andymcclure Member

OK, I'm 9 weeks in and 12 pounds heavier than I started. Here's where I'm running into trouble: I let MFP and Fitbit work together to give me a number (currently 1830 calories/day, based on sedentary activity level and losing 1 pound/week), and that number is nearly identical to what I got doing far more calculation. So, I…

I definitely FEEL better overall, and that seems more important than a number on the scale for now. My pants are all getting a little snug, which is not so great. I am trying to pay more attention to my macros, not just calories; I'll be curious to see how that changes things. I'm finding it hard to get enough protein, so…

Week 5, 3.8 pound increase. Not so thrilled about that, but I'm trying really hard not to get hung up on the small week-to-week changes. This is still WAY less weight than I was gaining when I starved myself. So, I'm going to start backing off on calories to see if I can start losing again. I'm starting at 500 calories/day…

...also, sleeping better.

Also, week 4, no change on the scale. This is amazing to me, as many evenings I find myself having an extra snack just to hit my calorie goal. Now that I'm focusing on eating better, it'll probably be even harder to hit that number. (It's easy if I just stop at the bakery, but I don't need an extra 1,500 calories of…

Also, there's this calculator at EM2WL: http://eatmore2weighless.com/weight-loss-calculator/ I think it's pretty much identical to the Scooby calculator I linked above. @izzy214 can you clarify what it is you're confused about? I'll help if I can, but I suspect @heybales will have a better answer.

Here's another question I have; and I haven't discovered a solid answer: How do I avoid the endless cycle of cut calories>lose weight>plateau>cut calories>lose weight>plateau until I'm back to eating way below my minimums? The best I can figure from what I've read is that every 8-12 weeks, I should go back up to…

Here's the Scooby calculator that seems to be very popular here on the forums. For whatever it's worth, I got nearly identical results using Scooby as I did letting MFP/Fitbit do everything automatically. http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

Awesome, thanks so much for that info. That's by far the best explanation I've seen of how this all works together. After one day (which is hardly a great sample, I know) it looks like my daily totals will come out just about the same as what I was getting before. But, this way I can let the computers do all the work and…

I'll give it a shot. I changed my settings to let Fibit and MFP do all the calculating, and it made a difference of 20 calories (to start). I'll be curious to see if that changes what MFP/Fitbit estimate for my activity. If what you're saying is accurate, then I've been underestimating how "smart" the connection between…

I'm not sure if I follow you, but I think that's more or less what I'm doing. I just started from the Scooby calc's numbers instead of MFP's. (I chose that, as pretty much everything I read on here refers to the Scooby calc, so I figured that would give me numbers more consistent with others on here.) So, between MFP and…

My schedule is pretty erratic, with no formal exercise plan. As such, my activity level varies a LOT, so I compute my TDEE as sedentary. So, I view it as BMR is what I'd burn if I stayed in bed all day, TDEE (as computed here) is what I burn doing a normal day's minimal activities (all the little things we do all day that…

Here's a bittersweet NSV for me... About 6 weeks ago, I had to stop wearing my wedding ring, because it kept falling off. Now I have to decide what to do about it. I do not want to get the ring resized, as it was my grandfather's ring and has a pretty decent history of its own. The less-permanent solutions I've found…

I hear that!

I don't see much mention of activity level. Is she more active or less active than you? Does one of you do a lot of muscle training while the other does more cardio? Or, maybe you both do cardio, but one of you runs while the other rows. These things could have a dramatic effect on overall body shape and composition, not…

Around 2 pounds a week is the best you can hope for while keeping things healthy and hoping to keep the weight off afterwards. I'd suggest shooting for that, which would put you at 8-9 pounds lost in a month. Stay active, eat healthy, and MAYBE you could overshoot by a couple pounds, and you could lose 10-12 in a month.…

Ugh. I've been there. That's not a fun place to be at all. One thing that might help would be some exercise. I don't know what you're doing at this point, but even a long walk can make a big difference. Yes, it will burn a few calories, which helps, but I find the introspective time can be really helpful. It's a little…

Also, it seems to go in waves for me. I'll get lots of comments over the course of a couple days, then nothing for weeks. Another thing that can help is when you hit a milestone of buying new pants or something along those lines. A couple months ago, I hit a point at which I started tucking my shirts in more often, and…

A lot will depend on the next couple of weeks. At my last weigh-in, I was at 19 pounds to go, but that could easily be double now. A current weight (followed by another weigh-in a week later) will give me a much better idea of where I'm at and where I'm heading. I'd be thrilled with one pound a week, if that were actually…

Here's a little update, if anyone is interested: Based on this discussion, and the further reading it prompted, I decided to 'reset' my calorie goals. First, I took a couple days off from tracking (conveniently, right at Thanksgiving), at which point I probably gained a bit. Then I just went with the MFP default settings,…

That doesn't sound fun at all. It sounds like you were doing pretty well for a while, though, so I'm sure you can get it back under control. I'd suggest you start tracking carefully again, and focus on eating healthy: lots of veggies, fruits, lean proteins, etc. Luckily, all those things should help with the constipation,…

You may want to try some other measurements to track your progress: waist, hips, neck, etc. With a relatively small amount to lose and a small calorie deficit, the scale is not going to give you much info. But, if you're eating better and getting some exercise, you may see bigger changes elsewhere. Also, try to ignore BMI.…

Well, I think this discussion has been helpful for me. I'm going to try upping my calories, and make a real effort to monitor the carbs vs. protein. (I don't know if I can hit 50% protein, but I suppose it's worth a shot.) Here's a question, for those of you who have had good results coming off a period of undernourishment…

Personally, I find measuring spoons/cups to be fine for some things (mostly liquids). The scale is, of course, preferred in most situations.

Just to clarify, 800 is my starting point each day. I'm getting another 700–900 each day "earned" from activity, for a total 0f 1500–1700. Also, just for the record, I'm pretty good about logging things. I use measuring cups, spoons, and a scale to monitor portion sizes. Obviously, there are times I need to estimate, so…

I went to a couple of meetings with a free trial, but I ended up joining the online program. (Going to meetings with any regularity just doesn't fit my lifestyle.) I am not currently a member; I left a few months ago. It's too expensive for me to see so little results.

Also, it's funny... I have very little confidence in most of the doctors I've seen, yet I can't stop assuming that they must know SOMETHING. I've had so many doctors simply tell me eat less eat less eat less, I just can't shake that thought process.

Thanks so much for the input, everyone. The flavored creamers are a known evil. That's a bad habit I picked up while experimenting with cutting dairy. They need to go away, and they will. For carbs in general, I like to think that the carbs from say, carrots, are less of an issue than carbs from a loaf of white bread.…

I'm finding it a bit disappointing overall. 1) MFP offers better calorie/food tracking. Sure, I can still use the Fitbit with MFP, but for $100, I'd think their software would be better. I left MFP for about a month to use the Fitbit website, but found it gave me WAY too many calories and wouldn't let me adjust at all. 2)…

That's REALLY low. It may seem counter-intuitive, but that can really slow your weight loss or even lead to weight gain. I'd recommend re-calculating your daily needs. Start with some solid measurements (neck, waist, etc.), and find your BMR. (There are calculators here on the site.) Boost your daily intake up to that…