Increasing Calories But Still Losing Weight

dpr73

Hi,

I have posted a few times here because weight loss was easy for me, but now I am moving to maintenance and want to maintain my weight comfortably without worrying about gaining it all back. I have been trying to increase now since January but have dropped 10lbs in that time span (I was 147.7 when I started just weighed in at 136.0). My trouble is that although I increase my calories, I drop weight and have some reservations about adding too much, so I seem to go under even though I don't want to. According to MFP, I am eating about 1800 calories a day; however, I think I eat more than this (probably 2000) because at dinner I don't use a measuring cup and just eyeball using the plate method (1/4 meat, 1/4 starch, 1/2 vegetable). Everything else I eat is accurately portioned.

I also am afraid of increasing calories because I keep planning that I will go out to parties and things over the weekend and feel like I should build up a deficit so I can go out during the weekends. And, when I do go out, I still keep myself pretty under control and sometimes I don't even go out like I planned (get busy...something comes up...etc).

Can anyone tell me what a smart step would be? I could open my diary so you could critique what I am doing (Keeping in mind that at dinners I don't measure and just use the plate method).

lporter229

If you are not measuring, it is also possible that you are overestimating what you eat as well. This is particularly possible if you are scared of over eating. I am not a big proponent of weighing and measuring everything in maintenance, because you have to develop the habits that are sustainable for the long haul. But you have to really be honest with yourself as well. What is going to happen to you if you over eat by a few hundred calories every day? You might gain a pound or two back in a month. So you just scale it back.

My advice is to set a plan to monitor your weight (be aware of your daily fluctuations so that you can get a handle on trends and what might be a legitimate weight gain). Then slowly increase your calories until you stop noticing this weight loss, keeping in mind that you are likely to gain a few pounds back as your glycogen store replenish themselves. Set an upper limit that you will not be comfortable exceeding and if you hit that, back it off a little. Quite frankly, 1800 calories for a 19 year old male is really not enough for maintenance. Trust me, as long as you continue to pay attention to what you eat and do not go hog wild everyday, you will be fine.

dpr73

Do you see anywhere that I should increase at meals or snacks, and if you do what I should add in? I agree I might be under-doing it. I just don't know where I should be adding calories or what kind of meal plan I should have now in maintenance.

cwolfman13

I do not understand why you are scared of increasing calories when you are obviously still losing weight. Eat whenever you want to...you don't need a meal plan or whatever...you just find your maintenance number. I've been maintaining for about 10 months...while I was losing I was losing at a rate of roughly 1 Lb per week...which means 500 calories per day roughly...so I increased by 500 calories per day to maintain...voila...I started maintaining.

It's just math....

dpr73

But it doesn't seem to be simple math for me. Sometimes I lose 1lb in a week and than BAM I'm down 1.5lb the next week despite increasing calories by like 250 for the week.

Also I don't really get this but it feels like I eat more than I did when I was 200lbs. I eat ALL DAY now. Whereas when I was 200lbs I would not eat breakfast some days (or just have a bagel with cream cheese) and sometimes skip lunch or eat a sandwich. Than come home and pig out on a snack (still don't think it would make up for an entire day of fasting) and then eat my dinner (usually went for seconds). Even though my eating was certainly out of whack, I just don't get how it feels like I am eating more now and yet I am 60lbs lighter and still losing weight. None of it seems to make sense to me.

donyellemoniquex3

I would say to keep doing what you're doing and do some strength training

deksgrl

If you do a lot of cardio, you could scale it back. Do 30 minutes instead of 45 or 60 minutes, etc.

And eat a bowl of ice cream.

SezxyStef

I am not at maintenance yet...but it's not far off. I have a plan laid out for myself.

I will until I hit my goal eat my avg 1700 calories a day.(with the exception of unexpected nights to the pub). At goal I will calculate my TDEE on the last 3 weeks of data I have for myself (total calories consumed + (pounds lost X 3500)/21 to get my TDEE..I expect it will be about 2300 as I haven't recalculated since I moved to TDEE...

When I Hit my goal of 155 I will start upping my calories by 100 a week while still continuing my exercise (lifting 3x a week and HIIT 2x a week). Knowing that I will still be in a deficet for a while and will continue to lose weight...slowly...

When I hit my TDEE I will stop increasing my calories and let it sit there for a month or two still weighing myself each week, but I wont worry about gains/losses in that period as weight does fluctuate. If however I get to 145 or 155 (this will be my acceptable range as I am more worried about BF% and want it between 20-22%) I will adjust as necessary.

Maintenance is as tricky as weight loss in finding the right amount of calories, but with careful planning and watching your own data and doing calculations based on yourself (not some website estimation) you should have a better handle on it.

