AnitraSoto Member

That is really hard having to have such a restrictive diet. The only suggestion I might make would be to try to find the most calorie-dense foods you are able to eat... Other than the pecans, can you eat other nuts? seeds? avocado?

Definitely plug your numbers into the Scooby calculator. It's fast and easy and will give you a quick snapshot of how much you should be eating in less than one minute. 1,000 sounds really low, especially burning 400 calories at the gym. So run your numbers through Scooby and see what that gives you, and come back and let…

If you are willing to take the time, I would suggest maybe starting and trying to determine your true TDEE and just verify that your FitBit numbers are correct. I would try to eat at whatever your FitBit average is giving you (say over the past month, or two weeks - whatever data you may have available..) Eat at this level…

So you have already lost 4kg in about one month since dropping your calories to 1250. You are correct that the first couple of kg was probably water weight as glycogen stores were depleted. If you are feeling tired and lacking energy, this suggests that you are not eating enough (regardless of what any calculator may say…

I agree with Jennbecca that you have a very high activity level and may need to adjust your calories upwards if you intend to continue at that rate. So what is your previous dieting/eating history? Have you been doing a reset and are not just starting your cut? Let us know a little bit more about your previous history and…

Welcome - so happy you have found us! Make sure you keep us updated with your progress. Feel free to hop over to www.EatMore2WeighLess.com and join our forums over there - you can even start a journal of your own to monitor your progress..

What an awesome, inspirational post! Please keep us updated with your progress!

Welcome back!

Sounds to me like your body is simply feeling over-stressed. Clearly, your body is not reacting well to the increased exercise and decreased calories, all of which it sees as stress. Exercise is a stress, eating at a deficit is a stress, stress is a stress! At this point, I would start out by settling on a simple exercise…

First of all, Happy Birthday!! It sounds to me like you may just getting too stressed out about the whole process. You said yourself that you only have 10 - 15 pounds to drop, so I would just stop, and re-evaluate. Take a step back and take a breather. Stress is not our friend on this journey and you have the stress of:…

Well, we are already friends but others will hop in soon to join you on your journey..... :-)

Awesome job maintaining at 2,600! Fabulous!

I would take your FitBit average over time and work off of that number. Take your average TDEE, then subtract that 15% cut and set your MFP goal to that. Then if you strength train, you can just add extra calories on those specific days. I just use my FitBit to get general averages (I average a month at a time), so as not…

Feel free to add me :-) Depending on how much weight you have/want to lose, just start with a small 10 or 15% deficit and see what happens. You don't want to start with too steep of a deficit at the beginning - after all, you want to be able to drop the weight eating at the highest level possible! Remember, if you increase…

The first thing that strikes me about your post is the stress you seem to be feeling. On this journey, stress is one of our worst enemies, and can work against us even when we are doing everything else right... Something to remember: eating at a deficit is a stress on the body. Exercise is a stress on the body. The…

If those numbers are accurate, then that is still a really steep deficit that you are at... Tell us a little bit more about your previous dieting history and what you have been doing, intake and exercise-wise, so we can try to help you.

What you are experiencing is totally normal, and I think most of us went through that fear when we first started upping our calories... What you need to remember is that what you were doing did not work, and is not a sustainable way of life :noway: . The more you decrease your intake, the slower your metabolism will go to…

That is correct, when you figure out your TDEE, all of your exercise calories are already factored into that number, so, no, you would not eat back your exercise calories (unless you had an exceptionally high burn day...)

I had my BodyMedia for about a year prior to purchasing my FitBit Force. I did wear them both when I first got the FitBit, just to compare the two. Of course, neither of them register much of anything for the strength training, but I found them to be quite comparable as far as daily calories burned and steps. I…

Welcome! So glad to have you here... So when you say that your calories have been low over the last month... What level have you been eating at (at what was happening prior to that?) Let us know a little more about your dieting history in order to be able to guide you better. And yes, EM2WL recommends that 40/30/30 ratio…

I have a FitBit Force and love it (they have actually recalled this model because some people were reporting skin irritation, but I believe the Flex does pretty much the same thing..) Mine measures Calories burned, steps, miles, active time. and flights climbed. I like it because it is worn on the wrist. I also have a…

Welcome back and feel free to add me!

What an awesome post! So happy for your success!

I didn't "feel" Chalean Extreme either... Luckily I was able to send it back and get a full refund. Also tried Body Beast, and didn't feel the love there either :-/ STS is an awesome program -- just check cathe.com and keep an eye out for it as her Daily Deal. I think I got mine for less than $130, but like I said, even at…

If you need anything explained, please feel free to ask me --- I will try to help :-) Anitra

Adding 100 calories a day to your intake sounds like a great way to get up to your maintenance (TDEE) calories. No reason to rush things as this point -- take it slow and the your body adjust and acclimate along the way. EM2WL recommends a 15% cut, or 10% if you are close to goal, so yes, that 20% cut is a bit steep, but…

That is totally normal - metabolism is starting to speed up! Normally, it just takes a couple of weeks to get over that overly full/over-stuffed period. Looks like you are there!

EM2WL recommends 8 - 12 weeks for the re-set. This will really give your body a chance to get used to this eating level and know that the intake will be consistent. After the 8 - 12 weeks, *then* start your cut and your body will see it as a deficit and should respond positively. If you lost weight your first week on…

Welcome! Sounds like a reset would be a great place to start --- it will give your metabolism time to get back up and running at optimal rate... The first thing that strikes me is that you may be underestimating your exercise. You wrote "3.5 hours of exercise a week" but it seems to add up to 5. Add that to the weekend…

Great job getting your numbers, and yes you have it right! Although you certainly could just bump your calories right up to that TDEE number, most find it easier (both mentally and physically) to do the slower method. Like you described, just bump your calories up by about 100 calories a day and maintain at that level…