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.

Ooh this is a revelation

Went down to the canteen at work which has an excellent salad bar but obviously I need something to go with it - they had homemade chicken goujons so I have had 4 of those with a big pile of salad (including a spoonful of potato salad) and a little bit of french dressing - I would have avoided both the potato salad and dressing normally

Am trying to ignore the fact that MFP says that by eating 2100 calories a day, I will put on 0.2lb a week (and it kindly puts it in red just so I am in doubt that I am eating more calories than it thinks I should have )

Ceebee, you can change your goals to your own figures, then you won't get that horrid message.
I'm tucking into couscous with roasted red pepper, onions, tomatoes and chickpeas for lunch.

Gosh, this thread moves fast!

I woke up all chirpy this morning - how weird!

I am MiniPilchard on MFP. I'm going to go through the thread and try to befriend everyone when if the baby goes to sleep.

Today so far:

Multiseed bagel and peanut butter, tea w skimmed milk.

Ham sandwich (naice ham, oatmeal bread, full fat mayo, cucumber, tomato)
60g unsalted nuts and raisins
More tea
Fromage frais

Do you know, it is almost impossible to buy full fat yoghurt in little pots in Tesco? I eventually fell back on kids' fromage frais because everything else said low-fat in bigger or smaller letters.

My myprotein samples arrived. Toffee shake made with half water and half almons milk, and it tastes like it should be a lot more calories and carbs. Think I might have another one later.

Oh GOOD! I'm so glad you like it Mango - they taste just like a sweet milkshake to me.

I cannot stop thinking about food today. I don't know if it's that I'm genuinely hungry or just bored at work. Probably the latter.

2 1/2 hours to go...

Ah eat something!

I've just been to Holland & Barrett - I'm getting a nasty addiction to that place - and bought some chia seeds. I've been reading about them and they are SO INTERESTING.

Little powerhouses of seeds, with protein, tons of omega 3, calcium and I cann't wait to start trying them - they're tasteless as well apparently.

Since waking up, I have already eaten:

2 slices of granary toast with cashew butter
2 boiled eggs
1 serving of last night's tortilla

I have some cherries/grapes and some walnuts in my bag, but I'm pacing myself. I might starve to death if I eat all my rations and have another 2.5 hours in this hellhole!

Definitely think it's boredom.

I'm going to H&B at the weekend. Need some flaxseed and also going to buy some chia seeds. The only thing that puts me off is that they turn to gel (??) because they absorb water. I can only imagine them being slimy and boakworthy. I shall buy them anyway and probably throw them in the bin in a couple of years

I came across those recently, Shirley. Have started back on the soaked linseeds this morning (whoever said they're improved by chewing was right), but I might look into them when this lot run out.

They are far too pricy to chuck away. They only had great big massive bags at my H&B, so I'm just going to have to LUMP IT.

I think as long as they're incorporated with other stuff - smoothies, oats or whatever they should be alright. Any slimey texture should be covered by the other stuff IYKWIM?

You test them and come back and reassure me, there's a love.

Bleugh at seed slime.

I am going to give the shakes a try once we get back from holiday. We are in France next week and I fully intend to eat my own bodyweight in cheese, so no problems on the protein front!!

I will be v.interested to see what happens to my weight while we're away actually. Normally I would 'diet' before a holiday, and then slack off badly once away, resulting in immediate weight gain - usually around my chin and middle. Because I'm already eating in a normal way thanks to PMK and now adding in info from doing this, in theory I shouldn't put any weight on. I will weigh and measure before I go and when I get back.

Foosty if it makes you feel any better it's something like 12 different workouts plus menu plan guide thingie . Still expensive, but I'm definitely getting major results from it, and as SE says, no gym membership in sight. I lost over 1/2" off each arm in 2 weeks, which pleases me no end as I have proper bingo wings despite being 29 and a size 10-12 . I'm set for the full 60 days this time, and I've taken lot of 'before' photos in anticipation of fabulous results

Hello everyone,
I have been reading this thread avidly for about a week, and am into week 2 of mfp-ing.

My problem is that i (like someone above said) eat like I am never going to see food again. I think it is a problem I have caused by myself with my past though . When i was 19-22 I was in a really bad place - depressed and although i never got really really underweight I was classed as anorexic. Since then I have mostly gained weight. I lost about 2 stone by healthy eating when my dd was 3 (she is 9 now ) but was gaining before i got pregnant with ds and have continued gaining since then (he is now almost 4).

A few times in the last 3 ish years i have lost up to a stone - but often just a few pounds here and there but EVERYTIME I go off track and pile on more. I am at my heaviest ever right now. at 5ft2 at about 12 stone 4 (I lost 3lb last week).

Atm I am using mfp's standard calorie allowance which is frankly shit - 1320. My other one (TDEE is it?) came out at about 1679 - from memory -which is a heck of a lot better but I am feel scared to change all the info and macros in mfp. I don;t know why i am scared - maybe i feel like I am breaking the rules or cheating. .

may i add some of you guys on there and also join in on here? my mfp name is the same as on here

shirley you are my hero atm btw!! Thank you for this thread:)

Welcome, alittlebitshy

Go on...change the info in MFP. It'll instantly make you feel better than going over their ridiculous calorie allowance every day.

What raised my suspicions about the MFP allowance was when in the first few days of using it, I'd go 2-300 calories over and it would still say 'if you continue to eat like this, you'll lose x amount by x time' and I'd think 'huh? but didn't I just ruin it??'

Tres confusing for me anyway

Shirley - do the chia seeds have the same hormone-controlling properties as flax do you know?

A hero eh? I knew this day would come!

I will add you now. RIght then, lets get to the guts of your post...

Are you frightened you'll gain a big pile of weight and never be able to get rid of it again? Or is there something deeper which is worrying you?

If it's the first then you have to be brave and jump in and give it a go - what is the absolute worse thing that can happen? You'll eat some nice, healthy food - and plenty of it, give your body a break from the low cal/binge cycle and I guarantee that you will feel better once you start eating better. You might gain a few pounds in the first stages, but we're all in this journey together and we are all trying to SAFTFBS.

If it's something deeper, and because of your history of ED I would advise you to speak to someone about those feelings, sweetie. I would hate to say to you - OH come on this WOE, you might gain a few pounds but whats the big deal? - if it could turn out that a gain may be damaging to your mental health - DYKWIM?

will be back to reply once the dc are home - got to head off on the school run now.

Minnie - interesting article

Hi alittlebitshy, I will add you to MFP later if that's okay? I've tried to add a few from the thread but not sure if it worked! I had terrible eating habits when I was 19-21, I would binge eat but was very active and did an hour of exercise every day. I was 8.5 stone, but I still thought I was fat it ended up being a self- fulfilling prophecy as I'm now over 15.5 stone.

I had cereal for breakfast, but the milk made me feel really sick cheese and yoghurt is fine, but milk just makes me want to heave. I think I have rice milk from 2010 in cupboard, might give that a go.

I've still got 1,400 cals to eat today and I feel stuffed, just had poached egg, beans and tomato for lunch. Going emergency snack shopping when I've picked the kids up.

Oh noes! My assistant just came back from lunch with a dark chocolate Magnum for me!

There are loads of different milks to try - I wonder if you're a bit lactose intolerant AMU.

Tobes - at least it was a dark chocolate one!

Oh dear, I shouldn't have looked. Just checked the calories for a KFC , and if I have one for tea, I'll still be (just) under my BMR.

Oops, I tried to add too many people at once and I got a stern message telling me I can only add 5 friends every 10 mins! MFP thinks I'm a scary stalker spammer type! The shame. Will do the others later.