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

[Zer]

Originally Posted by DarleenMB

Thought I'd delurk.... Zer I feel your pain. It is SO difficult to do this when those nasty ol' cravings hit....

So hang in there. You CAN do this.

Here's the mantra I repeated over and over to myself the first of March when I quit the low fat lifestyle for a high fat one:

I said it over and and over and over and over. I am now repeating it AGAIN.... It helps. maybe it'll help you.

Oh, thanks for coming out of Lurkdom to share your victory over temptation - friends offering carbs with "just a bite" as a hook to sabotage your excellent LC effort.

I'm so proud of you for standing firm in the face of "friendly persuasion" to abandon your goals. Here's to success - just for today - in our LC lifestyle! Yay for LCFriends!

[Ilpirata]

Thank you so much for sharing with us Darlene! I hadn't read your story before and it really struck home with me!

[Zer]

Originally Posted by GME

Oh man, I loooovvve spinach dip. For me it's not the dip that's the problem, it's what I use to carry it to my mouth. Have you found a good LC carrier?

Something meaty might work. Fish croquettes made into 'fingers' suitable for dipping? Chicken 'fingers' oven roasted with a savory coating? Beefy 'fingers' of ground meat mixed with chopt mint, allspice (adds a very MiddleEastern flavor) and baked to perfection? All sorts of meaty dippers might be created, any of which would be tastier after dipping into any of a number of LC dips - spinach or guacamole or sour cream or cream cheese with a generous amount of bleu cheese worked into the relatively milder cream cheese. Oh, just imagine the joy of snacking on numerous dips, dipped into by nearly carb-free meaty morsels.

Meatballs? Sure, fork 'em, dip 'em, eat 'em!

[Ilpirata]

Oh man, I loooovvve spinach dip. For me it's not the dip that's the problem, it's what I use to carry it to my mouth. Have you found a good LC carrier?

Well,
I was using pieces of bacon and salami.
yes. dip on bacon.

[GME]

Originally Posted by Ilpirata

yes. dip on bacon.

That made me literally laugh out loud I may type LOL but I'm not actually doing it. My kids think I'm crazy. But you know what? That sounds pretty tasty to me.

[GME]

Originally Posted by DarleenMB

I pm'd Twyla who graciously offered me some very sane advice. Yes, my metabolism has slowed down to a crawl. She suggested I eat NO LESS than 1700 cal/day while it repaired itself. Most days I average over 2000 and the bulk of it is FAT.

Twyla, God bless her. She's the one that came in my journal and "hounded" me (very kindly) until I tried eating more. And it worked! I her.

I'm glad its working for you Darleen. That must have been tough going, watching the scale go up.

It was scary for me. Stalled at 1600 cals... where do you go from there? How in the world can you maintain long term?

[GME]

Originally Posted by Zer

Meatballs? Sure, fork 'em, dip 'em, eat 'em!

That does sound good Zer. I like the spinich-artichoke dip that you bake. Mmmmm, dip on meatballs.

[Mommie22boys]

Originally Posted by Cyard

Zer: I the fawn shake, have it every morning for breakfast. It is incredibly filling and really good for you!

[COLOR="Red"]Andrea: I'm anxious to try your version, how many carbs is it[/COLOR]?

The one I made this morning was exactly the recipe I had posted, except I traded the h&h for water and added 1 Tbls of flaxmeal. So good!!

So, 20g carbs and 5.5g of fiber = 14.5g net
Without the flaxmeal, 17 carb and 3g of fiber = 14 net

Originally Posted by Zer

Something meaty might work. Fish croquettes made into 'fingers' [COLOR="red"]suitable for dipping?[/COLOR] Chicken 'fingers' oven roasted with a savory coating? Beefy 'fingers' of ground meat mixed with chopt mint, allspice (adds a very MiddleEastern flavor) and baked to perfection? All sorts of meaty dippers might be created, any of which would be tastier after dipping into any of a number of LC dips - spinach or guacamole or sour cream or cream cheese with a generous amount of bleu cheese worked into the relatively milder cream cheese. Oh, just imagine the joy of snacking on numerous dips, dipped into by nearly carb-free meaty morsels.

Meatballs? Sure, fork 'em, dip 'em, eat 'em!

You guys DIP stuff in your dip?!? I just eat it out of the bowl!!

I gotta go get dinner started. . .eggs and sausages tonight, YUM!! The boys both have games tonight, so I'm off and running. I'll try to post my totals later.

