Anyone else? Allowed more calories means more junk?

Allup2Me78

Thanks for this! This helped me alot..I needed to read all this

I am 4' 11" and I eat roughly 1600- 2000 cals a day. I find that even on a day I do not exercise, if I drop my cals too low I will not lose ... I will eventually plateau. 1600 is about my sweet spot but if I workout really hard ... and do not add the extra cals ... I will find the scale to be very uncooperative! I am losing consistently and have been since January, no plateau at all. I have lost nearly 40 #'s and since I upped my calories I am losing more consistently (which seems counter-intuitive but it is working). I try to eat pretty healthy but I do not deny myself as I am very much a food lover! I figure if I am going to keep this weight off ... I can't deny myself what I love. If I over do it (which I did when I went out to dinner the other night) then I might hop on the elliptical and burn a few more cals or I just call it a day and move on because it's going to happen. I remember feeling like that when I first started this process (being small and middle aged) I could not fathom eating healthy calories at this high of a number and losing weight! As you go along, you will find what will work for you ... but please, please, please ... do not allow yourself to become an emotional hostage to your calories or the scale. Life is messy and if we get too caught up in how our day to day goes ... it can really do a number on how we think. This is a process ... a lifestyle. There isn't a human alive who has not made errors along the way ... be gentle with yourself and if you go over a day, shake it off and move on to the next day and make it better. I guess what I wanted to say is, it may seem like a lot of cals for someone short like us ... but I am doing it and I am losing! :happy:

PS: Are you taking measurements? Those are really helpful as the scale is not always accurate and for us women it can really be stressful with all our hormonal stuff happening. Measurements are a great motivator for me when the scale is being finicky ... my measurement loss always makes me feel better! Good luck to you!!

Just like everyone had to and has to find that right # for them, so do I...I jst feel 1700 cal for a woman 4 ft 10 is alot but I am going to stick to this for 4-6 wks to see how it goes.

You talk as if you believe eating 200 'extra' calories for a few days is going to do irreparable damage or something.

It's really not healthy to have that much emotion/fear associated with food, especially when you're talking about raising your calorie goal by a small amount to determine the effect.

Allup2Me78

Thanks for this as well..It is soo hard when it stays the same or doesn't move for wks or a month. Glad you understand

That's your opinion to say I am giving it too much thought but when I have people telling me I am eating too less or too many carbs or too much processed and the scale is not moving on a constant basis-I am not sure that I can just realax because I am on mfp to LOSE weight. Not for the scale to stay the same for 3 wks or more or back and forth with the same #'s

I'm sorry you are frustrated and not seeing consistent movement. It will go down, though....weight loss looks like a sawtooth on the graph. You won't be able to see it by my graph on MFP, because I only put my successes on here...but...where I write my weight at home goes something like this:

Lost 1 lb, lost another, lost another, gained one, gained a half, gained another half, gained another half (crap is the scale broken?), gained another half, lost a pound, lost another pound, lost a half, lost another pound (wow, the scale is working right again), lost another half pound (oh, yeah, I should log this success), gained a half pound back (crap).

For the record, I log my weight offline every...single...day. It's the way of the world for the scale to reflect an up and down. I know it's dissapointing, but it happens. I'm sorry you're going through such frustration with it, though.

stumblinthrulife

It sounds like you need to examine your relationship with food.

Fear of food is not healthy, especially taken to the degree that you will voluntarily restrict your total intake to avoid the temptation of foods you have arbitrarily labeled 'bad'.

Tropical_Turtle

That's your opinion to say I am giving it too much thought but when I have people telling me I am eating too less or too many carbs or too much processed and the scale is not moving on a constant basis-I am not sure that I can just realax because I am on mfp to LOSE weight. Not for the scale to stay the same for 3 wks or more or back and forth with the same #'s

Relaaaaax. Upping you calories by 200 calories is no different than eating at 1500. eat your extra 200 calories, log it, and move on. I think you're giving this waaay too much thought.

