Of refeeds and diet breaks

bmeadows380 wrote: »

Nony_Mouse wrote: »

It's probably easier for you to set your protein according to ideal body weight at this point (eg mid BMI range), at 0.6-0.8g per lb. That's how I do mine, since I don't actually know my lbm, other than a guess. Though I actually aim for 1g per lb of total weight. What are your protein sources now? We can make suggestions as to how you may be able to increase it a bit more, though obviously you'll need to cut some cals from either carbs or fat to do that, unless you can increase TDEE.

In a pipe-dream world, I should weigh in the neighborhood of 160 lbs. For someone who started at 380 lbs, that seems impossible, especially dealing with thyroid and PCOS and depression problems.

But if I use that for my protein I should be eating, then I guess I should be getting 128 - 160g a day.

Right now, I eat eggs and a little canadian bacon for breakfast, switched out with oatmeal 2 or so times a week, and sometimes 1 Tbsp almond butter on thin bread. I'll get a package of lunchmeat and use it as a snack, usually going for half a serving just to head off hunger cravings. I'll have the little protein packages for lunch or leftovers from dinner before or a premade salad, and these usually clock in around 14-17g of protein each and in the neighborhood of 300 calories, and I'll snack on 1 serving of jerky during the weekdays for another 10g. I usually have meat for dinner - I shoot for fish once a week, and then have chicken 2 or 3 times, and beef and pork once in a while. I work to keep it to one serving of meat, though, and try to fill in with veggies like carrots, broccoli, greens, etc. I don't usually have a lot of pasta, rice, potatoes, or couscous during the week. I try to incorporate more beans, but its not very often because of the calorie content.

I love dairy but have to limit my intake or the pipes get clogged, so to speak. If I have a few extra calories of an evening, I'll have a yogurt, and I've found I like skyr the best - around here, there's a brand called Siggi's I can usually find, with 15g protein per container and less than 10g added sugar. I've switched to unsweetened almond milk for my coffee to save on calories. I usually have some cheese as a snack - 1 oz or a single string cheese stick or a babyel round, though they don't have much protein. Lately I've been dragging, so a second 16 oz coffee is often gotten at a self-serve bar, and then I'll use about 1/2 cup skim milk (can't stand black coffee lol)

If I eat out for lunch or breakfast, its usually subway or subway-like places, and I go for flatbread and turkey or ham or chicken, sans cheese and dressing, loaded up on vegetables.

Protein shakes and bars are so high in calories that I don't usually reach for them because I'll have one and be hungry in 30 minutes whereas if I have a lower calorie snack and get hungry again, I have room to spare. At my old house, I could find Think Thin 150 bars that had 10g of protein each and would use them once in a while as a snack, but the regular think thins that have 20g are 220 calories and up so I usually avoid them. And the sugar free ones that I find around here almost all use aspertame for sweetener, and I can't use aspertame - it upsets my stomach.

I'm trying to get a varied diet, trying to work in at least 1 fruit a day and at least 2 servings of vegetables; I guess I'm getting more carbs in than I think I am.

ZoneFive wrote: »

I'm starting my second week of diet break and I'm really surprised that maintenance eating takes at least as much planning as deficit eating. I'm used to eating at deficit by now, and it's much easier to plan. MFP's default split for carbs requires a lot more thought. I'm not sure I trust such a high level of carbs, partly because of the diabetes and partly because I find myself trying to bump up the carbs with sweet/baked baked things. That's a habit I've been trying to break, and this isn't helping.

On the other hand, I thought resetting my leptin levels was more dependent on my carb intake, so that more carbs (within reason) are necessary. Maybe just not as many as the MFP default.

I'm up just 2 lbs from last Monday and well within normal fluctuations and the expected gain (glycogen replenishment, right?). I KNOW it's normal, I KNOW it's expected, and I KNOW it's water weight -- but there's still a little twitch in the back of my brain that wants me to go back to deficit RIGHT NOW. These two weeks are experimental; I'll keep eating 2460 calories for the next week, but I'm working hard on not tinkering with the macros. My inner perfectionist wants to keep the experimental protocols the same for the full two weeks (my inner perfectionist is a scientist) and have that time as a learning experience. That'll also leave me room for Thanksgiving's carbs, which was the point of picking this time frame in the first place.

I just don't trust the carbs -- or I don't trust myself with that many carbs, one or the other.

GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »

You can buy protein powder and stir that into your oatmeal to up the protein.

I forget, what are your calories?

bmeadows380 wrote: »

Nony_Mouse wrote: »

I really should redo the test, but I think from memory I have an A at the end. Makes sense (and handy), given that my job involves analysing the crap out of stuff. Though currently I'm organising a mountain of data so that I can analyse the crap out of it. This is the not fun part. Excel and I have a love/hate relationship. Though I see the patterns emerging as I organise, and that starts my brain ticking over. Then I will make up a pretty story about marine (and a bit of freshwater) subsistence on the Kapiti Coast of NZ circa 500 years ago.

according to Anubis's link, the A at the end stands for this:

Assertive (-A) individuals are self-assured, even-tempered and resistant to stress. They refuse to worry too much and do not push themselves too hard when it comes to achieving goals.

The T stands for:

Turbulent (-T) individuals are self-conscious and sensitive to stress. They are likely to experience a wide range of emotions and to be success-driven, perfectionistic and eager to improve.

Me? I'm totally a T!

psuLemon wrote: »

anubis609 wrote: »

psuLemon wrote: »

I apparently need to spend some time catching up with this thread; I am like 4 pages behind. But I did have time to do the personality test, and inline with last time, I am an ESTJ-A.

I can see that.. I mean, when you mod MFP.. lol

What you see on the forums is nothing compared to what happens on the mod side.

psuLemon wrote: »

Interestingly enough, we have had several people stop being a mod for those reasons. Some just struggle dealing with the crazies on the forums and some of the abuse we take. I have even been threatened several times, lol.