I need to eat more to loose weight?

ebony__

mfp recommends I eat 1200 calories a day,
i only started 3 weeks ago and i thought i just had tp stay under this number. but not getting any results and the general consensis seems to be that i need to stick at 1200 and not go under since ive been falling short of this regulary.....
So thats cool and ill make sure with thats,
I guess this isnt really a question, its just such a weird idea to get through my head that i actually need to eat more to drop the kgs... just sound so weird right....

reassurance?

Airbear3

i started at 1200 too...it wasn't enough! i now eat 1650 cuz that's my BMR! and i try to net that after exercise calories. do some research on here from the seaarch box eating more to weigh less and see what you think. if you think eating 1200 is weird your really be suprised to find that alot of people are eating twice that and losing without stalling out!

peacefulsong

it is a strange idea to get accustomed to but after months of bouncing around the same 5 or 6 pounds while netting 1300-1400 a day, I started trying to net between 1600 - 1800 a day and have dropped for two weeks in a row for the first time in months. And also dropped below that 5-6 pound range I couldn't escape. It's kind of scary to do it because we're so conditioned to think that less and less and less is what we need to do. I weigh in tomorrow and even though I've had results for two weeks in a row I'm still convinced I'll have gained 5 pounds. :laugh: It takes time getting used to the idea, but it's working for me so far.

morganadk2_deleted

For most people that are on 1200 cals, it is not the best intake for them, most chose a weekly weight loss goal that is too aggressive. Here is a guide for setting weekly deficits, and on top of this when you workout you should eat those calories back. So if you are on 1200 cals and burn 300, you should eat 1500 for the day.

If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal,
If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal,
If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal,
If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal, and
If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal.

ericgAU

Yep youre spot on. Before I lost all my weight, I wouldnt eat practically all day then when I got home after work I was ravenous. This coupled with eating portions that were out of control and well obesity was no surprise.

After I started to eat properly as well much cleaner foods, the weight dropped.

Your on the right track. Keep it up & good luck.

Airbear3

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/512956-tdee-what-is-it-and-why-you-should-not-eat-below-your-bmr?

ChristineS_51

Amazing concept to get our heads around, but yes you need to eat enough to maintain your bodily functions and have a small deficit which will lead you to lose weight. If you don't eat enough your metabolism will cool down (so to speak) and you won't lose.

If you go to the topics page and search "eat calories" or something similar, you will see there are loads of threads about this - we all feel the same - eat as little as possible and lose weight - right? NO NO NO

Actually I have a copy of a good thread / article, if I can find it I will come back and add it. ETA I couldn't find it but I see someone has mentioned the "stickies" so it might be there.

Good luck with the weight loss :-)

Dragonwolf

The stickies in the "General Diet and Weight Loss Help" forum have a lot of articles about this that show that yes, you do need to eat more to lose weight, especially if you're not even, or just barely, breaking 1000 calories. They also explain why this is the case.

Basically, by not eating enough, you're sending the signal to your body that food is scarce, and when food is scarce, it might be a while before you get adequate food, so in an attempt to make sure you stay alive for your next meal, it works to hold on to any extra weight you have. You have to send it the signal that there's plenty of food to be had, so your fat stores aren't needed.

If you're having trouble hitting your calories because you're not hungry, then try adding in things like protein shakes, healthy smoothies, or nuts/nut butters. They're pretty calorie-dense, so they get you the calories you need, without filling you up to the point of making you sick (ie - a tablespoon or two of a nut butter vs a 3-quart bowl full of salad greens to get 200 calories).

ebony__

thanks yeah i keep hearing this and have been reading about it. its just a bit scary haha

lsapphire

If you don't take in enough calories you body goes into a type of hybernation mode and stores them thinking it is going to starve. I went on an 1800 ADA based and actually do an average of about 1500-1600 and have been losing between a 1/2 lb and a lb a week minimum.

pgrant0328

For most people that are on 1200 cals, it is not the best intake for them, most chose a weekly weight loss goal that is too aggressive. Here is a guide for setting weekly deficits, and on top of this when you workout you should eat those calories back. So if you are on 1200 cals and burn 300, you should eat 1500 for the day.

