Hello All,

After trying, unsuccessfully, to drop my post-college weight through calorie restriction, I'm now willing to listen to you "crazy" people and try eating more to lose some weight.

About Me: Well, I'm a middle school lacrosse coach(Go Dragons!) and student working on my Masters in Journalism. I also do some freelance copywriting and editing on the side. I'm originally from Manhattan, but moved to St. Petersburg (Florida) in 2002 for college. I got a degree in Political Science and played on the Div II lacrosse team. Between work, the gym, and class, I really don't find that much time for fun. That being said, I love to read, play with my Aussie Shepherd Adelaide, and go to concerts or ball games.

Stats:
- 28 Year Old Male, 5'7"
- CW: 167
- GW: 155
- CBF%: 16%
- GBF%: 10%
- BMR: 1766
- TDEE: 2737
- Target Calories: 2190

Exercise Schedule:
- Walking Dog (3-5 Miles, 1-2 Hours, Daily)
- CrossFit MetCon Workouts (High Intensity, 10-45 Minutes, 3x Week)
- CrossFit Olympic Lifting Workouts (Heavy, Full Body, 2x Week)
- Lap Swimming (Breast Stroke, 20-30 minutes, 1/2 Mile)
- Road Cycling (Moderate Intensity, 1-1 1/2 Hours, 10-15 Miles, 2x Week)

Using Scooby, I have set my calorie deficit for 20% below my TDEE, which is configured for moderate exercise. I didn't figure in walking the dog, since it's the offseason right now and I'm sitting down studying most of the day.

Everything look good?

Oh, feel free to add me if you like, I don't have any friend support on here yet and will probably need your positive sentiments, especially after reading the posts about gaining weight in the first few weeks.

Good luck to everyone!

Hi I am new to EM2WL but not to MFP, I have been on my journey for a year and has so far lost 29lbs, I have stalled at this weight since December and I still weigh 250lbs(UK). I first came across the eating more group via another member and tried it for about 4 weeks, I gained 7lbs and got scared and cut calories again. I have since cleaned up my eating as I was still eating alot of processed food. There is so much conflicting info out there and I was really confused. I spoke to Lucia and she pointed me in the right direction. I have started again this week so hopefully all should go ok. I am prepared to put on a bit as I have been low cal for a long time so expect there might be some issues.

I am doing NROLFW and I am just about to complete stage 1. I also Zumba twice a week and love that!

My stats of scooby are
29yrs old
CW 250lb
GW 150lb
BMR 1905
TDEE 2953
Cut 15% 2510
CBF 36.6%
GBF 22% Maybe lower once I get there

I am resetting at the mo, anyone wants to send me a FR I dont mind, I need all the support I can get !

I've been lurking in this group for a bit, but I've decided to finally join in some discussions.

My name is Misty. I'm 29 years old, and I've been (mostly) gradually gaining weight for about the past 10 years. I was an athlete in high school and accustomed to eating whatever I wanted and maintaining an OK weight (I was a very active 180 when I played softball), but once I hit college and adult life without that 4 hours of exercise each day, I didn't change my eating habits, and now I'm much heavier.

I had a baby last year, and I am ready to be healthy, both in my eating and exercise habits. I started on MFP in May with a calorie goal of 1400 per day, and it was going fine. But as I read more about BMR/TDEE and eating more to weight less, that route made so much sense. I don't want to screw up my metabolism and plateau long before I reach my goal. So I quickly changed it up.

According to the scooby calculator, my BMR is 1962 and TDEE is 3042. I'm currently eating around 2000 calories per day because I have a large amount to lose (over 100 pounds to goal weight) and am currently on track to lose around 2 lbs/week (I've been hitting between 1-2 pounds consistently since I started eating my BMR as a minimum about 3 weeks ago). I primarily do cardio at this point but plan to add weight training.

I've read different things but was just wondering if, with such a large amount of weight to lose, this is considered an acceptable range of calories for me. For a 20% reduction, the scooby site suggests that I eat 2433 per day. Here are my current stats:

Weight: 253.4 (down 10.1 pounds so far!)
Height: 5'4 1/2"
Exercise: At least 30 minutes daily (but varies anywhere from 30-70 minutes)
Activity level: Other than the daily exercise, I work at a fairly sedentary desk job.
UGW: 145

Hi and welcome!

