Increasing Calories - What to expect & why you need patience...
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As Nike says, "Just do it"!! I was driving myself absolutely crazy not being able to get over the, "eat more to lose", i just couldn't get the "mental' part thinking I would end up gaining more weight. After playing with the same 3 lbs for 3 months, frankly, I got so pissed off that last weekend I just took a break from MFP, and didn't log a thing. I still ate well, but I gave my brain and my emotions a much needed break.
On Monday night I read a blog on breaking plateau's. I went to fitnessfrog.com, put in my info, got my numbers, and manually set my NET to my TDEE - 15% number. I have decided to ignore the rest of the settings. I do have my macro's set at 40/30/30. I also do not eat my calories back unless I hit 500 burned.
i contacted a friend on here to double check my numbers and settings. So starting on Tuesday, I starting eating 1800 calories and the scale has already gone down a pound. And I feel even more energetic!!
Friends, you just have to let it go. EAT!! Some may gain at first, but your metabolism will adjust quickly. I am more relaxed now, than I have been in months....and I get to eat. AND my calories burned in the last couple of days have jumped way up! Also don't forget, we have stress hormones to deal with as well. So just let go and eat your calories!!
I just wanted to share and hope this helps!! Feel free to add me if you'd need extra support and motivation!!0 -
As Nike says, "Just do it"!! I was driving myself absolutely crazy not being able to get over the, "eat more to lose", i just couldn't get the "mental' part thinking I would end up gaining more weight. After playing with the same 3 lbs for 3 months, frankly, I got so pissed off that last weekend I just took a break from MFP, and didn't log a thing. I still ate well, but I gave my brain and my emotions a much needed break.
On Monday night I read a blog on breaking plateau's. I went to fitnessfrog.com, put in my info, got my numbers, and manually set my NET to my TDEE - 15% number. I have decided to ignore the rest of the settings. I do have my macro's set at 40/30/30. I also do not eat my calories back unless I hit 500 burned.
i contacted a friend on here to double check my numbers and settings. So starting on Tuesday, I starting eating 1800 calories and the scale has already gone down a pound. And I feel even more energetic!!
Friends, you just have to let it go. EAT!! Some may gain at first, but your metabolism will adjust quickly. I am more relaxed now, than I have been in months....and I get to eat. AND my calories burned in the last couple of days have jumped way up! Also don't forget, we have stress hormones to deal with as well. So just let go and eat your calories!!
I just wanted to share and hope this helps!! Feel free to add me if you'd need extra support and motivation!!
Love this!!! Kudos to you for taking the plunge
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Thank you so much. I lost an initial 21 pounds and then bam....stuck there for weeks on end. I made it to 131.8 lbs and could not attain my goal of 120 to 125. I was starving and couldn't get through a day unless I burned at least 600 calories....just so I could eat more. I was so happy a couple of my MFP friends got me onto this group. It has only been three days with my calories up to 1850 from 1200 but it feels amazing to be able to eat again and function again. I was light headed all the time during my workouts and haven't felt that since I started eating more. My weight is up from insanity and a medical procedure I had done but that is being corrected on April 30. I look so forward to the results I know that I will get!0
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Thank you so much. I lost an initial 21 pounds and then bam....stuck there for weeks on end. I made it to 131.8 lbs and could not attain my goal of 120 to 125. I was starving and couldn't get through a day unless I burned at least 600 calories....just so I could eat more. I was so happy a couple of my MFP friends got me onto this group. It has only been three days with my calories up to 1850 from 1200 but it feels amazing to be able to eat again and function again. I was light headed all the time during my workouts and haven't felt that since I started eating more. My weight is up from insanity and a medical procedure I had done but that is being corrected on April 30. I look so forward to the results I know that I will get!
Wow so glad you are here...0 -
I joined this group 16 days ago, and I can't tell you how often I come back to this discussion just to re-affirm what I know. I am so glad I found y'all.
