upping the limit

I've been mulling over the results of my vacation for the past few days, as well as going over past diet logs and early documentation (you know, back when this was actually WORKING) and researching calorie recommendations on various sites...including the one for the SELF challenge which I just joined. I've come to the conclusion, perhaps wishful-thinkingly, that the reason I've been plateauing so badly, even though I'm doing everything "right", is that I need to eat more. This is not really a new revelation, but something I'm revisiting.

In the beginning, I was eating 1200-1500ish calories per day, walking 3 miles per weekday, and losing like crazy. Things started to taper off, I joined WW, and have been struggling for every pound for over a year. A couple times in the last 2 years, I've noted that on weeks I ate more, I lost more.

Three times in the past 2 weeks, I've seen articles stating that an average woman needs approximately 12-15 times her body weight in calories in order to maintain her current weight. The multiplier is determined by her activity level--more active, higher multiplier.

Let's run those numbers, based on the past month. Right now, I weigh 187. Before my vacation, I was working out 4-7 times per week, about 30-60 minutes per day. Per the suggestion on the SELF challenge site, my multiplier would be 15. I'm going to dial it back to 14, just to be conservative. That puts my maintenance calories at 2618. So, to lose 1 lb per week, I'd need to reduce that by 500 per day--2118. Now, I know from experience that this is WAY high if I hope to achieve any kind of results. However, my WW POINTS target is about 1000 calories lower than that per day. Even if I eat all my flex and activity points, I'm still averaging about 1620 calories per day*. According to nearly every RMR calculator I've used, my body burns more than that sitting on the couch all day. And yet, my weight stays within the same 5 lb range.

So, here's what I'm going to try for the next month. Since I've joined this SELF challenge anyway, I'm going to follow their 90/10 plan and calorie recommendations. Since I still pay $15/month for WW online, I'm going to keep recording over there. However, I'm raising my personal daily target to 30, with 35 flexpoints and any activity points I may earn along the way. So, in a week earning 24 activity points, I would average a high of 1921 calories per day if I ate every point available. By SELF's recommendations, this would earn me about 1 lb. lost per week. Which, at this stage of the game, is completely acceptable to me.

Will this work better? Only time will tell, but it will certainly be easier. All I know is, what I've been doing for the past month isn't working as desired, and taking a vacation had some unexpected results. I'm willing to roll with it and experiment a little.

*Depending on fat and fiber content, WW points are roughly 30-50 calories per point. That puts my target of 24 in the 720-1200 range. I consistently hover around 26-35, which would put me at 780 - 1750. Average number above is based on 24 activity points + 35 flexpoints + 168 target points * 50, divided by 7.

From time to time I have that same caloric conundrum. One the one hand I'm trying to stick w/1500-1800. If I did NutriSystem by the book I'd be @ 1200, but most of their people don't exercise, not an option for me. So when I start doing research and see @ my weight, my daily calories should really be in the 2000's, I freeze up.

It's like I have a mental block that I can't get past that #.

I know @ some point when I have more muscle, less bodyfat, increasing eating will be a must and I don't want to get all anal over it, but when I read your paragraph:

"That puts my maintenance calories at 2618. So, to lose 1 lb per week, I'd need to reduce that by 500 per day--2118. Now, I know from experience that this is WAY high if I hope to achieve any kind of results. However, my WW POINTS target is about 1000 calories lower than that per day. Even if I eat all my flex and activity points, I'm still averaging about 1620 calories per day*. According to nearly every RMR calculator I've used, my body burns more than that sitting on the couch all day. And yet, my weight stays within the same 5 lb range."

It just struck a chord in me.

I'm doing the self challenge too, but mainly the workouts part.

It will be interesting to hear how it goes.