The Eat More To Lose Weight Theory
Replies
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Hopefully after a small water gain of a few lbs, you find a healthy calorie level that allows you to fuel your body and keep losing. You don't have to keep increasing calories, you just keep going at that level until you're at goal weight (or you have to reduce calories a bit if you have a lot to lose, which you don't seem to). If you put up your stats - height, weight, age, and exercise habits - someone (I) can help you figure out a good cut value for you.
Female, 45, 5'6" Currently 165 pounds. (Was happy at 140 for decades until perimenopause.)
MWF I do 30 minutes on our elliptical-ish exercise bike, which says I burn about 220 calories per session.
T-T-S I do 30 minutes (roughly, sometimes more) of weight lifting, using free weights. 15 to 140 pounds depending on the exercise, naturally. I've been doing a warm-up set and then 4 sets of 8 reps, or as many as I can. When I can do 4 sets of 8 with proper form, I bump the weight up a little. I alternate which body parts I exercise so I don't do the same ones twice in a row.
I walk 10-20 minutes M-F at a fast clip before I eat lunch. Weather permitting, I also walk outside 3-4 x a week for 2 miles in 30 minutes, plus the usual house and yard work. I consider myself moderately active, though certainly not an "athlete" by any means.
I have been told by my OB/gyn, a regular doctor, and a fitness trainer that this SHOULD be making me lose weight, but it's not. My thyroid test came back normal. I am on Yaz for perimenopause symptoms and have been for about 5 1/2 years now.
Probably more than you needed to know, but there you are.
You have outlined roughly 5 hours of moderate activity in a week. With your stats, your numbers are roughly this:
BMR: 1414 - the number of calories your body should be burning if you're comatose, just to stay alive
TDEE: 2192 - the average daily number of calories you burn, averaged out over 7 days of the week
Given those numbers, you should be eating somewhere around 1863 calories daily to lose about 2.6 lbs per month. If you want to try and speed it up, you could go as low as 1750 calories daily (every day of the week; don't add exercise calories) and you may lose up to 3.5 lbs per month, but you run the risk of burning through more lean mass if you do. You do not have a lot of weight to lose, relatively speaking.
I would say split the difference and aim for 1800 calories daily, every day of the week. You may gain at first; that's the water gain I mentioned in my previous post. But you really should be able to lose on that amount if you keep consistent for months. A couple of weeks isn't going to provide noticeable losses unless you're depleting glycogen or burning through lean mass.
Slow and steady is the way to go... with little to no deprivation from too-high deficits.0 -
Ok, muscle doesn't weigh more than fat....one pound of muscle weighs the same as one pound of fat...the difference is the volume or space that each takes up at the same weight. Muscle is dense and takes up much less space than fat. That's why when you strength train while trying to lose you can actually gain some muscle, lose fat, look so much smaller, BUT not necessarily lose a bunch of weight on that silly little scale.
I wish people would stop nitpicking this.
Actually, you are wrong.
If you take 1 LITER of fat and 1 LITER of muscle, the liter of muscle would weigh more, so therefore, muscle weighs more than fat.
It's just a matter of what variable you are comparing, two samples of the same volume or two samples of the same mass. But we ALL know what someone means when they say that 'muscle weighs more than fat' they are thinking in terms of two samples of the same volume, and people that harp on "a pound of muscles weighs the same as a pound of fat" are just being a nitpicky jerk. Sorry, I just get so annoyed with that.
I beg to differ. I've never been rude or called anyone an offensive name either. As many, such as yourself do. And I'm not wrong... One pound of muscle weighs the same as one pound of fat.
My point is that people get hung up on the scale. A pound of muscle takes up less space than a pound of fat. Therefore the scale is not always the best predictor of what's going on with the composition of one's body.0 -
The thing with eating more to lose weight is that it only works if you are undercutting your calories in the first place. It also is really important to not fill those extra calories with something unhealthy, have an extra piece of chicken or veggies to help get you there. People seem to really take weight loss as a crazy thing, but honestly I am not even counting my calories, I know where I am at and I know where I need to be. I eat until I am satisfied and eat as clean as possible. Any diet that I find out there is too complicated, so I just do my best to eat as healthy as possible. Sometimes I think we get so up in our head about what to do to lose weight that we do a half baked job at 10 different things instead of 1 really good job at 1 thing. So start moving, skip that donut, and you will be healthier, pretty much guaranteed.0
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Ok, muscle doesn't weigh more than fat....one pound of muscle weighs the same as one pound of fat...the difference is the volume or space that each takes up at the same weight. Muscle is dense and takes up much less space than fat. That's why when you strength train while trying to lose you can actually gain some muscle, lose fat, look so much smaller, BUT not necessarily lose a bunch of weight on that silly little scale.
