by EM2WL | Jul 31, 2013 | Consistency, Fat Loss / Cutting, Increasing calories, Q & A
Q: I’m confused. Some people who are EM2WL say they zig zag their cals, but yet they tell newbies to eat the same thing everyday. I think one of your videos even says not to zig zag cals. Which one is it? Is zig zagging calories bad somehow?
Is it high carb day yet???
A: You’re right, we have published a few articles and vids that caution people to hold off on zig zagging calories straight out of the gate (first few weeks). EM2WL gets a lot of newbies who are recovering from an Eating Disorder (ED) or ED-like mentality, as well those who are not fully convinced of the process. So we will often recommend to those who are new and coming from extreme deficits that zig zagging calories can send their body mixed messages. (Much of EM2WL research is rooted in ED recovery — including severe caloric restriction — as well as metabolic damage).
This isn’t so much that the zig zagging itself is an issue (zig zagging that centers around TDEE is a good thing). The issue is that when people who have not fully grasped the EM2WL philosophy decide to “zig zag,” they tend to do so drastically (i.e. 3000 one day, 1100 the next, unlike your more sensible zig zagging). Because of this, their body will view it as binges, and then holds on to the extra from the high days. Many will use the “zig zag” concept as an excuse to be only “half-in” — they will eat more a few days per week, randomly, but still net below BMR on other days. Then they bloat, retain water, feel sick, or gain weight, and blame EM2WL. Their body never fully grasps/trusts that they are going to feed it properly (or regularly) and reacts accordingly.
Because of this, they don’t trust that eating more will “work” for them, and they run back to low cals.
Eating as close as possible to their new calorie goal (with enough carbs, and far enough above BMR), for the first few months, will help many people to avoid this scenario. Choosing to stay consistent in the beginning helps:
- newbies accept the mindset of eating more
- ultra restrictive dieters to get used to netting above BMR
- those who need more time, room to slowly get cals/carbs up to a reasonable level (rather than jumping 1000 cals up, bloating like crazy, getting scared and quitting)
- under-nourished bodies to adapt and accept that their caregiver will eat enough,and be willing to let go of the extra that it’s been hoarding due to fear of starvation.
When a person incorporates zig zagging calories or other methods later in the journey, they will likely still eat enough overall cals, and their body will have no prob with the higher/lower cal days, because they are still within reasonable range.
What?! You’ve never had an “eat-all-the-food” day?
Make sense? I know that zig zagging is a big key for many veterans in the EM2WL fam, so we don’t want to minimize, shun, or call it “bad.” However, when we are dealing with such a wide variety of people, we try to suggest the safest method possible for everyone. The lack of consistency in eating the right amount (and types) of cals is what actually hurts many in the beginning if they aren’t smart about it. But, once most people get used to eating enough, vets find that they naturally zig zag anyway:
- they have have learned to listen to their body – and understand that some days will simply be “eat-all-the-food*” days – so they just take a TDEE day (highly recommended)
- many find that they are hungrier on workout days (especially lifting!) & they eat back exercise cals or increase carbs to re/pre-fuel
- many don’t log their workouts, so depending on the burn, their net cals are different each day, and they purposely eat according to the level of activity that day
- many move toward a lifestyle of no longer logging their food (which is the ultimate goal), and follow their innate hunger cues (once they can be trusted again)
- they feel NO guilt for doing so, because they understand that eating for fuel must coincide with life, and that restriction when ravaged with hunger only leads to a binge later
Basically to keep the process as simple as possible, we just say eat the same thing every day until you and your body have adapted to the fact that you will be eating more from now on. Once firmly rooted, adjust to your lifestyle. When coaching so many people, keeping it basic/simple helps a TON, because everyone’s lifestyle is so different. Some prefer zig zag, but others despise it because eating exactly the same works best for their schedule.
It’s all about making it work for you.