I guess I would consider myself to be in the low-cal, binge eater group. My calories weren't as low as some, more around 1400, but I was always, always, hungry. Night time came, and look out. Now, I'm at 1830, with my macros 40/30/30, not eating back my exercise calories, unless I have a long run, (training for a half) and I am seeing a gain of 4lbs since I've started. I'm not really worried, but there is that old voice trying to freak out in the back on my head. I just drowned her with my water, lol.
I haven't really treated the strength training as seriously as I need to, but I plan to as soon as this race is done. (April 28) I look forward to seeing where this path takes me, as I do like to eat..
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I joined this group 16 days ago, and I can't tell you how often I come back to this discussion just to re-affirm what I know. I am so glad I found y'all.
I guess I would consider myself to be in the low-cal, binge eater group. My calories weren't as low as some, more around 1400, but I was always, always, hungry. Night time came, and look out. Now, I'm at 1830, with my macros 40/30/30, not eating back my exercise calories, unless I have a long run, (training for a half) and I am seeing a gain of 4lbs since I've started. I'm not really worried, but there is that old voice trying to freak out in the back on my head. I just drowned her with my water, lol.
I haven't really treated the strength training as seriously as I need to, but I plan to as soon as this race is done. (April 28) I look forward to seeing where this path takes me, as I do like to eat..
I upped my calories to 1765 last Wed. and went up 2.5 pounds, but this morning I've lost them. They are right, we need to give our bodies time to reset itself. Like you, I have a ton of energy and I swear I see less fluff already!!! I'm so excited to see where this takes all if us over the next few months. Thank goodness for this group, Love it!!!!!0 -
Thank you very much. I appreciate this group already because I am in it for the long haul and I am tired of yo yo diets. After reading many post about this topic I finally have a very good idea on my I was never completely successful in the past with my weight loss. Like you said- my body doesn’t care about my weight loss goals-- its just trying to survive. I beat it up for so many years starving myself that it is like "chic what the hell are u doing!!" LOL I started yesterday after reading several post about it—and honestly it was not a hard concept to wrap my mind around after I took the fear of food out of the picture.. For so long I made it like food was the enemy and it’s the reason why I am fat—in all honesty food did not make me fat—I made me fat by starving myself one week and then binging the next.. Thank you for creating this group and Im sure I will be posting often and Im encouraged that wants my body gets in line with what Im doing I can post my success story.
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Welcome, ladies!!0
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Hi Ladies, I am hoping you can help me! I am totally confused!!!!
Basically for the past 13 months I have been working my butt off, (p90x 2 rounds, insanity, and tons of cardio) and have gradually gained about 12 pounds! :sad: :sad: I started here on MFP in March 2011 at about 160 pounds and I am now 172 :noway: I have tried various diet changes (high protein, low carb, 40/30/30, etc) I just keep gradaully gaining. Many years ago I lost over 120 pounds through diet and exercise and have kept the weight off through 2 pregnancies, but as I said a few pounds have crept back, and I would like to get down to 155 or so. I know that 10+ years of dieting has wrecked my metabolism. I stopped getting periods 8 years ago and only get them now with hormones (progesterone). In December I increased my gross intake from about 1700 or so to about 2000. My bodymedia device estimates I burn 2300-3000 depending on the day. average I would say is 2400.
5 weeks ago I decided to "reset my metabolism" and increased cals to about 2250. I have gained about 3-4 pounds and clothes are getting uncomfortably snug.....
How long do I stay at this before I start decreasing cals again??? Right now my workouts consist of mostly running, but monday I am starting the SL 5x5 program so i am hoping that will help tone me up....
Am I doing something wrong????
ALso one sign that the metabolism is recovering, I got my period this month!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! second time in 8 years that happended without taking progesterone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (first time was a few mos ago after increasing cals!!!!!!!!...
