by EM2WL | Jul 23, 2012 | Consistency, Testimonials, The Journey
find the beginning of Mike’s Journey here
Mike gives us an updated look, in his own words, at his journey so far, the ups, downs, doubts, and hitting a plateau….
6/29/12
Hey Guys,
So I have been at a weight loss plateau for a couple of weeks, and want to let you know why (for people that may think they are doing good).
I was getting frustrated with EM2WL for a few. REAL frustrated. I have been at 285.4 for 3 weeks and have not lost. I have been hitting my numbers (or so I thought) for the last 3 weeks.
Anyways, I was like 3 seconds from seriously cutting calories. however, before I did that, I made an effort to parse through ALL my numbers/date for the last month. What I found was pretty shocking and I know why I plateaued.
1. Alcohol – Yep, its a killer for me. Over the last month I have let wine back in, and the bar on the weekend. While I was “leaving room” for my wine, while drinking it I would get careless with my food a bit.
This resulted in me not estimating my calories well/eating less health choices. We all know alcohol gets processed first by the liver, and can lead to fat retention due to other foods not being processed properly.
2. Two binges, because of drinking, completely wiped out two weeks worth of work. Two Fridays in a row me and my buddies drank a ton, and hit jack in the crack afterwards (when drunk the justification is “Damn I’m working out I can eat!”.)
Anyways when your running at a 500 calorie a day deficit, a drunk time + trip to jack in the box will wipe out your progress for a given week, Nuclear Holocaust style.
3. I needed a mental break. While we all know that weight loss is hard work, its nice to take some time off to recharge the mental batteries. I took off from working out and counting calories (I did NOT eat unhealthy, and ate basically what I eat on my healthy days anyways).
So I sabotaged my own weight loss, and my first inclination was to blame EM2WL when I had no-one but myself to blame.
Things I hope you take from this.
Because we are running at TDEE – 15%, in some cases being 300 calorie deficit, one slip up during the week can sabotage that weeks weight loss. Thats a 2100 calorie weekly deficit. One night of drinking, or one errant jack in the box trip that sends us over our TDEE can ruin the hard work in that week. We may not gain weight (hitting our Maintenance weight), but you might kill that weeks weight loss.
I was lax on this, however I am recharged, and re-doubling my efforts.
Ill be burning about 3000 calories with 2 hikes this weekend to kick off my getting on track week.
7/12/12
Hey Guys,
Just doing my monthly update. I am down 30lbs in I think ~3 months (may 3 1/2). I had a rough patch for a week or two (of binging a bit) but I got back on it, and now moving down again.
Gotta keep my head in it and keep pushing forward.
Mike
by EM2WL | Jul 21, 2012 | Metabolism Reset, Testimonials, The Journey
Kelly – taking her life back w/a vengeance!
My name is Kelly, and I have been overweight my entire life. As a child, I can remember my grandmother offering me a dollar for every pound I lost. My mother offering me contact lenses instead of glasses to lose the weight. I can even remember in grade 7, a very cruel man at a horse stable, watching me struggle to get on a horse during a class trip, who decided to yell out for all to hear, “Jesus, how much do you weight? 200 pounds?? You might kill my horse!” It was probably one of the most embarrassing moments of my life, and unfortunately something still ingrained in my head.
I have never ridden a horse since.
I spent the better part of my young life overweight, unhealthy, unhappy and miserable. I had my wake up call when I was 24 years old. I woke up in the middle of the night with heart palpitations, sweating and short of breath. I knew this was my sign to change my life and get healthy, once and for all. It was shortly after, a Weight Watchers At Work program began in my office, and I immediately signed up. Over the next 5 years, I slowly lost the weight. By the time my wedding hit in the spring of 2007, I had lost 102 pounds, going from a size 24 to a size 14. I was very much the beautiful bride, something I am very proud to look back on and know how hard I worked for it. True, I was not yet at goal, but I was something I had never been before.. Average size. I still had about 30 pounds left to lose according to the scale, and I was hoping to get a bit more of it off before we took the plunge and had kids.
