For the 500,000 time EATING MORE WORKS

angel79202

good job everyone

seniorfaye

bump

lind3400

I gained 4 lbs in 3 weeks I went up to 1400 cal and it didn't work, although my lifestyle is sedentary and my bmr is only 1290 cuz of height and weight that is wat I'm goin to stick with.

I'm not saying this works for everyone
and it won't
but I see a lot of "I lost 20lbs than nothing threads"
and for a lot fo people in that situation which is the same as mine increasing calories worked so thats what I tried
this isn't for everyone for sure

legnarevocrednu

I never understood why people say they feel like they are starving on 1200 calories. I feel completely satisfied, eat every 2 hours, and always stay within my calorie range. PLUS, I've lost 68 pounds doing this for 5 months. I guess this just goes to show you that really everyone is different!

lind3400

I never understood why people say they feel like they are starving on 1200 calories. I feel completely satisfied, eat every 2 hours, and always stay within my calorie range. PLUS, I've lost 68 pounds doing this for 5 months. I guess this just goes to show you that really everyone is different!

Everyone is different for sure!
For you feeling full at 1200 cals means you can maintain that for the rest of your life
for me it would mean being hungry and miserable for the rest fo mine lol

simplebeauty

For those that are "doubting" the eating process...it's not HOW much you eat.....it's WHAT you eat to reach those calorie goals!!

It means add another cup or two of veggies, or increase your protein by 100 cals....NOT by adding MORE of a different item to what you are already eating.

Think of your body as a car with a gas tank....as you are "driving" your metabolism gauge goes to "low gas" and needs to be refueled every 2 to 3 hrs (any longer then that will trigger poor food choices because your blood sugar levels will be off whack) ...good snack choices are low fat cheese slice with apple slices, almonds(12 to 15) and an orange, or the best are pistachios because you can have close to 50 of them I think., yogurt with real fruit (not the yogurt with the fruit in it...they tend to have additional sugar), veggies and a low cal dressing, sweet potato....the list goes on...

If your car ran out of gas, you wouldn't choose the first liquid you see to put in it and expect it to run properly would you? No...you head to the gas station because you know it's what makes it run properly....the same needs to go for our bodies

Schedule your eating times so that they aren't when you are hungry...I have found that in doing that it prevents me from making poor eating choices...plus I keep my snacks handy..apples and oranges are out on the counter in pretty bowls....my almonds are pre-measured so I don't take too much...
I obviously can go on and on...it just drives me bonkers when I read on here that people can't hit the 1200 cal....I would love to see your food menus then!! I bet they have pizza slices, chips and crackers on them....how about putting fish, salad, yogurt, almonds, fruit...on it instead...REAL FOOD HAS REAL CALORIES.

RachelSRoach1

I have also noticed that those who lose all of their weight on 1200 typically have a lot of trouble adjusting to maintenance calories and not gaining weight back. Just a general observation.

The slower you lose the weight, the longer you keep it off.

ironanimal

how do I calculate the amount of calories I need having TDEE and BMR?

www.fat2fitradio.com/tools - use the Military Bodyfat and then the BMR/Cal Calculators

Congratulations OP

thanks!!!

I did this and it says some crazy number like 2000 cals for me, I would gain weight for sure on that many cals!

Further down the page is what you should eat according to your activity level - if you think your 2000 is high, when I'm working out as I did to start with; 6 days a week, 2 or 3 times a day, I need in excess of 4000! Yes, most of the people here to lose weight are here because they ate too many calories, but the older you are the more time you've had to put on that weight slowly with a small surplus. For people like me, it was a case of eating the WRONG foods, not too much food - a lot of my light 'snacks' were very high calorie and I didn't realise it.

I never understood why people say they feel like they are starving on 1200 calories. I feel completely satisfied, eat every 2 hours, and always stay within my calorie range. PLUS, I've lost 68 pounds doing this for 5 months. I guess this just goes to show you that really everyone is different!

At your age, that is very low unless you are <5' and sedentary, as far as I can tell. Not feeling hunger AT ALL is a symptom of a suppressed metabolism.

cherbapp

Ok I just don't buy it....everyone in this thread who had 'success' with upping their calories has less than a few pounds or weeks worth of proof. No long-term people (on this particular thread) are saying it worked for them...long term as in 20 pounds or over a few months. I have tried it...got stuck after losing 40 pounds on 1200 calls a day for 4 months...so tried 1450 for 2 whole months...lost 3 pounds in three days and not a half pound a month since then. I am actually back on here looking for motivation to kick back to the 1200 calls which worked for me....until a huge plateau. Which now I am wishing I had just worked through at the 1200. Ugh

So nope...doesn't work for everyone...give it time...it may work for way less people than you think.

cherbapp

I never understood why people say they feel like they are starving on 1200 calories. I feel completely satisfied, eat every 2 hours, and always stay within my calorie range. PLUS, I've lost 68 pounds doing this for 5 months. I guess this just goes to show you that really everyone is different!

I agree...

