Of refeeds and diet breaks

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  • bmeadows380
    bmeadows380 Posts: 2,981 Member
    Psychgrrl wrote: »

    I work intently with my docs to go on How symptom free I am, not just the numbers. My TSH can vary by 2 points (always in the normal range by my lab’s standards) while my Free T4 is very stable. My Free T3 is not, and I supplement T3 as well. I feel much better since I started taking the T3. The studies I’ve read show very little impact on TSH through additional supplementation of T3, however, the majority patients reported an increased quality of life. If it’s a placebo effect, I’ll take it!

    If you’re only taking a T4, consider asking your doc about a T3. It’s very different than the T4. T3 is in and out and doesn’t take weeks to fully metabolize in your system like the T4. You will likely notice the impact in a few days. Your body should convert T4 into T3, but might be doing a crappy job.

    Also, if you’re on generic meds, can you find out if you’re on the same generic each time you refill? There are literally hundreds of T4s out there and most pharmacies stick whatever is cheapest. Which means you can get a different one each time. My old doc was convinced this was a problem for me. The medication is the same, but the colorings, fillings, coatings, and binders can differ. She wrote my prescription for the name brands and my TSH levels stabilized within six months. And they were varying a crazy amount the couple years before that. Like sometimes 18.0 variance—from -2.0 to 16.0 and every Wheeler in between every 8 weeks! Could it have been something else? Absolutely! But I felt so bad, I just wanted to feel better and didn’t care what “fixed” me.

    My current insurance company makes its own meds, so I get the same one every time now. Dunno, but I thought it might help.

    :heart:

    I'm actually on name brand and have been for 2 years as I had an allergic reaction to the last batch of generic I took - hands swelled up so much I couldn't bend my fingers! Since we had no idea what was in whatever generic Walgreens had at the time, my doctor agreed to stick strictly to the name brand.

    I'm a little irritated at my endo, as it took forever to get her to comment on the increased TSH, and even then, she just said "sometimes it changes" and just told me to up my synthroid dose on Sundays to get the TSH back down to closer where she wants it to be. meanwhile, my own research led to me think that my problem was the time of day I was getting the bloodwork done. since you don't have to fast for TSH, I had always gotten it done late in the afternoons, after work. This last time, however, I had done around 11 AM in the morning. Apparently, if what I read is right, your TSH fluctuates through the day, but tends to fall as the day goes along, so its quite possible my TSH has actually been higher all along, but we were missing it because I was consistently getting my readings done in the evenings!

    I also switched, back in the spring, when I took my synthroid. I was taking it around lunch time to get it in between my metformin doses, but after talking my doctor into cutting my metformin dose in half, I went to taking the metformin of a morning and the synthroid at night. When discussing this with my PCP, she suggested perhaps taking the synthroid of a morning. She was quick to try to disuade me from the whole "the TSH is not the end all be all measurement for thyroid" (she was sticking to the traditional endocrinology viewpoint that TSH is the gold standard and all the rest aren't real helpful) though I still think there is some merit to the idea that just because your TSH and T4 levels are fine or high, doesn't mean your body is converting the T3 correctly.....Anyway, even my PCP agreed with me in wondering why my endo was resistant to putting me on a low does of T3.

    My endo just wanted me to up my T4 dose, but did agree to redo the bloodwork in 6 weeks, and if my TSH came down but my T3 didn't get up, she would then agree to put me on T3.

    meanwhile, I just about choked when I saw my part of the cost for that bloodwork - $900?!!!! Good grief! At least I'm meeting my deducible with it!

    I have been fighting exhaustion for a very long time, and my weight loss has been stalled since December. I looked back, and my last dosage change was actually october, not march, so I just couldn't understand why the TSH had risen so high. The problem I'm running into is that my doctor seems to think that as long as my TSH is where she wants it to be, I'm fine, and I can't get her to really listen when I tell her that I still feel crappy. At the same time, I've been dealing with some pretty bad bouts of depression, too, so I think my hypo symptoms of lethargy, no weight loss, and exhaustion are multifaceted. I finally relented and let my PCP put me on Welbutrin last week to see if that would help, and maybe in the meantime, I might be able to get my endo to agree to the T3 trial. so perhaps by November, I might be seeing a positive difference?