I wish people would stop nitpicking this.
Actually, you are wrong.
If you take 1 LITER of fat and 1 LITER of muscle, the liter of muscle would weigh more, so therefore, muscle weighs more than fat.
It's just a matter of what variable you are comparing, two samples of the same volume or two samples of the same mass. But we ALL know what someone means when they say that 'muscle weighs more than fat' they are thinking in terms of two samples of the same volume, and people that harp on "a pound of muscles weighs the same as a pound of fat" are just being a nitpicky jerk. Sorry, I just get so annoyed with that.
I beg to differ. I've never been rude or called anyone an offensive name either. As many, such as yourself do. And I'm not wrong... One pound of muscle weighs the same as one pound of fat.
My point is that people get hung up on the scale. A pound of muscle takes up less space than a pound of fat. Therefore the scale is not always the best predictor of what's going on with the composition of one's body.
Absolutely, and that was the *exact* point that I was making.0 -
Metabolic confusion...you eat a low calorie diet for a long time your body gets used to it and as our body is a smart thing is uses it the best it can...especially if you are exercising a lot...
Eat more calories....bam body says whoa these are new let me use them....so goes into overdrive...uses them you loose weight then when you go back down to "normal consumption" body is still in over drive...
This is not something that is for maintenance tho for sure ....it is wrote about indept in the 17 day eating plan that is why on level you up the calories every other day...
It works for anyone i know who uses this theory...mind you it can be hard to wrap your head around sometimes...but again if you are exercising you need food to fuel the body so the more exercise you do the more food you need..ask any bodybuilder adding mass...0 -
totally with you on this!! You can't starve yourself to thin. Want to lose then eat and keep that metabolism going!!0
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Hopefully after a small water gain of a few lbs, you find a healthy calorie level that allows you to fuel your body and keep losing. You don't have to keep increasing calories, you just keep going at that level until you're at goal weight (or you have to reduce calories a bit if you have a lot to lose, which you don't seem to). If you put up your stats - height, weight, age, and exercise habits - someone (I) can help you figure out a good cut value for you.
Female, 45, 5'6" Currently 165 pounds. (Was happy at 140 for decades until perimenopause.)
MWF I do 30 minutes on our elliptical-ish exercise bike, which says I burn about 220 calories per session.
T-T-S I do 30 minutes (roughly, sometimes more) of weight lifting, using free weights. 15 to 140 pounds depending on the exercise, naturally. I've been doing a warm-up set and then 4 sets of 8 reps, or as many as I can. When I can do 4 sets of 8 with proper form, I bump the weight up a little. I alternate which body parts I exercise so I don't do the same ones twice in a row.
I walk 10-20 minutes M-F at a fast clip before I eat lunch. Weather permitting, I also walk outside 3-4 x a week for 2 miles in 30 minutes, plus the usual house and yard work. I consider myself moderately active, though certainly not an "athlete" by any means.
I have been told by my OB/gyn, a regular doctor, and a fitness trainer that this SHOULD be making me lose weight, but it's not. My thyroid test came back normal. I am on Yaz for perimenopause symptoms and have been for about 5 1/2 years now.
Probably more than you needed to know, but there you are.
You have outlined roughly 5 hours of moderate activity in a week. With your stats, your numbers are roughly this:
BMR: 1414 - the number of calories your body should be burning if you're comatose, just to stay alive
TDEE: 2192 - the average daily number of calories you burn, averaged out over 7 days of the week
Given those numbers, you should be eating somewhere around 1863 calories daily to lose about 2.6 lbs per month. If you want to try and speed it up, you could go as low as 1750 calories daily (every day of the week; don't add exercise calories) and you may lose up to 3.5 lbs per month, but you run the risk of burning through more lean mass if you do. You do not have a lot of weight to lose, relatively speaking.
