Posts by yeedy

Be careful, because I'm pretty sure it is big deal if you are active (or if you want to be active)

So last night after dinner I was hungry and so tired of dieting so I ate a small bowl of grapes with fiber one.  But no, that wasn't enough.  Even though i was no longer hungry I had ignited my sweet tooth... I poured some dark chocolate chips into the bowl and heated it with chex cereal and ate it with half a frozen banana.  Then I proceded to pour some cheerios into the bowl and eat it with soy milk... followed my two more small bowls.  Then when my brother ate an ice cream bar... I told him to bring me one too.  I know that when I was eating the cereal I wasn't really thinking about it and I couldnt stop myself.  Would this be considered binge eating?

P.S. Before the munchies began I had already eaten my days worth of allotted calories... And that day I didn't excercise which probably contributed to the "episode"

Blahhh I weighed in at 105.4 this morning and yesterday morning because I went to the beach this weekend... But the good news is that I was expecting to GAIN weight when in fact I haven't gained a pound (or lost one...)

Congrats startbunny! you seem to be losing weight pretty fast, how are you doing it?

Original Post by littlemalynda:

Hi Yeedy,

Thanks! I didn't realize it but I guess I have lost 7 inches total so far... I just think its bizarre I can weight 140lbs and have those measurements... I just found another thread which gave my measurements at 120-125lbs at the same height... which is about 15-20 difference from my weight.

 I agree about the sugar, and I think a goal for August would be to work on that goal!! :) What would you say would be a good goal for sugar intake? I also agree with you about the fiber... I read online that 25g of fiber is a good amount for women. Do you agree? I tried to obtain that goal in June/July, and I'll keep it for August... do you think I should try to up it? I do take in a lot of protein (100g/day minimum), so should I try to up the fiber to 30g/day?

 Well you know, Your sugar intake isn't a disastrous problem (your lack of fiber is worse).  I would say just try to make sugar intake under 60 g (ideally under 40 g) and you should be fine.  But fiber intake is very essential and I find myself getting anywhere from 30 to 50 g!! It's because I eat Fiber One cereal or oatmeal for breakfast everyday which really helps! Plus I'm a vegetarian so I kind of have the opposite problem as you (where it's very easy to get fiber, I find it really hard to get protein).  So I say congrats on the protein intake! that is probably why your measurements are such a success, You are burning fat and gaining muscle which is great! (I'm jealous).  As long as you keep up the protein and exercise and make sure you get at least 25g of fiber you should be good. 

You are overall on the right track, just make sure you remember that muscle weighs more than fat and maybe your scale is wrong? Either way, pay attention to the measurements and the way you look, NOT the scale.

Good luck!

Oh man... I went to the beach this weekend and although I was generally able to keep what I ate under control (in terms of overeating and not eating too unhealthy), I definitely strayed from my diet.  I hope I didn't gain any weight! Since it's nighttime I can only tell when I weigh myself tmrw morning....

I used to be a runner but now I have knee problems and can no longer run (a shame because running was one of my favorite things to do) so now I am on the elliptical.  I burn around 400 calories in 30 min which is probably the fastest burning workout you can get (however I hate going to the gym and would much rather prefer working out outdoors...).

Also, lately I have been having a monstorous appetite in the morning where for the span of 2 hours I consume around 700 calories! (I eat a bowl of cereal, fruit, more fruit, more cereal, toast, etc.)  Does this ever happen to anyone else? and is this good/bad, what?  I still stay within calorie limits because I eat less for the rest of the day, but the morning foods consist of little protein and are mostly carbs. 

Original Post by shooster:

Emrld, welcome to the group, and I can completely relate to you on the whole binging thing, I live away from home for the most part of the year..and a packet of biscuits can disapear quite fast:O

 

Why not try upping your cal intake and see how it goes? Yeedy and I have both done it, and although I had a definate initial gain for a few days (gained muscle, bloated due to stomach and all in all but on 2kg) It's gone now, and even with the gain, was losing cm's:)

 

For binging..how do you avoid it? When I'm away since I only buy food for myself, I just don't buy the "bad" food :P But then I also wasn't crossing more than 1000kcal a day (reason for weight gain)

Here (my parents place) we got loadsa fresh fruit and veg, or low cal snacks and tasty filling stuff to snack on^^

But yeah I dread to think how I'll avoid it again in 2 months :P

 Before when I was restricting more and not letting myself consume enough calories I found myself binging under all the pressure I put on myself.  Now when I have a craving for something, I don't restrict myself and I find myself eating so much more sensibly! Since I started this calorie count thing I have not ovreaten once!  It's because I upped my calories and my body doesn't feel restricted at all! As a result, there is no pressure and no potential to crack under pressure.

Do it! I am just like you: a vegan who eats just about all whole foods and was used to eating a lot less so I would be so full even under 1200 calories.  But I wasn't losing any weight so I decided to up my calories by adding more healthy fats and protein (ie. nuts, avocado, beans) even if I wasn't that hungry.  Result? I'm finally steadily losing weight (even if it is at a healthy slow pace) and by body has gotten used to eating this amount (which is actually the right amount I should be eating).