[Mommie22boys]

Yesterday went well. I was worried because I had a few spoonfuls of NSA ice cream, but I accounted for it in fitday, and my numbers are still alright. (BMR 1730, I shoot for 1800):

Total: 1798
Fat: 136 1226 69%
Sat: 49 443 25%
Poly: 19 175 10%
Mono: 23 211 12%
Carbs: 42 143 8%
Fiber: 7 0 0%
Protein: 101 405 23%
Alcohol: 0 0 0%

I forgot to tell you yesterday that I went down .4 yesterday morning. Today I am down another 1.0. That makes a running total since I started eating to my BMR last Tuesday of 4.0 pounds lost.


<-------Me likey.


It seems like my scale is just starting to get with the program, after the first week of just slogging along, either staying the same or going down .2 here and there. So, stick with it if you're not seeing movement yet. . .it may just take your body some time to adjust!

KUTGW, everybody and have a great day.

[Zer]

Sometimes we are blessed to wake up sane. Other days are not so good. That's how I feel about a post that hit me just right as inspiration for today!

Originally Posted by Smythe

For the life of me I can't figure out how or why.

I maintained my wt loss for 2 years and then had some medical issues that threw me into a funk and my WOL went out the window. Once I got that straightened out I struggled to get back on track...for months I struggled.

Now, I'm in the groove, dropping the weight I gained, fitting into some of my skinny clothes etc. But I don't know how/why it clicked at this particular point in time. I find this frustrating because I think knowing the why(s) of our behavior is key. I know I should just be grateful I'm back on track, but I wish I knew how I got here so if should I stumble again I won't be floundering around for 3 months trying to get my act together. KWIM?? Self awareness is so elusive sometimes.

Thanks for posting this. Helps to know that others are mystified by being blessed, as sometimes happens. If you lose your way again, try to remember that you've been there before and lived to tell about it. I'm glad that you are in the groove. Keep on grooving!

[Zer]

Ever wonder if we can lose weight without WORKING at it? I sure wonder.

Originally Posted by Tooter

Gary Taubes ... in his book "Good Calories, Bad Calories".... says that you can lose the weight without exercise. ... There are other factors to think about with exercise. Exercise is great to make you feel better, to make your body toned and for your over all health. ... Exercise fights depression, gets the blood flowing, tones our bodies up, gives us strength and stamina. BALANCE!!!

I'm not able to do much these days, but I agree that moving my muscles changes how I feel about myself, shifts my mood, is a way of reminding myself how good it feels to flex a muscle, work my body. I'm not as fit as I'd like to be. Who is? But I know that I can regain some of the flexibility that I enjoyed before I forgot how to use my body. Made the mistake of sitting at a desk while my brain worked and my body sat slumped and got stodgy. Someday I hope to follow my Inner Sylph's inclination - to be as agile as the lithe ladies my Inner Sylph is channeling: Isadora Duncan and Josephine Baker. Can you imagine that? Who'd suspect that all that is going on inside a dumpy old body like mine?

[GME]

Morning Gals,

My mix-it-up experiment is going well. I can't remember what I've posted where, but I was stalled for about a month and getting frustrated.

I had been stalled at 1600 cals (below my BMR) back in March, upped them to 2100 (350 above my BMR but well below what FitDay says I use) and started losing again. Then I stalled at 2100. I sat there for a month, hoping it would resolve itself... it didn't. So Monday I dropped right to BMR and finally got the scale moving again. I'm down 2.5 new pounds (not within normal bounce) since Monday. I threw in a higher day yesterday and the scale still moved .5 last night :

Thursday's totals:
Total: 2175
Fat: 178 1602 75%
Carbs: 55 141 7%
Fiber: 20 0 0%
Protein: 102 408 19%

I'm in week 8 for the Couch to 5K program and I figured out that it gets hard to run for me at 20-25 carbs so I added some fruit yesterday and 2 yummy avocados. Today is a no-run day so I'm going back to BMR and lower carbs. I hope I can keep this up.

Zer, I agree with the exercise comments 1000% The only thing that kept from from falling off the deep end during my last stall was my exercise progress. I didn't lose any pounds or inches, but I went from struggling to run 60 seconds between walk breaks to running 30 minutes without looking at my watch.

Great going Mommie22boys, 4 lbs is awesome!

[Ilpirata]

That makes a running total since I started eating to my BMR last Tuesday of 4.0 pounds lost.

AWESEOM!!!!! WTG.

