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.

I shall try not to despair if the 2lb goes back on next week, but my previous diet consisted of chocolate, cake, takeaways, McD's etc so eating 2500 healthy calories is a big change for me. Hence it might stay off!

Have spent the last two days reading this thread and it has inspired me to come out of lurkdom, which is a bit scary but I just wanted to say a big thank you to Shirly for starting this thread.

I have been on MFP since March and was barely eating the 1200 calories allocated to me, instead of losing weight it began to slowly creep up, pissed me off no end. Then I started to feel like shit, was constantly tired, didn't have the energy to do anything, my skin was awful and I just felt miserable. Thanks to Shirly I now realise my body is most certainly in starvation mode and my metabolism is screwed. I have never been a big eater anyway but once I started MFP I ate even less than usual.

So I have done my calculations and my TDEE is 2000ish and Im going to stick to that for now until my metabolism gets going again (God knows how im going to consume all those calories as I hardly ever feel hungry enough). Im going to SAFTS too, all they did was make me eat less and less.

Thanks again to Shirly and other posters who have contributed with their stories/diaries/lol humour, I shall now return to lurkdom but will be cheering you all on from the sidelines .

Right I am being totally lazy now but what is this fridge oatmeal stuff that you are all talking about? When I was doing SW, I used to mix a Mullerlight yoghurt with porridge oats and leave them in the fridge overnight - is it the same thing (but I guess not using mullerlight yoghurts )?

arghhh mfp says I can only have 1200cals..but using TDEE thingymujiggy I am 1300 to exist 2100 to maintain ( based on 3-5 exercise sessions a week )...so to lose is 1600 but only if I do 3-5 lots of gym stuff a week...I thinnnnnnnnk I understand this..........if not I will spontaneously combust and burn off all the bliubber anyway!!!!! Am a bit scared to try this way of eating as am from old school 80s diets where you have set calories of 1000 a day and then burn off more by exercising and never have a day where you just think oh I am just gonna maintain and not try to lose today...What this meant to me has been 20yrs+ of starve / binge and total loss of interest in food as see it as something to be avoided rather than enjoyed. Think this new way might 'cure' me of this : )

foosty - Shirley - what do you reckon - eat breakfast before a workout or after?. It depends how long you've been up and about (well, for me anyway!). If I'm getting up and going for a run, then I will usually drink a pint of water, eat half a banana and then go - protein shake after and then some proper breakfast. I really think you need to do what is most comfortable for YOU, but I would definitely say that hydration before is very important.

lovetolurk - . Please stick around! I think eating at your TDEE (is this your maintenance figure that you're quoting?) is a VERY good idea. There is a sticky on the EMTWL discussion board over on MFP which is people who are doing a metabolism reset. I think you could get bags of support over there - and here too! Believe me when I tell you that the increased number of calories will result in you feeling hungry again! As I've said, a loss of appetite can be a sign of a surpressed metabolism, once you start mending it your body will WANT more fuel.

Ceebee - I'm not bloody linking it again! . Oh go on then

debs - That sounds quite low - are you a little wee person without much to lose? A 15% deficit from your TDEE = 1,785 calories per day. It does seem counter-intuitive to eat more than 1,000 or 1,200 calories per day when we have been brainwashed conditioned to believe that less calories = fat loss, but after YEARS of trying to lose fat by this method and - yeah sometimes achieving a loss, but ALWAYS with suffering! - it still not being a sustainable weight for me, I am firmly convinced that the diet industry and diet clubs have GOT IT WRONG. (Maybe this is an innocent thing - personally I doubt it. )

debs I'm with you, on the food 'should' be avoided thing...but you're right, it just doesn't work! I am finding it difficult to eat so much now, but seem to be getting a bit closer every day.

I am in urgent need of high protein snack ideas that aren't eggs (as I am already eating lots!) I am struggling!

msbuggywinkle -- how about cottage cheese? Peanut (or other nut) butter on oat/rice cakes, or with carrot or celery for dipping? Nuts, greek yogurt, slices of chicken or turkey?

Also, a whole tin of tuna has under 150 calories and 33g of protein.

buggy - Smoked salmon, cottage cheese, light Mozarella balls, snack packs of turkey breasts/chicken breast/quorn, peanut butter on oatcakes/an apple/celery sticks. Any lean meat/fish. Humous is quite high in protein and nice with anything.

HA! Oooh tobesma! Damn your fast fingers.

Did not know about the mozzarella balls. Fnar.

