Scared to increase my calorie intake but may need to, please

missyj1115

I have been on the recommended 1200 calorie intake since I started this at the end of January. I had been losing weight and inches which is great but the past couple weeks I have not lost but I have not gained either (bonus, I guess). I burned roughly 3100 calories last week and was under my calorie goal for the week by 700 calories and the scale did not move but .4lbs down.

I have read that people are increasing their calorie intake and losing better with a higher count but I am scared to find that magic number for me. I went to the web site Fat 2 fit and it said my BMR = 1557 calories and to reach my goal I need to be eating 2158 calories per day. WOW that is scary since I have been maintaining 1200 just fine sometimes even hard to reach that!

I work out 4-5 times a week on the treadmill and Zumba usually at least a min of 45-60 minutes each day. I would really appreciate some advice on what a girl is to do!!! Really scared to increase because I was always taught to drop the weight eat less move more, I do not want to eat more and see the numbers climb again Thank you!!

lizard053

I say aim to NET your BMR in calories a day. That way you're getting enough fuel to keep your body running, but not enough to cause weight gain, unless your BMR is lower. It's likely, with the cardio you do, your BMR is probably right about that number for your lifestyle. If you want to raise your BMR in general, add weight lifting to your routine. Those muscles will kick you up into high gear for more efficient weight loss. And don't worry about getting bulky, unless you're one of the rare women with high testosterone, you can't.

jg627

Same boat here. I was doing 1800 calories for a while but started to hit a wall in my workouts. I eat about an extra 500 calories on gym day. I started by increasing it by 200 and did that for a while, then increased it by another 500. Now I'm doing around 2500 on rest days and 3000 on gym days. We'll see what happens. Have to give it enough time to sink in.

mkwongh

bump -- interested to see other comments
i increased from 1200-1400 on days i dont work out, and 1600-1850 on days i work out. I have not lost anything in a few months. :grumble: im not discouraged, but dont know what i am doing wrong.

militarydreams

I lost 2lbs a week at a 1k defacit for a long time. I was recently advised to up my calories to make faster strength gains so I decided to be gradual and upped by 250 calories per month. last month I continued to lose 2lbs a week, this week I've been only eating a 500 calorie defacit and lost 3lbs. As long as all your calories are good quality and high protein things seem to work... I have no idea what's going on but I'm guessing my body is finding a way to use the extra calories.

My advice is to gradually up your intake and check your weight each week to see... it's not going to be a huge problem if you're wrong

jg627

I lost 2lbs a week at a 1k defacit for a long time. I was recently advised to up my calories to make faster strength gains so I decided to be gradual and upped by 250 calories per month. last month I continued to lose 2lbs a week, this week I've been only eating a 500 calorie defacit and lost 3lbs. As long as all your calories are good quality and high protein things seem to work... I have no idea what's going on but I'm guessing my body is finding a way to use the extra calories.

My advice is to gradually up your intake and check your weight each week to see... it's not going to be a huge problem if you're wrong

I'm hoping that will be the case for me too. I stuck with it about a month after the first increase and was still dropping about 1 to 1.5 lbs per week, so I know I have room for it. I just increased it the last time a few days or so ago.