Eating more worked for me!

Aerohead21

So, I get really worried when people say things like "my calorie goal is 1200" or "I'm full but haven't hit my calorie mark" or "eating more to lose weight defeats the purpose". I will also admit, those same thoughts are my first thoughts when I hit my first plateau three weeks ago.

I was eating 8-900 calories a day, was full (lots of veggies, fruits, and fish), and exercised moderately every day. Two weeks solid the scale didn't budge. I wasn't expecting it so quickly because I have only lost 30 of the 120 I need to lose and only at the end of month 2 of my diet.

So I thought, why not give it a try. "It" being eat more. I decided to eat an additional few snacks to get at least to 1200 regardless of whether I was hungry or not. I weighed daily to see what immediate effects this would do. Nothing. No gain, no loss.

Then this morning, having not quit the eat more thing, I stepped back on the scale. 3 pounds gone. That's 3 pounds in one week, folks.


Now, I am not saying this will work for everyone or that everyone who doesn't believe this is a Sintky McStinkerson. Truth is though, bt adding those few extra hundred calories I felt better, less emotionally drained, more rested, and physically able to exercise a little harder. It rejuvenated me and I lost 3 pounds in the process.

Basically, my experience with "eat more to lose" was positive and I hope that anyone struggling with the concept at least try it before knocking it. Maybe cold hard facts are right. Maybe the reason you aren't losing is because your body is depleted and just wants you to feed it just a little more.

Can't hurt to try

Good luck and happy weight loss!

lovinmysoldier

True for me as well. I was at 1200 for a long time. I lost 35 # then was stuck for over a month. I up'd my calories to 1440 and the scale is moving again!

Aerohead21

This is my second time losing weight and the first time I ate very few calories. I did a lot of damage to my body. This time around I hope to be healthy and strong.

justfungrandma

I also now believe in the "eat more to lose" theory. Starting on Dec 24, I was eating under 1000 per day...many days more like 800. Not logging but just rough counting. I lost 7 lbs in the first month, then lost nothing for my entire second month. I joined MFP and decided to test out this theory. I started eating 1200 per day, sometimes up to 1300. Today was my weekly weigh in day and I lost 2 lbs!

kealambert

I really really wish more people would trust in this method! my coworker's husband is about 370lbs, 6 foot 2, and he's on MFP (don't know his account name), and apparently is doing well. HOWEVER, he is only eating like 1600 a day! he has a lot to lose, so granted, he has lost some, but she refuses to believe that this will eventually catch up to him.

granted, every person and body is different, I refuse to believe a 370ish pound person will be healthy only eating 1600 calories a day.

/rant

I just hope more folks realize this is vital

Aerohead21

Right. I completely understand why someone doesn't want to believe this but at the same time, their logical argument really is only logical to a point and I can see how creating too large of a deficit will ultimately hurt you. Maybe at higher weights it won't be so obvious because there is a lot of excess weight to work through, but at smaller weights I'd think this is not logical at all and people would realize more easily that if you don't feed your body you won't get the results you want.

love2cook_Jody

I agree with this Kristen! It's kind of what I went through before...I wasn't eating enough and I was so tired when I exercised I felt soooo tired. After the 1st 2 weeks the weight loss started to stall...so I started eating less and I didn't lose any and that's where I was defeated and said screw trying to lose weight. And also too, this time I have found out I need to eat more because if I don't my body majorly protests and I have major problems with keeping my blood sugar up. Before I started MFP back up I was not watching what I was eating at all and taking between 80-100 units of insulin a day. I lost some weight because my blood sugars were really high...now that I've started counting calories and taking between 45-60 units of insulin a day, I feel a lot better. I was kind of sad this morning when I got on the scale after a week at this(granted I was the type of person that would weigh EVERY day..which this time I promised myself I would only weigh once a week) and only lost 3 lbs. But I have to realize I'm doing this RIGHT this time. What I did was change my goals a little bit to put in more exercise and I think this will help. I just have to remember to eat enough and exercise because it isn't going to happen without it. So like my very good friend here says, I'm going to keep on keepin on! :-)

Aerohead21

Good! Keep on, woman! We got this