Women 200lb+, Let's Stay Fired Up This February!!!
Replies
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CupcakeCrusoe wrote: »Feeling a bit possessed by the green eyed monster today. -_-
A couple months after I started MFP, husband did too. He lost about 50 lbs by the end of the year and a LOT of inches. Everyone comments to both him and me about how much smaller he is. I got more of those again today from my coworkers since they saw him on Saturday for a work event.
I never get comments like that, despite losing 73 lbs... And my loss has stalled AGAIN. I've bounced up to 202.
It's not his fault he had less to lose and that he's taller and more active than me. It's not even about him at all, I'm just frustrated and I wish I was closer to being done than I am and everything seems slower and harder since New Year's.
Have you thought about going up to maintenance calories for a week or two? I'm trying to find the article I read right now (found it- it's by this guy), but if your weight is stalled, it might be worthwhile to take a week or two break, eat at maintenance, to show your body that hey, it's okay, we can keep going. And you can get to eat more, reduce stress, get used to the maintenance calories for your smaller frame, he makes a good case for it.
Couldn't hurt, would be fun, might help! I've never actually done it, so it's up to you whether you'd like to give it a try. I plan on taking one such break in a month or two, when my weight loss is probably going to stall.
I did that over Christmas and New Years, and it honestly feels like I've stopped losing weight as a result. I only lost 2 lbs all of January.
Aw, sorry then. This stuff just sucks sometimes.4 -
I did like, no exercise all weekend. But right now the weight loss is sticking. I'm still at 197.6, ahead of my "schedule." I think that other than the fact that I'm losing weight faster than I intended to, my "scheduled" goals are lofty, and I might have to dial it back once things start to plateau. I think I have it set to 7 lbs loss every month until August, which I can't usually make although this month is definitely an exception.
But if I had to infer anything from the changes I've made so far, it's drinking a TON more water/tea and upping my fat intake has helped so much. I've been trying to up my protein but most days it's fat that overtakes. I'm not a big meat eater so I've never understood when people consistently meet protein goals. I can't even do it with protein powder! I don't even like eggs, but I've eaten so many per day because there's no chew involved (take the lesser evil, I guess?). And even when I make tofu, it ends up just in general low cal all around. Anyway, that's a goal of mine...
I realize maybe today is not a good day to ask since some of y'all are not having the best luck, but if you wanna answer this then go for it: What kinds of personal "revelations" on health and/or weight loss have you gals had?
@vegasgirl0825 Looks like you've already thought about this -- I love the idea of going back to basics, or back to what you know worked. I totally love cabbage soup; my mom does keto and when I lived at home she would make it. Mm, delicious. And I just got a sample fruit cup of grapefruit, but I'll be honest I'm afraid to try it since I haven't had any in probably 10 years! Do you just eat it on its own?
@KeriA Thanks! It's staying down so far.7 -
Hi everybody!
I just came across this group and would love to join!
5'6
SW 300
CW 276
GW 160
I have always struggled with being overweight. After I had my daughter in 2012, I had gained a bunch of weight and was around 260 then. I ended up losing quite a bit of weight and got down to around 215 when I got pregnant with my son. I had a miserable pregnancy with him and by the end I had gained almost 100 lbs. After a few years of some serious hardships and taking care of my kids, I decided it was finally time for me to start taking care of myself as well. My goal is to lose 1.5-2 lbs a week! I also am going to make it a goal to log my food every day. I tend to log it for a few days and then I just stop for some reason. I'm excited to be on this journey with everybody!14 -
@VictorSmashes My revelation is leftover from last time I was losing weight- I know that the beginning is relatively easier, and at some point I'm going to hit a very frustrating wall. Because I'll be smaller, my BMR will be lower, I'll have to either adjust calories or accept way slower weight loss. So I'm anticipating that wall.
The second half of the revelation came this time around- if I have exact numbers for how many calories I burn based on weight loss, and exact numbers for calories I consume by weighing every single one to the gram, I'll be prepared for that wall, knowing my exact stats, and be able to adjust accordingly a little easier than if I had stuck with my previous logging, where I would eyeball it.
