Roses are red, violets are blue, sugar is sweet, you can't have any - you're a Slenderista! Join us to lose 7lbs of February flab

[BitOutOfPractice]

Welcome to the new Valentine's edition of the best thread on MN™ where we encourage and support each other to lose 7lbs in a month (though that happens so rarely maybe we need to change our USP!)

Link to the January thread here

Everyone welcome, new and old

Personally, I find the estimated calorie burn from my Fitbit pretty accurate. If I eat to what it tells me, I lost weight. I mean, it isn't going to be perfect to the last calorie, so I'm not slavish about it, but it is a decent enough guide.

How tall are you, Kiko? Because that's roughly what my calorie burn is according Fitbit for this steps. I'm 5"9 and currently 12st 11lb.

Not, honestly, that could have been written about me, 13st and burying out of my 14s. I got to, and maintained at 11st for my wedding, and it only went to pot when I got pregnant. I've never got anywhere near since, largely because of lack of motivation. I'm very much in the zone now, with a better understanding of my triggers for over eating (largely stress and boring food!). I think breaking your goals down into smaller chunks is a great idea. That's why I'm aiming for just under 12st to start with, then I'll push on to just under 11st - which is a good weight for me. When I get there, I'll be interested to see which of my 'thin' clothes fit - I bet I'm a very different shape now!

Last - woo hoo! Awesome job! Have a virtual high five!

9.10 - back at lowest low FINALLY! -6lbs so far in Feb! 3lbs from original goal weight (dream weight would be 9.4 on a monday morning)

Haven't seen it since mid December so glad I kept plugging away. Out for dinner again tonight (birthday week) with a friend I have known for half my life! Will try to keep on the straight and narrow.... will be annoyed to ruin all my hard work!

Hair and nails tomorrow, thinking of going for something drastic, like a fringe, there is something in the air... I feel change coming but I don't know what.

OH and also this weight brings me back to 5 and a half st loss or 36% of my original weight

I am amazed at these calorie burns - y'all must be way taller than me!

I am 5'4 and currently weigh just under 128lb. Aiming to get down to about 125lb (just under 9st). I have a Garmin which is pretty accurate and according to it I only burned 1956cals yesterday and I did just short of 20,000 steps! I'm amazed at all these people reaching over 2000 with just 10,000 steps.

I walk (very) fast naturally and have a very low resting heart rate (averages around 50 - often down to about 47/48, occasionally up to 51/52). Even at a fast pace my heart rate rarely goe above 120 - usually closer to about 105. When I run (which I can't at the minute because of a knee injury) my heart rate sits at around 135ish, with maybe the odd spike of about 160 on a sprint finish at the end of a 10k.

I only get my intensity minutes on my Garmin if I run - I never get them for "moderate activity".

To have a 1000 cal deficit on a lazy day I can only eat 600cals and even on a good day I can't get above 1000. I'd understand it if I was 5ft nothing and super petite but I'm not!

I think it might be because of my heart rate, but I'm no scientist so I really don't have a clue - it's the only thing that makes sense. (And is backed up by my DH having a naturally high heart rate and according to his Garmin pretty much permanently being in the fat-burning zone. He is 5'8 and 10st flat - he eats whatever he likes and never puts weight on.)

At the risk of sounding like a broken record keep, if you stick to a number of calories you can live with but isn’t too high, be pretty active (that’s where the 10-15k steps come in) and persevere you’ll see a weight loss over time. I don’t know if you’re saying you are my weight now or you were my original weight but you’d burn more calories the heavier you are.
How I lost the first stone, I walked the legs off myself. I had a Fitbit 1 so basically a pricey pedometer and aimed to get 10k+ a day. I ate 1500 a day, I tried to eat 1200 but I honestly couldn’t live a life on it. Even 1500 meant I let loose at weekends so I’m reality for the length of time it took, I’d say I was eating way more.
feezles yes in a way the Fitbit burn does seem to correlate with my weight loss BUT the group I’m in discourages focussing on that as you run the risk of becoming a cardio bunny/burning out - again again again consistency, exercise, reasonable calorie deficit, time.
hair, you’re on fire! I’d definitely say you could rock a fridge but it requires upkeep. Maybe a long sweep to the side one that’ll grow out into a nice long layer?

Rylanmakesmyheartsmile

Your weight might be the issue for the calorie burn. You are only 9st2lbs to start with. You are the same height as me.

Ive lost over a stone and a half and I have noticed that the lower my weight goes, the less calories I burn. I burn less calories for the same exercise than a year ago.

It's a pain but the lighter you are the less calories you burn.

Most of the burned calories are your basal metabolic rate anyway. My BMR is 1350. So if I was in a coma my body would still burn 1350 calories to maintain vital systems in the body. The calories burned from exercise arent that much. The highest burn I've ever seen is body combat which is around 400 calories for a full hour.

Look into improving your basal metabolic rate. Google it I guess.

Also @Rylanmakesmyheartsmile

I have sinus tachycardia (very high heart rate) and a year ago I was a fat git. So having a high heart rate doesnt make you burn more calories.

Having a lower heart rate and lower bp is healthier as my dr told me that the more exercise you do the lower your heart rate goes which is healthier.

Rock a fringe, not a fridge!

FreeNiki is right, Rylan - the reason my calorie burn, even on a day with no exercise, is around 2150/2200 is because 1) I am tall and 2) I am fat - I have 2 stone to lose.

