Eat more, lose weight YES!

lambertj
lambertj Posts: 675 Member
It really is hard to wrap your brain around the whole theory of eating more to lose weight. I still can't believe it but it works. I spent about 2 months at 1200 calories a day, as my healthy eating increased so did my exercise. I lost some weight but the same three pounds just kept coming back. It was crazy making to say the least. About a month ago I went on vacation, I exercised and ate pretty good but went over calories by about 200 a day (eating 1400), imagine my surprise when I got home, jumped on the scale and had actually lost the 3 crazy pounds plus one more. I decided then and there to eat at 1400 a day and the weight started to move (slowly but it was coming off). A week ago I went to fat2fit and used their BMR calculator and was finally comfortable putting my increased exercise in, which said I should eat even more, so upped my calories to 1500 a day. I had been warned that the first week at the increased calories could show some weight gain so imagine my surprise when I had actually lost again. I am finally at my pre-wedding weight from 2 years ago (getting married made me fat and happy :) Eat more, lose weight, wow!

Replies

  • sunshine45356
    sunshine45356 Posts: 78 Member
    going thru the same thing now and yes it is maddening! Not to mention very difficult to let myself eat more. but we will see. I hope it works. I have been at the same weight for a month! grrrrr:mad:
  • Maggie821
    Maggie821 Posts: 55 Member
    I struggle with this but fight the same battle with the weight either staying the same or actually going up a bit. I need to just say "the heck with it" and try the increase!
  • Birder150
    Birder150 Posts: 677 Member
    It's unbelievable, isn't it?
    I raised my calorie level to 2100 as per fat2fitradio and last week lost 2.2 lb and this week it looks like 3.6 lb!!!
    That's with eating over 3000 calories on 3 days, too.
    Who knew?

    I'll never go back to 'dieting'.
    I can do this for life.
  • I did try and stay at 1200 calories and let me say I was hungry all the time so I upped it between 1350-1500 calories and the weight has slowly started to come off...But I have that 3 rude lbs that like to show up out of no where,,,but that might be a result of what I ate the night before :wink:
  • Fat 2 Fit Radio

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    Custom BMR Calculation

    Thanks for checking your BMR here on Fat 2 Fit Radio. If you're not already subscribed to Fat 2 Fit Radio, consider doing so today. Please visit the Subscribe page to get the podcast delivered automatically to your iTunes, Juice, e-mail inbox or the podcatcher of your choice for FREE.

    Entered information: 28 year old female, 62 inches tall, weighing 203.6 pounds.

    From the information that you entered, you'd like to weigh 150 lbs.

    Harris-Benedict Formula

    There are a few different methods to calculating yourbasal metabolic rate (BMR). One of the most popular, developed in the early 1900's is called the Harris-Benedict formula. Based on this formula, your current BMR is 1700 calories.

    How Many Calories Should I Eat?

    Based on your goal weight, the following chart was generated. The chart shows the number of calories that you should eat on a daily basis to reach your goal weight. At Fat 2 Fit Radio we advocate eating like the thin, healthy person that you want to become. The calorie levels you see in the chart are not extreme, but they do create that all important caloric deficit that is required to get you to your goal weight in a safe manner. Once you reach your goal weight, you will continue eating the same number of calories for the rest of your life to maintain that weight. You'll never be on a diet again.

    Based on how much activity you do on an average day, the calories in the right column will be the number of calories that you will be able to eat at your goal weight. If you start eating those calories right now (eating like the thinner you), you will eventually become that thinner person. As you get closer to your goal weight, your weight loss will start to slow down. It is OK to eat a few hundred calories less per day (200-300) to speed up your weight loss at this point.
    Activity Level Daily Calories
    Sedentary (little or no exercise, desk job) 1760
    Lightly Active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk) 2017
    Moderately Active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk) 2274
    Very Active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk) 2531
    Extremely Active (hard daily exercise/sports & physical job or 2X day training, i.e marathon, contest etc.) 2787

    NOTE: Please remember that this calculation is just a guideline. Your metabolism may be higher or lower based on the amount of lean muscle you have. Use these numbers a a starting point and tweak them up or down based on your weight loss or gain. It may take a couple weeks to get your exact calorie level.

    If you have any questions on what you've read here, please contact us.

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  • It looks like I need to eat more.......
  • cdez80421
    cdez80421 Posts: 88 Member
    bump
  • lambertj
    lambertj Posts: 675 Member
    It looks like I need to eat more.......

    Yes you do. I think the 1200 is a good start for people to get used to making the best food choices but it's not healthy long term. For me it helped me to tweak my foods to get the most "bang for my buck" so to speak. I learned to cut out unnecessary and empty calories so I had enough food daily to keep me from being hungry and now in slowly adding back calories i'm still eating healthy just increasing portions a bit. For instance, I used to have 3 oz of chicken for dinner and am now having 5 oz, still eating healthy foods just more of them. Another thing that has helped me immensely was something I read on here awhlle back. Increased my protein to even it out with my carbs (lowered carbs to about 100 a day) and increased my healthy fats so i'm running around 40% protein, 30% carbs and 30% fat
  • LiveforChange
    LiveforChange Posts: 115 Member
    bump
  • Mizzy91
    Mizzy91 Posts: 63
    bump...love this x
  • MelanieAG05
    MelanieAG05 Posts: 359 Member
    bump - great to see some results from this!!
  • Spokez70
    Spokez70 Posts: 548 Member
    Awesome story- a vacation last March was also the trigger for me to start eating more and I have lost 19 lbs since then eating a lot more food and actually having the energy to exercise like I want to.
  • lambertj
    lambertj Posts: 675 Member
    Wow, I wrote this post in March and since then I have upped my calories even more and finally reached the original weight goal that I set in Oct 2011 of 125 - it really does work. When i initially upped them to 1700 I gained 2 lbs and it took 6 weeks to get them off plus an additional 2 so stay focused and keep going.
  • Shawn8216
    Shawn8216 Posts: 63 Member
    So if my BMR is bw 1302-1376 and because I work at a sedentary type job, I have 1594 calories on that end.

