Don't Starve! The Eat More to Weigh Less Group

[ShirleyKnot]

Hello!

OK, stemming from this thread I promised to start a thread to explain a little bit more about eating well and still losing weight.

I'll start by telling you about me because I love to talk about me

About 5 years ago (when I was 34) I went back to work full time, this time locally, in a sedentiary desk job. I drive to work everyday and was often far too busy lazy to do any exercise at all. My weight remained fairly static (At about 11 stones, I'm 5ft 7.5 and fairly chunky) for a good couple of years and then it started creeping up.

For the past two years I have skipped on and off WW, SW and I have tried low calorie diets, the lot. My weight has gone up to 12 stone 11 lbs at it's highest and I'm carrying it pretty much all over. My gut though TERRIBLE - It hangs over my knickers and in January my size 16 clothes were starting to strain.

Miserable ain't the word. It has affected my confidence (yes, honestly) and I know that at my age (39) it is only going to get harder to lose.

So, in January I started back on WW. I watched everything I ate, I thought about food compulsively, I went for walks in my lunch hour, and every weekend I fell off the wagon and stuffed my face. WHY? It makes no sense! I gobbled bread and cakes and biscuits and sweets like mad.

In April, after having lost and gained the same 7lbs over and over again I joined BIWI's Low Carb Bootcamp, and started upping my exercise at the gym (Doing classes mainly and swimming and I also started the Couch 2 5K) this is where it got weird...I stuck to the diet, it was pretty easy! I loved the food and didn't feel hungry at all - my endurance during exercise was affected but I thought I'd break through that barrier sooner or later. I watched as people on the thread lost masses of weight and I was completely stalled out. What? WHY IS THIS HAPPENING? I believe that during this time I was eating a good couple of thousand calories per day, plus exercising almost every day.

I left the group as I felt so fed up with not losing and limped back to my fitness pal, but decided to stick with the no crap (no white bread/pasta/rice, easy on the white potatoes, easy on the fruit) WOE. MFP gave me a calorie limit of 1,200 cals per day and I did this for a a few days before starting to feel rotten. I started looking around the MFP community pages and found the Eat More To Weigh Less Group and read every link, and lots of the discussion boards.

It was a lightbulb moment - WHY was I expecting my body to cope on less calories than it needs just to exist? WHYYYYY?

I started EMTWL on 16th May and have lost 1 lb. That doesn't really mean very much though, as the scales are FILTHY liars - but I have eaten very well and am losing inches consistently. Since I started eating more calories (I include BIWI's brilliant Bootcamp in this calculation) I have lost 4.5 inches from my waist and a good couple of inches from my hips, arse and bust. I have dropped a dress size.

OK. I'm going to post this essay and then I'm going to talk a bit about metabolic rate calculations and the sciency bits.

Hmmm. I can see the issues.

:o tethers

Knitting isn't in the exercise database either (I know how to have a good night in, oh yes)?
Hideously over yesterday (damn you M&S mini-bites in a tub thingies) but actually under today, rah! Although apparently I've not had any potassium today Do I need some??!

Don't know, but I've just finished a sesh of Brazil Butt Lift !
MFP reckons it's 188 cals, so I'll take that.
It's now telling me I have a calorie deficit, but I don't think I need to make that up, do I? I'm not aiming for the cut amount, just the TDEE atm.

Ali, that's the very book I was talking about! Came across it in Waterstones one day about 12 years ago and it started me on a healthy eating road, lasted about 6 years on and off. Back on now, obvs.

seventh - the weekend was a different story. I was 100 over one day, and 200 over yesterday!

Erm as I said earlier, had a birthday on Friday and had at least 2,500 for 3 days! Didn't really feel like I was having a massive blow-out, either.

Thanks shirley. I'm going to do it as if I'm maintaining (ie with extra 'healthy extras'). I couldn't stick to it otherwise

I'm upset. I'm still bloody stuck at my usual weight. I went down now I ve gone back up. I've been eating too much I think. I've stuck to my recommended calories and exercising nearly every day. I want to scream. I feel slimmer though. Maybe I should start measuring rather than weighing?

Bucketbetty, someone who knows why they are talking about will be along but I think not losing and slightly gaining is normal at the beginning whilst you're body sorts itself out. The idea being that eating less than you need causes it to go into starvation mode and screws your metabolism. Definitely take measurements.

I had an ok first day and was pretty much bang on my calorie allowance, a bit over with carbs and fat and under with protein. DH shopped this week though and I'm missing a lot of food in the fridge that I'd usually have so it will be me doing the next shop !

betty I think (from reading all the info Shirly has provided) that a weight gain in the early weeks is normal as your metabolism sorts itself out.
I measured and didn't weigh for this reason as I don't wanna be stood on the scales screaming!
Stick with it and see what happens!