If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal,
If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal,
If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal,
If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal, and
If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal.

Please explain why after a workout you should eat back those calories. I don't understand.

Iceylyons

LOL! I was asking my husband this last night. It is truly a foreign concept...I have to EAT MORE to LOSE? I am having serious trouble eating all of my calories and I average 2100 exercise calories a week (going three times for about 2.5 hours). I had to work really, really hard to stop eating so much and I also know that it's in the portion size and what you eat. I ate ALL day yesterday...I literally couldn't eat any more! I tried for salads and pretzels. My sugars and sodium were really up yesterday (I did drink at least 9 glasses of water though) and I couldn't find anything to eat that wouldn't add to the sugar or sodium!

It's really confusing and I guess I'm going to try to eat all day long (just small portions) and see how it goes. Good thing with this is that you can try new things each week until you figure out what your body responds to. No time wasted either, because you are still moving and working out.

I am trying to find healthy alternatives so I'm literally eating all day long. Should I eat something a bit more fattening to try to achieve eating all of my calories? I always thought that you had to burn MORE than you took in to lose weight. I'm still new to all of this, it's like my 19th time trying, but this time I feel different. I feel more dedicated, I am educating myself more.

ebony__

cool im going to try and sick to as close to 1200 as i can get for the next 2 weeks and see how it goes rather than falling short every day. will review after 2 weeks was feeling a bit down today but i feel positive again now which is what i needed so thanks guys

jj3120

LOL! I was asking my husband this last night. It is truly a foreign concept...I have to EAT MORE to LOSE? I am having serious trouble eating all of my calories and I average 2100 exercise calories a week (going three times for about 2.5 hours). I had to work really, really hard to stop eating so much and I also know that it's in the portion size and what you eat. I ate ALL day yesterday...I literally couldn't eat any more! I tried for salads and pretzels. My sugars and sodium were really up yesterday (I did drink at least 9 glasses of water though) and I couldn't find anything to eat that wouldn't add to the sugar or sodium!

It's really confusing and I guess I'm going to try to eat all day long (just small portions) and see how it goes. Good thing with this is that you can try new things each week until you figure out what your body responds to. No time wasted either, because you are still moving and working out.

I am trying to find healthy alternatives so I'm literally eating all day long. Should I eat something a bit more fattening to try to achieve eating all of my calories? I always thought that you had to burn MORE than you took in to lose weight. I'm still new to all of this, it's like my 19th time trying, but this time I feel different. I feel more dedicated, I am educating myself more.

It's hard to get your head round at first isn't it!

Good fats are good! try nuts, seeds, avacado, eggs - all the things you've prob been trying to avoid! : )

It did feel like I was eating all day long to begin with, 3 weeks in it's settled down a bit - now I try to have larger portions at each meal and make sure I have snacks in between. also an extra smoothie/meal on work out days.

Hope that helps a bit!

BackwoodsMom

If you eat about 100-200 calories above your BMR you will have enough calories for your body not to starve and you will lose weight. So, go to the tools section, calculate your BMR (it changes as you lose so check back every so often), and then aim for a little above that for your daily intake. It will work and you will be healthier for it.

Look for good fats that are in nuts and seeds if you want/need more calories.

ladyraven68

For most people that are on 1200 cals, it is not the best intake for them, most chose a weekly weight loss goal that is too aggressive. Here is a guide for setting weekly deficits, and on top of this when you workout you should eat those calories back. So if you are on 1200 cals and burn 300, you should eat 1500 for the day.

If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal,
If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal,
If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal,
If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal, and
If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal.

Please explain why after a workout you should eat back those calories. I don't understand.

you eat back the calories to maintain the deficit you chose to lose weight.

if you chose a deficit of 500, and you burned 500, your deficit will not be 1000, so to maintain your goal deficit you eat back the 500 to get back to your goal deficit.

It gets more important if you are on a larger deficit as a high calorie burn could put you under your nutritional needs.

