Recently upped my Calories but it seems like a lot?

LaurenGetsFit2

So I’ve got the last 5-7 pounds I want to get rid of. Being a short 5’2”, I’ve been keeping my Calories around 1,300 and the weight loss has stalled. Like...for the past 6 months or so. Even with diligent tracking & exercising.

But I recently read that sometimes it’s better to set your Calories at maintenance for the weight you want to get to, and also set your current weight to what your goal weight is. Basically, eat to maintain a goal weight.

So I changed my “goals” and sure enough I’ve got an extra 400 Calories to consume each day. And this seems like a lot to me both volume- & Calorie-wise, especially since I’ve been keeping it lower than that for so long. Physically it seems like a lot more for my body to consume.

Any tips or thoughts?

janejellyroll

If you haven't lost weight for six months, then increasing your calories is unlikely to result in weight loss.

You say your tracking has been diligent. Does that include using a food scale?

swirlybee

I'm the same height as you and weigh 122 lbs. I've been losing an average of 0.75 lbs per week eating 1400 calories a day. Are you sure you're accurately logging using a food scale (as previously mentioned)?

lin_be

Or is it possible, if you’re exercising and eating those calories back, that you are over estimating your calorie burn? Something in the equation is wrong if you’re not losing.

LaurenGetsFit2

I definitely use a food scale & have been keeping my meals relatively simple just so nothing is missed. I’m 116 and exercise 4-5 times a week for at least 30 minutes; end up sweaty & exhausted. According to my Garmin I usually burn around 200-300 Calories depending on how long I exercise & what all it involves.
I don’t eat back Calories because I’m not silly enough to try it.
I’m at 116 right now & want to get to 111 & get rid of a little more fat, but right now there’s not a whole lot left.

I’ve been reading online & from more reliable sources that upping Calories after they’ve been so low (1,200 to 1,300 is low for anyone) will help to lose the last few pounds.

middlehaitch

A diet break, eating at maintenance for a couple of weeks, may help.

If you choose to eat at your goal weight maintenance it could be a very very slow loss as you have so little to lose.

I, by default, ateat my goal maintenance and the last 5lbs came off at less than a pound a month.

If you have been eating 1200-1300 cals and not eating back exercise calories, there could be a subtle drop in your daily activity which will lower your NEAT cancelling out your exercise calorie burn.
The way MFP is set up to eat back exercise cals helps avoid this by adequately fuelling your exercise and keeping your daily energy levels stable.

That being said, the 200-300 looks a little high for a 30min routine. Try eating back 50%.

We nearly all have to revisit our calorie tracking at some point during our weight loss.
Revisit your log, tighten up any lazy entries (I used fruit averages for months, once things got slow I weighed every piece), and recheck that you are using the correct entries for the foods you are eating (USDA, and food labels mfg websites).

Those last few pounds, at your weight, can be barely noticeable, but there should be a month to month drop on the scale.

Cheers, h.

Speaking as a 5’1 older woman who maintains at 100-105, so understands how slow the scale moves, and how precise one has to log.

deannalfisher

Have a bowl of ice cream (the good stuff); have a bagel with some cream cheese

400cal can be as much or as little as you want - calorie dense foods (peanut butter etc) means you will eat less