February 2013 - Eat More 2 Weigh Less

“I needed to let my metabolism heal” – Kim’s Journey – Eat More 2 Weigh Less

by EM2WL | Feb 28, 2013 | The Journey

So I began this journey in October of 2011…lost a little, gained a tad…hovered. I wasn’t logging regularly, I wasn’t exercising regularly…then 2-20-12, I changed.

A friend encouraged me to walk with a group and she also helped me to keep on track with my eating habits. We made a pact, if you will, that we would focus on getting healthy.

I began to log and was so excited to reach my first 100 days logged. I began walking and logging religiously. The pounds were melting off…at first.

I lost a lot of weight and began running…I know me..running! amazing!

Then I hit the dreaded plateau…and I was cranky, my hair started to fall out, my skin started to lose color, I was tired all the time, I didn’t have the energy to give my all during my workouts…I wasn’t happy with this journey any longer.

I started doing research and came across a little group called “EM2WL” (Eat More 2 Weigh Less) this changed my life! You mean I can EAT and still lose weight?!?!?!

You betcha! No, that doesn’t mean you can go hog crazy wild eating junk and lots of it…it means find out what you burn every day and then do a small cut from that..don’t jump right to 1200 calories, that’s just down right bad for the body.

So, I started to up my cals even though I was scared to death I would gain I started upping cautiously. I would up my cals but then burn excessive amounts to make up for it..lol. I was spinning tires..getting nowhere fast. Some folks have to learn the hard way and let the info set a while…that was me lol.

It took me a long time to trust that my body was smarter than all the low cal fad diets and I needed to let my metabolism heal.

The first week of eating more…I had energy and I started to sweat a TON during my workouts! My body felt so much better. I started to cut back on the cardio and keep my calorie burn from getting to high and trying to eat back most of my cals. I felt stronger and I stopped losing hair. I began to lose more weight…yay!

I have learned my body is complex…it is smart..it’s a machine.

I learned the difference between the amount of calories you eat and the amount you *NET* and how it affects the body.

I learned that if you over do exercise and do it the same all the time..eventually my body will just look at all that over training as “just another load of laundry”

I have learned that if I treat my body right it will love me back.

I have learned the ill and even scary effects of eating too few cals and I have since come to the realization that I do NOT have to kill myself with cardio and eat like a bird.

I am happy and I can see doing this the rest of my life because I am not depriving myself or setting unrealistic expectations of daily activity.

“Don’t do anything to lose weight that you aren’t willing to keep doing the rest of your life to keep it off”

I look forward to another year of logging to come. I hope to be another 50 lbs less this time next year. But even if I don’t reach that particular goal, I know I will be healthier, stronger and more fit.

I get the biggest kick out of people asking what I am doing to lose weight. It usually goes something like this…

Them: what are you doing? Just not eating???

Me: no, I actually eat a LOT!

Them: then how you are losing so much??

Me: when you give your body what it needs it loves you back

The look of astonishment on their faces cracks me up…

I have lost so much more than weight…my uneasiness around groups, being uncomfy in my own skin…I have gained a lot too..self confidence, pride, happiness.

I have lost many inches in the last few months…my clothes fit better, and I am reshaping my body. I have learned the scale is not the ultimate measure of success.

Follow Kim’s Journey at See Kim Shrink

Have an EM2WL transformation to share? Willing to let us tag along on your journey? We’d love to see it! Be featured on our Transformation/Journey page by submitting your story to Success@EM2WL.com

A Few Unexpected Benefits of Eating More ~Ichel’s update

by EM2WL | Feb 19, 2013 | The Journey

Update to Ichel’s Journey

‘Plaster Your Number Day,” started by Holly and Lucia, got me thinking today.

A year ago I would have been horrified to share my weight with anyone, and yet there I was telling my entire friends list my weight!

It became evident from other people’s posts, that weight is really not so important as other factors. Especially as I see on the forums at this time of year,’ I’ve only lost 18 pounds in 3 weeks and now I’ve plateaued!’ etc. etc. I am not mocking these posts, it is how society has brain washed us into believing our worth, and we also expect almost instant results from little effort.

So I would like to list a few pretty unexpected benefits that I have had since eating more and lifting heavier for all these months. None of these have anything to do with weight, body fat or clothes size.

