Eating more to lose weight
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Hi,
When I have previously lost weight using MFP I have always eaten the bare minimum of 1200 cals but I now have a very active job and also run (half marathon training) and go to the gym and I have been trying 1200 cals but just cannot stick to it and am not losing. I have re entered all my data and it says I can have 1600 cals a day, this to me feels like so much because I have always restricted. Has anyone else eaten more calories to lose weight? I just can't get my head around letting myself eat more!
Thanks
Since you aren't sticking to 1200 calories a day, how many are you eating? If you are still logging everything you eat and logging your exercise, you should strive for a deficit. But if you are not logging because you can't stick to 1200 calories, then you need to up it to the 1600 MFP advises, log your exercise, and start losing again! As someone said, you aren't eating more to lose weight; you're eating more to fuel the extra energy your are expending.
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RunRutheeRun wrote: »Of course! As above says if your active then you can eat many more cals and still lose.
For me to lose 1/2lb a week I can eat 1900 cals gross because I'm active.
Give it a go
Thanks that's really reassuring ( and not judgemental which some people seem to be on here!!) it's just hard when it goes against what you've previously done but I will certainly give it a go and hopefully reap the rewards and feel like I've more energy. Thanks again
Some people are being judgmental? I don't see that at all in this conversation. I, for one, have been replying to this part of your posting:I have been trying 1200 cals but just cannot stick to it and am not losing. I have re entered all my data and it says I can have 1600 cals a day, this to me feels like so much because I have always restricted.
You don't raise your calories if you are not losing weight because you are already eating more than 1200 calories without realizing it. If you weren't, you would be losing weight. Therefore, you must figure out a way to make sure you are accurate with calories in/calories out before raising your calories to lose at a slower rate, which will better fuel your body as well. You must still stay in a deficit, though.
Do you weigh your solid food and measure your liquids?
Do you log everything you consume, including drinks, condiments, etc.?
Do you log your exercise calories? If so, where do you get your exercise burns from?
She was actually saying that what she was hearing was reassuring and NOT judgmental.0 -
atypicalsmith wrote: »Hi,
When I have previously lost weight using MFP I have always eaten the bare minimum of 1200 cals but I now have a very active job and also run (half marathon training) and go to the gym and I have been trying 1200 cals but just cannot stick to it and am not losing. I have re entered all my data and it says I can have 1600 cals a day, this to me feels like so much because I have always restricted. Has anyone else eaten more calories to lose weight? I just can't get my head around letting myself eat more!
Thanks
Since you aren't sticking to 1200 calories a day, how many are you eating? If you are still logging everything you eat and logging your exercise, you should strive for a deficit. But if you are not logging because you can't stick to 1200 calories, then you need to up it to the 1600 MFP advises, log your exercise, and start losing again! As someone said, you aren't eating more to lose weight; you're eating more to fuel the extra energy your are expending.
She does not know have an accurate picture of how much she is really eating, otherwise she would be losing weight.0 -
atypicalsmith wrote: »RunRutheeRun wrote: »Of course! As above says if your active then you can eat many more cals and still lose.
For me to lose 1/2lb a week I can eat 1900 cals gross because I'm active.
Give it a go
Thanks that's really reassuring ( and not judgemental which some people seem to be on here!!) it's just hard when it goes against what you've previously done but I will certainly give it a go and hopefully reap the rewards and feel like I've more energy. Thanks again
Some people are being judgmental? I don't see that at all in this conversation. I, for one, have been replying to this part of your posting:I have been trying 1200 cals but just cannot stick to it and am not losing. I have re entered all my data and it says I can have 1600 cals a day, this to me feels like so much because I have always restricted.
You don't raise your calories if you are not losing weight because you are already eating more than 1200 calories without realizing it. If you weren't, you would be losing weight. Therefore, you must figure out a way to make sure you are accurate with calories in/calories out before raising your calories to lose at a slower rate, which will better fuel your body as well. You must still stay in a deficit, though.
Do you weigh your solid food and measure your liquids?
Do you log everything you consume, including drinks, condiments, etc.?
Do you log your exercise calories? If so, where do you get your exercise burns from?