    If I wanna lose weight, I should try eating 1400 calories - right in bw 1303-1594 ??

    I upped my calories to 1365, but Im wondering if I should up them again ... Ive been hearing this works so I'm thinking of trying. It cant hurt !
  • lambertj
    lambertj Posts: 675 Member
    So if my BMR is bw 1302-1376 and because I work at a sedentary type job, I have 1594 calories on that end.

    If I wanna lose weight, I should try eating 1400 calories - right in bw 1303-1594 ??

    I upped my calories to 1365, but Im wondering if I should up them again ... Ive been hearing this works so I'm thinking of trying. It cant hurt !

    Do you exercise too?
  • warmachinejt
    warmachinejt Posts: 2,162 Member
    this is the problem with most people on this site. They are basically starving themselves and thinking that the less they eat is better for them. What they don't know is that the body is the best adaptable machine in the universe (probably).
  • dzinergrl18
    dzinergrl18 Posts: 105 Member
    need this for future!
  • Shawn8216
    Shawn8216 Posts: 63 Member
    So if my BMR is bw 1302-1376 and because I work at a sedentary type job, I have 1594 calories on that end.

    If I wanna lose weight, I should try eating 1400 calories - right in bw 1303-1594 ??

    I upped my calories to 1365, but Im wondering if I should up them again ... Ive been hearing this works so I'm thinking of trying. It cant hurt !

    Do you exercise too?

    Yeah, but not as hardcore as I used to ... I need a new regime at the gym and get my butt back into a regular workout schedule *
  • lambertj
    lambertj Posts: 675 Member
    Ok so i you set it at sedentary you will need to eat back some of your exercise calories back as well.
  • quellybelly
    quellybelly Posts: 827 Member
    I think I'm bringing up a super old thread haha but this is something I needed to read now. I've been consuming 1300 calories. Pretty sedentary lifestyle due to being a grad student (I spent most of my day sitting in front of a comp doing research). I have recently started the Insanity program though and according to the diet plan, I should be consuming at least another 300-400 calories! To me, that seems so crazy and it's a little overwhelming. This thread has been really motivating, letting me know that eating more is OKAY and it will help me lose the weight. It's gonna be a little scary adding it on but from what I've read so far on MFP on this topic, this seems to be the way to go!
  • JennKoz529
    JennKoz529 Posts: 144 Member
    So I have done nothing all day but research this EM2WL stuff. I am still very skeptical over all this because what I've found, in the past, is that the more I eat the more I gain....

    I amd 5'2 137 and holding steady for about a month now and it's starting to frustrate me. I have been doing the 30 day shred, have seen some inches come off, but the scale is just not moving at all!

    So I calculated my TDEE/BMR/TDEE -20% and here is what I came up with......

    TDEE - 1540
    TDEE - 20% - 1230
    BMR - 1283

    So after seeing this I'm basically stuck around a 1200 cal diet! Am I doing this right????
  • literatelier
    literatelier Posts: 209 Member
    So I have done nothing all day but research this EM2WL stuff. I am still very skeptical over all this because what I've found, in the past, is that the more I eat the more I gain....

    I amd 5'2 137 and holding steady for about a month now and it's starting to frustrate me. I have been doing the 30 day shred, have seen some inches come off, but the scale is just not moving at all!

    So I calculated my TDEE/BMR/TDEE -20% and here is what I came up with......

    TDEE - 1540
    TDEE - 20% - 1230
    BMR - 1283

    So after seeing this I'm basically stuck around a 1200 cal diet! Am I doing this right????

    Which online calculator did you use? I put your stats into a few different ones and I'm getting an average of about 1390 for BMR.
  • quellybelly
    quellybelly Posts: 827 Member
    Ohh if I could also get someone's advice, that would be fabulous! This is what I've calculated using http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/...

    BMR: 1397
    TDEE: 2166
    TDEE with 20% reduction: 1732

    I am about 5'3" and have been steady at 130 for the past month. I thought it might be because I had good and bad days that all evened out, but maybe my calorie intake is the problem for my plateau? I am currently eating 1300 and I just recently started Insanity, which I accounted for in the above calculation as "moderate exercise". According to this, should I be eating around 1700 calories to see a loss?
  • JennKoz529
    JennKoz529 Posts: 144 Member
    Scoobysworkshop.com is what I used. I was reading a few posts and saw this one.
  • JennKoz529
    JennKoz529 Posts: 144 Member


    I am about 5'3" and have been steady at 130 for the past month. I thought it might be because I had good and bad days that all evened out, but maybe my calorie intake is the problem for my plateau? I am currently eating 1300 and I just recently started Insanity, which I accounted for in the above calculation as "moderate exercise". According to this, should I be eating around 1700 calories to see a loss?

    This is exactly what I've been going through too! I am currently eating around 1200 (trying not to go under) and I've plateaued! I thought maybe exercising would boost it up as it has done in the past....but nothing!!!
  • jharb2
    jharb2 Posts: 208 Member
    The 1200 is net. So it sounds like you were eating 1200 and excercising and not eating your excercise calories. So perhaps thats why you didn't lose?
  • I just lose 6 pounds so far, I weigh 165lbs but im still fat
  • fromnebraska
    fromnebraska Posts: 153 Member
    Bump.

    Is this true? lol I'd love to eat more food!
  • can anyone help me out
  • hi jenn
    how u lose weight like that... what u eat.... what excerise u do to lose weight..... email me here?
    thx