Hi, my name is Stacey and I've been using MFP for a couple of years off and on and I've finally decided that I need to get my butt in gear and make this an everyday thing! I've been overweight my whole life and found out in October 2009 that I have PCOS. So not only is it hard to have babies (I found out the same month that I got married) but it's also incredibly hard to lose weight!

My dr did not fully understand what PCOS was, or who I was really, and wanted me to get down to 150 lbs before she would let me try hormones to get pregnant. I'm 6', a little under 300 lbs and I don't think i'll EVER weight 150!!! She wanted me eating 1500 calories a day, and from what I've read, that's just ridiculous for my current weight and height!

So I got rid of the dr, but i was still struggling on how many calories i should eat to help me lose weight. I started counting again today, and decided to start off at 1800, but then i found this group and was so happy i didn't have to starve myself at 1800 calories!

i know some of you must be thinking that 1800 is a lot, and it is, but not when your weight is starting so high! I know eventually i will be able to eat 1800 calories a day and feel satisfied, but for right now, my TDEE-15% is around 2500 calories. It's obviously less than i have been eating, or else i wouldn't weigh what i do, but it's enough so i don't just say screw it and eat every thing in the kitchen!

I'm hoping to stick with this, but i will definitely need some encouragement along the way! Friend requests welcomed!

YAY Stephanie!!! Glad you joined!!

Afternoon all!

I'm Tahli, 26 from High Wycombe, UK. I came across this group by finally venturing in to the message board function of this site. My profile will give you full info, basically I started out at 15 stone 7lb, now hovering around the 10 stone mark. In January of this year I made myself very ill, eating around 1200 calories while hitting the cardio hard 5 times a week. Although I would 'treat' myself occasionally I would feel so guilty that in the next few days after I would punish myself - and do this every few weeks. My fella is in the RAF and was in Afghanistan, and I wanted to look amazing for when he came home - all he got was an emotional mess who would cry if she ate more than she thought she could and was obsessed with cardio..few slaps around the chops later and here I am..

Like most, the thought of eating more scares the poo out of me, but I've read and re-read all the info - it all makes perfect sense and I am looking forward to hitting the weights, eating more good natural food and enjoying my life again!

My stats are as follows:

SW - 15st 7lb
CW - 10st 3lb
GW - 9st 7lb
Height - 5ft 5

BMR - 1440
TDEE - 2232
Cals - 1897

Would really appreciate any friend adds, help and support each other - my fella is fit in himself and knows what he can do, I on the other hand just need that little bit of support from people in the same boat as me as most of my friends think I'm a little nuts with the weight/fitness stuff!

Thank you for setting this up, I really do see this as being the answer to a long happy life at a weight I am happy with ( - the wobbly bits!!)

Tails xx

Hey all!

My name is Amy, been on MFP for awhile but only used it when I was dieting...I did an extremely low cal diet last fall and it worked great for me (besides the dizzy spells, feeling cold, actually chewing food and spitting it out, you know...), i lost 35lbs...gained back about 8 and stayed happily at about 175 until April of this year...then I quit smoking, and now here I am!! Needless to say I tried the super low cal thing for a week and gave up, instead started with cardio and tried to just eat cleaner. Then I noticed that the more I exercised, the more I felt like eating and became frustrated....went online for some help and found this!This EM2WL is really growing on me fast, but I have a couple Q's that I can't seem to find the answers to yet...so if you can help, please read on!! :flowerforyou:

Stats:
AGE 34
Height: 5'7"
CW: Not sure...(last weigh in 2 weeks ago was 198)
GW: 155
BMR: 1634
TDEE: 2533
Cut 15%: 2153

DIET
I have been slowly EM2WL for about 5 days now as I have been reading and at the same time listening to my own body!! Tomorrow I will just jump in there and go the final leg up tomorrow to my TDEE less 15%. You know that whole "your body will BEG you for food" by the time your timer goes off?...SO TRUE!!
I am obsessed with the food portion of this thing, MFP is checked like 15 times a day...although my body is giving me all the right signals. My problem is getting my macros right...always lacking that last bit of protien even with shakes. Can someone please confirm if it's 40% Carb, 30% Pro, 30% Fat? Also, should I be concerned about taking in that much fat? Or if I should be concerned at all with sugars? I am consistently way over the sugars and know that can't be good even if they are mostly natural sugars...Any guidance from the veterans here would be extremely appreciated!