You really need to relax, The scale will not move all the time. The scale will move back and forth, it is how it all works. The body naturally fluctuates so STOP being so scale driven. Have you taken measurements? Carbs are not the devil, and food is food, if you eat "clean" or not does not stop or hinder weight loss. So yes, you are OVER thinking it. Relax, and stop fighting your body.

jojo86xdd

It's just some advice based on my experiences. I thought that's why you made this post...

jojo86xdd

That's your opinion to say I am giving it too much thought but when I have people telling me I am eating too less or too many carbs or too much processed and the scale is not moving on a constant basis-I am not sure that I can just realax because I am on mfp to LOSE weight. Not for the scale to stay the same for 3 wks or more or back and forth with the same #'s

Relaaaaax. Upping you calories by 200 calories is no different than eating at 1500. eat your extra 200 calories, log it, and move on. I think you're giving this waaay too much thought.

#1. Why are you listening to people when you should be listening to your body instead?
#2. I say relax because losing weight is not rocket science and it's not something that you need to stress about because it's pretty simple. Eat at a deficit, lose weight. Eating 200 calories more might be beneficial to you in the sense that you may have more energy for your workouts, you may feel more satisfied throughout the day therefore making you less likely to make bad decisions, or you may just like knowing you have a little wiggle room. And FYI the scale never moves on a constant basis. There will be times, when the scale will not move;That's just a fact. In those cases trial and error works best. Switch things around, try a new workout, up your calories, decrease your calories, whatever. But it's nothing to worry about as long as you're doing the right things.The point is, i repeat, if you eat at a deficit, log accurately,exercise, make good choices the majority of the time, the weight will come off. Plain and simple.

tigerblue

Yes, I tend to do this too.

Treats are okay sometimes, by the way. I dont think I would do this if I thought I would never have a treat again!

But because I know I do this, I try to be more deliberate about my snacks. I often eat greek yogurt and trail mix now, or fruit, rather than a cookie. And sometimes I will purposely eat a second serving of lean meat if I have a lot of calories left.

Setting my protein higher really helps because I try to hit my macros, and I am very goal oriented.

Allup2Me78

This is my 1st time calorie counting so I am learning...I just want to be succesful.
quote]
It sounds like you need to examine your relationship with food.

Fear of food is not healthy, especially taken to the degree that you will voluntarily restrict your total intake to avoid the temptation of foods you have arbitrarily labeled 'bad'.
[/quote]

Allup2Me78

If I don't know the accurate amount of calories I need to succeed at this journey then I won't know what my deficit is..Once I get that right then everything else should fall into place I am thinking. I appreciate your reply and suggestions.

That's your opinion to say I am giving it too much thought but when I have people telling me I am eating too less or too many carbs or too much processed and the scale is not moving on a constant basis-I am not sure that I can just realax because I am on mfp to LOSE weight. Not for the scale to stay the same for 3 wks or more or back and forth with the same #'s

Relaaaaax. Upping you calories by 200 calories is no different than eating at 1500. eat your extra 200 calories, log it, and move on. I think you're giving this waaay too much thought.

#1. Why are you listening to people when you should be listening to your body instead?
#2. I say relax because losing weight is not rocket science and it's not something that you need to stress about because it's pretty simple. Eat at a deficit, lose weight. Eating 200 calories more might be beneficial to you in the sense that you may have more energy for your workouts, you may feel more satisfied throughout the day therefore making you less likely to make bad decisions, or you may just like knowing you have a little wiggle room. And FYI the scale never moves on a constant basis. There will be times, when the scale will not move;That's just a fact. In those cases trial and error works best. Switch things around, try a new workout, up your calories, decrease your calories, whatever. But it's nothing to worry about as long as you're doing the right things.The point is, i repeat, if you eat at a deficit, log accurately,exercise, make good choices the majority of the time, the weight will come off. Plain and simple.