    I agree, though - even if it would just be a placebo affect, I'll take it! I wonder about that so far with the Wellbutrin - I have noticed this week that I'm not nearly as drowsy during the day and I'm not fighting falling asleep at my desk nearly as much as I was before. I'm not completely free of the foggy-headedness, and I still have a hard time focusing, but perhaps that will slowly change, too. My sleep hasn't changed, though, except for perhaps a slight increase toward insomnia, but that hasn't been bad enough to call my doctor over, yet. I haven't gotten the burst of energy my doctor claimed I would, and I haven't really noticed a decrease in my appetite yet, either, unfortunately. But at the same time, while I'm still consistently eating over calorie goal this week, I don't think I'm going over QUITE as bad as I was before, and I'm finding it a little easier to ignore the persistent push to eat, at least during the day, that I was fighting so much. At the very least, I'm have had periods of being absolutely ravenous this week, so perhaps the medication is helping a little on that front as well. Or perhaps its just a placebo effect and I'm just convincing myself its working. Though even if its just a placebo effect of mind over matter, if it gets me to feeling better and gets me back to losing weight, its worth it! I'd be much happier to get to the "you won't be interested in food" stage she claimed I would find, though!

  • CSARdiver
    CSARdiver Posts: 6,252 Member
    bmeadows380 wrote: »
    Psychgrrl wrote: »

    I work intently with my docs to go on How symptom free I am, not just the numbers. My TSH can vary by 2 points (always in the normal range by my lab’s standards) while my Free T4 is very stable. My Free T3 is not, and I supplement T3 as well. I feel much better since I started taking the T3. The studies I’ve read show very little impact on TSH through additional supplementation of T3, however, the majority patients reported an increased quality of life. If it’s a placebo effect, I’ll take it!

    If you’re only taking a T4, consider asking your doc about a T3. It’s very different than the T4. T3 is in and out and doesn’t take weeks to fully metabolize in your system like the T4. You will likely notice the impact in a few days. Your body should convert T4 into T3, but might be doing a crappy job.

    Also, if you’re on generic meds, can you find out if you’re on the same generic each time you refill? There are literally hundreds of T4s out there and most pharmacies stick whatever is cheapest. Which means you can get a different one each time. My old doc was convinced this was a problem for me. The medication is the same, but the colorings, fillings, coatings, and binders can differ. She wrote my prescription for the name brands and my TSH levels stabilized within six months. And they were varying a crazy amount the couple years before that. Like sometimes 18.0 variance—from -2.0 to 16.0 and every Wheeler in between every 8 weeks! Could it have been something else? Absolutely! But I felt so bad, I just wanted to feel better and didn’t care what “fixed” me.

    My current insurance company makes its own meds, so I get the same one every time now. Dunno, but I thought it might help.

    :heart:

    I'm actually on name brand and have been for 2 years as I had an allergic reaction to the last batch of generic I took - hands swelled up so much I couldn't bend my fingers! Since we had no idea what was in whatever generic Walgreens had at the time, my doctor agreed to stick strictly to the name brand.

    I'm a little irritated at my endo, as it took forever to get her to comment on the increased TSH, and even then, she just said "sometimes it changes" and just told me to up my synthroid dose on Sundays to get the TSH back down to closer where she wants it to be. meanwhile, my own research led to me think that my problem was the time of day I was getting the bloodwork done. since you don't have to fast for TSH, I had always gotten it done late in the afternoons, after work. This last time, however, I had done around 11 AM in the morning. Apparently, if what I read is right, your TSH fluctuates through the day, but tends to fall as the day goes along, so its quite possible my TSH has actually been higher all along, but we were missing it because I was consistently getting my readings done in the evenings!

    I also switched, back in the spring, when I took my synthroid. I was taking it around lunch time to get it in between my metformin doses, but after talking my doctor into cutting my metformin dose in half, I went to taking the metformin of a morning and the synthroid at night. When discussing this with my PCP, she suggested perhaps taking the synthroid of a morning. She was quick to try to disuade me from the whole "the TSH is not the end all be all measurement for thyroid" (she was sticking to the traditional endocrinology viewpoint that TSH is the gold standard and all the rest aren't real helpful) though I still think there is some merit to the idea that just because your TSH and T4 levels are fine or high, doesn't mean your body is converting the T3 correctly.....Anyway, even my PCP agreed with me in wondering why my endo was resistant to putting me on a low does of T3.

