by EM2WL | May 30, 2012 | Testimonials, The Journey
The week before I started EM2WL – I was 294.7lbs
My name is Mike; I am a 31 year old CIO for a Silicon Valley startup company near San Jose, CA.
Over the course of the last 12 years I have slowly let the weight creep on at about the rate of 10lbs of fat per year. This weight gain is attributed to a “party” lifestyle. I was successful very early on in my career, which led to a habit of drinking all the time, eating a lot with friends, and what I will call general shenanigans.
For the last couple of years I have struggled with losing weight. I have tried everything from personal trainers, fad diets, VLCD diets, Paleo Diet, Atkins Diet ect. Some worked, some didn’t. I would always drop 10-20lbs very very quickly and think I was on the right track, but after a month or two it would completely stall and reverse direction. When doing low-carb diets I would generally gain the weight back + more.
I was so frustrated with not losing weight; I had the thought that maybe something was wrong with me. My family has a history of diabetes and high blood pressure. I honestly though at that time that was my golden ticket to losing weight, that I was going to go into the doctor’s office and they would tell me “Aha! This is why you are not losing weight”. I got checked for everything from high blood pressure, to thyroid issues, to low testosterone. This was in December 2011.
I got the results back and almost s*#@ a brick. I was pretty much healthy, aside from higher than normal blood pressure. I was devastated to say the least and lost as to why I could not lose weight.
Fast forward to March 2012, I hit a high point for my weight of 310lbs. I decided it was time to attempt to lose weight again. I was told about MyFitnessPal as a good way to track calories, meet with members and generally get support for weight loss. I signed up there and did pretty much what everyone else does. I set my activity level to Sedentary and set my weight loss goal at 2lbs per week. I think it put me at like 1400 calories a day to lose weight.
I started walking every day. I quickly lost 15lbs over the first month. I was pumped. However at the end of the first month, I started gaining weight back. My next step was to cut calories out, so I went down to 1200 calories a day. Once I did this the weight start coming back faster. I was literally about to go crazy. I was also gaining size around my midsection (via measurements). Not a good situation.
At the end of week 5 – only a 6lb difference
I posted about this one day on the MFP boards in early April. A very nice and very fit lady named Lucia responded to me about their group on MFP called Eat More 2 Lose Weight. She linked me to some articles. For the next 2 weeks I spend an absurd amount of time researching this, because my thought was “How the hell can I lose weight while eating more”
Anyways after a couple of weeks of researching I decided that it couldn’t hurt. I decided I would commit to it for a long while, as I heard this takes some time, and is a slower but more effective process. I was skeptical to say the least.
Week 1: I researched my TDEE numbers and set my calorie goals for the first week. My TDEE was 3984, and my TDEE cut target was 3156. I was so scared. I was literally upping my calories by 2000. At the end of week one I weight myself. I was 299.2lbs. I had gained 6.5lbs in ONE week. I thought, here is the proof this is a crock!
I posted this on MFP group, and everyone said it was normal and to give it time. They told me to throw out the scale and start measuring. I said “Ok, I’ll keep at it”
Week 2: After week 2, I weighed myself again (I know I wasn’t supposed to). I was 297.3lbs. I was like, ok that good, I am seeing a drop. My measurements were roughly the same.
Week 3: After week 3, I weighted in again, and this time I was at 292.3lbs, a 5 lb. difference from week 2, and my lowest weight in a long while. What I noticed here was I was starting to lose inches! My neck, arms, belly, waits, chest ect were all shrinking.
Week 4/5: The trend continued until week 5. I hit 288.4lbs. I was PUMPED! Eating like crazy (healthy foods). I had lost a total of 12” all over my body. Crazy talk!
Week 6/7: My weight lost plateaued over these weeks, and even went up by .8lbs. I went back to the group and found this to be normal as well. This is where I learned that the scale can lie. Even though my weight was slightly up for 2 weeks, I had lost another 3” overall. My body is still changing.
Reaching new heights after 7 weeks!
This is me at the top of a steep hike, something I haven’t been able to do before…same weight as Week 5 but slightly thinner”
This entire time I have been researching this whole subject and am fully sold on it, and now I spend free time on the forums trying to help people to realize they don’t have to starve to lose weight. There is so much joy that can be had in losing weight, but only if you are in it for the long haul.
