people who LOST weight eating MORE

ladyraven68

I`ve decided to give this a try. I would like to lose 40 lbs. I`ve lost 20lb over a long period of time. This month I lost around 8 lbs but this week nothing. I have changed many things about my diet, eating mostly whole foods and trying to stay away from sweets and butter, etc. I have consistently kept my cal intake to 1200ish and I am 5ft 2 in woman. 40 yrs old.

I basically went from zero exercise and not really watching what i`m eating, to now I work out almost daily doing Zumba and JM 30day Shred. I see a difference in my clothes and am on my way.

After reading this (and other) threads, I think i am being unrealistic to only eat 1200 calories and not eat back any of my exercise calories (which average around 550 extra a day).

Would 1350 calories (and not eating exercise calories back) be reasonable when I still have 40 lbs to lose to get to my Goal Weight. i can`t imagine eating more than 1350 and not gaining weight (without upping my exercise regimen even more.)

thanks.
Leslie

It takes an extra 500 calories a day to gain a lb - so you would have to eat up to maintenance and an extra 500 per day to gain, going over 1350 is not going to get you that high..

If you are not going to eat back your exercise calories you need to work out your TDEE including exercise, as MFP does not take into account your exercise until you have actually done it.

Have a look here - http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/

love4fitnesslove4food_wechange

I`ve decided to give this a try. I would like to lose 40 lbs. I`ve lost 20lb over a long period of time. This month I lost around 8 lbs but this week nothing. I have changed many things about my diet, eating mostly whole foods and trying to stay away from sweets and butter, etc. I have consistently kept my cal intake to 1200ish and I am 5ft 2 in woman. 40 yrs old.

I basically went from zero exercise and not really watching what i`m eating, to now I work out almost daily doing Zumba and JM 30day Shred. I see a difference in my clothes and am on my way.

After reading this (and other) threads, I think i am being unrealistic to only eat 1200 calories and not eat back any of my exercise calories (which average around 550 extra a day).

Would 1350 calories (and not eating exercise calories back) be reasonable when I still have 40 lbs to lose to get to my Goal Weight. i can`t imagine eating more than 1350 and not gaining weight (without upping my exercise regimen even more.)

thanks.
Leslie

You lost 8 pounds eating 1200 calories--that's 2 pounds a week. So basically a 1000 deficit, meaning your MAINTENANCE intake is 2200 calories or thereabouts. Eating 1350 could not cause a weight gain, period, or else you'd not be losing 2 pounds a week on 1200 calories.

You'll simply have an 850 calorie deficit which is still OVER 1.5 pounds lost per week, or 6 in a month. I don't think even 1350 is enough, but that's just my personal opinion.

Cheri_Moves

Bump to read later! This is good stuff

Fayelle1

Thanks for sharing. I just started and it was suggested I eat 1200...I just knew I couldn't eat that few...and stay on it. I eat 1600 and haven't been eating my exercise cals...I'm thinking this is working...I will watch how the weight loss goes for a month and then reassess.

You look like you are doing well.

Ladyap28

bump

mpf1

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FreshKrisKreash

Okay, waities. If I want to lose weight don't I need to burn more calories than I take in? And as long as it's at least 1200 I won't go into starvation mode. Shouldn't burning as many calories as possible on top of BMR just enhance weight loss?

catfish9

Bump.

iCACTUS

I've lost 21 pounds in 65 days eating back my exercise calories. I walk on the treadmill for 70+ minutes at a speed of 3.5 on an incline of 10 or 11... and as such burn over 1000 calories, according to my HRM. I net anywhere from 1200-1500 calories a day. I always eat AT LEAST 1200 net calories. I do not deny myself anything, I just make good choices & when I do want a treat I pay attention to servings and control my portions. For me this is effortless. Like someone before me said : I work HARD but it isn't hard. I have done every diet under the sun. I have stressed out & freaked out & been anal about weight loss. This time around I am in a state of ZEN you could say. I listen to my body. I eat when I am hungry. For the first time in my life I know what TRUE hunger feels like. Not boredom or depression or eating my feelings. My metabolism is kick started!! I am ALWAYS hungry. LOL. THIS works me for me. I put down that I wish to lose 1 pound a week. So far I've lost OVER a pound every week and I did it by eating back my exercise calories... in conjunction with busting my *kitten* at the gym 6 days a week, sometimes all 7days! Do not take my word for it. Give it a try. What have you got to lose? Besides weight.

SalishSea

Bump

i_miss_donuts

In the same boat. Trying to up my calories. I am really active and my Fitbit tells me I earn about 500- 800 calories from exercise. I tried to eat near the amount it told me yesterday and couldn't sleep last night because I was awful, bloated and gross from overeating (maybe TMI but I eat LOADS of veggies and fiber). This week I am going to focus on eating back 50-75% of my exercise calories to stay up near 1200-1300 net and see what happens.

