Hello everyone!!!!!

Just found this wonderful group earlier today and immediately started and upped my calories. (don"t know how i feel about that right now), but anyway, My calorie intake was originally set at 1330 cal/day. I never reached that amount and barely reached 1200.

Ok so apparently I have been doing this MFP thing wrong. hey less calories consumed less you will weigh right. NOPE. I have upped my calorie intake to 2150(TDEE). (wowser. thats a whole lot of eating..lol) Thanks to Lucia who helped me figure all this out. Anyway, Ok so I am full as a tick. cannot eat another bite. I have manage to get over 1500 calories today. I know I am still a little under my BMR maybe a little later i will have a skinny cow cookies and cream truffle bar(and of course I have not worked out today) shame on me, but I normally workout Monday-Friday and occasionally on Saturdays.

I normally jog 3 days a week and do some type of strength training 2 days a week. With my body either one of two things will happen (I'm speculating) will go in to shock(lol) and the lbs will start melting off (bc my body is just crazy, sexy, cool like that) or well like some ppl I will gain a little and then eventually lose the weight.

I am not picky I have lost over 100lbs during the years and have maintained it(not gained it any of it back). All I want to lose is about 20 more lbs

I am scared that I will gain a whole bunch of weight, but i have read so many success stories today . I am super excited!!!!:happy:

Hi everyone. I just joined this group because I have been at this since mid-December and have not lost a pound - actually have gained a couple. I have not been strict on my calories the whole time but for the last almost 4 weeks I have been strict and I have started couch to 5k and weight training. Didn't step on the scale the whole time because I was trying to concentrate on getting healthy and working out and not the scale. But as of yesterday my pants aren't fitting any better (dress pants still tight around the waist) and I have actually gained another pound! I had my calories at 1300 and would eat back my exercise calories but in going back and looking at my diary there were quite a few days after my exercise that I was only netting 1000 or a little over. I was waking up hungry in the middle of the night, was really turning down things that I would normally have eaten and my stomach was growling during the day - I was so proud of myself for having self-control! Hmm - well that wasn't much to be proud of I see. I am almost 48 and honestly I am more interested in looking toned and fit and not just losing weight. I'm going to try the New Rules for Weight Lifting for Women and continue on my 5k journey. I find I need goals to stick with a program.

My stats are:
Age: 47
Height: 5'2
CW: 165
GW: 135 to 140 (I have a very curvy body and find that weight to look best on me with my toning up)

My BMR is 1438; My TDEE is 2174 (I used Lightly active as I sit all day - but I do walk/run at lunch and do weights at night);
15% from my TDEE is 1848 which is my new goal. If I use more than 411 work out calories I will eat back anything over that and not let my net get below 1438.

If you see something wrong with my calcs or my end result - please let me know. I am going to change my goals today and I will use every wed. as my weigh in day. I do need to do my measurements - but I will be able to tell a lot by how my clothes fit too.

I will need some help in looking at diaries to see what everyone is eating to get these calories as I am sure it not a lot of processed carbs. My number one problems is finding things to fix for dinner for both me and my husband and our traveling lifestyle. But I will find a way to do this!

Feel free to friend me as I like to post a lot on my wall and interact with other friends going through the same thing.

Hello, I just joined this group as a recommendation from one of my friends. My heaviest weight was 290. I got down to 216.6 but decided to start raising my calories because I went to a weight loss clinic that had me on 1,000 calories a day and it wreaked havok on my metabolism. I only followed their plan for two months then I decided to do my own thing. Those crazy idiots told me I could only have ONE serving of vegetables every other day. I knew then and there that was wrong but I was signed up for 6 months so I continued going to weigh ins and doing my own thing (eating low carb, about 1,200 calories and doing lots of Zumba).

So since that is over, I started raising calories to repair my metabolism but nothing (aside from fluctuating up a couple pounds) has happened. I wanted to get back into weightlifting (I did it in high school) but every time I work out I hurt myself. I messed up my neck/shoulder doing Zumba Toning. So then I tried 30 Day Shred. After 4 days I slipped a vertebrae out of place. I started physical therapy yesterday and the PT told me I was doing hardcore workouts without a core so I needed to take baby steps and slowly build my core or I would continue to hurt myself. I was a beast in high school. I was fat but I was strong. I could leg press over 400 and now I can barely do a squat with 10 pounds. I graduated weighing 230 pounds and I weigh 220 now so I figured since I looked the same my body would be at the same strength as before. This is frustrating to me because I want to lift heavy!!

So how can I still maintain what lean mass I have left but continue to lose weight while not starving myself? I have PCOS so I try to eat low carb and by low carb, I mean processed carbs. I love fruits and veggies and eat those as much as I want. I also cook a lot of my own food and experiment with coconut flour to make delicious foods. So I average 50-100 carbs a day.

I calculated my military body to be 42.3% giving me a BMR of 1607 and TDEE of 1957. My goal weight is 180. Just not sure what to do about the exercise issue...