Oatmeal always taste AMAZING when you cook it with a banana in it.  Also always make sure to cook it with milk (vanilla soy milk is the best) instead of just water.  I love to sprinkle granola or something crunchy like walnuts or cereal on top because I don't like the texture of it alone (too soft).  Also tastes AMAZING with a little bit of pb mixed in and you can add honey or maple syrup (can be sugar free) for sweetening.  Dried Fruit like raisins, dried apricots, prunes always tast amazing along with fresh berries (blueberries, rasberries, blackberries, strawberries).  I have two different options in my recipes if you want to check it out.

Welcome Smassucci!

I know what you mean entirely.  When I talk about weight loss to others - well I simply don't exactly because of what you described.  People don't understand that our petite statures look more overweight at lower weight measurements!  A little goes a long way.  Congrats on losing those 4 Ibs, it is inspiring and if you keep up the good work I'm sure those last 4 pounds will come off with time. 

I weighed myself this morning and weigh around 105! So when I first began eating more calories to increase my metabolism, my weight went up by two pounds but after this week I have already lost that! Hopefully if this trend continues I will finally start losing weight PERMANENTLY.  It's just a bit hard because I am used to losing weight fast (even though it was never permanent) so I'm a bit impatient to see results...

Original Post by alw00:

Yeedy,

Thanks so much for the advice. I enjoy the taste of meat but I realize that cutting down on it would help me to lose weight. I'm worried that if I cut it out entirely my body would start rejecting it though so I think I might try to only have meat 1-2 times a week. Id be so sad if I could never eat a hamburger or fish ever again cause my body rejected it. And thanks, I'll aim for around 1500 a day then and see how that goes, hopefully I'll have good results like you. And good luck on losing that pound =]

Aimzee, welcome. We're the same height =]

That sounds like a great plan!  If you don't want your body to reject meat then definitely don't cut it out entirely because after a year, thats what happened to me! Yeah and with excercise 1500 a day is perfect if you want permanent results.  So far it is working magically for me and I don't feel like I'm restricing at all! I'm just hoping for a pound a week.  Before when I would restrict more calories I would be making such a sacrifice during the week that during the weekend I would snap and always consume wayy more than I needed to so that any weight I lost would just come back.  Now I know things will change!  I just have to watch out for alcohol consuption :/

alw00,

I think it's great that you are considering vegetarianism.  The thing is, the type of diet that works best is going to be different for every person.  I just happen to be one of those wierdos who hate meat and I'm not really a dairy person either.  But eliminating red meats from your diet is a good choice for everyone. (Besides the benefit of being high in iron) red meats just have way too many draw-backs to be beneficial in any diet, mainly the very high amount of saturated fat.  So if you want to cut back on the meat definitely cut that out and try to stick to fish (they have the healthiest fats that your body needs and have the highest nutrition out of any other meat - a metabolism booster).  Unfortunately my body rejects fish (I used to love it) and after not having eaten meat for so long I can't even eat fish anymore because it makes my stomach upset.  Also, all women, whether they are vegetarian or not should pay attention to their iron intake and if it is low (which very possibly is the case because a majority of women have low iron) they should take iron supplements (ESPECIALLY when cutting out red meats).

As for upping calories, I have found that the only way to permanently lose weight is to ensure you have at least 1200 calories (otherwise you prob won't be as successful in losing weight and if you are I gaurantee you the pounds will creep back if not a week, 2 or 3 weeks).  I started eating around 1500 calories this week and like you I was afraid that I would gain weight but found to my surprise that not only did I not gain a pound, I even seem to be losing weight!! I've paid attention to short women who have lost weight and have found that the most effective way it seems is not to restrict calories so much as to burn calories!! So the answer is to not aim for 1200 calories (always allow the 1500 calories) but go to the gym, play a sport, run, so that you are burning the calories to create the calorie deficit.  But do make sure those calories are good, HEALTHY calories and not trash calories from food that do not offer much nutrition.

Ahhh I hope I lose a pound on monday!!!

Hi guys! I seem to be in the same boat as all of you.  I am 4'11 and I weigh 105-106 pounds.  I want to be 95-98 pounds. 

I used to always weigh around 110-114 pounds but I became a vegetarian (semi-vegan) and now I could never weigh that much again.  It entirely changed my body composition where I was oince chubby in the thigh area, I now have thin and sculpted legs.  The 5-7 pounds I want to lose are only excess pounds in lower belly/love handle area. 

I recently realized that in the past I was not getting at least 1200 calories which has significantly lowered my metabolism and prevented me from being able to lose any weight permenantly.  I am now making sure that I eat at least 1200 calories (1400-1500 on active days) and so far my weight has been pretty stable.  Hopefully I will be able to see some change as well!  I think mondays to weigh in is a great idea!

One question though: Let's say that one day I burn 500 calories at the gym.  If I should eat no less than 1200 calories in a day and that is the amount I am aiming for, does that mean that I should eat 1200 + the 500 calories I burned (1700 calories)?

Thanks so much for the advice! Today I started my first day of adding more calories to my diet.  My body isn't used to it yet so I feel very sluggish and lethargic (like I ate too much).  I know that my body will get used to this, because it is really the normal amount to be eating.  I think I will work on mantaining/gaining some weight at first to get my metabolism back to normal then start restricting a little bit as samesofam suggests to start gradually losing the weight I've been trying to lose.  I am convinced that the problem I am having is from years of not getting enough calories and now my metabolism is just so slow.

One question though: Let's say that one day I burn 500 calories at the gym.  If I should eat no less than 1200 calories in a day and that is the amount I am aiming for, does that mean that I should eat 1200 + the 500 calories I burned (1700 calories)?