Eating your calories back

Purzel9
Purzel9 Posts: 3 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have my settings set to eat 1,200 calories a day. I use a FitBit and it adds back in my exercise calories. Every time I eat back my exercise calories my weight goes up. It is very difficult to just eat 1,200 calories as I am usually hungry. If I eat over 1,200 I gain weight no matter what. What am I doing wrong?

Replies

  • Heatherybit
    Heatherybit Posts: 91 Member
    Are you accurately calculating your food? Are you burning as much as you think you are? Listen to your body. If you are in a deficit you will lose weight. Physics.
  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
    How long have you been restricting yourself to 1200? It's honestly not enough for most people, especially if you're burning more through exercise. If you've been eating low for awhile, you will show a gain when you start eating more, even if you're still in a deficit - you have to give the body time to adjust to a new intake.

    And as the previous poster said, you also need to make sure you're logging food as accurately as possible - a good scale is a great tool to have, and they don't cost much. I've found my Fitbit to be pretty accurate, so don't be afraid to go with what yours says.

    So log as accurately as possible, make sure you're eating enough to fuel your body, and be patient. It can take a good 4-6 weeks for the body to adjust and show losses - check for inches lost as well - grab a measuring tape and start tracking your measurements, and pay attention to how your clothes fit.
  • Purzel9
    Purzel9 Posts: 3 Member
    I am very accurate with my food. I weigh and measure everything. Have been for years.
  • terbusha
    terbusha Posts: 1,483 Member
    If you've been restricting your calories to 1200/day for a long time, your metabolism may be repressed. To get your metabolism back up, you should do a reverse diet. Check out this video on reverse dieting from Layne Norton. He as a PhD in protein metabolism, is a natural body builder, and is a fitness competitor coach.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3gTGLulLnI

    Allan
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    When you increase your calories, have you been giving your body some time to adjust? It's really, really common for the body to hold onto some extra water weight every time you increase your calories, which can cause a slight jump on the scale. It's temporary and will even out after a few weeks. But it freaks a lot of people out and convinces them that their maintenance calories are much lower than they really are.

Categories