    My endo just wanted me to up my T4 dose, but did agree to redo the bloodwork in 6 weeks, and if my TSH came down but my T3 didn't get up, she would then agree to put me on T3.

    meanwhile, I just about choked when I saw my part of the cost for that bloodwork - $900?!!!! Good grief! At least I'm meeting my deducible with it!

    I have been fighting exhaustion for a very long time, and my weight loss has been stalled since December. I looked back, and my last dosage change was actually october, not march, so I just couldn't understand why the TSH had risen so high. The problem I'm running into is that my doctor seems to think that as long as my TSH is where she wants it to be, I'm fine, and I can't get her to really listen when I tell her that I still feel crappy. At the same time, I've been dealing with some pretty bad bouts of depression, too, so I think my hypo symptoms of lethargy, no weight loss, and exhaustion are multifaceted. I finally relented and let my PCP put me on Welbutrin last week to see if that would help, and maybe in the meantime, I might be able to get my endo to agree to the T3 trial. so perhaps by November, I might be seeing a positive difference?

    I agree, though - even if it would just be a placebo affect, I'll take it! I wonder about that so far with the Wellbutrin - I have noticed this week that I'm not nearly as drowsy during the day and I'm not fighting falling asleep at my desk nearly as much as I was before. I'm not completely free of the foggy-headedness, and I still have a hard time focusing, but perhaps that will slowly change, too. My sleep hasn't changed, though, except for perhaps a slight increase toward insomnia, but that hasn't been bad enough to call my doctor over, yet. I haven't gotten the burst of energy my doctor claimed I would, and I haven't really noticed a decrease in my appetite yet, either, unfortunately. But at the same time, while I'm still consistently eating over calorie goal this week, I don't think I'm going over QUITE as bad as I was before, and I'm finding it a little easier to ignore the persistent push to eat, at least during the day, that I was fighting so much. At the very least, I'm have had periods of being absolutely ravenous this week, so perhaps the medication is helping a little on that front as well. Or perhaps its just a placebo effect and I'm just convincing myself its working. Though even if its just a placebo effect of mind over matter, if it gets me to feeling better and gets me back to losing weight, its worth it! I'd be much happier to get to the "you won't be interested in food" stage she claimed I would find, though!

    TSH is the foundation, but you need to review the full panel - fT3, fT4, rT3 to get an accurate picture of what's going on. You also need multiple readings over time.

    The tests don't cost that much. ~ $90 for the assays themselves. They just charge that much because who's going to say no? Note that the price is established by insurance/medicare, so even if I wanted to enter the market and offer a lower price I am legally restricted from doing so.

    TSH ideal is 0.2-2.0 for total thyroidectomies. 0.3-3.0 for the general population per the Board of Endocrinologists.

    TSH rises and falls based on a multitude of factors. Weight gain is the greatest impact as hormones are free cycling.

    Much of this is a mental game. To manage this you need to take careful note of the difference between appetite (desire for food) and hunger (physiological need of food). Thyroid has no impact on hunger, but a dramatic impact on appetite, driving people to eat when they do not need to. Establishing a routine. Managing caloric intake and output. These are all very effective mitigators in managing hormonal disorders.
  • Nony_Mouse
    Nony_Mouse Posts: 5,646 Member
    collectingblues wrote: »
    And another check in (and slight bump), of sorts.

    So. The past year thyroid's drama. Oy. Indeed, as my thyroid endo called it, I'm now 4.5 months out from the new dosage, and OMG I feel eleventymillion times better. My hip measurements are where they were in February 2017, bust is where it was in January 2017, and waist is back to May 2017 (and that's also during my cycle, so the reality may be slightly better). My weight is *gradually* coming back down, and it's trending where it was in March, before things got really horrid. I'd still like to see it lower, because I am not OK at this weight, but the important thing is that the measurements are improving. Which means the odds are good that my fall clothes should fit.

