming true! Goodbye desk job!! I will be the lead instructor running the school, my hubby will be finishing up the last 5 years of his current job then retiring and joining me. My 17 y/o daughter will be with us to take over in 10 or so years when we are ready to retire or move to a less active role.
It motivates me to try a 15% cut next cut cycle...
Kelly0 -
Oh wow on starting the school!
How awesome! And a real family affair too! Love it.
And you are doing an amazing job with your cut too.
What an incredible time for you.
Good luck!
Ichel
Team EM2WL0 -
About getting in protein: for breakfast I take a serving of kodiak pancake mix, 1 scoop quest vanilla powder, and 3/4cup water and make pancakes out of it. Throw a cup of fresh fruit on top and it is so good! Tons of protein and complex carbs and virtually no fat. I can whip it up in about 7-8 minutes.
I make creamer for my coffee with 2 cups of Carbmaster milk (lactose intolerance) and 1 scoop of vanilla protein. Lasts me about 3 days.
The rest of my protein I get from normal sources, eggs, chicken, etc. Sometimes I have a small protein bar between lunch and dinner. I was having trouble meeting my 30% protein goal until I incorporated these 3 things.0 -
Weigh in results: Down about 3 lbs total over 3.5 weeks of 10% cut. Some may be water weight - but at the end of 6 weeks I will be able to pretty closely calculate my TDEE to go back to maintenance for a while.
On another note, I just discovered that for my Black Belt Test in February I need to:
1) take a 6+ hour test of my Karate skills - Basics, Forms(13 different forms in total), Self Defense, On step sparring, free sparring, Bo-Staff forms (3).
2) Then run one mile
3) Then do 60 of each - push-ups, sit-ups, squats
I can probably do half of number 2 and 3 right now - but not after 6 hours of karate. I am going to need to beef up my stamina and strength in the next few months.
The last black belt test I took - I was 30 years old, in good shape (about 20 lbs lighter than I am now) and was exhausted and dehydrated after a test that was about 6 hours long. And back then I didn't have to do number 2 and 3. Now I am 50. This is going to take some serious work.
Any suggestions?0 -
Wow - that sounds like massive requirement - I guess just not the moves down - but the endurance possibly needed for a long drag out fight!
Normally for endurance you don't have to actually do the event - at some point you cross a line that means you can do the longer stuff, it's merely a matter of fueling to reach it.
And fueling starts well before that line - because body can only absorb so much so fast to make it useful - wait too long and the lag time makes it useless.
I'd suggest plan out the weeks and start doing jog/walk intervals for an amount of time after a training session to duplicate that, increasing that jog/walk as you get closer.
Obviously the ability to duplicate the time at a much lower intensity doesn't work either - unless you have a Sat training day you could approach say 3 hrs (for marathon training, 3-3:30 hr long run is generally found to be the max benefit for endurance, more than that no extra benefit except perhaps mental, but easily negative of more injury prone).
So if the training is normally 1 hr - and see how long to do the bodyweight stuff normally when not tired, then figure out how much jog/walk time left to reach a total of 3.5 hrs.
Then start that jog/walk with wherever you are now for time doing it, and figure out where you want to start adding in time, remembering no more than 10% mileage or time increase weekly.
I'd also pick 2 other back-to-back days during the week - 1 day is training with some jog/walk, next day is rest of jog/walk (but longer) with bodyweight stuff.
That way within 24 hrs you are getting closer to the time.
There are many tried and true methods to help endurance outside actually doing the endurance event itself in training.0 -
I HATE running, it just hurts too much, so my goal is to stop at running one mile. I have pretty decent arthritis in my right knee that will cause a lot of pain for running. Plus at 40 lbs overweight that will kill my other joints as well LOL. I think we have to do a 7 minute mile - but it may be 8 mins.
I have approximately 26 weeks until my test, and then I will need to stay in that shape because I will need to re-certify every 6 months.
