fixing my metabolism

babedow77

Will I gain weight while increasing my calories if I'm currently eating too few calories to lose weight?
For the past few years, I became accustomed to eating around 1200-1400 calories on most days. Every now and then (about 1 or 2x per month) I would splurge and eat about 2200 calories. In the past year I have gained 20 lbs. I've been reading a lot about "conservation" mode etc and that I may be eating too few calories. I calculated my BMR/calorie recommendation and it was 2490!!!! I currently jog five days a week for 30 minutes first thing in the morning (started 3 weeks ago) and I either walk or hike one day a week on the weekend. Prior to that I was walking for one hour 7 days a week (did that from June 1 to July 31). Prior to that I did Body Revloution by Jillian Michaels for 30 minutes 4 days a week (from end of February to Mid May) and took a break (mid May to June 1) when I began walking.
I have not lost ANY weight!! I am currently eating about 1600 calories per day and I'm not gaining weight but I'm not losing it either. Should I increase even more? won't I gain weight? How long should I allow myself to gain before I stop eating more calories?

marissanik

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

All you need to know

4legsRbetterthan2

1. Your BMR calculation sounds off to me, I am a 26yo F 200 lbs and my BMR is about 1700. Are you sure that was not your TDEE? http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ that website has a handy calculator if you need to rerun your numbers. While I think the TDEE method can be great I do not like the online calculators for it. In my opinion the exercise selections are way to general. I like to use the sedentary or lightly active calculation off of scooby (depending on your normal lifestyle) and then average my exercise calories burned through a week (that I get from a more reliable source,HRM, fitbit, runkeeper) and add them in myself.

2. Are you sure you are logging accurately. That is usually the problem when people are not getting the results they expect. Use a food scale, weigh foods raw as they often change weight durring cooking, make sure you use correct entries, and log everything including oils you cook with and contiments. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1234699-logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide

The sexypants post above is an fantastic read.

SideSteel

Given that you have gained 20lbs in the past year, this would seem to indicate that you've been eating in an energy surplus over that year. Since you have been eating in a surplus, the idea of ramping up your calorie intake to "fix your metabolism" doesn't seem like a wise idea.

Now that doesn't say anything about "how many calories should I eat" -- I'm just speaking to the notion of somehow fixing metabolic "damage" in this context.

babedow77

Thanks for the information. I'm in the process of reading through it.
I'm going to buy a food scale and make it a habit to measure everything.

SLLRunner

Given that you have gained 20lbs in the past year, this would seem to indicate that you've been eating in an energy surplus over that year. Since you have been eating in a surplus, the idea of ramping up your calorie intake to "fix your metabolism" doesn't seem like a wise idea.

Now that doesn't say anything about "how many calories should I eat" -- I'm just speaking to the notion of somehow fixing metabolic "damage" in this context.

Besides this, OP, it's easy to underestimate calorie intake and think we are eating less than we really are. You're on the right track with reading the link provided and with buying a food scale.