Kind of hitting the "Doubt" stage of EMTWL
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sugarplumj
Posts: 107 Member
Feeling very disheartened by any lack of progress, per se, and only seeing a slow steady gain. I am bracing myself for the standard "sounds like you need a full reset" feedback, and I have to be honest and say that I reject that line of thinking. I am getting married in mid-October, and I know this is for life, etc. etc., but I do want to feel slim(mer) in my wedding frock. I do not want to gain another 6 pounds, then do the cut and see that yes, I am losing rapidly, but only all the new pounds I just gained doing the reset.
I am eating at TDEE with a 15% cut, and have been there since mid May. LIke I said, my measurements are stagnant, and the scale is creeping creeping up. A bit of a contradiction I realize, but there you have it. I have noticed more belly fat/bloat, too, which just isn't really going away.
My natural inclination is to cut a bit more. Currently eating 2145 cals a day, with moderate exercise level on Scooby.
Obviously, I haven't sworn off this group entirely as I am asking for feedback. When I look at those who have had tremendous success, most of them are eating around 1800-2000 cals a day.
So, here it goes, I am opening up the forum for feedback! Everyone is so knowledgeable here, so I would love to hear what you have to say (except for the full reset stuff--haha!)
I am eating at TDEE with a 15% cut, and have been there since mid May. LIke I said, my measurements are stagnant, and the scale is creeping creeping up. A bit of a contradiction I realize, but there you have it. I have noticed more belly fat/bloat, too, which just isn't really going away.
My natural inclination is to cut a bit more. Currently eating 2145 cals a day, with moderate exercise level on Scooby.
Obviously, I haven't sworn off this group entirely as I am asking for feedback. When I look at those who have had tremendous success, most of them are eating around 1800-2000 cals a day.
So, here it goes, I am opening up the forum for feedback! Everyone is so knowledgeable here, so I would love to hear what you have to say (except for the full reset stuff--haha!)
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Replies
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What about a diet break? Just eat at TDEE for one week? I just did this last week and it felt great, I didn't gain anything and now I am ready to lose again. If you have been at it since may it might be time for a short break.
Also, can you repost your stats and how much/what type of exercise you do.0 -
I do Tracy Anderson Mat exercise 6 days a week- 30 minutes
Walk at a very brisk pace at least 30 minutes a day
those are the two standard workouts
I have been mixing in random workouts that are more aerobic, eg. Core Fusion Barre but don't rely on them for my fitness level on Scooby
My stats-
5'6"
198 (WEEP! originally 190 when I joined EMTWL in May
39 y.o.
I took a 5 day diet break over July 4th holiday and tracked cals a little, and honestly I think I ate fewer cals per day than I do now. When I came back I felt pretty good, and somewhat slimmer. Now after one week eating 2145 cals a day I feel heavier again. Routine. Maybe I should just move to Cape Cod and live the life...
Thanks, HeidiHoMom!0 -
I do Tracy Anderson Mat exercise 6 days a week- 30 minutes
Walk at a very brisk pace at least 30 minutes a day
those are the two standard workouts
I have been mixing in random workouts that are more aerobic, eg. Core Fusion Barre but don't rely on them for my fitness level on Scooby
My stats-
5'6"
198 (WEEP! originally 190 when I joined EMTWL in May
39 y.o.
I am BY NO MEANS an authority and struggle with all this myself buttttt, if you ate BELOW your calories that week, then it wasn't really a diet break. My understanding is that a diet break is AT TDEE. Try it for a week. I understand the frustration with lbs going up. I'm on day 12 of reset and want to quit every day but i know it will only set me further back. Have you watched amy of the videos posted by Kiki? They convinced me . Best of luck!!!
