Increasing Calories - What to expect & why you need patience...
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I upped my calories form 1200 to 1350 and will up them again next week to 1400.
It felt GREAT when I did it!
Problem is, I can't seem to get there every day. I'm just not that hungry. I felt like I ate really good today and then realized I was only at 975.
I did order some protein shakes that I plan to drink after my workouts HOWEVER, they are only about 150 calories. Any advice? (BTW- I do not eat red meat)
It does take your body some time to get accustomed to eating more. This is because the lower cal eating has drastically reduced your BMR, and your body is not used to working so hard/often to digest food. I often suggest that people set a timer, when first starting out. This will get your body accustomed to regular "feedings." I suggest starting out w/every 2-3 hours at first, and then as your body regulates to these times, you will find yourself becoming hungry at regular intervals as your body begins to look forward to being fed. Once this happens, and you are at your desired calorie level, feel free to set your own "feeding times" as you see fit. Your body will let you know what is right.
I did a blog post a while back with a few other tips on increasing cals for those that are having a hard time doing it..
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/31prvrbs/view/increasing-cals-finding-maintenance-some-pointers-2012480 -
Thank you, this is an awesome explanation
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Great post.0
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Kiki, you never cease to amaze me girl!! As another poster commented, this should be mandatory reading!!0
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It is at the top of the list, you can't miss it:-)0
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Very well said! Thanks0
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Thank you for posting this. I have had a long struggle with the idea that eating more will help me lose the last 10lbs. I've had a long history of diet and exercise troubles and I really want to get to a point where I don't have to worry about what the scale says every morning.
Let me start by saying I RARELY struggle with motivation to work out. I only log cardio but I also do some light weight lifting and yoga a few days a week. I love working out and look forward to my "me" time each day.
In high school I went through a period when I wasn't eating nearly enough calories and I worry I've wreaked havoc on my metabolism from it. I went about a year and a half only consuming about 800 calories a day and running 3-4 miles on top of it. Needless to say, I lost a lot of weight (too much in fact) and finally wised up and realized how badly I was hurting myself. I was tired, dizzy, light-headed and very irritable all the time. I was at an all time low of 103 at 5'3"
In college, I developed a slightly better relationship with food and gained a needed 10 -15lbs. I worked out about 6 hours a week but I also ate more and worried about it less. That was, until I went on a cross-country bike trip one summer and gained about 15lbs of muscle while eating literally anything and everything I wanted. We were burning so many calories I didn't bother keeping track.
I have had this extra 15lbs since and I feel I've tried everything to get it off. I have this mindset that eating the 1700ish calories a day my TDEE deficit results in will just cause me to keep gaining. Now, I've read everything on the topic and it makes complete sense that increase my calories to where they should be will help repair my metabolism and I want so badly to truly believe it. However, I'm still skeptical. I have all the excuses: I'm different, my history, etc etc.
Can someone please just drill this in to my head that I need to eat more to weigh less! I am currently hovering around 133 (which is perfectly fine) but my goal weight is 125-126. I'm so scared to up my daily 1100 calories to 1200 then 1300 etc but I know it's kind of my last option. All the dieting and exercise since my trip haven't done much at all. Just need a little kick in the butt and some reassurance that it will be okay.
This group is great and I'm so grateful to have found it.1 -
Awesome timing! Thank you so much for this post! Today I decided to eat more to weigh less. After years of struggling with cals and exercising just to maintain, I decided I needed a change. This post is an eye opener to at least set expectations. I was only planning to try it for one week but was told to go for 4. This post confirms and describes what will/can happen...that it might get worse before it gets better. But, I've been monitoring myself for 7 years now and so I'm in it for the long haul. Let's do this...gulp!1
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Thank you for posting this. I have had a long struggle with the idea that eating more will help me lose the last 10lbs. I've had a long history of diet and exercise troubles and I really want to get to a point where I don't have to worry about what the scale says every morning.
Let me start by saying I RARELY struggle with motivation to work out. I only log cardio but I also do some light weight lifting and yoga a few days a week. I love working out and look forward to my "me" time each day.
