When to increase calories / decrease loss per week?

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cheshirechic
cheshirechic Posts: 489 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm 8 lbs. away from my goal weight, and 13 lbs. away from my ultimate goal weight. I'm female, 5'4.5, and this would put me at 130 (GW) and 125 (UGW). My calories are set to lose one pound a week, making it 1320 without exercise calories (which I always eat back). Since I'm close, and afraid of a plateau, should I set my loss to half a pound per week? This would bring me to about 1500 calories per day, but I'm worried about the "hidden" calories that I feel my 500 cal deficit accounts for. For example, one spray of sunflower oil from a Misto could be between 1/2 a teaspoon and an actual teaspoon, depending on the length of the spray.

I usually exercise 4-5 days per week, burning between 350-500 cals. per workout, mixed cardio and strength.

SO. Should I decrease my deficit? Will this make the weight loss actually faster? What's your experience with increasing calories / decreasing deficit, and when/why did you do it?

I know I'm scrutinizing this, but I'd love some advice from those who know more than me about nutrition and stuff. Which most of you do. <3

Replies

  • spaingirl2011
    spaingirl2011 Posts: 763 Member
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    Bump

    Even though I'm not quite there yet, I curious to find out, too!
  • MissMaggie3
    MissMaggie3 Posts: 2,464 Member
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    'Fraid this is only a bump too; I'm fairly similar to you in terms of height and weight, and would welcome suggestions.
  • cheshirechic
    cheshirechic Posts: 489 Member
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    Good to know that there are others wondering the same thing. Hopefully this bump will bring some answers...
  • northstar699
    northstar699 Posts: 99 Member
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    Bump! I asked this the other week and got very limited responses.
  • cheshirechic
    cheshirechic Posts: 489 Member
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    Bump! I asked this the other week and got very limited responses.

    Maybe I'm asking in the wrong forum? :(
  • dad106
    dad106 Posts: 4,868 Member
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    Generally when you are within 10 to 15 pounds away from goal weight, they say that you should increase your calories by going down to half a pound a week. I personally have done that.. I went from 1430, to 1570 and now I'm at 1670 and thats enough to keep me satisfied but not stuffed and in a few weeks and as I keep going down I plan on doing that until I reach maintenance.

    I honestly can't attest to if it makes me lose weight any faster or if it works because right now it is that TOM for me, and I'm a bloated blimp anyway.

    Best advice I can give you is to try it for a week or two and see what happens. If it works, then great.. if not you can always go back to what you were doing or customize your goals to whatever calorie amount you feel you need.
  • cheshirechic
    cheshirechic Posts: 489 Member
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    Generally when you are within 10 to 15 pounds away from goal weight, they say that you should increase your calories by going down to half a pound a week. I personally have done that.. I went from 1430, to 1570 and now I'm at 1670 and thats enough to keep me satisfied but not stuffed and in a few weeks and as I keep going down I plan on doing that until I reach maintenance.

    I honestly can't attest to if it makes me lose weight any faster or if it works because right now it is that TOM for me, and I'm a bloated blimp anyway.

    Best advice I can give you is to try it for a week or two and see what happens. If it works, then great.. if not you can always go back to what you were doing or customize your goals to whatever calorie amount you feel you need.

    Thank you!!! Personal experience is the best way to give good advice. It's much appreciated. :D
  • mandylooo
    mandylooo Posts: 456 Member
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    I'm reactivating this thread to see if we can get any further advice.

    I've already increased my MFP settings to 0.5lb/week, but want to know what to do beyond this. Should I increase my calorie intake a little each week until I stop losing weight, and if so by how much? I guess the alternative is to carry on at 0.5lb/week til goal weight and then increase?
  • valerieschram
    valerieschram Posts: 97 Member
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    I've done that, and it works well. I now have my calories manually set to an amount that results in about only .3 pounds weight loss a week. Also, it gradually gets you to your maintenance level, instead of suddenly having to eat several hundred more calories once you get to maintenance.
  • mandylooo
    mandylooo Posts: 456 Member
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    Thanks Valerie and doh! why didn't I think of just manually adjusting the target loss down?:laugh:

    How often do you decrease the target weight loss?
  • valerieschram
    valerieschram Posts: 97 Member
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    Thanks Valerie and doh! why didn't I think of just manually adjusting the target loss down?:laugh:

    How often do you decrease the target weight loss?

    I think I went down to .5 pounds/week when I had about 15 pounds left to go. I had just stopped nursing my youngest child, and I just found it really hard to adjust to eating so few calories (I no longer had extra calories from nursing). I am only 5'2.5", so I wasn't allowed very many calories for a 1 lb./week loss. I think I changed it to .3 lbs./week when I got to 10 pounds left to lose. I haven't adjusted it since then.

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