Upping calories to lose?

autumnpennell
autumnpennell Posts: 196 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi guys,
So I recently posted another status that I only have three more pounds to go until my goal weight, but I'm having the hardest time wih these last few pounds.

A woman on my last post commented how she upped he calories but kept working out, and it helped her lose the weight (healthy calories of course)

And so anyway, I was wondering if "increasing calories" to lose more weight has worked for anyone else?

Replies

  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
    I've had my best success since increasing calories according to the info here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/974889-in-place-of-a-road-map-short-n-sweet Lots of good info there, and other threads in that group with success stories and more info.

    Another group called Eat More to Weigh Less here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/3834-eat-more-to-weigh-less Also full of good info and posts from people succeeding with more calories.

    I've been eating over 1800 cals a day for over a year, and have had the best success with losing the fat during this time. And it's sustainable - this is a lifestyle I can stick with, no temporary or on again off again diet.
  • ameliaannakin
    ameliaannakin Posts: 344 Member
    When I first started on MFP I ate 1,200 calories a day. I plateaued at 9 stone and upped my calories to 1,400 calories and started running and I started losing again so it worked for me :). I then upped to 1,600 and kept losing. I am now maintaining at 1,800 :)
  • coffee4me57
    coffee4me57 Posts: 195
    to read later
  • autumnpennell
    autumnpennell Posts: 196 Member
    When I first started on MFP I ate 1,200 calories a day. I plateaued at 9 stone and upped my calories to 1,400 calories and started running and I started losing again so it worked for me :). I then upped to 1,600 and kept losing. I am now maintaining at 1,800 :)

    Oh my gosh, this is so inspiring to me! I would LOVE to be on 1800 a day and maintain!! <<<my new goal*
  • MayaSPapaya
    MayaSPapaya Posts: 735 Member
    I also started out at 1200 and didn't eat my exercise calories, and for a while it worked great. I lost 20 pounds doing it, but after a while I started feeling hungry all the time, and couldn't -ahem- go to the bathroom. So I upped to 1500. I admit, I was terrifired but once I started eating more I felt a lot better. I started doing that less than a month ago and already lost 4 pounds. I actually upped to 1600 yesterday because I was feeling hungry again. I'm confident I'll keep losing :smile:
  • autumnpennell
    autumnpennell Posts: 196 Member
    I also started out at 1200 and didn't eat my exercise calories, and for a while it worked great. I lost 20 pounds doing it, but after a while I started feeling hungry all the time, and couldn't -ahem- go to the bathroom. So I upped to 1500. I admit, I was terrifired but once I started eating more I felt a lot better. I started doing that less than a month ago and already lost 4 pounds. I actually upped to 1600 yesterday because I was feeling hungry again. I'm confident I'll keep losing :smile:

    And you're still working out, right?
  • GADavies
    GADavies Posts: 62 Member
    healthy calories
    A calorie is the amount of effort required to move a force of 1 newton through a distance of 4.2 metres, it cannot be good or bad. A calorie is a calorie is a calorie, once a molecule enters the metabolic cycle your body doesn't care where it came from.
  • autumnpennell
    autumnpennell Posts: 196 Member
    Sorry I'm not as smart as you. I simply meant, healthy foods as opposed to processed unhealthy junk.

    Ex: eating more fruits and veggies as opposed to having an excuse to eat more cookies
  • Achrya
    Achrya Posts: 16,913 Member
    healthy calories
    A calorie is the amount of effort required to move a force of 1 newton through a distance of 4.2 metres, it cannot be good or bad. A calorie is a calorie is a calorie, once a molecule enters the metabolic cycle your body doesn't care where it came from.

    You. You I like.
  • vickydubuis
    vickydubuis Posts: 59 Member
    We're basically in the same boat. I as barely reaching 1200 and was plateauing so I decided to up it to 1400 now. Haven't seen a great change, but I hope it works. Do you work out a lot? Because I do and I think that might have a lot to do with the plateau I hit on 1200....
  • lcfairbairn74
    lcfairbairn74 Posts: 412 Member
    I upped my calories this week and lost weight. Of course, it's far too early to tell if that's a direct correlation! I upped mine because I fell into a pattern of losing and gaining the same couple of pounds. Then did some research and heard that people were having good success with increased caloric intakes.

    I must admit, I feel better than I did on a lower intake though. I didn't realise how tired and irritable I was until I ate more! :indifferent:

    I wish you all the success in the world. Hope it works out for you! :flowerforyou:
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
    When I joined mfp I only had a few pound to lose. I got advice (since I had never counted calories or dieted) and realized the most effective way was to increase my calories and do my workouts (dance/yoga/weights). I increased to 1800 (I am 5'2", weighed 103, and 35 years old). I actually thought that was my maintenance. I did lose a few pounds and got very fit again. Then I was able to increase my calories by a couple hundred and keep up with my workouts. It's better to eat more when you are so close to your goal. You may even find that you get fitter, but your weight stays the same.
  • shawnteahsing
    shawnteahsing Posts: 53 Member
    When I started my new lifestyle, I too started out at around 1300 calories. I lost about 50 lbs. fairly quickly and then stopped losing. So a trainer I saw changed my calories to about 1500. I lost some more weight. I still continue to exercise/workout. Although I went from 6 days a week to 3-4 days a week (I started to feel burned out). I'm giving things some time to work.
  • GADavies
    GADavies Posts: 62 Member
    Sorry I'm not as smart as you. I simply meant, healthy foods as opposed to processed unhealthy junk.

    Ex: eating more fruits and veggies as opposed to having an excuse to eat more cookies
    My point is that so long as you aren't short on vitamins and minerals your body doesn't care whether you're eating a 200 calorie cookie or 200 calories worth of fruit. The key fact for most dieters is that 200 calories worth of fruit is quite a lot and will stop you being hungry, a cookie is quickly gone. Unprocessed food is not magical or special in any way, most people around here find it hard enough to lose weight without people pushing particular agendas or dietary choices on them as well.

    As I keep saying: Eat less, exercise more, anything else is just gravy.

Categories