So after upping cals, how do you know if you're right??

kim_mc

So after upping calories, how do you know if you're at the right number?

I've read all about the fact that my body might need to adjust for a while and I've given it about 3 weeks so far. I'm willing to give it more weeks though for sure!

What I'm wondering is, how do you figure out whether or not you're just eating too many calories and that's what the gain in from or if the gain is from your body adjusting?

How often should you take measurements?

Help! I want to do this but I'm just unsure of the numbers that I'm seeing, it's making me second guess myself!

gemiwing

What I'm wondering is, how do you figure out whether or not you're just eating too many calories and that's what the gain in from or if the gain is from your body adjusting?

We know because we did the math.

If you are honest in what's going in and what's being spent in everyday life and exercise- then the numbers will work for 99% of people. There will be rare cases- yours might be one- where other health factors are at play. Very, very unlikely.


Be honest about what goes in (log everything and weigh everything)
Be honest about what goes out (really be specific in your TDEE and activity levels; don't overestimate calories burned in workouts)

Give it a month or more- and then adjust up or down by 100-200 cals till you figure it out. Don't be afraid to go up in cals either, we women especially tend to underestimate our daily expenditures.

ANewLucia

All Gemi said was on point.

I had a drop first week regained all of 1lb by week 4, then started losing .4 or .5 once in a while little over lb...then plateau again. See body adjusted to higer cals and I started the bounce up and down thing.

Also, I found with high burns I wasn't hitt bmr..slowed me down. I dropped cardio burns way down and made sure to eat bmr and bumped up cals another 100 and weight bounced around 4lbs for 4wks, then had a 1.2lb loss.

How much have you gained?

DecemberNick

To your question about the measurements, I'd wait at least 3-4 weeks to see an appreciable change in size.

kim_mc

How much have you gained?

I've just gone up a couple pounds. I'll be weighing in again tomorrow but I am feeling and looking really "puffy" or bloated. Seems like you can't see my ab muscles and I just feel "big".

Thanks for all the anwers and help. Going to leave things where they're at for a few more weeks and see what happens.

31prvrbs

Yep, ride it out for a few more weeks. If nothing else you are giving your body some good "diet recovery."

Many people don't realize that just the mere act of eating more will spike your metabolism, even if just for a short time. So even those who only "eat more" for 4 weeks or so, then head for the lower cal hills, STILL get the benefits of eating more. Although they don't realize it, and give the credit to the low cal eating. We often don't realize that if we hadn't raised the cals in the first place, there'd be no results from dropping them down again.

My typical advice when upping cals is to go straight to maintenance and stay there for a month or so, give the diet a break. You still get the initial gain, but you're expecting it, and your body adjusts much quicker. Then, when you're ready/feel that your gain has leveled out, and you're actually "maintaining", then drop to a *reasonable* deficit, and begin losing again. Most people will only need to drop a couple hundred under maintenance to see loss after this. Then the process can be repeated whenever there is a plateau, or one could just do a maintenance "week" every 4-6 weeks or so, for the duration of their weight loss journey..

Hang in there, Kim. It's not a quick fix, but definitely longer lasting. I gained and lost the same 15-20 lbs for years before finally giving in to this lifestyle. It feels awesome to be in control again...

clb51

bump