It's the kinds of foods they eat....seriously on the days I am good and stick to veggies and fruits, I am too full to finish my 1200...on a day where I eat French fries or something sugary...I'm starving all day. Lol

Just4Janet

You are so right. I was a personal trainer and can remember telling a very obviously overweight client that he needed to eat more. I remember thinking to myself during our interview, as he was describing his current fitness efforts, "I can't believe I'm about to tell this obese man that he needs to eat more and more often." But, I did. He was scarcely eating anything and had just joined our gym, doing tons of cardio. I explained that when we are used to eating a lot throughout the day and then suddenly increase our activity level while cutting off our body's fuel supply, our body sees this as an emergency. The body naturally will hold on to fat for fuel reserve. What happens is muscle loss, not fat loss and that's not the result we're looking for in our efforts. I just recently bumped up my own caloric intake to 1500, also because I was nutritionally unsatisfied and felt run-down yesterday.

saxnviolin

It worked for me! I increased my mfp suggestion of 1200 calories to 1400 and I've been losing steadily.
At 1200 calories, I lost about 4 lbs in a month. Now, I see a steady loss every week.
It's hard to eat more because we were always told to eat less in order to lose weight but
if you are exercising, it definitely works. Thanks for the post.

RachelSRoach1

Ok I just don't buy it....everyone in this thread who had 'success' with upping their calories has less than a few pounds or weeks worth of proof. No long-term people (on this particular thread) are saying it worked for them...long term as in 20 pounds or over a few months. I have tried it...got stuck after losing 40 pounds on 1200 calls a day for 4 months...so tried 1450 for 2 whole months...lost 3 pounds in three days and not a half pound a month since then. I am actually back on here looking for motivation to kick back to the 1200 calls which worked for me....until a huge plateau. Which now I am wishing I had just worked through at the 1200. Ugh

So nope...doesn't work for everyone...give it time...it may work for way less people than you think.

You were looking for people who had done this successfully long term and I found it for you!! http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/531086-before-and-after-pics-no-starvation?error_user_id=9613082&error_username=RachelSRoach1

marsellient

I have no idea about all the acronyms, I keep it really simple. I try my very best to always NET at least 1200 calories. Some days that means I eat 1400 cals and others 1600 or more, but my net is always at least 1200. It works for me, and at just over 5 weeks, I'm still a newbie. Maybe down the road I will need to know those acronyms and how to calculate them, but for now the KISS method is working.

I've been thinking the exact same thing. Anyone else?

ladyraven68

I have no idea about all the acronyms, I keep it really simple. I try my very best to always NET at least 1200 calories. Some days that means I eat 1400 cals and others 1600 or more, but my net is always at least 1200. It works for me, and at just over 5 weeks, I'm still a newbie. Maybe down the road I will need to know those acronyms and how to calculate them, but for now the KISS method is working.

I've been thinking the exact same thing. Anyone else?

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

grinch031

I never understood why people say they feel like they are starving on 1200 calories. I feel completely satisfied, eat every 2 hours, and always stay within my calorie range. PLUS, I've lost 68 pounds doing this for 5 months. I guess this just goes to show you that really everyone is different!

If you can feel satisfied on so few calories, why do you think you had so much weight to lose in the first place? Surely you had to have been eating way more than 1200 calories when you were gaining weight.

StephL0711

next week my goal will be to actually NET 1200, i am always 100-150 calories. i also did not lose any weight this week so i will eat a little more to total the 1200 and see if that works...fingers crossed

LottieLou13

For the past 4 weeks I was on 1200 calories a day. Last Sunday I upped them to 1400 a day after seeing all the threads about it. I actually can't wait for my weigh in tmorw morning.

For the last week I haven't been hungry once. I have eaten better and more healthy than I ever have my entire life. Even if I 'only' lose 0.5lb I will be happy. Any lose is a lose in my eyes and I defiantly go by the saying of slow and steady wins the race.

1200 calories, hungry, irritable, not happy and not easy long term (for me) or 1400 calories, no longer hungry, much happier, more energy and doable for the rest of my life....I know which one I would rather chose.

Just a quick thing though, I don't think I'm still eating enough? My BMR is 1658 and my TDEE 1989. Over the next couple of weeks do I need to increase until I'm between those two numbers?

Lozze

Ok I just don't buy it....everyone in this thread who had 'success' with upping their calories has less than a few pounds or weeks worth of proof. No long-term people (on this particular thread) are saying it worked for them...long term as in 20 pounds or over a few months. I have tried it...got stuck after losing 40 pounds on 1200 calls a day for 4 months...so tried 1450 for 2 whole months...lost 3 pounds in three days and not a half pound a month since then. I am actually back on here looking for motivation to kick back to the 1200 calls which worked for me....until a huge plateau. Which now I am wishing I had just worked through at the 1200. Ugh

Nine months and 75 pounds lost. I had two weeks eating at 1490 about three months in (and was a miserable cow) The rest of the time has been eating at 1600 calories.

You're welcome.

