will i gain weight if i begin to eat more

tdot64

so for the past about year or so i've been eating the way i do now (you can check out my diary) and have generally been pretty unhealthy- i think i may be in "starvation mode" as i basically ALWAYS have a deficit of 800-1200 calories and RARELY eat 1200. today, i still have dinner left but i have over 1300 calories left to eat. if i start to eat more though, will my weight just rapidly increase?

Avalonis

If you increase to about 1600/day, you'll probably be fine.

You might gain a little bit, but I wouldn't expect much. You actually eat very healthy, just just don't eat ENOUGH.
After a few days of eating more, Your body will compensate by increasing your metabolism and burning more. 1600 is still a healthy deficit for you, so you aren't going to explode in weight or anything. I would take a guess at a few lbs at MOST.

zohars

From what I've read, it will temporarily increase a bit, but you need to do it to get your body functioning right again. If you don't, you'll have more and more trouble losing any fat (and mostly just feel more sick or lose muscle). So you should eat at what your maintenance should be for a little while (if you look online you can see for how long), and then you can go back to cutting and will see results again, but in a healthy way.

thisismynewmindset

NO - you actually may start to LOSE more weight.

Eating small meals more often is good for your metabolism. Plus the whole point of not going under 1,200 is to avoid starvation mode.

Trust me - I was in starvation mode once and plateaued because of it. Then I started eating more and the weight started coming off!!

tdot64

currently my goal is maintenance (1760) but i'm still pretty far below it.

ShellyMacchi

you might see a gain for a week or two, but.. as soon as your body gets used to finally getting all the calories and nutrients it needs, the weight starts dropping.

i seriously learned this lesson my self.
i lost more weight per week once i started eating more calories. just give your body time to recognize you are not just teasing.. it needs to recognize you will be giving it enough to eat every day so it can start operating normally (ie: safe to burn calories rather than hoard the fat for survival).

or so i found anyway *S*

ProTFitness

Maybe change some of your foods. Ones like lots veggies, lean meats, fruit ect. These foods will keep you full and satisfied and will help you maintain weight. Stay away from processed foods as much as possible

Avalonis

Another thing you can do is start working out doing some weights and light cardio. That will get you to use those extra calories you're now eating as healthy lean muscle, not fat.

Do you know your stats? Height/weight/BF?

pauterson

I was afraid of the same thing because I did weight watchers for years and was always concerned with the POINTS which basically equals very little calories. After I quit weight watchers I started doing ALOT of research. Try focusing on keeping your protein high and carbs and fats low. This is something I've learned from bodybuilding.com and it has been very helpful. There's TONS of articles that talk about calorie intake, macronutirents, etc.... I've now gone from 1100 to between 1400-2000 (1800-2000 on days I work out heavily) and am steady loosing weight every week. Eating more helps but it's not only eating more but getting the propper nutrition.

SueInAz

If you are truly in starvation mode, you will gain some weight when you start to eat more. Your body will be thinking "Finally, FOOD!" and store some of it because it thinks it's going to get starved again at any time. Once you feed it correctly every day for two or three weeks, it will "relax" and realize that this is how it's going to be fed on a regular basis and you'll start to lose weight properly.

Don't continue this pattern because you're afraid of the interim weight gain.

Avalonis

I was afraid of the same thing because I did weight watchers for years and was always concerned with the POINTS which basically equals very little calories. After I quit weight watchers I started doing ALOT of research. Try focusing on keeping your protein high and carbs and fats low. This is something I've learned from bodybuilding.com and it has been very helpful. There's TONS of articles that talk about calorie intake, macronutirents, etc.... I've now gone from 1100 to between 1400-2000 (1800-2000 on days I work out heavily) and am steady loosing weight every week. Eating more helps but it's not only eating more but getting the propper nutrition.

]

Bodybuilding.com is freaking awesome.

ashfuse

You may at first--I didn't, though, BUT; I workout pretty intensely, too. However, like others have stated, after a little bit your body will realize what you are doing and your metabolism will speed up.

tdot64

Another thing you can do is start working out doing some weights and light cardio. That will get you to use those extra calories you're now eating as healthy lean muscle, not fat.

Do you know your stats? Height/weight/BF?

i work out doing intense cardio for about 45 min and strength for about 30 min 7x a week.
5'5 109 lbs

Louiselesley

at 5'5 and 109lb that seems like a brilliant weight o.O

i'm the same height and i'm 139lb and i only need to loose another 5lb to be in a healthy range for me. :S (and by healthy i also mean in great shape.)

also you really need to take a day off - working out so much (especially every single day) is really unhealthy.

sandrinamsilva

I was afraid of the same thing because I did weight watchers for years and was always concerned with the POINTS which basically equals very little calories. After I quit weight watchers I started doing ALOT of research. Try focusing on keeping your protein high and carbs and fats low. This is something I've learned from bodybuilding.com and it has been very helpful. There's TONS of articles that talk about calorie intake, macronutirents, etc.... I've now gone from 1100 to between 1400-2000 (1800-2000 on days I work out heavily) and am steady loosing weight every week. Eating more helps but it's not only eating more but getting the propper nutrition.

]

Bodybuilding.com is freaking awesome.

YES IT IS!

Avalonis

Another thing you can do is start working out doing some weights and light cardio. That will get you to use those extra calories you're now eating as healthy lean muscle, not fat.

Do you know your stats? Height/weight/BF?

i work out doing intense cardio for about 45 min and strength for about 30 min 7x a week.
5'5 109 lbs

yea, you seriously need to eat more. Based off of your height/weight, I'm gonna guess your BF % is dangerously low. I'm actually surprised you are able to workout without feeling lightheaded from malnutrition.

To do this the healthy way, you are gonna need to eat more. What you're doing now isn't smart, isn't healthy, and can damage your body permanently.

Everyone on here is totally behind you and will support you though. Just ask for help on how to do it the right way, and we got your back.

JillyCornwall

I noted that you take an Ensure drink on odd days...is this prescribed for you? If it is I'm guessing you have a history of nutritional defficiency? If not...then well done for adding them to your diet..they are an excellent source of avilable nutrients..and ideal to bump up your calories to a more acceptable level.