5 months later, I was pregnant with our first child. It was like a light switch went off in my head and I turned off the weight loss capabilities and just slacked on the eating. Now granted, I was not eating poorly overall, but I was eating more than I had been allowed on Weight Watchers. During the course of my pregnancy I had gained 70 pounds back – Something that shamed me, made me feel horrible and ugly once more and made me hate the last few weeks of my pregnancy. After the birth of my first, I hit that 6 week mark and immediately went back to the WW program. I spent the next 18 months trying desperately to lose the baby weight. I managed to get to about 25 pounds away from my pre-pregnancy weight before I was pregnant again. This time I paid more attention to my eating, continued working out at the gym and watching everything. I had managed to make it almost half way through the pregnancy, before I had to stop going to the gym. Over the last 20 weeks of my pregnancy, I still somehow managed to gain about 45 pounds. It just seemed to be even eating a little bit more than I was used to, was causing me huge gains.
Needless to say, It wouldn’t be until almost 18 months after my second child’s birth, that I finally understood WHY I struggled so much to keep the weight off during pregnancy, and why it has been so hard to get it off a second and third time.
In January of 2012, I decided to try the C25K program as a way to hopefully boost my fledgling weight loss efforts. I was once again back at Weight Watchers and still could not get anywhere on the weight loss front. In 8 weeks I went from running barely 30 seconds, to running a full 5k (40 mins for me:)) It was probably one of the few things as an adult I was proud I had done for myself. I never wanted to be a runner, but I wanted to prove to myself I could do it. And now I do enjoy it. During my training, I was barely eating my weekly flex points, let alone the 54 activity points I was earning in a week. I could always hear my leader in the back of my head saying I needed to eat more, but for some reason, I could never connect it in my brain. It was during this time that I realized I had an account on MFP, and decided to give it another try, as another way of tracking my food, get a different outlook on things.
In my first week looking through the forums, I came across the Eat More to Weigh Less Group. I was curious how they could eat so much and still lose the weight, so I decided to read the posts they had listed, ask questions and get a different look on weight loss. I think it took me a few days to convince myself I needed to eat more, even though I knew on WW, I was not eating enough. I began by taking my WW tracker and plugged a week into MFP and see what the calories were like. I was SHOCKED to see I was barely eating about 1400 calories a day. I found the online calculators and was even more shocked to see that my body needed at least 1800 calories, just to pump blood in my body. I immediately started eating at my BMR level and saw the scale drop. Over the course of the next few weeks, I read and re-read and re-read the stickies, asked questions and started to trust the process. I jumped up to my 15% cut value and once again saw the scale change for me. It was here that my body decided it wasn’t quite ready to forgive me for my past eating issues. I spent about 6 weeks trying to understand why I was stalling out and nothing was happening. Then I read about the Metabolism Reset.
The metabolism reset meant taking a break from losing weight, allowing myself to eat and gain strength, and then start making a cut down the road. It terrified me! I have been in weight loss mode for almost 10 years. I knew nothing about stopping that process. Even while pregnant, all I could think about was how the heck was I going to lose the weight? Then it hit me.
I had been in a very low calorie diet for the better part of ten years. No wonder my body wasn’t convinced I was feeding it enough. No wonder my body wasn’t allowing the weight to come off when I breastfed my children, and beyond. No wonder I couldn’t get the scale to cooperate in my favor at all. Once I finally allowed myself to let go, and trust the process, I was finally able to start to heal myself.
The metabolism reset itself has been filled with many ups and downs. I started off very skeptical. How was eating even more supposed to help me lose the weight?? But that first week I jumped to my TDEE value, I lost 3 pounds. Over the course of the next few weeks, those pounds did come back and stabilized, but I realized, it didn’t bother me. I knew now that I could eat literally DOUBLE the amount of food I was eating almost 4 months ago, and basically stay the same weight. I originally planned to only go to 4 weeks on the reset, but after hitting the wall at this point, I knew I needed to give it a full 8 in order to heal my mind more than my body.