    My PCP and I have had some good talks about what happened, and she thinks it'll be 6-12 months before it all fully comes off -- she said there was little scientific data to back it up, but her experience was that the tissues need that much time to be truly healthy before they start releasing *all* of the fluid; the thyroid was straightened out in May, and the diabetes fully back in line in June... so here's to December, and then to May 2018.

    She also had me do a true trial of going gluten free. I've had on and off GI issues for 20+ years, and things really hit the worst this summer. That was where I really saw the most changes in my waist, and I feel so much better. It's a bit of a dietary adjustment, but not too awful, and totally worth the hassle. We agreed that after the past year's drama, I could take a break from medical professionals for now, and we'll discuss again in December as to whether it's pursuing a celiac diagnosis (with the other autoimmune conditions, celiac is a strong possibility, and she feels it could be seronegative, since I've had negative celiac screens in the past) or whether I should just continue gluten free, and we treat it as non-celiac gluten sensitivity. The treatment protocol is the same regardless, so...

    Awesome update :)

    I had pretty much the same experience going gluten free, though I did it for my eczema, but I dropped a good chunk of water weight that was presumably from inflammation (carb intake didn't change). It is an adjustment, but yes, totally worth it. I haven't bothered to replace things with GF alternatives (I refuse to believe there's such a thing as good GF bread, for example), just eat different stuff to get my carby goodness. My doctor and I agreed that testing was pointless, since it requires eating a significant amount of gluten for several weeks prior. I know there's an issue, I'm not going to subject myself to several weeks of eczema to prove it, and if it's an intolerance rather than an allergy (which is most likely), it's not going to test positive anyway.
  • Nony_Mouse
    Nony_Mouse Posts: 5,646 Member
    sardelsa wrote: »
    I'm on my second diet break this cut. Not because I need one but because I am living away from home and I am just not into a proper routine to be eating in a deficit right now. Also my training isn't 100% and protein intake isn't great so I'd rather not risk extra muscle loss.

    But it is great, as soon as I regularly increase my calories and carbs I look so much better.. fuller, tighter. I'm actually starting to consider recomping soon.

    Yay!! Diet breaks really are the bomb. I'm thoroughly enjoying mine, though currently doing the double whammy of glycogen replenishment and ovulation bloat. That'll drop off a bit in the next couple of days though.
  • bmeadows380
    bmeadows380 Posts: 2,981 Member
    CSARdiver wrote: »
    TSH is the foundation, but you need to review the full panel - fT3, fT4, rT3 to get an accurate picture of what's going on. You also need multiple readings over time.

    The tests don't cost that much. ~ $90 for the assays themselves. They just charge that much because who's going to say no? Note that the price is established by insurance/medicare, so even if I wanted to enter the market and offer a lower price I am legally restricted from doing so.

    TSH ideal is 0.2-2.0 for total thyroidectomies. 0.3-3.0 for the general population per the Board of Endocrinologists.

    TSH rises and falls based on a multitude of factors. Weight gain is the greatest impact as hormones are free cycling.

    Much of this is a mental game. To manage this you need to take careful note of the difference between appetite (desire for food) and hunger (physiological need of food). Thyroid has no impact on hunger, but a dramatic impact on appetite, driving people to eat when they do not need to. Establishing a routine. Managing caloric intake and output. These are all very effective mitigators in managing hormonal disorders.

    My PCP had ordered a bunch of hormone tests at the same time, and after requesting a full itemized statement, I saw that the high price was really from those. I had asked her to check those levels since it hadn't been done in at least 10 years, and I wanted to see where my PCOS currently stood.

    That put me above the ideal for me, then. Since I've been plateaued since January, though maintaining around the same 5-10 lbs, weight gain shouldn't have much of an influence.

    that's what frustrates me about the endo's I've seen. The first one that gave me the cancer diagnosis never ever checked anything beyond TSH, and neither has my current endo - she only ever ordered TSH tests and the yearly thyroglobulin tumor marker test. I had my PCP order the actual T4 and T3 test and then forward the results to my endo, and it was only after that that my endo even acknowledged that my T3 was low. She did agree to check free T4 and free T3 again in 6 weeks, which I'm up to and hope to get done next week, but her words on reverse T3 were and I quote: " As far as checking a reverse T3 there is no medical indication to do so. Reverse T3 is essentially a waste basket for thyroid hormone when it is no longer effective or active and thus should never be used to guide therapy."