So Monday I dropped right to BMR and finally got the scale moving again. I'm down 2.5 new pounds (not within normal bounce) since Monday. I threw in a higher day yesterday and the scale still moved .5 last night :

Killer Gina! You've done a great job sticking with this and tweaking and finding what works. None of us are quitters... but weathering these stalls and frustrations has been too much for alot of others before us.

[Zer]

As I hover just over 400# (still, again, in perpetuity, it seems like to me!), I'm aware that there is a difference today in how I feel about tweaking my LC plan.

Since I came to this thread and got some hard figures for BMR:2423cals and a high figure for protein grams that I probably will never achieve if I don't get a lot more meat into me - 182gProtein being a LOT of protein for a non-carnivore to contemplate - I feel hopeful that I shall find just what my body wants to let go of the flab that is definitely changing form on my body. I see creases in my formidable thighs and I believe that the fat cells in those pillowy thighs have been changing. Not yet showing up on my scale as fast as I'd like to see, but I believe that I shall soon be complaining bitterly about folds of skin where I am seeing creases. I am sure this will be awkward and painful, to have to see and handle excess skin. I'll try to remember how heavy all that skin was when it was packed to sausage-firmness with fat and fluid, back when Edema was my middle name and my legs were pillars of shockingly hard - and painful - tissue. I'd press a finger deep into the edema and see a deep impression form and remain after I removed my finger. The doctors did the same, then tried to get me to take "water pills" that I always declined. So pitiful, treating a symptom instead of fixing a problem!

So I've come a long way from where I was.
Got to remember how that felt.

I believe that I'm on the right track - at last - in eating to my BMR:2423cals while I hold carbs down to 5% (somehow, like eating more flesh, more dead creatures - ugh - as well as eggs and fish that I somehow do not object to using as fuel). No faces on eggs and fish, so I can eat 'em and still feel all right about my position on the food chain. Funny how I feel about eating creatures with big brown eyes. Sigh. Anyway, I'm sold on this BMR thing!

Thanks for this thread and for all the support. Thanks also, ilpirata for your most memorable comment on a recent bread-thread:

F
BREAD

~ Ilpirata

What a succinct comment for any of us who are inclined to crave this carby item under our butter. Love your approach!

[Ilpirata]

Thanks for this thread and for all the support. Thanks also, ilpirata for your most memorable comment on a recent bread-thread:
Quote:
F
BREAD

~ Ilpirata

What a succinct comment for any of us who are inclined to crave this carby item under our butter. Love your approach!

LOL, thanks for noticing! I swear thats my mantra. Its all I can do not to yell it at people waxing romantic about how they could never give it up.

Oh, and while I'm at it:

F
Being Fat
Anymore!

[Zer]

Wonderful anecdote! This is priceless!

Originally Posted by luv_bug

I had a student offer me a sugary fruit snack one day during my practicum. I politely declined. There was a student in the class who was diabetic who proceeded to ask "are you diabetic and not allowed sugar?" I said no, I'm avoiding sugars because I feel healthier, etc. Anyways .. he lit up and said "I know -- you're doing FATKINS!!! My Mom is doing that -- that's what my Dad calls her diet..."

I started laughing and confirmed this with him and said that he must have a very clever father ... The kid smiled and said -- "you know, that diet really works ... way better than when my Mom was doing Whale Watchers..." HAHAHA!!!! I almost died...

[piedrafina]

Originally Posted by Ilpirata

LOL, thanks for noticing! I swear thats my mantra. Its all I can do not to yell it at people waxing romantic about how they could never give it up.

Oh, and while I'm at it:

F
Being Fat
Anymore!

amen to that! and while we are at it... F this stall!

oh yeah, did i mention no movement on the scale still? *pitches temper tantrum*

[Ilpirata]

and while we are at it... F this stall!

Oh yeah, F IT!
F that Fin Stall!

Your stall can biiiiite me
your stall is suuuuucky
your stall is stuuuupid
and I don't liiiiike it!

[piedrafina]

LOVE IT!

[Mommie22boys]

Thanks for the kudos on the 4 pounds, girls! I hope this is indicative of a new downward trend. . .one that will finally break me out of this decade that I've been living in since November!!

F being in the same decade for 6 months!

I stayed on-plan today. . .we even went out to eat AND went to the movies tonight. I wasn't even tempted to eat anything *naughty*.

