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've gone way over my allowance over the past couple of days but I've also had a couple of days under using mfp which is still at 1200 calories and I don't know how to change it to 1490 calories which is the amount I calculated using Shirleys calculator thingy. It doesn't seem many calories compared to most of you. I'm 41, 5'3 and 67.5kg at the last count. I do around 1 hours cycling most days and do spin or gym a couple days a week so calculated myself as a moderate exercisor? Does 1490 seem about right? Please? :)

Shirley, hello again.

Right, I've been building up the courage to post exactly what I ate yesterday as it's been the same ish for a few days.

breakfast -
Diet Chef Soft Oat cookie
Cup of tea made with Kara coconut drink.
water
lunch -
ham and mustard sandwich
10 oreos
cup of coffee with 3 (yes 3) teaspoons of sugar.
mid afternoon
cup of coffee with 3 spoons of sugar - again!
6 oreos
packet of lower fat unsalted crisps
evening meal
Diet chef chicken and potatoes with white rice
a LARGE glass of blossom hill white zinfandel.
a treat size stick of twirl

I was about 36 calories under my 1926 goal so I was sort of happy with that. I also did a zumba class before my evening meal.

Someone suggested not buying biscuits in. I have only recently been buying them, so in the last couple of weeks, as I was just craving them before I started eating more calories. Before buying biscuits I was living of GF bread toasted for breakfast and about 8 mugs of very sweet sugary coffee and then binge eating my evening meal as I was so so hungry by that stage. I did this for I dunno a good couple of years. I was better at the weekends as DP would be at home and would get me a sandwich and would take the kids so I could eat it over the sink. He eats at the table but for some reason I can't eat some things like that as I see and fear crumbs.

I am NOT a very good cook, but am forced to cook for my kids as allergies mean we have no convenience food options open to us. Most days I wake up, give my kids their breakfast and then start cooking their food. Poor things eat only get a couple of different meal options but they're good as they do eat what I make. I don't fancy it tbh so I feel bad that I feed them stuff that I couldn't eat all the time.

In the last week I haven't really been craving biscuits or sweet stuff, I just wanted to eat them so I have done, by the packet, which is disgusting I know!

I know I should go low carb as that would suit me well but it would mean cooking more and I really can't face that. That was the main reason I started diet chef as I though it would take the thinking out of what I should eat as it would just be whatever I had in the box.

I love love LOVE sugary foods and read another thread about sugar addiction so ordered the book which arrived today which I'm looking forward to reading. I like to read about stuff and not too long ago read the primal blueprint, the atkins diet book for me and another one called the GAPS diet book to see if it might be helpful for my DD. I am knowledgeable about things like sugar being the 'white death' but I just fail miserably when I try and put things into practice. For example, alot of people have eggs for protein for breakfast but I can't so I freeze on that thought and worry and worry about it to the point that I do nothing but worry. I'm the proverbial deer in headlights.

I tried low carb for a week but the only meal I managed was the evening meal. The rest of the time I starved. The thought of eating meat meat and more meat made me feel a bit ill. Also my teeth don't seem to manage chewing that much. It's probably down to the way I cook the meat but even then..

ANyway, the last few days have been sort of the same. I didn't have a sandwich today but did have a sweet coffee and some plain boiled rice that was spare from my kids meal.

I know I sound rubbish. :(

By the way Shirley, and everyone else,

I hope you all have a lovely lovely long weekend. DD only does half days at nursery but I'm so excited to have her at home for half term so am looking forward to it.

sorry for my previous very long ramble of a post.

Seventheverything - my TDEE is 1926 per day. I'm 43, 5'6 but am a little heavier than you.

Floreat don't be hard on yourself please, I'm a total total TOTAL sugar addict and that's the only reason I'm doing this without sugar - I have bags of sweets in the car, in my desk, in the drawer next to my bed, in my handbag, in my supply cupboard at work!!!!!! And I can of three other places as well, I am ridiculous with sugar, so I'm combining eating enough with sorting out my addiction... It was reading John Briffa's book that convinced me, and I'm hoping to have brown rice etc soon.

My food diary is open on MFP so take a look if you like...

I'm also weird in that I'm tall and 'slim' EXCEPT for a big old, at times 6 months gone, stomach, and I know how dangerous fat on the tummy is so I have known for ages that I need to sort this out... I'm not counting my chickens yet because I'm aware that four days is nothing (and oh my gosh days 1 and 2 were hard) we've just got to keep this up now:)

So be proud that you're eating ENOUGH and focus on the what later, as Shirley suggests - and keep going, we're all in it together!

