Not loosing weight

h1udd

maintenance sucks .... I haven’t lost weight in 3 weeks when previously it was a linear 1lb+ a week guaranteed. I know in maintenance that’s the idea ... but I only halved my deficit to ease myself back in ... I should have lost 2 more lbs by now.

I was hoping to up my calories by another 250 a day ... as MFP suggests

Do I up them anyway and if I start gaining then reduce, or keep them low ?

Will my body use the extra 250 wisely and increase my performance, or just get fat ?

Stats - 5’11” 70kg male
Sedentary life but workout everyday cardio or lifting
Mfp suggested maintenance - 2000kcal
Current calorie intake- 1750kcal

Weight lost before maintenance 9kg @1500kcal

seska422

You've restored some of your glycogen stores by increasing your calories which bumps up your water weight. Some people lose a couple of extra pounds to make up for the rebound.

250 was a pretty big jump; the most common recommendation I see is to increase 100 at a time.

If I were you, I'd stay where you are for at least a couple more weeks and then reevaluate. You won't gain fat eating at a calorie goal that is either maintenance or a slight deficit. Finding your personal maintenance calorie level is a long term science experiment with one subject. It's also a moving target since your activity level likely varies from day-to-day and season-to-season.

h1udd

Thanks for the reassurance .... guess I should be happy it’s not going up

sijomial

If your MFP provided numbers proved accurate when losing then it's reasonable to assume they will also be accurate IN THE LONG TERM.

It's really common that people when losing weight have a short term mindset reinforced by weekly progress seen on your bathroom scales whereas in maintenance you need to switch to a long term mindset - hopefully including long term goals.

That "missing" 250 cals will have an impact on your "Sedentary life but workout everyday cardio or lifting" - your NEAT may increase and your workout performance should improve.

At some stage you should try adding the missing calories, even experiment with more than that. When you feel ready for that is personal.

h1udd

thanks sijomial .. your posts are always one of wisdom and "having been there before" ..... I am totally new to trying to maintain my weight so its all discovery at the moment.

my mind set has for the last 6 years been firmly in the shorterm gratification of weightloss and exercising to get rid of calories, eat to lose fat ... switching that to exercise for improvement and eat to fuel exercise ... the numbers all point to fat gain again .. which deep down I know is not true, but still concerns me !

I have already seen an increase in workout performance and the powermeter on the bike gave me some good numbers this morning .... as this returns to normal, I'll add those missing calories and see what happens.

thanks for the reassurance

sijomial

Ah another lycra lout!
Training and recovering when properly fuelled makes a huge difference.

This link might provide a replacement goal - http://www.aukweb.net/home/

h1udd

sijomial wrote: »

Ah another lycra lout!

only 3 days a week .. 3 others I wear a hooded vest and listen to hiphop/rock in a dirty gym ... the 7th day is a do whatever I am in the mood for day

thanks for the link

andreaen

There are a lot of things that can happen when you start eating more that is not fat gain. As mentioned above glycogen stores can replenish, which gives you a "fuller" and tighter look as your muscles literally swell up. Also, 1g of carb can bind 3 to 5 g of water, and more food often means more sodium which also binds water. This means you will most likely initially gain some water weight, which will probably come off again as your body gets used to the new nutrition balance. Other than that you are also having more food in your stomach/intestines which can contribute.

However, after dieting your metabolism will have slowed down, so your maintenance now will be lower than when you started your diet. This should also be considered when adding in calories. I would recommend adding 70-100 calories per week and no more unless you are losing weight.

LivingtheLeanDream

You should be pleased you are maintaining your weight, that is the goal Congrats
Now your focus should be keeping within a goal range of say +/-5lbs e.g - so stepping on those scales and seeing the numbers being what they should is your goal

IMO Maintenance rocks

p.s why are you eating so little? I'm petite and if I ate that little I would lose weight not maintain it. Eat the 2000 cals at least and re-evaluate in a few weeks to see if you can increase them further.