    Oh well - at least she did order the other 2 beyond just the TSH, so I'll get that bloodwork done in the next week or 2 since it's been 2 months since we changed my medication and we'll go from there. I just need to make sure I get it done in the morning instead of the afternoon!

    That is the one thing I've definitely noticed the difference between and that I'm fighting - hunger vs appetite. I know I'm not hungry, and I know when I've had enough to satisfy hunger. But my appetite is definitely not in sync with my hunger, and my appetite will crave way more food, well beyond what I need to satisfy hunger. Its been very frustrating because that drive to eat is extremely strong and my willpower, especially of an evening, isn't strong enough to resist snacking. And its amazing how creative I can get when that drive to eat is in action! Doesn't help that we've had several buffet dinners for family and church events this summer, and I haven't been able to contain myself very well at all at any of them :( Wish I had the funds to live off the grid for a while; just go into seclusion and cut myself off from temptation! lol

  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
    Nony_Mouse wrote: »
    sardelsa wrote: »
    I'm on my second diet break this cut. Not because I need one but because I am living away from home and I am just not into a proper routine to be eating in a deficit right now. Also my training isn't 100% and protein intake isn't great so I'd rather not risk extra muscle loss.

    But it is great, as soon as I regularly increase my calories and carbs I look so much better.. fuller, tighter. I'm actually starting to consider recomping soon.

    Yay!! Diet breaks really are the bomb. I'm thoroughly enjoying mine, though currently doing the double whammy of glycogen replenishment and ovulation bloat. That'll drop off a bit in the next couple of days though.

    They really are!! Have fun :)
  • collectingblues
    collectingblues Posts: 2,541 Member
    Nony_Mouse wrote: »
    collectingblues wrote: »
    And another check in (and slight bump), of sorts.

    So. The past year thyroid's drama. Oy. Indeed, as my thyroid endo called it, I'm now 4.5 months out from the new dosage, and OMG I feel eleventymillion times better. My hip measurements are where they were in February 2017, bust is where it was in January 2017, and waist is back to May 2017 (and that's also during my cycle, so the reality may be slightly better). My weight is *gradually* coming back down, and it's trending where it was in March, before things got really horrid. I'd still like to see it lower, because I am not OK at this weight, but the important thing is that the measurements are improving. Which means the odds are good that my fall clothes should fit.

    My PCP and I have had some good talks about what happened, and she thinks it'll be 6-12 months before it all fully comes off -- she said there was little scientific data to back it up, but her experience was that the tissues need that much time to be truly healthy before they start releasing *all* of the fluid; the thyroid was straightened out in May, and the diabetes fully back in line in June... so here's to December, and then to May 2018.

    She also had me do a true trial of going gluten free. I've had on and off GI issues for 20+ years, and things really hit the worst this summer. That was where I really saw the most changes in my waist, and I feel so much better. It's a bit of a dietary adjustment, but not too awful, and totally worth the hassle. We agreed that after the past year's drama, I could take a break from medical professionals for now, and we'll discuss again in December as to whether it's pursuing a celiac diagnosis (with the other autoimmune conditions, celiac is a strong possibility, and she feels it could be seronegative, since I've had negative celiac screens in the past) or whether I should just continue gluten free, and we treat it as non-celiac gluten sensitivity. The treatment protocol is the same regardless, so...

    Awesome update :)

    I had pretty much the same experience going gluten free, though I did it for my eczema, but I dropped a good chunk of water weight that was presumably from inflammation (carb intake didn't change). It is an adjustment, but yes, totally worth it. I haven't bothered to replace things with GF alternatives (I refuse to believe there's such a thing as good GF bread, for example), just eat different stuff to get my carby goodness. My doctor and I agreed that testing was pointless, since it requires eating a significant amount of gluten for several weeks prior. I know there's an issue, I'm not going to subject myself to several weeks of eczema to prove it, and if it's an intolerance rather than an allergy (which is most likely), it's not going to test positive anyway.