*”Eat-all-the-food” days are exactly as they sound: days where you feel like you could eat the house. It’s best not to fight your body on these days and force a cut. Restriction typically begets binges. Give yourself a full TDEE day, and allow yourself to eat up to, and even over TDEE. You will likely find that you not only prevent yourself from a major binge later, but that by simply giving yourself permission to eat, you may not be as hungry as you thought. And hey, if you truly are that hungry, at least your body knows that it can trust you to listen.
by EM2WL | Jul 29, 2013 | Motivation, Testimonials, The Journey
Having followed her progress for over a year, we were completely overjoyed when Monique agreed to share her journey thus far with the Eat More 2 Weigh Less fam. She’s inspired us for this long, we know you’ll feel the same! ~Lucia & Kiki
25 pounds down
How long have you been on this journey?
Officially, I’ve been on this journey since January 2012. I’ve had so many fluctuations with my weight since I was a child. From being borderline anorexic in middle school to working out like a machine in high school without proper nutrition; this time around, I figured I would actually try to give my body what it needed and not what I THOUGHT it needed.
When did you first learn that you needed to eat more to reach your goals? What was your original response?
Color Run!
I first learned that I needed to eat more to reach my goals when I hit a plateau for about three months straight while exercising and eating as clean as I possibly could. I felt groggy, tired, irritable and most of all hungry, after counting calories. I thought to myself, “I’ve literally done everything right with a few cheat days here and there, but this scale won’t budge at all.”
How did others around you act about your decision to discard the usual low cal methods for weight loss?
The usual response was “wait… you’re not cutting out anything?” or “how can you eat sweets and still lose?” and the infamous “I’m cutting out carbs because they’re bad for you… you won’t lose anything if you start to eat more calories and carbs than your body actually needs.”
How did your body react to the initial increase in cals?
45 pounds down
Two words: Water weight. I felt bloated for about a week initially since my body wasn’t accustomed to the sudden increase in calories. On the plus side, I had SO much more energy to actually workout without feeling fatigued and exhausted all of the time. I finally didn’t need coffee to wake myself up in the morning from a bad nights’ sleep. Plus, I slept like a baby at night, which was great.
Can you describe your typical workout schedule?
Zombie Race
I work a desk job, so I try to be as active as possible each week. I also like to keep my body guessing depending on the season and what activity I’d like to get into. One day, I might hike and on another day I may try some hot yoga. It keeps the boredom at bay!
Typically, my week will look like this:
Monday – Body Combat class or upper body circuit training
Tuesday – Spinning class
Wednesday – Body Combat class or lower body circuit training
Thursday – Swimming or yoga
Friday – Rest day (unless I didn’t get some lifting in throughout the week, then I may do a full body heavy lifting session)
Saturday/Sunday – 2 to 3 mile jog/rest day… depends on activities for the weekend!
Has proper fuel affected you in ways other than weight loss? (Good or bad)
Honestly, I’ve been able to see tremendous changes in my body that have nothing to do with the scale. I’m sleeping better, looking leaner, and have so much energy to do just about anything. The greatest thing that came out of all of this is that I’ve learned how to live and have a healthy relationship with food. I’m a huge foodie and have no time to “diet” at such a young age. I get to enjoy my social life and teach others who want to know my “secrets” how to stop depriving themselves in order to feel better about their weight.
Any parting words of encouragement to those who are new to eating more, or struggling with the decision of whether or not to fuel properly?
I usually tell people to try it out for about a month and see if they have seen a difference in how much more they can lift, how much harder they can push themselves during an intense workout session, or just how much better they feel. It seems like a strange idea to eat more when you’re trying to lose weight, but you simply have to trust the process. Don’t let the scale have so much power over you. You shouldn’t have to judge your worth based on a number. Ever.
The best decisions that I’ve made throughout this journey were eating more (especially protein), purchasing a heart rate monitor and buying a food scale. If you don’t accurately know what’s going into your body, the results you want will not come. Most importantly, be patient and learn to live. Life’s too short not to have great meals with the people you cherish the most along the way!
50 pounds down! A work in progress, but getting there, and enjoying every minute of it!