She was actually saying that what she was hearing was reassuring and NOT judgmental.
Thank you, you're right. Took that part out of my reply.0 -
Has anyone else eaten more calories to lose weight?
Yes, the "eat more do more" approach is by far my preferred approach to losing / maintaining weight. I just don't do well on low calories and it has a double whammy in that my desire to exercise gets heavily curtailed as well (which can mean I feel deprived meaning I eat more unconsciously yet do less meaning a much slower or non existent rate of weight loss!)
It's a no brainer for me.
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This is absolutely correct. While I agree with all the above posters that 1200 calories is not enough for the OP given the level of activity, what everyone else but SLL seemed to skim over is that OP is not losing weight on 1200 calories. We can all be pretty sure OP burns more then 1200 calories per day based on the info given. This leaves a dilemma, if OP is truly eating less per day than she is burning, she should be losing weight. It is extremely likely that if OP has not been losing weight over the long run, they are actually eating more than they burn a day. The cause of this is almost always going to be inaccurate tracking. OP,atypicalsmith wrote: »Hi,
When I have previously lost weight using MFP I have always eaten the bare minimum of 1200 cals but I now have a very active job and also run (half marathon training) and go to the gym and I have been trying 1200 cals but just cannot stick to it and am not losing. I have re entered all my data and it says I can have 1600 cals a day, this to me feels like so much because I have always restricted. Has anyone else eaten more calories to lose weight? I just can't get my head around letting myself eat more!
Thanks
Since you aren't sticking to 1200 calories a day, how many are you eating? If you are still logging everything you eat and logging your exercise, you should strive for a deficit. But if you are not logging because you can't stick to 1200 calories, then you need to up it to the 1600 MFP advises, log your exercise, and start losing again! As someone said, you aren't eating more to lose weight; you're eating more to fuel the extra energy your are expending.
She does not know have an accurate picture of how much she is really eating, otherwise she would be losing weight.
are you weighing your foods on a scale, using measuring spoons and cups (these are made for liquid only), or worse, estimating portion sizes? This can make a huge difference. Do you take cheat meals/days (those calories count)? Do you eat out often or have food you didn't prepare? I'd give this thread a read and evaluate how accurate you think that 1200 you are eating really is http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1296011/calorie-counting-101. You also mention that you are "trying" to eat 1200. How much are you actually eating?0 -
This is absolutely correct. While I agree with all the above posters that 1200 calories is not enough for the OP given the level of activity, what everyone else but SLL seemed to skim over is that OP is not losing weight on 1200 calories. We can all be pretty sure OP burns more then 1200 calories per day based on the info given. This leaves a dilemma, if OP is truly eating less per day than she is burning, she should be losing weight. It is extremely likely that if OP has not been losing weight over the long run, they are actually eating more than they burn a day. The cause of this is almost always going to be inaccurate tracking. OP,atypicalsmith wrote: »Hi,
When I have previously lost weight using MFP I have always eaten the bare minimum of 1200 cals but I now have a very active job and also run (half marathon training) and go to the gym and I have been trying 1200 cals but just cannot stick to it and am not losing. I have re entered all my data and it says I can have 1600 cals a day, this to me feels like so much because I have always restricted. Has anyone else eaten more calories to lose weight? I just can't get my head around letting myself eat more!
Thanks
Since you aren't sticking to 1200 calories a day, how many are you eating? If you are still logging everything you eat and logging your exercise, you should strive for a deficit. But if you are not logging because you can't stick to 1200 calories, then you need to up it to the 1600 MFP advises, log your exercise, and start losing again! As someone said, you aren't eating more to lose weight; you're eating more to fuel the extra energy your are expending.
She does not know have an accurate picture of how much she is really eating, otherwise she would be losing weight.
are you weighing your foods on a scale, using measuring spoons and cups (these are made for liquid only), or worse, estimating portion sizes? This can make a huge difference. Do you take cheat meals/days (those calories count)? Do you eat out often or have food you didn't prepare? I'd give this thread a read and evaluate how accurate you think that 1200 you are eating really is http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1296011/calorie-counting-101. You also mention that you are "trying" to eat 1200. How much are you actually eating?