1. Posture. An amazing result for me, I have been a round shouldered old woman looking thing since a teenager. Try as I might to keep my shoulders back, it hurt and I would slouch back into sack of potatoes position. I noticed one day, how my shoulders are now right back, without trying or thinking about because my supporting muscles are now strong and doing what they are meant to do.

2. Sleep. I always felt I slept pretty good, but now I notice the quality of my sleep. I sleep so soundly, and I make sure I get enough of it too, because I know how important it is, so I won’t skimp anymore.

3. Feeling strong. Might seem obvious, but I don’t mean getting new PR’s with deadlifts or squats ( well there’s that too!) I mean day to day feeling strong. Carrying loads of grocery shopping and not even noticing the weight, bringing in wood for the fire with ease, moving furniture that would have previously been too heavy, things like this.

4. Skin, hair and nails. My nails are strong and don’t snap like they used to. My complexion is always clear and glowing. My hair just keeps on growing!

5. Feeling happy. seriously I feel so content because I know I am looking after myself, I am not starved, over exercised, not stressed out over the whole ‘must lose weight, must lose weight’ philosophy any more.

6. No need to binge. I have not once now for months, felt like over eating anything! I didn’t think I used to, but realized I used to carb load at the weekends. I don’t need cheat meals, cheat days etc because I can work anything I feel like into my macros and daily totals. I never feel deprived or hungry.

7. Getting my sass back! I feel so much more confident as its all about loving yourself and loving your amazing body and being thankful for everything it does for you every day.

8. Having the truly most amazing friends here on MFP who help and support me and from whom I have learned so much about nutrition, lifting, patience and acceptance.

It’s so not all about the scale, the calipers or even the tape measure.

This is a lifestyle that is doable for life.

Once you start to love all the other benefits, the other things will soon fall into place.
And if it takes me a long time to get there, that’s fine with me, I’m in no hurry.

Happy Valentine’s Day from Eat More 2 Weigh Less!

by EM2WL | Feb 14, 2013 | Giveaways, Testimonials

Happy Valentine's Day Wow! The NSVs that were submitted, in the comments section and behind the scenes, blew.us.AWAY. Seriously, we wanted to pick several – you guys were bringing tears to our eyes! We pray that y’all will continue to look for all the little victories along the way, and not give the scale ultimate dictation over your successes. When you focus on fueling properly, staying active, and simply LIVING…the rest WILL fall into place.

We would also like to congratulate the winner of the Amazon gift card giveaway:

Cindy Smaltz

“All my life have struggled with weight issues. Going back to high school when I starved my 5’6″ body down to 90 lbs because my stepfather told me I was looking chubby at 135 lbs. My mom constantly struggled with her weight always resorting to severe calorie restriction to get the results she wanted.

So, as I got older, had my own children (two daughters and a son), I knew that I did not want to pass on to my daughter’s the warped body image and relationship with food. I just didn’t know that a normal relationship was possible. You turn on the TV look in magazines and they are all telling us that there is some pill, program or trick to get the weight off.

Last March I started on MFP and followed what their recommendations were. The first few months I lost but then come summer time my weight-loss slowed. This is even with cutting my cals every time I lost 10 lbs like MFP suggests to do. I was getting frustrated because I was hungry all the time, losing energy, workouts were getting harder because I had no energy.

By the first of September I had enough. I upped my cals by over 200 and the weight began to come off again. My workouts were re-energized. I started the Supreme 90 program the end of October and was rocking it.

For the first time I am not afraid of food. I don’t feel guilty for splurging. And the best part?

My NSV. My three kids and I went to a local state park to hike the trails. After hiking for about 2 1/2 hours my four year old became tired. I put him on my back and continued to hike the mile back out of the woods, up and down hills over creek beds and such. My eight year old daughter turns around and watches me climb a hill and says “Wow, Mom! You’re really strong. You’re like Superwoman, or something!”

That is Victory.“

Cindy, you really are setting the example for the next generation, just as you hoped. Happy Valentine’s Day, Superwoman! We will be contacting you with the details, and you’ll be shopping in no time!

One Year Progress: Size 4 While Eating 2600 cals per day!

by EM2WL | Feb 12, 2013 | The Journey, Transformations

Guest Post, courtesy of Salina

I have stayed committed since Dec 2011, but logged into MFP everyday starting at the end of Jan 2012. It’s been a year and here’s what I’ve done:

Apps: MFP, FitnessBuddy (electronic log of weight lifting), hundredpushups, C25K, Zombies Run!

