br_e_co's Journal, 21 November 2014

Maintaining at this time of year ain't all bad. Hang in there, I'm sure you'll get it figured out. Enjoy the pizza tonight. 

Pizza night?? I love pizza night. Just I only have one or two pieces now instead of 4 or 5. 

I agree with Jim, this is a tough part of the year....not just because of the holidays but it's your body's natural defense to try to pack on some pounds, just like bears for hibernation....As for as the overfeeding day, I have one about every 15 days or so and it seems to help wake up my metabolism... 

Hey thanks guys. Yes, for sure, days shorter, our biology is working against us. Pizza night every week (hmmm, maybe this is my problem!? ha!) ... yeah, sometimes I am surprised how an overfeed really leads to a good drop. my apologies, it dawned on me that i was really complaining. and really, just need to suck it up and move forward. no sense in worrying. have a great weekend you all. 

A good friend gave me this piece of advice...go sugar free and carb free for at least one week, and then the weight will start to drop again. It's helped me twice. Hope it can help you too. Chin up!! 

thank you, amyd914 - yes, a change is what i am thinking - that might be the one.  

Before you know it, your body will be ready to start shedding pounds again. It could be that your at a point where your replacing more muscle, then losing fat. Doesn't muscle weigh more than fat? Yes, "It's the most wonderful time of the year", except if your trying to lose weight. From a day or two before Halloween to a day or two after New Year's, it's a daily fight to maintain and not go back to the old ways. I can live with adding a pound or two celebrating the Holidays, but my biggest fear is losing control and reverting back to my old ways. Right now I'm on the right side of the fence, and I know every time I get a taste of the sweets, I'm climbing back up on top of the fence, knowing that I'm a Devil Dog away from falling back onto the other side. Sorry to ramble, but as much as I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas, I'm terrified about the chance of getting on a roll and losing control of my eating. Just hoping my experience here on FS and the support from all of you will get me through the holidays.  

New to the game... questions, I have struggles for years and now continue to fight against behavioral actions, just doing it because I am use to it, and also the fears of losing the freedom to splurge?? Well what does overfeed mean should I start with this, I am also being told to eat 1800-2000 calories isn't that too much to lose weight. I am doing cardio 3-4 times a week, and walking 3 times a week and watching my calories. 

Laura, I wouldn't follow the RDI on here, I would use a BMR calculator...this uses your age, weight, and height to determine your baseline metabolic rate. Then using that you can figure out your RDI (daily calories) by a simple calculation based on your activity level (it's called the Harris Benedict method). Example: at 5'6", 30 years old, and 165 lbs my BMR is 1542 (using a calculator I found online)...then using the HB-method, I multiply that number by 1.55 because I'm moderately active (once you find it online, it should give you the multipliers). Now that gives me 2390, which is the amount of calories I would need to maintain my weight. To lose weight, I would subtract up to 1000 calories (depending on how fast I want to lose) from that and that gives me a more accurate RDI...so I shoot for around 1400 a day. 

Also, the reason people "overfeed" (which is basically just a high calorie day) or go no sugar/no carb for a while is so your body doesn't get used to the routine you're in and slows your metabolism...once you get yourself into a good routine, every once in a while your body slows how fast you lose weight, so you have to kind of "shake up" your routine a bit from time to time to wake it back up 