Total: 1700
Fat: 131 1179 70%
Sat: 55 491 29%
Poly: 8 70 4%
Mono: 23 208 12%
Carbs: 32 108 6%
Fiber: 5 0 0%
Protein: 99 397 24%
Alcohol: 0 0 0%

It's kind of funny how my numbers played out today. I usually keep a running total or write things down as I go so I know how much I can/should eat in the evening, but today was too busy for it. My %-age's look exactly like I like 'em and my calories are right in-range. Go figure.

Tommorow will be busier, still. . .DS#1 has a baseball game at 8:30, then a lacrosse tournament in the afternoon a few towns away. Also, DS#2 has a t-ball game in the afternoon. AND it's supposed to be scattered thunderstorms all day. Beautiful.

Have a great night and awesome tomorrow. . .

[GME]

Happy to report another good BMR day and another pound down... 215.5

Totals:

Total: 1713
Fat: 126 1132 66%
Carbs: 41 149 9%
Protein: 68 274 16%
Alcohol: 22 156 9%

We also went to dinner and a movie last night (still love Indy). Had a salad and a SF latte and didn't even touch the dark chocolate I brought for myself. The family had some candy they were passing around and I wound up with a bag of Starbursts on my lap for the whole movie- barely noticed and didn't care.

I did have a little mishap later at home though. I don't drink a lot and when I do its usually mixed and fruity. I like Mike's Hard lemonade and they make a SF cranberry that is pretty tasty to have at home. So I put two in FitDay and procede to imbibe. After one I noticed I did NOT have the SF after all . I left two in FitDay and quit after the first one and made raspberry green tea.

I'm going to go run this morning, do a few things around the house and go to the boardwalk tonight for fireworks and roller-coaster-riding (note the lack of corn-dog-eating on that list )

Zer, I'm sorry this weightloss thing is coming so slowly for you . Your spirit and willingness to stick with it are amazing.

[Zer]

401.8 today...was 401.6 last Saturday...so it goes. Trying to stay focused and hopeful of seeing and hearing my scale give me 399# (in this lifetime, maybe?) some June morning. Seeing quite a bit of bOunCe as I weigh during the week.

Here's to a calorie-burning day today and a productive LC day for all of us!

[Mommie22boys]

Had a busy day today with the DS's games. . .in. the. rain. Bleah. I was good, though. . .packed a litle cooler with drinks and lc goodies for me so I wouldn't be tempted by the concession stand. I prevailed!

Dinner, which was going to be grill fare, turned into pizza and wings when I got outvoted by the rest of the fam. So I had 4 wings w/ blue cheese. I don't know how I'm gonna fare in the morning, though, as the sauce tasted sweet.

Here's my day:

Total: 2059
Fat: 159 1427 70%
Sat: 53 478 23%
Poly: 18 166 8%
Mono: 22 198 10%
Carbs: 29 95 5%
Fiber: 5 0 0%
Protein: 130 519 25%
Alcohol: 0 0 0%

My calories today turned out higher than they have been lately, but we're working with averages here, right? Anyhoo, I stopped down to the farmer's market today and picked up some more farm-fresh eggs and a bag of organic mixed greens that smelled just wonderful. I can't wait to try them in my Fawn shake tomorrow, along with the fresh organic baby spinach I also picked up today at the store. I my Fawn shakes!!

Cyard, or anyone else who does the Fawn shakes: Have you tried using a little frozen peach in yours? I have been using frozen strawberries (though I got fresh at the store today), but when I was getting more frozen ones, I spotted the frozen peaches and they jumped right into my cart!! Do you think they would be ok with the greens and things. . .or just be weird? I'd hate to make a shake and have to toss out all those wonderful ingredients b/c the peach flavor didn't work. . .any thoughts on this? TIA!

[Zer]

Originally Posted by Mommie22boys

Cyard, or anyone else who does the Fawn shakes: Have you tried using a little frozen peach in yours? ... I spotted the frozen peaches and they jumped right into my cart!! Do you think they would be ok with the greens and things. . .or just be weird? I'd hate to make a shake and have to toss out all those wonderful ingredients b/c the peach flavor didn't work. . .any thoughts on this? TIA!

Might try a small amount of the Fawn shake with some frozen peach - just a cup or so, blended, to see how it tastes, peach+greens. I'm thinking the peach is a milder taste than berries. Might not be noticeable. Do let us know. I'm still debating - with just a Braun hand-held chopper. I've used it to macerate parsley, just don't know how it will work on kale and the like. I'll figure it out. Maybe just try a small amount, to see if I can liquify kale, collards, broccoli in aloe juice. That's the liquid, right?

