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.

[TobyLerone]

Colour analysis, huh?

Well, not my thing, but whatever floats your boat :o

705 calories burned so far today, sitting on my arse at a boot fair, going to sainsbury's and then sitting on my arse on the sofa.

[Hopefully]

Colour analysis is awesome Toby.

How does the fuel band work? I am intrigued. Agree they need to offer it in other colours - my HRM wrist strap is bronzy coloured, to match my colours . The chest band is black though.

SE best to get an HRM with a chest strap if you're thinking of one, as the wrist only ones inevitably aren't quite as accurate. I have read that they actually aren't that good for working out total daily expenditure, because they are best used during cardio activity when your HR actually raises a significant amount. Any toddler lifting/humphing pram up and down the kerb/other inadvertent strength work won't register, which is why it's better to use one of the online sums for BMR and TDEE. No idea if any of that's actually true though!

Apologies to SE who will have just read this on another thread, but wanted to post it here too - I am feeling really pleased as I have just measured myself after two weeks of Insanity and have lost:

• An inch from my under bust
  

Half an inch from my waist

• An inch from my hips
  
• An inch from each thigh
  
• Half an inch from my upper arm (bingo wing area).
  
• Oh, and I have gained about 2lb. The scales are filthy bastard liars, you see!!!
  

I am also much fitter, obviously...

Going to go and prepare myself some of the overnight oatmeal thing now for breakfast tomorrow. Hoping DH will go for it too, as he consumes the most appalling amount of cereal when left to his own devices.

Discovered this weekend that I am still shite at eating healthily when we have guests, but thankfully we now have three clear weekends with no guests, so I can actually maintain some of the loss I struggle for all week!

[Trills]

I don't want to create my own personal brand thanks.

One of my colleagues bought a fuel band recently, it just stopped working after about a week for no reason. It also measures some made up unit, presumably because they can;t actually promise to be measuring calories.

[TobyLerone]

It also measures calories, Trills. And comparing it with the way MFP measures calories for the same activities, it seems to be pretty accurate. I suppose the Nike+ Fuel points thing is a made-up thing, but if it's only for the purposes of tracking progress and being able to compare mine with that of others, it's pretty useful, IMO.

[Trills]

I was hungover today, and then went to a BBQ.

Should I base my decision on whether to have any dinner on how hungry I feel or what MFP says?

[Trills]

I thought it only measured the "points", sorry.

[TobyLerone]

Fuelpoints, calories and it's a pedometer!

[Trills]

Shame they can't make one that looks like a pretty bracelet in that case! :o

[Roseformeplease]

Hello all. Can I join? I have been an on / off low carver but have about a stone to lose. Have eaten all my 1800 calories today but probably too much carb not enough protein. How long do I need to keep to 1800 calories before I might see results? Exercise has gone a bit out of the window recently but will get back to it once Tuesday passes and my workload eases up. Any advice welcome! Really super fed up of dieting but happy to use MFP as that makes sense.

[mumat39]

Hello Toby

Well done on finding the fuelband!

Where did you find it? I've been trying to keep up with this thread but it's moving at such a pace that last time I looked I thought they'd all gone. I've been obssessing about one ever since you mentioned it. I noticed there were some on ebay but I think I'd rather get one from a proper shop. Do you need any other gadget for it to work with, i.e. apple iphone?

It's amazing how many calories you used and steps you took on a not too busy day.

:)

[mumat39]

Hello everyone.

Please please please could someone help me with some breakfast ideas that don't involve nuts, eggs or that fridge oatmeal, please??

I've been finishing off some diet chef breakfast bars and they finished yesterday and I am now at a loss about what to eat. :(

I'm still eating far too many carbs (mostly from biscuits )

I tried to do the no sugar thing a couple of days ago but caved in by mid morning as I just didn't have stuff in. So what sort of stuff should I get in? I have a tub of Lamberts protein powder which I've started to have most mornings, but I'm not sure it's sitting to well with me.

Thanks in advance :)

[knitknack]

Mum try full fat Greek yogurt with blueberries, strawberries any berries :) anyone looking at my diary will see that I've been eating it everyday its SO yummy! I'm on day 13 now and it honestly tastes like pudding to me now, a miracle. I've also lost 7 lbs, which considering I'm 5'10 is and now 143.5 (ie don't really need to lose any) is even MORE of a miracle. I've always had a roll around my middle (starting to think of it as my sugar roll!) but now it's actually shrunk!

That's nothing though - I'm so in love with this new feeling of fullness and calm (living on sugar does not lead to calm!) that's the real benefit for me - the full'n'calm diet :)

[TobyLerone]

Hi mumat :)
I got my Fuelband at Westfield Stratford, and they had plenty of stock yesterday. There are a few other locations where they've had stocks released, but they're all in London. I can tell you which ones if it's any good. I think they're going to be on general release at the end of the summer, and then you'll be able to get them online. I don't work for them, honest! I've just been stalking Nike for ages trying to get one :o
There are similar things more easily available already, though :)

[mumat39]

Hey Knitknack.
I've been following your threads when I can and I am SO in awe of how you've just gone no sugar and have stuck to it.

