I realise this may get me mocked...

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  • mkwongh
    mkwongh Posts: 279 Member
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    i Noticed this around the holidays.. Christmas I ate better then I usually would, but went way way over my 1200 cal goal... and I lost weight that week.. i thought it was just a fluke, so stayed at my 1200 cals.

    I recently increased my daily cals to 1400, after not having the scale move like it used too... and now i notices slowly but surely the scale number was dropping.... -.2 here, -.4 there... This week I have been eating way more then I ususally do, and I jumped on the scale this morning and lost -.4
  • runbyme
    runbyme Posts: 522 Member
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    I am hoping and praying that these responses are correct also! I started dieting Jan 1st at about 800 net calories. Dumb! Lost 1# the first week and then couldn't move the scale without a major amputation! I read a post about a similar instance and how eating your recommended calories AND your exercise calories was really the way to go. After starving myself to no avail, I figured I would try this approach. Getting my mind around the fact of eating 1500 or more calories a day is still beyond me and after 4 days of eating and gaining 3#, I figured I was just stupid. I have hung in there though, heavier than when I started and still hoping this will work! I guess I'll find out next Wednesday when I hit the 2 week mark of eating everything I should.
    Hang in there girl! I know that our weight flucuates like crazy and that in turn drives us crazy but I know in the big picture of things, we are on the right track! Feel free to add me if you would like! I'm always here to help! :flowerforyou:
  • PeaceLoveVeggies
    PeaceLoveVeggies Posts: 682 Member
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    The closer you get to your goal, the more you should eat your exercise calories.
  • ncytiz
    ncytiz Posts: 105 Member
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    I just started eating back about 1/2 of my exercise calories at the beginning of the month, after several months of 1200 calories. It was really hard to allow myself to eat the additional calories, because it just felt wrong, but I did it anyway. I started weighing myself every day instead of once a week so that I could monitor the changes. The first couple of weeks I only lost about a half pound, last week I lost 1.6 pounds, and so far this week, I'm down 1 pound.

    It's really nice to have a few extra calories each day, and now I get annoyed with rest days, because I miss those extra calories!

    Give it a try, but make the extra calories count. Get more healthy food with those calories, don't use them to add junk to your diet or you're not fueling your body like you should. Good luck!
  • MaximalLife
    MaximalLife Posts: 2,447 Member
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    when somebody's ticker says 87lbs lost, what can anybody here say except "keep going"?

    Maybe things could be easier if you were perfect...like me:yawn:
    I am perfectly imperfect, but with all my flaws, I lost a ton of weight and reached my goal.
    You just KEEP PUNCHING!
    Oh, and yes, I think you're eating a bit less than you could, but again, you've lost 87lbs.
    WELL DONE!
  • chicago_dad
    chicago_dad Posts: 357
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    Beware the CAUSAL ATTRIBUTION ERROR. I.e.: I eat too many almonds on day 1. I weigh myself on day 2, and my weight is lower. I conclude that there is a causal relationship between eating too many almonds and weight loss. = FAIL.
  • thelovelyLIZ
    thelovelyLIZ Posts: 1,227 Member
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    I'm actually likely going to be upping my calories soon as well. I only have about 10lbs left to go, and since I'm strength training now, I think going from 1300 to about 1500 would benefit me. I'm going to see how much I lose at the beginning of February and go from there. All I know is December I lost one pound until I went home for Christmas, where I was eating pretty much anything I wanted for a week and a half... and then I lost two.
  • techigirl78
    techigirl78 Posts: 128 Member
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    Same here. I noticed the days after I went out to eat and ate a good amount of food over normal I would lose weight and keep it off. This week I upped it to 1400 from 1200 and ate back exercising if it goes over 500-1000. I'm back to losing 2lbs now this week. Was losing about .5-1 for past 4-6 weeks or so.

    If this stalls, I think I'll do what smantha32 somewhat suggests and give myself one day a week when I can eat what I want - not ridiculously bad food - just maybe go out for all you can eat sushi and get up to 1800-2000 calorie range of food for a day with lots of fish,veggies, and brown rice. I was doing that all through Oct and Nov and the weight seemed to just fall off at that point. I believe I was averaging about 3lbs a week then and didn't weight much more then I do now.

    I also weigh myself everyday. The difference is that I no longer get upset when it goes up slightly or doesn't move for a few days. I understand some fluctuations are normal, but it makes me feel better to weigh myself. If you will get upset by what I scale may tell you, then I would agree that weighing yourself daily will probably have a bad impact on your motivation. Some days I record and sometimes I don't.
  • jwaitman
    jwaitman Posts: 367 Member
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    Whenever I get stuck, I go on a binge. I believe it jumpstarts things again. If it is working keep at it.
  • UponThisRock
    UponThisRock Posts: 4,522 Member
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    1200 probably put a lot of stress on your body, which caused water retention. A day over overfeeding caused leptin to rise, so you dropped some water.

