You may want to get a HRM that estimates calories burned to get a general idea of how much you are doing during the day (if you dont have one already) since your job involves a lot of fitness. Then use those numbers as an estimate to how much you should be eating.. people that work out all day sometimes are eating 5k calories or more.. Also just from a quick look at your diary I would try to cut back on sodium based items that would hold water (and make you look bigger), just a suggestion.

^this is a bad idea. HRM calorie counters are great for cycling, running etc. The equations they use are based on cardio activities. It doesn't know when you've switched from that to lifting or lying down or if you're just lying out in the really hot sun. They're not accurate for these activities.

REALLY? I weight lift and use hrm anyway.. it measure how many calories I burnt, I use them in order to make sure that they are within my TDEE # if more than that, then I would need to eat more... hmm...

greysmom-

i do think lucia is right about needing to eat more.

but just regarding the bloat and water gain....i didn't feel overly bloated when i first started, but i took a "before" pic just a couple of days after starting to eat more. about 10 days later i took another pic, and the difference was shocking. it was seriously like i was wearing a full body fat suit and i just took it off. the difference all over my body was crazy, and it was mostly due to water gain.

i'm betting if you get to your sweet spot deficit wise, your body will be willing to let all of that go, just like terri said.

had you started a different lifting routine as well? My routine has not changed...no lifting yet. Just more food. LOL

nope, the only thing i was lifting was food to my face.

Terri, how long have you been EM2WL, what is your cut and how much are you working out...what do you do weekly???

I've been on since 5/7, so 3 weeks exactly. BMR figures out to 1455, TDEE 2256, Cut using moderate exercise is 1917. I try to ride my bike 6 days a week,(hour long rides that usually burn around 300 to 400 calories on my HRM) if it's raining I'll pull out an Insanity DVD. One day a week is a long ride of 2 hours(burns 800 to 1000 calories) or more. Honestly, I eat a lot of junk, need to eat cleaner, lower my sodium, and focus more on lean proteins. But I get off track way to easy. I've been trying to simply net above my BMR each day. Which does seem to work out to between 1900 and 2000 calories a day. I'm loving the fact that I'm not hungry all the time and actually seem to have more energy, that's saying a lot since I work 3 night shifts and two evening shifts each week.

You may want to get a HRM that estimates calories burned to get a general idea of how much you are doing during the day (if you dont have one already) since your job involves a lot of fitness. Then use those numbers as an estimate to how much you should be eating.. people that work out all day sometimes are eating 5k calories or more.. Also just from a quick look at your diary I would try to cut back on sodium based items that would hold water (and make you look bigger), just a suggestion.

^this is a bad idea. HRM calorie counters are great for cycling, running etc. The equations they use are based on cardio activities. It doesn't know when you've switched from that to lifting or lying down or if you're just lying out in the really hot sun. They're not accurate for these activities.

REALLY? I weight lift and use hrm anyway.. it measure how many calories I burnt, I use them in order to make sure that they are within my TDEE # if more than that, then I would need to eat more... hmm...

SparkPeople's Fitness Tracker doesn't estimate calorie burn for strength training because so many variables are involved (how hard you're working, resting in between sets, the amount of weight you lift, etc.) that any estimate would not be very accurate. A heart rate monitor (HRM) is capable of estimating calorie burn pretty accurately—but only for aerobic (cardio) exercise, not for strength training. Here's why:

A HRM won't give you an accurate idea of how many calories you burn during strength training, because the relationship between heart rate and calorie expenditure is not the same during strength training as during cardio exercise, which is what the HRM's estimate is based on. Unless your weight training is very vigorous circuit training, the heart rate monitor will be overestimating your calorie burn by a fair amount.

The problem is a technical one. Calorie burning isn't determined by heart rate, it's determined by the number of muscle cells that are activated to perform a given activity. It's the working cells that actually use the energy (calories) and consume oxygen. When working muscle cells need more energy and oxygen, your heart rate goes up to deliver these things to the cells via the blood stream.

Any muscle that performs a high intensity or maximum effort (strength training) will trigger an increase in heart rate and blood flow. But if only a single muscle group is on the receiving end to utilize that extra oxygen (doing a strength exercise that isolates your biceps, for example), only a relatively small amount of oxygen (and calories) will actually be consumed.

So while a series of strength training exercises may elevate your heart rate like aerobic exercise does, you're not actually using as much oxygen and burning as many calories as you would be if you were steadily using several large muscles all at once, as when walking, running, swimming, or doing aerobics for example.

The heart rate monitor doesn’t know whether your increase in heart rate is due to several large muscle groups working (cardio), an isolated muscle group lifting a weight (strength training), or even if adrenaline or excitement is increasing your heart rate. It just knows your heart rate, and the formulas it uses to estimate calories are based on studies of aerobic exercise, not other activities. So, it's going to overestimate your calorie expenditure when the rise in heart rate is stimulated by using isolated muscles at maximum intensity, which is what occurs during strength training.
REALLY? I weight lift and use hrm anyway.. it measure how many calories I burnt, I use them in order to make sure that they are within my TDEE # if more than that, then I would need to eat more... hmm...

http://www.sparkpeople.com/community/ask_the_experts.asp?q=75

Terri, how long have you been EM2WL, what is your cut and how much are you working out...what do you do weekly???

