increasing my caloric intake 700 calories?

megannicolemon98

I'm an 18-year-old girl who has been told to eat 1400 calories a day to lose weight with moderate exercise. I'm also 5 ft 8' and 145 lb. I've been following that method for a year now and I can honestly say it has gotten nowhere. websites say it's from miscalculating my caloric intake but I was very strict with weighing/measuring everything I ate and counting it all through apps.
I got a job at a gym and talked to my supervisor about how many calories I should be eating. He explained to me that I have been so calorie deficient making my metabolism slowed down to compensate for the lack of calories. we calculated my BMR and TDEE which together is about 2300 and calculated the macros to go with it. these last few days I have been trying to eat around 2150 calories in order to maintain a deficiency but I'm afraid that eating so many calories will make me gain weight even though I would still be deficient. I'm just concerned because I feel bloated and my abs are much less prominent. if my metabolism has been slowed down, do I need to jump into the "restart phase" and gradually work my way up? will my body will store the 700 extra calories as fat? or will it automatically use it to boost my metabolism?
I'm a little confused so hopefully someone can give me some guidance or information about what I should expect to happen or how this process works! thank you!

heybales

Just so you have perspective on the numbers.

Whatever you are eating on average daily with your current level of activity - right now - is your current TDEE.

That's the definition - energy expenditure, and if you eat that amount - you maintain weight - which you are.

But that's suppressed, your body adapted to eating so little and slowed down in all kinds of ways, first was just daily calorie burn from movement - it's a big impact.

Next is stuff the body does it can slow down - hair & nail growth, replacing skin before it gets dry, staying warm, ect.

Next is the base metabolism can be slowed.

Now - you keep eating less and less and eventually you'll lose weight - fat and muscle, and you'll stress the body out terribly, and have very poor workouts in comparison.


What you have attempted to do is estimate your potential TDEE - what your body could burn if it did none of the adaptions above.

Now - you may have already lost some muscle mass almost certainly - so the BMR and TDEE based on average gender, age, weight, height is a tad inflated above your potential reality right now.

But indeed it could be upwards of 700 more - but it isn't right now.

Life lesson - you eat appropriately for your level of activity, a reasonable amount less to lose fat weight. Eat more to gain fat.
You do more, you eat more.
You do less, you eat less.

You start eating 700 more than your current suppressed TDEE - you are eating in surplus - guess what happens.

I'd suggest increase by 200 more for 2 weeks, then 250 more for 2 weeks, then 250 more and test from there if you reached potential TDEE.

Only weigh on 1 valid day weekly if you feel the need to, or wait until up at TDEE level.
Morning after rest day eating normal sodium levels, not sore from last workout.