She said she was burning more than 1200 calories when she said she could not stick to that regimen.0 -
Thanks everyone for your replies- it's been helpful but I really didn't ask for judgement or comments to do with my relationship with food and suggesting I need to talk to a professional! I just wanted reassurance that it's normal to eat more calories than 1200 which is what I've previously been used to and is a bit engrained in me.
It seems you never took the time to understand how weight loss and creation of the deficit works.
IF you learn and understand the basics then you wont get into such conundrums becayse everything will make sense. 1200 is just a number below your maintenance, as long as you are at deficit you will lose, but the smaller the deficit the slower the rate of loss. Going slower and steadier is better thna going agressive, being miserable and quitting. Youve taught yourself some bad habits on incomplete knowledge. Same old answer if you arent losing on 1200, then you are eating more than you think, burning less or not being patient. Identify which and change as required.0 -
This is absolutely correct. While I agree with all the above posters that 1200 calories is not enough for the OP given the level of activity, what everyone else but SLL seemed to skim over is that OP is not losing weight on 1200 calories. We can all be pretty sure OP burns more then 1200 calories per day based on the info given. This leaves a dilemma, if OP is truly eating less per day than she is burning, she should be losing weight. It is extremely likely that if OP has not been losing weight over the long run, they are actually eating more than they burn a day. The cause of this is almost always going to be inaccurate tracking. OP,atypicalsmith wrote: »Hi,
When I have previously lost weight using MFP I have always eaten the bare minimum of 1200 cals but I now have a very active job and also run (half marathon training) and go to the gym and I have been trying 1200 cals but just cannot stick to it and am not losing. I have re entered all my data and it says I can have 1600 cals a day, this to me feels like so much because I have always restricted. Has anyone else eaten more calories to lose weight? I just can't get my head around letting myself eat more!
Thanks
Since you aren't sticking to 1200 calories a day, how many are you eating? If you are still logging everything you eat and logging your exercise, you should strive for a deficit. But if you are not logging because you can't stick to 1200 calories, then you need to up it to the 1600 MFP advises, log your exercise, and start losing again! As someone said, you aren't eating more to lose weight; you're eating more to fuel the extra energy your are expending.
She does not know have an accurate picture of how much she is really eating, otherwise she would be losing weight.
are you weighing your foods on a scale, using measuring spoons and cups (these are made for liquid only), or worse, estimating portion sizes? This can make a huge difference. Do you take cheat meals/days (those calories count)? Do you eat out often or have food you didn't prepare? I'd give this thread a read and evaluate how accurate you think that 1200 you are eating really is http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1296011/calorie-counting-101. You also mention that you are "trying" to eat 1200. How much are you actually eating?
Yep.0 -
I'm not questioning how much she is burning. I'm questioning how much she is actually consuming. No matter what the calorie number is she is eating (or think's she's eating) if she isn't losing weight over the long run, it's from over consumption, not under consumption.atypicalsmith wrote: »
This is absolutely correct. While I agree with all the above posters that 1200 calories is not enough for the OP given the level of activity, what everyone else but SLL seemed to skim over is that OP is not losing weight on 1200 calories. We can all be pretty sure OP burns more then 1200 calories per day based on the info given. This leaves a dilemma, if OP is truly eating less per day than she is burning, she should be losing weight. It is extremely likely that if OP has not been losing weight over the long run, they are actually eating more than they burn a day. The cause of this is almost always going to be inaccurate tracking. OP,atypicalsmith wrote: »Hi,
When I have previously lost weight using MFP I have always eaten the bare minimum of 1200 cals but I now have a very active job and also run (half marathon training) and go to the gym and I have been trying 1200 cals but just cannot stick to it and am not losing. I have re entered all my data and it says I can have 1600 cals a day, this to me feels like so much because I have always restricted. Has anyone else eaten more calories to lose weight? I just can't get my head around letting myself eat more!
