people who have had success by upping their calories!

Options
12357…14

Replies

  • kaitlynnrogers
    kaitlynnrogers Posts: 142 Member
    Options
    i started around 144 and want to get down to 130..i've been 138-141 when eating right, my weight just keeps changing..i've decided to up my calories because 1200 wasnt working for me, but i never ate back my exercise calories so maybe if you try that it could work for you.. i just decided to up my calories because i've been told you're suppose to eat above your BMR
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    Options
    BMR= Basal Metabolic Rate and it's the amount of calories your body would burn if you stayed in bed all day long doing nothing but breathing etc. It's been said that you should never eat under your BMR. Go to the 'TOOLS' tab, and use the BMR calculator there.

    And i have no idea what AMR is, but would like to know if that should be the upper limit on calorie intake!

    Active Metabolic Rate - BMR plus all your other daily activity, otherwise called TDEE, Total Daily Energy Expenditure.

    That total would be the daily maintenance calories to not gain or lose.

    So of course MFP uses non-exercise maintenance calories.

    Obviously a selection out of 4 or 5 activity levels can't nail that, when you slide into goal weight just have to experiment to find it.
    And it changes depending on how active you are of course, where as your avg BMR will be about the same, barring it being suppressed.

    So that would be the upper limit where you would gain weight if you went over. Of course, you'd have to go over 500 cal per day if you really saw a 1lb a week gain.

    That's why anyone that sees weight gain by eating these paltry in comparison calories, is not gaining real weight.
    Energy stores being topped off, water weight, ect. Perhaps a little fat because body thinks insanity will continue so it stocks up.

    The other issue is if you really plateau'd for several weeks, and no inches dropping, you are eating at maintenance level because BMR was suppressed so badly. Yes, 1200 can become maintenance level actually.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    Options
    i started around 144 and want to get down to 130..i've been 138-141 when eating right, my weight just keeps changing..i've decided to up my calories because 1200 wasnt working for me, but i never ate back my exercise calories so maybe if you try that it could work for you.. i just decided to up my calories because i've been told you're suppose to eat above your BMR

    NET above your BMR. Not eat, NET.

    If you eat at 1400 which is your BMR, and exercise 500 calories on avg daily - what is your body actually left with for the BMR to use?
    Where is the BMR really at?
  • kaitlynnrogers
    kaitlynnrogers Posts: 142 Member
    Options
    well, i have it set to 1800 so i should be netting above my bmr..
  • MoooveOverFluffy
    MoooveOverFluffy Posts: 398 Member
    Options
    BMR= Basal Metabolic Rate and it's the amount of calories your body would burn if you stayed in bed all day long doing nothing but breathing etc. It's been said that you should never eat under your BMR. Go to the 'TOOLS' tab, and use the BMR calculator there.

    And i have no idea what AMR is, but would like to know if that should be the upper limit on calorie intake!

    Active Metabolic Rate - BMR plus all your other daily activity, otherwise called TDEE, Total Daily Energy Expenditure.


    thanks! I am familiar with TDEE....
  • thistimeismytime
    thistimeismytime Posts: 711 Member
    Options
    I got these results in 2 1/2 months by eating 6-7 meals, and 1700-1900 cals/day on average. My first couple of weeks I tried that 1200 calorie stuff, and I've never been so cranky and miserable. I'm 5' 7", and I've lost 3 lbs since the "during" picture (currently 149), and I will lose about 15 more. I will do it by EATING and training hard. Others may choose a different path and that's fine, but I feel FANTASTIC eating like this, and I can maintain this forever! LOVE IT!!

    152lbsphotobucketbackview-1.jpg

    Wow, you look awsome!! Any specific workout/diet plan you are following to get such good results? Is your food diary open? I love to see what others eat. I am good with my food until the weekend comes so I am working on that now that my husband also wants to lose a few pounds. I know that'll help us both on the weekends. Great job though!

    Thanks so much. I'll open up my diary, but don't expect to see perfection in there!! lol You'll see some candy and cookie dough sprinkled in with the lean proteins, veggies, fruits, and grains. I'm truly looking to make a lifestyle change, and I can't be too crazy strict and hope to maintain this :) That being said, this is basically what I do:

    I try to mix protein, carbs and fat in each meal. I eat 6-7 small meals each day and eat on average 1700-1900 calories. I try to get 50% carbs, 30% protein (125-150gm), and 20% fat. I drink protein shakes 2x/day to help me get all that protein.