PS I don't know if you come from low cal bkgrd but i did Medifast for over a year (800 to 1000 cals). I lost 45 lbs, but the MINUTE i ate anything not on plan i gained a LOT. Then, even when i ate on plan, i couldn't lose anymore. It's not worth it. I'm hoping and praying this works and trusting the others that say it does
I took a 5 day diet break over July 4th holiday and tracked cals a little, and honestly I think I ate fewer cals per day than I do now. When I came back I felt pretty good, and somewhat slimmer. Now after one week eating 2145 cals a day I feel heavier again. Routine. Maybe I should just move to Cape Cod and live the life...
Thanks, HeidiHoMom!0 -
I do Tracy Anderson Mat exercise 6 days a week- 30 minutes
Walk at a very brisk pace at least 30 minutes a day
those are the two standard workouts
I have been mixing in random workouts that are more aerobic, eg. Core Fusion Barre but don't rely on them for my fitness level on Scooby
My stats-
5'6"
198 (WEEP! originally 190 when I joined EMTWL in May
39 y.o.
I took a 5 day diet break over July 4th holiday and tracked cals a little, and honestly I think I ate fewer cals per day than I do now. When I came back I felt pretty good, and somewhat slimmer. Now after one week eating 2145 cals a day I feel heavier again. Routine. Maybe I should just move to Cape Cod and live the life...
Thanks, HeidiHoMom!
Whats your activity level set at when filling in Scooby?0 -
PS I don't know if you come from low cal bkgrd but i did Medifast for over a year (800 to 1000 cals). I lost 45 lbs, but the MINUTE i ate anything not on plan i gained a LOT. Then, even when i ate on plan, i couldn't lose anymore. It's not worth it. I'm hoping and praying this works and trusting the others that say it does
OMG.. that sounds just LIKE ME... was on WW.. barely 1,000-1,200 calories diet (despite the fruits/vegguies calories) but i went crazy on cardio like 2 hours everyday (with ad ay of rest or soemthing). i gained QUICKLy whenever I go off the plan.. TOTALLY hate it..0 -
I feel you girl. but this is more of LIFESTYLE for LIFETIME. not a quick diet. I have to remind that myself many times. I just need to get this LOW calories plan out of my system so I can live my life losing weight right way and become leaner... that is all.0
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I plugged in your stats and with the amount of exercise you do, your cut number should actually be 2400. And that is being modest since you are boderline strenuous exercise. You exercise for 7 hours a week.0
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I would think moderate exercise level personally.
Don't we all walk for 30 minutes everyday? I do pottering around on my lunch break but I don't consider it when inputting exercise on scooby, as someone could that many steps on their daily commute etc which they probably wouldn't count either? x0 -
I can tell you how I use EMTWL.
I am 41 (almost 42) and I currently weight 129Lbs (4lbs up due to eating crap the past month) I am 5' 3 1/2".
I was a 1200 calorie girl and always watched that scale like a hawk. I thought my life would be complete if I could just get it to 120. I exercize 5 days a week. Being of MFP I started seeing posts about eating more and got curious so I asked for advice and got lots and lots of very helpful advise. I entered my numbers into the scooby site but was not willing to up my calories to over 2000 because I already had my body to the way I wanted it for the most part and wasn't willing to go through a weight gain. Also being an old woman like I am :-) I decided not to commit to the crazy heavy lifting and doing the cuts, resets ect. I decided to do something that I could stick to for the rest of my life so this is what I have done.
I did increase my calories to 1700-1800 and ate very clean and often through out the day. I also made sure I got great strength straining in to increase my muscle. I believe that when you strength train, you should exhaust your muscle and thats where the benefit comes in. I have been very happy with the results so far. I did not gain even a pound and my body felt the strongest that it ever has. My energy level is very high and I no longer have to worry about starving my body.
I think that when we don't eat enough, our body suffers as well as our mind and spirit. So I agree with the theory about eating more, however I am not quite sure that doing the exact oppisite is the magic key either.
I think that we need to simply use food to fuel our body with what it needs which means eating often to keep our body running at its highest as well as eating enough calories and eating real and clean to also fuel our body, minds and spirits. We need to do cardio for our heart and blood, spirit and strength training to make our bodies strong and our bones strong so that we can stay healthy well into old age.