Here I am. Currently on my final week of my Metabolism Reset and rarin’ to go. In the last 4 months of fueling my body I have had significant changes in my life and appearance for the better. My hair stopped falling out. I sleep better. I am not as grumpy or angry with others. I started lifting weights and can lift things I never thought I could do. I can do REAL pushups!!! I smile more. I am happier. I feel better about my life. I can’t say the cutting process will be easy, but I am looking forward to the changes coming my way. But no matter what, I now know I will never eat so little calories again. I deserve to feel this good. I deserve to be happy, and I deserve to never have to utter the word “Diet” again.
I hope the next few months will show some wonderful results!
by EM2WL | Jul 19, 2012 | Testimonials, The Journey
I don’t really think my story is much different from anyone else’s…especially someone of my age that lived through the “you must be a waif to be sexy” style of the 1980’s. I have never been that petite-type girl. I have broad shoulders and muscular legs…features that took me quite a while to appreciate. I also came into my female form long before my other girlfriends. All of this added up to a great deal of negative attention toward my body…too curvy…too big…and I never felt comfortable in my own skin.
When I was a pre-teen I asked my parents if they thought I should lose weight. Their answer was great, but not one that I understood at the time. They said, “If you are uncomfortable then you should do something about it”. Only thing was I didn’t know what that meant, so I interpreted it as that I should. The only advice given to me was to eat less and move more. I didn’t change that mantra until this year.
Eating was easy and difficult for me. While a teenager, my typical day was as follows: wake up in order to be at school by 7:15AM for first period, school, marching practice for two hours, home. Here’s the thing; I can’t eat right when I wake up, so I would skip breakfast. My lunch period was so crowded that getting food was a challenge, so I usually had a small snack. Then I would attend marching band practice for two hours before going home. Once home, I would eat everything in sight, and then feel guilty about the amount of food I ate. Vicious cycle.
As I grew older, my body image grew worse; mostly due to the fact that I was always having rounds of deep depression. I was also always tired and cold. I didn’t understand how I could keep eating less, and not lose any weight. I didn’t look like the “image of the sexy woman”, and the clothes that were popular always looked awful on me. But, I had to stick to what worked for everyone else.
This way of thinking stayed with me until I was 41 years old…this year. I met Lucia at the Y and we were talking about our calorie intake and she told me about her regimen and a new group she was forming called Eat More 2 Weigh Less. I certainly liked the sound of this, but it scared me to death! I took her advice and upped my calories. Sure enough, my weight went up at first and I became very nervous. But soon, other things began to happen. I found I didn’t need another cup of coffee during the day, I wasn’t wearing my sweater all the time, and my depression has all but vanished. I had no idea that my lack of eating affected my life in more ways than just my pant size. Since upping my calories and changing up my workout routine to include free weights, my weight has begun to even out, my clothes are beginning to fit better, and I am getting stronger.
I have come to realize that food and I can have a healthy relationship and that in order to lose clothing sizes it will take time and that it’s a process and life change…a healthy one. Oh…and to that waif-like body image…no thanks…being strong is better than being skinny!
by EM2WL | Jun 24, 2012 | Testimonials, The Journey
Hi, my name is Helene and I’m a 43-year old married, mother of four. Two sets of twins, to be more specific. Two sets of twins who are two years apart, to be…well, insane. You got to roll with the punches, right?
Growing up, weight was never an issue for me. If anything, I was underweight…not by choice, of course. I ate whatever my mom put in front of me. She controlled every morsel that went in my mouth…or didn’t go in my mouth. Not that she starved me or anything but I wasn’t one of those kids who had free access to the pantry or the refrigerator. And she never bought “junk food”. I don’t think I actually knew what a twinkie tasted like until my college years.
Speaking of college years, it was the first time in my life where I had the freedom to do my own grocery shopping. I went a little wild…eating whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. If I wanted a soda at 3 am, my mom wasn’t there to prevent me from drinking it.
