BMR!!! Eating To your BMR... No Matter What!

[Mommie22boys]

Originally Posted by Zer

At 1am Friday morn I opted to slurp 40gProtein in a WPP hot slosh instead of cruising the kitchen to see What's Available. That's quite a change for any carbaholic. I'm impressed with myself, for knowing that heading to the kitchen with Evil Intent is just no part of my life today. Sure, there are eggs, but I do not think that cooking eggs was part of my agenda. I'll boil or scramble some eggs up later today. Probably do both, eating the scrambles while a slew of eggs boil for wknd snax. Got plans to push HARD for my 6/8 weigh day, hoping to be well under 399# by then. Still hovering just above 400# - got 401# on the scale Thurs midday - and believe that I can do two diligent LC days (Fri/Sat) to get to Sunday's 4month scale weigh day on 6/8 - to see THREEdom coming true on my scale! Not just flickering by me, but steady and official: 399# or better! Yay, I'm stoked!

Cannot think when last I weighed under 400#. No idea at all. I'll have to prowl some ancient journals to see if any weights are noted. I think I was in my 30s or early 40s the last time I weighed under 400#. What a wasted life!

But that's past. What's ahead of me is a year pushing to reach 299#, right?

Okay, I'd like to see 299# by Feb.2009, but that's 8mos away and I'm not losing weight at a rate that will bring me to drop an average of 13#/mo.

Maybe if I went more Meat&Egg? Maybe I could see 3#/wk on average loss? More protein, fewer carbs. Yeah. That could do the trick, that and eating up to my BMR:2423cals, no matter what! Maybe 299# by Feb.2009 is do-able.

What do you think? Can I do this? Dare I set my sights on that goal?

Zer: I think you're doing a great job! I'm sure that with a strict two days you'll definately make your threedom goal! How awesome!!! I don't see why you can't look toward 299. The more weight that comes off, the more willing you likely will be/feel to move around more, which will only aid in your weight loss. How about another mini goal once you hit 399? Set your sights on something that's nearer in time (like XX more pounds by 6/30), and you'll be more likely to stay strict in order to meet your new goal. You go!!!

I have to get moving. . .it's going to be in the 90's today! Ugh! It's usually not this hot here until July. . .certainly looking to break a record for us today!

Later, everyone!!!

[Sybilizedliving]

Just barely made my BMR today. And, my protein wasn't near high enough. Tomorrow is a new day. Have a good weekend everyone. Will be looking forward to the Monday morning check-ins!

Total: 1752
Fat: 142 1278 73%
Sat: 48 434 25%
Poly: 17 154 9%
Mono: 57 509 29%
Carbs: 38 120 7%
Fiber: 8 0 0%
Protein: 88 353 20%
Alcohol: 0 0 0%

[ragtopwife]

BMR - 1608 HB - 2211
Goal: 1800 - 1900
Carb < 20

Did good yesterday, finished up with:
1719 Cal
14.1 carbs

Not quite making my goal, but eating over my BMR so I'm happy with it. Also, I used to have to keep my carbs under 10 to lose weight, but have been averaging around 15 since eating to my BMR and seem to be steadily losing. Life is good again

[JerseyGirl1969]

Anyone see the thread on the main board that called BMR eating pure garbage?

[Cyard]

I saw it. I may get flogged for saying this but I find it unfortunate that people get so "up in arms" about thiings on the board. It's ok to try things others aren't trying! I don't find that eating to my BMR makes me "force feed" myself. I just make sure I eat the right combination of food to meet my caloric intake and to make me satisfied. Embarassingly, my BMR is way less than what I used to eat on a high carb diet.

I just wish everyone could support each other.

[JerseyGirl1969]

I agree. Although I must correct what I wrote, she thought the calculators were pure garbage. But there's enough resistance from folks against the concept of eating to BMR.

All I can say is take a look at those here who are losing.

And listen to the nutritionists--BMR and H-B are their tools. The trainers--always saying eat, eat. How about the success of BFFM? Eating is so relevant to success.

I have to admit, I constantly battle against the thoughts against eating. (See my blog. I had a trainer post a comment about me taking in too many calories.)

I question it so often, question myself about eating so much that I sometimes think it's not healthy thinking, bordering on a thought-based ED.

