I still feel like something is wrong with me because I really havent gained any weight since I began EMTLW almost 4 months ago. My inches have gone up slightly, and the weight has bounced from my start of 238, to a low of 233, and is currently 236..so I guess it went up a little after I jumped to Cut .. but basically my weight has been unchanged.. I keep hearing of a lot of you gaining 3-5-8-10 pounds on reset, and I feel out of place.. (what kind of weird messed up mind do I have to WANT to gain weight??:))..

I am weighing in on Wed, and the scale should show a gain over my previous weeks due to having a rest week. Two weeks ago, I was 234.8, last week with AF hitting, I went to 236.4, and so far, peeking on the scale has me about the same.. so it appears as though I have gained through my rest week, which would mean I am at my proper TDEE... So at least I know I am where I should be..

Getting Anxious... very anxious..

I think you should be happy-so you know where your TDEE is
Gaining weight is not that much fun anyway
Keep it up

Hi All,

I'm five weeks or so in :bigsmile: and not 100% sure I'm eating enough....

I used the data from my Fitbit to set my TDEE, comes out at 2100, I averaged two weeks of data. Scooby has me at more like 2300.

I feel like I have lost weight but I refuse to go anywhere near the scale! and I have been hungry, very hungry over the past couple of days. I've just eaten my lunch - chicken salad, oatcakes and a greek yoghurt and I want more :laugh:

So do you think I should up it a bit, say another 100?

Thanks
Alison

OK, I'm half way into the reset (week 5) and had a small gain from last week (again) 0.6 pounds. I thought about adjusting the cals down by 150. I had a one pound loss in the first week (so -1, +.4, +.2, +.6), I decided to leave it be and just wait it out (unless some one can give me a reason otherwise). Measurements next week.
I'm kinda taking it easy right now due to a slight back injury, just walking last week, this week adding counter push ups (weak upper body).

On another note, I just ordered New Rules and BM Core! My Apt. community has a gym with some free weights and machines, but I see kids hanging out there after the management leaves. So, if I want to use it I'll have to get up around 4 am to get to work on time....holy crap! Thinking about getting my own equipment, but I live on the second floor and lugging it up the stairs will be a work out of it's own:laugh: Maybe in the near future, one piece at a time.

Here's to a better life for us all:drinker: <---(Kool-aid)!

Hi all. I am wrapping up my 4th week of reset. 6 weeks to go. I have officially hit the point where I am ready to cut. Why is maintaining so hard?

I've been fighting a persistent sickness for the last couple weeks. Yesteray was the first in my reset where I did not hit my calories. Of course I feel guilty for it, which is kind of funny when you think of it. Feeling bad over not eating ENOUGH. So weird!

It's funny how in this group, we feel guilty about eating as much as we do, guilty if we don't eat enough, and WANT to get back to a eating a few less cals!...LOL!

It just goes to show us all, how much mental damage dieting does to our way of thinking. It's like trying to shed years of brainwashing, coming up from the depths and seeing the sun for the first time. It's blinding, it hurts, but once we get used to it, it's absolutely LOVELY and we never want to live without it again. :happy:

Maintaining during the reset is particularly hard I think because we want to lose the weight so badly. Not necessarily because eating the cals is hard (well, at first it is, but afterwards it's much easier). We are anxious to get the bodies we are aiming for and want to get started. Patience is so important with this method. It's amazing how many GOOD habits we are learning with EM2WL...not just how to drop weight, but how to live a better, fuller life in so many ways.

It is so hard to be patient with the process. You just want to speed through it. Now that I am getting through it, I feel like the reset is for a mental reboot as much as physical. Just an overall pause button - stop, breath, relax, then move forward. I think the desire for fast-fast-fast results is the hardest habit to break so far.

I'm reading yet another book . . . The Smarter Science of Slim. Just wanted to share a very interesting experiment from the book, done at St. Joseph's Hospital in Phoenix, Arizona. In the experiment, they took two groups of people - one of heavy people and one of thin people. They were put on a 0 calorie intake for a length of time and their metabolisms/stored energy usages were measured scientifically. Both groups show slowdowns in metabolism as their bodies tried to make up for the loss of intake. Heavy people didn't burn their fat stores first - they burned their muscle. Muscle takes more energy to maintain so the body naturally tried to get rid of it first in a crisis situation.

So which do you want to lose most? Weight? Or body fat?

My choice is to get rid of the body fat. By working out effectively and feeding my body the nutrition it needs. It's going to take time and a lot of mental stamina to get through this reset. But totally worth it when I can show of the leaner, healthier me.

Hi All,

I'm five weeks or so in :bigsmile: and not 100% sure I'm eating enough....

I used the data from my Fitbit to set my TDEE, comes out at 2100, I averaged two weeks of data. Scooby has me at more like 2300.