Some people chose a 500 defict but get there by a combination of 250 food defict and 250 calorie burn it's all about understanding your deficts,

NewyearNewbeginning

well eating more and burning some of it like for example eating 1500 in one day and burning 500 calories at the gym + Say 100 more calories if you walk around school , work , university , shopping that's 600 that would be perfect as you burn alot of calories and your metabolism speeds up like magic but eating 1000 calories or lower calories and that kind of stuff i believe would really slows your metabolism plus gain it by time .. that's why diets like ABC or Skinny girl diet are UNSUCCESSFUL ! and leads to depression
good luck girly
xo

ladyraven68

mfp recommends I eat 1200 calories a day,
i only started 3 weeks ago and i thought i just had tp stay under this number. but not getting any results and the general consensis seems to be that i need to stick at 1200 and not go under since ive been falling short of this regulary.....
So thats cool and ill make sure with thats,
I guess this isnt really a question, its just such a weird idea to get through my head that i actually need to eat more to drop the kgs... just sound so weird right....

reassurance?

MFP is only set at 1200 because of the choices you made when setting your goals - 1200 is the minimum it can set for anyone and often is as a result of people setting too aggresive a weight loss goal.

Have you checked your BMR and TDEE?

AutumnBreeze07

Bumping...


:drinker:

Iceylyons

LOL! I was asking my husband this last night. It is truly a foreign concept...I have to EAT MORE to LOSE? I am having serious trouble eating all of my calories and I average 2100 exercise calories a week (going three times for about 2.5 hours). I had to work really, really hard to stop eating so much and I also know that it's in the portion size and what you eat. I ate ALL day yesterday...I literally couldn't eat any more! I tried for salads and pretzels. My sugars and sodium were really up yesterday (I did drink at least 9 glasses of water though) and I couldn't find anything to eat that wouldn't add to the sugar or sodium!

It's really confusing and I guess I'm going to try to eat all day long (just small portions) and see how it goes. Good thing with this is that you can try new things each week until you figure out what your body responds to. No time wasted either, because you are still moving and working out.

I am trying to find healthy alternatives so I'm literally eating all day long. Should I eat something a bit more fattening to try to achieve eating all of my calories? I always thought that you had to burn MORE than you took in to lose weight. I'm still new to all of this, it's like my 19th time trying, but this time I feel different. I feel more dedicated, I am educating myself more.

It's hard to get your head round at first isn't it!

Good fats are good! try nuts, seeds, avacado, eggs - all the things you've prob been trying to avoid! : )

It did feel like I was eating all day long to begin with, 3 weeks in it's settled down a bit - now I try to have larger portions at each meal and make sure I have snacks in between. also an extra smoothie/meal on work out days.

Hope that helps a bit!

Thank you so much! It does help. The other night, hubby offered to pick up pizza for dinner. I told him please not to, as I am just starting back out and didn't want the temptation around me. I actually let him CONVINCE me that our Supreme Pizza was HEALTHY because of all the veggies on it. :grumble: I love pizza but don't usually eat much of it. I ate one slice, which was fine. Then, since I was reading and not paying attention, I grabbed and devoured a second slice. :noway: Needless to say, I felt like crap! Not only eating that second slice but it was so greasy, I actually felt sick from it. So, there was a silver lining to it and I learned the hard way, lol.

I'm glad you said, "GOOD FATS"....should be a DUH, but I needed to hear that specific term, thank you! Good fats, good fats, good fats....that's gonna be my new motto

AReasor

I am 5ft 1 and the best thing I did was up my daily calories to 1400 a day. I have lost over 15lbs and avg. 3 inches from my torso. I know soon I may need to up my calories again, but it is scary at first.

AReasor

Also, to those starting out, it is really confusing at first. So many opinions and ways go about your weight loss. Keep at it! You will figure out soon enough what calories your body needs, eating back exercise calories, etc. You will find what works for you like we all did, trial and error.

mzhokie

For me, I tend to lose more if I at least maintain a 1200 net calories a day. I listen to my body too. If I'm hungry I try to eat them all back. If I'm not really hungry, seem to have eaten enough.... I will work on 1200 net. So some days I might be having a deficit of only 500 calories and some days it might be 600-700 calories because I didn't eat every single exercise calorie back. Still I'm losing more weight since I started paying attention to the net calories.