[Ilpirata]

Hi Thealything!
Yep, your macros look great except - as you pointed out- perhaps a bit low in the carb department. Reallly aim for at least 20g. I know that in addition to not eating enough calories, staying on super low induction carb levels slowed my weight loss as well. Veggie Carbs Good!

[Ilpirata]

Maybe if I went more Meat&Egg? Maybe I could see 3#/wk on average loss? More protein, fewer carbs. Yeah. That could do the trick, that and eating up to my BMR:2423cals, no matter what! Maybe 299# by Feb.2009 is do-able.

What do you think? Can I do this? Dare I set my sights on that goal?

Well Zer, whatever you do as long as you keep up what you've been doing so far you will continue to lose and continue to meet your weigh loss goals. I will agree that occasionally your carbs seem slightly high... well, at least just higher than what I eat. Do you have an exact carb # of grams that you aim for a day?

[Cyard]

Kisha: Are you staying at induction level carbs? I'm thinking about going back to induction. Right now i'm eating 30-40 net carbs a day. I'm still at 6lbs gained from Disney. Gotta change something up!

[Cyard]

Laura: Oh, I just saw that part. Oh well. BMR is a lovely tool and we're all using it to the best of our ability Or, I should say, you gals are...I strayed a bit a Disney, but I'm back on track!

[Ilpirata]

Kisha: Are you staying at induction level carbs? I'm thinking about going back to induction. Right now i'm eating 30-40 net carbs a day. I'm still at 6lbs gained from Disney. Gotta change something up!

Hi Courtney,
No, I'm not. I was for the LONGEST time eating under 20g carbs per day (Atkins 72 version, no subtraction for fiber). Since I've been doing the BMR eating I've also been trying to eat at least 25g of good veggie carbs a day. Sometimes as high as 30 although I've never gone above that number. Almost ALL of my carbs come from veg. I upped them over 20 by adding higher carb veg like cherry tomatoes and red peppers. I think its helping and I do eat more vegetables now. So I'm not at induction levels but I've never ventured above 30g of carbs a day. I'm a slow changer! Change is scary even when what I've been doing isn't working and I tend to make baby steps!

[Cyard]

I understand, change is scary! Right now the scariest thing for me is being stuck at a weight above where I was 2 weeks ago. Sorry, I think all I do is whine on here I'm in that panic mode of "what I'm doing isn't working but I don't know how to fix it."

Do you gals (guys?) eat artificial sweetners?

[Zer]

Originally Posted by Ilpirata

Well Zer, whatever you do as long as you keep up what you've been doing so far you will continue to lose and continue to meet your weigh loss goals. I will agree that occasionally your carbs seem slightly high... well, at least just higher than what I eat. Do you have an exact carb # of grams that you aim for a day?

I'm shaken sometimes by the grams of carbs being so high, but I am mostly focused on targeting BMR:2423calories and targeting 182gProtein - never get anywhere NEAR that!

What I have done is to cut back on mayo, eating my boiled eggs plain instead of as eggy-mayo and saving my mayo for the fish-mayo salad. I'm trying to cut back, using less of the mayo than I apparently like in a ratio of 1:1 with my fish. I can see how it messes with my total calories and probably hurts my protein total too, to use as much mayo as I'm inclined to use.

In juggling calories and protein targets, I can see that my carbs go over my 5% target more often than is good for my weight loss. Got to stop that!

It's just a lot of things to juggle. I lose focus. That's my Aspie nature, that I get scrambled if I try to focus on too many things at once. So, I am looking now at how many carbs I get in return for 43gProtein and 800calories in my WPP hot slosh. I think maybe WPP is too carby for me to indulge in daily. I am thinking that I might do that as part of my LC plan - but not a daily part.

That means that I want to find an alternative way to get the VCO into me on days when I am not mixing VCO into a hot slosh. Mint tea? Maybe so. I can see that I miss my VCO on days when I start off with a burger breakfast and skip the WPP. What I probably need to do for my Aspie self is to design a plan on FitDay that feeds me 182gProtein with 2423calsBMR - without all the carbs that are showing up in my somewhat haphazard eating plan.

More eggs - just plain hard boiled eggs are fine, just fine - and more fish in olive oil. That seems to me to be the best part of what I am eating. I like the food all right, as I've always liked eggs and always liked sardines and the canned fish that is my staple right now.

Thanks for looking at my menu and helping me to fine-tune it for fewer carbs and for more certain weight loss as I aim to keep carbs down to 5% ratio.