In high school I went through a period when I wasn't eating nearly enough calories and I worry I've wreaked havoc on my metabolism from it. I went about a year and a half only consuming about 800 calories a day and running 3-4 miles on top of it. Needless to say, I lost a lot of weight (too much in fact) and finally wised up and realized how badly I was hurting myself. I was tired, dizzy, light-headed and very irritable all the time. I was at an all time low of 103 at 5'3"
In college, I developed a slightly better relationship with food and gained a needed 10 -15lbs. I worked out about 6 hours a week but I also ate more and worried about it less. That was, until I went on a cross-country bike trip one summer and gained about 15lbs of muscle while eating literally anything and everything I wanted. We were burning so many calories I didn't bother keeping track.
I have had this extra 15lbs since and I feel I've tried everything to get it off. I have this mindset that eating the 1700ish calories a day my TDEE deficit results in will just cause me to keep gaining. Now, I've read everything on the topic and it makes complete sense that increase my calories to where they should be will help repair my metabolism and I want so badly to truly believe it. However, I'm still skeptical. I have all the excuses: I'm different, my history, etc etc.
Can someone please just drill this in to my head that I need to eat more to weigh less! I am currently hovering around 133 (which is perfectly fine) but my goal weight is 125-126. I'm so scared to up my daily 1100 calories to 1200 then 1300 etc but I know it's kind of my last option. All the dieting and exercise since my trip haven't done much at all. Just need a little kick in the butt and some reassurance that it will be okay.
This group is great and I'm so grateful to have found it.
Ok, here goes, if your eating 1100 cals you are not even eating what the body needs to lay in bed and breathe. Why not at least eat your BMR as a minimum and then go up from there. What your doing now isn't netting the reults, so why not give this a 4 wk try at least...what is there to lose???0 -
Very well written and I understand all the concepts but I don't think Im doing something right. I think my confusion still lies in my BMR and how many calories i should be eating and what type of food combinations. I have set my diary like Lucia and have been making myself eat more often and incorporating breaks but not sure if I'm still doing it correctly. I understand every person is different and Im only in week 3 so I will keep plugging along and hope that my body gets me....right now, Im pretty sure it is confused LOL. thanks for this post, it was very informative!0
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fab!:happy:0
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i have vowed to read this every day for the next 4 weeks.
Mostly because this morning I weighed in 6 ..yes 6 !!! pounds heavier than friday. Friday i started eating 1600-1800 a day (instead of 1400-1500) AND have been to 2 weight lifting classes and one cardio AND started walking at lunch.
The 6lb gain makes me 2lbs heavier than when i first logged on to MFP in January.
I almost cried..but said no..you read there would be a gain..keep at it.
For some reason my pants and bra are too tight today as well (and nope, i don't think i had more sodium than usual - if anything i am drinking a lot more water!).
But..my body needs to adjust. I need patience. So..I will keep doing what I have been doing for the next 3 weeks. After all what I did for the last 20 years didn't help me get healthy either so what's 3-4 weeks?
Thanks again for my new daily read!
xo0 -
i have vowed to read this every day for the next 4 weeks.
Mostly because this morning I weighed in 6 ..yes 6 !!! pounds heavier than friday. Friday i started eating 1600-1800 a day (instead of 1400-1500) AND have been to 2 weight lifting classes and one cardio AND started walking at lunch.
The 6lb gain makes me 2lbs heavier than when i first logged on to MFP in January.
I almost cried..but said no..you read there would be a gain..keep at it.
For some reason my pants and bra are too tight today as well (and nope, i don't think i had more sodium than usual - if anything i am drinking a lot more water!).
But..my body needs to adjust. I need patience. So..I will keep doing what I have been doing for the next 3 weeks. After all what I did for the last 20 years didn't help me get healthy either so what's 3-4 weeks?
Thanks again for my new daily read!
xo
Please also keep in mind, to gain one true pound that is 3500 calories...I know for a fact you didn't consume an additional 21000 calories...so that means it is probably water weight. Also I know when I first upped I had a hard time with sodium...that is something to track if you aren't already. Set it for 2500 and try not to go over. I shot up a couple pounds because of my weekend...I know I didn't eat 7000 extra cals so it has to be water retention. And let's not talk about sometimes a 5lb gain from TOM...so yes, be patient...:-)0 -
Very well written and I understand all the concepts but I don't think Im doing something right. I think my confusion still lies in my BMR and how many calories i should be eating and what type of food combinations. I have set my diary like Lucia and have been making myself eat more often and incorporating breaks but not sure if I'm still doing it correctly. I understand every person is different and Im only in week 3 so I will keep plugging along and hope that my body gets me....right now, Im pretty sure it is confused LOL. thanks for this post, it was very informative!