I will keep updating my info, posting information that I learn and helping to motivate anyone who wants to change themselves for the rest of their lives.
See you all on the forums!
Mike
Have an EM2WL transformation to share? We’d love to see it! Be featured on our Transformations page by submitting your story to Success@EM2WL.com
by EM2WL | May 22, 2012 | Transformations
Lucia at highest weight of 175lbs
I have worked out my whole entire life. I purposed in my heart from the time I was young that I would never be overweight. I grew up with an overweight mother that developed adult onset diabetes and a grandmother that was hard to care for because of her weight. So, from the time I was a young teenager I worked out according to how main stream tells us to and did lots of cardio and light weights.
I went on to have four beautiful babies (three surviving) and I was done. After each of the kids, I would pretty much bounce right back exerting a slight degree of effort (the norm of cutting calories and working out) to get back to my slim size 4. Well, at 39 I ended up pregnant one more time and after my precious Annelise, I had dropped almost all of the weight shortly after and then went on a Haagen Dazs spree. I shot up to my highest weight ever without being pregnant. So, after dragging all the extra weight around for a few months, I finally decided to get back to the gym. I started the normal routine of cutting calories and doing mainly cardio, and lost a little weight, but hit a plateau.
Start of eating more to weigh less – 164lbs
During the plateau I discovered body pump and by November I could see some decent tone and was super excited. I have never had any real tone before. Yes, I was very slender and fit but by no means toned. One dilemma, I started the journey at 175lbs, lost 10lbs and bounced up and down from 160-165lbs for 8 months. It was so frustrating! I was tracking everything I was eating on MyFitnessPal. I started out eating 1200, then 1350, then 1500 calories because I was hungry and wasn’t losing anyway. I would eat back 50% of my workout calories, do 3 body pump classes weekly, 2 or 3 Zumba classes weekly, RIPPED once a week, and would sometimes jump on the elliptical and catch up on the Biggest Loser for a couple hours at a time, and the scale would not budge.
I can’t express how I felt because I had never had such a problem getting weight off. Oh how I whined and complained. I went through vicious cycles of eating low calories and binging on carbs and my weight just bounced like a ball.
8 weeks of EM2WL – 157lbs
Well, I knew something just wasn’t right. I worked out way too hard and ate way too little not to be at goal. One good thing, I had started lifting heavier because my husband would tease me about the light weights I’d work with and I had to show him. Though he irritated me to no end, I am so very glad he teased me mercilessly because he started me on my heavy lifting journey. My weight was still bouncing all over and I stopped and literally asked God to reveal what I was doing wrong (Oh, let me add not only did my hubby bug me about lifting heavier, he also told me I wasn’t eating enough the whole time too, but I just couldn’t hear that.)
Lucia now!
Well, I started reading the MyFitnessPal forums and ran across one in which women were lifting heavy and eating more, often over 2000 calories, the same day I read a blog Kiki wrote about fueling your body, and an excerpt from the book New Rules of Lifting Weights for Women, and upped my calories that same day to 1800. That was life changing for me. I lost 4lbs the first week, then regained 3lbs over the next 3 weeks all while heavy lifting. After 8 weeks, I lost a total of 7.2lbs, but it wasn’t the pounds that amazed me, it was how great I felt, how my body was leaning out, I was no longer a walking exhausted zombie, I was full of energy, I no longer binged, and actually cut back on the cardio because it meant I had to eat more food than my stomach could handle. I hit another plateau and my inkling was to go up on calories, so I went up another 100 calories. During that time, I researched tons of information and found that my new calorie amount was actually my TDEE-15% and so after a month of eating more and bouncing up and down a pound I started losing again.
I started at 175lbs squeezing into one size 10 and a pair of size 12 pants because I refused to buy anymore clothes at those sizes. Today, I am 154lbs and wearing some of my size 4’s and all of my size 6 clothes. This journey has been the most rewarding because I am developing wonderful tone, have lost and am continuing to lose body fat, and best of all I feel great! No longer deprived, frustrated, binging, and yo-yoing.