[Zer]

Originally Posted by Cyard

Do you eat artificial sweeteners?

I do not. I think I may be one of the people who is triggered by alternative sweeteners as much as by sugar itself. I've always leaned toward savory rather than sweet, so it's easier for me to avoid sweet LC stuff than to avoid other carbs. And we are told to count carbs for alt.sweeteners - just as we are advised by Dr.Atkins to limit alt.sweeteners to 3pkts a day. Not a problem for me. My WPP uses stevia (and is too sweet for me) and I cut the sweetness with raw cacao and espresso crystals, craving their bitterness as a balance to the WPP's sweetness.

I'm tempted to offer my small store of alt.sweeteners to anyone who wants it.

[Zer]

Originally Posted by Cyard

I saw it. I may get flogged for saying this but I find it unfortunate that people get so "up in arms" about things on the board. It's ok to try things others aren't trying! I don't find that eating to my BMR makes me "force feed" myself. I just make sure I eat the right combination of food to meet my caloric intake and to make me satisfied. Embarassingly, my BMR is way less than what I used to eat on a high carb diet.

I just wish everyone could support each other.

Yep. I've backed off a few threads that seem incendiary. The term "force feed" suggests how a goose is forced to ingest food to turn its liver into a rich paté ingredient. I struggle to eat what adds up to my BMR:2423cals while I aim for a target of 182gProtein and aim for 5% ratio of carbs (which is more grams that I'm comfy with).

My caloric guideline for Atkins is 75%Fat, 20%Protein, 5%Carb (vegie carbs being the best carbs).

So I have to relax about folks drifting into threads that say BMR is not a good guide for people trying to figure out how their bodies function. I can't afford to get embroiled in hostile exchanges. I'm here at LCFriends to get support and to offer such support as I can. That's about it for me.

[Ilpirata]

I understand, change is scary! Right now the scariest thing for me is being stuck at a weight above where I was 2 weeks ago. Sorry, I think all I do is whine on here I'm in that panic mode of "what I'm doing isn't working but I don't know how to fix it."

Do you gals (guys?) eat artificial sweetners?

I do. Yes. I switched to liquid form to save on carbs but really need my sweet fix! Don't like stevia. I like my sweeteened creamy co dessert tea every night! yum.

Hey Courtney,
Are you in ketosis still? I was thinking maybe that one meal may have knocked you out of it. If you're not maybe reinducting might be a good idea... at least to get you back into ketosis and back to the metabolic advantage ketosis provides...

just a thought.

[Ilpirata]

In juggling calories and protein targets, I can see that my carbs go over my 5% target more often than is good for my weight loss. Got to stop that!

It's just a lot of things to juggle. I lose focus. That's my Aspie nature, that I get scrambled if I try to focus on too many things at once. So, I am looking now at how many carbs I get in return for 43gProtein and 800calories in my WPP hot slosh. I think maybe WPP is too carby for me to indulge in daily. I am thinking that I might do that as part of my LC plan - but not a daily part.

Well here's my personal opinion about what is important for weight loss: I think carb count is number one. ALWAYS. First and foremost I'm an Atkinseer and that means I eat Atkins level of carbs. First. Period. SECOND for me is BMR... I HAD to focus on BMR when I hit my extended plateau. JUST doing Atkins by the book was no longer working and I needed to shake up the number of calorie I was consuming. So I guess protein/fat ratios would come in third. I actually don't count my protein at all - at least not as a number that has a target associated with it. I think for weight loss we need to follow our low carb plan's carb targets first, then eat to BMR second. This is ME though and MY opinion... if there's one thing we've learned here together - its that we're all different!

[Zer]

I think what got me focused on grams of protein was that my legs do not lift me and do not allow me to squat or to sit down gracefully. I fall onto a chair. That is not good for any chair, not at my massive weight. Not good for me, either, as a chair that is crashed down on may give way. Eeek!

So it was suggested that I was not providing sufficient protein to feed my leg muscles. I think that I have a groin injury that is affecting my core muscles and my walking as well as my ability to stand up or sit down without crashing. But I realize that I am protein deficient. That's why I am aware of a target for protein grams.

But I agree that I must cut back on carbs to lose the weight that I want to lose.

Thanks, again, for your input. I need to rework my priorities. I can do this. It's NOT brainsurgery. It's just eating. How hard can that BE???