Thanks for the tip about the yogurt with berries. I have had that in the past and your right it is yummy. I am a bit ermmm odd with dairy. I can't really tolerate milk very well but am ok with some yogurts, I think. Do you get an own brand greek yogurt or Total? And do you go for the full fat stuff? I think I can imagine managing that in the morning.

I've been reading the potatoes not prozac book mentioned on a giving up sugar thread and I swear it was written about me. Including the but about being too lazy to do it. Reading your experience is quite inspirational so can I ask, did you go 'cold turkey' on ALL carbs as well as sugars? If so, which carbs did you eat? If not, did you start by cutting back on obvious things like sweets, chocolates etc first?

I know I can do it, I just need a plan in place and need to know exactly how and that way I'm more likely to succeed.

Thanks for your reply and for your suggestion and really well done again!
:)

[TobyLerone]

Are you allergic/intolerant to nuts or do you just not like them? If it's the latter, could you try muesli with a non-dairy milk? Or a smoothie made with non-dairy milk, Greek yogurt and fruit? You can even put oats in your smoothie to pad it out a bit, and you won't notice them once it's blended.

[knitknack]

Thanks mum that's very lovely :) but I really REALLY can't explain how I've done it - dh took me around the house earlier and we unearthed all my 'stashes' of sweet from 6 different locations! And that still leaves my desk and cupboard at work and my car- its bizarre, the only think I can attribute it to is the feeling of calm that I keep banging on about

I will say though that on day two I sat at my desk for an extra half hour after lessons had finished because I couldn't face walks downstairs and gettn in to my car! I was that tired, I did think then that I'd have to eat sugar the next day but luckily for me that feeling only lasted a day...

I've gone cold turkey on ALL carbs, just because I was such an addict I thought it was best. So I'm only eating meat, fish, eggs, plain FULL-FAT yoghurt, berries and veg (except potatoes). I'm allowing myself 1 cup of coffee with a dash of truvia in the morning... It's quite repetitive, but I'm not planning on being this strict for ever, I want to eat like Shirley eventually !

Are you on MFP? You can look at my food diary if you are - it's mainly steak and salad haha when the fam have curry or slag Bol I have it on a plate of cabbage or cauliflower which seemed really weird at first but now is yummy!

One more day and I'll have done 2 weeks which was my Reginald experiment but nw I'm going to see how I feel after a month :)

Good luck - if you could only witness how many times I've tried and failed to 'cut down'!

[knitknack]

Original, not Reginald I seriously cannot type on this thing! :)

[knitknack]

Nuts! I eat lots of nuts too!

[mumat39]

Thanks Toby

I've had a couple off pedometer's before but found they were a bit rubbish. I like the sound of this one, besides which I LOVE GADGETS! although can't really afford them so constantly aspire to own one.

Of the other brands, have you tried any? Did you choose the nike one over the others for a specific reason? If there are other cheaper brands then would you be able to point me in the right direction please?

I have two young kids but am a lazy arse so I'm wondering exactly what I do in terms of activity so it'd be fgood to have something to measure that and then see what else i can do to improve on it, if that makes sense.

Thanks for your reply :)

[TobyLerone]

I've never tried any others, sorry. I'm not going to lie... I went for the Nike one because it was cool and because it's new and hardly anyone's got one

Mind you, going by the number of my friends who saw my band last night and decided they needed one, everyone I know will have one by next week!

[mumat39]

Hello again knitnack :)

Wow ALL those stashes of sweets sounds like my idea of heaven

My DD has ALOT of food allergies so we tend to not have certain stuff in the house including eggs and nuts. I haven't eaten biscuits for about 3 years really as part of this but since I decided diet chef wasn't for me, after 3 months and losing a stone, I have not been able to stop myself eating the bloody things. I was in the 99p store today and was about to pay and then saw oreo's and got some. I really can't help myself at the moment.

After reading potatoes not prozac, I thought i'd do baby steps so have started having a protein shake every morning and am eating some protein with my evening meals. I have to try and do that for a month.
The thing is, I feel SO much better on this WOE's number of calories rather than the 1200 I was on on diet chef. I just need to reign in on the bad carbs big time.

I don't know how you manage to cook for your family and not have the same stuff as they do. You do sound amazing! And the slag bol sounds even better

Thanks again and good luck for your 2 weekaversary! take care xxx

[mumat39]

Toby, thanks again. I better get one soon then. DP works in canary wharf so I might see if there is a Nike store there where he could get me one.

Thanks again.

:)

[TobyLerone]

His nearest will be Stratford Westfield, then. Or Boxpark in Shoreditch. Still a bit of a faff to get to, mind.