Refridgerator oatmeal with (full fat) Greek yog, milk, strawbs and peanut butter this morning. Delicious, but not enough for me in the suggested amounts. I felt dizzy and faint after and had to have toast with peanut butter. Did I say I was a gannet?
I'll definitely try it again, but I'd double the amounts/ maybe add chopped nuts next time.
It's inspiring knowing there's a yummy alternative breakfast to eggs though. I hardly ever eat fruit, so this is a great way to get some extra.

Thank you!

Oh! Feta is nice as well - put some of those nice feta chunks in as well. [yum]

Yes Shirley 2000 is my maintenance figure (am a short arse). I dont really need to lose weight im currently 8st 3 but wd like to tone up more than anything.

Will go lurk over in the EMTWL group on MFP and check out that sticky you mentioned, as well as stick around on this fabulous thread.

I am super-organised now! All meals and snacks from next Tuesday in the meal plan.

I'm on holiday over the long weekend, camping. Am aiming to stick to calories, but not stress about macros. Where we are going there is a glacial lake so I will get lots of swimming in for exercise!

I would like to share these... deliciousness!

Oooh, they look gorgeous. And a glacial lake sounds bloody freezing! Have a lovely time :)

Ladies I need help, on Tuesday I skipped dinner as i just didnt know what yoveat, after my run last night i was so hungry I went over by 300 Callories and today i don't know what to eat so haven't bothered counting callories and instead have been eating crap.

My problem is, I don't know how to eat healthy. I don't know what to buy. I can only shop online I can't get to a supermarket during the week. I've been looking at all your food diarys but it looks quite daunting

Can I please have some ideas for lunches snacks and dinners? Also things to eat after a run when I am just so hungry.

The other problem is salad just doesn't fill me up. Unless I have a sandwich for lunch I just continue to feel hungry/think about food.

I have huge issues with food anyway, please help me to change this and not pass my issues on to my girls :(

I forgot to add i have a 19 month o ld and a 4 month old. so any quick easy meals recieved greatfuly!

Im going away for a week on Saturday so have decided to restart the monday when I get back. maybe I should buy a cook book, any recommendations? Part of my problem is I dont/wont try new foods I've never eaten hummos or fish seeds pulses, i want to but like i said major food issues

addicted - there is nothing wrong with sandwiches for lunch, nothing at all. I would steer clear of white sliced and try to aim for wholemeal and/or seeded bread if you can because it will help you feel fuller for longer.

What sort of things do you like eating, perhaps we can all give you some ideas.

GAWD. I'm just off out to take DS to see Guns n Roses in concert so I haven't got time to do one of my big old posts addicted, but a couple of things:

You don't have to eat anything you don't like! Don't like fish or pulses (I used to hate pulses as well, I do understand!) ? Don't eat 'em!

If you like sandwiches for lunch - HAVE THEM! Just try and tweak them a little bit, so wholemeal/granary bread with lean protein (chicken for example) and tomatoes, lettuce and mayo if you like - or whatever!

I did say earlier in the thread that I eat my old favourites, spaghetti Bol, chilli con carne, curry etc etc, I just tweak them to make them healthier - brown rice, wholemeal pasta for example. These changes take a little getting used to, but I ADORE brown rice now - the white stuff is so bland!

I'll come back tomorrow if necessary, but I'm sure the others here have some aces ideas - and please do as Ali asks and give us some examples of how you eat now and I'm sure we can help.

One more thing. Just because you ate some crap today doesn't mean you should write off the rest of the week! That's like dropping your phone, thinking Oh FUCK IT and then stamping on it and flushing it down the toilet!

ha ha - I am off out to my book group tonight and i know there will be tasty morsels there. Will remember to be in control in a good way and have a little - it does not have to be all or nothing

Also - do you all weigh things obsessively or is there an element of guesstimation on there? eg today I know the veggies we had went way over what ii guessed at when i inputted it into mfp but i figure veggies are good to go ott on!!)

addicted I also find it so hard to choose and cook healthy food, so I'm trying not to go mad, I am just starting by trying to eat up to right amount of calories, as I really wasn't eating enough before. I'm doing gradual changes too, like going wholemeal, adding fruit and veg, drinking more water. I can do it a bit at a time.

If you put up some foods you like, there will be ways to make them healthier. I love sweet and sour chicken but learnt a homemade sauce which is much better than a jar.

Quick exercise question I really haven't been doing any exercise apart from school run, and I'm still fretting a bit that I'm eating too much and moving too little. Should I be aiming to do a bit of cardio every day? Also I am not logging any exercise on MFP at the moment, logging it would change my totals wouldn't it? I don't want to confuse myself (doesn't take much!)

I have choco banana porridge in the fridge, and I just remembered that a friend told me you can add a bit of cocoa to Greek yoghurt, leave overnight and it turns into chocolate mousse! So I might give that a try too.