eating more vs eating less

wareje

I've read a butt load of threads on eating more/less than the 1200cals MFP allocates to you but im a bit confused as to what i should be doing. any expert opinions?

my stats:
163cm tall
weight 59.3kgs
bodyfat 28.1%
muscle mass 41.3%
body water 53.2%

I got the readings from my PT and i dont really know what it all means (good bad etc) except im looking at decreasing my bf% to about 18% ideally.
i upped my cals about a month ago to around 1400-1500/day gained weight and felt terrible!
that being said i've not managed to budge the belly fat eating at 1200 either!


I love to run and do alot of cardio; i do light weights in a body pump class every so often and heavier weights using the machines at the gym but still nada.. infact my fav jeans might be a bit snugger than usual!

soooo am i a too much or too little person? im obviously doing something wrong.. open diary if you want a squiz, i very well could be eating bad foods?! i do treat my self here and there.

any help would be appreciated :happy:

michybeans

I'm no expert (really! I am learning as I go too!) but the only thing I can suggest is maybe just try eating 100% whole, clean foods for a few weeks and see what your body thinks? I mean it couldn't hurt, it's real food. But maybe your body has just gotten used to your routine and you need to change things up at the gym too. Maybe less cardio, more weights or try a new class like zumba or pilates or something.

Again these are just suggestions I can think of and I am not a nutrition or exercise professional...

But good luck in your journey!

snazzyjazzy21

How long did you eat at a higher calorie goal? When you increase your calories, your body will naturally store more water as it replenishes it's glycogen stores. IMO, there's no need to go 'clean eating', but I would have a look at perhaps calculating your TDEE which might give you a better calorie goal.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/975025-in-place-of-a-road-map-short-n-sweet
http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

Also, make sure you're weighing everything. It sounds trivial but small errors in your logging can easily add up and be a cause for no loss, even at 1200.

gigglesinthesun

I was debating what to say, but the fitness guys have probably already answered with 'less cardio and more lifting weights'. I am not sure you have much more weight to lose, but on the fitness board there will definitely be guys who can tell you what work out will reduce your body fat.

another few links for diets and calorie question that are a fun read :-)

http://www.acaloriecounter.com/blog/why-am-i-not-losing-weight/
http://www.aworkoutroutine.com/how-to-lose-fat/

and just for the fun of it, because there will be someone telling you to eat more, otherwise you will starve
http://www.aworkoutroutine.com/starvation-mode/

joshdann

there are no "too little" people. Just people who enjoy eating more and find a way to make that happen. They're not eating too little to lose weight, they're just eating less than they would like to.

If you're not losing weight at your current intake, eat less and/or move more. Try lifting heavy instead of pure endurance training. Remember that for things like endurance training, your body becomes very efficient at what you do regularly. You end up burning far less than you might think. Lifting heavy means increasing the load frequently, so you're always going to be getting a good workout.

I don't necessarily agree with using TDEE calculators. They're so inaccurate and generic that they cause more problems than they solve IMO. If you want to lose weight, you need to burn more than you consume. The TDEE calculator doesn't know you or how its recommendation is working for you... you need to adjust that yourself to meet your goals.

Cindyinpg

In your profile pictures, you look quite fit. Have you thought of dropping the body pump classes with the light weights and incorporating a serious strength training routine instead? This 3 part thread here motivated me to start lifting just recently. I think you might be happier with those kind of results, rather than just going by the numbers on the scale.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/977538-halp-heavy-lifting-made-me-supah-bulky

Achrya

Well I'm not a fitness guy (whatever those are) just a woman who lost a little weight and likes to eat food.

I averaged 1725 calories for the weight I lost (20 pounds, 145 days) and I'm aiming for 1850 now. I'm 5'3", so not tall, and sedentary in my day to day life. I lift 3 days a week and do minimal cardio (so anything from none to 2 hours a week). I personally do not see a reason to eat at the bare minimum when you can lose weight eating more. Upping calories is a finicky process, with trial and error with a healthy dose of observation and patience being required.

Your weight may hold steady or go up for a few weeks and that can throw people off and make them quit/go back to a more severe cut. You gotta stick to it just like any other change

iamaelephant

Two things. Firstly there's no way you gained weight on a 1400kcal diet. You're not tracking your calories correctly. Secondly you might want to consider that you may have psychological body image issues. At your height/weight you are in good shape. You look very thin in your profile pictures.

geekyjock76

What is your diet history like? Is this the first time you've restricted calories or have you dieted many times? Would you say you've spent most of the last few years dieting or eating the maximum amount of calories to maintain weight?