Share your success, no matter how large or small. You never know who you may inspire to hang on just a bit longer. We love featuring results and journey stories in REAL time, not just before/afters. If you have a victory (scale or not) let us know and allow us to share with the fam, by submitting to success@EM2WL.com
by EM2WL | Jul 25, 2013 | Consistency, Fat Loss / Cutting, Motivation, Testimonials, The Journey, Transformations, Troubleshooting
Before the drama began – loving life
Well this has been a long time coming. I’ve been meaning to sit down and put all of what’s been happening with me for the last year, since my transformation story, on paper. So much has transpired I’m trying to decide exactly where I should begin.
Ok, I’ll start from July of last year, I went to Jamaica to celebrate my bff’s 40th and had an absolute blast! I was at the tail end of my metabolic reset, in which, I had only gained four pounds. I totally enjoyed all the fine delicacies and didn’t count a thing. I was on vacation, loving every minute of it and I vowed I would never ever ever diet on vacation again. I know I ate a surplus some days, the food was amazing and I was determined to try everything. I got back and had gained all of ZERO pounds. WHAT???? So back to Cathe STS Meso 3 and over the rest of the summer I was lifting heavy and eating at cut.
Nov. 2012 – Back to post baby weight & devastated
I noticed the end of September, my weight started creeping up slowly. Since I was lifting heavy and eating right, I tried not to become concerned. Well, my son transitioned to wearing a pump to manage his diabetes, and I didn’t have one full nights sleep for over three weeks. I had to get up every three hours to check his blood sugar. You talk about exhausted… 9pm, 12am, 3am, 6am every single night. By the top of November I had an extra 20lbs and I couldn’t believe how I’d gone from toned and svelte to thick and fatty. I just knew it had to be my thyroid, and though my numbers looked fine, I decided to switch from synthetic to a natural thyroid replacement pill. My numbers plummeted and though in cut mode the weight didn’t budge. I was back to my after baby weight and all the muscles I was so proud of, seemed to disappear into oblivion. You talk about devastated…
I felt everything people would write me about…frustrated, scared, anxious, and obsessed with that scale. I couldn’t understand how I went from nicely toned with just a wee bit of fat to shed, to a thick girl with layers of adipose tissue that seemed here stay! During the next few months the doctor and I worked on getting my thyroid level right. Though the temptation was there to slash calories drastically, I absolutely refused. I ate at a small deficit 10-15% and took off an extra 200 to account for the low thyroid. Lifting and cutting and still nothing moved much. Well the cutting business, wore on my nerves, so back to TDEE I went. I figured if I wasn’t losing or gaining at cut or TDEE then why not enjoy my food???
Fat starting to come off – noticing muscle gains (20lbs heavier)
So, I believe it was March or April, I’m still looking for answers since my thyroid numbers were now level. Goodness, though I’d shed a few pounds, I was stuck at 170lbishhhhhhh. During my hunt for some type of viable explanation, I found a Sweaty Betties vid, on adrenal fatigue. Things started to make sense. Severe stress, lack of sleep, growing older can all contribute to causing adrenal fatigue. Lord knows I was sleep deprived, and the start of the gain was when I was getting up all through the night….ahhhhh haaaaaaaa! Light bulb blew up…lol… I mean for weeks no sleep and I was absolutely stressed in general with family issues, plus the strain of my full time job and my 2nd job that I love, EM2WL. Well, I read and watched more vids and started the supplementation suggested, but, I was still having sleeping issues. I found that my free T3 was a bit too high so we backed down on the thyroid med a little bit.
Ok, so now I’m sleeping ok, thyroid numbers are good, I’m lifting heavy, I invested in the Body Media Fit (boy did I underestimate my numbers, but that’s for another blog, in time…lol), eating at small cut, starting to see some fat loss but still stuck in my big clothes. So, I decided to take some pictures and bam, I see some muscular maturity…more dense muscle than when I was at 154lbs. Yes still almost 20lbs heavier but I could see that all the gain wasn’t just lumpy fat, but that there was some nice growth that transpired unbeknownst to me. I got excited and then the brain starts saying over and over…”now it’s time to shed all the excess fat so you can start wearing some of your smaller stuff…aren’t you sick of wearing the same three jeans?” Oh my gosh, I then became obsessed about the numbers…YES!!! Exactly what I type a few times a day to others, NOT to do!