Thanks so much for taking the time to read this!!!!! I feel confident you guys can help/guide me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!0 -
Welcome, ladies!!
Sooooo glad to be here.thanks for having me 0 -
Just joined and, MAN! Do I wish I could read every post...so many good points...so many tips! I am scared and excited!
Now, for those of you who have upped your calories to your TDEE, is there anyone who doesn't work out 3-5 times a week? That is where my biggest fear is...I am NOT sitting on my butt at home, BELIEVE ME! I have 4 kids, under 9, and I homeschool them all...my day starts at 5:30 or 6:00 am and I don't stop until about 10:00...and my kids are with me ALL day!!! It's wonderful, but it is limiting...I can't go to the gym regularly during the school year: school work and prep for my kids comes first, then healthy cooking, keeping up the home, and activities with the kids/family/friends...
SO, I am not lazy, I just can only keep a gym schedule during the Summer months. However, I am a busy bee and know I am burning calories even though I'm not on the treadmill or in a class...I only sit for a little bit in my day (as a guilty pleasure actually)...
Again, back to the question: is there anyone else who has upped their calories to their TDEE and are not at the gym working out? I am back in the gym now that school is winding down for us, 2x a week for 40 minutes of running and then a couple hours of pool play time with the kids...
Just tell me this fuel-fix will help me during the school year when I am not at the gym??? THANKS so much...looking forward to learning and losing!!!! 0 -
Hi everyone just wanted to ask If Im not lifting should i still up my calories I workout 5 days a week do Jillian Micheal's and do the Tread Mill I have some weights but not many I do all my workouts from home I upped my calories from 1410 to 1800 ...So should I keep them up there even though I don't lift and with the weights I do have what should I do I have 10lb dumbbells and 20lbs and a bar with that has 40lbs0
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Thank you so much for this post!0
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I had to share on the patience part..I joined this group 5 weeks ago. I was sitting around 1400 cals before I started. Then I increased up to about 1500 cals.. and nothing was happening. I finally jumped to 1800 cals, which was my BMR, hoping to finally see some movement.. Alas, I still was seeing gains.. The mental frustration that I went through over this 4 week period was insane. If it weren't for Lucia who walked me through my weekly rants about the scale, and telling me to keep faith, I probably would have resorted back to 1400 cals again. This last week I finally bit the bullet and jumped up to my Cut value, an additional 600 cals more than my BMR and what I was eating a day..
And guess what?? The scale dropped an amazing 3.8 pounds! Never in my life have I ever gotten a loss that big in a single week, even when I did weight watchers and was at my heaviest. Believe me, the frustration over gaining for a few weeks will disappear completely when you come out the other end eating more, feeling better and finally seeing susatainable losses. If I can lose this much weight in a single week eating as much as I have been, you can be certain I will not eat 1400 cals again.
Have faith. It has been proven time and time again that we need to fuel our bodies. Let go of the "diet/starvation" mentality and start treating your body how you want to treat it for life.
I can't tell you how much I needed to read this right now! Thanks for your post and congrats to you! Way to stick with it:) Looking forward to your future posts documenting your progress!0 -
Today is an on my feet all day baking day....no work out...do I eat 1939, my TDEE or 1600? Do you think "ripping the band aid off" and just going up is best, or gradual upping? I'd love to hear other opinions...oh, and someone to double check my numbers:
age:39
weight: 146
height: 5'6
activity: 1-3 workouts a week (how do you factor if you are on your feet most of the day? Is this a fine choice?)
Thanks!0 -
Just joined and, MAN! Do I wish I could read every post...so many good points...so many tips! I am scared and excited!
Now, for those of you who have upped your calories to your TDEE, is there anyone who doesn't work out 3-5 times a week? That is where my biggest fear is...I am NOT sitting on my butt at home, BELIEVE ME! I have 4 kids, under 9, and I homeschool them all...my day starts at 5:30 or 6:00 am and I don't stop until about 10:00...and my kids are with me ALL day!!! It's wonderful, but it is limiting...I can't go to the gym regularly during the school year: school work and prep for my kids comes first, then healthy cooking, keeping up the home, and activities with the kids/family/friends...