Reporting back on my original post. Ate back my calories to get my net calories up to the 1200 range and lost 2 lbs. Nice side benefit is that I am not freezing cold and snarly all day from being so hungry!

Reporting back again. Gained back 3 lbs., so drumroll, total weightloss for 30+ days of exercise and healthy eating? Zero lbs! Inches lost? 0! But wait - it gets better - my waist increased 1.5" and my thigh .5". I am so frustrated! :sad:

LorinaLynn

In the same boat. Trying to up my calories. I am really active and my Fitbit tells me I earn about 500- 800 calories from exercise. I tried to eat near the amount it told me yesterday and couldn't sleep last night because I was awful, bloated and gross from overeating (maybe TMI but I eat LOADS of veggies and fiber). This week I am going to focus on eating back 50-75% of my exercise calories to stay up near 1200-1300 net and see what happens.

Reporting back on my original post. Ate back my calories to get my net calories up to the 1200 range and lost 2 lbs. Nice side benefit is that I am not freezing cold and snarly all day from being so hungry!

Reporting back again. Gained back 3 lbs., so drumroll, total weightloss for 30+ days of exercise and healthy eating? Zero lbs! Inches lost? 0! But wait - it gets better - my waist increased 1.5" and my thigh .5". I am so frustrated! :sad:

What's your current weight loss goal? If it's any more than a half pound a week, as small as you are, it's too much. If you've been eating too little for a long time, it'll probably take more than a month to "reset" your body.

Also, are you taking pictures? My weight and measurements (at least in the key areas that get measured) are virtually the same as they were in July, but my body shape sure has changed. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/LorinaLynn/view/same-weight-since-july-224635

jsjlandy

I recently met with a dietitian who told me I should eat 1600 cals/day and exercise 600 cals worth but not to eat back the cals I burnt off. That would net me only 1000/day! I thought this sounded low.

i_miss_donuts

CW 139.8
GW 133/134

I have been tinkering with the goal - originally set it for 2lbs per week. When that didn't work, read up further and adjusted it down to just .5 lbs wk.

I did take some photos last week - but nothing to compare them to yet. I will not give up. I know eating healthy, building muscle and keeping my heart strong are good for me even if I don't see "progress" in any meaningful way. My husband assures me I look great (and better since I started working out harder and more consistently). I am just terribly frustrated because I am one who always wants to do the *right* thing and I cannot seem to figure out what that is because I don't have consistent or measurable outcomes that can be tracked (yet?!).

jimmie25

I am having a hard time believing you can eat more calories than your goal and still lose weight. When I eat more calories I GAIN weight. Isn't that the reason we keep track of calories? Just sayin'

..... i wish weight issues were that black and white. they're not.

thuitema84

I think its important to know how much to eat based on your size, metabolism, and the amount of exercise you took on for that day BUT...its also really important to keep in mind how often you're eating. The balance between how often vs how much. If you're taking in your day worth of calories in one or two chunks of the day as opposed to throughout then you're not going to keep your metabolism at its optimal rate, therefore, you're not going to lose as much. Also, you should try to keep your body out of a routine....we're adaptable and so are our bodies. When you find that you're not losing as much as you anticipated, you may want to temporarily increase calories and/or exercise and then go back again.

Farhanum

I used to eat my excercise calories and didn't get results... So now I eat around 2000kcal a day on average, less during workout days (3 days a week- around 1400kcal I think) and I'm liking what I see on the scales and in the mirror! :drinker:

C00lCountry

In the same boat. Trying to up my calories. I am really active and my Fitbit tells me I earn about 500- 800 calories from exercise. I tried to eat near the amount it told me yesterday and couldn't sleep last night because I was awful, bloated and gross from overeating (maybe TMI but I eat LOADS of veggies and fiber). This week I am going to focus on eating back 50-75% of my exercise calories to stay up near 1200-1300 net and see what happens.

Reporting back on my original post. Ate back my calories to get my net calories up to the 1200 range and lost 2 lbs. Nice side benefit is that I am not freezing cold and snarly all day from being so hungry!

Reporting back again. Gained back 3 lbs., so drumroll, total weightloss for 30+ days of exercise and healthy eating? Zero lbs! Inches lost? 0! But wait - it gets better - my waist increased 1.5" and my thigh .5". I am so frustrated! :sad:

If you are doing core muscle exercise, you may be gaining more muscle then you realize.
How does your tone look verse before?

funkycamper

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JoanneLynn

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