Should I stop trying to lose 5 lbs?
Hi! I have been in maintenance since November 2019. My weight has ranged from 147 to 155 for most of that maintenance time but for the last year it's been closer to 160. For almost a year I have been trying to lose about 5 lbs to get closer to the middle range of my maintenance range (150 to 160 lbs) but can't seem to stay there because of events, vacations and such that bring me back up then I have to work myself back down the range. I also started strength training with the purpose of getting stronger this past year. I'm going a little crazy because my clothes fit great but the # on the scale is higher than I'm used to in maintenance. Do I just need to go back to eating at maintenance and stop striving for that middle range? Should I change my maintenance range since I think strength training has changed my body composition? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Getting coaching
Hi Heather. I’ve been with a coach before that coached me and I lost 25 pounds. I kept it off through the pandemic but when we had 2 hurricanes hit us 6 weeks apart I went in survival mode and haven’t been able to get a grip on the habits and I’ve gained it all back. I tried macros but I think this is stressful although it should be easy if I planned the day before. I maintain my weight but don’t loose with macros. I would love to get coaching from you! I love all your podcast. I’m listening to Carolina coaching. I’m not a binge eater and it messes with my mind when I listen to these podcast. Of course I eat higher calories than I should to maintain a lower weight. My issues are spontaneous eating. Not in plate and butt in seat kind of thing. I’ve been working on my habits and would like to get started on my own with the future hope of getting coached by you. Like do a jump start on my own and knowing I’m going to get coached by you I feel I can focus on that. I’m not even sure I can get coached by you but what would you suggest I work on before getting coached? I loved my last coach but she didn’t have her own stuff together like you do and when we needed it the most she quit doing it! I am 63 years old and weigh 195. I will NOT hit 200 so I need to reverse this now!! Thank you!
Apple Watch Calories
Hi Heather - I just recently joined and I am loving your videos in Podcasts. Like many, I am practically a lifelong dieter. I am working on applying some of your tools to learn my maintenance calories and address some of my habits before I refocus on trying to lose weight. I just started this week on pre-journaling my food on paper, including my nighttime binges. The question I have, is in your experience how accurate are the calories burned on a smart watch, such as an Apple Watch? And, should I let My Fitness Pal adjust calories from exercise or not? If I go by my watch, I typically burn 2400 calories a day. This seems like so many calories to eat when I have always tried (when tracking) to stick to 1200-1500 calories. I started this week with trying to be around 1,900-2,000 - and will see what happens in 14 days. I guess I will answer my own question after the 14 days based on whether my weight goes up, down or stays the same. Thanks again!
Will I ever be able to forget food?
Dear Heather, Thank you so much for your kind and practical advice. Your podcasts have helped me so much as I struggle toward understanding and learning to control my lifelong binge eating habit. The question I have for you is about the post-recovery experience with binge eating. Does the constant internal chatter and struggle surrounding food ever fade into the background? Once you have your binge eating under control, does that free up time and space in your brain, or does staying binge-free require just as much time, energy and obsessing about food? I have never been tempted by alcohol or drugs. I enjoy wine now and then, and I can open a bottle, drink a glass, and then forget about the rest of the bottle until it turns to vinegar or even gets moldy. Is it possible I could ever reach a point where I am the same way with Cheetos? It would be helpful as I struggle with this to know if there's freedom to look forward to or just a more productive form of constantly thinking about food. Thanks in advance, and much appreciation!