More mature muscle and v-taper development
After whining to the Kikster one day, I realized, I was causing myself unnecessary stress and I said that is it! No more scale…No more logging… and NEW CLOTHES BABY! Oh yes, the sausage queen went into retirement. I hit the outlets and bought nice fitting jeans. Matter of fact, I went all out and bought tops too, even though my top size didn’t change, hey, I went for the gusto. Feeling good again because a sausage I was not any longer…lol. My plan was to weigh in after a month, but now way over a month later, I have no desire to step on the scale. Listen, during my no scale or logging time..whew, I haven’t been stressed about a single number. And logging for over a year has taught me how to hit numbers,macros, blah blah. So no sweat there either.
lost 1/2 inch in waist…I’ll take it
What’s been happening since? All the jeans I bought are looser…tehehe. The ones I’m wearing today were a bit snug when I bought it. I could hear Kiki’s voice saying, ” Now the purpose of your shopping trip is to “desausage”…why are you going to buy those sausage makers?” LOL. I know I should have left them right there, but they were on too good of a sale. Oh so glad to report they fit smashingly today. Also, the break from all the tracking has allowed me to shift my focus to physical goals. I’ve always wanted to dead lift and squat my weight. My lift sessions have gone to another level. Not worrying about all the tracking keeps me nice and mellow. I also decided to stop dwelling and focusing on the negatives…I wish I looked like this, look at that lump, why can’t I see a striation here or there yet…blah, blah, and negative blah. Now, I congratulate myself on new feats tackled and I point out the positive changes I see in my friend, the mirror.
Ok, ok, ok, so I can’t tell you I’ve lost x,y, or z, BUT, I can tell you I’ve lost a half inch off my hips, waist, and thighs. I can say I surpassed my dead lift goal, met the squat goal, and I’m blowing past other personal records during my lift sessions. I can also see a nice progression which others have noticed too. I have also conquered the hardest part of the journey…the mental voyage. And lastly, I can say I’m enjoying the stress-free non-tracking lifestyle and appreciating every positive thought I now have about me:-)
by EM2WL | Jul 18, 2013 | Consistency, Fat Loss / Cutting
As a trainer this is the absolute toughest time of the year.
Sure, New Year’s Resolutions can be annoying (lots of peeps that have no intentions of doing what it takes longer than the first month), but there’s nothing like that warm Spring/Summer air to bring out the impatience in us all.
I literally gain 5lbs at the start of every warm weather season simply from stressing over the volume of complaints and “I need to lose weight this instant” feelings that come from all across the board. If this is you, please know that it’s a very common thought right now, so you are not alone. But, it’s not helping you. If I could get even 20% of clients to realize that the stress they are causing themselves (and me!) is LITERALLY compounding the problem.
It is so painstakingly hard to watch how the warm weather changes people. The patient suddenly become irate, fluctuations that were easily dismissed during winter layer season becomes inconceivable, magazines/TV/movies show perfect/airbrushed/starved/surgically modified/beautiful people frolicking in the sun. Even “plus-sized” models are like size 10 with super flat abs (riiiggghht…really?!), leaving all but a whopping 10% of us being content in the body that we are presented with. Then we spend the entire summer wishing we were something other than we are, until all of the true “fun in the sun” has come and gone, with us on the sidelines feeling sorry for ourselves.
I often wish that I could take an extended vacation…to rip out the mags/books/movies/scales/too small clothes, etc. from the homes of EVERY woman, and take her shopping for something that does fit and flatter her NOW. Then, I’d drop her off at the nearest PACKED beach to take a good, long, look at the 90% of people there who also aren’t happy with the way that they look.
REAL people have rolls, stretch marks, blotchy skin, etc.. and don’t look like people in magazines. Heck…the people in magazines don’t even look like that! LOL. And the ones that do look good enough to grace magazine covers (temporarily – for a 2 hour photo shoot), put in excessive amounts of time, realize that the look is temporary, and that the picture will be altered once taken.