Programs: Eat More to Weigh Less (EM2WL), New Rules of Lifting for Abs (and for Women), Butt Bible, 30 Day Shred, P90X, Book – How to Eat What You Love and Love What You Eat (helped with emotional eating)

My personal rules:

Make a choice and enjoy that choice guilt free.
Choose things I can do for the rest of my life. That means unreasonable workouts, restricting food/starving myself, or cutting out entire food groups are all a no-go for me.
Focus on being healthy, looking good is a positive side effect.
Sleep and rest are as important as working hard and giving it my all.

Inspiration quotes:

A year from now you will have wish you started today
Strive for progress not perfection
The only person you are in competition with is the you from yesterday

Inspirational people:

MFP friends Shannon (she inspired me to stay committed) and Darla (she inspired me to shed the ‘but I’m only a girl’ mentality to push my limits with lifting)
Heavy Lifting Staci: http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero/
I seriously don’t have any execuses: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qX9FSZJu448

Advice:

If you don’t feel like working out that day, go for 10 min. If you want to stop after 10 min, then give yourself permission with no guilt. (I’ve never once stopped after 10 min, although I have cut my workouts short to 40 min.)
If you spend time feeling guilty about what you didn’t do, then you don’t get to enjoy what you are doing. How good does the cake taste if you are feeling guilty for eating it in the first place? How can you enjoy time for you while working out if you are feeling guilty about not spending time on the chores/hobby/family?
Don’t starve yourself. You’ll be more successful in the long run if you do it a little slower and eat more food. Check out www.eatmore2weighless.com for information
Find a workout program you like and change up your routine every 6-10 weeks – you’ll probably stick with it because you have an ‘end’ to look forward to and something new to try. Take a rest week between switching up your routine (or earlier if you feel exhausted/running on empty).
Work hard at workouts that you enjoy and fuel your body properly, including eating from every food group.
Don’t deprive yourself, rather find balance. I enjoy eating out with friends and family, I still drink alcohol, and I still make time for friends, family, and sleep.
Don’t set your goals based on what the scale says–only you see that number. Everyone else sees how your clothes fit or how your muscles look. For me, meeting all of the other goals has been so much more rewarding than seeing a certain number on the lying scale that lies.

Here’s what I did:

Time period	Exercise	Caloric intake	Weight/Bodyfat	Dress Size
May 2011-Aug 2011	C25K	2500-3000 calories?? Didn’t track	Start 193 lbs, end 183 lbs	Size 12/14
Sept 2011 – Dec 2011	Exercise restriction due to hernia (surgery #1 Oct 2011)	3000+. Emotional eating, didn’t track	197 lbs, 33% BF	Size 14
Dec 2011 – Feb 2012	Exercise restriction due to hernia (surgery #2 Jan 2012)	1700-2200 cal/day, track with MFP	182 lbs	Size 12
Feb 2012 – mid Mar 2012	Light cardio 2-3x week	1700-2200 cal/day	177 lbs	Size 12
Mid Mar 2012-early Apr 2012	30DS 2x/week, pilates 1x/week, medium intensity 20 min cardio 2x/week	1700-2200 cal/day	177 lbs	Size 12
Apr 2012	Butt Bible lower 2x/week, NROLFW Level 1 3x/week +HIIT cardio, pilates 1x/week	2200 cal/day	176 lbs	Size 10
1^st half May 2012	Exhaustion/sick, full rest on workouts for 2 weeks	EM2WL: 2400 cal/day with no exercise	175 lbs, 27% BF	Size 10
2^nd half May 2012	NROLFW + HIIT cardio 3x/week	2500 cal/day	175 lbs	Size 10
June 2012 – mid Aug 2012	NROLFW 2-3x/week, running 3 miles 2x/week, volleyball 1x/week	2700-2800 cal/day	172 lbs, 26% BF	Size 8 (reached at 173 lbs at end of July)
2^nd half Aug 2012	Rest	2600-2700 cal/day	172 lbs	Size 8
Sept 2012	NROLFA 2-3x/week	2600-2700 cal/day	171 lbs – 175 lbs	Size 6/8
Oct 2012-Dec 2012	NROLFA 2x/week	2600 cal/day	169-174 lbs, 25% BF	Size 4/6

