focuseddiva Member

She's too thin. Part of the issue isn't just the stats. It's the rate at which she lost, which was so rapid that it didn't allow her skin to kind of fill in. So she looks very hollow, older, sunken in. 105 lbs is probably too low for her. But the quickness with which she dropped weight is what is making her look so sickly.…

Here is my science. When I was 180 lbs and on 1200 caps and exercised, I lost 1-2 lbs a week. When I got to 155, weight loss stalled. I had to increase exercise a good bit to lose the last 13 lbs, which took months and months. I then got injured and could not exercise at all. At 140, I was maintaining on 1500 caps and lots…

I have wondered the same thing. In the past, I've not been successful eating 1600 cals. My BMR is about 1500. So even with exercise, eating 1500 or 1600 cals a day (and being honest about it) doesn't produce a loss for me. It generally only allows me to maintain. I'v eonly really seen decent weight loss eating 1200-1330…

I find all the general calorie guides pretty interesting. It sounds like WW sets you at about 1200 cals and then your free fruits/veggies/0 point foods account for any upward variance in total daily cals. AND you do not eat back exercise cals. I am on Jenny Craig. Just to give you a comparison, they set you at 1500 cals if…

ibboone -- very interesting response. What would you recommend for "John" to lose successfully the next time around? It is SO true that it's harder to lose the second, third, fourth time around. What's the right way, then? Increase lean muscle mass through strength training? What if "John" were "Joan" --? It is harder for…

Stunningalmond: You were smart to halt the upward movement and start getting it back down. And oh yeah -- 137. I think I literally, for 5 minutes, weighed 136. I'm 5'8" -- that was super think for me, especiallly since I was once 340. I had a lot of extra skin which alone probably weighed 10 pounds. So I was really like…

Aww... didn't mean to make you cry, but this is SUCH an emotional journey, isn't it? I realized I do so much self-talking. If I spy my kids' leftover dinner, I self-talk. Sometimes it's, "Eh, you can finish what's on their plate. Your burned 700 calories exercising." Other times it's, "Just pick up that plate and throw it…

I wish I were 10 lbs from goal. But anyway, I once was, and it took me 4 months to get there. I stuck with the calorie level it took to lose (1200 for me); but I upped my exercise even more. I was running a lot already. I started increasing my longer run day, which was 6 miles, to 8-10 miles (usually it was on Sundays).…

I look for food that provides high volume with little/no cals. To take the edge off the hunger, I have a few go-to items: • ****ake tofu noodles (these are packs of mushroom-based noodles made to look/feel like pasta). 20-40 cals for a pack. I add a touch of marinara and it almost feels like I'm eating a good-sized bowl of…

Yeah. And perspective is so disarming. When I was at my goal weight, I could never have imagined myself 15 lbs heavier. That would have been major panic time for me. Now, 15 pounds over my goal weight IS my goal weight.

Interesting. So you did it in phases versus all at once. I have no issues with getting exercise in. It's all about the food with me. I've tried NOT exercising so I wouldn't be extra hungry and therefore tempted to overeat, but it was painfully obvious that it wasn't hunger driving me to overeat. I was still overeating even…

Is what your BMR is equal to or around the ballpark) of TDEE - 20%?

Typical schoolyard bully (the person who lashed out at you). Ignoring people like that is the best way to get rid of them. Just go on your merry way and ignore everything and anything that he fires against you. Eventually, he'll get tired of not getting a rise out of you and move on to someone else.

Thank u for all the cheers and support. Truly. Yes I had a number of 2200 cal days, but net wise per week, I should have hada deficit. Ideally need to cut out the higher cal days and be consistent. I think this more than sodium or prepackaged meals will make a difference. I just met with my trainer. And she recommended no…

Thanks. What is NEAT? As for veggies -- yes only non-starchy veggies: lettuce, raw spinach, steamed broccoli, tomatoes. As for exercise -- I'm at the gym 5 times a week. Usually no less than 30 minutes. More like 45-60 minutes. My go-to is a combo of running/walking, where I run @ 6.3 mph for 3 min, walk @ 4.3 mph for 2…

