1500 a day too much or too little?

LL1894
LL1894 Posts: 21 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I'm eating 1500 calories a day and burning about 400 a day, I've lost 16lb so far, but now I've stopped losing weight, I've even put on a pound this week! WHY?! do I need to start changing it up? any advice would be massively appreciated!

Replies

  • Emily_20x
    Emily_20x Posts: 175 Member
    When my weight loss slowed down I upped my calories and changed up my exercise routine and I was sorted :) hope this helps x
  • CatAMcC
    CatAMcC Posts: 166 Member
    I started at 1200, couldn't hack it and up to 1400 and started losing. Once I stall I will probs up it again. Try it and see
  • LL1894
    LL1894 Posts: 21 Member
    Thankyou guys! Ill give it a go x
  • luceegj
    luceegj Posts: 246 Member
    You have probs hit a bit of a wall! Maybe think about upping your cals for as a week or two! Dont eat crap! Or change your workout!!! See how you go I think 1500 is enough I wouldnt listen to all this not enough unless bulking!
  • lumpy_spaceprincess
    lumpy_spaceprincess Posts: 52 Member
    I don't claim to be an expert, but it sounds like perhaps you could boost your intake a little. Have you calculated your BMR?

    When I first started losing i was eating 1200 a day, when I went up to 1500 i really noticed results!

    Good luck! :D
  • mgoblue64
    mgoblue64 Posts: 23
    Not sure if I'm qualified to answer, but here's what I did to lose around 76 pounds in about 4 1/2 months: I actually limited myself to 1200 calories a day. Not a lot for a man that started out around 271 pounds, but I found that if I was smart about it, I could be full more often than not. It's a great time of year here to get fresh garden veggies, so instead of eating a salad full of lettuce and a few traditional veggies on it, I'd make my salad out of cucumbers, onions, and tomatoes, a lot of each. I'd top it with just some salt and pepper to taste, and some apple cider vinegar or pickle juice from a near empty jar. The salad was rather large, so it actually took some doing to eat it all sometimes, but it would fill me up, something a lettucy salad doesn't always do. My point is, finding ways like that to increase the volume of food I was eating while still lowering the calorie intake worked great for me and never left me feeling like I was fighting a losing battle at the end of the day. I spent a lot of time walking every day that I could, usually after dinner. I'd walk anywhere from an hour to 2 1/2 on a weekend morning. I had to limit my exercise to walking for fear of messing up my back after having a couple vertebrae fused last December. That's probably all in my head though as I'm sure the screws and other hardware will hold up to anything I can do to it. Back to the food for a second, besides looking for bulkier foods like I did often, I always left room in my 1200 for a 100 calorie bag of microwave popcorn, maybe two, and a low calorie ice cream bar, maybe two :). I found that if I could keep my sweet tooth in check, I was great. One last tip, if you like yogurt as much as I do but that doesn't quite fill the morning void, mix it with your favorite cereal instead of milk. My favorite right now is the chocolate Fiber One (80 calories in 3/4 cup) mixed with Dannon light Greek Cherry yogurt (80 calories). If you don't like the aspartame, there are alternatives that don't have it, and their in the 110 to 130 calorie range. Anyway, it's a great combo and not a bad breakfast for under 200 calories. Sorry, I lied, one last tip, drink lots and lots of water. If you're truly hungry, you'll know it, but we often eat at the first sign of a stomach rumble and not because we really need the food. I'd drink a minimum of 10 glasses, but more often it was upward of 20 each day. I start every morning, and I mean every morning, jumping on the scale, getting ready for work or play, then heading downstairs for a multivitamin and 24 ounces of water. Then after a little while for that to settle in I finally eat my breakfast. I've babbled long enough. Good luck to you and hang in there. Make a few adjustments and I'm sure you'll see the progress again. If you want to see my diary and figure out what I ate, friend me or message me and I'll send a few of the specific ideas to you.
  • CatAMcC
    CatAMcC Posts: 166 Member
    at moment 1400 does me grand (tho can't wait to up it when it needs to!) but Im really learning portion control which has been biggest change for me.

    Let us know how you get on!!
  • LL1894
    LL1894 Posts: 21 Member
    Thankyou all so much for your advice! I get such conflicting things told though, some people saying to eat 1200, some saying thats too low, some saying I should eat back the calories I've burned, some saying I should eat my BMR. Its all too confusing haha! I guess I'll just have to try everything and see what works for me I guess!
  • pkingfox
    pkingfox Posts: 25
    I too used to find it confusing and then simply decided that I needed to try different ways and see which way worked best for me....so far I am at 1200 + - meaning I eat a base of 1200 and also eat any extra cals from w/o's etc....many refer to it as eating back my cals. I am loosing very very very slowly which can be sometimes disheartening so I am looking at upping my intake and seeing what happens. Ihave lost 8 lbs since the first of May - 8 lbs over three months - feels too slow - but everyone keeps telling me that slow is the best way to do it.....I wish you all the best and good luck finding what works best for your body!!
  • luceegj
    luceegj Posts: 246 Member
    Thankyou all so much for your advice! I get such conflicting things told though, some people saying to eat 1200, some saying thats too low, some saying I should eat back the calories I've burned, some saying I should eat my BMR. Its all too confusing haha! I guess I'll just have to try everything and see what works for me I guess!

    I dont know where this bloody to low thing has come from! I'm to not an expect but everyone is different!! Just see what works for you!
  • TiredOfMyself
    TiredOfMyself Posts: 28 Member
    I don't claim to be an expert, but it sounds like perhaps you could boost your intake a little. Have you calculated your BMR?

    When I first started losing i was eating 1200 a day, when I went up to 1500 i really noticed results!

    Good luck! :D

    Definitely this, I was STUCK FOR MONTHS, I was only eating 1,200.. but I upped it to 1,330 + any exercise that I do, :) Good luck!
  • Possible_Infinity
    Possible_Infinity Posts: 83 Member
    Your hitting a Plateau so just stay the course and know that this will pass... :noway: :noway: :noway:

    Changing up your diet and exercise can help shorten the duration.

    I eat 1500 a day but don't eat my exercise calories and I've gone through the same thing often. My weekly deficit is usually 5-9000 calories
    I'm eating 1500 calories a day and burning about 400 a day, I've lost 16lb so far, but now I've stopped losing weight, I've even put on a pound this week! WHY?! do I need to start changing it up? any advice would be massively appreciated!

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