I was always one of the lucky people – I was stick thin, could eat what I wanted when I wanted without any impact to my size or weight. I’m 5’11” and for most of my life I was a size 4 or smaller. I also grew up playing volleyball and staying active. Combine getting older, an office job in front of a computer, and having a baby and suddenly I didn’t look like this anymore (size 4, early 20s):

When I embarked on this journey in December 2011, I really had no idea what I wanted my goals to be, beyond ‘Weigh 165 lbs by Halloween’ which was the last time I remember being a size 8 and feeling great about the way I looked. Seeing myself in my sister in law’s wedding in September 2011 made me realize just where I was size wise:

I dealt with the death of my dad and two surgeries (with each having a 6 week exercise restriction period) in the last year. I am so proud of my progress thus far. I am looking forward to doing a Tough Mudder or Warrior Dash this year, as well as continuing to lift. Some before/after pics:

Holiday party 2011 in red, 2012 in black:

Front, back, side

Fitness changes:

Weight	197 lbs	169 lbs (up to 174 lbs…it fluctuates)
Bodyfat	33%	25%
Dress Size	14	4/6
BMI	27.5	23.7
Resting HR	85 bpm	58 bpm
Distance run before walking	½ mile	3.5 miles
Push-ups	3 on knees	22 on toes, 70 with short breaks every 12-15
Plank	15 sec on my knees	3 min on toes, with unsteady arms on bosu ball, unsteady/raised feet on exercise ball, or jack knives with exercise ball or 50 lb cable pulls while planking
Side plank	10 sec on knees	2+ min on toes with one arm or one leg raised. Also 50 lb cable pulls while planking.
Bench press	16 lbs	105 lbs
Lat pull down	50 lbs	140 lbs
Pull ups	100 lbs assist	36 lbs assist
Squat	Body weight	Body weight + 110 lbs
Deadlift	40 lbs	100 lbs

Valentine’s Giveaway: Amazon gift card!

by EM2WL | Feb 9, 2013 | Giveaways

Tell us your NSV, for a chance to win a gift card!

It’s almost Valentine’s Day, and we want to spread a little love to the fam. So this Thursday, we’ll be giving away an Amazon gift card!

The Prize:

Gift Card for $25 redeemable at Amazon.com

The fam has spoken! When asked via poll (Cathe, Amazon, or Restaurant), the verdict was almost unanimous for an Amazon gift card to be the next giveaway. Have a few things in your cart, but you’ve been hesitating to click “buy?” Have at it. Been wanting to grab a few items, but waiting until you had enough to get the free “Super Saver Shipping?” Here ya go! If you need some help picking out items (really?!) just check out the site store where we’ve listed our Amazon faves!

How to enter:

Just drop us a line in the comments section below, provide a link to your blog, forum post, etc., or submit a story with pics to Success@EM2WL.com.

Let us know: What is your greatest NSV (Non-Scale Victory) from eating more?

Let’s admit, we all begin this journey with the intention of losing weight. After all, the site is even called Eat More 2 WEIGH Less! Deep down, we’ve all wanted to (or still want!) that scale to cooperate. Despite this innate craving for scale loss, so many of us end up finding ourselves, and somewhere along the way, the journey becomes about SO much more than just weight loss. We want to know what NSVs you’ve had as your journey continues to unfold.

We feel nothing more than overwhelming sadness when we mention Success Stories and hear someone declare “I’m not a success yet.” Whether you’ve been living this lifestyle for days, months, or even years, you ARE a success, simply because you are on the right path. We encourage, everyone, no matter what stage of the journey to constantly look for these measures of success, rather than allowing a number on the scale to dictate your worth. That is what our Journey section is all about. Following REAL people, in REAL time, and seeing all the little successes along the way. This journey is not just about becoming a before/after picture, but becoming a better/healthier person (mother, wife, father, husband, friend, child, sibling, etc.. )

Already thought of something? Drop us a line right now, or share your success (written elsewhere) with us an any of the ways mentioned above.

Contest Ends:

Winner will be chosen Feb. 13, 2013 at 11:59pm EST, and announced on Feb. 14, 2013. Be sure that your comment is linked to a working email address, so that you can be contacted if you are chosen. We will not use your email for any other purpose, but if we cannot contact you, another winner will be chosen.

Good Luck!

*Any comment/story submission may appear on the site, but only one will be selected for the gift card. By submitting your NSV you are permitting EM2WL to post as inspiration for all to see.

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