Have an EM2WL transformation to share? We’d love to see it! Be featured on our Transformations page by submitting your story to Success@EM2WL.com
by EM2WL | May 18, 2012 | Building Muscle
Q: I don’t have a pull-up bar. Is it necessary? Is there a substitute or alternatives for pull ups?*
A: There truly are no subs for the elusive pull ups. It is an amazing compound exercise that creates overall strength, and gives you that coveted v-taper (aka coke bottle shape), as well as shaping the biceps quite nicely. As an added bonus, it even hits the abs if you keep that core tight throughout the move. If at all possible, include them in your strength routines. There are many pull up bar systems out there, and most of them will do the trick. There are the kind that you drill into your doorway, the kind that attaches to your door frame, the stand-alone apparatus, or even the assisted machines at the gym. If nothing else, there’s always a local park nearby, where you can stop and get your pull ups on once a week on the monkey bars.
With exception to the stand alone unit, or the assisted machine, most pull up bars can be found relatively cheap. I never fail to see one on a trip to my local Ross or Walmart, and they run right around $20. A relatively low cost for such a useful tool. However, if you’ve already invested as much $$ as you’re willing to invest in your home gym, there could be other options, depending on the equipment you have. One in particular could be if you have a bench press set up with a sturdy (preferably Olympic-sized) bar and rack. With something like this you could set the rack as high as possible and either bend your knees behind you in order to mimic the pullup motion, and pull til your hearts content. If you’re not “height challenged” as I am, and your legs are too long to put behind you, you can either put them straight in front of you (keeping your body upright just as it would be in a traditional pull up), or cross them (this will make the move much harder). Another obvious substitute would be to use the Lat Pull-down machine, if you have access to one. Because the Lat pull-down is not necessarily a one-for-one sub, make the most of it by pulling as heavy as you can handle. Your goal here would be to work up to pulling your body weight, and then beyond…
If you do not have access to any of those and still need an at-home substitute, we would look to exercises that work the same muscles. The pullover would then become your next option, using either the straight-arm or bent-arm variation. Also, any rowing motion would work the lats as well as the back in general.
Still looking for a variation to suit you?
How about:
Dumbbell Lying Row
Cambered Bar Lying Row
Inverted Row (feet elevated)
and there’s always the good ‘ol Barbell Row
*Q & A posts are excerpts from actual submitted emails from clients and fam. Have a question that you’d like to see addressed in Q & A or explained in a future article? Drop us a line below!
by EM2WL | May 18, 2012 | Fitness Cycles (Periodization)
Q: I get so overwhelmed thinking about fitness cycles and changing my calories to go with a particular workout mode. It seems like so much work. I don’t really know if I am in any particular “mode” anyway. I just workout 6 days a week, and hope to make healthy eating choices and stay within a reasonable calorie goal. Perhaps that is why I hit plateaus.
A: That’s actually exactly why we hit plateaus. Nothing works forever, you have to be constantly changing, or else your body adapts. It’s nice to have an action plan and incorporate fitness cycles. After a while, it all becomes habit & not really as confusing as it sounds.
Q: I think those phases do just happen naturally sometimes. For me, it is too much to think about to try and “make” them happen. So much is trial and error depending on what my body and life are going through at the moment.
A: You’re right, we do naturally eat in phases anyway, like turkey at Thanksgiving, ham @ Easter.. Or when we go on vacation/holidays we let loose, then when we get home, we tighten up. So planning your workouts to line up w/those times, actually comes more natural than you think. It’s natural to eat less (but better), and get in a little more cardio, etc when it’s nice and warm out, you just wanna be active, & eat fresh produce. Just like its natural to wanna cook/eat a bit more comfort foods, & move around a little less, during colder months. So instead of fighting nature, you’re working with it…basically it’s just making the food work for you, know what I mean?
But (<<<here comes the disclaimer) if you feel like it ain’t broke, don’t try to fix it. If you’ve found what works for you, & you’re happy….that’s all that matters, because the trial and error is the most excruciating part of it all. We’re all different, we all have our own comfort zones, & we all will ultimately do what we feel is best anyway, regardless of what “Kiki says”, lol…..So whatever works for you, work it!
by EM2WL | May 11, 2012 | Consistency, Increasing calories, Metabolism Reset
Q: I’m increasing my cals like you said, but I gained weight this week! I thought the point of finding my TDEE is so that I can get back on the losing track? I feel like I’m going backwards. I feel stuffed and miserable. I haven’t even hit my TDEE yet, because there’s just no way I can fit all this food into my day. Am I doing something wrong? Do you have any suggestions on how I go about increasing calorie intake?