I did peek at your diary and you are eating 2000 calories a day...that is my current TDEE as a 41 year old woman...I suspect you should be eating a lot more than that. My son who is your age 6 ft 3 and yes heavier has a TDEE of about 4000 when he is working about 3500 when he isn't working.

Not sure of your height or activity level but I suspect you should be eating a lot more...just watch and keep upping until you start gaining again...but it can't be a 1lb gain in a week as it would probably just be water...give yourself a range you want to stay in and adjust as necessary.

monstergirl14

Start increasing your number by 100 a week and see what happens. As soon as you stop losing, you have found your magic number.

lporter229

But it doesn't seem to be simple math for me. Sometimes I lose 1lb in a week and than BAM I'm down 1.5lb the next week despite increasing calories by like 250 for the week.

Also I don't really get this but it feels like I eat more than I did when I was 200lbs. I eat ALL DAY now. Whereas when I was 200lbs I would not eat breakfast some days (or just have a bagel with cream cheese) and sometimes skip lunch or eat a sandwich. Than come home and pig out on a snack (still don't think it would make up for an entire day of fasting) and then eat my dinner (usually went for seconds). Even though my eating was certainly out of whack, I just don't get how it feels like I am eating more now and yet I am 60lbs lighter and still losing weight. None of it seems to make sense to me.

I am willing to bet you were eating far more than you think. Those mindless snacks add up fast, especially when you don't know portion control. Now you have a better handle on what is a portion, you feel like you are eating more. You are probably also eating more filling foods out of habit now.

If you are really not hungry and are having trouble reaching your goal, add fats in the form of nuts, peanut butter, avocado, cheese, etc. They will get you there fast. Also, a little ice cream never hurt anyone ; )

dpr73

Okay. Btw, I do work out. But I only run about 30 minutes once a week. The rest of the week I lift weights.

deksgrl

Okay. Btw, I do work out. But I only run about 30 minutes once a week. The rest of the week I lift weights.

Oh, you can definitely eat ice cream then. And Pizza.

dpr73

Hahaha! I don't know how regularly I can do that though. I like "healthy eating" a lot now. But, looking at my diary, does there seem to be any issues?

geekyjock76

I eat ice cream and chicken sausage cheeseburgers everyday. There's nothing "unhealthy" about including your favorite foods if youhave calories to spare-and it seems like you do. Also, you must have maintained a huge deficit if several increases hasn't brought you to maintenance.

dpr73

I was. Which is something I regret. I was losing 2.5lbs (or more) a week from August to late December. I didn't understand I was being too restrictive. But now I am becoming much smarter about my intake. But that deficit is definitely making it tough to increase calories now!

dpr73

I eat ice cream and chicken sausage cheeseburgers everyday. There's nothing "unhealthy" about including your favorite foods if youhave calories to spare-and it seems like you do. Also, you must have maintained a huge deficit if several increases hasn't brought you to maintenance.

Also, I just feel kind of guilty about adding things in. I even feel like I am overeating when I have my 200 cal dessert though it's clear I'm not. But maybe over time (once I understand my maintenance) I will become better about incorporating everything

dpr73

Could anyone tell me what 500 calories at dinner time looks like? I usually have a piece of meat that is about the deck of cards (or takes up 1/4 plate) starch that is 1/4 the plate and vegetables that are half the plate. The vegetables are almost always steamed or low cal (less than 100 calories for 1/2 cup sometimes WAY lower than that even).

pukekolive

I still have a lot of weight to lose but have found a great tool that takes care of evening out my weight fluctuations so I can see whether the trend is still a loss.

My understanding is that it was designed for people on maintenance. It shows a line graph plus a projected loss/maintain/gain and underneath shows how many calories you need to cut out/ add to keep to your goal - in my case a weight loss.

It can get your weight from Fitbit directly - I have an Aria scale (it aso works with Withings) but you can enter your weight manually into a Fitbit account - you don't need a Fitbit device to have an account.

It is the first thing I look at in the mornings once I have weighed

Have a look as I absolutely love it and it's free!

www.trendweight.com

Cheers
Elaine

deksgrl

Could anyone tell me what 500 calories at dinner time looks like? I usually have a piece of meat that is about the deck of cards (or takes up 1/4 plate) starch that is 1/4 the plate and vegetables that are half the plate. The vegetables are almost always steamed or low cal (less than 100 calories for 1/2 cup sometimes WAY lower than that even).

Do you want to know how to increase this meal to 500? Put butter on the veggies and starch, and cook the meat in olive oil.

dpr73

Could anyone tell me what 500 calories at dinner time looks like? I usually have a piece of meat that is about the deck of cards (or takes up 1/4 plate) starch that is 1/4 the plate and vegetables that are half the plate. The vegetables are almost always steamed or low cal (less than 100 calories for 1/2 cup sometimes WAY lower than that even).