Fortunately, and thanks to a fast metabolism, I didn’t gain too much weight and the weight I did gain, I was able to take off fairly quickly. What I loved my most about my body was how proportionate it was…I was your classic 36-24-36 kind of girl. My arms were toned and sculpted, my tummy was tight and flat and my legs were muscular and lean.
And then I got married…and had kids. Poof….my perfect body was gone. Just like that.
I had four kids, ages two and under….a husband who often traveled out of town on business…and I was frumpy and bloated and frustrated. Oh, and tired. Very very tired.
When I had time to eat, it wasn’t usually something healthy. And exercise? Who had time for that? I could barely squeeze in a 2-minute shower on most days.
Over the course of four years, I continued to gain more weight. And if I was in denial about exactly how heavy I had gotten, my mother was there to point it out, often making comments such as, “Helene, you’ve gained so much weight!” and “You’re getting as big as a house!” As if I couldn’t look in a mirror and see it for myself?
It wasn’t until I ran into an old friend at the store one day and instead of raving about how great I looked, she smiled politely at me and said, “Wow, it’s been awhile!” I immediately went into self-hatred mode and said, “I’m surprised you even recognized me, considering how fat I’ve gotten!”
She shrugged and said, “Cut yourself some slack. You just had another set of twins!”
“Yeah,” I answered. “FOUR years ago!”
I sobbed the whole way home, incredibly disappointed in myself. It was then that I vowed to make some positive changes. How could I expect my kids to eat healthy foods and be active when I wasn’t exactly the best role model? I didn’t want to be the “couch potato mom”, watching my kids from the sideline. I wanted to be the mom running alongside her kids, keeping up with them and cheering them on.
At that point, two friends and I joined a gym and hired a personal trainer. This was the first time in my life I had ever lifted weights and I fell in love with it. It made me feel strong…powerful…invincible.
Our trainer continued to challenge us….box jumps, Bosu burpees, walking lunges carrying 25-lb kettlebells in each hand, walking on the treadmill at a 10% incline with a 50-lb child on my back. Every time I said, “I don’t think I can do this”, our trainer was right there screaming, “Yes, you can!” And I did.
Now that I had a regular workout routine in place, it was time to focus on my diet. When my trainer said I wasn’t eating enough food, I laughed in her face. In fact, I think I might have even snorted once or twice.
She went through the whole “your muscles need fuel, you’re starving yourself, blah, blah, blah” speech with me but I refused to listen. Finally, I agreed to increase my calories from 1200 a day to 1400 a day but that was my limit.
Within a couple weeks of eating 1400 calories, the weight began falling off of me at a quicker rate. Hmmm, maybe she was onto something here. So I increased again to 1500-1600 calories. And the weight continued to come off. My trainer continued desperately to get me to increase to 1700-1800 calories but I wasn’t hearing any of it.
In my mind, it made absolutely no sense to eat more than 1500-1600 calories a day. And sometimes, honestly, even THAT felt like a lot.
After 6 months, my commitment to work out with a trainer was done and I had lost a total of 25 pounds. People were noticing the changes in my body, especially my husband. I cried tears of joy when I went through my closet, found the dress I had worn at our rehearsal dinner the night before we were married and it fit!!!
I continued working out on my own and managed to lose another 7 pounds. But then I hit a plateau, which was extremely frustrating considering how hard I was working out.
So I did what most people do when they hit a plateau… decreasing calories back down to 1200. It makes sense, right? Decrease your calories = lose weight. It should be that simple.
Problem is…it’s not that simple. Well, in the first week it was. I dropped about 4 pounds (probably mostly water and some hard-earned muscle). And the second week, I lost another 2 pounds (and more muscle).
Then I got stuck….again. I decreased my calories down to 1000. Not only was I hungry all the time, I was miserable and cranky. I watched other people enjoy their food, eating whatever they wanted, and I secretly wished on them an embarrassing case of explosive diarrhea.
