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 just so I'm getting this right

My base 1400
My tdee is 1900

If I eat the amount I'm ment to, then go to the gym and burn say 600, I need to eat annother 100. Right?

Oh Shirley that is fab when you get lovely compliments

I have woken up starving this morning, starving.

I need ideas for protein without going over on fat.

Addicted - yes! You've got it!

Would you like to talk about protein shakes? They provide a big hit of protein and are easy to drink.

I get mine from my protein I can be a bit funny about drinking stuff with any sort of chemically/medicinal taste to it - I make a big old fuss having to drink alka seltzer for example - so please be assured that these shakes are OK! I wouldn't be able to drink them otherwise.

I started by getting a few of their samples to try, and I like having some variety! I have a big bag of the banoffee one. I also have a tub of Body Fit protein smoothie from Holland and Barrett that I'm desperately trying to get through - its pretty grim!

The other thing you can do with the protein powder is add it to porridge, make pancakes and muffins with it, there are LOADS of recipes on the Internet!

Other protein rich breakfasts - bacon and eggs (you can get v lean bacon medallion things, but I just get the good stuff!) as long as you count the calories! Omelettes. I had a whole meal bagel with almond butter and a banana yesterday (not protein rich but LUSH)

Im stuck! I just dont understand it all. My stupid baby doesnt give me time to read it all properly,ill try later in bed,i do c25k every other day at gym and some weights,have no idea what that burns or how to apply it to mfp.
Am i just stupid??

shirl My dd's teacher was at the pool yesterday and commented on how much weight i have lost I walked home feeling like Jennifer Lopez

You're not stupid led! What part are you struggling with? I know it's a bit complicated at first. Let me help you!

I bet you are the spitting image of J-Lo.

I think its literally not having time to read it all through,can you summarise?
Can i eat carbs or not? What about fats? How do i calculate exercise?

I am off to the gym now before it gets stupidly hot so maynot be back for a bit.

I love the way you said im not stupid but left the baby as such haha.

And im bloody sunburned,should know better at my age really.

Okay, have decided to turn over a new leaf and start MFP properly. I PMed you, Shirley - please friend me!

Yesterday we went for a huge long walk in the sun for 2 hours and I came back shattered and starving, so scoffed wholemeal pittas and homemade green bean hummous and then went out for tea and had a burger and chips. And a Magnum Gold. I have no idea how many calories were in that little lot, so am restarting today so I don't have to count it. Now I'm going to be good and count properly. And if DH would get off his arse and make breakfast while I am stuck here MNing feeding the baby it would help.

Yes, you deffo have a stupid baby!

Ok summary is thus:

You can eat whatever you like! As long as you stay within your calorie goal. It is best to try and eat GOOD carbs - I try to avoid white pasta, white rice and cakes, sweets and biscuit (I don't always manage it though!) - like veggies, wholemeal pasta, brown rice, fruit and so on.

Add some GOOD fats, natural oils - olive, coconut, rapeseed, nut oils. I avoid 'vegetable oil'. Avocados, oily fish, I have small amounts of Unsalted butter, raw nuts and seeds contain fat as well.

Protein - lean meats, fish, lower fat cheeses, eggs are all good healthy ways to get proteins into your diet.

This is the way that I eat. I try to avoid processed food, I really don't like the taste of ready meals anymore, but I do eat ready made soups sometimes. I prepare healthier versions of my favourite foods for evening meals, like chilli con carne made with lean casserole beef rather than mince and brown rice - I can then have some for lunch the following day if I fancy. I LOVE salad and veggies, I'm very lucky really.

Aaargh, MFP has Tesco Finest Multiseeded Farmhouse Batch, but I've just realised it doesn't have the carb/protein/fat ratio attached. Grr!

Have you got an iPhone? The app has a totally BRILLIANT barcode scanner which makes life so much easier!

No, sadly I only have a crappy basic phone. However, all is not lost - have discovered that the bread is in the MFP database about 3 times and another entry has the proper carb/fat/protein info entered. Yay!

I have achieved a breakfast/brunch of 1056 calories, yay! Scrambled eggs with anchovies, cheese and basil, 2 slices of the aforementioned multiseed bread and Anchor Lighter Spreadable, a cup of tea, a low fat yoghurt and a homemade smoothie. Gosh, it's a proper real brekkie. Hurray for bf calories!