I would say split the difference and aim for 1800 calories daily, every day of the week. You may gain at first; that's the water gain I mentioned in my previous post. But you really should be able to lose on that amount if you keep consistent for months. A couple of weeks isn't going to provide noticeable losses unless you're depleting glycogen or burning through lean mass.
Slow and steady is the way to go... with little to no deprivation from too-high deficits.
Thank you for the suggestion. I certainly haven't been trying to deprive or deplete myself - I've just been trying to exercise, eat healthy, and follow MFP's guidelines, which as I mentioned have not been working, so I appreciate some practical advice. I will try this (and freak out my family by eating so much more, lol!)) and see how it goes.0 -
Sooo . . . I am having such a hard time with this!! I cannot seem to get enough protein in during the day before i've already gone way over on carbs and fiber. Also feeling so stuffed and bloated since I am clearly NOT used to eating 1900 calories a day.
Scale has gone up from 162 to 165.5 in just over a week, clothes still not fitting. Trying not to stress out but am feeling really discouraged. I thought it wouldn't be too hard to add more calories in, but the change in the macros to 40/30/30 from whatever MFP had me at before is proving a challenge!!!0 -
yeah, only if you lacking a macro or micro.0
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Doesn't work so hot for people who are simply underestimating their intake.
Or spending infinite time on the treadmill.0 -
I am checking in to see how you are doing with the change in calorie in take. The last post I can find from you was July 12, 2013. I've been watching because your age, weight, weight goal and philisophy is somethng I share. So - how's it going?0
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I am checking in to see how you are doing with the change in calorie in take. The last post I can find from you was July 12, 2013. I've been watching because your age, weight, weight goal and philisophy is somethng I share. So - how's it going?
If this was directed at me, I will answer to say that it's not going well.
Scale is at 170, blood pressure, cholesterol, and cortisol are through the roof based on tests I took last week, and if my doctor rules out an adrenal gland problem (which can cause these same symptoms) then we are going to try taking me off the b/c pills and dealing with the migraines and horrible cycles in some other way.
For specifics, since getting on the pills I've gained 30 pounds, my hair is falling out drastically, I have zero energy, my cholesterol went from 137 to 243, blood pressure from an average of 117/78 to as high as 160/100. (I give blood every 8-9 weeks so it gets checked frequently.) Cortisol was elevated enough for him to order a dexamethasone test (not fun) that I took on Tuesday and am still waiting for results. They also found protein, blood, and white blood cells in my urine sample, so things are clearly not as they should be. I'm trying not to freak out, but all of this is rather alarming from someone who used to be a healthy, active 140 pounds prior to entering menopause.
And yes, the pills were prescribed by my ob/gyn to deal with equally horrendous, though different, problems. Feels like you can't win the side-effects game.0 -
I just changed my projected goal. I had it set at losing a pound a week. Then I thought ...Uhm why am I letting myself feel hungry and trying to lose the weight faster, I'm not that impatient! I only have about 8 - 10 lbs to lose I can do 1/2 pound a week and feel happier. I just upped my calories, so I'll adjust if need be in a couple weeks or more. (time will tell)0
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I am checking in to see how you are doing with the change in calorie in take. The last post I can find from you was July 12, 2013. I've been watching because your age, weight, weight goal and philisophy is somethng I share. So - how's it going?
If this was directed at me, I will answer to say that it's not going well. Scale is at 170, blood pressure, cholesterol, and cortisol are through the roof based on tests I took last week, and if my doctor rules out an adrenal gland problem (which can cause these same symptoms) then we are going to try taking me off the b/c pills and dealing with the migraines and horrible cycles in some other way.
For specifics, since getting on the pills I've gained 30 pounds, my hair is falling out drastically, I have zero energy, my cholesterol went from 137 to 243, blood pressure from an average of 117/78 to as high as 160/100. (I give blood every 8-9 weeks so it gets checked frequently.) Cortisol was elevated enough for him to order a dexamethasone test (not fun) that I took on Tuesday and am still waiting for results. They also found protein, blood, and white blood cells in my urine sample, so things are clearly not as they should be. I'm trying not to freak out, but all of this is rather alarming from someone who used to be a healthy, active 140 pounds prior to entering menopause.
And yes, the pills were prescribed by my ob/gyn to deal with equally horrendous, though different, problems. Feels like you can't win the side-effects game.
