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.

shirley, thankyou youve made me laugh on a day i really thought i wouldnt!!

i'm alittle busy right now settling the baby, attempting to pack and tidying up even tho the place will be destroyed as soon as the 19mo walks in so the estate agent can show people round while were on holiday.

i know there is no point writing the rest of the week off, but i plan on eating my weight in chocolate to make the crappy week so far disapear!

i like brown rice, pasta has to be gluten free (for dh) im not sure if they do gf wholemeal pasta in tesco, i'll have to investigate. I like any meal i can make in bulk and freeze so spag bol, chilli, curries, cottage pie, jacket potatos (obviously not frozen), we always have cheese on toast tursday and i think dd1 would be sad if that stopped! i actually cant think what else i eat, i want to be adventrous tho and try new things! i want to eat hummos as i tried it in a restaruant and really liked it but bought it from morrisons and it was vile, so any recipies i can bulk make and freeze for hummos? I love cooking from scratch but with cfs im despratly trying to get under control and 2 babies its not always not always possible so sometimes end up doing chicken nuggets and chips or saussages and chips etc

baby really screaming now!

Oh I've missed so much - see what going away for work does! I'm off to rejoin MFP and hope I'm not too late to make friends.

This is the first time I've been excited about eating well and exercising... I want a body that performs well, not to be thinking about my weight.

alittlebitshy, I guess at lots of the quantities. I tend to weigh things like cereal the first time to see how much say 100g looks like in the bowl, and then I guesstimate after that.

Addicted, what about things like roast chicken with lots of veg and a small amount of potatoes? Would you eat stir-fry veg with diced lean meat?

I have been doing amazingly well with mfp, although had a bit of a premenstrual glitch (in other words eaten myself near to death today) and due to general stresses in life I gave in to a nice bottle of red tonight - I don't feel guilty. I'm on holiday for the rest of the week, I'm not sure I'll manage to keep up. The good thing is it's a cycling holibol so I'll at least be burning off some of the calories. :)

Wow I never knew a healthy food thread would move so fast!

I have to say that this past week I have eaten less bad carbs (crisps 'n' shit) and eaten little and often, loads of veg, nuts, oats, yogurt and I have not once had the mid afternoon lack of energy slump I had before.
And I'm not craving crap food either.
It almost feels too good to be true at the moment!

I'm a little scared that my enthusiasm will wane and I will get lazy and go back to my old ways of not eating all day and then binging on crap food and feeling awful after. It's a bit scary!
I'm not too concerned about weightloss to be honest, I just want need an energetic body!

Just done my fridge porridge for tomorrow with full fat cherry yogurt and a mix of oats and dried fruit... will report back tomorrow!
I've also discovered ds loves yogurt and muesli! (he's 2)

Brown rice - I'm not sure about.. it's a bit bitty? How the hell long do you have to cook it for?!

I've added a few people on MFP, when I get more time I will go back through the thread and re read some stuff and add more of you.

I'm in Bulgaria and have found an online shop here selling Chia seeds - 9 leva for 200g... that's around £4ish... is that a reasonable price?

Ds should be starting kindergarden next week so that will give me more time to exercise as I don't do any at the moment. I have the usual running around after a toddler and am full time carer for my father so I'm not sitting on my arse all day but would like a bit more muscle and less squishyness!

addicted hope you have a good holiday and don't fret about going off track, it's just a blip!

And who was going to France to eat cheese? Bring us some back!

Ok I need to start sorting my macros. I seem to be eating too much fat: though it doesn't say what is good fat: ate loads of nuts, avocado, fish today.

I have had a bit of a lightbulb moment about eating enough calories I think I'm emotionally understanding it now. Still hard to break what I see as eating healthy, small portions. I am enjoying eating delicious food, though.

Gosh, this thread is moving so fast I can't keep up.

I've been trying to follow the increase in calories and can feel myself getting a bit bigger. BUT i'm really enjoying not feeling so bloomin' tired all the time.

I'm not doing very well with not eating carbs. I've eaten 16 oreo biscuits today and a sandwich plus my evening meal which had some protein. For the last few days the vast majority of my calories have been from biscuits. :(

I have a DD with multiple food allergies so we don't have things like eggs or nuts in the house. She is also allergic to wheat and legumes and loads of other things so I have a very messed up relationship with food. It sounds really pathetic but I am addicted to sugar and I am also lazy and have actually lost the ability the think about how to eat and therefore don't eat well. I eat most of my food over the kitchen sink so that any crumbs fall into it. It;s really sad just how much allergies have affected me.

Before this thread started I was hardly eating anything but I am actually eating more which is great but it's just not good stuff.

The fridge porridge sounds really yummy but I can't eat too much dairy so not sure what else I could have for breakfast.

