Week 3 and still confused here.

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my365challenge
my365challenge Posts: 45 Member
I have all of my numbers, tdee, bmr, I even have a bodybugg that simplifies all the math. But what I DON'T know yet is to eat how much for how long. I too was under the impression that I should just eat a certain amount. Anyone care to take a stab at it for me?
(gained 6lbs water weight or not in the last couple of days. very frustrated because I don't know if it's because of my eating or my exercise.)

My stats: 33, female, 280lbs (ugh), 64 inches tall, I'm a 3-5 Hours/week or more of moderate exercise
BMR 1828
TDEE 2834
My bodybugg shows about 2600cal burned on a very sedentary day. (which I feel is probably more accurate since its on me 24/7)
I joined MFP on the 1st of June 2012 and lost 7 lbs in 2 weeks. Gained all that back the 3rd week after discovering this group. Are there phases? Am I under eating? Am I over eating? Am I exercising too much? How many calories do I eat?
I tried to get info here, too clusterf**ked with a thousand topics and an area that's for newbies but doesn't explain phases or anything. Tried to get info on the website, ha! Refers me back to here. CAN SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME?!

Replies

  • GothyVegan
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    I always have a certain amount of calories this site tells me to eat. However, I cannot eat that many calories sometimes. Now my nutritionist told me that a person of 259 or above should get 1800 to 2000 calories a day. Even so, sometimes, I take in maybe 1500 or 1600. There are days, when I cannot possibly take in that much.

    What I think is, listen to your body. If you are really hungry, eat something. But, don't just eat that because that's what the site says. You may not feel like eating 2000 calories.

    Another possibility, is that you are doing some very intense muscle building exercises. You might be building some muscle. Muscle does weigh more than fat.

    Don't be discouraged. Sometimes, the weight will either come back or not move at all. Just keep doing what you're doing. Don't give up. I have faith in you. Sometimes, this is a bumpy journey. You can do it.
  • my365challenge
    my365challenge Posts: 45 Member
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    <3
  • Texmom_2003
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    I sugget U read fiber 35 diet. it gives good information on phases
  • knowak82
    knowak82 Posts: 200 Member
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    So, you gave your BMR and TDEE, how many calories are you ACTUALLY eating? If you're burning 2600 on a sedentary day according to your bodybugg, how much do you burn on a day that you exercise?

    I would suggest eating your TDEE minus a 15% cut (which would be, like 2400 calories) for at least 4-6 weeks before evaluating your progress. You would eat this EVERY day regardless of exercise, unless you have a crazy high burn that brings your NET calories below your BMR of 1800. Then you would need to eat back some calories so that your NET is at or above your BMR.

    The initial gain is VERY common--pretty much everyone goes through it (and the bloating, not thinking you can eat THAT much, etc.), but know that you are not gaining "x" pounds of actual fat. You would have had to eat 21,000 calories ABOVE your TDEE over the last 3 weeks to actually have gained 6 "real" pounds. It's water weight that your body is holding on to since now it is getting fed!

    If you get through 4-6 weeks at your cut and haven't noticed a change in your body, you may want to think about doing a full "reset" where you eat at TDEE for 4-8 weeks. Many people in the EM2WL have decided to do the full reset because many of us are coming off of VLCDs and have damaged metabolisms that need repairing!

    Hope this helps, and I'm hoping a moderator can pop up and confirm or deny what I've stated here in my post...good luck, and PLEASE don't give up on EM2WL--it really DOES work :smile:
  • rotnkat
    rotnkat Posts: 393 Member
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    So, you gave your BMR and TDEE, how many calories are you ACTUALLY eating? If you're burning 2600 on a sedentary day according to your bodybugg, how much do you burn on a day that you exercise?

    I would suggest eating your TDEE minus a 15% cut (which would be, like 2400 calories) for at least 4-6 weeks before evaluating your progress. You would eat this EVERY day regardless of exercise, unless you have a crazy high burn that brings your NET calories below your BMR of 1800. Then you would need to eat back some calories so that your NET is at or above your BMR.