Because of my field, it’s so hard for me to read a magazine or watch a movie/commercial without reading deeper into how it might be making women feel about themselves. I look and see the reality of it, but it bugs me knowing that most women won’t. Those magazines amplify/exacerbate the feelings of body discontentment that is so common with our society. Granted, we will all be faced with the temptation to feel dissatisfied, and possibly even the need to justify it — “Well it’s different for me because…” — but the point is that it’s not different. There is a fine line between wanting to improve, and deeming ourselves unworthy of life because that change won’t come instantly. Putting our lives on hold, and dwelling on it really doesn’t change it.
And literally makes it worse.
It’s not that having physique goals or wanting to improve ourselves is wrong, but the drastic decisions that we might make in haste because of the urgent feeling, is what we have to be careful to avoid. We already know the devastating effects of attempting quick fixes, yet when a big event rolls around, we may allow our rational to become compromised. Hastily made decisions (for summer, wedding, vacation, etc) can cost us months of hard work, or cause us to keep changing things every 5 minutes out of insecurity/doubt/urgency to see results, while actually running in place (net effect = zero results).
Big events and special seasons are tough bumps in the road on this journey, but we must stay the course and work towards self acceptance.
Summer…only the strong survive.
by EM2WL | Jul 4, 2013 | Increasing calories, Interviews/Guest Posts, The Journey
A true athlete, MrsBigMack discovered during her weight loss journey that she needed to properly fuel in order to reach her goals. If you know her from MFP or her blog “im.seeking.balance” then you know that her decision is paying in full. Yay for us, she’s agreed to an interview to share her well-fueled experience with the EM2WL family.
Before” pic ~218 lbs
How long have you been on this journey?
I started putting on weight in my childhood but really began packing on significant weight in my teens and my early 20’s. In 2000 I began taking kickboxing classes and trained 4-5 hours a week but just had no idea what a healthy diet looked like. In 2001 I topped out at 218 lbs at 5’7″… I was 26 years old.
The only thing I knew about weight loss was Weight Watchers. My dad had been a Lifetime Member; my parents had first signed me up for it when I was 12. In 2002 I walked through the doors again; I lost exactly 52 pounds in 52 weeks to reach my goal weight of 158 lbs. I, too, am now a Lifetime Member.I maintained that loss until summer of 2005 when I got pregnant for the first time. During that pregnancy I had Gestational Diabetes that wasn’t caught until week 28; when all was said and done I’d put on 70 lbs. The extra 35 or so stayed with me until I decided to get serious again.
I knew I was ready to get rid of the weight for good in January 2012. My life had calmed down some after a crazy couple of years that included the birth of my 2nd son, the death of my husband, quitting my job of 12 years, remarrying and moving to a new town with my boys. So starting in January 2012 I lost 36 of those leftover pregnancy pounds. I was back to 158 lbs by maybe August some time. I actually don’t remember.
When did you first learn that you needed to eat more to reach your goals? What was your original response?
When I was on Weight Watchers in 2002/03, the program was called Winning Points and they gave you a 5 point range for each day and you could also earn extra points from exercise. Well at that point I was training in kickboxing, doing bikram yoga and starting to run regularly and I was hungry. I mean REALLY hungry.
Progress in 2012
I ate every point they allowed me. I learned to eat the low fat high fiber foods to get more for my points. I ate every activity point I could add. And then sometimes I felt so deprived that I went out and essentially binged or just quit tracking and ate a big cheat meal and felt mentally defeated. I noticed, however, that those times I ate more I’d have a better loss on the scale.
I trained for and ran my first half marathon in 2003 as I was approaching my goal weight. I remember the weekly losses being painfully slow… it was like -.2, -.4, 0, +.2, -.6, -.2, +.2… it went on for months. As my running mileage picked up, the losses were harder to come by. Eventually, I was about 4 lbs above my goal weight and super frustrated. My leader suggested I take a break and eat at “maintenance”, which meant adding 4 points per day (that was maybe 2-300 calories). Well lo and behold I did that and had two 3lb losses in a row, taking me to below my goal weight. Something clicked for me right then and there. Too bad it was after all the hardest of the work was done, but a valuable learning experience nonetheless.