EXERCISE - PLEASE HELP!!!
I am currently away from my home and therefore away from my scale, but I do have access to a nice gym (but the scale sucks, I refuse to use it) which I use at least 3-5 times per week...I can't order the NROLFW until we get back home in August, so could someone tell me where to at least get a start for the next three weeks? I'm alreading lifting 3 times a week (on top of my cardio) but all I did was up the weight to much more than I was before (darned barbie weights anyways!) Can someone give me like a brief breakdown of what I should be doing exercise wise for the first 3-4 weeks...? It would really really help me at this point!

I just set my macros and hope I have it right. Here we go:


BMR: 1450
TDEE: 1740

So I subtracted 15% from my TDEE and got: 1479

I just set my daily calories to 1479 and my macros to 40/30/30

I hope I have this all right.

And, just asking to make sure I understand correctly....I don't eat back any of my exercise calories right? Just make sure my food adds up to 1479 in total not my net?

Any help would be greatly appreciated

If you are exercising on a regular basis then you need to add this in to the mix and include it in your TDEE - to me your figures seem quite low. If you include your exciercise in the TDEE then you do not eat back the calories (as it is already incuded in the figures) - if you have not put them in to the TDEE figure then you do need to eat them back. I'm fairly new myself but that's what I understand from it, sure someone will pipe up if I'm wrong..

Good luck Tails x

Hi! I'm Brandi a new member to the group... I just want to make sure I'm understanding...

Here's my stats:
SW 194
Height 5'7
Age 27
GW 150

Calculations:
TDEE is 2611
BMR is 1684
Moderate Activity Level (3-5/wk)

2611 at a 20% reduction (I've read anywhere b/w 15-20% is ok, but correct me if I'm wrong!) = 2089 that I should be eating daily. That just seem so high to me... but I haven't seen the scale move eating 1200, 1450, or 1700 calories, soooo....obviously I'm doing something wrong!

If I burn more than 405 calories (difference b/w 2089 and 1684 BMR) exercising then I should eat back just those calories to get me back up to my BMR? Ex. If I burn 450 cals, then I would eat back 45 cals, the difference b/w 450 minus 405.

Is this correct?

Sorry to have ya'll answer the same question over and over but I really appreciate the help!

Feel free to add me; I'll support you, if you support me!

Hey everyone,

I joined this group a couple of days ago. I started off with MFP in August last year eating 1400 calories and I lost really well until Christmas when I took a week off and ate whatever I wanted. When I started back again I started cutting cals more and more some days only netting 200-300. I stopped losing weight and a few months ago upped my calories to 1900 which is my TDEE - 20% which got the ball rolling again.

Then 6 weeks ago I stopped losing again so I decided to eat at TDEE for a while and start strength training then take it from there. I've written about what I plan to do in my blog and would appreciate it if anyone who knows vaguely anything about eating more/strength training could come and have a look just to make sure I'm not barking up the wrong tree completely!! http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/catbrand Thanks to anyone who does!!

This is a great group, looking forward to being a part of it!:drinker:

Hi I am Jennifer,

I am a married 40yr. old with two girls living in IL. Been with MFP since April at 1400 cal. and I have been heavy lifting at least 3 days a week and cardio on some of the other days. So far I have lost 15 inches and no weight at all. Thought I would up the calories and see how my body likes more food. I have been a slave to the scale for a long long time. I hid my scale about a month or so ago. And that has been really difficult. I am trying not to weigh again until my 90 day goal. But maybe I just will see how long I can go without looking at the scale. I am currently (well a month ago) 156lbs. at 5"7". I'd love to have some new friends for support and encouragement!

Hey everyone!

Hellaine, 5'4 and started my lifestyle change at around 165 pounds (although just came here recently). Big fan of food, I usually end up netting something like 2100+ after workout chows and everything. Works for me, I've consistently been losing a pound a week since I started (except for a serious health hickup that set me off for a few months). I dig it! I also eat mostly healthy, unprocessed, simple foods, lots of all food groups, home cooked meals made from organic and local ingredients, just a lot of pure food as opposed to the prepackaged and fast food diet and soda diet I was on.

Never ever had any luck either a) losing weight OR b) sticking with the change that the cookie cutter 1200 models websites offer up. What I'm doing now, eating lots of GOOD food choices, lots of cardio and starting a lil strength finally, it feels doable. I mean, I could do this for the rest of my life and never deter, this is manageable, maintainable and feels good! I'm ENJOYING it!