    As for workouts, I mostly do elliptical machine for cardio (45-60 min a day), and I lift weights 5 times a week. I just like the elliptical because it's convenient and easy on my knees, but you can just do whatever you like. :) I do my upper body workouts at the gym, and I've chosen to work my legs 4x a week at home with a DVD called the Butt Bible Level 3. I do my home workouts while my little boy sleeps, and it's really great "me time". The video is just strength training for legs, but it has a lot of moves that are too embarrassing to do in public. Lol. It also is filled with every kind of lunge and squat you can think of, and my legs get SORE!! If you search MFP forr "Butt Bible Results", you'll see what inspired me to buy it! :D Anyway, you can obviously do legs at the gym. I'm doing mine like this because they are quite large, and I'm trying to get them leaner and smaller. My husband is a personal trainer and ex-bodybuilder, and he helped me design this program for my particular goals.

    For abs, I just started another video called Perfect Abs 4x/week--there's nothing magical about it, it's just several different 8-min ab workouts. I could easily do this at the gym, but for some weird reason I hate working abs, and its just easier for me to do at home with a video.

    As far as upper body, I do 4-5 exercises for each bodypart. I usually do supersets (2 exercises back to back, and then a 30-sec rest) I do 4 sets of 10-15 reps each. I try to lift heavy, heavy, but without "cheating" or swinging the weights around. I do free weights and machines, and I never do the same routine twice. I stick with basic exercises, and I really do not like trendy, fancy, "look at me" kind of exercises. :noway: My workout split is like this:

    Mon: Back/calves
    Tues: Chest
    Wed: biceps
    Thurs: Shoulders
    Fri: triceps

    As I said, I work legs and abs at home several times each week, and I do cardio after every weight session, and on my days off from lifting. I rarely take a day off from cardio, but if i'm tired, I will.

    I know the New Rules of Weight Lifting for Women is super popular and that's fantastic. I've VERY supportive of my friends who do it. However, I have lifted super heavy in the past, and I ALWAYS end up injured, with injuries that take MONTHS to heal. Sooooo, this time I'm opting for moderately heavy weights in the 10-15 rep range, with strict form, little rest (30 sec tops), and I've been stretching at night to help keep me injury free. Everyone has to find what works for them. There are many paths to fitness, this is just the one that I'm walking :happy:

    If you have other questions, please don't hesitate to ask. I'd say "good luck" but since there's no luck in this I'll just say "keep up the hard work!!" :) Whatever you do, do it with focus and INTENSITY, and you will get results! :flowerforyou:
  • kaitlynnrogers
    kaitlynnrogers Posts: 142 Member
    Options
    a girl recently posted on one of my statuses and said "One of my friends working on her master's degree in health and personal fitness suggested eating 80% of your daily TDEE to preserve muscle and maximize fat loss."

    so take your TDEE
    heres a website:
    http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html

    and multiply it by .8

    i'll do mine as an example

    my TDEE=2327

    2327 x 0.8 = 1861
  • slimgal613
    slimgal613 Posts: 56
    Options
    Last week I starting to up my calories. Went from 1200 cal to 1500 cal per day. Still find it hard to hit the 1500 cal per day on a daily basis, but I am trying. I was up 2 lbs this week :(. :tongue: I am not going to get upset by it. I am giving it another week and keep my workout intensity as it has been and see what happens. I work out generally 4-5x weekly. I do cardio, ( spinning, interval running, rowing) and circuit training using weights and body weight. Not sure if I need to adjust that more of not, but we will see. ;)
  • kaitlynnrogers
    kaitlynnrogers Posts: 142 Member
    Options
    Last week I starting to up my calories. Went from 1200 cal to 1500 cal per day. Still find it hard to hit the 1500 cal per day on a daily basis, but I am trying. I was up 2 lbs this week :(. :tongue: I am not going to get upset by it. I am giving it another week and keep my workout intensity as it has been and see what happens. I work out generally 4-5x weekly. I do cardio, ( spinning, interval running, rowing) and circuit training using weights and body weight. Not sure if I need to adjust that more of not, but we will see. ;)


    don't weight yourself for a while because your body is still getting use to it..like the guy above said, NET above your BMR..the scale might not change at all..i've been feeling a lot slimmer but the scale hasnt moved
  • FITnFIRM4LIFE
    FITnFIRM4LIFE Posts: 818 Member
    Options
    Nice to read* You can eat and not starve:-) great read!
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    Options
    a girl recently posted on one of my statuses and said "One of my friends working on her master's degree in health and personal fitness suggested eating 80% of your daily TDEE to preserve muscle and maximize fat loss."

    so take your TDEE
    heres a website:
    http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html

    and multiply it by .8

    i'll do mine as an example

    my TDEE=2327

    2327 x 0.8 = 1861

    Yep, excellent way of doing it. Many people have problems being honest with activity levels.