    The difference really has been amazing -- and aside from the "Oh, *kitten*, all of my safe quick easy meals have *kitten* gluten" moments, not too much of a transition. I think it helped that I already didn't do a lot of processed stuff, and already made things like English muffins and bread from scratch. My therapist and I brainstormed some ideas for quick meals to keep around the house, which helped.

    I'm torn as to what the right decision is moving forward. I can see pros and cons of a formal diagnosis, but I feel like if the outcome won't change, what's the point? I'm not one of those people who likes to collect diagnoses, so I'm fine with just explaining it to people who need a brief introduction as "I have subclinical celiac". The only upside would be that the re-introduction period would be over the Christmas holidays, so yay for good baked goodies, but at the same time, it takes 3-4 months to get in with our GI group, and *that* would fall over two of my spring half marathons. And I feel like trying to do a half/training for a half while re-introducing gluten would be a bad, bad idea.

    Like, I already know I'm an autoimmune hot mess -- I liked how my PCP phrased it as, "Your body likes to make autoantibodies" -- so knowing that there's another one won't make any difference. My insurance already covers unlimited dietitian visits because of the diabetes -- and my dietitian doesn't take insurance anyway. At work, the head of our organization is GF, so there's GF food *everywhere* at events that I work, and it's seen as a normal request here. The only thing I can see as being a "need" is if things with the ED go south -- I know that no one would believe me that I'm doing GF for legitimate reasons. So I need to discuss that with my PCP, and see what she thinks, and if she'd at least be willing to mark something in my chart/record that indicates that there is a medical need.
  • CSARdiver
    CSARdiver Posts: 6,252 Member
    I realize that I've been sloppily implementing a diet break from time to time. My wife started with MFP, but has been following the Eat to Perform model in the last year, based on the work of a few scientists, this program focuses on food as fuel for optimal performance.

    I started to follow a similar model and don't maintain a deficit for longer than 8 weeks at a time now. I suspect this is more psychological than physiological, based on the data. Still I note a drop in performance when in a cut and have to scale down the intensity of workouts, particularly resistance training. The most notable difference is recovery time. I've been tracking this via Polar H7, following their recovery matrix.

  • mph323
    mph323 Posts: 3,563 Member
    Such beauties! Is your floofy guy a maine coon? He looks like a cat who would love laying on his back in the sun with all 4 legs in the air :) I love the little ruffle at his neck!
  • Nony_Mouse
    Nony_Mouse Posts: 5,646 Member
    mph323 wrote: »
    Such beauties! Is your floofy guy a maine coon? He looks like a cat who would love laying on his back in the sun with all 4 legs in the air :) I love the little ruffle at his neck!

    We suspect he has either some Maine Coon or Norwegian Forest Cat in him. As you can see, his sister got none of that. His ruffle will mostly disappear soon, still sporting a good part of his winter coat atm. They all enjoy laying in the sun with their legs in the air!
  • mph323
    mph323 Posts: 3,563 Member
    Nony_Mouse wrote: »
    mph323 wrote: »
    Such beauties! Is your floofy guy a maine coon? He looks like a cat who would love laying on his back in the sun with all 4 legs in the air :) I love the little ruffle at his neck!

    We suspect he has either some Maine Coon or Norwegian Forest Cat in him. As you can see, his sister got none of that. His ruffle will mostly disappear soon, still sporting a good part of his winter coat atm. They all enjoy laying in the sun with their legs in the air!

    <3
  • bmeadows380
    bmeadows380 Posts: 2,981 Member
    ah, adorable! He looks a lot like my mom's cat, Gus (short for August - my sister's idea since that was when he was born). Gus has the same coloring and long hair that is super soft, almost like a rabbit's pelt.

    my mom had another that looked a lot like the gray, but he disappeared on her a few months after she got him, and we never did find that cat. She had let him out on the back porch to enjoy the winter sun, and he disappeared after the train came down the tracks on its weekly run. Mom hopes that he ended up at someone's home who took him in and took care of him.
  • Nony_Mouse
    Nony_Mouse Posts: 5,646 Member
    mph323 wrote: »
    TL;DR

    1. I'm in maintenance now, all about me, blah blah.
    2. Diet breaks! Make them part of the plan - really!
    3. Even a slow recomp can make a visible difference in a little as six months. Give it a try!

