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.

Tobesa? I'm not even on a bloody i-pad or anything. Stupid fat fingers!

Ooooh, it's really nutty (no shit sherlock)

I like Tobesa. It makes me sound exotique.

OK, thanks Shirls and Tobesa. It sounds promising and DOABLE.

I am on MFP - honeymulholland. Look me up because I have little to no idea how that thing works yet. I have just entered my first foods into the calorie counter. I have had asmoothie for breakfast made with 200ml of whole milk, 100g frozen berriesand a teaspoon of honey.

I need a shit.

It really IS doable Bups.

I'm not hungry all the time, I'm not shoveling acres of sugar into my face and I feel brilliant. I think eating properly will be really, REALLY good for you, not only phsically but also mentally - you mentaller (You know what I mean don't you chick?)

Morning all.

Bupcakes, I wasn't starving myself either, just eating whatever the hell I liked and slowly swelling! I've gone straight onto TDEE -15%. I've realised that I wasn't getting anywhere near enough protein, so I've upped that a lot. Sugar cravings have dropped, energy levels are up, way up! So far today I've shredded, been on a walk with DD, and cleared all the heavy junk out of the leaky crappy lean to "conservatory", and I'm still full of beans.

Also this morning DH commented that I was starting to look "more hour-glassy again" [happy dance] I do think the drinking 4 pints of water a day is helping, I feel much less bloated and wobbly. Before, when I was filling up on carbs, I really didn't like drinking all that water. It seems a lot easier now.

Please add me (in not sure how to add people) I'm leonifay.

I know what you mean, bab.

I think it will take me a while to get my head round as I am a WW?SW autobot now :( I felt like Marjorie Dawes was going to come and put me in a sleephold from behind when I just got the whole milk out the fridge.

Buppy - how about actually just eating as you have been and plugging that into MFP for a week?

It might help you see where cuts can be made and give you a good idea how much you're eating, calorie wise, you might be surprised!

Oh and you and me both on the WW/SW/Low Cal stuff - so I totally, TOTALLY understand how you're feeling.

I was the same way. I was really frightened of dietary fat which we NEED so much, it's so, SO important for everything, including how our brains work.

I used to be really foggy, looking back, foggy, tired and miserable.

ALthough I must say that SW is the best of the bunch - but I think I just pigged out while I was on that diet anyway! Unlimited carbs? OH YEAH!

Shirl, no good will come of me eating as I have been. Honestly. I am ashamed. Yesterday was a prime exampleof my gluttony:

Breakfast: sausage, bacon and egg wrap from caff in the village where everything is fried no grilled. Was very nice though

Lunch: no lunch as still full from breakfast

Snack: Cornish ice cream

Dinner: Steak. Intended to have with salad but the salad had gone all weird so had to have chips

Snack: Dairy Milk bar.

Snack: Dairy Milk bar

Snack: Cornish ice cream

Snack: Another cornish ice cram

Snack: Frazzles

TBF, I am due on. But still. Fat. Cunt.

Unlimited carbs is responsible for my face looking like Russell Grant with his head stuck in some lift doors.

Ah.

Yeah, you probably want to lay off the dairy milk a bit, but that's because you ate no lunch.

Right. So what have you got planned to eat today then?

Ooh, I had the oatmeal with strawberries and ground almonds. Was delicious dd1 had some too, dd2 only a little but she is 2.5 and being fussy with food atm. It was really quick too. Will be making some mote tomorrow. The smoothies and breakfast puddings lookes lovely too, but not so quick to make.

How do you add friends? I am eve70 on mfp. Summer is a great time for clean food, though. I am looking forward to some lunch with smoked salmon and avocado. Have got out the George Foreman grill, we had tandoori-ish chicken in wraps with salad yesterday.

I also had croissant and strawberries and cream, mmm.

more tomorrow

Right, I have had my smoothie this morning. For lunch I am having some soup (butternut squash and chilli) with a spiced pitta bread.

For dinner I am having chicken tagine with a bit of bulgar wheat.

What are you having? I need ideas.

Stick it all into MFP now, so you can see what you have left. You might have to spend a bit of time inputting the recipe for your tagine and the soup (if homemade), but it's worth it if they're things you have often.

For lunch I am having leftover sweet potato and chorizo tortilla from last night.

For dinner we're having poached chicken breasts with curly kale and honey and mustard sauce. The DC will have some sauté potatoes with theirs, but I'll resist.

Have you worked out your TDEE? What is it?

Today:

Breakfast - weetabix with hazelnut milk and strawberries.
Snack - boiled egg, some dark chocolate
Lunch - Tuna and egg salad with pine nuts. Perle de lait yoghurt
Snack - protein shake, banana - probably some nuts.
Dinner - pork steak, spinach, sweet potato mash.

I've still got 300 odd to eat and I'm doing an exercise class later so might have an additional hundred to eat back.

I'll probably get that by having some dried fruit snack packs or maybe a pudding (fruit and ice cream perhaps, or maybe some granary bread with almond butter)

Done it already!

I want to come to Tobesa's for tea.

C'mon babs. You can make the almond milk while I watch CDWM tend to the children.

Today...

Breakfast, apple, pear, oatcakes and hummus
Snack, 2 eggs on a piece of toast and a cherry smoothie
Lunch, halloumi salad
Snack, cashews and hummus, raisins
Dinner, veggie fajitas

I'm breast feeding so I have a huge amount of calories to eat, that all leaves me with about 200 to go. I am way over on carbs, but I have run out of snacks until the shopping arrives later!

I don't even have a sugar level set, that I'm aware of

I don't have my sugar levels.

I have:

Carbs - 40
Protein - 30
Fat - 30
Fibre - 30
Sodium - 2500

hi everyone

Bupcakes, I am pissing myself at your description of Russell Grant's face stuck between 2 lift doors

Hopefully- that workout is £100 !!! But I think I might have found some of it on youtube so might just give it a go later.

Struggling today to eat as I'm out most of the day - have just had a massive bowl of cheerios to keep me going. Will make a big pot of something good later...

hope you're all having good days

Right today I am in minus figures so far thanks to BFing so I need to eat!

Salmon for dinner, and cheese sandwiches now I think. My calorie intake is going to drop a LOT once it cools down and I stop scoffing ice creams I will have to replace them with something.

I know we aren't supposed to be going on the scales, but I've lost half a pound so far this week.