Thanks all, I have a feeling I'm eating too much. I honestly don't see how I can lose any weight eating more than 1500 calories. I'm also hypothyroid, I wonder if that will affect my weight loss, although I'm stable on thyroxine so shouldn't really. I think moderate exercise feels comfortable for me. It's not a particularly hard cycle but definitely gets my heart rate going and a good sweat on. Spinning is a serious workout but I'm just once a week at the mo and gym once. So not too excessive. :)

Oh, mumat. Please stop being so hard on yourself.

Have you joined MFP? That is the first step. Then friend as many of us as you like (I'm kiki_jp and you'll have to scroll for the others). Or post your username here and we'll find you. Then you can have a look at some of our food diaries and see the sorts of things we're eating.

Google for some recipes to help you cook more of a variety of meals, if you want. I use recipes I've blagged off the internet all the time!

Be kind to yourself, and have a lovely weekend :)

Right.

Shirley here in a NC.

I managed to get to Wales safely, but have eaten half a bag of jelly babies and 2 x red bulls to manage it! Just going to drink some wine to try and counteract all the caffeine.

Couple of comments - mamat, are you still paying for the diet chef stuff? That sounds rude but if you're still involved in that WOE then I don't feel it's compatible with this WOE and I'm worried that you're tying yourself up in knots trying to do both. This thread, this WOE should make you feel CALMER, happier about your choices, full and satisfied and you should feel that this is something you can do for the rest of your life! It certainly shouldn't be making you - OR ANY OF YOU OUT THERE READING THIS - feel bad or like a "failure" (that word is BANNED from now on!! It's not a failure to have a day of eating crap - its just one day of eating crap! BFD. That sneaky spiral of "oh I've eaten 6 biscuits, might as well finish the pack, might as well order a pizza as well, might as well spoon butter into my mouth as I stand at the fridge door" sort of thinking is also BANNED! )

Sugar addiction is a BITCH. I know this! The only way to break it is to stop having it. I had those jelly babies today as a power boost to get me through the knackeredness, but the truth is that it's a habit, I always eat sweets on the drive to Wales, BUT I only ate half a bag and no more. I didn't even really enjoy them, but they DID stop me feeling too tired! . My point is, wine is lovely, no! No! My point is that in order to break the cycle, and then be able to have the odd sugary thing, you do have to go cold turkey on the stuff for quite a while (I think I was about a month of no sugar at all) and once you are free, everything else gets easier - as if by magic. Things that taste bland suddenly taste sweet (sweet potatoes taste like PUDDING to me, and brown rice tastes pleasantly sweet), cherry tomatoes are like haribo. Strawberries? OMG!

Anyway

Wow, thanks seventh, that was so useful. I will keep a check on symptoms. That was fab. :)

Shirley. Hello. Glad you got to Wales ok and are enjoying the glass of wine.

The thing is I have a whole hamper full of diet chef meals so am just eating them as food rather than as part of the diet. It would be a shame to bin them as it's about 5 weeks supply. If you think I should stop eating them then I will. I had sausage and chips from the chippy this evening as that's what I fancied.

I don't feel like I'm being hard on myself. Sorry if that's how I came across. All I was saying is that for the first time in ages, I've had some energy to get out of an evening and do some exercise. I did a pilates taster class on monday and zumba last night. I actually had the oomph (energy?) to do something and I enjoyed it. I'm actually not hungry all the time and am not craving foods like I was a week ago. I am eating them freely.

I just know the crap foods I'm going for isn't the best. I know this but just can't shift my lazy arse into gear to do something about it. That's the bit that frustrates me.

Toby, thanks for your kind words too. :) I'm neednewclothes on MFP so please feel free to add me in. If I can look at others diaries then maybe that'll inspire me a bit.

Shirley, just read your second paragraph. So if I'm going to ban ALL sugar does that mean banning everything that has sugar in it or just the obvious sugary stuff like biscuits, cakes, sweets, chocolate etc.

Sorry if that's a stupid question.

We are out tomorrow at inlaws and then have a barbie on sunday so can I start to stop sugar on Monday or Tuesday, please.

Thanks for your advice again.

Oh sweetie. Eat what you've got left - of course! What a terrible waste of money otherwise, but I want you to ENJOY this process and I'm just worried for you.

I'm sure we can sort you out! Get rid of the Oreos (god they're lovely though! I can let you have a few a week ) and we need to get some good nutrients in there as well, have you thought about taking some supplements - I think they're a bit..snake oil... But my doc recommended vitamin D supplement for me this week, so they can't be TOTAL nonsense.

Enjoy yourself this weekend, relax and we can talk about tackling the sugar thing - IF YOU WANT (no pressure!) - next week.

That goes for everyone! Have you looked at my diary?! I've been way over for the past two days. I blame Axl Rose. [grimace]

How amazing were you to do that for your DS. My mum wouldn't have let me go let alone come along and busy herself. He's a lucky son.

