Food, Exercise, or other Reports
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I've been lurking around, reading you all and cheering on your progress. Now that the conversation is becoming interesting, I'll give my 5 cents
I have a couple of friends that have met their now husbands on online Christian dating sites. I know there's always a risk there, but it may be worth a try. That widens the pool quite a bit
Food for thought.
I did think about it once, let someone talk me into setting up a profile on I think it was Match.com or ChristianMingle, got a few interests until I finally put up my picture - then all I got was crickets......1 -
yeah, you can count me in that club too. I'm currently on a dating website and crickets.
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Like @cremorna1 I have been lurking in the background reading and observing. I want to share with @bmeadows380 and the group something I learned some 14 years ago.
To some things, there is a season. I learned this when my first grandchild was born and it became very obvious that I would not be a part of her life due to people, circumstances, histories, etc.
I was devastated and heart-broken.
At some point there was a realization that the situation was what it was and feeling unhappy, looking back on the what-ifs, and the whole thing wasn't going to help me feel better so I decided to get on with living my life at this moment, right now, with the hope that in the future a season of being with my grandchild would present itself.
Another grandchild was born, her brother. More time (years) passed.
As I type this out, trying to recollect the defining moment when the season came and we began to learn about each other, I can't say. It wasn't a birthday, or holiday, or family reunion kinda of "ah-ha" situation. She was 6 or 7 years-old and he was probably 3 or so and circumstances changed so that we were in the same room for a couple of hours at a time once a month or so.
We have a relationship that is special and bonded and deeper and fulfilling in ways that give us all joy.
Seasons come and they go, too. I treasure this particular season with them knowing that it may be fleeting.1 -
@hansep0012 That is very nicely put! Here's to enjoying this season of weight management!
Enjoy the upcoming trip and all the delicious calories coming your way, @bmeadows380 !1 -
I suppose dating websites work but if, God forbid, I was ever single again I would probably do it the old fashioned way. I just can't imagine trying to pick a date from a profile and a picture. It would be like shopping from a catalog.
I can say there are a lot of shy/scared guys out there that would not act on their interest in person so in a diminished market it may not mean much not to get more overt attention. Some of the guys who hit on women easily were not the kind of guy you would really want. Not me. I was bold but I was never a cad.
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bmeadows380 wrote: »so anyway, on to less whiny, "woe is me" topics as I doubt you guys care much to listen to my pity parties.....
I had a new low this morning - 240.6 lbs, which is down 10.5 lbs since April 14th or 5 weeks ago and is trending about around that 2 lb/wk loss rate. I'm currently set to the 1400 calorie and eating back 75% of my exercise calories.
So I've got my daily weight recordings, calorie intake, exercise calorie intake, and total daily step count for the last 2 months in my spreadsheet. So how do I use this data to figure out what I should be eating during my diet break?
I'm guessing I'm looking at around 3200? When I use my spreadsheet and Anne's directions for calculation maintenance here:
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10638211/how-to-find-your-maintenance-calorie-level/p1
I get a loss rate of 2.1 lb/wk if I look back at the last 5 weeks. My average daily calorie intake for that period was 2177 which gives me a weekly average of 15,239. So (2.1*2500) + 15,239 = 22,589, and 22,589/7 = 3227.
When I look at the calculated value of my BMR for today, I"ve got 1819, and when I look at a very active factor of 1.8 I get 3274, which is in the same general neighborhood.
So should I am to eat say 3300 - 3400 calories a day, attempt to keep my activity levels up, but don't eat back any exercise calories - this would be the TDEE method, right?
OR should I use the sedentary factor (1819*1.2) which for me is 2182 and then add back 100% exercise?
OR, are my options
1) TDEE method - maintenance at 3300-3400 calories; no adding back any extra exercise and try to keep activity levels the same, meaning make sure I'm average 15,000 steps a day during the diet break.
2) NEAT method - maintenance around 2200-2300 and eat back 100% exercise calories?
I'm leaning toward method 2 simply because from today through the weekend, my activity is going to be sharply down from usual because of the weather and then is trip to Tennessee. I'm hoping that next week the weather cooperates and I can get back up to my normal routine, but the week after that is vacation week and who knows how much activity I'll actually be getting since I plan to do some hiking but am not sure what the weather forecast is.