Hi @Lauraighedesa - welcome. It's a tricky balancing act, the weight loss journey. My feeling is calorie restriction is best. I do not limit any carbs or fat, as others may - as we all encounter, plateaus are normal - this one has been particularly frustrating for me, but, I need to adjust something. Since I cannot see your weight, etc. I cannot say whether 1800 - 2000 calories is sufficient to lose or not, for your journey. I will say, if fatsecret calculated your RDI, then it is too high(their estimates are a bit higher than you'd want, as others will attest). The "over feeding" is just me busting out and eating a lot on a particular day - hoping it will trigger a change in my body(unfortunately, the change could be just adding weight) - but as I fast, do 16:8 normally, and try to run pretty low (1800's) anyway, on average - there are many diets out there - carb cycling, protein sparing modified fast, that suggest a "refeed" or "overfeed", or "free day" - but that is if you are adhering to something very specific. Investigate other diets, depending on your goal. for losing weight/fat, i'd suggest averaging 700 calories less than you expend in exercise and BRM/TDEE, and continue your exercise program. But - i am no expert - just doing what is right for me, and what has worked for me - clearly I need to find a new "something" that works for me. And yeah, Willie, now is a tough time for me to eat less with such great food and celebration around. Sorry so long winded.  

Laura, it all boils down to Energy in<Energy out. Cut out all the stuff that you know you don't need (as in, dont even have it within your reach) such as sugars and calorie dense toppings like cheese and sour cream on a baked potato for example, and get plenty of protein. Beyond that, remain active every day and the fat will fall off! Active can be as simple as a daily 20 minute walk around the block, whatever you can handle. 

oh yeah, be careful thinking about overfeeding, refeeds, free days - people tend to think they can do whatever they want - and it will lead to worse problems as you could easily snap back into a habit you were trying to break.  

Laura, there are so many things that effect your weight. That is why it is important to log in your food every day. This will help you determine what calorie number works best for you. I found my best weeks are when I eat 3 meals a day, portioned to reach no more than 1500 calories, drink PLENTY of water, exercise & walk at least 3x a week, not eat anything after dinner, and stay away from salt and sugar other than what is naturally in your meals. A "splurge" is okay once in awhile, as long as it doesn't result in a binge. Good luck on your journey. 

Thanks so much for the encouragement, wisdom and sharing of your expertise! I want the change so I am taking it all in so that I can change the behaviors, add the needed disciplines and see the weight come off. My coworker just told me this is not the right time of year to do it because of the holidays, true but it comes every year and I need to learn how to eat responsiblly, and if I dip it won't be the end of the world. 

Don't listen to those people, YOU know when YOU are ready.....and it sounds like you are there...ask questions, TONS of smart people on here! 

absolutely agree with Socolova - no time like the present! It's not like these holidays are one time deals. If our aim is to change our life style, it needs to fit our lives. you will do great.  

Great advice and support given on this journal, this is one of the great things about this site. Lauraighedesa, folks have given you some great advice, all I'll add is that this can be a great time of year to start on a diet, I've been successful several years in losing a good bit of weight between Thanksgiving and Christmas. What I've done is not allowed myself the goodies before Christmas, setting aside a few things like chocolates, freezing small amounts of other things, and not eating it until Christmas comes around. Then allowing myself Christmas and maybe a couple days afterwards to enjoy those things, then watching what I eat again. Knowing that you'll be able to eat some goodies soon helps and makes it easier to set them aside for a little while. Best wishes to you for your success! 

So much great advice one other question, I know many say that working out 3 or 4 times a week is sufficient, can you overly work out if I do 40min a day for 6 to 7 days or do you switch up your cardio with some other type activity. I want to lose but unsure what or how much I should be doing. I am not maintaining but trying to burn and lose, so right now doing 40min bike cardio each morning. 

doing 40 minutes of cardio bike each morning is great. the question is, besides losing weight, do you have a fitness goal in mind? Build/maintain muscle, increase intensity of the cardio bike, etc? I think a rest day should be in there, or two ... this depends on your intensity. so, for example, if you started to lift some weights, you would certainly want a day or two in between when you lift. those days could be light cardio bike rides too. if you start doing high intensity cardio bike rides, like spinning, definitely rest and do something else in between days - such as walk 3 miles, etc. or just flat out rest. this depends. also, based on what you may have read, the exercise is but a small fraction of what really helps lose weight. it is the diet that is paramount. the exercise is a booster, plus, it helps overall health - sleep better, heart health, etc. but you certainly can overdo something - rest days are good.