I've run your numbers through scooby and pegged you at moderate exercise level. It gives me:
BMR: 1871
TDEE: 2900
TDEE - 15%: 2465

(we recommend only a 15% cut, not 20% around here for various reasons that you'll see throughout the threads)

So, eat the 2465 cals per day (you do not eat back exercise cals because they are already factored in unless you have a super high burn and you NET below your BMR of 1871) Make sure you read through the stickies and watch the vids so that you know what to expect and understand more of how to make this work the best you can for you. If you get confused on anything, just ask and someone will try to help along the way!

Hi

Been in this group for a few days but increased my calorie intake today from around 1200 to 1400. My TDEE - 15% is 1418.

Not really got a target weight but need to lose about 12-14 lb to get into a healthy weight range. After that will go a bit further but will see how I feel.

I am not blessed in the height department so my BMR is around 1391, my TDEE is 1669.

Not doing huge amounts of exercise, around 30 minutes a day.

I can stick to low calorie diets but they aren't my ideal way to spend my time so I am trying this route instead.

Did you calculate the 30 min/day into your activity level? Your numbers seem pretty close together for someone who is exercising...what are your stats? you should run your stats through this calculator http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ make sure you add up how many HOURS of exercise you do each week (so if it's daily 30 min, that makes you a moderate activity level).

You should never be eating less than your BMR number and if you are exercising too on top of eating only 1400, you are netting a vlcd still. We need to get your numbers in the right place and you off to a proper start! Please read through this information...http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/512956-tdee-what-is-it-and-why-you-should-not-eat-below-your-bmr It might help you understand what I'm saying here. and Watch the vids http://www.youtube.com/user/EatMore2WeighLess?feature=mhee

Hi everyone!. I joined MFP a few weeks ago. I am a 28 year old female, 5'4 weighing 136 pounds. I recently decided to keep track of my calorie intake and realized that between how little I was eating and the amount I was exercising, I was netting well below 1000 calories a day. I have a desk job, but I workout pretty regularly doing P90x 6 days a week and occasional cardio on an elliptical. MFP has my caloric intake set at 1300 a day, plus I make sure to eat back my exercise calories. I've calculated my BMR to be 1409 and my TDEE to be 2185 and after reading all of the information in this group, the setting MFP has for my calorie intake seems low compared to what's discussed here. Should I be netting more than the 1300 recommended? thanks!

Absolutely (and Welcome!)

You never want to NET less than your BMR (1409). Read through the stickies in the forum and first of all decide if you feel you should do a metabolic reset (if you have been at VLCD for a while now, you really should consider it). If you do the reset, then set your mfp goal to tdee (2185) and eat that every day for 8 weeks before moving to cut. If you decide to start with your cut, then set your mfp goal to 1857 (2185-15%) and eat that every day of the week.

That's a quick start guide, but you really need to read through the stickies and watch the videos so that you know which path to take, what to expect, and understand more about what you are about to do and how to do it. And of course, at any time we welcome your questions! It's hard to wrap your mind around at first, so ask, ask, ask about anything you don't understand. :flowerforyou:

Hi everyone!

I go by D~ on all the boards I frequent. I just joined MFP in May, and I really loved the logging portion of the website. I've logged religiously every day.

My history with "dieting" has been less than stellar - so much so - that everyone I know no longer comments on my gains or losses, because they know that neither of them will be long lived. I am trying, yet again, to lose the same 50-75 lbs that I've gained and lost no less than 6 times over the last 10 years. Almost everything I have lost has been on WW. The problem with that, is that I dispise their tracking methods - it's just so much work - trying to convert everything all the time, and if you don't have the handy-dandy calculator with you, your out of luck. This time, I just really wanted to do it differently. I have two teenage dds at home, and I must say that their eating habits are horrible - and a lot of that is because I have not been a good example. I really want them to learn how to lose/take care of their bodies in a healthy manner - vs. the starvation methods that are rampant amongst their friends. The best way I know to do that, is to lead by example.

And here I am...

About 2 weeks ago, I really took notice about how my body was reacting to my workouts. I was about 10 days in to the 30DS, and also doing my 1 or 2 mile Walk Away the Pounds DVDs 5 days/week, on top of that - I continue to do my floor Ab workouts 3 days per week. I also work outside the home 2 days per week in a retail job, where I am on my feet. However, on the days I don't work outside the home, I have a small sewing business - so I am sedentary at my machines the rest of the time.

Anyways... I noticed that I was sooo tired all the time, I could barely focus or function. Not just tired, but really tired. I had a small "aha" moment, and thought - wow, with all this excercise I am doing, I am probably not eating enough to fuel my body. I upped my calorie intake a little bit, as best I could, and really tried to make all of my intake count. I was still so tired.