Hi, I'm Joni... 39 and not much weight to lose but in need of muscle and some fat loss. I stumbled across posts about F2F yesterday and also BMR and TDEE recently and decided to try this route. I just started a 5 week bootcamp two weeks ago that meets 3 days a week for an hour and I also started C25K three weeks ago and do that 3x a week.

BMR is 1,321 and I've chosen moderately active (is this accurate? The c25k isn't burning many calories) so TDEE is 2,047 without the 10% digestion modification. A 15% deficit from that leaves me at 1,740 as my calorie total to eat.

Previously MFP had me around 1300 plus eating exercise so this is going to be somewhat of a change, especially on my light C25K days or non-exercise days.

I orded NRFLFW from Amazon yesterday so I'm really looking forward to building some lean muscle (I am soooo weak!) and getting rid of some stubborn fat.

Can't wait to see how this takes shape!

I forgot to add my stats:

SW: 153
GW: 120 to 125
CW: 135

BMR: 1341
TDEE minus 15%: 1849

I set my activity level to very active.

Good morning ladies,

I am new here looking for some support. I am a mother of 3, 2 of which were c-sections. I am 28 and I weigh in at 128 when I started a month ago I weighed the same but had a much higher body fat % not exactly sure what it was because as I am sure you all know every calculator gives a different answer. Right now according to Fat 2 Fit military calculator I am at 30% but the caliver (which I have read is better for women since it takes more measurements) says 24.6%. My stats are as follows

Beginning/Current/Goal
128/128/120-128 weight
33.5/30.5/27 waist
20.5/19.5/same legs
39.75/39.5/same hips

So I have had progress and have been eating between 1800 and 2000 calories since I began. The issue is that I was barely eating 1000 calories before not because I was trying just because food as never been the first thing on my mind. I eat when I am starving and usually that was only 2 times a day if that. I always skipped breakfast just cause by the time my body said it was hungry it was almost noon. I would eat lunch and then dinner. I am a SHM, full time online student and I workout 5-6 days a week 3/weight training days, 2/cardio and some weeks a yoga day. I use Chalean Extreme so I am lifting to build muscle and lose inches around my waist (which is where I hold all my fat). I look forward to getting to know all of you. And please if you think I am doing something wrong feel free to let me know. I am all for constructive criticism.

Hello all! I am also joining in here. I am 34 year old mom to an amazing 2-year old girl. I want to get fit and healthy and be the best example I can for her! Here are my stats:

Height: 5' 8"
SW: 211lb
CW: 180lb
GW: between 137 and 145lb

BMR: 1540
TDEE: 2270


When I started on here in beginning of February I set my calorie goal to 1200, I ate 200 extra calories to compensate for breastfeeding so was in effect eating 1400 calories a day. Then I upped that to 1600 calories but after MFP recalculated my daily goal a couple of weeks ago it set me down to 1470 calories a day. I am not very happy with that, although I did follow it, but as of yesterday I upped my calories to 1700. It sure feels like a lot and I am scared of eating that amount of food. I KNOW I should not be scared, I have read and educated myself on the subject and still I am terrified. So I decided to join in here in hope of getting some support and accountability so that I can eat more rather than less!


If anybody out there wants to friend me I would be very grateful... really need more like-minded buddies who can help me stick to the healthy way of getting fit!

Hi, my name's Jenn. I'll be turning 28 in June and I need to take this weight off for good. I've never been thin; I've been obese and in the plus sizes my entire adult life. I feel a big part of that is not eating enough calories. I would eat no more than 1300-1400 calories then eventually end up binging when I'm tired of being starving. I love sweets and I'm finding moderation to be the key. If I let myself have 1 serving ice cream or a couple cookies and fit them in my day than I won't binge. I've been on MFP since April 1, 2012 and as of yesterday I had lost 8 pounds. I just hope I won't gain it all back as I raise my calories. I just hope I figured out how many calories I should eat correctly.

My Stats:
Height: 5' 4"
Age: 27
Activity Status: Lightly Active
BMR: 1872
TDEE: 2652 (according to fitnessfrog.com)
-15%: 2254

I hope those numbers are correct and I can heal my metabolism once and for all.

Hello everyone, My name is Audrey and I am the mother of 5 beautiful girls. I have been yoyo dieting for years gaining and losing and regaining weight and lo and behold I have recently regained 40 of the 60 pounds I lost. I am tired of this and ready to love what I eat and eat the way I will live for the rest of my life. for the last 2 months I have reduced my caloric intake considerably and have lost nothing. But reading this group info it has been very helpful. I have to say I am really nervous cause I had done to math to get the figures needed to begin the process and I have to it is a lot of calories they want me to eat. I guess I have been in that worpped mindset that I have to eat a lot less to lose and it has not worked. I don't want to feel guilty cause I want to enjoy a nice turkey sandwhich instead of sucking on chicken broth and rice cakes. I did go in and reset my goals and I put I have to retrain myself on how to eat cause I put in what I think is a lot for me and It still says I am way under my intake goal for the day. So I guess I need a little help in what a healthy daily diary looks like for what they say that my cut value is 2200. Please I welcome any help. I am gonna kick up my weight training cause I want those nice sexy lean arms and legs. So I am super duper excited

Hi, Audrey & welcome to EM2WL!