Wow. I'm sorry you're going through all this So you went from 163 to 170 lbs from increasing calories. Have you been consistent with it? It's entirely possible your metabolism doesn't land within the parameters of the normal calculations. Or, if the way you've been feeling has reduced your activity level from the 5 hours originally described, then this calorie level could be too high for you as well. It might be worth having you find somewhere near you that does metabolic testing and/or DEXA scanning to get a true picture of body fat and your RMR and such. Any advice anyone can give here is based on average calculations at best. 0 -
I am checking in to see how you are doing with the change in calorie in take. The last post I can find from you was July 12, 2013. I've been watching because your age, weight, weight goal and philisophy is somethng I share. So - how's it going?
If this was directed at me, I will answer to say that it's not going well. Scale is at 170, blood pressure, cholesterol, and cortisol are through the roof based on tests I took last week, and if my doctor rules out an adrenal gland problem (which can cause these same symptoms) then we are going to try taking me off the b/c pills and dealing with the migraines and horrible cycles in some other way.
For specifics, since getting on the pills I've gained 30 pounds, my hair is falling out drastically, I have zero energy, my cholesterol went from 137 to 243, blood pressure from an average of 117/78 to as high as 160/100. (I give blood every 8-9 weeks so it gets checked frequently.) Cortisol was elevated enough for him to order a dexamethasone test (not fun) that I took on Tuesday and am still waiting for results. They also found protein, blood, and white blood cells in my urine sample, so things are clearly not as they should be. I'm trying not to freak out, but all of this is rather alarming from someone who used to be a healthy, active 140 pounds prior to entering menopause.
And yes, the pills were prescribed by my ob/gyn to deal with equally horrendous, though different, problems. Feels like you can't win the side-effects game.
Wow. I'm sorry you're going through all this So you went from 163 to 170 lbs from increasing calories. Have you been consistent with it? It's entirely possible your metabolism doesn't land within the parameters of the normal calculations. Or, if the way you've been feeling has reduced your activity level from the 5 hours originally described, then this calorie level could be too high for you as well. It might be worth having you find somewhere near you that does metabolic testing and/or DEXA scanning to get a true picture of body fat and your RMR and such. Any advice anyone can give here is based on average calculations at best.
I'm thinking the pills or whatever condition I might have is the culprit as opposed to my diet and exercise at this point. I'm just trying to keep going until I get some answers, then concentrate again on MFP. There are too many variables I'm dealing with at the moment.0 -
I tried clean eating not counting calories and gained weight. Probably muscle, but also some chub. I think calorie deficits are still the go to way to lose weight.. gotta be smart about your macros and nutrients (which is difficult as hell) if you want to feel healthy and alert though. You can definitely lose lots of fat (not just glycogen stores) with a strong calorie deficit and routine exercise though, no doubt about it. I think the "starvation mode" idea is severely overblown. Here's just one example, but a very scientific one.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protein_Sparing_Modified_Fast
Except for in extreme cases though I agree with the poster above who said a diet should be a relatively sustainable way of eating.0 -
Update: just got my cortisol test results and my body is suppressing it as it should, so that's good news that my adrenal gland isn't malfunctioning. Bad news, still have some kind of infection going on, so have to clear that up, then we'll talk about stopping the pills.
I am just ready to start feeling well again - I am really absolutely drained right now.0 -
bump for later0
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This just keeps getting stranger. Now they want me to go to a urologist because of my lab results . . . meanwhile I'm still looking pregnant through the middle. 0
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So after multiple tests to check my thyroid, adrenal gland, kidneys, bladder, etc., etc. . . . they have no idea why I have had blood in my urine for 2 months (possibly longer, that was just when I first got it checked this year). Nor can they explain the weight gain and blood pressure/cholesterol spikes based on any of the tests.
Meeting with my primary doctor next week to discuss what to try next.
Strangely, after 2 months of not logging my food AND not following my normal exercise routine because of all of these tests, my weight has remained at 170, right where it was when I first went in to get tested. I am returning to my usual routine this week since they haven't given me any reason not to.0 -
I'm officially at my wits' end. After all of the inconclusive tests, I was advised to stop the birth control pills I'd been on. 4 months later my blood pressure is still through the roof and my weight has not budged. The doctors have no recommendations for me other than "lose weight or you'll have to go on medication." Left the office in tears. Absolutely sick to death over this situation.0
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