Last week, I stumbled on someone's post in the Success Story section, about how she had lost all this weight by not starving herself. Which led me here. I've been lurking for the last week, trying to get the courage to up my calorie intake to my TDEE -15%, but only manging to up it to my BMR + eating back half my work out calories. Finally, today, I took the plunge and upped it to my TDEE -15%... I am so nervous.

Up until the last week, I was showing great progress on and off the scale - but over the last week - I definately feel the bloat. And my measurements confirm it. I am afraid to weigh myself, I just don't want to know, and I don't want to become obsessed with it. I am really in this for how I feel - and to be honest - I feel much better than I did a week ago - and a thousand times better than I felt before I started anything at all. I have dreams of having the strength to function, and the endurance to do more. I also have dreams of this being a true lifestyle change - and if I have to restrict my calorie intake forever, then I will just end up gaining it back again.

But I wll admit - I am so scared. I've worked really hard over the past 2 months to make progress, and I am so afraid that moving forward will be perceived as moving backwards, and I don't want to look like a failure again. My husband has watched me gain and lose, gain and lose more times than I care to admit - and I am mostly worried that he will think I've "fallen off the wagon" yet again. Not only that, but I will think I've "fallen off the wagon" - and that's the biggest hurdle of all.

It's so frustrating to know where you want to be, imagine yourself there, but really no idea how to get there or - more importantly - how to stay there.

D~

Jerry here, from Pittsburgh. I've been hovering around 157-160 for months now. joined a gym last month... want to see if I can kick 10 more lbs...my energy level is higher than it's ever been but I'm still stagnant. that's me folks.

Welcome all you newer members.. to what is now the BIGGEST GROUP ON MFP!! WOO

Just wanted to say although I know it seems scary.. don't just up your numbers randomly bit by bit.. The math works, so go with your TDEE cut value, it will work!

And read all the thumb tacked threads.. they are invaluable Gems of insight!

Hey Everyone. I saw someone mention this group in their profile and HAD to find out what this is all about. I've read in the past how eating more calories and working out is the best way to loose weight but I'm so scared of gaining weight that I had never tried it.

Until today.

I've been struggling to loose weight for months. I've lost 4 pounds and no inches in over a month. I eat 1200 consistently, sometimes more sometimes less, and always work out even if its not logged. I'm tired. I'm irritable. I just want to live. I don't want to fight myself anymore.

I love eating healthy, and I love the little indulgences. But I want to learn how to eat properly (higher calories) as well as get fit and healthy. I want to be apart of this movement of eating more and weighling less.

Thank you for this group!!!!

Hey everyone! I'm Meaghan. c:

It'll be a year in November since I first joined MFP and up until now I've stuck with it for about 3 weeks at a time. MFP put me on a 1210 cal/per day diet since I chose losing 2 Ibs/week. Before I joined, I lost roughly 50 Ibs last spring by cutting my calories way down (700-900 average) and by walking 5 miles every single day. I also ate low fat, low cal, sugar free, no fast food, no sodas, about 10 glasses of water a day, and so on. This is sustainable for me. After going on a camping trip last May, it's been a yo-yo effect ever since by binge eating with no exercise to cutting my calories way down and exercising all the time.

As far as medical issues, I have PCOS and I'm bipolar. I know losing weight and being healthy will help both of those greatly and I feel em2wl is a lifestyle that I could live, not just a diet. So, here's my curent plan of action, and if anyone has tips or suggestions, send them my way. c:

First, I'll do a metabolism reset for at least 3 weeks, maybe longer if I feel I need it (my BMR is 1658 and my TDEE is 2570). After that, I'll do TDEE-15% (2185 according to scooby's calculator) for 4 weeks, then maintence for a week and alternate. I'll also will be doing 6 small meals versus 3 large meals, with a small snack at night to take medication.

Exercising will be walking in the mornings (not at a fast pace, but something to keep my feet moving) with weight training 3 times a week. I've been thinking about doing nrolw4w but I haven't decided for sure.

CW: 221.8
GW: 140

I'm giving myself until my 21st birthday (i'm turning 19 in October) to lose the weight which I feel is enough time and gives me a goal.

I'm super excited to be starting this journey and am so glad to be aprt of the em2wl community!