I honestly don't argue with it. If people ask for opinions I give it. If people give wrong info I'll say something. But ultimately it's their life and their the one who is going to have the issues with it, not me. I'll continue being my awesome self eating a lot of food, lifting very heavy things and losing the weight.

ladyraven68

For the past 4 weeks I was on 1200 calories a day. Last Sunday I upped them to 1400 a day after seeing all the threads about it. I actually can't wait for my weigh in tmorw morning.

For the last week I haven't been hungry once. I have eaten better and more healthy than I ever have my entire life. Even if I 'only' lose 0.5lb I will be happy. Any lose is a lose in my eyes and I defiantly go by the saying of slow and steady wins the race.

1200 calories, hungry, irritable, not happy and not easy long term (for me) or 1400 calories, no longer hungry, much happier, more energy and doable for the rest of my life....I know which one I would rather chose.

Just a quick thing though, I don't think I'm still eating enough? My BMR is 1658 and my TDEE 1989. Over the next couple of weeks do I need to increase until I'm between those two numbers?

Don't be discouraged if you get a gain initially - depending on how long you have been eating at 1200 it may take a while for your body to realise that this isn't just a blip and that you are going to be fuelling it with more food.

You may experience an initial water gain as your glycogen stores are replenished, but it will come off as long as you are eating under the TDEE.

When I first increased from 1200 to 1600 I planned to stay off the scales for a month to give i time to work, but I couldn't resist checking, and that first week I lost 2.5 lb. That was 6 weeks ago and I haven't looked back since.

I would also recommend taking your measurements and checking your body fat % so you can check progress.

Good luck.

kristi_asco

i just upped my calories after reading a similar thread for yesterday, and i woke up this morning and already lost a pound! i definitely believe it works, and it's much easier to eat more and feel workout when you aren't so tired from not eating enough!

runlaugheatpie

that's funny I just lost weight two weeks in a row (which I still don't consider "success" since I"m almost 2.5 YEARS at a standstill) eating less calories. Not less food, mind you, but less calories.

chelsealjames

Ok maybe you guys can help me...

I just increased my cals from 1200 to 1450 3 weeks ago. (I only have 10 lbs to lose I have noticed a small difference! But not a whole lot. I have a hectic schedule due to 12 hr nursing clinicals and 12 hr work shifts, so I only am able to work out 3-4 days a week for 30 minutes, and I do mostly strength training. Do yall think I should keep it here for a couple more weeks or do another increase?

ladyraven68

Ok maybe you guys can help me...

I just increased my cals from 1200 to 1450 3 weeks ago. (I only have 10 lbs to lose I have noticed a small difference! But not a whole lot. I have a hectic schedule due to 12 hr nursing clinicals and 12 hr work shifts, so I only am able to work out 3-4 days a week for 30 minutes, and I do mostly strength training. Do yall think I should keep it here for a couple more weeks or do another increase?

What is your BMR and TDEE?

http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/

chelsealjames

BMR is 1373 and I'm not sure what TDEE is? 1574?

klmnumbers

A LOT of people, including myself, are scared ****less of the thought of eating more but there are too many sucess stories out there claiming it works, so after a long struggle of my own, I have decided to give it a try, and if it works for me, I shall be shouting it from the rooftops!!!

Well done on your sucess!

Yup, this is how I am. When I exercise, I do eat back my cals, but just enough to get me over 1200. I think that I'm probably still restricting too much, but some days it's hard for me to find things to eat that aren't a waste of calories to get my numbers up. It's such a mind game.

ladyraven68

BMR is 1373 and I'm not sure what TDEE is? 1574?

your TDEE would be much higher than that as you are an active person, not sedentary. ( I am assuming that you are on your feet all day at work as a nurse)

1373 x 1.55 = 2128.

deduct 20% for fat loss gives you 1702.
or the flat calorie deduction of 500 calories for a lb = 2128 - 500 = 1628

Did you enter yourself as sedentary or active on MFP?

thecazstewart

So just to absolutely clarify...if I'm increasing my cals from 1290 to 1400 - I should be eating all my exercise calories back to achieve 1400 NET. This is correct yes?

My BMR is 1429 and my TDEE is 2,386. I exercise 5 times a week. I'm 5'6" and age 53

Would appreciate someone clarifying this for me. Thanks.

Breezedew

it's science and everyone is different.... I'd rather eat enough food to have my organs function the right way then deprive them because it sounds better if i eat 1000 calories... but thats common sense....

chelsealjames

BMR is 1373 and I'm not sure what TDEE is? 1574?

your TDEE would be much higher than that as you are an active person, not sedentary. ( I am assuming that you are on your feet all day at work as a nurse)

1373 x 1.55 = 2128.

deduct 20% for fat loss gives you 1702.
or the flat calorie deduction of 500 calories for a lb = 2128 - 500 = 1628

Did you enter yourself as sedentary or active on MFP?

I did lightly active, but I'm sure I need to adjust it. So, I should be eating 1700 plus my exercise calories?