I'm still awaiting the revelation that I like to lift and get adequate protein, because that is a thing I know I'm really bad at doing.8 -
@VictorSmashes I do add one packet of Splenda/some kind of 0 calorie sweetener to the grapefruit just to make it a bit less tart. Just had some as part of my lunch and it was delicious!3
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@VictorSmashes I have had many revelations on my health/weight loss journey! Too much to type! But I think the biggest thing that has changed this time is that I am not dieting. No deprivation here! I have chosen to make changes that are sustainable and it's working for me. It's a slow journey and I am ok with that. I am basically logging all of my food and the goal is to have a deficit majority of the time. I have chosen to eat healthier, but occasionally have fun! I am slowly figuring out exercise. Again, it has taken a few things to discover what I like. If you don't like it, you won't do it for long. I have found making small changes has worked.8
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@VictorSmashes - I've had a number of revelations. I went back through my older posts and found some of them:
That you will actually marvel at how incredibly strong your fat self was, carrying an extra 50 pounds all day every day without complaint. And while you apologize to your heart, knees, and feet for putting them through that, you will also have some respect for your former fat self, for you were much stronger than you gave yourself credit.
That this journey will never end. I'll never be done. The same habits I am doing today to support my weight loss are ones that I will need to do for the rest of my life. The only difference between weight loss and maintenance are the number of calories I have to play with. That was a lesson I didn't learn in my last go-arounds. I thought I could just go back to "living my life". This is my life. And that is okay.
Whatever you do, don't put your life on hold during the weight loss journey. Going out, enjoying yourself and learning how to fit that into your fitness goals is an important lesson - one that you will use a lot during the rest of your life.
Staying on plan has less to do with self-control and more to do with environment control: that is, planning ahead and planning for when things don't go as expected. So you make it easy for yourself to make the healthy choice. If I had to rely on willpower alone, I could never have lost this much weight.10 -
@VictorSmashes:
That I'm carrying my best friend from high school on my body.
That I kink hard for being strong physically.
That this is something I'll be doing for the rest of my life.
That I love to lift weights.
That I can live while I'm doing this, and 18 months to do this is well worth its effects on the rest of my life.7 -
Tomorrow I am going to a friend's house for a monthly dinner that we rotate hosting. I'll be honest, I'm a little nervous. These are situations where I seem to overeat the most and I really don't want to do that, but I know how hard it is going to be for me. We are having tacos, so I mean the most calories will come from however many tortillas I eat. I usually go crazy for salsa, but she is having a salsa that I don't care for that much so in a sense that kind of helps me out? I just want to enjoy myself, but not overenjoy, and that is not a balance that I have found quite yet. I know it's kind of a silly thing to be nervous about, but it's really been on my mind all day. I guess I just needed a place to let it out.9
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@torihudson6 taco Tuesday is a real thing at our house, so I actually have useful advice!
I limit myself to two tortillas/shells, with a focus on the meat and veggies. If I'm still hungry, I will have additional meat/beans/veggies over lettuce. I was surprised how satisfying this approach is. That said, the taco meat and shells have a lot of sodium so you may retain water for a few days even though you took a reasoned approach.
And I completely understand being nervous. I have a book club that meets every other month, where the host prepares the meal (the last one was a cheesy enchilada casserole). Eating at a friends is the one situation where you don't have as much say over what you eat. I always try to bring a veggie tray with hummus or yogurt dip as the appetizer so I can munch on those if I feel the need to snack. And eat light the day before, of, and after so I have some extra calories to play with. Have fun! Remember you don't have to do it perfectly. Being mindful counts for a lot!!8 -
@CupcakeCrusoe I love that! I've found that working with foods I eat often, I'm better at guesstimating their calories, and that seems pretty similar. Just be wary that as you lose weight, the amount of calories you burn in exercises will decrease, too!
@vegasgirl0825 That sounds lovely. I will try it, I think.
@mmccloy12 Ooh same. I'm gonna drink (I did tonight) and I'm gonna eat sweets. We want sustainable! I'm also trying to figure out exercise, and I'm trying to figure out protein. I'm getting half my minimum every day. Yikes.
@speyerj I agree. I had a similar revelation with my school bag. It's always 20-30 lbs every day and I'm just gonna deal with it. On the other hand, definitely need the weight off my literal back with regard to the weight loss!
@theleadmare I think that comparing our bigger bodies to that of a multiple of "lean" bodies is something that puts things into perspective. I'm 5'1" and when I started, I was 225% of a single lean "me."
Honestly I love these revelations. Some of these I'd had myself, but I think no matter what, all of these are great. Plus, I love the fact that most of these lean positive. Arguably all of them can be, depending on how you look at it. For me it's being realistic but being optimistic about it.4 -
I'm 5'7", and started at 297. My goal weight is 150. That's, yep, another human being at 137 pounds.
And given when I started to use food for comfort, calling that extra weight my high school best friend is not wrong at all.5 -
@CupcakeCrusoe Nice! Going down a class is a great milestone.
