a tad bit confused....

crickettm

ok, i am reading some of these posts. there is a well known statement i am seeing alot...."the more you eat, the more you'll lose"...how is that?

vettle

because so many people on here starve themselves with the 1200 - 1300 calories MFP gives them. Eventually you figure out (usually after plateauing) that your body needs needs a certain amount to function and without that, it holds onto weight (plateau). In order to lose weight again, you up your calories to fuel your body, build the muscle you need and start up your metabolism.

I went from 1300 - 1600 and lost more weight without losing muscle. and that was on days I didn't work out. If I burned calories, I ate them back or prepared my day for more food when I knew I was going to work out.

StevLL

I wish I could explain it scientifically, but it is true. That doesn't mean you gorge, but it means you eat enough to supply your body with the needed nutrients to support working out, burning fat and building muscle. Not body builder muscle, just plain old well nourished lean tissue. We eat so much nutrient depleted fast food and processed foods we are fat and starved. Eat clean, whole foods as much as possible and it really works. Folks ask me how I'm doing it and I always reply, "by eating". They're like a pill, or something? Nope I eat. 10 months ago I would eat all my calories in one meal three times a day, but it wasn't much food really it was fat and sugar, now eating 2350 cals of clean food a day takes work. Your body needs a basic number of calories to just lie and breathe. If you expend energy it needs even more. If you don't give it to your body it will hold on to whatever you do give it to make sure it has energy for later. If you give it enough to function it will stop storing and start using it up. Quality and nutrient density is important, just the calorie focus will get you started, but will not make a life long change, because the quality of the calories will need fine tuning to be long term.