A quick question

joybedford

Hi everyone new to the group. To start I have never starved myself but I really want to embrace eating more. I have had a few weeks of not really caring eating what I eat all the while pretending I was still on plan. So I am now doing the TDEE -15% method I havnt adjusted my calories yet as I am freaking out a bit about the number. Would you increase the calories slowly or just go for it. I am having a confidence crisis don't like what I see in the mirror at all. I am 5ft4 weigh 147 lbs, I run 2 days a week, lift 4 days a week for about 30-40 minutes and do body revolution 4 days a week for 35 minutes. I also dance for 2 hours on a Monday. I am appearing on stage (dancing) in 4 weeks and i am dreading the DVD don't want to gain weight. Reassure me I am on the right track. My cals are about 1900 hoping to increase to about 2200.

heybales

How much were you eating for the few weeks you didn't care?

How much did you use to eat prior to diet when perhaps not exercising either?

Do you have anything to compare 1900 to for knowing if this is high or low?

Is the only number you've dealt with the low one you caused MFP to use, and how low was that?

Always do the math with any increase of calories and weight gain.
If you ate 250 more than true maintenance daily, it would take 2 weeks to slowly gain 1 lb.

Reread.

If 100 more daily, it would take 35 days for that same 1 lb.

If you were eating lower and still losing weight, then you should be able to figure out exactly what your deficit really was, and your TDEE really was, and if indeed eating lower than that, you can't gain weight.
Except perhaps fast water weight.

joybedford

This might help further. Looking back at my diary over the past few months I have never eaten less than 1400 sometimes upto 2200. I didn't log the days when I didn't give a damn but I estimate about 3000, this wasn't everyday though and sometimes I ate about 1700. I still lost 0.6lbs this week. I use a fitbit and just looked at last weeks numbers the lowest TDEE was 1700ish highest 2967 average being around 2400ish. I have an active job and walk the children to school everyday, about 40 minutes walking per day. This is on top of exercise. I walk a lot at work. Hope this helps.

heybales

Well, that should certainly ease your mind on the amounts you plan to eat too - your TDEE is still well above that it sounds like.

So you do have some experience in calorie levels - in what the body is burning daily.

There ya go, good plan, go for it.