@tonihudson6 hope you have a great time tomorrow.
nice revelations everyone.
Finally got back to Aquafit today. Work is almost getting crazy busy. Had a good day staying with the plan.
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Loving the revelations! Mine are....
That i need to eat this way for life now, it's not a diet and then back to the old normal.
That slim people don't actually pig out all the time, they scale back between blow outs.
That however frustrating the slow weight loss is, if i give up i will put it all back and more.
That it's only food, each meal doesn’t have to be a delight and the best thing you ever ate. Sometimes it's just something to keep your body ticking over.
Good luck all and hang on in there!10 -
CupcakeCrusoe wrote: »
... The second half of the revelation came this time around- if I have exact numbers for how many calories I burn based on weight loss, and exact numbers for calories I consume by weighing every single one to the gram, I'll be prepared for that wall, knowing my exact stats, and be able to adjust accordingly a little easier than if I had stuck with my previous logging, where I would eyeball it.
I've just had a look and my calories in and out for 1st - 7th Feb to see what I'm actually doing. That week I had upped my calories a bit to see if it helped me loose more weight than sticking to just 1200kcal +/- 50kcals.
This is what I found:
1 Feb - In 1637kcal out 2152kcal - deficit 515kcal
2 Feb - In 1190kcal out 1956kcal - deficit 766kcal
3 Feb - In 1416kcal out 2301kcal - deficit 885kcal
4 Feb - In 1580kcal out 2654kcal - deficit 1074kcal
5 Feb - In 1443kcal out 3011kcal - deficit 1568kcal
6 Feb - In 1578kcal out 2290kcal - deficit 712kcal
7 Feb - In 1630kcal out 2249kcal - deficit 619kcal
Average calorie deficit = 877kcal/day
I lost 0.5lb that week. Looks like I should have expected a little bit more?
I've started logging this for this week too. Calories out is wht my fitbit tells me I've burnt (BMR + exercise).
I've reduced my calories this week down again to see what impact that has. I'm hoping to find a balance where I'm consistently loosing a bit more, ideally 1lb - 2lb a week.3 -
Savannah80 wrote: »CupcakeCrusoe wrote: »
... The second half of the revelation came this time around- if I have exact numbers for how many calories I burn based on weight loss, and exact numbers for calories I consume by weighing every single one to the gram, I'll be prepared for that wall, knowing my exact stats, and be able to adjust accordingly a little easier than if I had stuck with my previous logging, where I would eyeball it.
I've just had a look and my calories in and out for 1st - 7th Feb to see what I'm actually doing. That week I had upped my calories a bit to see if it helped me loose more weight than sticking to just 1200kcal +/- 50kcals.
This is what I found:
1 Feb - In 1637kcal out 2152kcal - deficit 515kcal
2 Feb - In 1190kcal out 1956kcal - deficit 766kcal
3 Feb - In 1416kcal out 2301kcal - deficit 885kcal
4 Feb - In 1580kcal out 2654kcal - deficit 1074kcal
5 Feb - In 1443kcal out 3011kcal - deficit 1568kcal
6 Feb - In 1578kcal out 2290kcal - deficit 712kcal
7 Feb - In 1630kcal out 2249kcal - deficit 619kcal
Average calorie deficit = 877kcal/day
I lost 0.5lb that week. Looks like I should have expected a little bit more?
I've started logging this for this week too. Calories out is wht my fitbit tells me I've burnt (BMR + exercise).
I've reduced my calories this week down again to see what impact that has. I'm hoping to find a balance where I'm consistently loosing a bit more, ideally 1lb - 2lb a week.
I get what you're saying. Do you know that your Fitbit calories expenditure is reliable?
I ask because I take my "calories out" from weight loss averages over several weeks. What with flo and daily water fluctuations, my day to day weights aren't to be trusted, and for me at least, my running tracker gives me too many calories for exercise, so I can't count that.
Instead, I count what weight I've lost on average over a week or two weeks. A pound is 3500 calories, so if I've lost that over a week, I can do some math.
So in your example, 0.5 lb= 1750 calorie deficit.
Your total weekly calories = 10474
/7 = 1496 average daily calories.
1750/7 = 250 daily deficit.
So then to maintain you'd want 1496+250= 1746 assuming your same level of activity and pick up your desired deficit from there
BUT
I would go more than just one week for averages and not take that number as gospel, given weight fluctuations can be persistent across weeks. That number seems pretty low. Since your Fitbit has all your weight information, does it do the averaging for you? I know Libra does.
