[UpDownAround]

Originally Posted by 99fairies

How is it unhealthy?

The idea is that unless you average about 1200 calories a day (for women, according to mfp), it is unlikely that you will get the nutrients you need. If you did a 3 day fast and then 3 days of 2400 calories that would be healthier. That's one reason why I am trying to lose eating 1500 now. The other reason is that I lost more muscle than I hoped during my rapid weight loss in the first two months (Sept/Oct when I lost 32 pounds in 65 days). If you do the fast and then do low calorie days after, you run the risk of more losing lean body mass than you might like.

[UpDownAround]

I logged about 1500 yesterday, but it is hard to say how accurate it was. About half of it was a big serving of home made chicken pot pie. It is hard to gauge how big my slice was and my eldest made it with crust top and bottom plus 1/3 cup of butter (for the whole pie). I picked a home made "by the slice" chicken pot pie that was on the high side calorie wise from the mfp database and then guessed that I had about a slice and a half. So I could be off by hundreds either way, but my guess is that I am not that far off and I actually had less than 1500. This could throw a kink in my "waiting it out" to see the scale start moving again eating 1500 a day. I have remained at the same weight for over a week now. After an adjustment like that, it isn't that surprising as I have more in my gut and if I have something that makes me retain water, I retain more. It isn't moving up, so I am continuing to give it time. Frustrating, though.

Originally Posted by UpDownAround

The idea is that unless you average about 1200 calories a day (for women, according to mfp), it is unlikely that you will get the nutrients you need. If you did a 3 day fast and then 3 days of 2400 calories that would be healthier. That's one reason why I am trying to lose eating 1500 now. The other reason is that I lost more muscle than I hoped during my rapid weight loss in the first two months (Sept/Oct when I lost 32 pounds in 65 days). If you do the fast and then do low calorie days after, you run the risk of more losing lean body mass than you might like.

Thank you very much for explaining, particularly the loss of lean muscle mass as opposed to fat.

Some people fast and that is fine for them, but you are doing it as a punishment towards yourself for bingeing. That is not a healthy reason to fast, and you are losing out on essential nutrients plus you may slow your metabolism over time.

[UpDownAround]

The rapid loss also feeds my current frustration. It isn't unusual for one pound of loss to take double the average and some others to seem really quick. Now that I am aiming for about a pound a week, that could be two weeks of seeing no progress even if I am going to lose at the rate I want over the long haul. When I was losing a pound every couple of days, taking twice as long as average was still under 5 days. I keep telling myself it is perfectly normal for the scale to hold steady every now and then even though I am in calorie deficit. But it better start moving soon before I start pulling my hair out...

[Sunflower123]

Have continued to lose weight with my decreased appetite. My biggest accomplishment this holiday season has been drinking eggnog once or twice a week instead of every single day and in smaller portions. I’m thinking about joining TOPS next week although I’m not certain I need it. Does anybody have any input on this group?

[99fairies]

I went to TOPS years ago. I didn't get much out of it, but if you are looking for weekly accountability its good for that.

[Tucson]

I thought I had posted early this morning. I still weigh 178. But I am seeing a few above 180 weights throughout the day. However, this actually may mean nothing. It would be nice to find out that I can maintain 2300 calories without gaining much if any weight. This calorie count allows me to eat well which includes desserts.

[UpDownAround]

uploads still broken. another day near goal (1500). Seemed like a lot of food today.

[Tucson]

I have had another 2300 calorie day. If I need to, I will exersize enough to where I will not gain weight on 2300 calories. This must mean a trip to the health spa this week. I had eggs with chorizo, oatmeal with milk and sugar, campbells chunky soup for dinner, and two slices of dessert. What is nice is that I have until the weight of 185 to figure out how many calories I need to maintain my current weight. I am sure I will overshoot some days, but as long as I do not start losing weight again, I can convince myself that I will be OK. I want to stop this paranoia of mine over my weight. In this way, I can turn my attention to something else that I can be paranoid about.

PS Soon there will be one dessert left. I may give this one away. I do not need the temptation. Having made three desserts at once was not a good idea.

PPS Starting in January, I will want to know, if it is possible with all of your help, what foods and their preparation I can start eating. For example, I understand that Trader Joe’s has some good meals prepared for purchase. I was also thinking of including fish in my diet. I am thinking of staying away from beef. I need to learn all over again how to eat properly while increasing the variety of tastey dishes that I can eat.

[hopeless2015]

Still coming in at 30 net carbs a day. My calories have ranged from 1200 to almost 2000 today (thanks to the oatmeal chocolate chip cookies I made). I'm hoping to maintain the 30 lb weight loss this year through the holidays. I will try to lose the remaining 15 after the new year. I'll have to find a way to maintain weight after reaching goal

[bizi]

my bowl of pop corn has 210 calories, for some reason I thought it had 100.
oh well
This evening I also ate 2 gummy worms and a small candy bar.
Had lemon pepper talapia fish and steamed cauliflower for dinner.
lunch was a big shrimp salad with lots of add ons.
I think it was very fattening.
tomorrow is another day.
bizi

[UpDownAround]

I am a broken record - 183 again this morning. But even though I normally don't report/track tenths, it was 183.0 and the last two before it were decreasing tenths. So I will take that as a good sign and keep motoring along.

