i have vowed to read this every day for the next 4 weeks.
Mostly because this morning I weighed in 6 ..yes 6 !!! pounds heavier than friday. Friday i started eating 1600-1800 a day (instead of 1400-1500) AND have been to 2 weight lifting classes and one cardio AND started walking at lunch.

The 6lb gain makes me 2lbs heavier than when i first logged on to MFP in January.

I almost cried..but said no..you read there would be a gain..keep at it.

For some reason my pants and bra are too tight today as well (and nope, i don't think i had more sodium than usual - if anything i am drinking a lot more water!).

But..my body needs to adjust. I need patience. So..I will keep doing what I have been doing for the next 3 weeks. After all what I did for the last 20 years didn't help me get healthy either so what's 3-4 weeks?

Thanks again for my new daily read!
xo

Very well written and I understand all the concepts but I don't think Im doing something right. I think my confusion still lies in my BMR and how many calories i should be eating and what type of food combinations. I have set my diary like Lucia and have been making myself eat more often and incorporating breaks but not sure if I'm still doing it correctly. I understand every person is different and Im only in week 3 so I will keep plugging along and hope that my body gets me....right now, Im pretty sure it is confused LOL. thanks for this post, it was very informative!

Hey Katlou, hope the email cleared things up for you via the email. I will check out your diary and give ya some tips on what I see. Have you gained or are you the same??? Fill me in.

It's crazy how we are all brain washed into thinking we need to eat like mice to be thin. I remember when I was 2 lbs away from hitting my goal weight in 2006 and I just couldn't do it anymore. I didnt know where to cut calories and where to increase my burns without committing myself 5-7 days a week at the gym.

Needless to say, I've been starving my body and yet gaining weight.

After reading all these posts (love this group and Lucia's posts!!), I'm being brave and taking the challenge. I am on day 2 of eating 1800 cals per day. Haven't had. Big burn yet, but when I do, I will make sure to NET out as close to my BMR as possible.

Day 1 was like a party, eat healthy but more! Wow! How can I say no? My body was in heaven! My mind was worried. Am I doing the right thing? Will this work or is there something really wrong with me?

Day 2 (today) was so strange...I was getting hungry more often (already?). I brought a slightly bigger lunch but broke it down in two feelings. I also changed my diary settings so that I eat more, but smaller meals...I guess about 300 cals avg every 2 or so hrs...so today I had 6 feedings. Actually, my breakfast was smaller so I ate the rest of my cals for dinner...should try to reverse that!

I have to be careful not to fall in a trap where I'll eat any type of calories....moderation and a variety, as healthy as possible.

I want to believe in this and I will give it at least 4 weeks but in my mind, I'm still scared sh1tless.....I understand the theory, but then I think, but how can it be?

I will be back on these posts and sharing my journey. A few of my other MFPals are having plateaus and are waiting to see what happens with me before upping their calories! No pressure

Oh, one final comment (I know I'm rambling on)....upping my cals to 1800 has lifted the stress of dieting which has ALWAYS been on my mind. I feel liberated and no longer a victim of woe is me!

I am giving this a shot. Recently have been eating between 1700-1900 calories a day. i have had it with binging. i am so tired of having days where i am doing well with 1500-1600 and then all of a sudden i binge like 1000 calories. at least i know why now. my body needs more fuel. so i am trying to stick with 1700-1900 for several weeks and see what results i get. i am determined to not freak out if i gain a few. thanks for this post, it really helps. i did some calculations and did others to do calculations for me and i'm coming up with 2000 for my TDEE. I think I could eat at 2000 but i am doing a slow adjustment so that it's easier for my body to adjust to more calories.

I think I have finally got this TDEE/daily calorie goal stuff figured out. I'm officially setting my calorie goal tomorrow for 1800. I have had my goal set at 1600 for a week, and with eating my exercise cals back I've been averaging about that much already. So... I'm gonna do it.

Thanks for this, I really needed it. Although it all made sense, I was started to become frustrated with the scale, however, I decided to stick this out because I know it makes sense. I'm gonna put the scale away for a while and just stick with the plan

Bump to read later. Thanks

Ok. Almost two weeks now and I KNOW war to expect (thanks Lucia) but my inner voice I panicking a little. I'm up 1 lb and I'm so nervous that my body I abnormal and I won't lose this way. It's like it's too good to be true. I will persist. I will keep nurturing my body with several small healthy meals to a total of 1800 cals per day (or as close as possible, min amt is my BMR of 1560). Gotta hang in there!

Thanks for posting this.

I also got the same ideas when I recently got the same book (New Rules of Lifting for Women), and my eyes jumped out when I read the author's list of "signs you may not be eating enough" and saw that two of the items he listed were 1) amenorrhea (I haven't had my period since mid-January), and 2) feeling cold after eating. I'll admit it's scary but everyday I'm coming around to the idea that more food does not necessarily = weight gain.

Thanks for this! I'm in recovery from an eating disorder, and it was hard for me to go from 200 calories a day to 1200 calories a day! And then yesterday, I moved up to 1400! Hopefully, soon, I'll be able to have a healthy amount of calories for my weight and height, and this has definitely inspired me! Thanks so much(:

I am definitely going to read your blog that you provided the link to. Yes you are very eloquently made the case for sticking it out. I feel my self getting emotional now that I found this group. I have felt alone upping my calories for one. When you see all these people losing weight on little calories while you are upping yours it makes you feel like you are copping out instead of hlding true to your conclusion that this is the healthy way to lose. I have started upping my calories a few weeks ago but I have taken it a step at a time. I have just formulated in my mind my current problem. How do you find maintenance calories for yourself when you have been "maintaining" on less than maintenance calories. I went up to 1600 1st and I found that I lost my highs and my lows. I went up another hundred and this process of settling on a weight and not gaining and losing the same pounds continued. However I felt I need to reset my metabolism not just find a more reasonable deficit to lose at. So I calculated my maintenance and went up and I saw one of my old highs again and that was scary. Reading more I recalculated and went down just a bit but still up from the 1st two settings by 200. My calorie goal is set at 1900. I was just going to see what it says about BMR and TDEE hear and I saw this thread at the top. I can't believe how much time I am spending on this whole thing. I can't believe I am in the this position. I only wanted to lose a pound a week which is suppose to be healthy. However the 1 pound a week setting on here I think was too low but I mistakenly decided it was too high since I am older. I think it was too low since I had already been exercising and I had so much to lose. I am in my 3rd week and it seems I have more to learn but I hope now I won't feel so alone. I have been reading some threads that have been mentioned here but it still feels like I am the only one once I am not checking out the latest post.

Ok so if my bmr in 1294 and my tdee is 2006 i should am for 15% less =1700 calories a day and just never go below my bmr? I have been told like many that to beat this stall lower my cals. Ive already tried 1200 with cardio and i just was dead. I just cant imagine eating average 1700?

That is exactly correct. You should never eat below BMR...you are not giving the body enough to just breath...it slows your metabolism way down. You will be amazed, fueling will revv up the metabolism and get you losing again. Make sure to read what to expect when upping calories...it is at the top of the topic list on this forum.

thanks

BTW, we are a similar height, and I was the same weight as you, (and now, typically hover around 118-120) so it CAN be done. :flowerforyou:

Hope that answers your question?

Kiki
Kiki

How long has it taken you to get where you want to be? Or to see a difference! I have NEVER been 120lbs or lower (well I probably was but not since I was a kid lol) I normally get to 136 - 143 but never any lower! x