I feel like I have lost weight but I refuse to go anywhere near the scale! and I have been hungry, very hungry over the past couple of days. I've just eaten my lunch - chicken salad, oatcakes and a greek yoghurt and I want more :laugh:

So do you think I should up it a bit, say another 100?

Thanks
Alison

Alison - I am using my Fitbit numbers as I seem to be between lightly and moderately active when using Scooby or Fat2Fit. Are you 5 weeks into eating less or reset?

Hello ladies, I've been going about my business and trying to eat up to 2400 every day. I'm starting week 4 of my reset, and it wasn't until last week that two pounds jumped out at me and decided to stay. That also came with the bloating, so I'm not a really happy camper if I look down at my tummy. Three weeks ago I said that I'd do a 4-week reset and then reevaluate. I might stretch it to a 5.5 or 6-week reset just because of the July 4th holiday.

I think in my mind I am telling myself that I don't need to reset too long because I haven't been on a VLCD per se; I had been eating solidly at 2000 throughout the winter (which was technically TDEE -15% without my knowledge) and in May did a -20% cut rather blindly, slashing my cals to 1500-1700. This was before I discovered EM2WL. After reading the last few posts, it definitely gives me some pause to evaluate how much longer I want to reset. I'm lifting heavy 2x/wk and doing HIIT 1-2x/wk, so I know my muscles beneath the fat are there! Everyone here is going through the antsy dance, and I totally empathize. I went to Old Navy and got two skirts with stretchy waistbands, and picked up two pairs of shorts in one size larger than my usual, just so I can survive the hot summer. That bums me a bit, but I'm also thinking it's an investment in my long-term success.

What I'm trying to wrap my mind around is: will this work? After a reasonable reset, once I start the TDEE - 15% and continue my workouts, will it work? What if it doesn't? Where do I go from there if it doesn't work? And the flip side: what if it DOES work? I guess I'll know by the end of August if there's progress overall. I'm glad to be keeping company with all of you, some starting around the same time, some earlier, and being able to see that we are all struggling right now. I will power through this and remember to trust the process.

Hello ladies, I've been going about my business and trying to eat up to 2400 every day. I'm starting week 4 of my reset, and it wasn't until last week that two pounds jumped out at me and decided to stay. That also came with the bloating, so I'm not a really happy camper if I look down at my tummy. Three weeks ago I said that I'd do a 4-week reset and then reevaluate. I might stretch it to a 5.5 or 6-week reset just because of the July 4th holiday.

I think in my mind I am telling myself that I don't need to reset too long because I haven't been on a VLCD per se; I had been eating solidly at 2000 throughout the winter (which was technically TDEE -15% without my knowledge) and in May did a -20% cut rather blindly, slashing my cals to 1500-1700. This was before I discovered EM2WL. After reading the last few posts, it definitely gives me some pause to evaluate how much longer I want to reset. I'm lifting heavy 2x/wk and doing HIIT 1-2x/wk, so I know my muscles beneath the fat are there! Everyone here is going through the antsy dance, and I totally empathize. I went to Old Navy and got two skirts with stretchy waistbands, and picked up two pairs of shorts in one size larger than my usual, just so I can survive the hot summer. That bums me a bit, but I'm also thinking it's an investment in my long-term success.

What I'm trying to wrap my mind around is: will this work? After a reasonable reset, once I start the TDEE - 15% and continue my workouts, will it work? What if it doesn't? Where do I go from there if it doesn't work? And the flip side: what if it DOES work? I guess I'll know by the end of August if there's progress overall. I'm glad to be keeping company with all of you, some starting around the same time, some earlier, and being able to see that we are all struggling right now. I will power through this and remember to trust the process.

There seems to be quite a group of us that started reset at about the same time. I've seen a few success stories here and there with people who've been at EM2WL longer, but not the large groups of people we seem to have around now. I think we are a bit of an experiment. All the reading I've been doing says that this will work. Our bodies are amazing machines and adapt to whatever we give them to work with. They don't always adapt the way we want them to, that's how we ended up with the extra fat storage in the first place. We are learning to work with our bodies and ask them politely to do what we want, not forcing the issue. I think that's what reset is all about. Teaching our bodies what it will be like at maintenance. It adapts. then we do a cut. The only reaction possible is for us to lose, because that's the natural reaction after maintaining and then cutting calories. I just read a whole list of studies that purposely gave people anywhere from an extra 500 to 1000 calories a day for 7 weeks. You would think from the numbers they would all gain 16 pounds each? Nope. The average gain was only 0.88 pounds. The most reported was around 2, the least was a 0. Wild! Your body is adapting, and will lose that much more cleanly and easily when the time comes for you to do your cut. Don't give up! Hugs,

Just popping in to introduce myself. I'm about a week into my reset. Aiming to average at 2200 per day or more (I'm 5'1 and 105-109lbs, not wanting to lose or gain). Terrified! So far I am up 2lbs but I am sure that's just a normal fluctuation.