Hey seventh - if you've only just started then you need to be patient with your body. Especially if you've been on the starve/binge/starve merry go round for a while, you are resetting your metabolism which can take quite a while.

The weight gains weren't achieved overnight and neither will the losses be! excellent grammar

Hi Shirley

I'm jumping in. This is so interesting!I don't really understand what I'm doing, but my calculations come up as:

BMR - 1484
TDEE - 2300
Daily calories - 1840 - so is this the amount of calories I should be eating?

I'm doing 3 circuit training workouts a week which are very hard going, plus I'm trying to do a bit of pilates or yoga at home (more for the stretching element really) and I'm doing other bits and bobs all week, so I think I'm pretty active, and trying to up my fitness.

I'm about 11st 9/10 and 5'3''. Had very little success with SW/WW and find that low-carb works best for me, but I seem to have come to a standstill. Think I've totally cocked up my metabolism over the years and really, really, really want to get fit and healthy. And back to a true size 12 would be great, instead of squeezing myself into 14.

Any advice would be amazing! Have joined the EMTWL group on MFP. It's all just a bit complicated right now, but I feel like I'm on the verge of a massive change...

Also - I'm trying to change my daily calories goal but it won't let me. It's at 1200 a day just now...can't figure out how change it

(I realise how stupid I'm sounding!)

Hi Maryz - so my TDEE -15% comes in at 1955 - can this be right??? considering the last time I joined MFP it gave me 1200 a day to live off, which I found nigh-on IMPOSSIBLE, especially when exercising.

right, thanks - so I put in my net calories consumed as 1955 and it says my daily calorie deficit is just 55. Does that sound right?

Foosty, welcome!

Your TDEE less your -15% cut is 1840 is that right? Did you choose MODERATE as your exercise level? If so then, yes! You need to eat 1840 everyday. Your exercise is built into your TDEE with deficit, so you don't need to worry about 'eating back' your exercise calories...unless you do a big burn one day and your net calories fall below your BMR (in your case 1484). If you DO fall below your BMR then just eat enough calories to bring you back up to it.

Don't worry at all about what MFP tells you once you have customised your goals. It's a bit of a blunt instrument really, and we're using it really to track our calories and macros - that's all.

Please, when you get a bit of time, read through the links and the links in the links! This will help you to really get what we're trying to achieve, which is mending our metabolisms.

What a gorgeous day we're having here in London. I'm contemplating a bike ride this afternoon with the kids.

I would like a round of applause for still going to the gym despite the searing heat and getting a phone call from dil to look after her ds aged 3 cos she is ill.

I have 2 under 3 and dd1 and her friend and ds2 and a tired dh on nights,i am a mass of suncream and lollies and filling paddeling pools, AIBU to expect to be a size 10 with my lifestyle

Right im off to do the calculations,had chicken for lunch with salad and cous cous,all very good until the slice of choc cheesecake but it was split between 6 so not too bad.

I've done every diet known, but can't stick to them for more than about a week! I simply have no willpower.

My BMR is 1600 with a TDEE -15% of 1638! So not much above the level needed if in a coma!!! This seems to be mainly because I've put in activity level of sedentary! Not sure what I'm supposed to do about this - have no spare time as have a profoundly disabled child who loathes going for walks but needs constant care meaning no opportunity to exercise, and work at a desk the rest of the time! Don't think I can stick to 1638 in the long term. Aagh. I guess I do average amounts of housework, but not really actively iyswim!

thanks Shirley - so I don't need to concern myself with eating my exercise calories? 2 days a week I do circuit training which is very intensive, have no idea how many calories it burns though. I'll google it.

am reading through some of the links now and it's starting to make more sense. I feel what I'll struggle with the most is any potential gain in the first instance - but this time I'm going to push through. After breakfast and lunch today i've still got over 600 calories left which is more than enough, esp when the weather's so lovely and I don't feel like anything stodgy. Loads of salad, fish and meat so far today, and I think I'll have some brown rice with tuna for dinner.

bigwombat - can you fit in an exercise DVD? 30 day Shred workouts are only 20minute each and do you a power of good...