I suppose though, even I'd just use method 1, aiming for 3400 calories a day for the next 2 weeks, that even if I can't get up to the 15,000 steps daily, it's not going to translate in a bunch of weight gain when I go back to deficit, and I suppose if my activity goes well above the 15,000, I could just tack on extra calories to compensate.
I just don't want to find myself still in even a mild deficit during this break; I know I need to be at maintenance or even into a small surplus to get the full benefits of the break.
I am not accustomed enough to this variable eating to do it while travelling. I keep expecting myself to get more comfortable with it but it is not happening. I prefer a fairly static way of eating and I also prefer that less of my calories come from bars and snacks which is how I am filling some of my gaps right now. I like a pretty light dinner which can't happen when I am suddenly looking at 1200 calories to fill.
I think my future is either returning to a TDEE system or doing a delayed system that would have me eat the previous day's calorie budget.
I am not sure if those thoughts are helpful to your quest for an answer. Whatever you choose to do you can switch or revise if it is not convenient for you.1 -
I think for convenience sake I'll stick with the TDEE method this time around - just dealing with one daily number would be easier, I think with all the vacation and variability in my routine.
What I think I'll do is set to 2500 calories for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday since I'm going to be out of town, maybe go ahead and do 3000 because I'll be loading equipment on Friday and possibly unloading it on Saturday, and then kick it up to 3400 on Sunday and stick there for the next 2 weeks, adjusting slightly depending on activity.
Even if I regain a few pounds or even several due to water weight retention, its not going to be the end of the world and I can get back on the horse in June.I suppose dating websites work but if, God forbid, I was ever single again I would probably do it the old fashioned way. I just can't imagine trying to pick a date from a profile and a picture. It would be like shopping from a catalog.
I can say there are a lot of shy/scared guys out there that would not act on their interest in person so in a diminished market it may not mean much not to get more overt attention. Some of the guys who hit on women easily were not the kind of guy you would really want. Not me. I was bold but I was never a cad.
I"m old fashioned and would much rather do it that way, though I had to laugh at shopping for dates in a catalog I wonder if they'd let you customize if you were getting your date that way? lol I saw a cartoon short once produced by a student at an art school that was on that subject - this girl would order these robot boyfriends but when she tried the various types, they all fell short in some humorous way, so she ended up sending them all back and sticking with her cats 
And I've seen plenty that are the kind that I wouldn't want anyway - I've worked with a few of that type. And they wonder why they've been divorced 3 times.......1 -
I am kind of wondering if I should maintain the 250 possible overage the entire break. In the past when I have had breaks I was told (at the time) the physiological benefits were negligible because I still had so much fat stores. Since I thought that was the case I didn't really care if I still drifted down a little.
The only reason I would pause at the idea is my recent weight that was 3.x pounds from onederland but at most I would gain a pound and be a week further away. I am eating 250 over today regardless. Tomorrow I may decide to set MFP to gain a half pound a week. That may present some irrational notions. lol.1 -
Setting your goal for a gain instead of a loss is likely to be a brain bender for sure!
I ended up doing a second elliptical session today even though I really didn't want to. I'm tired (my fault; was talking to the friend on the phone last night and didn't get to bed until 1 AM), but I couldn't take a walk outside because of the rain and I really wanted to get a minimum of 10,000 steps in, so I forced myself onto the elliptical for 40 minutes while supper was finishing up.
And hey, it earned me a second serving of halo top chocolate ice cream! What's funny, though, is that I wasn't exercising for the sake of getting more ice cream - I was actually exercising for the sake of exercising (or, getting those 10,000 steps in); the ice cream was just a bonus.2 -
I am not feeling as good today as yesterday. I will continue to eat a little more and monitor the situation. It may be worth a doctor visit if it does not clear up soon.1
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My food-related update is that I took a diet break. I didn't plan it, but it happened due to increased hunger. So I had a couple of binges, and ate at maintenance for about 1 month. I've seen an increase of about 3-4 lbs, but I'm not too worried, it is coming off again. I've been back in deficit for a couple of days and it seems the hunger is now under control. I think those weeks were just very stressful: it is only in late April that the pandemic-stress hit me.