[piedrafina]

well, i managed to do it again yesterday. *whew* it seems that i tend to eat more calories than i realized, so i was worried. but it all worked out.

here are my totals for yesterday:
Total: 2021
Fat: 151 1359 69%
Sat: 50 452 23%
Poly: 28 250 13%
Mono: 25 227 11%
Carbs: 60 146 7%
Fiber: 24 0 0%
Protein: 120 478 24%
Alcohol: 0 0 0%

i even got my carbs under 30!

lisa: thanks for the links! i did plenty of reading. i have a doc appt on thursday. i will be talking to her about meds.

zer: i'm rooting for you seeing threedom! *cheer* i'm sure you can do it!

[Cyard]

K: I'm not sure if I'm still in ketosis. I don't have any ketostix and I'm not one that's in tune with my body enough to tell otherwise. I'm thinking that tomorrow I'll start induction level carbs, or Sunday, depending on when I do my grocery shopping. Maybe I can jumpstart a loss. YOu know how I feel about dropping my fawn shake, though Oh well, rather drop it and lose than stay at 217lbs forever.

[Yojee]

Greetings. I have been following this thread for a few days now. I figured out how many calories I should be eating, ate them, and the scale is moving down. It has moved down 1.4 pounds in 3 days. I realize this can fluctuate, but down is better than up any day. Thank you all for the contributions of advice and explanations, I will continue reading what you have to say and continue to eat to my BMR.

[Mommie22boys]

Originally Posted by Zer

It's just a lot of things to juggle. I lose focus. That's my Aspie nature, that I get scrambled if I try to focus on too many things at once. [COLOR="Red"]So, I am looking now at how many carbs I get in return for 43gProtein and 800calories in my WPP hot slosh. I think maybe WPP is too carby for me to indulge in daily. [/COLOR] I am thinking that I might do that as part of my LC plan - but not a daily part.

That means that I want to find an alternative way to get the VCO into me on days when I am not mixing VCO into a hot slosh. Mint tea? Maybe so. I can see that I miss my VCO on days when I start off with a burger breakfast and skip the WPP. What I probably need to do for my Aspie self is to design a plan on FitDay that feeds me 182gProtein with 2423calsBMR - without all the carbs that are showing up in my somewhat haphazard eating plan.

[COLOR="red"]More eggs [/COLOR]- just plain hard boiled eggs are fine, just fine - and more fish in olive oil. That seems to me to be the best part of what I am eating. I like the food all right, as I've always liked eggs and always liked sardines and the canned fish that is my staple right now.

Thanks for looking at my menu and helping me to fine-tune it for fewer carbs and for more certain weight loss as I aim to keep carbs down to 5% ratio.

Zer: If you're ditching the WPP from your hot slosh, how about throwing in a couple of raw eggs? (not sure if you were doing this already or not.) It's a great way to add protein without adding much in the way of carbs. You're wanting to add more eggs anyway, right? Why not kill two birds with one stone?

For me. . .I'm working on my fitday for the day right now. I'm embarrassed to say that I had some SF ice cream tonight. The boys were wanting some after t-ball (it was like 92 degrees out there.) So I compromised with the SF kind. Of course, I just couldn't help myself "It IS SF, Andrea. . .It won't kill you. . ." Well, my stomach is not liking me so much now. AND I'm going to pay for it in my fitday numbers. WAH. ..

I'll be back. . .

[lowcarblulu]

Another good day. My calories were too low so I made a low carb treat tonight. (3 minute flourless chocolate cake - made w/ coconut oil). Yum!

Total: 1964
Fat: 109 983 51%
Sat: 41 367 19%
Poly: 7 64 3%
Mono: 27 243 13%
Carbs: 50 134 7%
Fiber: 16 0 0%
Protein: 181 724 38%
Alcohol: 10 68 4%

[Mommie22boys]

Here's how yesterday ended up, with my SF ice cream added in. . .couldn't figure out how to input the sugar alcohols, so my carbs are a little wonky:

Total: 1806
Fat: 133 1199 68%
Sat: 33 301 17%
Poly: 17 152 9%
Mono: 24 216 12%
Carbs: 38 146 8%
Fiber: 2 0 0%
Protein: 106 423 24%
Alcohol: 0 0 0%

My BMR is 1730, and I aim for 1800 each day.

WCBL. . .

[ragtopwife]

Goal 1800-1900
< 15 carbs

Ok I was a bit indulgent yesterday...

