eat more to lose... a theory

etoiles_argentees

"why are thin people not fat?" docu and research. How did Martin add muscle while overeating junk food and not exercising?

Why do I weigh 100 pounds when sedentary and eating 2000 calories daily? RMR tested many times, averaged 1170. Completely sedentary, broken collar bone, shoulder and cracked head, no NEAT.
Why did I only gain 1 pound per month eating over 2500 daily and not exercising? Injured? But those few extra pounds went away as soon as I was able to get out of bed. I didn't gain muscle but I did not gain weight. No food scale and I already know I underestimate calories. ???

kiykiy79

Tag! This is a good thread and the very conversation I'm having via text with my best friend...

jacksonpt

Oh, don't forget that some people also underestimate their food sufficiently so that the 1200 that they think they're eating is actually more like 2000. For these people, they may lose when they think they're eating 1200, without feeling deprived, because it's still a cut from 3000+ that they were eating before dieting. For these people, upping perceived calories may indeed lead to weight gain simply because they are now eating over maintenance.

this is an excellent point too. Perceived intake does not always equal actual intake.

norcal_yogi

bump

18guyhornet

I don't understand why people are so adament about defending 1200 calories. I mean, someone is saying, "it really is okay to eat more" and they freak out, get defensive, etc. I just don't understand. Food is awesome.

I do believe 1200 is very hard to maintain for most people and sets them up to fail. I'm sure most of us want to succeed. If you truly believe you can only eat 1200 calories to lose weight, get some things tested. Like your thyroid, RMR, etc. Your doctor can test your thyroid. A dietician (at the gym or I just had mine tested at a grocercy store) can test your RMR. It takes 10-15 minutes. Then you know for sure what your body burns at rest. The remaining calories can be estimated.

My RMR, btw (37, woman, 5'5", 131 lb, 19.5%BF) is 1580. 1580. At rest! Having real numbers is a powerful tool. My weight (fat) loss journey would have really sucked had I stuck to MFP's 1200 calorie estimate...

But hey, if people really want to eat so little, go for it. I like my "diet" of 2000 calories/day. I think I'm going to go eat something.

^^^ Thank you!!! I had my BMR/RMR tested and I was at 1960 cals. 1960 at rest! I wasn't even eating 1750 a day on what MFP had me at. Hell yeah I lost weight - but muscle too. That's not what I want. I want to loose the fat and keep the muscle! NOW I'M going to go eat something!

rosemaryhon

Well my thought is I've been eating approx. 1200 calories for the past 5 months. I have not one moment of one day found it "too restrictive". And honestly I've not once in these past 150 days felt "burned out" or "cravings" or "cheated" (though I do not have any foods off limits). I eat cake, pizza, drink wine, etc, if/when I want to. When I'm hungry, I eat. I eat delicious and satisfying meals every day.

I also every.day log all my food honestly and as accurate as possible. The days I've eaten over 1200 (this past weekend as example, when I went to a party), I logged every thing. And it didn't stress me. And today I logged another lb loss anyway.

So seems to me it's all individual and personal. Your theory doesn't ring true *for me*. I DID find something more reasonable ~ my new eating lifestyle . I sure AM happier, I have no need to 'stop cheating', and good things are happening (for one example, my 26 lb weight loss!).

But you describe yourself as eating the things you want to eat. You just happen to be doing it on 1200 calories. I think he's talking about people who feel like they can't have cake or pizza or wine because they assume they can't fit those things into 1200 calories, and then they end up binging and not losing weight, even though they "only eat 1200 calories per day."

This, plus, at your age and activity level, 1200 is probably perfect for you. If someone's younger, more active and/or exercises a lot more strenuously, they're going to need more fuel....

I totally agree ~ it's all individual.

rosemaryhon

I don't understand why people are so adament about defending 1200 calories. I mean, someone is saying, "it really is okay to eat more" and they freak out, get defensive, etc. I just don't understand. Food is awesome.

I do believe 1200 is very hard to maintain for most people and sets them up to fail. I'm sure most of us want to succeed. If you truly believe you can only eat 1200 calories to lose weight, get some things tested. Like your thyroid, RMR, etc. Your doctor can test your thyroid. A dietician (at the gym or I just had mine tested at a grocercy store) can test your RMR. It takes 10-15 minutes. Then you know for sure what your body burns at rest. The remaining calories can be estimated.

My RMR, btw (37, woman, 5'5", 131 lb, 19.5%BF) is 1580. 1580. At rest! Having real numbers is a powerful tool. My weight (fat) loss journey would have really sucked had I stuck to MFP's 1200 calorie estimate...

But hey, if people really want to eat so little, go for it. I like my "diet" of 2000 calories/day. I think I'm going to go eat something.

Just to be perfectly clear, I have no desire to "defend 1200 calories".

My point though is I really do not "eat so little" ~ check out my open diary, I eat plenty and I'm ready & willing to eat more if/when I'm hungry.

rosemaryhon

Oh, don't forget that some people also underestimate their food sufficiently so that the 1200 that they think they're eating is actually more like 2000. For these people, they may lose when they think they're eating 1200, without feeling deprived, because it's still a cut from 3000+ that they were eating before dieting. For these people, upping perceived calories may indeed lead to weight gain simply because they are now eating over maintenance.

this is an excellent point too. Perceived intake does not always equal actual intake.

Maybe true for some, but I am confident my totals are as accurate as can be.

jacksonpt

Oh, don't forget that some people also underestimate their food sufficiently so that the 1200 that they think they're eating is actually more like 2000. For these people, they may lose when they think they're eating 1200, without feeling deprived, because it's still a cut from 3000+ that they were eating before dieting. For these people, upping perceived calories may indeed lead to weight gain simply because they are now eating over maintenance.

this is an excellent point too. Perceived intake does not always equal actual intake.

Maybe true for some, but I am confident my totals are as accurate as can be.

you do realize this thread isn't specifically about you, right?

rosemaryhon

LOL

llkilgore

I think that's one reason.

I also think that some people tend to massively decrease NEAT when on lower calories.

True for me, though it wasn't so much that I massively decreased my pre-diet NEAT. I felt great on a 1 pound per week deficit, or thought I did. But in retrospect I realized that I'd "felt great" relative to how I'd felt as an overweight 57 year old couch potato. I'd forgotten how much more energetic I'd been when I ate right and didn't have to haul around an extra 60 pounds. When I lowered my goal to a half pound per week I suddenly had more energy to burn than I'd had in probably 20 years, which resulted in a more optimal NEAT, which allowed me to continue to lose weight at about the same rate as before.

edited for typo.