Will this diet plan work?

For a long time i have been depressed and it effected my eating habits, i would only eat about 1200 calories a day, and drink nothing but water, i also exercised alot. I lost alot of weight, but now i want to eat more(but not gain so much weight), i heard that my metabolism should be low right now cause of this, meaning if i eat a regular calorie intake i will gain alot of weight back. If i slowly add more calories to my diet over time, until i reach regular level, will i avoid gaining so much weight?

Replies

  • i read a post yesterday saying about glycogen stores and it said to loose 5lbs more than you want to be at because when you start introducing cals back you gain a little weight whatever you do because you start storing again. it gives you a little bit of a bumper cushion to get to where you want to be

    add calories slowly and keep up with any exercise you have been doing (dont slow it down)

    dont know how true it is but i did see some comments saying people had done this and it worked for them so im going to give it a go too, cant hurt really.
  • lizziecheek
    lizziecheek Posts: 65 Member
    Hi I hope you are doing better regarding depression. I have had 2 episodes of clinical major depression that each lasted a long time. Self care was impossible for me during these times. You should have no issues going to an adequate food intake. Eat the amount recommended on MFP. I would probably avoid weighing for a while so you don't find yourself obsessed with weight, which is not at all helpful.
  • theknoxie
    theknoxie Posts: 19 Member
    Hi
    You may want to find a place in your area that does a full body scan.. some free bootcamps will do it for free. The body scan can give you an accurate reading on how many calories you can eat to maintain your weight. I tried using the suggestion of MFP and it actually threw my body into starvation mode. I only use this tool to track my calories
  • melaniecheeks
    melaniecheeks Posts: 6,349 Member
    It really will be a case of trial and error - everyone's body is different, and you've gone through some tough times.

    Wishing you good luck.
  • Evamutt
    Evamutt Posts: 2,798 Member
    edited April 2023
    I'm sorry about your depression. What I found is to lose weight with maintaining in mind, that is, eat the way you are willing to for the rest of your life but less while losing weight, focus on habits, add foods, like veggies & fruits, find yummy lower calorie treats, don't restrict or you'll end up binging. work in treats & snacks that you would not give up forever. Experiment. Weight loss is about calories. Exercise is great for you & does burn calories but it isn't necessary for weight loss. Don't go on anyone else's diet, do your own. Do you know what your true TDEE is? we are all a little different. To find the true one, get 3 sites to find your TDEE, add them up & divide by 3 to find the average then eat those amount of calories for 3-6 weeks while you weigh everyday to see if your weight is stable within a calorie range, say about 3-5. Then you can subtract 200+ calories from that to find your deficit
  • snowflake954
    snowflake954 Posts: 8,399 Member
    Evamutt wrote: »
    I'm sorry about your depression. What I found is to lose weight with maintaining in mind, that is, eat the way you are willing to for the rest of your life but less while losing weight, focus on habits, add foods, like veggies & fruits, find yummy lower calorie treats, don't restrict or you'll end up binging. work in treats & snacks that you would not give up forever. Experiment. Weight loss is about calories. Exercise is great for you & does burn calories but it isn't necessary for weight loss. Don't go on anyone else's diet, do your own. Do you know what your true TDEE is? we are all a little different. To find the true one, get 3 sites to find your TDEE, add them up & divide by 3 to find the average then eat those amount of calories for 3-6 weeks while you weigh everyday to see if your weight is stable within a calorie range, say about 3-5. Then you can subtract 200+ calories from that to find your deficit

    You do know that the OP posted in 2013---10 years ago?
  • Evamutt
    Evamutt Posts: 2,798 Member
    I just figured it out lol, hope they're doing well