This is just my story. I may not be for everyone but it works for me. I hope it helps! :-)0 -
A few things jumped out at me,I am bracing myself for the standard "sounds like you need a full reset" feedback, and I have to be honest and say that I reject that line of thinking. I am getting married in mid-October, and I know this is for life, etc. etc., but I do want to feel slim(mer) in my wedding frock. I do not want to gain another 6 pounds, then do the cut and see that yes, I am losing rapidly, but only all the new pounds I just gained doing the reset.
What YOU want and what your BODY needs, are two completely different things. Just because you want to lose weight and look a certain way in a certain time frame, doesnt mean your body understands, nor CARES about your deadline. If you honestly want to make this work, you need to change your line of thinking. No matter how much we want to lose weight and look a certain way in a time frame, It just doesnt happen that way. If you re-read the stickies, Kiki touches on this on one.. Just because its bikini season, doesnt mean your body is in a rush to fit into one!:)
If you are looking for a quick fix for your wedding, then this is unfortunately not the place to get it.I am eating at TDEE with a 15% cut, and have been there since mid May. LIke I said, my measurements are stagnant, and the scale is creeping creeping up. A bit of a contradiction I realize, but there you have it. I have noticed more belly fat/bloat, too, which just isn't really going away.
My natural inclination is to cut a bit more. Currently eating 2145 cals a day, with moderate exercise level on Scooby.
Everyone's natural inclination is to cut. Thats why we get into so much trouble down the line.. Thats why you are in this boat to begin with.. VLC for a very long time. If you are serious about whating to change your life and stop the dieting cycle, you need to let it go and trust the process.Obviously, I haven't sworn off this group entirely as I am asking for feedback. When I look at those who have had tremendous success, most of them are eating around 1800-2000 cals a day.
Yes, many are eating that amount.. but do you know what they weigh? What their stats are?? No. You need to stop comparing yourself to other peoples numbers.. Would it help you to know that I eat 2800 cals a day?? No. It means nothing to you. Again, you need to stop comparing your numbers to others. They are not you.So, here it goes, I am opening up the forum for feedback! Everyone is so knowledgeable here, so I would love to hear what you have to say (except for the full reset stuff--haha!)
Are you eating at the right activity level? Looks like you are selling yourself short. 7 days a week and an hour or more a day puts you in the strenuous level.. Is that where you are getting your numbers from?? If not, then this could be the reason why you are stagnant, still not eating enough..
Have you taken a diet break? This means eating AT TDEE or above. not below your cut.
Have you looked at your sodium intake? are you staying below your daily levels?
Are your macros 40/30/30 and are you hitting them?
Since you will refuse to hear that a Reset is needed, then I will tell you this. If you want a quick fix for your wedding, you are looking in the wrong spot. If you are looking to change your life in the long run, then you need to commit to eating more, giving your body a chance to heal and forgive you for the low cal diets in the past, and you need to understand there is no time line on this way of life. You cannot rush the process. I would hate to see you go back to your low cal way of life, just to get a few more pounds off for your wedding, only to see you gain those back and more when its all over with.
I hope this helps you out. Getting past the first stage of this way of life is hard. Many of us questioned it for a while in the beginning. But if it didn't work, then no one would be in here.
Good luck to you.0 -
Hi! I know how frustrated you are as we are on the same week of EM2WL and have similar backgrounds.
Tomorrow starts week 8 for me w/ eating at a cut overall and my 2nd week of eating at a 10% cut as I felt like nothing was going on w/ the 15% cut. Up until then, I felt more flabby in my rear and stomach.
But I have to say that this past week I felt my one pair of capris was slightly looser than before and my stomach and rear look more toned. I have also been aiming for 60 oz of water a day. So who knows. I have been weighing myself too but the scale is so inaccurate so I am just going by the fit of my clothes. I am feeling much better now than I was a couple of weeks ago.
Please give it a little more time! I am curious what will happen if I stay on my 1945 cals a day so will stay with it for a while longer.