The fact that I've actually not felt so tired has been great as I've managed to go to a pilates class on Monday and a Zumba class this evening, so despite eating badly, I feel really positive about this thread and just now need some help with how to eat better again.

Thanks again Shirley for this amazing thread and for freeing me from the bloody 1200 cals a day diet that I was following before I read this. Although I wasn't really following that so well either as I was always just so hungry, ALL THE TIME!!!
xxx

Shirley, I am finding this a revelation. Yes, it does seem really hard to hit macros - I've upped my sugar target and am eating less fruit than before, but in the main am eating around my TDEE-15% an doing c25k - in the last week I feel so much better, as do my insides, which have not been right since 9mo dd arrived (even after 6 weeks of lactulose!).

Just got on the scales (yes, I know) and appear to have lost another couple of lbs - am seeing this as good digestion, which is such a relief.

My basic 'rules':

At least 8 portions of fruit and veg, no more than 3 of fruit
Nuts every day (love them)
3 litres of water
As little processed as possible

It seems to be working. I am in danger of becoming evangelical in RL. Thank you!

And thanks to all those friending me on MFP - it really helps.

Morning all. I just wanted to check in and say the fridge oatmeal I had yesterday was delicious, I've made more again for today. I'm not allowed to eat until I've had bloods taken :( so I'm taking it with me, along with a smoothie. Mumat, I used almond milk in mine. I'm sure you could ditch the yoghurt and just use non-dairy milk, you'd just need to get the amount right so the texture is right the next day. Maybe half a cup?

Last night I caved and had the KFC! I was actually still just under target on calories, but well over BMR. However, I realised that I actually didn't enjoy it as much, and I was really thirsty all night. Might be the end of my KFC cravings!

Shirley, how was GnR?

I need to be carefull too,im restarting old habits without the calorie barrier.

Didnt even bother yesterday cos it was my Nans funeral so i drank wine and ate buffet. The day before it was all high on macros and fats are confusing cos i also had oily fish and avocado.

Went for a run yesterday,so much harder on the rd than in a nice air conditioned gym and bouncy treadmill.

Need to go shopping again today am down to the crinkled veg

am down 2lb this morning - yay. But dh and i are having takeaway tonigth (yum), have 2 different jubille things (ie buffets )at the weekend as well as friends coming for dinner (big meal, cheese and pud) so w'll see what the scales say in a week's time (along with half term type excesses).

What kind of nuts are good/tasty nuts to be eating? I have to say that normally if my nuts aren't dry roasted/salted/honey roasted I am not interested so will need to educate myself.

Good morning all.

So, last night I took DS and his pal to see GnR at the O2. I didn't have a ticket (didn't want one!) so decided that I was going to take them, have some food, go to see a film at the cinema and then just float about for a little bit before taking them home. So, I went and had some sushi, avoided all the sweets in the cinema and sat and watched a film. This is all on my lonesome by the way.

Anyway, DS texted me at 10 (I was still watching the film) to say that they still hadn't come on stage. I left the cinema and was at a bit of a loose end so I went to Starbucks and got a skinny latte. GnR didn't come ON STAGE until 10.50 and didn't finish until 01:40. At 11.30 I was exhausted so HAD to eat a couple of their little cakes. . It was dreadful. I didn't get into bed until 2.30 this morning and I didn't get to sleep until 3. I am KNACKERED and I've got to drive to Wales (250 miles) tonight after work, again on my own, and I feel PANTS.

I have packed my running gear, hoping to get a run in tomorrow morning.

I'm glad to see people are starting to see some results - whether that be better digestion, more energy or inch losses. SAFTFBS.

Can those of you who are having problems due to food issues please post with a "typical" day's meals please?

We can't help without some idea of the sort of stuff you like to eat, and ways for us to help you find healthier alternatives.

Sorry to hear about your nana ledkr, and I totally agree about running outside as opposed to on the treadmill - I just can't manage gym running, I get too hot.

Good luck with your bloods mango - I'm not sure what you're having them taken for but I hope everything is OK.

grumple - You need to cook brown rice for MUCH longer than white - between 30-40 minutes, but I swear to God, once you master it you will never look back.

AMU - exercise. OK, well you could try and get a little bit more cardio in there, maybe a DVD a couple of times a week?

I think that's everyone.

God, I'm so tired.

ledkr hope you're ok, wine and buffet totally understandable.

alittlebit hazelnuts and macadamias are my favourites.

I had a really good eating day yesterday, ate lots, was hungry for the next meal (a good sign, no?) and it didn't feel like any effort to do! I have only been doing it for five days but I feel great, I'm doing a lot more because I have so much more energy!