2163 cal
24.3 carb

Went over my BMR goal but stayed under my HB of 2211 so I'm OK with that. Carbs were higher than usual but it was a bit of a "family holiday" and I knew I was a bit higher than usual. Was all good food tho, nothing shameful and I move on today back into my normal routine with no worries.

[Zer]

Sort of blew my mind, seeing and smelling fresh strawberries for dinner. Sigh. Sacrificed weight loss to revel in fresh berries.

Calories Eaten Friday
....grams . cals ..........%total
Total: 2929cals
Fat: 235 2113 ................74%
Sat: 81 727 25%
Poly: 3 31 1%
Mono: 17 153 5%
Carbs: 97 282 .................10%
Fiber: 27 0 0%
Protein: 120 480 ..........17%
- - - - -
Friday's Foods
Food Name (Serving Size) . Cals . Fat . Carb . Prot
ALG's vanilla WPP (30g/scoop x2) 238 3 13 40
Cacao, raw (1Tbs) 60 1 9 3
Espresso (1 Tbs crystals) 21 0 4 0
Oil, coconut (4Tbs) 480 56 0 0
P'kin Seed, organic (1oz) 180 14 4 9
Pumpkin seeds (spicy) (1oz) 140 11 5 6
TJ Salmon, red, wild (7.5oz) 385 25 0 46
TJ Mayo (no sugar) (4oz) 880 96 0 0
Celery, raw (2C) 38 0 9 2
OSCAR MAYER, Wieners (2 beef franks) 286 26 2 10
Strawberries, raw (2C) 91 1 21 2
Nectarine, raw (1C) 68 1 16 1
Onions, mature, raw (1C) 61 0 14 2
Totals 2929 235 97 ...........120gProtein
-----
Target BMR:2423cals / 182gProtein / 128ozWater

432.4#(2/8/08)... [color=fuchsia]Feb -5#[/color] ... [color=aqua]March -13# [/color] ... [color=purple]April -5.8#[/color] ... [color=blue]May -6#[/color]
[color=red]June:[/color] 402.8(6/1) 401.2(6/2) 401.6(6/7)
Interim goals: [color=gray]432.4 430 420 410[/color] 399 390 380 370 360 350 340 330 320
310 [color=fuchsia]299(2/5/09)[/color] 290 280 270 260 250 240 230 220 210 199

[lisabinil]

Originally Posted by Zer

Sort of blew my mind, seeing and smelling fresh strawberries for dinner. Sigh. Sacrificed weight loss to revel in fresh berries. 432.4#(2/8/08)... [color=fuchsia]Feb -5#[/color] ... [color=aqua]March -13# [/color] ... [color=purple]April -5.8#[/color] ... [color=blue]May -6#[/color]
[color=red]June:[/color] 402.8(6/1) 401.2(6/2) 401.6(6/7)
Interim goals: [color=gray]432.4 430 420 410[/color] 399 390 380 370 360 350 340 330 320
310 [color=fuchsia]299(2/5/09)[/color] 290 280 270 260 250 240 230 220 210 199

Why not have your strawberries with heavy cream? Or whipped cream-you do not have to sacrifice weight loss to include these and they are full of antioxidants and very healthy.

[Zer]

Originally Posted by lisabinil

Why not have your strawberries with heavy cream? Or whipped cream-you do not have to sacrifice weight loss to include these and they are full of antioxidants and very healthy.

Why add cream, as I've heard that carbs + fat is a recipe for gaining weight? Anyway, there were fresh berries and peaches served for dinner. It was a surprise. That's what I saw, what I ate.

So glad no sugar was added. Don't know as I'd have added cream - fresh or sour - if I had any myself. They were just perfect, some sweet and some tart. Ah, carbs worth eating!

[Mommie22boys]

Zer: Even with those strawberries, look at your percentages for the day. You still made out alright. It's not like they put you at 30% carbs. I'm with you. . .strawberries are hard to resist. It's all good.

[Mommie22boys]

I also wanted to report my own progress, thus far. I started using my fitday religiously and eating to my BMR (1730. . .aiming for 1800) everyday since Tuesday. As of this morning, I am down 2.8 pounds since Tuesday morning's weigh-in. Of course, I'm still within my normal range of fluctuation (have been bouncing around in the mid-150's for months), so I'm not calling it a miracle or anything. But still. . .I'm happy with that.

Have a great day!!