Have you ever done any work with weights? I would love to lift heavier but can't afford all the equipment now so I do Jillian's No More Trouble Zones 3-4 times a week w/ 11 lb weights ( i juggle 2 in each hand) for 22 lbs total. I will be getting 15 lb ones soon. For me it works. Maybe you would like to try that video as a starting point - you could look at some of the workouts on youtube or maybe a public library has it near you?
You can send me a message if you have more questions! I know this whole process can be very discouraging at times but keep going. I know you can do it. 0 -
One thing I would suggest (and I am a big fan of this) is rest...You work out EVERY single day with no rest days...You have to let your body have a break - At least one day if not two days each week...Also, this will help you get your calories in as well b/c you are at the upper end of Moderate (strenuous almost) and not really eating what your body needs with all of the exercise that you are doing...So, take a day or two off each week and make sure to eat your CUT every day - Even on those rest days and this may help you out as well....I am sure it will!!
Also, what was said above - If you are against doing a full reset right now then just take a 'diet' break for at least a week and eat at TDEE - No less everyday for that week...Then go back to your cut and make sure you are NETTING over your BMR every day no matter what....I think all of this should really help you to get on the right track....Give your body a chance to repair and recover, it will definitely thank you for it!!
Best of luck to you!! 0 -
A few things jumped out at me,
If you are looking for a quick fix for your wedding, then this is unfortunately not the place to get it.
Since you will refuse to hear that a Reset is needed, then I will tell you this. If you want a quick fix for your wedding, you are looking in the wrong spot. If you are looking to change your life in the long run, then you need to commit to eating more, giving your body a chance to heal and forgive you for the low cal diets in the past, and you need to understand there is no time line on this way of life. You cannot rush the process. I would hate to see you go back to your low cal way of life, just to get a few more pounds off for your wedding, only to see you gain those back and more when its all over with.
I hope this helps you out. Getting past the first stage of this way of life is hard. Many of us questioned it for a while in the beginning. But if it didn't work, then no one would be in here.
Good luck to you.
This is kind of the aggressive feedback that I was hoping to avoid. What I see in this group is an amalgamation of people who work out a LOT more than I would ever be able to fit into my life, and who are at their goals, but also quite a lot of people who are eating almost 3,000 cals a day and gaining and feeling frustration. Maybe I need to see more success stories. And truly, I know better than to compare and despair, but I am seeing a trend.
Obviously, I am not here for a quick fix--I stated that loud and clear. I have been on MFP for over a year, and doing EMTWL since May. My point was that I am not willing/wanting at this time in my life to gain weight for the sake of losing it again slowly this winter.0 -
I feel you girl. but this is more of LIFESTYLE for LIFETIME. not a quick diet. I have to remind that myself many times. I just need to get this LOW calories plan out of my system so I can live my life losing weight right way and become leaner... that is all.
I couldn't agree more. I am definitely healthier eating more, but trying to figure out how much more is a bit difficult. NO WAY I am going back to anything remotely close to below BMR.0 -
I would think moderate exercise level personally.
Don't we all walk for 30 minutes everyday? I do pottering around on my lunch break but I don't consider it when inputting exercise on scooby, as someone could that many steps on their daily commute etc which they probably wouldn't count either? x
I don't count commute time--this is extra I try to throw in for more cadio.0 -
I would think moderate exercise level personally.
Don't we all walk for 30 minutes everyday? I do pottering around on my lunch break but I don't consider it when inputting exercise on scooby, as someone could that many steps on their daily commute etc which they probably wouldn't count either? x
I don't count commute time--this is extra I try to throw in for more cadio.
Maybe its just me but I do 30-45 minutes walking Mon-Fri and didn't count it.
I just counted my high intensity workouts which is 4x hour sessions a week.
I'm only on day 2 though so no idea! Just thought maybe the problem was you were over-estimating activity (but I don't know what setting you pick) and like I said - new so don't really know what I'm talking about!! :-)0 -
I would think moderate exercise level personally.