Your progress sounds great. I work in the cancer field -- and cancer is not an automatic death sentence any longer. In many cases, it's treated like a chronic, manageable condition. And new advances in cancer research are made all the time. The treatments are really getting pretty great. Lots of genomic testing -- think…

Ok, ok -- I'm NOT giving up. :-) Thank you for the kick in the butt about that, even to the one poster who was fairly harsh. Am I drinking water? Yes. I do cop to using crystal light sometimes. Does my JC food have sodium? YES. But, from 2007-2008, when I was on JC food exclusively and following their meal plan, I lost…

I don't measure anything b/c the Jenny Craig stuff is all premeasured. Basically, their breakfast, lunch ,dinner, and snacks per day add up to about 950 calories. The remaining 250 calories come from skim milk, fruit, veggies. And I DO measure those (well, not the veggies. Those are considered unlimited--raw veggies).…

Hey Quietbloom -- I truly am not underestimating intake. I have and continue to eat Jenny Craig food -- which is prepackaged, pre-weighed, and set at a calorie level. I add veggies each day to this (lots of raw spinach, broccoli, tomatoes, lettuce). So, the calories I am taking in are fairly prescribed. Are there days I go…

The studies are interesting, and I like thinking that science and logic work out each time. But here is what I can tell you as a real formerly obese person who lost a lot of weight. At my goal weight, I was 140 lbs. (And truthfully, I was probably more like 130 b/c I guarantee you there was 10 pounds of loose skin from my…

I feel your pain. I can offer you some perspective, not tactical advice. You are 43. I am 41. I too lost a LOT of weight. My highest was 350. I lost 100 lbs. Had kids. Then went from 250 to 180. Then plateaued. Then went on Jenny Craig and lost 40-45 pounds. So, at one point I was about 140 lbs (I'm 5'8). This was in my…

I ate within my calorie budget and I'm up 4. Very frustrated. But time of month is looming so I'm hoping its all water weight. I should have had a loss based on what I ate and how much I exercised. No clue. I think I'm going to start weighing daily vs weekly. So much effort and hope... And boom, the scale once again bursts…

Gypsy, I feel for you. I SO want the math to work out for me, too. I used to have a BodyMedia and I was precise in logging everything. The math showing calorie deficits should have worked out to X pounds per week. It NEVER did. If I was supposed to lose 1.5 lbs that week based on calorie deficit, it was only a third of a…

Strange as it sounds, use your injury to motivate you to eat well. When I was really in shape, I was running 35 miles a week. Running that much allowed me to have a few days where I could eat higher calories (but not every day). Then, I got a stress fracture from overuse and I couldn't do any of my favorite cardio --…

Don't know... but usually I see the effects two days later. So my weight might not be up the very next day (unless I ate tons of salty stuff), but the following day it is. Even if the day after I overate I controlled my calories strictly. I think everyone is different when it comes to that.

And just an edit here to say that you really don't have far to go at all. Your pictures show a healthy woman that most other females would be thrilled to look like! It's all your personal preference... good luck!

Hey there, Hard to say what your personal goal weight should be. I'm a touch taller than 5'7 (and I'm also more than twice as old as you!), but when I was 140-145, I looked pretty good and was happy there. Trying to get back there ... I know women who are 5'7", and some of them are 130 pounds and some are 160 pounds, and…

Some people advocate for simply ignoring the net calories shown and only looking at the calories you should be eating. So if MFP sets your calorie goal each day to 1500, you might just look at that, eat that amount, and anything you burn through exercise is just gravy. Others advise to eat back half of your exercise…

Aw ... I'm sorry you had a rough day and feel like you backslid. Sometimes I find the number on the scale gives you this little extra security blanket to eat more than you had planned. Like, if you're down, you may rationalize that it's okay to have that donut or whatever -- because you have wiggle room. But it sounds like…

I've heard all kinds of tips, from brushing your teeth to going for a walk. I too struggle with this -- and it's always at night as well, after a day of doing so well. The one thing that's helped me in the past is establishing a pattern of good eating habits and the passage of time. The more days that pass without a binge,…