    I didn't want to bump the thread just for an update, but now that we're all here... :)

    I've been in maintenance for 6 months! Taking a real diet break in Dec. helped me lose the last few lbs. in Jan. and Feb., and I've been within a 5 lb. window since then. For me, maintenance is a little trickier than straight weight loss - I was losing so slowly (under .5 lbs./week) that I didn't worry about under-eating, since the rate of loss never varied much over time so it was down to logging error.

    Now I have to make sure I'm fueling my activity (got a taste of under-fueling a couple of times, no thank you), and I'm still having a little difficulty mentally going over my sedentary plus just walking calorie limit when I'm training hard and need more.

    I've become a spreadsheet person (mostly from comments in this thread), and because I'm that nerd and kind of miss my old job, I'm designing a little database to crunch numbers and give me fun little reports using input from all the various tools I use (Fitbit, Strava, MapMyFitness, even 5K to 10K). Most of that is based on a little insecurity that if I don't do this exactly right, the weight will creep back on. I know I have a lot more flexibility than that, but I'm not there yet.

    I think the two main things I want to share about my experience are:

    1. Take your diet breaks! Really! I wish I had known to plan-in regular diet breaks all along, instead of periodically spinning out of control and having to fight to get my discipline and routine back. I was following moderation in my food choices and losing slowly, but eating less than you burn is a stress to the body even if you don't notice it consciously. In my case, the Dec. diet break did so much good not only physically, but mentally.

    2. I strongly recommend recomp, especially if your goal weight is at the lower end of your healthy range and losing more weight is not the answer. When I hit goal I had already been doing progressive weight training for about 6 months (and by that I mean a very moderate half an hour twice a week), but since I was still losing, I was getting stronger but there wasn't much to show for it visually. In the last six months there's been a small but noticeable change for the better in my body composition - I'm looking forward to seeing the results in a year :)

    Wishing the best for everyone! And keep those kittah pictures coming!

    Wait, that's all a little on topic, isn't it???

    But srsly, awesome work :)
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
    mph323 wrote: »
    Nony_Mouse wrote: »
    mph323 wrote: »
    TL;DR

    1. I'm in maintenance now, all about me, blah blah.
    2. Diet breaks! Make them part of the plan - really!
    3. Even a slow recomp can make a visible difference in a little as six months. Give it a try!

    I didn't want to bump the thread just for an update, but now that we're all here... :)

    I've been in maintenance for 6 months! Taking a real diet break in Dec. helped me lose the last few lbs. in Jan. and Feb., and I've been within a 5 lb. window since then. For me, maintenance is a little trickier than straight weight loss - I was losing so slowly (under .5 lbs./week) that I didn't worry about under-eating, since the rate of loss never varied much over time so it was down to logging error.

    Now I have to make sure I'm fueling my activity (got a taste of under-fueling a couple of times, no thank you), and I'm still having a little difficulty mentally going over my sedentary plus just walking calorie limit when I'm training hard and need more.

    I've become a spreadsheet person (mostly from comments in this thread), and because I'm that nerd and kind of miss my old job, I'm designing a little database to crunch numbers and give me fun little reports using input from all the various tools I use (Fitbit, Strava, MapMyFitness, even 5K to 10K). Most of that is based on a little insecurity that if I don't do this exactly right, the weight will creep back on. I know I have a lot more flexibility than that, but I'm not there yet.

    I think the two main things I want to share about my experience are:

    1. Take your diet breaks! Really! I wish I had known to plan-in regular diet breaks all along, instead of periodically spinning out of control and having to fight to get my discipline and routine back. I was following moderation in my food choices and losing slowly, but eating less than you burn is a stress to the body even if you don't notice it consciously. In my case, the Dec. diet break did so much good not only physically, but mentally.