Don't we all walk for 30 minutes everyday? I do pottering around on my lunch break but I don't consider it when inputting exercise on scooby, as someone could that many steps on their daily commute etc which they probably wouldn't count either? x
I don't count commute time--this is extra I try to throw in for more cadio.
Maybe its just me but I do 30-45 minutes walking Mon-Fri and didn't count it.
I just counted my high intensity workouts which is 4x hour sessions a week.
I'm only on day 2 though so no idea! Just thought maybe the problem was you were over-estimating activity (but I don't know what setting you pick) and like I said - new so don't really know what I'm talking about!! :-)
Walking is tricky. I do count mine but it depends on the TYPE of walking I do. I was encouraged by Lucia to include it in my numbers because I did walk daily. But I also walk as briskly as I can (get the heart rate up a little, sweat, breath harder, feel it in my legs afterwards, kind of walking). If you are just leisurely walking then I would say that you CAN count it, but you might call one hour of walking only 1/2 hr in scooby. If it's only half an hour slow/leisure, maybe don't count it at all but if you are walking ALL day at Disney World or something even if it is slow/leisure, include some of that in your burn for the day because it's out of the ordinary and lengthy.
In regards to your results. I agree with much of what Rayann1 said. What you want to hear, and what your body needs are often not the same thing. This group's methodology is not a quick fix, does not 'fit' into personal time lines, it is about changing your LIFE. Being able to lose weight slowly while still being able to eat normally without feeling deprived. It can take a long time to lose scale weight, especially if you are lifting because you may just be trading fat for muscle at first.
There are so many reasons to keep going, but you have to trust the process and give it your whole hearted attempt. If you are only willing to do parts of it, well....you may find that you just stay stuck right where you are. You can lose without doing a reset, but you may find that it just takes you longer to stabilize your body where it needs to be and you will still need to take several diet breaks in the mean time.
I wish you all the best in whatever you decide, and we are here to guide, help and encourage you as much as we possibly can towards a healthy fat loss way of life! :flowerforyou:0 -
I would think moderate exercise level personally.
Don't we all walk for 30 minutes everyday? I do pottering around on my lunch break but I don't consider it when inputting exercise on scooby, as someone could that many steps on their daily commute etc which they probably wouldn't count either? x
She is talking about walking for exercise as opposed to just puttering around. I walk much more than 30 minutes in a day but when I go for a 30 minute walk it is purposeful exercise with my heart rate up and breaking a sweat.0 -
I would think moderate exercise level personally.
Don't we all walk for 30 minutes everyday? I do pottering around on my lunch break but I don't consider it when inputting exercise on scooby, as someone could that many steps on their daily commute etc which they probably wouldn't count either? x
She is talking about walking for exercise as opposed to just puttering around. I walk much more than 30 minutes in a day but when I go for a 30 minute walk it is purposeful exercise with my heart rate up and breaking a sweat.
I agree with Heidi on this as well....For MeganKate - If you don't include your 30-45 min walking each day into your activity level you may actually be eating less than you are supposed to b/c most people make the mistake of under-estimating their activity rather than over-estimating it...Just a thought... 0 -
I would think moderate exercise level personally.
Don't we all walk for 30 minutes everyday? I do pottering around on my lunch break but I don't consider it when inputting exercise on scooby, as someone could that many steps on their daily commute etc which they probably wouldn't count either? x
She is talking about walking for exercise as opposed to just puttering around. I walk much more than 30 minutes in a day but when I go for a 30 minute walk it is purposeful exercise with my heart rate up and breaking a sweat.
I agree with Heidi on this as well....For MeganKate - If you don't include your 30-45 min walking each day into your activity level you may actually be eating less than you are supposed to b/c most people make the mistake of under-estimating their activity rather than over-estimating it...Just a thought...
Since having my fitbit I can see that it is important to count the walking. I burned over 2800 calories the other day. Without the fitbit I thought I was burning WAY less than that.0