When I decided to begin anew in 2012, I just knew from the start that I needed to eat enough to run well. A friend had challenged me to another half marathon and I figured it was a great time to really make the effort and take these pounds off once and for all. I started with Weight Watchers online, but by April of 2012 I switched to calorie counting on My Fitness Pal; I was still starving on Weight Watchers and hated that I felt like a failure every time I went over my points even though I knew I needed more food.
How did/do others around you act about your decision to discard the usual low cal methods for weight loss?
Nobody really knew what I was doing except for my husband. When I switched from Weight Watchers to My Fitness Pal I went for a DEXA scan to figure out where my goal weight should be – if 158 lbs was still reasonable for me. I originally chose it because, at 5’7″, it’s the highest weight I can have and still be in the healthy BMI category, not that I really put much stock in the BMI as an indicator of health.The guy who did my DEXA in Vancouver suggested a caloric intake level for me based on my lean body mass and activity level. At that point he suggested increasing calories to around 1800-2000 calories and 120g protein daily. He also told me I should absolutely not have a daily deficit of more than 400 calories. Honestly, having someone give me some solid information that would make me stronger and leaner and not just lighter was absolutely invaluable.
How did your body react initially to increasing calories?
Tough Mudder
I wasn’t losing particularly quickly on Weight Watchers: I lost 14 lbs from January to March. When I first started My Fitness Pal I set my lifestyle factor to “sedentary” and my weight loss target to lose 1/2 a pound weekly. That gave me a net target of 1660 calories. As I had always done with Weight Watchers, I ate back my exercise calories – since the program added them it just seemed like that’s how it was supposed to work.I dropped 8.5 lbs in the first 5 weeks. That’s when I first figured out that I was obviously burning more than at the sedentary level; turns out that as a stay-at-home-mom I’m actually burning at My Fitness Pal’s “Very Active” level before I even get in my workout… higher in fact.
Has proper fuel affected you in ways other than weight loss? (Good or bad)
Well I just don’t think I would have kept going with the level of restriction I’d been trying to meet.
Spartan Sprint
I first noticed it in June 2012. I was preparing to run a 10 mile race from the beach to the top of a mountain, 4300′ up. I figured that would be a decent test of my endurance in advance of the half marathon I was scheduled to run that August. I decided I would eat at my full maintenance calories for two weeks before the event. I had already lost 20 lbs and figured a two week hiatus from dieting couldn’t hurt. I wanted to see how well I could perform if I gave my body all the fuel it was trying to burn.
Well after about 4 or 5 days of eating 2500 calories daily I went for a 10 mile (16km) run and it was like magic. With the increased energy I just knew I could actually run the half marathon in 2 hours. I ran the first 10km of that training run at my half marathon race pace and the next 6km at my 10k race pace. It was amazing.From then on I decided I’d eat at maintenance for at least a full week before every race. It would be a waste of a race effort if I didn’t. I guess I started feeling like a real athlete instead of someone just exercising to lose weight… an amazing turning point in my motivation; now I eat to fuel my machine.
Can you describe your typical workout schedule?
Oct. ’12 – Before I started lifting
Yeah. Well, until October 2012 I just ran and did Insanity videos and a local boot camp class for cross training when I could squeeze it in. I run because I love it, though… not what I’d call a cardio junkie, but I didn’t really feel the need to lift any weights. I was already pretty big with about 120 lbs of lean body mass at 5’7″. I would run 3-4 days a week and cross-train 2 days a week and take 1 rest day. I was burning an average of about 3500 calories weekly according to my Garmin.
After my 2012 race season ended at the end of September I decided to start lifting weights. The heavy lifters in the My Fitness Pal community got to me and I figured I’d give it a shot. It was tricky though… I didn’t want to give up running and the endurance I’d built up, but I knew that endurance running was almost completely contrary to the purpose of lifting.After a little shopping around for a program I decided to do Stronglifts 5×5 and set my schedule, roughly, to RUN, LIFT, REST, RUN, LIFT, REST… so I was lifting less often than the Stronglifts program recommends (every other day) but was able to get that rest in after lifting. At this point all my runs were under an hour… most of them the 3-5 mile (5-8km) range. I also changed my calorie calculation method at this point from My Fitness Pal’s NET method to something more like the TDEE method – just the same number of calories each day. At this point I figured my TDEE was somewhere around 2500 calories so after some fiddling for a few weeks with 2000, 2100, 2200, 2300 I finally settled on 2300 daily and remained pretty consistent with that through March of this year.