    Just remember for every 10 lbs lost, go and re-adjust, as BMR does lower the less you way. Or if for some reason you become shorter too. But that would be one heavy powerlifting routine! ;-)
  • nixirain
    nixirain Posts: 448 Member
    Options
    ok people help me...I want to lose around 10 lbs. and I would like to average at least a 1lb a week. It tells me I should stick to 1200 calories which I have been trying to do. I also exercise 6 days a week usually run 3 days a week and do a brisk walk on the other 3 burning probably about 300-400 calories a day. What calorie intake should I shoot for? What is the bmr and amr that I see mentioned?

    1st thing is 1lb per week is a little too aggressive if you want to keep the weight off and keep your muscle in the process.

    I would suggest to change your goal to .5 pounds per week and NET that amount. I would check your BMR to make sure that your net goal is at or more than your BMR.

    NET= Calories per day + exercise calories

    I would maybe add some strength training to your work out since the last 10lbs tend to be harder to get off with just cardio.
  • kaitlynnrogers
    kaitlynnrogers Posts: 142 Member
    Options
    a girl recently posted on one of my statuses and said "One of my friends working on her master's degree in health and personal fitness suggested eating 80% of your daily TDEE to preserve muscle and maximize fat loss."

    so take your TDEE
    heres a website:
    http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html

    and multiply it by .8

    i'll do mine as an example

    my TDEE=2327

    2327 x 0.8 = 1861

    Yep, excellent way of doing it. Many people have problems being honest with activity levels.

    Just remember for every 10 lbs lost, go and re-adjust, as BMR does lower the less you way. Or if for some reason you become shorter too. But that would be one heavy powerlifting routine! ;-)

    how much of the exercise calories should we eat back?
  • nixirain
    nixirain Posts: 448 Member
    Options
    i am trying to lose about 20 pounds or so (i'm about 145-150 right now) and it reccomended i eat 1200 a day so do you think i should up this? or just eat more on a day that i am working out?

    Up it!!
  • cyclerjenn
    cyclerjenn Posts: 835 Member
    Options
    I use to eat 1200 and I was tired all the time expecially after a workout. I have now pumped it up to 1800 and keep it steady at 1800 regardless how much I workout, or not. I now have the energy for the rides and the workouts that I am training for.
  • Ladeda1
    Ladeda1 Posts: 68 Member
    Options
    bump
  • mamapuddin17
    mamapuddin17 Posts: 108 Member
    Options
    a girl recently posted on one of my statuses and said "One of my friends working on her master's degree in health and personal fitness suggested eating 80% of your daily TDEE to preserve muscle and maximize fat loss."

    so take your TDEE
    heres a website:
    http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html

    and multiply it by .8

    i'll do mine as an example

    my TDEE=2327

    2327 x 0.8 = 1861

    Mine came out to
    2233 x 0.8 =1786
    that's for exercising 3 to 5 days a week,do you eat back the exercise calories?
  • firstnamekaren
    firstnamekaren Posts: 274 Member
    Options
    I just posted about this this morning on my wall. I upped my calories almost 2 weeks ago, and since the beginning of the year (I've been doing 1200 since then), this is the first time I haven't noticed a loss. Not a gain, but more little fluctuations. I'm trying to be patient but I know that 1200 wasn't enough for me, I'm way too active. I'm sedentary at my job but I'm working out sometimes twice a day during the week and doing high intensity cardio. I'm just trying to be patient at this point!
  • charliesmagic
    charliesmagic Posts: 55
    Options
    Bump to read later...interesting idea/approach...
  • fittiephd
    fittiephd Posts: 608 Member
    Options
    i am trying to lose about 20 pounds or so (i'm about 145-150 right now) and it reccomended i eat 1200 a day so do you think i should up this? or just eat more on a day that i am working out?



    up it up it up it!!!!!!!!! check out the link in the OP's post, it will help you figure out how many you really should be eating. Imho, MFP should never tell anyone to eat 1200 calories. EVER. At least eat your BMR, if not more. please!!!! AND eat back your exercise cals!!!

Categories