To the mean people of MFP... You can say "I told you so"

CountryGirl8542

I have been at my weight loss journey for 3 months tomorrow and I have lost 18 lbs. I started out eating between 1200-1500 calories a day and exercising regularly... but just recently I quit losing weight and to top it off I was hungry all the time! I asked myself how am I going to eat less than 1200 calories if I am as hungry as I am now! The answer: Don't! ....EAT MORE!

I got on here looking for answers and I didn't like that people were telling me that I wasn't eating enough... I was actually extremely defensive about it. How dare they tell me I am not eating enough when I have lost all the weight I have so far! Then someone directed me to this thread:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/974888-in-place-of-a-road-map-2k13


I am now eating 2300 calories a day and exercising regularly and back to losing 1lb a week! The best part is... I am full! Yay! No more hunger! Thanks for the read! I hope this helps at least one person out there!

kristen6022

I'm glad all the mean people helped you.

It takes guts to come on here and ask for help and I have to agree you need to be ready for it. The whole diet industry has brain washed people for years, telling them they had to eat like a rabbit, exercise hard everyday to lose weight. It's not the case. Your body needs fuel to run. So, figure out how much YOU burn, and do the math. Follow the program and trust the program not what you think you know.

diannethegeek

Way to go!

reneeb816

The same thing happened to me. I think society has us convinced you have to eat less to lose weight so it's hard to change your way of thinking. Wait....I have to eat more??!! LOL.

Congrats though!!

viglet

How long ago did you up your calories?

heatherc369

I am slowly adding the cals you suggested, like you said..it's scary at first but I too have hit a plateau after 23 lbs so lets see if it works!

Francl27

Good job!

CountryGirl8542

How long ago did you up your calories?

2-3ish weeks ago. I couldn't believe that I lost 2lbs after stepping on the scale after the first week! I have been consistently losing 1lb a week since.

ChunkyCharly

Wish I had the balls to do this. I'm just never sure of my numbers.. Lol!

twooliver

Ugh...just hired a trainer and they are telling me to not eat back the calories...time will tell...

Showcase_Brodown

The same thing happened to me. I think society has us convinced you have to eat less to lose weight so it's hard to change your way of thinking. Wait....I have to eat more??!! LOL.

Congrats though!!

Mountains of scientific evidence show us that a calorie deficit causes weight loss.

You can eat more than you have been eating (making the deficit smaller, which is more sustainable and better for diet adherence), but don't eat more calories than your body uses a day. That equals weight gain.

"Eat more to weigh less" is a terribly misleading concept.

For the OP, time will tell if she is eating over maintenance or not. 2-3 weeks is not sufficient time to see a trend.

viglet

Well I am trying to "up" my calories to be around 1450 (have some trouble the past few weeks being consistent) .

I guess I'm reluctant to fully commit because I usually only see people who claim success with this method after 3 or 4 weeks but I never see posts from people who have had long term success with this ( 30 or more lbs or more than a yr).

Kristine_7707

Ugh...just hired a trainer and they are telling me to not eat back the calories...time will tell...

Listen to your trainer

bcattoes

How long ago did you up your calories?

2-3ish weeks ago. I couldn't believe that I lost 2lbs after stepping on the scale after the first week! I have been consistently losing 1lb a week since.

Something isn't adding up. You ate 800 calories more for one week and lost weight? Then you could not have been eating too low before. If 800 more is a deficit, then you had to already be in a deficit.

Or are you talking 800 more total calories, but actually less net calories?

Hildy_J

This actually doesn't add up... perhaps you weren't logging accurately before or you're exercising more now?

The 'eat more' message is more for those people who are attempting around 1200 calories a day and keep falling off the wagon and binging, because it's too great a deficit for them.

But I'm happy for you! If it works - keep it up.

lua_

This actually doesn't add up... perhaps you weren't logging accurately before or you're exercising more now?

The 'eat more' message is more for those people who are attempting around 1200 calories a day and keep falling off the wagon and binging, because it's too great a deficit for them.

But I'm happy for you! If it works - keep it up.

No it isn't. The 'eat more' message is simply: 'eat what your body needs'. It's telling people that they can eat a lot of food and still lose weight, as long as they burn more than they eat. It's telling people that losing weight shouldn't be a crash diet, it should be a lifestyle change.

Well done OP

ThickMcRunFast

Cheers from one former snowflake to another. Yay food!

CountryGirl8542

Well I am trying to "up" my calories to be around 1450 (have some trouble the past few weeks being consistent) .

I guess I'm reluctant to fully commit because I usually only see people who claim success with this method after 3 or 4 weeks but I never see posts from people who have had long term success with this ( 30 or more lbs or more than a yr).

There are TONS of people on here who have been successful with TDEE. Post a topic in the message boards and you will find them.

TIMv4

Ugh...just hired a trainer and they are telling me to not eat back the calories...time will tell...

I don't plan on hitting the 100lb lost club following that plan. Exercise is great for getting a good sweat on and getting fit again but I don't see it working well if the body is starved. It needs the nutrition to rebuild beyond just using the fat storage.

_HeartsOnFire_

This actually doesn't add up... perhaps you weren't logging accurately before or you're exercising more now?

The 'eat more' message is more for those people who are attempting around 1200 calories a day and keep falling off the wagon and binging, because it's too great a deficit for them.

But I'm happy for you! If it works - keep it up.

It does add up. The eat more isn't just for anyone only eating 1200 calories (though the OP did state she was eating about 1200-1500 calories...)...The eat more is for ANYONE not eating what their body needs in order to fuel their workouts.

Hildy_J

This actually doesn't add up... perhaps you weren't logging accurately before or you're exercising more now?

The 'eat more' message is more for those people who are attempting around 1200 calories a day and keep falling off the wagon and binging, because it's too great a deficit for them.

But I'm happy for you! If it works - keep it up.

No it isn't. The 'eat more' message is simply: 'eat what your body needs'. It's telling people that they can eat a lot of food and still lose weight, as long as they burn more than they eat. It's telling people that losing weight shouldn't be a crash diet, it should be a lifestyle change.

Well done OP

That works too.