The good part is that I don't feel like I am "off the wagon". I feel like I just needed more food for some time, and am surprisingly ok with it. Then again, this time around I've only been "on the wagon" for (relatively) little time, so I need to be vigilant.4 -
My food-related update is that I took a diet break. I didn't plan it, but it happened due to increased hunger. So I had a couple of binges, and ate at maintenance for about 1 month. I've seen an increase of about 3-4 lbs, but I'm not too worried, it is coming off again. I've been back in deficit for a couple of days and it seems the hunger is now under control. I think those weeks were just very stressful: it is only in late April that the pandemic-stress hit me.
The good part is that I don't feel like I am "off the wagon". I feel like I just needed more food for some time, and am surprisingly ok with it. Then again, this time around I've only been "on the wagon" for (relatively) little time, so I need to be vigilant.
That is a very good mindset imo. If a month break is what you needed to get back to losing easier then you did the right thing to steer into the curve.
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bobsburgersfan wrote: »
I appreciate this, and you for saying it, but I don't know how many times people have "consoled" me and tried to tell me that plenty of fat people find love, but my experience is pretty much identical to bmeadows. I've been overweight since I was little. I was morbidly obese by the time I graduated from high school. I've been on one date in my entire life, and he never called me again. There was only one other guy who showed interest until he figured out I was quite a bit younger than he was. I know my opinions are based on my experience, but men are not attracted to morbidly obese women. I would argue that most morbidly obese people in relationships were not morbidly obese when the relationship began. (And if it's not the weight, it has to be looks and/or personality, and that's a depressing thought.)I think if you assume no one is looking at you with interest you tend to miss the ones that are. People of all different weights still pair off. There are a lot of lonely people out there that are not obese too.
You could be right. I might have missed someone who was looking at me with interest, but if so, that guy never did more than look. Sure, I could have scared someone off by being totally oblivious, but it's not ALL up to me to make something happen. If there had been a LOT of guys showing interest, I wouldn't have missed every one of them, and I'm guessing the same is true for bmeadows!
BTW, @bmeadows380, I saw your photos, and even in the before photos I think you were very pretty!
Anyway...I came here to rant about my weight gain and got totally sidetracked by this conversation. Rant averted.......for now.
Let me provide some hope. I met my husband when I was quite large. He however was skinny enough for me to see his ribs. He has gained some weight and I have lost some but our wedding pictures are quite obvious that we are no where near the same size5 -
I may just do an overfeed tomorrow and see if that helps my situation. I am trying to set my calorie goal. In the past it would be maintenance and a half or even double maintenance but that was when I had far less calories. Maintenance and a half would be 6k calories. Double would be 8k. I can definitely eat that much. Eating that much without feeling nauseous is another story.
Maintenance and a quarter sounds more reasonable. Maybe maintenance plus 1500.
I like to decide these things in advance if I am going to do it.1 -
For anyone who takes diet breaks: When you do this, is it more for the mental side of things? Or is there some kind of physical benefit to eating at maintenance for a while and then restarting?0
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I do hope you get to feeling better soon!
One part of my brains thinks "there is no way I could eat 8,000 calories in a single day!" but the gluttoness side cheerfully admits oh yes it could and quite easily.....
I'm really debating on what I want to do tonight. I'm tired from driving all day, and I don't really need extra calories to eat as I'm doing well on the hunger front (stomach is full and happy; glutton brain is grumbling but I'm ignoring her). However, I'm 400 steps shy of 5,000 when I've been getting no less than 12,000 for the past few weeks, and I can't decide whether to just leave it alone, or appease the slave-driving guilter side of me that is highly disapproving of that low step count.....
We'll see how I feel after church tonight, whether or not I hit the elliptical for 30 minutes. Can't walk outside because of the rain.0 -
bobsburgersfan wrote: »For anyone who takes diet breaks: When you do this, is it more for the mental side of things? Or is there some kind of physical benefit to eating at maintenance for a while and then restarting?
