Will upping calories help me lose weight?

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Replies

  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    edited March 2015
    janetteluparia wrote: »
    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.

    What qualifications does a nutritionist need where you are?
    In a lot of places there are none.
  • esjones12
    esjones12 Posts: 1,363 Member
    edited March 2015
    4 weeks with no loss eating 1200 calories when MFP tells you you will lose at 1350 only means one thing - you are measuring/logging incorrectly (food and/or exercise) or having non-logged meals that are putting you over.

    Personally I'd be shooting for 1350 and tighten up on my logging. Try some more intense/different exercise or incorporating new types of food to try something new. A lot of my "stalls" come from getting bored and into too much of a routine that little spoonfuls of this or that go un-logged, etc.

    I think someone else mentioned this, but generally I find people who "eat more to lose" were too restrictive originally and binged/went over calories with enough frequency it prevented them from losing. When they upped their calories (still in deficit) they weren't tempted to binge and therefore saw better results.
  • JayRuby84
    JayRuby84 Posts: 557 Member
    I'd say also you are eating more than you think and burning less than you think. Be real honest with everything that goes in your mouth.
  • Dil_Singh
    Dil_Singh Posts: 3 Member
    3dogsrunning wrote: »
    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.

    Thank you! This makes sense.

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