Thanks
Since you aren't sticking to 1200 calories a day, how many are you eating? If you are still logging everything you eat and logging your exercise, you should strive for a deficit. But if you are not logging because you can't stick to 1200 calories, then you need to up it to the 1600 MFP advises, log your exercise, and start losing again! As someone said, you aren't eating more to lose weight; you're eating more to fuel the extra energy your are expending.
She does not know have an accurate picture of how much she is really eating, otherwise she would be losing weight.
are you weighing your foods on a scale, using measuring spoons and cups (these are made for liquid only), or worse, estimating portion sizes? This can make a huge difference. Do you take cheat meals/days (those calories count)? Do you eat out often or have food you didn't prepare? I'd give this thread a read and evaluate how accurate you think that 1200 you are eating really is http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1296011/calorie-counting-101. You also mention that you are "trying" to eat 1200. How much are you actually eating?
She said she was burning more than 1200 calories when she said she could not stick to that regimen.
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If you're not losing eating what you eat now, eating more will not help you lose more.
If you aren't losing, you need to eat less, move more or both.0 -
I'm not questioning how much she is burning. I'm questioning how much she is actually consuming. No matter what the calorie number is she is eating (or think's she's eating) if she isn't losing weight over the long run, it's from over consumption, not under consumption.atypicalsmith wrote: »
This is absolutely correct. While I agree with all the above posters that 1200 calories is not enough for the OP given the level of activity, what everyone else but SLL seemed to skim over is that OP is not losing weight on 1200 calories. We can all be pretty sure OP burns more then 1200 calories per day based on the info given. This leaves a dilemma, if OP is truly eating less per day than she is burning, she should be losing weight. It is extremely likely that if OP has not been losing weight over the long run, they are actually eating more than they burn a day. The cause of this is almost always going to be inaccurate tracking. OP,atypicalsmith wrote: »Hi,
When I have previously lost weight using MFP I have always eaten the bare minimum of 1200 cals but I now have a very active job and also run (half marathon training) and go to the gym and I have been trying 1200 cals but just cannot stick to it and am not losing. I have re entered all my data and it says I can have 1600 cals a day, this to me feels like so much because I have always restricted. Has anyone else eaten more calories to lose weight? I just can't get my head around letting myself eat more!
Thanks
Since you aren't sticking to 1200 calories a day, how many are you eating? If you are still logging everything you eat and logging your exercise, you should strive for a deficit. But if you are not logging because you can't stick to 1200 calories, then you need to up it to the 1600 MFP advises, log your exercise, and start losing again! As someone said, you aren't eating more to lose weight; you're eating more to fuel the extra energy your are expending.
She does not know have an accurate picture of how much she is really eating, otherwise she would be losing weight.
are you weighing your foods on a scale, using measuring spoons and cups (these are made for liquid only), or worse, estimating portion sizes? This can make a huge difference. Do you take cheat meals/days (those calories count)? Do you eat out often or have food you didn't prepare? I'd give this thread a read and evaluate how accurate you think that 1200 you are eating really is http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1296011/calorie-counting-101. You also mention that you are "trying" to eat 1200. How much are you actually eating?
She said she was burning more than 1200 calories when she said she could not stick to that regimen.
Lots of times when people have a calorie goal that they can't stick to they end up eating well above that goal (either by blowing it regularly or having a few unlogged/bad days). So I don't see that as necessarily inconsistent. Better to raise the goal, be consistent, and then see if she's losing. If not, work on logging accuracy at the proper goal level.0 -
here is the link for the Eat More to Weigh Less group, please go to this group and ask for better advise there. While there are some people giving you sound advise, i disagree with all the people ripping you apart telling you you're eating more than you think.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/3817-eat-more-2-weigh-less0 -
leooftheyear wrote: »here is the link for the Eat More to Weigh Less group, please go to this group and ask for better advise there. While there are some people giving you sound advise, i disagree with all the people ripping you apart telling you you're eating more than you think.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/3817-eat-more-2-weigh-less
If not eating more than she thinks, how could she possibly gain weight?0 -
leooftheyear wrote: »here is the link for the Eat More to Weigh Less group, please go to this group and ask for better advise there. While there are some people giving you sound advise, i disagree with all the people ripping you apart telling you you're eating more than you think.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/3817-eat-more-2-weigh-less
It isn't "ripping someone apart" to note that if you aren't losing weight, you are not in a deficit.0 -
leooftheyear wrote: »here is the link for the Eat More to Weigh Less group, please go to this group and ask for better advise there. While there are some people giving you sound advise, i disagree with all the people ripping you apart telling you you're eating more than you think.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/3817-eat-more-2-weigh-less
The whole point is..how much calories does she really consume
When she doesn't weigh her food on a scale you dont know.