From what I am reading and the posts Novus and Bmeadows have written, it is for both mental and physical well being...if I understand correctly your body’s hormone levels and BMI reset and it takes your body 10 to 14 days to do this...
Personally, because of my food addictions and the problems I have with binge eating, a diet break scares me to death BUT I have decided to watch and listen very closely to how others are doing and how they cope with eating more and try to plan my own Diet Break the end of June....this depends on whether I can go without any binges until then...I will celebrate my one year anniversary on MFP the end of this month...also my husband suffers terribly from RA and spinal stenosis and our retirement isn’t what we had expected or planned...but if all goes well, we are planning a short trip the end of June and it would be nice to have some extra calories to eat!...I do very little exercise ( I know, I know that I should be trying to do more but swimming is my go to activity and our neighborhood pool has remained closed and I really need to find an activity) ...anyway, this is what I am planning....0 -
Btw, I don’t think I have hormones any longer lol0
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bobsburgersfan wrote: »For anyone who takes diet breaks: When you do this, is it more for the mental side of things? Or is there some kind of physical benefit to eating at maintenance for a while and then restarting?
@bobsburgersfan
@conniewilkins56 pretty much nailed it except she definitely still has hormones.
Slight correction. It resets your BMR not your BMI.
It is fairly safe to say that while it improves health and it is certainly not dangerous (if done in a healthy fashion) the body doesn't really want to be in a long and prolonged calorie deficit. When this happens your body goes into a famine mode which downshifts your BMR slightly and affects hormone levels and seratonin.
A diet/deficit break puts you back in feast mode which resets everything back to normal. This means for a short time afterwards you will lose weight slightly (very slightly) faster.
The mental benefits vary. They can prevent "diet fatigue". They are, to me, a good sign I have not crossed over into disordered behavior. I mean if I can stop it all and eat more food that seems healthy. They show a person is not just trying to drop pounds fast but thinking longer term.
I also think it helps to practice maintenance not only because you will need to do it when the weight loss phase is over but you may also need to be prepared to do it if you get sick or injured. I had to exit my deficit due to an infection and then I had to exit it for 2 months recovering from my surgery. I had enough experience doing it that it was mostly effortless. I say "mostly" because a few times I did notice being hungrier the first day back so I decided to give myself the option of 1 to 2 days at half deficit.2 -
Yup; the thread that has the most information is here:
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10604863/of-refeeds-and-diet-breaks/p1
Though don't worry - you don't have to read all 200+ pages; just go through the opening post and maybe watch the video
Unless grinding to an 18 month plateau and regaining 30 lbs constitutes a diet break, then this will really be my first attempt at it. I've allowed a day here or there (Easter & last weekend) to eat at maintenance but not 2 full weeks. It's going to be a little difficult this weekend to count calories so I"m going to have to estimate, but hopefully, I'll be in the right neighborhood! Since I don't know the status of the restaurants going down I81 in Tennessee, I opted to buy a few things to make sandwiches and some snacks that we can take a break at a rest stop and eat for lunch. Mom's neighbor gave her a bunch of food stuff they had extra (their grand kids were getting well above more than they needed from school and the stuff was going bad because they couldn't eat it all), but I talked her into using what I bought instead because I can calorie count what I have; a "turkey sandwich with some kind of cheese spread on whole wheat bread" is not something I'd care to even try to figure out.
I decided to skip the elliptical tonight and just eat my icecream and call it a night I really am tired right now and just don't have the gumption or the stamina (wish I had that restless energy from Monday now!) And I've got a 6 hour+ drive ahead of me tomorrow, so I'd rather just use this as a rest day (I did manage to get a little over 5,000 steps in at least) and get to bed early.
I'll get up tomorrow and hit the elliptical and get my cardio in before leaving to get me some steps and some exercise to help combat the sitting for 6 hours thing (broken up, of course, by multiple bathroom breaks because when I'm driving long distances, I don't need food but I do need something to drink at hand).
I'll also adjust my calorie limit tomorrow morning to reflect maintenance or even maybe be daring and follow Novus in putting it at a 0.5 lb gain
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