SO, I am not lazy, I just can only keep a gym schedule during the Summer months. However, I am a busy bee and know I am burning calories even though I'm not on the treadmill or in a class...I only sit for a little bit in my day (as a guilty pleasure actually)...
Again, back to the question: is there anyone else who has upped their calories to their TDEE and are not at the gym working out? I am back in the gym now that school is winding down for us, 2x a week for 40 minutes of running and then a couple hours of pool play time with the kids...
Just tell me this fuel-fix will help me during the school year when I am not at the gym??? THANKS so much...looking forward to learning and losing!!!!
Hi there! Let me share what I've learned by reading and chatting with many on here. I certainly understand about being a busy mom, however, what you do on a daily basis can not being counted as calories burned. This is your normal daily activity. And unfortunately as we get older, we have to work that much harder. Therefore, I suggest you carve out some time for yourself several days a week. I did up my calories to my TDEE (-15%), I w/o 6 days for roughly 35 minutes (JIllian Michaels Body Revolution), and I finally dropped 3 pounds this week. The same 3 pounds I couldn't get rid of by not eating enough. Now the scales is moving.
I hope this helps! Good luck!!0 -
Hi everyone just wanted to ask If Im not lifting should i still up my calories I workout 5 days a week do Jillian Micheal's and do the Tread Mill I have some weights but not many I do all my workouts from home I upped my calories from 1410 to 1800 ...So should I keep them up there even though I don't lift and with the weights I do have what should I do I have 10lb dumbbells and 20lbs and a bar with that has 40lbs
upping cals works for everyone , any type of exercise qualifies. We just recommend weight lifting for the purpose of body composition changes, that most of us want, but just don't get from cardio alone. I also workout from home to DVDs, and it sounds to me like you have the beginnings of some pretty good weight lifting w/the weights you have already. Put those babies to good use, now 
Today is an on my feet all day baking day....no work out...do I eat 1939, my TDEE or 1600? Do you think "ripping the band aid off" and just going up is best, or gradual upping? I'd love to hear other opinions...oh, and someone to double check my numbers:
age:39
weight: 146
height: 5'6
activity: 1-3 workouts a week (how do you factor if you are on your feet most of the day? Is this a fine choice?)
Thanks!
You would eat your TDEE -15% which I'm assuming is your 1600 #. Your calculations look about right for moderately active.
The upping process has been personal for everyone. Some just rip, others inch, lol. You have to know yourself, and now you know what to expect, so I'd say if you can handle it....RIP, lol
Also...just wanted to let you know that I'm a homeschool mom as well, as well as many of my MFP friends, and do not have a gym membership at all. I workout exclusively from home (and so do they). So it can still work for you w/o the gym
~Kiki0 -
Hi Ladies, I am hoping you can help me! I am totally confused!!!!
Basically for the past 13 months I have been working my butt off, (p90x 2 rounds, insanity, and tons of cardio) and have gradually gained about 12 pounds! :sad: :sad: I started here on MFP in March 2011 at about 160 pounds and I am now 172 :noway: I have tried various diet changes (high protein, low carb, 40/30/30, etc) I just keep gradaully gaining. Many years ago I lost over 120 pounds through diet and exercise and have kept the weight off through 2 pregnancies, but as I said a few pounds have crept back, and I would like to get down to 155 or so. I know that 10+ years of dieting has wrecked my metabolism. I stopped getting periods 8 years ago and only get them now with hormones (progesterone). In December I increased my gross intake from about 1700 or so to about 2000. My bodymedia device estimates I burn 2300-3000 depending on the day. average I would say is 2400.