The whole "eat more, weigh less" thing also only works when you have a deficit. You can eats lots more indeed..just a couple hundred under your maintenance level and still lose weight..but it is slower.
science is counts for all of us...3500 calories is a pound....eat 3500 less than you burn and you will lose that pound simple
this is over a week...two weeks a month whatever...
I eat around 1450 atm which gives me a deficit from around the half to a whole pound a week...and i can eat more indeed and lose weight..But i will lose less its that simple. However i weigh everything on a scale so i know about-ish what my intake is. So i also know how much i can and be able to cut to lose weight.
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leooftheyear wrote: »here is the link for the Eat More to Weigh Less group, please go to this group and ask for better advise there. While there are some people giving you sound advise, i disagree with all the people ripping you apart telling you you're eating more than you think.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/3817-eat-more-2-weigh-less
Care to explain how she is eating less than 1200 calories and not losing over time? Care to explain how her body is making up the deficit? We are all ears becayse you should be able to back your statement up.0 -
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I didn't see a single person "rip anyone apart" as you suggested. I saw several people, myself included, suggest that if the OP isn't losing weight, it's because they are not eating less calories per day than they burn. Miscounting calories is extremely common. I would venture a bet that almost all newcomers are eating quite a bit more than they think. I know I was. I was eating what I thought was 16-1800 calories when I first started tracking. In reality it was probably 2500 or more. Add in my once a week cheat day that I didn't count at all my average was probably closer to 2700-3000. Fortunately for me I was also obese and still able to lose weight eating that much. If my tracking habits didn't improve dramatically, I would have stalled BIG TIME along the way. 1600 calories should cause weight loss in an obese man, but I wasn't really eating 1600. So increasing calories wouldn't have solved anything. It would have taken me further from the answer. Once calories were being tracked with extreme accuracy, I was able to increase my calorie goal to 2000. Note that I wasn't actually eating more food, my goal was simply higher because it was an accurate count. I was still eating less, but looking at my diary, you'd think I was eating more to lose weight. I wasn't. Eating more calories doesn't cause weight loss in the long term. The laws of physics are pretty clear on that one. Anecdotally, eating more can cause weight to drop off in the form of water, or can cause increased compliance. If eating more helps you stick to your deficit, well you aren't really eating more are you? You simply are not breaking diet as often. The bottom line is, that if you are not losing weight in the long run, you are not in a deficit. You must eat less calories. The reason you are not in a deficit is either compliance, or inaccurate tracking. For new people, it's usually both.leooftheyear wrote: »here is the link for the Eat More to Weigh Less group, please go to this group and ask for better advise there. While there are some people giving you sound advise, i disagree with all the people ripping you apart telling you you're eating more than you think.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/3817-eat-more-2-weigh-less
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Hi,
When I have previously lost weight using MFP I have always eaten the bare minimum of 1200 cals but I now have a very active job and also run (half marathon training) and go to the gym and I have been trying 1200 cals but just cannot stick to it and am not losing. I have re entered all my data and it says I can have 1600 cals a day, this to me feels like so much because I have always restricted. Has anyone else eaten more calories to lose weight? I just can't get my head around letting myself eat more!
Thanks
the difference will be the size of your energy deficit...but so long as you are in an energy deficit, you will lose weight.
If you weren't losing weight on 1200 calories then you were eating more than you think.
If you maintain on, for example, 2000 calories than a 1200 calorie diet would provide for an 800 calorie (energy) deficit...1600 calories would provide for a 400 calorie deficit. The first would be around 1.5 Lbs per week...the second would be just shy of 1 Lb per week.
math.0
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