GnR are notorious for coming on late - Reading festival said they would dock their fee last year if they were an hour or more late, so they came on at? 59 minutes after their start time.

Bloody disrespectful to their fans who have shelled out if you ask me (not that anyone is!!)

Still waiting on my protein drinks, but quinoa and Greek yogurt came in the ocado order today, and yesterday I ate 3/4 of a tin of tuna (arf, autocorrect wants to change that to 'Tina') as a snack.

Not sure I'll be doing that again, to be honest

thankyou kind ladies.

shirl Im not the only tired one then.Stupid was awake at 3am went back at 5.30 then woke with dirty nappy at 6
I simply have no words. For the first time in 5dc i have got her looked after and im off to bed.
Have had toast this am but there isnt much else to tempt me thank god or id be an eating machine today.

Morning ladies

Shirley I was listening to the radio yesterday and one of the DJ's had been to a GNR concert the night before and that hadn't finished until 2.30am Bloody rude if you ask me! Hope you pick up during the day.

Am having the day off work today and DH is taking me out for lunch Have a voucher for a Beefeater so going there so I think I will have steak and salad (and maybe a few chips ) Will be having a small tea to compensate.

Am loving this and I really do hope that it is going to work - I am usually constantly hungry but this does not seem to be the case now - it is great to actually feel satisfied after a meal. Yesterday for lunch I had a huge plate of salad with 2 hard-boiled eggs and 3 slices of roast turkey plus one of those sachets of mayonnaise (full-fat) followed by a full-fat Muller corner (yes I know I should be eating more healthy yoghurts but I have only just started eating yoghurts so am easing my way in gently ). Anyway, I didn't feel hungry again until about 4 o'clock after that which is unheard of

Enjoy your day everyone!

Ledkr DS2 was like that too so I am also exhausted. He got up at 4 for a wee then needed me to put his pants back on and then decided he wanted to sleep in our bed which I had to explain to him that he couldn't. Took him back to bed, DH has a cold and was snoring and making all sorts of funny noises so couldn't sleep only for DS2 to get up again at 5.30 needing a poo. I gave up trying to get sleep after that...Although I shouldn't complain as he is an absolute angel sleeper 99% of the times and never gets up but then every now and again, he has a night like last night.

They must have ended up just playing to half the arena. It's just so arrogant and ARSEHOLEY.

minnie - you should have added a bit of mayo to that and wrapped it up in some lettuce leaves, or stirred some peppers and red onions and cucumber through it to make it more palatable.

This is a v v interesting thread! If it helps anyone, if you soak brown rice (for at least 20 mins), before cooking it takes much less time - I use a rice cooker and pre-soaking is the only way they work together.

I'm a really fussy bugger Shirley - I don't like salad, or fruit AT ALL. I can just about do orange juice (no bits), jam (no lumps), puree or smoothies (sieved, and NO BANANA under any circumstances EVER).

When Innocent launched their 'no banana' smoothies range I emailed to thank them I was so relieved

So I could add some mayo next time. Hopefully the protein packs will arrive soon and I can have one of those instead.

BTW, have you all seen...

Aw look a little crown! That is ACE.

Thanks for the tip cowbell.

Oh that is fab

Am just eating a Sainsbo's yoghurt with a granola topping and berry conserve - tis surprisingly delicious (considering I am a non-yoghurt eater).

Minniebar I am the same with banana!

I use brown basmati rice and as I don't have a rice cooker I use Ken Hom's rice method: add couple of inches rice to a wide pan with a thick bottom , add 2" (1 1/2" for white rice) water and boil vigorously, when water level reaches rice turn to lowest heat and cover so rice steams until water is gone. Hey presto perfect steamed rice. I usually cook double quantities for 2 meals.

Like the .

Hello
I've been lurking here for a bit and feel the need to say:

Hello! You lot are great. Can I join?

And ask:

What is fridge porridge?

My "baby" is 13 months old and I have a lot of fat to lose. I've been relying on coffee, carbs and booze for fake energy for a long time now and it's not doing me any good. (I also think I trashed my metabolism in the 90s with stupid diets, though I have certainly not been low cal for a very long long time.) Anyway I've been (mostly) wholefooding it and myfitnesspal-ing it this week and it seems to be going pretty well in terms of how I feel (though I have been saftfbs).

Grumpleteaser: you can cook a lot of brown rice one day when you have time, and freeze it in servings. It's nice cold in salads and if you have metabolic carby issues (I do) (v.technical) you might find it less slumpy than bread for lunch.

Lunches: there are some interesting ideas on this blog (this is who suggested freezing weighed servings of rice):

justbento.com/

some of the more stylised bentos are a bit frankenfoody but there's a lot of stuff on the site about healthy packed tasty wholefood lunches.