So is this what you mean that looks like maybe?
weeks 1-2 (or however long it takes)
At least 10/10/10 (sit-ups,push-ups, squats), probably more like do each to muscle fatigue/exhaustion then run jog/1 mile on treadmill, seeing how long a mile takes. And do this several times per week.
week 2-3
At least 15/15/15 plus run/jog one mile trying to do it faster than last week.
As the weeks go on add this regimen after a karate class? then try to up the intensity of everything?
and so on until I am above and beyond what I need to do?
I will have the opportunity when I get closer to February to actually run through the (entire) test and then do the whole running and 60/60/60 thing, so I will be able to test it out. I guess I should plan to do that in December so that I have 2 months to up the intensity of my training if I fail miserably LOL. I will also be attending a black belt prep class that is a lot of calisthenics, that will probably start in December or early January.
I may go watch a full test this weekend to get a better idea of how much down time I will have during the 6 hours.
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@kcmsmith0405 I got my black belt in tae kwon do 11 years ago, that was a lot of work! Did your instructor give you a countdown workout? I had 8 weeks of training I did that equated to about 3 intense hours of working out 6 days a week. The time flew by!0
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Ya, fueling during the 6 hrs will be very important since it's nature will be high carb burn, exactly what you have limited supplies of and need right to the end with those exercises at the end.
So testing out products and amounts that won't mess up your stomach through non-absorption, but max that can be to provide benefit later.
So forget the idea of jog/walk taking the place of time spent doing the karate.
Good idea to see what it looks like, to see what level of calisthenics can mimic it well enough.
I wouldn't necessarily try to get the jog/walk faster each week, though that probably does beat the idea of lengthening the jog portion - which will just be hard on joints. So will going faster though somewhat - but the form improvements from going faster, even for a little bit, can be very useful.
And then during the actual test, can do more running at correct pace. Should be fit enough by then to handle a constant run - not required in training as it could just be mighty stressful.
Got a good plan.
The squats and situps will likely help form enough - whenever they start feeling easy - add more reps, even if more than required.0 -
@cinblog1965 no workout plan yet - I have a Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do also from about 19 years ago. So I know what I am up against! I am still 6 months out - so I want to get in shape early to make it easier. I will have enough to worry about remembering everything I need to for the test itself, I don;t want to stress about the physical fitness test at the end.
@heybales Thank you! I will work on finding out what kind of high energy fuel I can tolerate, I know Gatorade will be on the menu plan for sure - just need to see what foods I can add too. Should I eat high (healthy) carb the night before?
I did find out that I have 10 minutes to run the mile and I did it in 15 on the treadmill yesterday without being exhausted. Of course I didn't do much else, just wanted to get my starting point LOL.0 -
The week before should be no deficit, that will top off carb stores as best they can get.
The night before carb method popularized by runners is useless (unless they are in diet week prior) because the protocol to actually benefit includes a week of running carbs stores massively low then piling them on for an over-compensation effect.
Only pro's are doing it right, or few others.
Great news on mile - so training with jog/walk routine to save the joints can still help. Just gotta do the run part at better than 10 min/mile.1 -
Check in time
Week 4 of a 6 week cut.
TDEE: 2550
Goal 2350 calories
Fitbit TDEE last week: 2514
Average Cals per day: 2175 (right around 15% cut)
Other goals:
Log everything - did it again - I think this may be a good habit I am forming.
Protein 30% - actual 28% (weekends are killing me I need to fix the weekend protein)
Weight loss since start of cut: as of today 3, lbs - real weigh in is on Thursday.
Things are still going well, however as of yesterday I am exhausted for my workouts, so I am going to move my calories back up to maintenance slowly this week. I am still really hungry and wanting that morning snack back. NSV, when I am hungry I want stuff with protein in it. Carbs are not my go-to anymore - protein is.
I hit my 3 lb loss goal for this cut and feeling so tired and laggy I want to go back up to TDEE and feel good again for a bit before I cut again. I may end up as a 4 week cut/1-2 week maintenance kind of person.
Karate school ownership is moving right along - should be in and starting out the middle of next month. When that happens I am going to either quit or go part time at my desk job so my TDEE will be going up just from getting rid of the sitting all day (woohoo more food hehe).
Kelly2
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