Anyway, I'm 31, in Columbus Ohio currently with my longterm boyfriend, kids and cats. Changing not just my food and activity level but my outlooks on life, my views on things I like... everything! Having a 'me' rehaul I guess, and this site has been an awesome motivator.

Always looking for more active friends with similar healthy goals too

Hi! I'm Brandi a new member to the group... I just want to make sure I'm understanding...

Here's my stats:
SW 194
Height 5'7
Age 27
GW 150

Calculations:
TDEE is 2611
BMR is 1684
Moderate Activity Level (3-5/wk)

2611 at a 20% reduction (I've read anywhere b/w 15-20% is ok, but correct me if I'm wrong!) = 2089 that I should be eating daily. That just seem so high to me... but I haven't seen the scale move eating 1200, 1450, or 1700 calories, soooo....obviously I'm doing something wrong!

If I burn more than 405 calories (difference b/w 2089 and 1684 BMR) exercising then I should eat back just those calories to get me back up to my BMR? Ex. If I burn 450 cals, then I would eat back 45 cals, the difference b/w 450 minus 405.

Is this correct?

Sorry to have ya'll answer the same question over and over but I really appreciate the help!

Feel free to add me; I'll support you, if you support me!

Spot on to me Good luck x

OMG!! Have I been doing this wrong???
My Cut value (TDEE-15%) = 2150, so I've set that as my goal for MFP.
On my workout days, I enter my workouts into MFP, and of course, I need to eat more to reach a net value of 2150.
So my actual intake of calories fluctuates for my workout days and non-workout days, but MY NET VALUE is what I try to keep constant....am I doing this wrong??

I am only a few days in, so it won't be a big deal, but I thought I had this all clear from the videos and it coincided with the diet plan in NROLFW (where they have you drink a protien shake on your workout days) - Thought I was all clear - but here it is again that you only want to eat it back if you are under your BMR??? :explode:

Please let me know if I am already setting myself up for failure... Do I keep my NET calories constant? Or make an adjustment only if I dip below BMR? It seems the latter would not always give your body a 'constant' flow...and therefore be counterproductive...

(Sorry for the ramble, but there is a lot of conflicting stuff I've come across....)

Hiya

Your TDEE -15/20% already accounts for your excercise calories so you need to hit that daily, you only need to go over if you burn off more calls and go under your BMR - so say you have to hit 2000 calls a day and your BMR is 1500, if you burn 600 cals you need eat an additional 100 to bring your net back up to 1500 (2000-600=1400, eat 100 extra cals to reach your BMR of 1500)

Am I making sense :ohwell: Tails x

Hello everyone, I wanted to come on here and introduce myself.

I joined MFP and actually started logging every day about 3 weeks ago. MFP had me set at 1650 for 1 lb/week, but I was really eating more around 1500 and not eating excercise calories back. I have been losing about 1 lb/week, but really got interested in EMTWL by checking out the boards. I really want to set myself up for success by starting this off the right way, and I'm faithful that it will work. I plan on starting to up my calories to TDEE-15% and see how that goes, since my previous cals weren't *super* low (but below BMR) and it's only been a few weeks at that level.

I am 29, CW is 212.
BMR: 1750
TDEE: 2406
TDEE cut: 2045

I have PCOS and have struggled for years with gaining. Had some success with WW but really got super obsessed and focused on food, which drove me nuts, and it only worked once. Any other times I tried I got nothing. With having such a hard time losing, I tended to just say "screw it!" and eat whatever made me happy, accepting I'd just be fat and hate myself forever. NOT OKAY.

I look forward to meeting you all and learning about your journeys!

Hi all!
Would love some friends that like to eat and fuel themselves properly! I'm 5'7", 140lbs and currently eating 2000cals a day.
Thanks,
Lucy

Hi, I started my weight loss journey with Weight Watchers in Jan. 2012 then switched to mfp. I've lost a total of 49 lbs. My weight loss has slowed to a crawl. Scale is just not moving. mfp has had me on 1300 calories a day. I've been sticking to that and not eating back my exercise calories. I exercise about 4x a week for 30 minutes. I've heard so much conflicting advice. I just don't know what I should do. Please help!!! I went to the scooby calc and it said my TDEE is 2116, BMR 1539, and calorie goal is 1693. I'm 48 yrs. old, 189.5 lbs and 5'2".