[Mommie22boys]

Originally Posted by Zer

Might try a small amount of the Fawn shake with some frozen peach - just a cup or so, blended, to see how it tastes, peach+greens. I'm thinking the peach is a milder taste than berries. Might not be noticeable. Do let us know. I'm still debating - with just a Braun hand-held chopper. I've used it to macerate parsley, just don't know how it will work on kale and the like. I'll figure it out. Maybe just try a small amount, to see if I can liquify kale, collards, broccoli in [COLOR="Red"]aloe juice. That's the liquid, right?[/COLOR]

I don't have any aloe juice. I'll have to go back and search for its' benefits. I know people use it, but I just can't remember why. The liquid for mine is almond milk (gotta make more this morning) and water. I was putting in some h&h, too, but decided it was just extra carbs for no noticeable change in flavor. . .so I ditched it.

Oh yeah, and the wings from last night most decidedly had sugar in the sauce. I bounced up this morning.

<sigh>

No take out today. . .just dinner at my in-laws. I think they're grilling out, so lots of good choices for me there. Think I'll bring my lc cole slaw, though, so I'm not stuck just having a chicken breast, b/c all the other things my MIL will make will not be lc-friendly.

Happy Father's Day to all those fathers out there!!

[Cyard]

Andrea and Zer: I haven't tried peaches, that may be yummy! I just went grocery shopping and my store had europe's best (my fav. brand) berries on sale 50% off, so I stocked up. When I run out I may try peach As far as the liquid, mine has yogurt in it which helps get it all broken down. My little $19.99 blender will do do it, although I use a food processor for mine.

[DarleenMB]

Hi all. Delurking with a happy announcement.

My metabolism seems to be perking up!!! YAY!!

How do I know this? Well, last month my body temp was averaging from 95.6 to 96.4

HUH????

Yesterday and today it was 97.6!!!!!!!!!!

But since I had my bug I haven't been tracking my calories like I should and am up 2.2 pounds. I'm not going to freak out yet because I'm SURE it's water retention. You know the drill, wake up with puffy eyelids, puffy lips and face. Fingers feel like little sausages.

So I'm back to carefully tracking my intake. Once I get my temp back to a normal 98.6 I'm planning on eating 1700 cal to 1900 cal per day and see how I do. I'm almost afraid to eat to my BMR which I calculated to be 1498. Seems really low and that 1200 per day is what slowed my metabolism to a crawl.

But I just had to share. 97.6!!! yippeee.

Oh, almost forgot. What's a Fawn shake?

and I cannot do aloe vera juice. I'm wildly allergic to it.

[Mommie22boys]

Originally Posted by Cyard

Andrea and Zer: I haven't tried peaches, that may be yummy! I just went grocery shopping and my store had europe's best (my fav. brand) berries on sale 50% off, so I stocked up. When I run out I may try peach As far as the liquid, [COLOR="Red"]mine has yogurt in it which helps get it all broken down.[/COLOR] My little $19.99 blender will do do it, although I use a food processor for mine.

Yes, yes! I use 1/4 cup of strained yogurt in mine, too.

Originally Posted by DarleenMB

Hi all. Delurking with a happy announcement.

My metabolism seems to be perking up!!! YAY!!

How do I know this? Well, last month my body temp was averaging from 95.6 to 96.4

But I just had to share. 97.6!!! yippeee.

Oh, almost forgot. [COLOR="red"]What's a Fawn shake?[/COLOR]

and I cannot do aloe vera juice. I'm wildly allergic to it.

See post # 623 on this thread for one recipe I posted. Also, you can use the search button above to look for other fawn shake recipes.

YAY on your current success!! Thanks for delurking to post!! KUTGW!

[cwoman]

Hello all, I just skimmed thru the posts and I am wondering if we put in our goal weight instead of our current weight to get the BMR for our GW, will the calories we need be more exact to what we need to lose weight?? I hope I did not confuse anyone.

[Zer]

Seems to me that using goal weight (instead of current weight) to set BMR will be a problem for a body that needs a minimum number of calories for basic metabolic function. My current weight of 400# is vastly more than my goal weight of 199# - hopefully to be refined to an ultimate goal weight of 150# for my 5'10" height.

I suspect that 150# is not possible, with all the excess tissue and skin that is likely to remain even after I flush away all the excess fat, but it amuses me to think that I might someday weigh 150# and be able to thank Dr.Atkins and all his LC disciples for finding my way back to 150#.

My intention is to recalculate my BMR every 10# or so.