Calorie Confusion

vivo

Hey guys, I've recently gained 1kg that won't go away ever since I had a bbq 4 days ago. And this was despite keeping to calorie goals of 1,200 ( though I tend to go over by 100 or so sometimes). I've been reading people's posts and the majority says that upping calories are what will help you lose weight? Can someone explain this to me as I can't make sense of it!

p.s. I recently got a fitbit and after selecting a goal of losing 0.5kg a week they've set my calorie goal to 1,023?? i'm getting mixed messages!

vivo

p.s. I'm 168cm, 21 yrs old and 64 kg

sarajo16

Its going to take more than 4 days to loose 1kg. I'm 61kg and MFP is set to lose 0.5lbs a week and mine is set at 1440 cals. I eat all my calories and my workout calories. I found it so stressful on 1200 cals that I think it was effecting my weight lose. I became so obsessive about my food that I couldn't sustain it. I eat about 1700/1800 a day which includes my workout cals. I've lost 7kg since Jan....slow and steady

gsager

Its going to take more than 4 days to loose 1kg. I'm 61kg and MFP is set to lose 0.5lbs a week and mine is set at 1440 cals. I eat all my calories and my workout calories. I found it so stressful on 1200 cals that I think it was effecting my weight lose. I became so obsessive about my food that I couldn't sustain it. I eat about 1700/1800 a day which includes my workout cals. I've lost 7kg since Jan....slow and steady

^^^this, perfect!!

antihillmoby

Its going to take more than 4 days to loose 1kg. I'm 61kg and MFP is set to lose 0.5lbs a week and mine is set at 1440 cals. I eat all my calories and my workout calories. I found it so stressful on 1200 cals that I think it was effecting my weight lose. I became so obsessive about my food that I couldn't sustain it. I eat about 1700/1800 a day which includes my workout cals. I've lost 7kg since Jan....slow and steady

I do this also - it seems to work!

vivo

That's great to hear! and p.s. I wasn't trying to lose 1kg in 4 days, that one barbeque caused me to gain weight and didn't seem to come off, so my previous result went down the drain


Can someone explain how upping calories can cause weight loss? I've gladly been doing so but I feel like i'm cheating!

ljwskinny

p.s. I'm 168cm, 21 yrs old and 64 kg

At this height and weight, your BMI is a very healthy 22.7; it can be very tough to lose weight when you don't need to. I'm 5 feet and 4 inches (i think 163cm) and when im my usual size (pre babies) I get to about 140 pounds (around 65 kg i think) and I'm lean, muscular, and just cannot lose weight. can I ask you what motivates your weight loss, as by your statistics, you must look quite slender. maybe it is toning and firming that you need, rather than losing weight?

chrisdavey

The 1kg you gained is most likely water weight from carbs and sodium spike. Unless you consumed 7000 cals over maintenance you don't need to worry about it.

vivo

p.s. I'm 168cm, 21 yrs old and 64 kg

At this height and weight, your BMI is a very healthy 22.7; it can be very tough to lose weight when you don't need to. I'm 5 feet and 4 inches (i think 163cm) and when im my usual size (pre babies) I get to about 140 pounds (around 65 kg i think) and I'm lean, muscular, and just cannot lose weight. can I ask you what motivates your weight loss, as by your statistics, you must look quite slender. maybe it is toning and firming that you need, rather than losing weight?

Thank you so much for your reply. I am finding it very hard to lose weight as I always struggle. I was motivated to so because I'm quite unfit and would like to get my body fat percentage down; especially as I'm considered big in my race. But really all i want is it be fit and toned! I guess I just need some sort of concrete evidence which is why I look to scales. Pictures and inches don't seem to show

rileysowner

I think based on your height and weight, you need to stop looking at losing weight and start looking at body re-composition. To do that you would eat very near your maintenance calories and focus exercise mainly on full body strength training and interval training rather than lots of cardio with no strength training. Basically at your weight, your body is not going to want to lose weight, and at a large calorie deficit what you will lose is a tiny bit of fat and a lot of muscle. I would also look at keeping your protein levels high as well between .7 and 1 gram per pound each day. Also, focus not on the scale but on your measurements and how your clothes fit. I would suggest ignoring the scale completely as you could look better, be a smaller size in clothing and weight a little more if you get rid of some fat and put a little muscle on. No one sees the number on the scale, they only see your measurements and how your clothes fit. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/541091-tossing-my-scale-out-the-window-pics

As to your first question how eating more could mean more fat loss, it is simply a matter that the closer you are to a healthy weight, the less your body is willing to get rid of fat, so you need to use a smaller calorie deficit. At your weight, I would say anything more than .5 pound/week so what a quarter of a kilo if I did my mental math correctly, is about the most you should try to lose. Frankly you would be well served to us this calculator http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html to find you daily maintenance calories (TDEE=Total Daily Energy Expenditure) and then take off from that number no more than 15% as eat that. If you are consistent with your exercise, then include that in the calculation and you don't have to go through the Myfitnesspal eating the calories burned by the exercise you do. Just eat the TDEE including exercise - 15%.

omma_to_3

p.s. I'm 168cm, 21 yrs old and 64 kg

At this height and weight, your BMI is a very healthy 22.7; it can be very tough to lose weight when you don't need to. I'm 5 feet and 4 inches (i think 163cm) and when im my usual size (pre babies) I get to about 140 pounds (around 65 kg i think) and I'm lean, muscular, and just cannot lose weight. can I ask you what motivates your weight loss, as by your statistics, you must look quite slender. maybe it is toning and firming that you need, rather than losing weight?

Thank you so much for your reply. I am finding it very hard to lose weight as I always struggle. I was motivated to so because I'm quite unfit and would like to get my body fat percentage down; especially as I'm considered big in my race. But really all i want is it be fit and toned! I guess I just need some sort of concrete evidence which is why I look to scales. Pictures and inches don't seem to show

Sounds like you need to tone, not lose weight. That will likely make a HUGE difference for you, and probably rather quickly given your size. Good luck!

And I find it so sad that you're considered "big" in your race. My children are Korean so it's important I pay attention to these types of distinctions.

eriemer

Why are you so worried about gaining 2 lbs? There is a reason WW only weighs people once a week cuz your weight can fluctuate day to day, sometimes hour to hour. When I workout I've weighed myself before and after. Sometimes I gain up to 3 lbs after a single workout, sometimes I lose up to a lb. Why? Water.

I would be worried if a month went by and you were consistantly gaining 2 lbs a wk.