5 weeks ago I decided to "reset my metabolism" and increased cals to about 2250. I have gained about 3-4 pounds and clothes are getting uncomfortably snug.....
How long do I stay at this before I start decreasing cals again??? Right now my workouts consist of mostly running, but monday I am starting the SL 5x5 program so i am hoping that will help tone me up....
Am I doing something wrong????
ALso one sign that the metabolism is recovering, I got my period this month!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! second time in 8 years that happended without taking progesterone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (first time was a few mos ago after increasing cals!!!!!!!!...
Thanks so much for taking the time to read this!!!!! I feel confident you guys can help/guide me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Weight gain is to be expected during a metabolism reset. So I wouldn't stress that you're doing anything wrong. Remember, that battery must charge before you can take it and run. The fact that you got your period is an excellent thing, considering how long it's been. I'm also happy to hear that you're adding some strength training to the mix, that is the best way to take advantage of the gain process that happens during a metabolism reset, because it tells you body exactly what you want it to do with the "extra": build muscle
As for how long to do the reset, we typically recommend a *minimum* of 4-6 weeks, although closer to 8 is probably best. I know it's so hard and we wanna just quit, but we have to remember how long we ate at the lower cal level. It's SO hard to fix something that was 10+ years in the making, in just a mere month or two. :frown:
Something else that I'm gathering from the info that you've given, is that you seem prone to overtraining. I say this because of the lack of a menstrual cylce, as well as the weight gain, despite how hard you work out. If your BMF has you at 2300-3000 cals, and you want to do a "reset", then you should be eating what it tells you. Or else, you're technically still in a deficit. A pretty deep deficit on the 3000 cal days.
I'm assuming you do some pretty long/intense cardio sessions? Although cardio is good for the heart, sometimes we tend to go overboard, and then it leads us further from our goals. typically cardio is cut back some during a reset, as well, and I would absolutely suggest it in this case, unless you are training for a marathon...
under eating plus excessive cardio is a deadly combination. one from which your body needs some serious recovery time. If you only want to eat 2250, try only burning that much.
~Kiki0 -
Kiki,
Thanks so much!!! Really appreciate the feedback!!!! I recently cut back on the cardio, but yes I was prone to overtraining!!!!
I am going to focus on lifting and eating at maintenance for awhile longer!!
Thanks again!!!0 -
Hi! I could use some help- I'm confused by the numbers.
My BMR is 1430
I exercise probably 5 days a week, always cardio with strength training 2-3 times/week. My cardio daily is 400-900 cals/day, from walking, running and using an elliptical. Where I am confused is which multiplier to use- I have always thought that you EITHER put your workouts in to your TDEE OR you use the sedentary multiplier and add each workout. To me it seems like you are double counting workouts if you choose the "active" multipliers and add your workout calories.
Anyway, today I did an 800 cal workout plus strength training, and I had to add peanut butter just to get to the Net of my BMR, 1430 cal. And this was with a splurge pizza dinner. My total cals today are 2071, and it feels really really wrong!!
I know I've done some serious damage.I'm 29 now- I was an athlete in HS and a distance runner in college, and then with a combination of medications and depression have managed to gain like 60 lbs, but I somehow did it with alternating binge eating and starving. I was never ever someone who ate a diet of fast food. I've been a vegetarian since I was 11 y/o. But when I was in HS I thought eating 7 blueberries a day and half an english muffin with fat free butter spray and diet coke and coffee by the gallon was a legit healthy diet. I did that for years.
Mentally I don't know if I can gain any more weight, but 1200 cals a day (with my exercise schedule) isn't getting me anywhere. None of my summer clothes fit and I'm not buying new fat clothes this year. I'm off all the medications that were plumping me up- so I feel like I have a chance.
Oh- Surprise Surprise I also developed a thyroid condition, which is currently stabalized with synthroid.
You guys seem like the diet whisperers- so any help would be appreciated.
Thanks!
-Maureen0