Before I knew it, Thanksgiving and Christmas were upon us and after being stuck for a couple months at the same weight and virtually starving ALL. THE. TIME. I waved the white flag and allowed myself to eat whatever wasn’t nailed down.
Feeling miserable and defeated, I ended up gaining 20 of the 32 pounds back.
March 2012
One evening, after the kids were in bed and my husband was on a business trip, I was flipping through the tv channels and stumbled upon an infomercial for Jillian Michael’s Body Revolution. I was intrigued and continued watching it, thinking, “I could do that! I CAN do that! I WILL do that!”
I googled it, found the website and ordered it almost immediately. Then I went in search of others online who were also doing the program, as a means of encouragement and support.
I ended up on My Fitness Pal and found a wonderful group of people who were also doing the program.
When I received the DVD’s in the mail, I poured through the information and began the program the next day. While I enjoyed the workouts immensely, I wasn’t enjoying the food plan, which only allowed for 1200 calories a day. My tummy growled almost all day long and I barely had enough energy to get through the workouts. There was no way I could continue this for another 11 weeks.
That’s when I found the Eat More 2 Weigh Less group on MFP. I stayed up late one night reading all the threads on the forum and trying to wrap my head around the process. I plugged my numbers into one of the online calculators and was completely blown away that not only was my BMR 1576 but my TDEE was 2400!!
I decided to increase my calories slowly, going from 1200 to 1400. And then from 1400 slowly up to 1800. I lost three pounds within the first week but then I got stuck losing and gaining the same lousy two pounds.
My brain screamed, “Decrease your calories! You’re eating too much!!” but my gut told me that there was something to this EM2WL process. I can’t explain it but I truly, whole-heartedly believed this would work for me. So, without hesitation, I increased my calories to 1900 and my weight began the downward spiral yet again.
I invested in a BodyMedia Fit so I could get the most accurate numbers possible. Imagine how shocked I was to learn that my actual TDEE was around 2800!! So even eating 1900 calories still wasn’t enough!!
Now, I’ve finally got a handle on things and I can say with all honesty that I love this way of living. Since I’ve been consistently eating the same amount of calories day in and day out, I’m dropping anywhere from .5 to 1.5 pounds a week.
In the 3 months I’ve been part of the EM2WL group, I’ve lost 9 pounds and over 20 inches. 9 pounds in 3 months may not seem like a lot but just look at my pictures and you can see how much my body has transformed in that short period of time. Last year at this time, I was 15 pounds lighter but my measurements are EXACTLY the same now as they were back then!
I cannot imagine ever going back to eating 1200 calories again. Or even 1500 calories. This is not a diet for me. It is a lifestyle change. I eat a clean diet for the most part but I do indulge in treats about 1-2 times a week. Nothing is off limits for me as I have learned how to integrate any food I want into my calories and macros.
I’ve completed the Jillian Michael’s Body Revolution program and have since moved on to ChaLEAN Extreme and Turbo Fire. My workout schedule includes 3 days of strength training and 2-3 days of cardio. I also enjoy swimming and bike riding, which I’ll sometimes do in place of a cardio DVD.
It’s all about being informed and making good, healthy choices. I now think of food not as the enemy but as fuel for my body.
Instead of feeling badly for what I’ve put my body through these last few years, I thank it now. It was strong enough to grow and give birth to 4 beautiful children. So the least I can do is continue to reward it with a healthy amount of nutritious foods.
Of course, I’m still in the middle of my journey. I have about 30 more pounds to lose. However, I don’t see myself giving up out of frustration like I have in the past. I have finally found something that works for me (and it does not involve decreasing calories)!!
Read part two of Helene’s journey here.
by EM2WL | Jun 21, 2012 | Consistency, Metabolism Reset, Testimonials, The Journey
Update: Nicole – Metabolic Reset: week 3
Catch the beginning of Nicole’s Journey here
Hi Lucia/Kiki,
Just thought I’d send in a quick update on my metabolic reset progress:
I’m just starting week 3 of my metabolic reset. My bloat is finally gone, my weight seems to have temporarily stabilized at a one pound gain since starting the reset (for a total of 5 lbs). My jeans fit more comfortably again (I was unable to wear them 2 weeks ago if I wanted to also breath), and on top of it all, I am STARVING all the time!! I really understand now when people say it’s like they woke up a monster!