    1400 calories is slightly better, but not by much. What would be best for you is eating at maintenance level for a couple of weeks.
  • hypotrochoid
    hypotrochoid Posts: 842 Member
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    Beware the CAUSAL ATTRIBUTION ERROR. I.e.: I eat too many almonds on day 1. I weigh myself on day 2, and my weight is lower. I conclude that there is a causal relationship between eating too many almonds and weight loss. = FAIL.

    I swear, if that had actually been what I'd posted I'd totally deserve that. I don't think it's the almonds, I think it's the upped calories- and after reviewing my diary I think it may also have something to do with the way I spread out my calories throughout the day. So, really, is it that horrible that I'm eating more, seeing a bit of a loss after nothing for awhile, and decide to continue to experiment with eating more?

    Kisses!
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,634 Member
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    It's because people try to use false logic when it comes to weight loss. I always here the "car" analogy. If you have a full tank of gas the car will weigh more. Put in less gas and the car will weigh less.
    But the body doesn't work that way. It works like a DAM. If there's a CONSISTENT amount of rainfall, the "valves" of the dam are kept open to keep the dam in balance and from overflowing. When there's drought, the valves are "closed" for conservation purposes.
    See?

    A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • jen3355
    jen3355 Posts: 6
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    This may be a stupid question, but what's the point of doing cardio to burn extra calories off if youre supposed to just eat them? Why not just stick to diet in that case and get the same results? Is the cardio supposed to just be added for when you go over 1200, or are you supposed to eat up the whole 1200? I've never lost weight upping my calories, but then again when i up them i UP THEM and its usually a binge and not a conscience effort, Will probably give this a shot once I hit my plateau, sounds so risky though!
  • hypotrochoid
    hypotrochoid Posts: 842 Member
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    1200 probably put a lot of stress on your body, which caused water retention. A day over overfeeding caused leptin to rise, so you dropped some water.

    1400 calories is slightly better, but not by much. What would be best for you is eating at maintenance level for a couple of weeks.

    My brain is not able to handle that at the moment, but I'll take it under advisement.
  • tuf7303
    tuf7303 Posts: 1
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    Eating a little more, especially in protein, may be the best thing for you. You've lost a lot of your fat, and now you need to work on building some more lean muscle (to help you stay slim). :) Good luck!
  • missbis
    missbis Posts: 116 Member
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    I keep hearing success stories after people exercise more, eat more, and eat their exercise calories back. Maybe you should raise your calorie range and/or eat your exercise calories back. Good luck.
  • lilRicki
    lilRicki Posts: 4,555 Member
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    I was at 1560 calories, and I didn't lose anything for a long time...once i started weight training, I upped my calories to 1860 and now i'm losing again. You were hungry, no shame in that. eat your exercise calories back with super healthy food and you'll shed a lot more. I was very aprehensive to up my calories because I've been sabotaged before in my weight loss goals (my HRM was WAY off). But it worked. Try it for awhile, if you don't like the results, try something else :)
  • chicago_dad
    chicago_dad Posts: 357
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    still probably not a cause and effect relationship (eating more calories doesn't cause weight loss). Maybe eating more calories + burning more calories through exercise + eating better calories (compositionally %s of fat/protein/carbs- to optimize stuff) + less stress that increases cortisol levels (from eating more calories that you aren't so worried about) + ____ (unobserved variables) = weight loss.

    experimenting with stuff = good.
  • j4nash
    j4nash Posts: 1,719 Member
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    Interesting but many people on this site have had the same thing happen.. dramatic weight loss and then a plateau of sorts.. all corrected by upping their calories. as mentioned, try maintenence for a while and keep with it!! congrats on your journey so far :)
  • Froglet95
    Froglet95 Posts: 8
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    :flowerforyou:

    I agree with everyone, and the system does tell you if your not eating enough, i.e. starving. Your body will naturally keep the reserve in case, just like animals do, but if you eat regularly your calorie intake amount your body should be ok, and the occasional naughty day is fine too, I too agree weighing daily does not help at all. We are all in it together for the same reason so I am sure nobody thinks your stupid in any way. Keep going girl and weigh yourself same day, same time, same clothing, plus measurements sometimes help too, as you may lose inches but not weight, but this does spur you on and keep you positive, first week you always lose the most and then usually slow down and then speed up again.

    I hope we are all supporting you and keeping your chin up.

    x

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