Welcome!! :flowerforyou:

Hello Everyone! I am not new to MFP but I am new to EM2WL. I have 3 weeks left of P90x and then I plan on starting it again. I don't follw the nutrition guide because it is too difficult working full time and having to cook for a family of 5. I have done well with P90x. I have lost almost 23lbs and over 11 inches. Coming into the second month though the scale has stopped. I'm not too worried about the scale as long as there are changes in my body. I read about EM2WL in the forums and I was curious so I started upping my calories last week. When I weighed myself on Sunday I was down 1.4lbs! Thank you to the people who have done all the research for the rest of us :flowerforyou:

Hi everyone! I have been doing MFP for 65 days and was strictly following the 1200 calories plus 30 minutes of "circuit training" per day (for 6 days a week).... however I have not gone ANYWHERE on the scale! I shrank down a size, however I have now stayed right where I am. My sister suggested looking into EM2WL but I am a little confused. Do I increase my calorie intake AND my exercise goal? Should my calorie intake just be higher initially (say 1400) and then my "net" should stay with that caloric number? I think I am just confusing myself more and more... please HELP!!! I just want to be a happy, healthier mommy...
C

Determine what your exercise goal will be and plug that into the calculator so you get an accurate TDEE. Take 15% from TDEE and eat that every single day. Be sure to net your bmr if you have a high burn day. You can do this!
Lucia

Hi everyone!

It's great to be a part of the EM2WL group. I'm on my second week of eating more to weigh less and am LOVING it so far.

A little background - I'm a 26 year old female, 5'9", weighed 87.2kg in September 2010 and went down to 77/78kg a year later by following weight watchers and doing mainly cardio (and a little BodyPump).

Over the past year, I've been hovering IRRITATINGLY at the 77 - 79kg mark. I was always less than satisfied food-wise and while I consistently worked out, I didn't have a crazy amount of energy. I hit the dreaded plateau and was fed up with all my efforts amounting to nothing. My goal weight was 72kg. 5 measly kilos that are clinging on for dear life.

I then decided to try a WW versus MFP week last week, which made me realise how ridiculously restricted I was with WW! I was eating around 1200-1400 cals a day, plus burning between 250-550 cals with my exercise almost daily. All this time I thought I was "eating well" when in fact, I was starving my body. Which was shocking to me because I always thought to myself, "wow, I'm such a sensible eater/exerciser, I'd never be one of those desperate starvation diet folks". Imagine my shock once I learned that my BMR was 1600, and yet I was consistently netting HUNDREDS of cals below that.

So, last week I upped my calories to 1700 + exercise cals. After reading a little more, and because I'm an "all or nothing" type, I'm now up at 2110 per day, that being my TDEE (2489) less 15%.

I am LOVING my newfound food freedom. In just over a week (I'm also doing the 30 Day Shred) I've noticed better muscle definition, less belly pudge, and way more energy.

Looking forward to embarking on this journey with you all!

Hi everyone,

My name is Rose. I had been doing something similar to this since the beginning of May but hadn't realized it had a name or a group associated with it until recently.

My BMR is 1504.
A 15% cut from my TDEE is 1982.
I do both cardio and lifting, at a moderate exercise level. I will either exercise every day for 30 minutes, or if I skip a day, I'll make up for it by doing an hour the next day. I try to burn 1600 calories a week through exercise, and do 3-4 hours of exercise a week.

My issue is that I am obsessed with netting 1510 calories a day. I'll eat my 15% cut number some days, but I won't eat any exercise calories back so I can get down to 1510. If I don't exercise one day, I'll only eat 1510 calories. I have been successful so far, losing 5 pounds this way, but if I plateau, I know why. I joined this group to prepare myself for the reality that I'll probably have to bump up my calories at some point.

I have been eating more to weigh less for 3 days. Yesterday was day 2, I was able to hear the alarm. Still struggled to get out of bed but was able to wake up! Today, the alarm went off and ten minutes later I was up and at em. This is big for me. I had found out day one on this site that I only ate 900 or so calories O.O Not good. I struggled for all of 20 minutes with the idea that I needed to eat back what I worked off. If the computer says I need to put in X amount and after workout my input is really Y then I need to fix that. It makes sense. I can't imagine what my net was when I was eating so little and working out more than I am at this point....I am getting a juicer on Monday, my old one died two years ago and I put back on half what I had lost. I dug out my steamer and have been exploring steamed foods. Who knew steamed tilapia was better than baked?? I can't wait to go grocery shopping, I have it in my head what to buy and how what I get will help me lose weight and keep my family healthy. I read most of the stickies. Thank you for having them!