Hey Katlou, hope the email cleared things up for you via the email. I will check out your diary and give ya some tips on what I see. Have you gained or are you the same??? Fill me in.0 -
I literally own a library of books that support this, from Adele Davis (who wrote her nutrition books in the 1950s!), to Dean Orish's Eat more, weigh less...
... and I am still scared.
I can honestly claim that I dieted my way UP from 170lbs to 282lbs... all by cutting calories and trying to exercise it off. I spent most of my life undereating (with bouts of bingeing, of course, as my body reacted), and never really feeling like I was normal, as I just gained weight.
In my head, I KNOW that eating enough is important - critical - to being healthy, and the body releasing un-needed fat. In my head. Sub consciously, it's scary as hell to eat 1800 net cals a day (my current setting) - or more - on purpose.
Thank you for being here. I'm hoping to get through this.1 -
It's crazy how we are all brain washed into thinking we need to eat like mice to be thin. I remember when I was 2 lbs away from hitting my goal weight in 2006 and I just couldn't do it anymore. I didnt know where to cut calories and where to increase my burns without committing myself 5-7 days a week at the gym.
Needless to say, I've been starving my body and yet gaining weight.
After reading all these posts (love this group and Lucia's posts!!), I'm being brave and taking the challenge. I am on day 2 of eating 1800 cals per day. Haven't had. Big burn yet, but when I do, I will make sure to NET out as close to my BMR as possible.
Day 1 was like a party, eat healthy but more! Wow! How can I say no? My body was in heaven! My mind was worried. Am I doing the right thing? Will this work or is there something really wrong with me?
Day 2 (today) was so strange...I was getting hungry more often (already?). I brought a slightly bigger lunch but broke it down in two feelings. I also changed my diary settings so that I eat more, but smaller meals...I guess about 300 cals avg every 2 or so hrs...so today I had 6 feedings. Actually, my breakfast was smaller so I ate the rest of my cals for dinner...should try to reverse that!
I have to be careful not to fall in a trap where I'll eat any type of calories....moderation and a variety, as healthy as possible.
I want to believe in this and I will give it at least 4 weeks but in my mind, I'm still scared sh1tless.....I understand the theory, but then I think, but how can it be?
I will be back on these posts and sharing my journey. A few of my other MFPals are having plateaus and are waiting to see what happens with me before upping their calories! No pressure
Oh, one final comment (I know I'm rambling on)....upping my cals to 1800 has lifted the stress of dieting which has ALWAYS been on my mind. I feel liberated and no longer a victim of woe is me!1 -
Like many other posters I'm going to give this theory a try. It makes total sense but I'm scared *deep breath*. I have to admit I've been feeling rather deprived lately, and I think I need to eat more calories. I'd like to think that my body wouldn't be screaming, "FEED ME" after a full day of food if it was enough.
Looking back over the last 30 days I've been around 1300-1600 calories and depending on the calculator (oh yes I tried 3 because I didn't believe it should be so high) I should be eating around 1700-2300. There are numerous days that I netted under my BMR (about 1450) so I bet that explains why was I was so hungry. I'm nervous, but excited. I think this plan is something I can stick to (once I get used to it) so I REALLY hope it works for me!
I upped my calorie goal to 1710 and I'm going to try to eat back my workout calories. After a couple weeks of this I think I'll give it another bump up to 1850 or so. I'm hesitant to increase my calories drastically so hopefully this step up approach is okay.
Mainly I'm excited to have more peanut butter in my life :happy:0 -
I am giving this a shot. Recently have been eating between 1700-1900 calories a day. i have had it with binging. i am so tired of having days where i am doing well with 1500-1600 and then all of a sudden i binge like 1000 calories. at least i know why now. my body needs more fuel. so i am trying to stick with 1700-1900 for several weeks and see what results i get. i am determined to not freak out if i gain a few. thanks for this post, it really helps. i did some calculations and did others to do calculations for me and i'm coming up with 2000 for my TDEE. I think I could eat at 2000 but i am doing a slow adjustment so that it's easier for my body to adjust to more calories.0
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Thanks for such an informative and well-written post.
Now I know what to expect, and as the saying goes "forewarned is forearmed"0 -
I think I have finally got this TDEE/daily calorie goal stuff figured out. I'm officially setting my calorie goal tomorrow for 1800. I have had my goal set at 1600 for a week, and with eating my exercise cals back I've been averaging about that much already. So... I'm gonna do it. 0