I read that if you go below 1000 net calories even just one day during the week, your body will go in starvation mode and lower your metabolism. It might explain the 3 weeks I had where the scale didn't move. I upped my exercise during that time because the scales weren't moving. I cut calories because the scales weren't moving. Then I did more reading.

But remember some of the estimates for exercise on MFP are a bit over estimated. I have a pedometer (Fitbit) and I get on a treadmill..... both my pedometer and the treadmill say I burn less calories than what MFP says. I wish I was burning as many calories as MFP claims for a 30-40 min workout. Plus the Fitbit sight has updated to also help you with daily calorie limits too. I like the combo of Fitbit and MFP..... (I found MFP because of Fitbit, their food data base are horrible)

ebony__

For me, I tend to lose more if I at least maintain a 1200 net calories a day. I listen to my body too. If I'm hungry I try to eat them all back. If I'm not really hungry, seem to have eaten enough.... I will work on 1200 net. So some days I might be having a deficit of only 500 calories and some days it might be 600-700 calories because I didn't eat every single exercise calorie back. Still I'm losing more weight since I started paying attention to the net calories.

I read that if you go below 1000 net calories even just one day during the week, your body will go in starvation mode and lower your metabolism. It might explain the 3 weeks I had where the scale didn't move. I upped my exercise during that time because the scales weren't moving. I cut calories because the scales weren't moving. Then I did more reading.

But remember some of the estimates for exercise on MFP are a bit over estimated. I have a pedometer (Fitbit) and I get on a treadmill..... both my pedometer and the treadmill say I burn less calories than what MFP says. I wish I was burning as many
calories as MFP claims for a 30-40 min workout. Plus the Fitbit sight has updated to also help you with daily calorie limits too. I like the combo of Fitbit and MFP..... (I found MFP because of Fitbit, their food data base are horrible)

Wow ok cool. I've very rarely been getting up to 1000 net so that's going to have to change.
Yeah I think I really need to get a hrm. There's an inbuilt one on my exercise bike and the calories burnt are a lot less than what mfp says so I'm usually over cautious but maybe I'm being a bit over cautious. Going to monitor the next 2 weeks keeping my cals a bit higher and more consistent.

Thanks everyone for the suppOrt

pullipgirl

I use this calculator http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/calorie-calculator.html

Then subtract about 20% of the total and that's how many calories I eat

jamiesadler

I started at the 1200 MFP recommends and ended up increasing to 1750. i am feeling a losing much better now.

Wilson336

Think of it this way. You will still lose weight if you eat less than 1200 calories a day, but since you are not taking in enough calories, your body will begin breaking down your muscles and devoting more of of your "energy" to just surviving. So you will end up tired, feeling weaker, and overall not as healthy in the long run. It is much safer to keep the calories up over 1200 and work in more exercise to help you lose weight and tone muscles.

taso42

reassurance?

Want reassurance?

Seek out all the highly successful and fit people who we're lucky enough to have as members of this website, and look how they eat.

In contrast, check out the physiques of people who chronically undereat, and look at the sorts of posts they make, e.g., "help, i'm stuck, can't loose weight", etc.....

skipcody

Sounds weird but the idea is that your body goes into starvation mode and holds onto the weight. Think of it this way your Metabolism needs to be working to burn calories but to keep it working you need to feed it. If you have ever watched the Biggest Loser you will find that many try to eat less but those are the ones that continue to lose fewer pounds. The coaches continually remind their team that they need to eat to lose. Keep on Keeping on you can do it.

ebony__

I get the gist of how the metabolism works and nutrition even had to do a few classes of it in my Anatomy & Physiology unit, ... its just that it was never dealt with In calories so the part thats difficult to get my head around (even when you know the facts) is that I feel like im eating healthy suffieciant nutritous meals that fill me up... but i still need to eat more, so i feel like im eating a really healthy amount (even checked with a gp), but > im here because i want results and am happy to play around with the numbers until i find the right balance for me, and what I have been doing evidently was not right for me Thanks again everyone.

chestnutbrown

bump