    The initial gain is VERY common--pretty much everyone goes through it (and the bloating, not thinking you can eat THAT much, etc.), but know that you are not gaining "x" pounds of actual fat. You would have had to eat 21,000 calories ABOVE your TDEE over the last 3 weeks to actually have gained 6 "real" pounds. It's water weight that your body is holding on to since now it is getting fed!

    If you get through 4-6 weeks at your cut and haven't noticed a change in your body, you may want to think about doing a full "reset" where you eat at TDEE for 4-8 weeks. Many people in the EM2WL have decided to do the full reset because many of us are coming off of VLCDs and have damaged metabolisms that need repairing!

    Hope this helps, and I'm hoping a moderator can pop up and confirm or deny what I've stated here in my post...good luck, and PLEASE don't give up on EM2WL--it really DOES work :smile:

    ^^^^This^^^^

    Hang in there and give it some more time!! :flowerforyou:
  • mommamuscles
    mommamuscles Posts: 584 Member
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    So, you gave your BMR and TDEE, how many calories are you ACTUALLY eating? If you're burning 2600 on a sedentary day according to your bodybugg, how much do you burn on a day that you exercise?

    I would suggest eating your TDEE minus a 15% cut (which would be, like 2400 calories) for at least 4-6 weeks before evaluating your progress. You would eat this EVERY day regardless of exercise, unless you have a crazy high burn that brings your NET calories below your BMR of 1800. Then you would need to eat back some calories so that your NET is at or above your BMR.

    The initial gain is VERY common--pretty much everyone goes through it (and the bloating, not thinking you can eat THAT much, etc.), but know that you are not gaining "x" pounds of actual fat. You would have had to eat 21,000 calories ABOVE your TDEE over the last 3 weeks to actually have gained 6 "real" pounds. It's water weight that your body is holding on to since now it is getting fed!

    If you get through 4-6 weeks at your cut and haven't noticed a change in your body, you may want to think about doing a full "reset" where you eat at TDEE for 4-8 weeks. Many people in the EM2WL have decided to do the full reset because many of us are coming off of VLCDs and have damaged metabolisms that need repairing!

    Hope this helps, and I'm hoping a moderator can pop up and confirm or deny what I've stated here in my post...good luck, and PLEASE don't give up on EM2WL--it really DOES work :smile:

    ^^^^This^^^^

    Hang in there and give it some more time!! :flowerforyou:

    Great advice! The only thing I would add is that I think I would go ahead and start with a metabolism reset if you've been following a VCLD for more than 4 months. Also, if you have been restricting calories for awhile, it would be good to start with a diet break (at TDEE) for 2 weeks to begin, then cut back to 15% cut off TDEE. I would recommend using the Body Bugg stats to begin.
  • my365challenge
    my365challenge Posts: 45 Member
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    i don't know what any of that means. I've always eaten below 1200 calories. i did a vlcd of 500-600 and lost 42lbs in 40 days. only gained 17 of that back. but i just cannot eat more than 1600 calories. it makes me feel sick. :/

    on days where i work out moderate to extensive, my bodybugg total is from 2800-3400 : i can deal with eating 1200-1600 on days i don't work out and try to up my calories on days that i DO work out, but there is NO WAY i can force myself to eat over 1600 cal. I have a diet that consists of lean meats, mainly green veggies, and only fresh (and low caloric) fruits. I have recently incorporated dairy (cheese and cottage cheese/yogurts) into my diet. I have celiac disease so i have to avoid gluten at all costs and get my daily fiber from my veggies. Can someone tell me how many calories to eat on workout days, how many to eat on off days and how long i do this.........? that's where i'm confused i guess. i'm not understanding all of these acrynoms and whens and whats. thank you all for your advice and encouragement!