Chickpea Chat

[Plumfoodie]

I thought I would start a thread for random chat topics (on or off topic) that might not have their own post or might get scattered across several different diaries!

To start with, daily weight fluctuations. I know that it's suggested that we only weigh ourselves once a week (or once every two weeks, or once a month) for the sake of our sanity but I like to weigh myself every morning and I know I'm not the only one.

I fully appreciate that weight is subject to variations each day, based on water, food digestion, whether the moon is in the house of Fat, and so on and so forth. I accept this.

But I would really like to know why my weight is always higher on my official weigh-in day than it has been throughout the rest of the week, sometimes by as much as a pound or two. I can only think of one occasion since I started losing weight in January when this has not been the case.

WHHHHHHYYYYYYYYY?!

[ruth frances]

I really thought this may be a thread where everyone would just be waxing lyrical about chickpeas : D

Maybe Plum, if you randomly and without thinking about it beforehand, each week changed which day of the week was your official weigh-in day, then you could fool the weight demons, and would hence always weight less?

[Plumfoodie]

People may, of course, wax lyrical about chickpeas if so moved. In fact I think that would be an admirable use of the thread!

I like your idea, Ruth. Would it be cheating to just pick the lowest weight from each week in hindsight and use that? This could be the least demoralising weight-loss system ever!

[Plumfoodie]

(I've just learned something new! I didn't realise that Australia had 3 timezones or that one of them was 1/2hr different from another one!)

[CaliSweden]

I've had that happen to me too Plum, where weigh in day comes, and I'm a little heavier than a couple days before. It's like noooo. Some people say to average out the weight from the other days. But for me I just keep it on the number that shows up on weigh in day.

I do like the idea of this thread very much!

I did think it was going to be about the love for chickpeas especially in the form of hummus.

[Plumfoodie]

I do the same Cali, just take the weight on the day. I've been tempted to change the day, but on Slimming World I used Monday, now I use Thursday. This tells me that it's not specific days that are cursed, it's just always the one I have chosen. Sigh.

I feel a chickpea soliloquy coming on. Think of Bubba's ode to shrimp in Forrest Gump (it's the fruit of the sea, you know - you can bake it, boil it, broil it...) and you'll know what I mean.

[CaliSweden]

Hehehe.

All I know is the day that my weight gets to goal weight, I will be so happy. Well right now it doesn't seem like it's in the near future though. Especially with days like today

[Plumfoodie]

I have those days too but I try to remind myself that even if it takes awhile, my goal weight is closer than if I weren't eating well! I'm sure my weight would still be creeping in the wrong direction if left to its own devices!

[CaliSweden]

Very true Plum. Thank you for being so positive, and sharing that positive vibe with all of us

[AshieFan]

Did I tell you guys that I don't have scales in the house? I use my mum's one at her house. Why? Because I can get a little obsessive about weighing myself not only everyday but a couple of times a day.

I was thinking of changing my weigh in day to Tuesday instead of Wednesday because I am always lighter on Tuesdays. What is that about? But I think we are cursed which ever day we use. Ho-hum. Never mind.

[CaliSweden]

I agree with the whole curse on weigh in day. I think no matter what day we pick, it will always be the bad day That's why I just stick with Tuesdays, since it's the day I first started dieting. Figured in the end it'll all even itself out.

[Plumfoodie]

Oh dear! Not sure what I would do without my scales at home (probably make excuses to visit my mom so I could sneakily use hers more often). As I might have mentioned I am a bit data obsessive and although I don't get too wound up about my weight on the days that are not the official (cursed) weigh-in, I am always curious to see what the morning weight will be and to see how it flucuates over the week/month.

To expand on Ruth's earlier idea, I wonder if you could tell yourself on Wednesday morning that it was Tuesday? Or tell yourself that you were changing your weigh-in to Thursday but then *zap* decide each week to do it on Wednesday at the last minute?

[AshieFan]

Since we can basically talk about anything on this thread, I thought I would take the opportunity to talk about calories since the minor mfp trauma

My BMR came out as 1252 from Plum's website. If I want to maintain my weight, which I obviously don't, I would need to eat 1502 calories a day ( that's 1252 x 1.2 for my lifestyle). In order to lose weight, I am getting a calorie deficit of basically 300 calories a day (on 1200 calories a day) or 2100 calories a week.

Now, nearly everyone says that if one wants to lose 1lb of fat in one week one would need a calorie deficit of 3500 calories a week. But my calorie deficit is only 2100 calories a week. NO WONDER IT TAKES ME SO BLOODY LONG to lose weight. I have always thought actually, that it takes me 10 days to lose weight so I guess I was right in my instinct.

My questions are to everyone

* What is your BMR? (Call me curious or downright nosey! )
* How do you manage to keep to 1200 calories a day? Or, rather, how often do you manage to keep to 1200 calories a day? Everyday? 5 out of 7 days?

[Plumfoodie]

Ahh! I was going to shut my laptop and go to bed but I can't resist the opportunity to do midnight maths!

According to my whizzy scales, my BMR is 1450 giving me a sedentary (the x 1.2) calorie need of 1740/day. Because of my ME, I can only really reduce my calories by 15-20% per day (any lower and I start to feel funky, which I can do without). So this makes my daily goal 1392-1479 - I have it set at 1500 on MFP at the mo but will drop it to 1450 or 1475 in the next week sometime. I am usually somewhere around the 1500 mark most days, so if we figure a calorie deficit of 240/day that gives me 14.5 days to lose 3500 calories or 1lb.

BUT! Although I don't lose every week (in fact some weeks I have a small gain), so far on low GI/GL I have been averaging 1lb/week. This to me says that it's true what they say about the blood sugars and the fat burning/storage etc. because otherwise how could this make any sense? My metabolism is certainly not fast after 5 years of being inactive and all the books I've read about ME say that it tends to make you put on weight and also be inclined to keep a tight hold on it once you have. I take supplements that may mitigate some of this but they won't work miracles. So I don't see what other explanation there could be.

I don't keep exactly to the letter of the calorie limit. I allow about a 50 calorie guilt-free leeway; I'm not going to sit around trying to remove 43 grains of rice to knock off 12 calories or something. But there are also days when I'm a bit under (not so many, if I'm honest, but a few!) and I don't worry too much about that either.

I'm also Plumfoodie on MFP if you want to find me (Find Members is in the Community tab) and add me so you can snoop on my calories.

[ruth frances]

Just joined MFP now so I could see what numbers it came out with.
BMR 1494
Calories burnt normally 2020
Calorie intake on diet should be 1520

I haven't been tracking calories, but I might keep an eye on them for the next couple of weeks as I never seem to be losing any weight (however, I am completely aware that this is because I am eating too much !)