I've been on since 5/7, so 3 weeks exactly. BMR figures out to 1455, TDEE 2256, Cut using moderate exercise is 1917. I try to ride my bike 6 days a week,(hour long rides that usually burn around 300 to 400 calories on my HRM) if it's raining I'll pull out an Insanity DVD. One day a week is a long ride of 2 hours(burns 800 to 1000 calories) or more. Honestly, I eat a lot of junk, need to eat cleaner, lower my sodium, and focus more on lean proteins. But I get off track way to easy. I've been trying to simply net above my BMR each day. Which does seem to work out to between 1900 and 2000 calories a day. I'm loving the fact that I'm not hungry all the time and actually seem to have more energy, that's saying a lot since I work 3 night shifts and two evening shifts each week.

So you exercise 7hours a week...that is not moderate but the next level up. You should also try to make it a point to eat your cut value consistently daily. Consistency is a major key!

Terri, how long have you been EM2WL, what is your cut and how much are you working out...what do you do weekly???

I've been on since 5/7, so 3 weeks exactly. BMR figures out to 1455, TDEE 2256, Cut using moderate exercise is 1917. I try to ride my bike 6 days a week,(hour long rides that usually burn around 300 to 400 calories on my HRM) if it's raining I'll pull out an Insanity DVD. One day a week is a long ride of 2 hours(burns 800 to 1000 calories) or more. Honestly, I eat a lot of junk, need to eat cleaner, lower my sodium, and focus more on lean proteins. But I get off track way to easy. I've been trying to simply net above my BMR each day. Which does seem to work out to between 1900 and 2000 calories a day. I'm loving the fact that I'm not hungry all the time and actually seem to have more energy, that's saying a lot since I work 3 night shifts and two evening shifts each week.

So you exercise 7hours a week...that is not moderate but the next level up. You should also try to make it a point to eat your cut value consistently daily. Consistency is a major key!
[/quote

Go figure . . . I ate like 2000 calories yesterday, and my weight is back down to where I was on Friday (I went up a tad over the weekend) Ok, more newbie questions then. I'm sure this has been answered, but when I try and do a search I get a ton of stuff about eating back exercise calories, but not for EM2LW. It sounds like my net goal should be the 1917 then? Do I eat that even on the one day a week I don't exercise? Thanks for putting up with newbie questions.

Bumpng to mark because I am in the same boat EXCEPT its been 6 weeks and I look and feel huge. I was at 112 in March (had lost 8 lbs since starting MFP in October) and now 123 and gained all my inches back and more. I was starting to like myself in the mirror but now I do not. Gained 1.5" around every place I measure. So trying VERY HARD to do what Lucia said and reset my metabolism all while crying at the same time because its Summer . I just think i was eating too much though and OVERestimating my activity but all the scooby calculations make me at maintenance I suppose. i really just want to scream. I have a fitbit and it never tells me enough cals i burned to make me satisfied. I am always hungry or craving something.

I wish I had the answer but I still struggle with the same. I KNOW I've gained muscle but I also appear to have gained fat! My diet is near perfect and yet, the Body Fat scale at the GYM is going UP UP UP. Talk about depressing. My jeans are much tighter and I am eating ~1400-1600 calories (I'm 5'2"). I know it's better than 1200 BUT, it IS summer and the stinking Victoria Secret swimsuit catalog just arrived. UGH!!! Good luck. I am sure we are doing the right thing!

Elizabeth

Terri, how long have you been EM2WL, what is your cut and how much are you working out...what do you do weekly???

I've been on since 5/7, so 3 weeks exactly. BMR figures out to 1455, TDEE 2256, Cut using moderate exercise is 1917. I try to ride my bike 6 days a week,(hour long rides that usually burn around 300 to 400 calories on my HRM) if it's raining I'll pull out an Insanity DVD. One day a week is a long ride of 2 hours(burns 800 to 1000 calories) or more. Honestly, I eat a lot of junk, need to eat cleaner, lower my sodium, and focus more on lean proteins. But I get off track way to easy. I've been trying to simply net above my BMR each day. Which does seem to work out to between 1900 and 2000 calories a day. I'm loving the fact that I'm not hungry all the time and actually seem to have more energy, that's saying a lot since I work 3 night shifts and two evening shifts each week.

So you exercise 7hours a week...that is not moderate but the next level up. You should also try to make it a point to eat your cut value consistently daily. Consistency is a major key!
[/quote

Go figure . . . I ate like 2000 calories yesterday, and my weight is back down to where I was on Friday (I went up a tad over the weekend) Ok, more newbie questions then. I'm sure this has been answered, but when I try and do a search I get a ton of stuff about eating back exercise calories, but not for EM2LW. It sounds like my net goal should be the 1917 then? Do I eat that even on the one day a week I don't exercise? Thanks for putting up with newbie questions.

Yes, you eat that amount every single day.