A: Just a few pointers on increasing calorie intake, while minimizing fluctuations. You probably know most of these things, and this is not a completely exhaustive list/explanation. I’m just mentioning as many as I can think of, glean what/if you can, toss the rest, lol.
Always think of your metabolism as a fire. A calorie is a unit of heat (literally, that’s the definition). In order to increase the metabolism, you want to keep that fire constant. This means everything about it should be as consistent as possible, so that the fire does not die. There has been some controversy over whether or not the “thermogenic effect” of food is real or not, but that is not the main concern here. More than anything, it is helpful in the beginning, when consistency is most important, to follow some of these tips until your body gets used to higher cals again. Once your body is used to the proper cal levels, you will not need to follow these guidelines, as your body will want to be fed, and you will no longer feel stuffed eating such small amounts of food. When you get to this point, you can set up your eating habits in a way that is pertinent to your personal lifestyle.
- Eat as soon as possible when you wake up. Start the fire, whatever you need to do, I’ve found that for me, and most people I know, this is what gets it revved.. Plus, if you are having a hard time fitting your cals in by the end of the day, then getting that first meal in nice and early really helps.
- As soon as you finish that meal, set a timer for 2-3 hours. This is when you will add another log to the fire. Do this after every meal, for as long as you are awake (even if you stay up late!). For most people, it only takes a week or less of doing this, before you will notice that your body will BEG you for food by the “appointed time”, and you will no longer need the timer. This is GOOD. This means that it is working. Your body now knows/is confident in the fact that it can let go of that meal quickly, because the next one is just around the corner. The opposite is also true. When you miss meals (especially when first upping cals!), no matter how healthy you’re eating, you’re body doesn’t know when it will eat again, so it doesn’t want to let go of any of it.
- Add the extra cals slowly, and spread out over those meals. Like an extra 25-50 cals per meal, instead of one huge extra meal. Stay at that level for a while, and if all is well, add more…
- Take advantage of macro-nutrient timing. If you enjoy carbs, eat them early on in the day while your body needs them. It’s ok to have a (complex) carb heavy breakfast and a (simple) carb heavy after workout snack.
- Immediately following your workout is the *best* time to add extra calories (really helpful if you haven’t figured out a way to spread them out). This is especially true if you’ve been setting your timer and eating at regular intervals. The last meal before your workout, be sure to have had some complex carbs and protein. IMMEDIATELY After your workout have some protein and carbs (this is your time to take advantage of a simple carb if you wanted to), this can be your post workout shake w/some fruit, or chocolate milk, or fruity yogurt, or whatever. Pick something that’s easily digested, and scarf it (before you even shower). If timed properly, by the time you get out of the shower, blow dry your hair, fix your make-up, what have you, (approx 30-60 min) you should be STARVING. Even if you’re not, eat again (yes, this is breaking the 2-3 hour rule, but this is the perfect time to do so, and you shouldn’t have eaten anything that made you too full to eat again). The meal after shower should be a real meal (back to the healthy stuff) good protein, good fats, good carbs (preferably veggies) if it’s later in the day. Then set your timer, and resume the regular 2-3 hour eating schedule.
If none of these things work, after staying consistent for 4-6 weeks, then it’s time to start investigating other aspects of your diet. Maybe your body prefers a certain macronutrient ratio, or you could even be allergic to something that you’re eating regularly. With the rise of gluten/wheat/soy/dairy/etc intolerance these days, it may be a good idea to hook up w/a good Dr and have your thyroid checked, or nutritionist to analyze your diet further…
ETA: This list is not an exclusive/exhausted list, or a be-all-end-all approach. This was not written to address any one person’s specific macro-nutrient ratio, so it is very general in that aspect. As stated in the last italicized line, everyone has their own macro-nutrient specific ideals, depending on various sensitivities, activity levels. If you are insulin sensitive, then your “log” that you’re adding to the fire will obviously not be something that spikes your insulin level to an extreme, etc. As stated in the beginning of the post, you may not use every single tip: take what you can, leave the rest. The point is to not starve ourselves, and then wonder why we don’t see results, and to provide a starting point for those trying to break free of unintentional under-eating. Stay consistent, trust the process, and regain your bodies trust in the meantime.
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