I’m so excited though because these are exactly the types of symptoms I’ve been waiting for these past 10 weeks since starting to up calories! That’s a long wait, but now I can see some awesome signs that I’m waking up that metabolism! Whoo-hoo!!
by EM2WL | Jun 18, 2012 | Consistency, Testimonials, The Journey
We are so excited to have a recurring feature on EM2WL, called “The Journey.” We strive to stress the importance of staying consistent, trusting the process, and making EM2WL a lifestyle. In featured “Journey’s” we get an inside look at how each person will make the process work for them, as well as demonstrating how this process looks from fresh angles. Journey participants agree to keeping us updated periodically, first sharing their story, then updating as their journey progresses…
Today, Nicole is inviting the EM2WL family to follow her journey from the beginning.
My Journey – The ‘Long Haul’:
I’m a very active 38 year old mother that has been struggling to lose weight for over 20 YEARS. After my first child, I had hit an all-time high of 197 lbs. Through exercise and the Weight Watchers program I lost 60lbs over the course of 4 years (I had child number two in the middle). However, as I got closer and closer to my goal weight, I found that I had to keep lowering my calories and increasing my exercise. When I was at my goal weight of 135 lbs I found that I was doing 2 hours a day of high intensity cardio plus just kept myself constantly moving and my calorie intake was extremely low. (I started to not meet the minimal requirements for weight watchers anymore because I just couldn’t keep the weight from coming back on at that level). Needless to say, it wasn’t long before I found myself exhausted, with constant injuries (I broke my very first bone), on high doses of depression medication and very strong prescription sleeping medication because I had severe insomnia. These helped a bit but I had to keep going back to my dr. to up the medication because after a while, they just weren’t as effective. As well, I continued to gain weight. Over the course of 3 years I had gained back 30 lbs. My doctor was stumped as to my weight gain since my tracking and records showed that I should be LOSING weight and she was positive the meds were more likely to see patients lose than gain on them, so she sent me to a nutritionist/personal trainer. After 6 months with her, she also threw up her hands in despair and said she didn’t know how to help me – I was doing everything they asked…nothing worked. The one common thing that neither did was to ask me what my NET calories were, what my BMR was. They didn’t even think in those terms, and from what I know now – I was nowhere close to getting enough calories to satisfy my BMR requirements.
Finally in a fit of frustration I cold-turkey’d off all the meds (which made my dr. raise her eyebrows at me) and told her to find another solution because this wasn’t working for me. I needed to lose weight and feel better, not just medicate and gain more!
1 month later I stumbled onto MFP in my personal search for a solution on the internet and discovered this whole new concept of net calories and eating enough. I found that I was averaging a NET calorie/day of approximately 600-800 because of the crazy exercise I was doing and the VLCD I was using. (around 1200) Often I wasn’t even Netting 0 or above…I had a negative Net. By this time I had also started the p90X exercise program.
At first I slowly started to up my calories after figuring out my BMR (1490) and TDEE (2130-2370) to 1500 Net minimum. This was very scary for me. Thankfully I did not gained tons of weight (about 4 lbs) but within a few days my depression was gone, I was no longer exhausted all the time and I began sleeping like a baby! Those NSV’s in themselves proved to me that no matter what happened, I was doing something good for my body.
I was still scared that I had the numbers wrong, scared that it wouldn’t work, scared that I’d never lose, but for the first time I actually had hope too. This is the ONE thing I had not yet tried so I figured, what the heck…it’s worth a shot! I kept rereading the forum for a little bump in encouragement whenever I needed it. I still tended to underestimate calories burned just in case (since I ate those back to stay at my net calorie goal of 1500) and I felt so strange being able to eat a piece of apple pie and still have room to eat some chocolate too at the end of the day! I also found that I had a problem of saving a lot of calories to the end of the day so I would suddenly have to try to eat a huge amount before bed because before, I used to be so hungry at bedtime, I HAD to save most of my calories for then and eat filling foods or I would never sleep! It’s a habit I’ve slowly been able to break (not completely yet though).
