Am I eating enough?

BettyBudski

Hi everyone, asking opinions on this subject.

I'm 5 foot 2 and around 140lbs, I've lost about 30lbs so far and I'm trying for another 20. I burn A LOT of calories on a daily basis, I'm an auto worker and I go to the gym every day after work, I did some research and calculated my daily burn to be around 3000 calories. I've set my intake to 1200 and I eat back my gym calories (usually around 400) for a total of 1500 to 1600 a day (I don't always eat the max amount). My weight loss has slowed to a stand-still, if I eat less I can't function properly (I literally passed out on my kitchen floor one day after lowering my calorie intake to 1200 to 1300 a day) but if I increase it to the 1700 to 1800 range I start to gain again. I'm getting frustrated, anyone have suggestions? Thanks!

3dogsrunning

How long did you try the increase for?
I know when I upped my calories, my weight went up a bit (my trainer warned me), then stayed the same for about 3-4 weeks. During that time, there is noticible difference in my body. I only lost an inch around my waist, but my tight jeans are too big, my arms are smaller, face thinner and I went down a size in my favorite brand. This week was the first week I saw movement in the scale (4 weeks after I upped my cals).

An increase in the scale doesn't always mean you are gaining weight.

petkova

Include your daily activity in the MFP calorie calculation, so it can be factored in the suggested calorie intake. Try to not be under your calorie goal. Lowering your calories will not help you lose, it will slow the process because too much of a deficit will slow your metabolism. Usually when I hit a wall and stop losing, I up my calories with a couple hundreds to try and speed up my metabolism for about a week, and then lower them back down. It seems to help me Also, the fainting is likely to be a result of insufficient nutrition in your body. Make sure you eat enough protein, carbs, and vitamins everyday so you don't run out of fuel. Maybe unlock your food log so people can see it and give advice on how to change your daily food intake

BettyBudski

Food diary unlocked now.

So I should log my work hours as calories burned?

servilia

I wouldn't log your work hours as calories burned - you should account for the day to day activity in your "activity levels" setting when setting up your goals - that is, unless your job is an exercise instructor or something

When you passed out, was that 1200-1300 NET cals (meaning you were eating back your exercise cals), or was that gross (and were you working out a lot).
If it was around 1200 net you really shouldn't have been passing out and I would see a doctor about that.

Jess5825

How long did you try the increase for?
I know when I upped my calories, my weight went up a bit (my trainer warned me), then stayed the same for about 3-4 weeks. During that time, there is noticible difference in my body. I only lost an inch around my waist, but my tight jeans are too big, my arms are smaller, face thinner and I went down a size in my favorite brand. This week was the first week I saw movement in the scale (4 weeks after I upped my cals).

An increase in the scale doesn't always mean you are gaining weight.

Agreed one hundred percent! The same thing happened to me. I think people who say they gain if they eat more, just don't stick it out. They see a one week gain and say OMG I'm gaining, I have to drop back down. In fact it took me more than 4 weeks, but I was persistent since I'd been eating 1200 calories with burning over 500 calories per day (and not eating them) for so long and I wanted to fix my metabolism.