    2. I strongly recommend recomp, especially if your goal weight is at the lower end of your healthy range and losing more weight is not the answer. When I hit goal I had already been doing progressive weight training for about 6 months (and by that I mean a very moderate half an hour twice a week), but since I was still losing, I was getting stronger but there wasn't much to show for it visually. In the last six months there's been a small but noticeable change for the better in my body composition - I'm looking forward to seeing the results in a year :)

    Wishing the best for everyone! And keep those kittah pictures coming!

    Wait, that's all a little on topic, isn't it???

    But srsly, awesome work :)

    Dammit, I was afraid you'd catch that!

    Thank you so much, being a part of this community really means a lot to me (sniff). Really.

    :drinker:
  • Nony_Mouse
    Nony_Mouse Posts: 5,646 Member
    mph323 wrote: »
    Nony_Mouse wrote: »
    mph323 wrote: »
    TL;DR

    1. I'm in maintenance now, all about me, blah blah.
    2. Diet breaks! Make them part of the plan - really!
    3. Even a slow recomp can make a visible difference in a little as six months. Give it a try!

    I didn't want to bump the thread just for an update, but now that we're all here... :)

    I've been in maintenance for 6 months! Taking a real diet break in Dec. helped me lose the last few lbs. in Jan. and Feb., and I've been within a 5 lb. window since then. For me, maintenance is a little trickier than straight weight loss - I was losing so slowly (under .5 lbs./week) that I didn't worry about under-eating, since the rate of loss never varied much over time so it was down to logging error.

    Now I have to make sure I'm fueling my activity (got a taste of under-fueling a couple of times, no thank you), and I'm still having a little difficulty mentally going over my sedentary plus just walking calorie limit when I'm training hard and need more.

    I've become a spreadsheet person (mostly from comments in this thread), and because I'm that nerd and kind of miss my old job, I'm designing a little database to crunch numbers and give me fun little reports using input from all the various tools I use (Fitbit, Strava, MapMyFitness, even 5K to 10K). Most of that is based on a little insecurity that if I don't do this exactly right, the weight will creep back on. I know I have a lot more flexibility than that, but I'm not there yet.

    I think the two main things I want to share about my experience are:

    1. Take your diet breaks! Really! I wish I had known to plan-in regular diet breaks all along, instead of periodically spinning out of control and having to fight to get my discipline and routine back. I was following moderation in my food choices and losing slowly, but eating less than you burn is a stress to the body even if you don't notice it consciously. In my case, the Dec. diet break did so much good not only physically, but mentally.

    2. I strongly recommend recomp, especially if your goal weight is at the lower end of your healthy range and losing more weight is not the answer. When I hit goal I had already been doing progressive weight training for about 6 months (and by that I mean a very moderate half an hour twice a week), but since I was still losing, I was getting stronger but there wasn't much to show for it visually. In the last six months there's been a small but noticeable change for the better in my body composition - I'm looking forward to seeing the results in a year :)

    Wishing the best for everyone! And keep those kittah pictures coming!

    Wait, that's all a little on topic, isn't it???

    But srsly, awesome work :)

    Dammit, I was afraid you'd catch that!

    Thank you so much, being a part of this community really means a lot to me (sniff). Really.

    You can make it up to me with a critter pic to get things back on track.
  • bmeadows380
    bmeadows380 Posts: 2,981 Member
    ah, cute bunny!

    I know they're destructive, but I still think bunnies are such cute little critters and a blast to watch play in your yard :) Which I suppose as long as they don't over-populate, then they aren't any more damaging than less cute creatures lol Such as the darned ground moles I need to get rid of.....
  • collectingblues
    collectingblues Posts: 2,541 Member
    bmeadows380 wrote: »
    had my updated bloodwork done yesterday morning after going 2 months on the new synthroid dosage my endocrinoligst ordered. free T4 was up, but instead of going down, my TSH actually went up, and my free T3 actually went down.

    so my endo finally put in an order for a low dose of Cytomel, which I'll pick up on Friday morning. I sincerely hope this helps get me straightened out; I'd like to have some energy, not to mention get off this depression roller coaster I've been on - and this stupid diet plateau!

    I'm glad that your endo was able to own that he was wrong, and is putting you on supplementation.

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