I managed to get my calorie intake up to TDEE – 15%. After 7 weeks at that level (plus still maintaining a crazy workout schedule from before) I found I was still a bit tired (not exhausted like before though), my weight was up 4lbs and I had gained over 6 inches! I was mortified! However, after speaking with Lucia, she informed me that I needed to reduce the exercise. I had used the wrong activity level and was maintaining too high of a deficit still. So, I listened to her advice and dropped the exercise but kept my calories the same. Within a week I started to feel better. I also started to reread through the forum and discovered that with my diet history, a full reset was likely what I needed to get the weight to stop dropping. So, the next day, I upped my calories to maintenance, maintained my workouts and as of today found that some of the 6 inches I gained have disappeared and I’ve even seen a small reduction in a couple of places (thigh/neck) to lower than start! I’m still bigger in the waist and upper body but I am assuming that is due mainly to water retention and the fact that I am now lifting without being in a caloric deficit.
I am excited for when I will see inches really start dropping or my weight to come down, but for now, I will continue on through my reset (I have gained 1.6 lbs since starting my reset) and give my body the time it requires to heal. I feel better than I have in years (despite my small emotional pity parties over my waist increase that makes my jeans almost un-wearable – I was already maxing them out so they didn’t have much room left).
This road is mentally difficult and tiring. Going against everything society tries to cram down our throats about weight loss, dealing with the looks of pity as people watch me gain weight and eat (usually more than they do), trying to reassure my husband that this IS the right thing to do, and all the time feeling unsure and scared myself, yet believing in it completely at the same time. The research is out there, the testimonies are out there… I know my story will be one of success. I just have to have patience and strength to do it right and see it through. I may not see the quick results that some others have when they started the Eat More plan, but then I did a LOT of damage to my system…it’ll take time to repair that. I’m already 10 weeks in with no loss, just gain and I’m just now starting to get hungry days (a good sign). It’s the long haul for me, but I’m ok with that because I know the destination is worth the trip.
Starting Info (March, 2012):
Eating 1200 cals or less (NET < 1000 – often between 0[or negative value] and 800) Plus some binge days due to special events.
Desk Job: Workout 7 days/week (P90X-lifting/cardio + 1.5 hrs brisk walking daily) I also did anything else I could think of that simply kept me moving.
- Weight: 162.6 lbs
- Neck: 13 ¾ “
- R Bicep: 11”
- R Forearm: 10”
- Over Bust: 37”
- Bust: 41”
- Under Bust: 36”
- Waist: 36”
- Hips: 40”
- R Wrist: 6”
- R Thigh: 24”
- R Calf: 15 ½ “
Current Info (June 6, 2012)
Metabolism Reset: Eating 2584 cals (NET > 1500) 2 weeks into reset
Desk Job: Workout: 6 days/week (3x lifting + 6 days 1 hr brisk walks) I also still try to stay relatively active through my day, but much less intensity.
- Weight: 166.2 lbs
- Neck: 13 ½ “
- R Bicep: 11 ½ ”
- R Forearm: 10 ¼ ”
- Over Bust: 38”
- Bust: 42”
- Under Bust: 36 ½ ”
- Waist: 36 ½ ”
- Hips: 41”
- R Wrist: 6”
- R Thigh: 23 ½ ”
- R Calf: 15 ½ “
Remember, EM2WL is a lifestyle, not a quick fix. Featured Journeyers will remind us that we are all a “work-in-progress.” If you are interested in being featured in The Journey, please contact us for more info.
This resulted in me not estimating my calories well/eating less health choices. We all know alcohol gets processed first by the liver, and can lead to fat retention due to other foods not being processed properly.
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