It will take a bit of time to get your mind, and body wrapped around this new way of life, but trust that once it does....you will NEVER go back. The freedom will be unparalleled to anything you've ever felt before (just as you said, knowing that you can eat *real* food and not feel guilty is a beautiful thing). Feel free to check out my diary, it's open to the public, and I know that Lucia's is too, as well as many of the other group members. The more diary's you look at, the more you'll see just how personal the journey is. Everyone has a way to make it work for them, and their needs/wants, etc. Some of us are vegan, gluten free, or eat everything in moderation. As long as it works for you, it works.

Be sure to read all of the stickies, if you haven't already, especially the "what to expect" post. It will help to prepare you for the journey ahead, and that preparedness is more than half the battle.

Enjoy your new journey, and be sure to ask any questions as they arise, we're a pretty active group, so someone is bound to be around to answer

Kiki

I'm so on the way to get some msm tonight! My allergies are killing me!

I just want to welcome everybody who have just recently joined. I'm fairly new also. But I just wanted to make sure you all read the stickies that the admins of this group have posted. There is vital information in there that we all should know from the jump when it comes to up-ing your calories. I look forward to sharing this journey with each and every one of you.

Hello everyone! My name is Bobbi and I decided to live a healthier life about two weeks ago. Thankfully I found out about fat2fit radio and this site right off the bat so I haven't had to starve and I've already lost a couple of pounds. Ive decided to eat like the size of person that I intend to become(heard that on the podcast). I have 4 kids of which the youngest is still at home with me. She's 4 and she loves to do my workout DVDs with me! My hope is to be a good example to her and maybe she won't have to go through the ups and downs that I have experienced.

After reading some of the threads on here I know that I need to do some strength training but I've never touched more than a three pound weight in my life so any pointers on how to start are welcomed! I look forward to getting to know you all better!

There is a book called New Rules of Lifting for Women. You might can find it at your local library to check out. If not check out Amazon. I also like CharLean Extreme. Its a dvd program I use that works multiple muscle groups at one time. You need to lift heavy to burn the fat more effectly/efficiently. It won't bulk you up. Oh also some people use strong lifts 5x5 work out. I don't know much about it but you can google it or use the MFP search. There should be a thread on it.

Thanks so much!

HI, finally introducing myself. I started eating more 2 weeks ago. Based on my TDEE my daily goal is set at 1920. I averaged my week out based on 1 rest day per week so my goal would not change daily. Since starting I have only lost .2 since and now my weight is going up. Trying hard to remember that this is normal and I have not actually eaten enough "extra" calories to gain. Hoping to find advice or proof here.

Hi

My name is Candice. I'm a 32 year old mom of 2 boys ages 6 and 4. I am a SAHM who works from home part time. I have lost about 35lbs since last June, the first 8lbs using Weight Watchers and then the rest after I joined MFP in October. I was diagnosed hypothyroid a couple years back and my meds are finally at the right place so I'm actually able to lose weight now. I started exercising 5 days per week back in January, and swapped out 2 days of cardio for strength training/toning about a month ago. I am considering switching to 2 days cardio and 3 days strength soon. I am almost done the C25K program (week 7), and I think once I finish that I'll make the switch and start lifting heavier. Right now I only do 5lb weights with a toning DVD I have, just to get myself started. I increased my calories from 1290 - 1600 net about 3 weeks ago, then this week I bumped up again to 2000 calories (Making sure to net at least my BMR of 1850 on exercise days). I am finding myself satisfied, energized, and happy at this calorie intake

I joined EMTWL because I want to have energy, maintain/increase muscle tone, and be able to sustain any weight loss I am fortunate enough to experience. I have about 85lbs left to go, so I may be one of the bigger gals in the group, but I figure if I can get this right now, maybe I will actually succeed :-) I am trying to get out of the "get there NOW" mindset and rather set myself up for a lifetime of health and fitness

So far I haven't gained since increasing, I'm actually down a couple pounds, but I am prepared for the next 4-6 weeks to be a bit nerve wracking while my body adjusts.

I think the key is try not to stress, trust in the system, come back to the boards and read other encouraging stories of people further along...and RELAX...I think some of the EM2WLer's stress a bit which may impede prgress because of cortisol release. So, you take a nice deep breath when you step on the scale and just remind yourself this is a wonderful journey that will get you to goal...:-)

Hi! I’m Diane and I joined MFP in January 2012. In the past I’ve done Weight Watchers, Lean For Life, Low Carb… and none of those plans were something I could stick with. On MFP I lost 10 pounds in just over a month and then got miserably sick. And I was hungry, getting hungrier every day no matter how much I moved or didn’t move. My initial thinking of “I can stick to this lower calorie plan forever” flew out the window and I needed to find another way to reach my goals. I found this group in March and have been lurking around the boards ever since. I’ve upped my calories and feel like a new woman! (my husband thanks you ) I am starting to strength train (began this week) and I have a long way to go but I’m ready for the challenge.