The oreos are gone

I honestly am enjoying this. I have this sense of freedom from the chains of dieting and thinking about food constantly because I was hungry. The fact that I have exercised for the first time in years and twice this week is thanks to you and the fact that I don't feel so bloody tired all the time.

I have low vit D so am taking a supplement and when I remember I take a couple of the Solgar V2000 multi vit supplement.

I'll be reading the Potatoes not Prozac book over the weekend so am getting myself ready to give up sugar after this weekend.

Really Shirley, an all the other contributors/fellow eat more to weigh lessers, I am so so so so grateful. For the first time in ages I'm not thinking about food every minute of every waking hour. That used to be exhausting. I'm sleeping better, waking up less tired and those are truly gifts for me. The fact that I've noticed this just by eating more is amazing. I can't wait to learn to eat better as it's exciting to think how much better I'll feel then. So thanks again. Enjoy your long weekend and the vino. :)
Big hugs xxxxx

Anyone battling sugar addiction and wants to read about it - 'Potatoes Not Prozac' is a good place to start.

I've gone over my calories again - I seem to be embracing this a bit too enthusiastically!

Cross-posted Mumat! I'm rubbish at the mfp thing - can't figure out how to request friends. Anyway, I'm StandsToReason on there if anyone else can figure it out.

I'm SO glad to hear that you're feeling that release mamat...I feel very happy when I read that others on the thread are feeling better and HAPPIER!

Yay!

shotgun - I do kind of think that as long as I don't go too far over my TDEE (maintenance) then it'll be ok. I'm sure that's not sensible thinking but I'm so tired I can't think straight!

Right, that's it I've got to get some kip!

Oh I was doing so well until a friend came round with a bottle of
Now too tipsy to enter it into mfp! Maybe I will have forgotten about it tomorrow!

I'm very lucky that my nearest takeaway sells grilled mackerel. Lunch was awesome today!

Now just gotta resist the wine munchies!

mumat39 - see you're starting to see the benefits. You have more energy to do zumba and stuff! I'm chuffed with discovering the energy to Hoover!

Shirley you have definitely earned your ! Damn guns n Roses. Did your ds enjoy it when they finally graced the stage with their presence?

Hello everyone. I am finally packed for holiday.

I haven't logged today, but I suspect I'm under despite the cake. I feel worn down and a bit, rubbed out

I look forward to regaining my strength via cheese consumption while we are away

Mumat I'm so pleased this is having a positive effect for you

I will be logging MFP while I'm away, but no MN - hope you are all healthier and happier and perhaps a wee bit thinner when I get back!

Have a lovely time, Ali!

God, I hate the way MN now works from my 'phone. So my presence will be scarce too for the next couple of days. Can't see me having the time or the inclination to get the laptop out much :)

I must admit that I was feeling a bit crap about yesterday. Although I just scraped in under my calorie goal, I really had to work for it! Then I read your diary, Shirl, and felt better :o

Have lovely weekends, all!

Entering day five without sugar - as Shirley will probably substantiate I can't BELIEVE how powerful it's making me feel to not give in - I never never never imagined I could do it! My tummy has shrunk so dramatically (in five days!) that I'm wearing a dress size smaller (astonishing) and I feel so much better. Amazing how much we rely on wheat though - am now reading 'wheat belly' which is certainly inspiring me to keep going! Our library does ebooks - isn't that amazing?!

Keep being kind to yourself, at it's heart that's really what this WOE is about :)

Hi everyone,

I am pretty new to mumsnet but been following this thread with interest. I have been on a diet for 15yrs and have had a light bulb moment... eating actually makes you lose weight!! I have just come off my worst diet yet... no carbing, yes lost 5lbs in 3 days but soon as I ate a tiny amount of carbs bang it all goes on again! So last week starting low carbing, not no carbs, and eating Tdee -15%. Result = 2lb loss!
At 5ft 8ft and 143lbs, I have 10lbs to lose to get to goal weight.

Shirley, thanks for this thread, spent the last 6 months very low carb losing & gaining the same 5lbs. This WOE means I can eat carbs and lose weight!!

Sal (welcome), I'd be interested to know what your TDEE is - I'm 5ft 7'' and weigh 147lbs. Sounds like our goals are quite similar as I'm aiming for about 9 1/2 st (although I'm happy to focus more on measurements and the way clothes fit than weight).
I've been eating my TDEE of about 1800 cals plus doing a bit of exercise (have gone over a few times though), and I'm gently swelling and wobbling around the midriff. Will start the 15% cut in a couple of weeks I think - just hope not too many more wobbly bits appear!

Shotgun and Sal, I am roughly the same height as you two but am aiming for 11 stone as my target! Still, if I actually manage to do this, with relative ease, and change my eating habits/relationship with food then who knows, I may continue and aim a little lower. But not much... I honestly don't remember when I was last below 10 stone - probably when I was at school...!