I am not finding it easy to eat so much breakfast! However, I know from past experience that I stay on plan much better if I eat a big breakfast. I'm on 2300 calories a day as I'm breast feeding and it is hard to eat so much!

I am mainly finding that I don't eat enough protein (no surprise really, I don't eat much meat), still I am not focussing on that too much, more looking at how much better I am eating in general.

minnie if only sitting and knitting counted as exercise!

SAFTS!!!!!

One thing though betty - if you're exercising everyday I am presuming you have chosen the appropriate activity level on the calorie calculator AND have been eating back any additional calories to bring your net cals up to your BMR?

Anyway, you probably WILL gain a little weight on the scales - and even on your measurements while your body goes through it's ususal..."OMG!! Calories! Lay them down as fat before the famine returns!" thing...just give it time.

I have been reading a very interesting thread over on MFP about people who have been eating at their TDEE less cut and not losing anything. It seems that for some people - especially those who have been on VLCD for a while - they have to eat EVEN MORE, right up to their TDEE maintenance amount in order for their bodies to start to "trust" them again. It really is so fascinating, and sad how much damage we do to ourselves.

I'm really starting to love my body - DYKWIM? I want to nuture it and look after it, rather than feeling frustrated and angry with it. I think this is a good sign!

MARYZ

I would like to raise that to SAFTFB(astard)S. I have put mine away as I have them on the bathroom floor and get on them first thing every morning before getting showered and dressed. Trouble is they are ruling my life as depending on what they say sets my mood for the day. Usually utter despair .

So I put them in a dark place this morning [revenge] - ha ! - in the bottom of my bedding cupboard. I then did 100 sit ups and leg lifts for a count of 100 which I used to do every single day for years and have recently worked my way back up to gradually building up to a 100 of each.

Today I have drank a half a litre bottle of water so far and had a bowl of low fat greek yoghurt and mixed in some cinnamon , honey and oatbran.

Morning!

Right. I have been very brave and put photos on MFP. I have also taken all my measurements and listed them on there so that I can keep track. I took loads of measurements! I have also filled in everything I am likely to eat today on MFP.

Today is gym day. I am feeling motivated and can't wait to finish work so that I can get there. IKWYM, shirl, about wanting to nurture your body. I am excited about this way of eating like I've never been excited about any diet. I just hope it works!

Well done for putting the scales in the naughty corner, MYOB :o

Toby - you look fab - you're fattest ever is what I want to look like when I'm done!

I was excellent this morning and did Shred level 3. That's THREE ... it was bloody hard but fantastic. Then I did 10 minutes of Pilates for my abs

however, didn't get around to having breakfast - in fact I'm kind of struggling to decide what to have for it. any ideas? I've been low carbing so am used to having eggs but would quite like to get my carbs in at this time of the day, I think

Question - yesterday and today my exercise calories have taken my daily calories up to 2200 or thereabouts - am I really meant to eat that many? Or do I stop at my usual TDEE (about 1900)?

• your

before the grammar police get me

I'm excited too - I feel much healthier. It is payday, hurray, so I am about to head off to Tesco to do a monster shop of yummy healthy food like full-fat yoghurt and lots of fish. Mmm.

Darn, I keep forgetting to take my measurements! I could try on a too-tight skirt in a week and see what's happened instead.

oh, and hello to all my new MFP friends! Felt VERY popular there with 4 friend requests! That never happens on Facebook.

I'm only 5'3", foosty. I weigh 11st 11.5. That makes my BMI waaaay higher than it ought to be! If I were taller, maybe I could carry it off.

Well done for doing Shred Level 3. I have owned the Shred DVD for over a year, and have never even seen Level 3

You know, I'm just about the same as you, hovering around 11st 9 - 11st 12 most of the time. If I look like that then maybe it's not as bad as I thought! The thing is, pre-DC I was always a size 10, maybe a 12. I didn't worry about my figure too much, just took it for granted. I barely did any exercise. Now it's all about the exercise for me! My tummy is just a nightmare, and when I see photos of myself I can't bear it. 3 kids have wrecked me.

Level 3 was tough, but good tough. I've been going to circuits twice a week for a few months and it was no harder than that. Those classes are for an hour so maybe that's why I managed 3 without too much trouble! But now I can't go back down to 2, or 1, can I?

You know the weirdest thing? People my height/weight seem to be a size 16 or so. I'm a 12, sometimes a 14. It's so strange, how different we all are.

This site is endlessly fascinating to me. It also helped me to realise that I don't look as bad as I thought. Although I still look bad to me, IYKWIM.

I hate my double chin, my ham-arms, my belly and the fact that my thighs now touch at the top for the first time in my life. So I WILL look better soon!

And no, you can't. If you can do Level 3, keep doing it :o