Will upping calories help me lose weight?

kirstyandjim

I've been calorie counting (1200 calories a day) and lost 26lbs, but have now stalled.

I've had suggestions that I'm not eating enough calories, but I'm scared to increase my calories for fear of weight gain.

Would upping my calories to 1350 a day help me lose weight again?

galgenstrick

Stalled for how long, and what metrics?

kirstyandjim

Just over month now. What do you mean by metrics sorry?

LAWoman72

Height, weight, age, activity level?

The only way upping my calories has helped me is that I'm able to stick with it consistently because I'm not as hungry; therefore, I don't eventually binge and eat back the deficit I'd created. However, I have still needed to create a deficit with the slightly higher (than before) calories. It's just a somewhat slower one.

galgenstrick

kirstyandjim wrote: »

Just over month now. What do you mean by metrics sorry?

Are you only measuring your weight on a scale, or are you measuring your waist, hips, chest etc? Body fat %, taking progress photos?

I ask because just using a scale For weight is completely unreliable.

Dil_Singh

No, You must be calorie deficit to lose weight. You can only up your calories and still lose weight, if you have started doing extra strength exercise or HIIT cardio than you used to do. To break the plateaus, I'd advise to increase exercise intensity and still keep your limit of 1350 calories.

arditarose

MrM27 wrote: »

Age, height, weight?
What's your training like?
Do you weigh and measure all your food?

Would like to know these, and how long have you been eating at a deficit?

LKArgh

Upping your calories will make you gain weight, not lose faster.

callsitlikeiseeit

open your diary.
are you weighing food?
are you eating back calories burned?
also stats per other requests.

theres a lot of factors that go into why you may have stopped losing weight, and without the information, no one can help.

RBillard

I lost 13 lbs in 4 weeks and then nothing for the next 4 weeks. I upped my calories by 400 and have started to drop pounds again.

veganbaum

Upping your calories will decrease your deficit, but no one can say you will gain weight or lose weight without knowing all your other stats. At 1350 you'll likely still have a deficit, but it will be 150 calories smaller per day.

Why do you eat 1200? Where did you get 1350 from? What is your pounds per week goal? If you fear gaining if you eat more than 1200 calories, you may want to figure out your TDEE so that you have a better understanding of what your daily needs are and what your deficit is. That doesn't mean you have to change your numbers in MFP and go with TDEE method and all that, it just might help with some of the fear of gaining.

And if none of that made sense to you, you could read this and the links it provides:

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1

TimothyFish

You don't lose weight by eating more. I expect that the people who think increasing their calories helped them lose weight were eating some things that they weren't logging and eating more than they realized. By increasing their calories, they had less of a compulsion to eat and their unlogged calories decreased by more than what they increased their calorie intake.

Francl27

You're probably eating more than you think.

RBillard

you do lose weight by eating more if you were too far under your TDEE to begin with. starving yourself makes your body go into survival mode. I don't claim to be an expert, this is just what several of the "experts" at MFP suggested to me when i posted almost the exact same thread. if the OP isn't restricting caloric intake too severely this would not apply of course.

Phrick

RBillard wrote: »

you do lose weight by eating more if you were too far under your TDEE to begin with. starving yourself makes your body go into survival mode. I don't claim to be an expert, this is just what several of the "experts" at MFP suggested to me when i posted almost the exact same thread. if the OP isn't restricting caloric intake too severely this would not apply of course.

I don't mean to be rude but I'm not sure how else to say it - I doubt the "experts" you got advice from were the long time successful MFPers - because starvation mode / survival mode as you seem to be understanding it is a myth. There is no such thing as eating so little that your body holds on to fat or stops losing. There is metabolic adaptation, but that's quite a lot different than what you seem to be referencing.

PeachyCarol

Stalls happen. I just came out of one myself.

If you answer some of the earlier questions about your stats, workouts, and how long you've been eating at a deficit, it will impact the answer to the question.

There are different solutions to what to do about stalls depending on the answers to those questions.

3dogsrunning

Dil_Singh wrote: »

No, You must be calorie deficit to lose weight. You can only up your calories and still lose weight, if you have started doing extra strength exercise or HIIT cardio than you used to do. To break the plateaus, I'd advise to increase exercise intensity and still keep your limit of 1350 calories.

Eating more does not necessarily mean eating over your TDEE nor does it necessarily mean weight gain although weight gain may occur due to water retention. Extra cardio and low calorie goal is often the worst option.

A lot of people have found success by upping their calories slightly, even for just a short time. Check out the group Eat More to Weigh Less.

Sometimes it is probably a factor of more honest logging, sometimes it's a mental break that allows for better adherence to calorie goals, sometimes it may be a hormone response.

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


That said, the most important thing first and foremost is accurate logging. If you are truly eating too much, adding more food isn't going to help.

janetteluparia

Be very careful, there are a lot of people in these forums that dispense unqualified information and can make it worse. A plateau is normal. Your body is readjusting. Re-calculate TDEE, the calories you need to maintain. Then set your goal to 500 calories less. You can do this with half exercise and half food and dont eat your exercise calories back. Once you establish a routine your body settles into that. You need to mix it up. Do different exercise, not the same thing all the time and even try intermittent calorie goals. If your calorie goal is 1150 you can do 950 one day and 1200 the next ...etc. Some people just need LESS calories too. It is real. You wont go into "starvation mode" if you mix it up. Some woman actually HAVE to eat less than 1200 calories. Caution not to go to low every day. mix it up. Look at the 5:2 IF plan. It works really well. I am a nutritionist and have successfully lost 40 pounds and kept it off for 2 years this month. I am 51 and in the best shape of my life.

I_Will_End_You

Francl27 wrote: »

You're probably eating more than you think.

^ This. If you aren't losing weight, you're likely eating at maintenance and not really the 1200 calories you think you're eating. Tighten up on your logging.

yopeeps025

TimothyFish wrote: »

You don't lose weight by eating more. I expect that the people who think increasing their calories helped them lose weight were eating some things that they weren't logging and eating more than they realized. By increasing their calories, they had less of a compulsion to eat and their unlogged calories decreased by more than what they increased their calorie intake.

LOL assumptions.

yopeeps025

RBillard wrote: »

you do lose weight by eating more if you were too far under your TDEE to begin with. starving yourself makes your body go into survival mode. I don't claim to be an expert, this is just what several of the "experts" at MFP suggested to me when i posted almost the exact same thread. if the OP isn't restricting caloric intake too severely this would not apply of course.

Those experts are wrong.