Eat more to weigh less? Does it actually work?

yoyoyo15

I'm curious to know if anybody has had success with this. I have upped my calories to maintenance for 6 weeks so far and all that's happened is I gained weight. I have heard that it can take a while but 6 weeks seems pretty long. I didn't gain the weigh slowly I just gained 4-5 pounds in the first week! I look chubbier too! I am adding up my calories correctly too. I know it can take a whole but how long? Is it worth it?

rh091

What's the quality like of the food you're eating? Are you still exercising?

thegreatcanook

I've been upping my calories by 100 every 2 weeks and I am still losing. From 1800 to 2100. If I am down on Monday I will go to 2200. Feel free to add me.

Palamedes

I'm still working on this concept. Let me see if I can explain how this works.

Basically, the equation is always the same. To lose weight, you have to have a calorie deficit. To gain weight, you have to have a calorie surplus. The way to trick the equation is with exercise. You convert fat to energy and then convert food to muscle mass.

To make this work, you have to change your goal and tools. At work, I get check in on a Tanita Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis scale that gives me a report on Weight, Fat %, Fat Mass, Total Body Water, Muscle Mass, Basal Metabolic Rate, and Body Mass Index each week. This has changed my goal from simple weight loss to a set of goals that includes decreasing my fat mass/fat %, increasing my hydration, and increasing my muscle mass. So far, I've increased my aerobic training by riding my bike and logged all my food into MFP. I did a basic search on Amazon for body composition scale and found a bunch that would give you some of these. At some point, I might invest in one for the house.

So far, this has worked well. I've seen a steady decrease in my fat. My hydration has gone up and down. I think to a certain extent, exercising in Georgia in summer is tough on my hydration. I'm also not getting enough weight lifting in to increase my muscle mass. Therefore, I'm still a bit of a work in progress.

I will admit that right now watching my fat percentage go down and my weight drop is sufficient. However, in the long run I'm going to have to get better at keeping my hydration good and increasing my muscle mass.

SunofaBeach14

No. You may be able to cycle calories or up them slightly and still lose, but that depends on maintaining a calorie deficit. If you eat more you will slow down or stop losing. The point is to achieve a slow, steady and maintainable loss.

ainarsraciks

You probably gained just water from eating more. But it odes not make sense to me. To lose fat you need a calorie deficit, to lose more fat you need bigger calorie deficit. So it's illogical to expect more or faster weight loss by eating more, at least fat loss. You can lose water by eating more (carbs) cos you Cortisol levels drop. But that's an illusion what I think created this myth - "eat more to lose more".

sarahrbraun

For me, it worked.

My TDEE is around 2500 calories. At 1600-1800 calories, the scale didn't move...and I was there for 3 months. My trainer (who I work with 2x a week, and he sees my workouts the other 3) suggested he would like to see me eating 2100 calories a day. When I added that extra 300-500 calories, I dropped 4# in a month.

hookilau

I'm curious to know if anybody has had success with this. I have upped my calories to maintenance for 6 weeks so far and all that's happened is I gained weight. I have heard that it can take a while but 6 weeks seems pretty long. I didn't gain the weigh slowly I just gained 4-5 pounds in the first week! I look chubbier too! I am adding up my calories correctly too. I know it can take a whole but how long? Is it worth it?

This question is best answered if posted specifically to the group 'Eat More to Weigh Less' & all I can do is tell you what my experience has been. Generally, to lose weight you eat at a deficit, to gain, you eat at a surplus.

If you're coming from a history of a VLCD, then yes, but only in terms of a 'metabolic re-set' for want of a better term. This wasn't the case with me, but it was with my husband.

I'm a small 5' tall, 45 yr old woman maintaining weight at 126#, LBM is about 90-100#. I was trying to decide whether I wanted to increase LBM or continue on down to 110 or so pounds or both. We had both started getting into the trap of eating at a deficit & skipping meals from time to time, figuring it would get us to our goals faster I guess. Though I was losing weight, it made me cranky, lifts suffered a bit, though I only realize this in retrospect. DH happened to be maintaining & had cut calories further in an effort to continue his weight loss.

I started eating intuitively & logging to see what my caloric intake was.

Turned out at 1200 cal; I was starving, cranky & difficult to manage
14-1500 cal was do-able but I went over a lot
15-1600 cal same as last rung of ladder
16-1800 cal not so bad & can be done with little effort
18-2000 cal was literally eating whatever I wanted (I'm on a low carb high fat diet)

Discussing with my husband, I told him I was eating 2k cal per day, it turned out so was he.
Though his weight was still the same for the last 4-5 months :huh: We discussed metabolic homeostasis, metabolic adaptation etc.

He has a very active job & he decided to do the same thing I did. He was 183, muscular build, 44 yrs old & 5'5" & LBM is about 160#. We both have a good muscle base as he's been lifting since the 80's & I since the mid 90's.

He increased his caloric intake by 250 cal the first week & lost 1 pound before that week was out He stayed at 2250 for 2 weeks, then increased another 250 on the 3rd week. Each week he's increased, he lost an additional pound.

He figures he's going to end up around 3k cal/day when it's time for maintenance, which for him, will be at about 175#. He has an active job, all compound lifts 3 x weekly, LCHF diet if that makes a difference.

TL;DR version: yes & no. Eat at a deficit to lose, surplus to gain. Eat intuitively & log to find out where you stand, make adjustments from there. It worked for us. :drinker:

edited cause spelling isn't my strong suit so early in the morning -_-

thepandapost

I basically changed how I viewed/used my calories. MFP gave me something like 1600 to eat every day, however when I would workout I never knew if I should/how many calories I could eat from my burned calories. It led to a scale dance of up and down for weeks.

I then used a macro calculator which brought my daily to 2100. I was scared at first but it is working. The only key is I don't eat back my workout calories (unless I burn a crazy high amount during a long run, then I eat back some). So everyday, regardless of a workout or not, I eat almost 2100 calories. Of course that number will drop as lose weight but it is working and I feel much more satisfied. I also try my best to eat those cals based on my macro goals.

WillUAre

I basically changed how I viewed/used my calories. MFP gave me something like 1600 to eat every day, however when I would workout I never knew if I should/how many calories I could eat from my burned calories. It led to a scale dance of up and down for weeks.

I then used a macro calculator which brought my daily to 2100. I was scared at first but it is working. The only key is I don't eat back my workout calories (unless I burn a crazy high amount during a long run, then I eat back some). So everyday, regardless of a workout or not, I eat almost 2100 calories. Of course that number will drop as lose weight but it is working and I feel much more satisfied. I also try my best to eat those cals based on my macro goals.

Oh, what is this macro calculator you speak of?
I want to recheck my calories.

valstumpf

You all have me confused.

Lasmartchika

Here's the group page... better info here.

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/3817-eat-more-2-weigh-less