The less you weigh, the less you burn. So given that you weigh a lot less then me, and you are quite a lot shorter, you'll burn considerably less then I do. But it will (hopefully!) turn itself around - as I lose weight, my calorie expenditure will reduce, and I'll need to restrict by a lot more to carry on losing weight.

I remember this well from when I did WW, on which I lost 3 stone. Every so often, my available points reduced - which felt like a lovely way to reward good progress when I was invariably struggling with the paltry number of points I had in the first place

What gadgets are you all using that show you those calorie burns?

BMR is my greatest discovery.

Even if I sat on ass all day Id burn off 1350 calories. I dont add that to my calorie burn from exercise though.

Thanks for that @splittinghairs!

Just used the calculator.

Your BMR is: 5393 kJ / 1289 calories
Your TDEE is: 8359 kJ / 1998 calories

Im 5ft4 and about 9st9. So not far off Rylans weight at the same height.

My calories are below 2000 and not much higher than hers. Annoying but lower weight, less burn.

I'm not sure if the Fitbit overestimates calorie burn from exercise but I know a lot of people do!

I don't mean here by the way, but I see on FB people saying they've walked for an hour and have burned hundreds of calories. Well quite apart from the fact that there's walking and walking, I seriously doubt it!

That's really interesting - and does tie up to what I was doing:
BMR: 1541
TDEE: 2119

Sorry - I have a NC thread elsewear I don't want linked as I am very identifiable on this thread!, if you could all NOT look for it that would be great.... but I will repost!

I agree - less of you there is the less you can eat if you need to lose!

Here are my stats for my current weight (9.10)
Your BMI is: 22.0
Your BMR is: 5747 kJ / 1374 calories
Your TDEE is: 6897 kJ / 1648 calories

And my starting weight (15st3)
Your BMI is: 34.4 (OMG I WAS LIKE 4lbs FROM BEING MORBIDLY OBESE)
Your BMR is: 7209 kJ / 1723 calories
Your TDEE is: 8650 kJ / 2067 calories

BMR (basal metabolic rate)
Basal metabolic rate – the amount of calories you expend sitting for 24 hrs doing nothing.

TDEE (total daily energy expenditure)
TDEE is the number of calories burnt in a day scaling BMR to level of activity. This is the number of calories you need daily to maintain your current weight.

There is a good and free calculator here

@BitOutOfPractice re the walking.
If you're out power walking up hill with a big pack on your back then maybe you'd burn hundreds of calories but other than that.....dream on!

The thing I may underestimate is my cycling. I always put it down in mfp as the lowest intensity: leisurely cycling less that 16kph. However I have a mountain bike which is very heavy to ride and I also have a huge back pack on me with all my gym kit, shoes and towel. I wonder if my cycling burns more.

Thank you all for well wishes. Definitely feeling better today.

Did my walk this morning and actually felt hungry after which although dangerous must be a good thing

Still can't quite believe that I am another 7 Lindas away from an apparent healthy BMI. My current score is 26

All this potage talk brought me back to school. Is Potage not French for soup or have I got that terribly wrong?
If i was 20 years younger I'm sure i would google it rather than show my ignorance publicly....

Your results are fab hairspray. You have done so well

My Withings watch and app tells me that my 35-40 min morning walk which i do at a fairly good pace and includes a couple of reasonable hills burns about 120-130cal which feels about right.

I always think its never going to change the world but doing it 4 or 5 times a week and badminton and cardio tennis along with sensible eating seems to be working fairly well as a package and I definitely feel better getting up early and doing something rather than just getting in car for drive to desk

Lady Penis and Mr Quim They sound like pottage types, don't they? Should we make him The Rt Honourable Sir Quim?

I'm surprised by these daily calorie burns too! I'm more or less at goal so my overall burn is going to be much lower, but I had my best stepping day in ages on Monday - 23,771 - and only burned 2,620 calories according to FitBit, for whatever that's worth. A day like yesterday, when I didn't even quite hit 10,000 (just realised I was 30 under - that's so annoying) I didn't even burn 2,000.

Hairspray your weight loss is SO inspiring! I think new hair for a new you is a great idea, and I too think you could rock a fridge DH was showing me on FB the other day a guy he was at school with who's lost tons and tons of weight, must be at least the same as you (hard to tell as he seems to be about 6ft) and the really striking thing is how much younger he looks. For one thing he's shaved off a fairly unattractive beard. I've known a few men who've lost a heap of weight and that seems to be a trend - I think they keep facial hair to disguise a multitude of chins, then suddenly reveal a jawline, shave it all off and lose 10 years.

I drifted from the point a bit there and now I'm not sure what it was... But hurrah for Hairspray!

Thanks Quimmy you make an excellent cheerleader!

I have had a fringe before - side and block at various points in my life! See pics!

OOh hair that pic of you as a little is classic. Looks like the flowers are growing out of your head! Flower girl quite literally😉 The sweepy one looks fab on you.
I’m bereft, I have a patch of grey poking out through my parting and my hair appointment isn’t for 10 days, I look like a blonde cruella de vil

Well done Last! That's a fab loss for the month.

Hairspray loving the flower girl photo! I used to have a fringe and I think it suited me but I wear glasses at least some of the time and it got in the way.

I just tried the calculator too:
Your BMR is: 5214 kJ / 1246 calories
Your TDEE is: 7170 kJ / 1714 calories

Ahh, the endless fun of being a short arse!