I got really frustrated in the spring when I really saw no change in my weight or even my measurements really.
Lifting Comparison
Then I finally decided to take a photo in roughly the same pose and with the same shirt as the photo above. What I found was there were changes taking place that I couldn’t see.
My training schedule right now includes about 6 hours of combined cardio and strength training over 5 days of the week. I don’t believe in spending hours in the gym each day. In the words of Sweet Brown: “Ain’t nobody got time fo’ dat!”It looks something like this: Lifting 3 times a week (Stronglifts 5×5), running 3 times a week (long run, tempo run, interval/hill run), and 1-2 cross training sessions of maybe 30 minutes. I usually take a rest day every 4-5 days. The truth is, though, my schedule is all over the board. My husband works shift work and we have 5 kids between us, so I just get my workouts in when I can and I have to stay flexible. I work out in my home gym… and on the road and trails.
You run AND lift, have you found that this requires you to eat more/less of calories in general, or specific nutrients/macros?
I’ve never made a big deal about macros. I do have a protein target since that seemed to be the magic piece of the puzzle for me. I eat between 120 and 160g of protein daily since I weigh just under 160 lbs with about 120 lbs of lean mass; that’s where those numbers come from. Once I’ve hit that protein target in a day, I’m not too picky about where the rest of the calories come from. I let my appetite and my body dictate. The truth is that my dietary needs on a day I run 14 miles is completely different than on a day I do a 30 minute strength training session and I think I just naturally eat accordingly at this point.As long as I hit my protein target and my calorie goal I’m golden.
Ugly Lifting Face
Did finding your sweet spot take a bit more finagling than you originally thought or was it spot on from your first calculated estimate? If it took longer, was it worth it?
Well I guess that depends on whether or not I’m happy with my results. I didn’t really struggle to find that place where I could lose the fat to begin with… well, most of it. I’m still not super lean though. I figure my body fat % to be around 23% now… not bad for a woman pushing 40 I guess, but I still have a little pet dream to get under 20% and I’m finding it increasingly difficult. It’s like the leaner you get, the more you train, the smaller the window… the smaller the sweet spot. I think I may have found it now, though. I had intuitively figured my TDEE to be about 2500 calories daily; it was pretty consistent with the calculators out there even though it was hard to classify my workout schedule. But recently I did an experiment with a Body Media Fit (Link) and after 3 weeks it pegged my average TDEE at about 2850 calories daily so I had definitely underestimated it.
I didn’t actually believe it at first so I did an experiment for 3 weeks and ate pretty much all those calories – increasing calories to an average of 2650 daily for 3 full weeks and didn’t gain an ounce. I was shocked. It was a huge relief to know I could actually eat more food than I even really wanted to and not gain.
Because of that experiment, my new target is 2100 calories PLUS all my exercise calories; that should leave me with about a 200 calorie daily deficit. I’m hoping this will put me right in the sweet spot.
I’ll let you know how it goes. Seems like a lot, right?
Any parting words of encouragement to those who are new to eating more, struggling with the decision of whether or not to fuel properly, or ready to give up?
Current
There is so much misinformation out there. There are so many people trying to sell you something and keep you down so you’ll keep buying what they’re selling. Trust the science. Trust your body. Think long-term.Your body is amazing. Feed it. Treat it like a machine… it is the most intricate machine on the planet. Find your inner athlete.
This isn’t about weight loss; your weight doesn’t explain what’s going on inside. Your scale doesn’t know if you’re hydrated or dehydrated, carb-loaded or glycogen-depleted, pumped from a good strength workout or sick from a week-long stomach flu. The weight on the scale is no indicator of health and it doesn’t define you.
Keep pressing on. Giving up is not an option.
A few resources I’d like to share:
My MFP Profile: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/mrsbigmack
My Blog: http://imseekingbalance.com
My Instagram: http://instagram.com/mrsbigmack
Recent Comments