Posts by kukua

Don't forget there are TWO ways to create your deficit.  You can either cut your calories, or burn more calories.  In this case, you are so close to your goal weight that cutting calories will put you in that too-low range for your daily intake, just as your doctor said.  So you only have one option.

If your daily intake is 1600 calories a day, then to create your 500cal/day deficit, you need to burn 2100 cals/day.

However, you don't HAVE to have a 500cal/day deficit.  If you're finding this unsustainable, you're better off with a smaller deficit, slower weight loss, and a lifestyle you can live with and sustain.

Good luck!! :)

Check out http://www.phord.com/cc/ to calculate your fat burn.  Those numbers don't sound at all right.

Oh, and while the max deficit is normally said to be 1000 cals, most experts agree that you should lose no more then 1% of your weight per week, which in your case is about 1.5lbs, which means your daily deficit should be no more then 750 cals, or you risk your body resisting the weight loss and slowly your metabolism.

Hope that link helps. :)

I've done the pre-packaged thing, with the same idea in mind; that it's too much trouble to try to portion in advance, and all the work is done for me.  As a result I stalled my weight loss.

Here's the bottom line: Calories in vs. calories out, right? Right.....EXCEPT:

You body is a machine.  If you take a high-performance racecar, and fill it with the cheapest fuels/oils/lubricants/fluids you can find, how well is it going to perform?  I've come to realize that the more nutritional the food you put in your body, the better your body will function, in all aspects, including your metabolism.  You'll burn MORE calories a day just sitting around because you're running at optimal level.  Most pre-packaged foods are, well, basically crap.  They're expensive, and really just empty calories. 

So, even if you end up eating a few more calories a day, you'll be healthier and feel better, and you'll probably find you actually lose more weight.

All this being said, there ARE a few pre-packaged foods that aren't that bad, and are good at supplimenting your daily calories if you're on the run, etc, but I would suggest staying away from them for your main meals.

Hope that helps and good luck!

If you've checked all the tips everyone else here has given you, and your board was accurate with that 5lbs, that obviously doesn't mean that you gained 5lbs of fat in one day.  It is normal to have fluctuations of anywhere to 1-5lbs or sometimes more in a day, depending on a lot of variables.  Working out can cause you to retain water the next day to help repair muscles, for example.  Or, maybe it's getting close to that TTOM (not sure if you're a guy or girl) and you're retaining water due to that.

Don't forget to keep an eye on your TREND, not just the difference between today's weight and yesterdays, or last weeks, or whenever your last weigh-in was.

Bottom line, keep doing what you're doing.  If you're eating healthy, getting the right number of calories, and working out, you're going to see a difference in the scale and your clothes, and not necessarily in that order. :)

Original Post by kflash6:

Thanks for the advice and information, GI Jane, but at this point I think it's best to leave my diagnosis for a medical professional. 

 Then why did you post on here in the first place?  You asked for advice and GI Jane gave you VERY good advice and info.  You may not like to hear it but you obviously are aware that something is wrong.  You've taken that first step - don't shut down now.

Instead of listening to what your body is SCREAMING at you, you're focusing on a number.  You are technically only 0.1 BMI away from clinically underweight.  That does NOT mean you are fine.

I'm not saying that a BMI of 18.6 is bad for everyone, but your body has forced you to start binging, and you stopped getting your period.  How much more of a red flashing light do you need??

You want a medical professional to diagnosis it?  Fine, then GO TO A DOCTOR!  I have a feeling by your attitude that you won't though.

Original Post by lunaripyros:

Original Post by blondiecath:

I'm at 5'6.5" now so just a little under...

but anyways, my history: at 14 and under the height I am now I was 151lbs (icky!) and a UK size 14.

2 summers ago I was 145lbs and a size 12. Up to this current date I am down to 113lbs and I owe it all to hard work and determination :)

You have a BMI of 18 and are clinically underweight.  I strongly encourage you to consider the health risks involved with being under weight.  You by no means need to lose any more weight.  Please please reconsider this course of action.