Do you want to know how to increase this meal to 500? Put butter on the veggies and starch, and cook the meat in olive oil.

By the usual dinner that I laid out, do you think I am under 500 at dinner? I have to eyeball portions (I am in college) when at the dining hall and so I always assume I am eating more than 500, though I always divide the plate the same way: 1/4 starch, 1/4 meat, 1/2 vegetables.

wampahoofus

Increase calories but weigh in every day no matter what. If the number goes up a few days in a row, adjust back down.

deksgrl

Depends on what kind of meat. Italian sausage or pork chops has more calories than chicken for example. Mashed potatoes has more calories than rice, white rice has more calories than brown rice and all of those has more calories than sweet potatoes.

gclauson

I do not understand why you are scared of increasing calories when you are obviously still losing weight. Eat whenever you want to...you don't need a meal plan or whatever...you just find your maintenance number. I've been maintaining for about 10 months...while I was losing I was losing at a rate of roughly 1 Lb per week...which means 500 calories per day roughly...so I increased by 500 calories per day to maintain...voila...I started maintaining.

It's just math....

LOL (like)

dpr73

I have all kinds of meat. My dining hall lays out the calorie count for everything so what you see in my diary is the actual calories and servings. However, I am not sure if I am putting too much on the plate or not. I know my meat intake is exactly as listed. But for vegetables I use half the plate and the final quarter of the plate is the starch. I am not sure whether this is 1/2 cup of starch and 1c of veggies or not. Do you think if I am eyeballing it this way(1/4 meat 1/4 starch 1/2 veggie) that there really is a very big difference though and that I am probably getting accurate servings?

deksgrl

The fact that you are still losing weight suggests that you are estimating low on calories. Eat more dessert, problem solved.

dpr73

My only reservation is this past weekend. I had a big party where I drank (2 beers) and had a four course dinner (Appetizers, Salad, Entree, Dessert). I cut out 300 calories to account for the extra calorie intake, but I am not sure how much I had that night. The next day, we were traveling all day and I only at about 1,000 calories (not starving myself just couldn't really get much food in with all the traveling and honestly didn't need it). So I am now not completely sure about whether I have hit maintenance calories with my plan and dropped the weight from the irregular weekend, or if I am genuinely too low on my calories. Does this make sense?

Jwold55

My only reservation is this past weekend. I had a big party where I drank (2 beers) and had a four course dinner (Appetizers, Salad, Entree, Dessert). I cut out 300 calories to account for the extra calorie intake, but I am not sure how much I had that night. The next day, we were traveling all day and I only at about 1,000 calories (not starving myself just couldn't really get much food in with all the traveling and honestly didn't need it). So I am now not completely sure about whether I have hit maintenance calories with my plan and dropped the weight from the irregular weekend, or if I am genuinely too low on my calories. Does this make sense?

I think you're over thinking it. If you truly want to maintain, you need to get over the fear of gaining, learn to incorporate higher calorie things and relax. Like everyone's said if you gain one week you know you went over, so you scale back, weight again the next week. I'm sure it's hard but you won't gain back 60 lbs in one week so it's okay to let go and worry less about what you're eating

deksgrl

You stated the 10 pounds weight loss has been over the course of a few months since January when you moved to maintenance, if that is the case then it wasn't just that irregular weekend.

Really there is no way to tell exactly what is going on if you are not logging accurately, except to say clearly you aren't eating enough to maintain your weight. So either eat more, or decrease your workouts to compensate.

dpr73

Well I have been increasing the calories since January so each week hasn't been the same (I've been eating more and more each week). But this week I was 138 all week (granted I was eating high sodium all week as well) and then came back from the weekend and was down. Do you think just the weekend must have done it?

sijomial

OP - you really are making all sorts of excuses not to eat a little more!

You know you have to - it's not a slippery slope and you will still be in control. And just suppose you manage to get yourself to a small surplus and your weight starts to edge up slowly..... You have lost 60lbs, so you know how to lose weight again.

Set yourself some sensible protein, fat and calorie goals and meet them rather than undercut them.

deksgrl

The sodium could have been the reason for the increase and then the drop.

But look at the big picture here. You need to GAIN 10 pounds to get back up to your goal weight which you wanted to maintain, correct? But instead you have been losing. You need to INCREASE calories or DECREASE energy expenditure, or a combination of both these things in order to put weight back on. You don't log accurately, so you are guessing on calorie consumption, but the trend is showing you are not eating enough. So, stop obsessing and EAT MORE.