[UpDownAround]

Here is a spooky blog post (that refers to a study) about restricting the diet too much:

Reduced metabolism/TDEE beyond expected from weight loss

At the 3 month mark, the VLC group was burning almost 500 calories less than expected. There was substantial recovery after 3 months of maintenance. I did 2 months of below 1000 per day and 1 month of not much over 1000. If my TDEE was reduced by close to 500 calories, then 1500 would be pretty close to maintenance. The big message from it is to stop being sedentary.

[Cocosurviving]

Originally Posted by Naynay99

Shiit. I really need to get my eating habits under control.

As soon as my mood plummets and I feel overwhelmed, I run out of food in the house and stop cooking or bringing lunch and that is when I start eating crap. I need to go bck to eating cleaner. Less going out to eat and more eating healthy foods in normal amounts. I feel like such a fuuck up. Can't stick to anything. Ugh.

Hello there,

I can relate to exactly what your saying. I use to be really good at this before I was on meds but I let my cravings take over. We can do this one step at a time. Make a grocery list with meals and lunch. Walmart has online ordering if that helps.

[Cocosurviving]

My day is kind of challenging. I ate a PB&J for breakfast with a snack size bag of chips and a Dr. Pepper. My local city has a grocery store called Reasor’s. They have lunches pre-made and I bought one. For dinner me and my daughter are having baked potatoes. I will look on Pinterest for healthy eating ideas. I can not weigh myself. I think it would send me into depression. I just tapered off a med that made me gain weight. I was on it for a year and went up a few dress sizes. I wear size 24 and want to get to a size 12. I’ll be content with that. I have not been counting calories. But I’ll start back using the My Fitness Pal app. Is there a better app?

[Tucson]

It looks like have been bouncing around between 176 to 178 for a month and a half now. Early in this period, I was consuming closer to 1500 each day. I moved up to over 2000 calories a day a month ago. I find this interesting I have had a calorie intake from 1500 to 2300 with a few days above this and yet has me weigjing the about the same 177. So let’s only count the last month of calories which is what I think is more relevant. It looks like my maintenance level of calories may be between 2000 and 2300 calories. I think as long as I can eat within that spread of calories, I think I will be OK. I do not know what a series of above 2300 calorie days will do to my weight. If I want to gain a few pounds more, I will probably need to go above 2300 calories more consistently. This will be difficult for me, but I am sure I can find a way to do this.

Update: It looks like I have been eating more than 2300 days. So we will see what happens if I continue to do this.

[Cocosurviving]

I use to use My Fitness Pal to count calories. Is there a better app?

[wildflowerchild25]

I use lose it but I think they are fairly comparable.

[Tucson]

This is a 2300 calorie day. I had scrambled eggs with chorizo, a yogurt smoothie with high milk fat content, grilled cheese sandwich, and New England clam chowder. I also had dessert. I will weigh myself tomorrow.

I see the image upload still does not work.

[99fairies]

My sister is a nutritionist and she lent me a book all about fasting. I'm hoping to find a healthier way to fast

[UpDownAround]

Originally Posted by Cocosurviving

I use to use My Fitness Pal to count calories. Is there a better app?

I am pretty pleased with mfp; I use it also. I use phone app and/or the browser to log everything. The reports that Tucson and I post a lot are from mfp using the browser. Food database is pretty thorough.

[UpDownAround]

Yesterday. Still coming in close to 1500 every day. Next weigh in tomorrow morning...

[bizi]

I am still at 6 pounds lost so am happy about that.
I love my 2 cups in the morning but in the afternoon it is all about the caffeine so that works perfectly!
Had my favorite dish at sandras today: Mousaka!!! egg plant, potatoes, tomatoes and spices in olive oil/
yummmy! and had this yummy roasted veggie soup.
Brought some soup home for later.
have a good day yall!
bizi

[Wild Coyote]

Still slowly gaining on Abilify. Gained 10 lbs in 3 mos.
Hungry 24/7.
Trying to stop eating the extra calories!

It's tough when my sister sends 6 pounds of my favorite chocolate covered toffee and a friend sent my all-time favorite fruitcake.

Thanks for all of the participation on this thread!


WC

[99fairies]

I am very surprised to read in this fasting book. They suggest no more than a 14 day fast and then eating 600-800 calories a day...for obese people. The weight loss and overall health was significant. I know you can't believe everything you read. I thought this would be very unhealthy, but the book has some good arguments.