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So this week my beloved godmother is coming to stay over and we are going out for dinner tomorrow night. I’ve stopped drinking so don’t need to worry about booze but I want to make good menu choices. We’ve eaten at this pub before and I know the food is great! Going with skipping the starter and probably chicken for main...
https://theboarsheadnantwich.co.uk/menu/3 -
CupcakeCrusoe wrote: »
I get what you're saying. Do you know that your Fitbit calories expenditure is reliable?
I ask because I take my "calories out" from weight loss averages over several weeks. What with flo and daily water fluctuations, my day to day weights aren't to be trusted, and for me at least, my running tracker gives me too many calories for exercise, so I can't count that.
Instead, I count what weight I've lost on average over a week or two weeks. A pound is 3500 calories, so if I've lost that over a week, I can do some math.
So in your example, 0.5 lb= 1750 calorie deficit.
Your total weekly calories = 10474
/7 = 1496 average daily calories.
1750/7 = 250 daily deficit.
So then to maintain you'd want 1496+250= 1746 assuming your same level of activity and pick up your desired deficit from there
BUT
I would go more than just one week for averages and not take that number as gospel, given weight fluctuations can be persistent across weeks. That number seems pretty low. Since your Fitbit has all your weight information, does it do the averaging for you? I know Libra does.
I'm a bit confused where the 0.5lb = 1750 calorie deficit bit comes from. Can you explain? I'm probably being a bit thick.
I think my Fitbit is quite accurate as it knows my current weight, it reads my heart rate during exercise, registers my step count etc. How would I know if it's not accurate? My home scales say my BMR is about 1570kcal. I have no idea if thats accurate either.
I think this is where I get a bit unstuck trying to work out what calories I should be eating for weight loss. I get a bit lost with it all.
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Savannah80 wrote: »CupcakeCrusoe wrote: »
I get what you're saying. Do you know that your Fitbit calories expenditure is reliable?
I ask because I take my "calories out" from weight loss averages over several weeks. What with flo and daily water fluctuations, my day to day weights aren't to be trusted, and for me at least, my running tracker gives me too many calories for exercise, so I can't count that.
Instead, I count what weight I've lost on average over a week or two weeks. A pound is 3500 calories, so if I've lost that over a week, I can do some math.
So in your example, 0.5 lb= 1750 calorie deficit.
Your total weekly calories = 10474
/7 = 1496 average daily calories.
1750/7 = 250 daily deficit.
So then to maintain you'd want 1496+250= 1746 assuming your same level of activity and pick up your desired deficit from there
BUT
I would go more than just one week for averages and not take that number as gospel, given weight fluctuations can be persistent across weeks. That number seems pretty low. Since your Fitbit has all your weight information, does it do the averaging for you? I know Libra does.
I'm a bit confused where the 0.5lb = 1750 calorie deficit bit comes from. Can you explain? I'm probably being a bit thick.
I think my Fitbit is quite accurate as it knows my current weight, it reads my heart rate during exercise, registers my step count etc. How would I know if it's not accurate? My home scales say my BMR is about 1570kcal. I have no idea if thats accurate either.
I think this is where I get a bit unstuck trying to work out what calories I should be eating for weight loss. I get a bit lost with it all.
A pound loss is 3500 calorie deficit, and half of that is 1750.
Ultimately the way you know whether your Fitbit is accurate or not is the results you get. Heart rate monitors tend to help a lot, though, so if you take your heart rate manually and it matches up with your Fitbit, then your calorie counts should be pretty close.
And BMR is a calculation, so depending person by person, it should be close, but may not be 100% (there are a few different ways of manipulating those numbers to get your daily calorie allowance, too). So once again, your results (weight loss over time and accurate calorie intake) will tell you how accurate your calculated numbers are.
Does that help at all?4 -
@CupcakeCrusoe so for example:
On 2/6 my CI was 1510, BMR 1907, exercise CO 517, deficit would be 914....or
Total CO 2424- CI 1510 = deficit 914; is that correct? I want to make sure I have been calculating correctly
So, for a 2lb loss weekly one needs to average deficit of 1000 per day averaged over 1 week. So if 2/6 was my largest deficit this month I need to re-evaluate my intake or my CO in order to meet that average -2lb? is this correct? I haven't looked at my overall weekly deficit until this morning, so I am making a new spreed sheet to track this. Thank you all so much! Until now I hadn't considered "the bigger picture", if you will, and exactly how much of a loss I was actually attaining vs. where I want to be. I was just looking for a daily deficit, not really a specific number to aim towards, if that makes sense.
@VictorSmashes I think this is my biggest revelation!! lol4
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