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 like buckwheat noodles.

I prefer whole wheat pasta, but only like whole grain rice in certain dishes (like with chilli or other Mexican dishes).

Toby but the minstrels are full of processed shite

To be fair, the banana chips are sweetened and fried in coconut oil, so not all that great for you either!

I like buckwheat (soba, I think) noodles too, Shirl. Unfortunately, I am the only one in my house who does. Will have to campaign to put them back on the menu.

Don't like wholewheat pasta but we had the rice pasta which was nice: not sure if brown rice, though. We have brown basmati, rye bread, oatcakes etc. I make lots of Scandi pancakes with wholegrain rye/spelt flour. Saw somewhere an oatmeal recipe. I make loads at the weekend and freeze some. Delicious with berries/yoghurt and maple syrup flaked almonds

... and from what i've been reading it's the insulin that makes your body save into fat cells... I DON'T teach science (luckily)! haha

Sooo is spelt flour like wholemeal? [thicko]

I'm rather, ahem, struggling today. I upped my flax intake to a massive 10g (so a mere third of what they suggest) and my, er, digestive system doesn't seem to like it. I'm really hoping it settles down, as I am definitely feeling fuller and seem able to go longer between meals. Pah.

(I'm assuming it's that, and not the protein shakes or the half tub of Ben and Jerrys )

Are you constipated Minnie, or the other thing?

t'other

Argh! I suffer from that sort of a stomach.

I did notice that the protein shakes set me off until I got used to them, also I think the increase in nuts was a factor.

It's calmed down now though, it definitely took a couple of weeks, but if it is making you feel ill or is very inconvenient then maybe cut the shakes down to a couple a week?

Thinking back I used to get it when I started on WW or SW or whatever diet I was doing that involved upping my fruit and veg intake.

Knock back a few boiled eggs, Minnie. Old Wives tell me they're very binding

I just had one with bucket loads of salt asa a frustration snack, to cheer me up at our lack of success with potty training. I don't recognise myself.

You want to watch that sodiumk intake there Umami.

^this is a joke! Honest to god!

I know

Delicious salty salty goodness Salt is my downfall. I could chuck all the sugar in the bin without a second glance, but you'll have to prize my cold, dead hands from the Maldon.

I love salt as well, I was reading something on here the other day about people trying to cut it down, and apparantly if you just stop adding it to your food then that "bland" taste goes and then it's all brilliant and everything tastes great and brilliant.

Filthy. Fucking. Liars.

I cut it out almost entirely when DS was weaned, and I did kind of get used to it. My Mom always cooks with a fair bit, and her food tasted disgustingly salty to me when I was on nearly zero at home. But yes, you can pile in the herbs and spices and whatnot and pretend it tastes delicious, but what you're really thinking is 'this could really do with some salt'.

Now DS is bigger, I've relaxed a bit, so there's a bit more in my cooking, but not vast quantities. But it's the little extra pinch just for me here and there that is the most delicious naughtiest.

I buy reduced salt baked beans for DS, and add the salt back for me

Ha. I remember when they reduced the salt on Hula Hoops - I mkjean, just WTAFF?

Crisps are meant to be salty.

Eggs are definitely binding. Good source of protein: and vitamins etc.

Minniebar: spelt is a grain, an ancient form of wheat so more easily digestible,apparently. Tastes kind of nutty and slightly sweet. Makes good bread, pancakes and muffins.

Though, I had an omelette for breakfast with egg whites (left over from custard, so not for health reasons) and egg yolks and a little olive oil and mfp showed 52% fat!

Pork scratchings.

I've just started lurking and I want to say Shirley, thankyou for getting this going. I've been having a laugh at your posting style, it's brilliant! I have reignited my fitness pal, put it on the iphone, and have a calorie intake goal. Now to put it in practice!

I've been carrying 10kgs of left over baby weight that I CAN NOT MOVE, and he'll be 2 in 3 mths. It's time to shift it.

I've already started eating more "whole" foods, rather than processed snacky type things. This week has been full of salads with tuna, nuts for snacks and ramping up fruit as I'd gone off that for a long time. And to actually start eating dinner again (I'd have a big food hall lunch and skip dinner to make up for it).

NOOOOOOO not the protein shakes, I bloody love them.

Gotta love MN and the ability to discuss one's digestive system with a bunch of strangers .

I really haven't significantly upped my fruit/veg intake; the only things that have really changed are slightly more fibre (from the flax) and more protein, and marginally less chocolate.

Bugger. I just googled 'stomach cramps and protein' and there does appear to be a link in some people.

And I just ordered larger packs of the stuff today as well, grrr!

Welcome youroyalnotness! Glad to see you're giving is a whirl!

Minnie - it might settle down! I think the fact that you're reacting as you are is possibly just down to your bowels getting used to the new regime! Of course it all depends on how bad it is - how long have you been having the shakes? And how many are you having, petal?

Managed to get my carbs down below 50% for the first time today, but that's only because I just did not fancy the rice I served up for myself at lunchtime, and didn't bother having any chips with my fishfingers/ beans/ chips nursery tea (eating clean me, oh yes!).

I'm amazed at how not hungry I've been all day. Is this the result of a few pinto beans and a boiled egg for snacks? I usually wouldn't have a problem ploughing well over 2000 calories (I think), but today I could have happily not bothered with any dinner at all.

Minnie, maybe you need to wean onto the shakes gradually. Can you just add a dollop of the shake mix to smoothies to begin with?