She is 14 years old and for that age, is at a healthy weight.  She would only be considered underweight if she were an adult at that height/weight.  The healthy weight range for her age and height is between 98-145 lbs.

3 times your normal allowed calories??  That means you're eating only 1000 calories a day, on a normal day?

If that is actually correct, your metabolism probably had completely shut down since you are way under-eating.  Once you start eating more, your metabolism revs up again and starts burning.

It's good to have the occational 1 or 2 days of higher calories to keep your metabolism in high-gear.

One other thing to keep in mind - your body doesn't work on a 24hr schedule, and it often takes a few days for your weight to catch up.  So binging one day might not show up on the scale the next day, but instead shows the day after that.  This is one of the reasons most people don't recommend weighing in every day, but one a week minimum instead.

lol trhawley, I looked up "sport" in wikipedia and got your exact quote.  And the funny thing was right at the top was a picture of a horse jumping competition with the caption "Show Jumping, an equestrian sport". :)

Yup the peas for sure.  But if you're eating a lot, make sure you drink enough water to off-set the sodium.

Original Post by merylwhite1:

It takes a lot of energy to manipulate a big animal, and the skill to do it while looking like you aren't doing much at all.

THIS is the key right here.  Anything that is made to look easy usually means it's incredibly hard, but because it LOOKS easy, that means it must BE easy....right?

If you're having trouble finding a way to bring it up to your mom, why don't you just print off this post and show it to her.  It's a very well written and heartfelt post - clear and gets the point across.  And it doesn't leave any room for misunderstanding.

Good luck!!! <3

Original Post by nealy123:

Desperation to get my thighs fitting back in my jeans has made me turn to quick loss ideas. I think because I quickly lost weight from not eating before, and kept it off, maybe it will work again?

But it DIDN'T work, am I right?  It worked temporarily, as any crash diet will, but once you start eating like a normal person again you just put it back on.

It's really hard to tell from your post since you didn't tell us what you're eating now, just that you're "eating well".  How many calories a day do you eat?  If you're undereating, that will cause your body to slip into to conservation mode, and then into starvation mode, where no matter how much exercise you're doing, your body is holding on to every last calorie in desperation.

Depending on how long you were undereating, you may have already temporarily messed up your metabolism, but the good news is, if you can mess it up, you can also fix it!  You might need to eat at maintenance for a couple of weeks to rev it up again before cutting back a more reasonable amount for weight loss.

I hear ya!  And to those people who don't understand this behaviour......haven't you ever told a kid "no" before?  Does that make them not want whatever they were asking for?  No way!  Now they just want it more!!

I think it's terrible that they said those things to you.  I don't know what it is about food issues, but for some reason a lot of people think they're "helping" when they try to prevent us from eating anything bad.  The decision has to come from us, or it's just going to make us crave it all the more.  Forbidden fruit and all that jazz.

Next time they say something like that, you could point out that they're really just making it worse, but honestly, the best thing you can do is be aware of your emotions, and the fact that your craving is really just a reaction to being told what to do.  If you can own up to your feelings, it's a bit easier to get control of them.

Good luck and don't let the brother get you down.  I have one too and he was a pain in the arse growing up lol.

I'll put my vote in with the water retention theory from your surgery, but everyone here is correct that fluctuations of a few pounds are totally normal.  Don't look at the day to day numbers on the scale (if it helps, only weight yourself one a week) and just look at your overall trend.  Since you've only been at it a week and a half, you don't have much of a trend yet, but stick with it and you'll see that even with the fluctuations you'll have a downward trend.

Head's up - you'll most likely see another fluctuation soon.  Since you've been eating very little the past couple of days due to your surgery, you'll probably have a drop in weight soon, but when you go back to your normal eating patterns, that will come back on.  I'm just warning you in advance so you don't panic - it's totally normal. :)

Hope you feel better soon from your surgery!

If you want to keep up your workouts, by all means, do it.  But do remember that much of your body's resources need to go towards healing yourself when you're sick, be it a cold or something more serious.  So take it easy, and listen to your body - if you get tired earlier then usual, which you probably will, it's time to take a break.

Get well soon! :)