increasing calorie intake because of a high calorie deficit

ibd_din_gs

I really need help because I am scared that my high calorie deficit is sabbotaging my goals. I know i am NOT fat and i am not super unhappy with my weight but i do want to get rid of some tummy fat that i still have. i have lost some weight (5 lbs) BTW, 9 months ago i weighed 103 lbs but when i went off to college i gained weight (114 lbs) and i think most of what i gained went mostly to my stomach (poor eating/cooking habits). now i weigh 107 lbs, so i did loose the love handles and most of my stomach pouch but my tummy is not flat like i use to have it 9 months ago and it's just not how i want it.. i guess i want to weigh 103 lbs again.. any ways. Luckly, my eating habits have changed drastically (as in healthier) and i've seen the results but i'm not meeting the calorie requirements and I don't want to cause myself harm so i want to upgrade my calorie intake but i've been reading that this will cause me to gain any weight i lost and I'M SO SCARED!!!! is there anyway to upgrade slowly without gaining weight??? ANY ADVICE on this. I don;t want to be depressed like i was when i found out i had gained 11 lbs and people actually noticed and said i looked "fuller" because i was in super good shape before i left for college...

MFP says I need to eat 1,250 calories to loose weight.
I excercie 6-7 days a week - mostly cardio (zumba, treadmill, elliptical, spinning, running) and only a couple days of regular gym but everyday I do at least 2 hours of exercise and i always take zumba and i do 30 min of cardio on the machines.
The problem i am having is that I am in no way meeting those 1,250 calories or eating back the calories I burn
- according to MFP, i eat roughly 700 calories a day and i think i eat very healthy (for example i eat: egg whites, fish (salmon, tilapia), chicken, turkey,very little red meat, LOTS of veggies, fruits in moderation, carbs, dairy, etc.)
the reason i eat around 700 calories is because that just happens to be what ends out being when i log everything in (i take in to account portion sizes for accuracy).. I mostly go over the protein and sugar (i don;t eat candies or junk that contains processed sugars) but i never go over fat,carbs,sodium, etc...
*when i first started using MFP i felt fine eating 1250 calories but then it started feeling like too much food, or i just didn;t feel hungry for more food etc.. so that's when slowly.. i started eating less and less and this last month it's down to the lowest 700 cals- yet i still feel satisfied at the end of the day but the scale is remaining at 107 lbs and my stomach and everything else looks the same.. so by reading some articles... i have probably screwed up my metabolism so i'm not loosing, i'm just staying the same.

I NEED ADIVCE, i want to eat more to loose more or whatever it is.. to meet my goals but i don't want to gain weight !! could i increase my calories slowly instead of suddenly eating 1000 calories everyday.... HELP

Troublemonster

Therein lies your problem. You definitely should be eating back your exercise calories assuming 1250 is already a deficit for you. Many people find they can get away with a drastic deficit for a while but that will eventually slow your metabolism and cause you to stall. Bumping up by a few calories, 10% maybe, can result in a refresh and will allow you to get back on track.

The extra calories will result in renewed metabolism and will assist your body in ramping it up progressively over a few weeks which will then assist you in losing weight.

As far as your eating goes though, just add MORE of the new healthy stuff you're eating. Seek out more calorically dense foods such as oils, nuts, peanut butter etc and work those into your diet and stop throwing your egg yolks away, eat em up! Remember you need some fats in your diet, don't be afraid of them.

j6o4

up your calories by 100 every week untill you hit maintenance, that way while working up to maintenance your still at a dificit and possibly lose a litte more. You shouldn't gain or lose weight while eating at maintenance, thats why its called maintenance.

ibd_din_gs

Hey thanks!

But i still have some doubts, Should I expect to gain weight by gradually increasing my calorie intake and eating back the calories I burn through exercise?

Also, come to think of it, if I eat about 700 calories and then burn around 300-400 calories that makes my net calories = 500-400... meaning I do have to eat a TON

ibd_din_gs

up your calories by 100 every week untill you hit maintenance, that way while working up to maintenance your still at a dificit and possibly lose a litte more. You shouldn't gain or lose weight while eating at maintenance, thats why its called maintenance.

OK, that makes sense. thank you very much

Troublemonster

No, you should not gain weight other than possibly some water unless you go over your maintenance level and go into a surplus.

If our bank account were overdrawn by $25 and you deposit $5 are you going to be wealthy? Nope, still broke, just less so than before.

^^^college student math

aquinoz

slowly work your way up to maintenance calories. Once you reach it, remain at maintenance for at least a week or more to recover your metabolism. Once i did that I was able to lose weight at a smaller caloric deficit. I went from slowly losing a quarter of a pound at 1500 calories weekly, to losing 1.5 lbs a week at 2100 calories. But that was just my personal experience.It may or may not work for others. Good Luck

This site may be helpful: http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-full-diet-break.html


"It's just advice, you could do whatever the ---- you wanna do" -TMW

AnvilHead

Here's a very interesting read on the subject by a very knowledgeable author/trainer:

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/why-big-caloric-deficits-and-lots-of-activity-can-hurt-fat-loss.html

peanutbuttercravings

WAY too much cardio if you aren't eating back your calories. I had teh same problem because im super active:) But if you want ot up your calories without GAINING FAT you need to lift weights. You will only put on muscle if you are at a calorie surplus --> but guess what! the more muscle you have to more have you burn!

So basically what im saying is
1. Drop the cardio to MAX 30-45 min a day
2. lift weights - NOT little bambino ones, LIFT HEAVY. But start out learning the correct technique and building up to it.
3. Actually eat to the 1250 calories if not more. MFP has a habit of drastically underestimating calorie intake. (which by the way my 10 year old sister consumes more and she sits on her hiney all day haha)

http://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/

The site above will help you estimate your needs, its what i used and i lost fat and gained muscle. NO MUFFIN TOP hehe, and i look HEALTHY. Which to be honest is everyone's main goal

MACnificence

Listen to these people's advice you need to eat 1250 and exercise calories back I did the same thing eating little calories and not eating back exercise calories ya sure I did lose weight but still have a lot of body fat because my body was storing fat from not getting enough calories , not exactly the look I was going for
Also my weight loss not only stalled but started fluctauting every week no matter how much or hard i worked out , my body was totally fighting with me for not feeding it enough , believe me it's a hard lesson to learn but I too am increasing my calories
Some people do it altogether some gradually up it week by week , do whatever you most comfortable with , any weight gain will be water weight so that will even out again , some people up it by 500-600 calories straight away and have lost weight almost immediately so every body is different , I personally know when I have a cheat meal I weigh the least the next day

Good luck with it