Should I eat more or eat less???

Givemewings
Givemewings Posts: 864 Member
in Food and Nutrition
My question is this . I have lost 49lbs. I pronbably have around another 14 to lose. I seem to be in a plateau situation and have been since late November. I tried upping my cals from 1200 to 1470. Nothing happened. My exercise dropped off a bit so I am trying to exercise more regularly now. I always eat at least half of my exercise cals back.
Should I put my cals back down to 1200 , or should I eat even more calories in the hope that my body will get a shock and then drop some weight??
What is your experience?

Replies

  • Pidders89
    Pidders89 Posts: 1,169 Member
    i have started eating a lot higher calories and feel so much better for it. Last week i finally broke my plateau and lost 2lbs too!! xxx
  • omma_to_3
    omma_to_3 Posts: 3,265 Member
    Well, I would say keep your calories at 1470 and eat back ALL of your exercise calories, if you're confident on the burn you're getting. If you're not, get an HRM to see if it's correct. Exercise makes a huge difference too, but you do need to eat those calories.

    And, to me, it says a lot that you upped your calories and didn't gain weight. So you're not eating too much! I just upped my calories last week by 100. I'm still below my BMR. But today was my official weigh in day and I was down 2.5 lbs! Shocked, to say the least LOL. I was losing before, but .5 to 1 per week. It was nice to have a good loss AND eat more!
  • Givemewings
    Givemewings Posts: 864 Member
    Thanks for your advice. I have an HRM so I know my burns are right. But I've been eating less cals for so long that it seems incredibly scary to eat any more than I am now!!! Anyone else any other experience? I would like a few more opinions so I can make my decision what to do!!
  • omma_to_3
    omma_to_3 Posts: 3,265 Member
    What is your BMR? Just curious how close you are to it.
  • Givemewings
    Givemewings Posts: 864 Member
    My BMR is 1576 cals.
  • Givemewings
    Givemewings Posts: 864 Member
    So am I right in thinking that in order to work out cals required for a sedentary lifestyle you multiply this by 1.2? This would take my cals to 1891. What to do?
  • yoovie
    yoovie Posts: 17,121 Member
    I also have about 14 pounds left to lose. I was dying on a plateau until I realised that it wasn't weightloss I should be concentrating on any longer- caloric count either. I needed to switch my focus to my body's composition... my body fat % etc.

    Instead of worrying about more or less calories, i started trying to eat cleaner and cleaner and burning better doing strength training, weights andcircuit training- ST AS CARDIO.

    Lowering my body fat % may mean i havent lost more weight, but my body looks completely different than it did a year ago at the same weight.

    2010 172 lbs - size 12, 34 inch waist, 40 inch boobies and a 45 inch booty
    2012 172 lbs - size 8, 28 inch waist, 36 inch boobies an a 38 inch booty

    if losing weight wont happen, shift your focus elsewhere for a minute. Instead of worrying more about calories up or down, switch up what those calories are made of?

    my 4 cents! good luck!
  • squishycow7
    squishycow7 Posts: 820 Member
    eat more. I've found success this way, even though it's counterintuitive.

    worth a try for a few weeks, anyhow!!!


    edit to add - & you should AT LEAST be eating at your BMR
  • knrob
    knrob Posts: 65
    Switch up the workouts...if you are doing the same thing, you body can adjust. Mix it up and start feeling some muscles you haven't felt in awhile. That should help!
  • janf15
    janf15 Posts: 242 Member
    @Givemewings you should look at the calories that comes up when you look at the MFP. That is very close to the BMR, and it is not wise to go any lower than that. (BMR is the amount of calories in a 24 hr period if you are sleeping/unconscious).

    Many people plateau because they don't eat enough.

    I would recommend you check out www.fat2fitradio.com/bmr to see what your caloric needs are.
  • tdmcmains
    tdmcmains Posts: 227 Member
    I recently hit my lowest weight of 139 (i'm 5'7") and was stuck there for a month. I could stand to lose a little more fat, gain a little more muscle. I thought I might try lifting heavy but haven't really done that yet but I did up my cals from around 1400 to 1600 and i've lost a little more weight (137 now). It is terrifying to up cals but I think there really is something to it.
  • lizard053
    lizard053 Posts: 2,344 Member
    Up your calories! By 100-200 for a month, then repeat until you get to your new level. This should help minimize gains while your body adjust to the new level of fuel!
  • KristysLosing
    KristysLosing Posts: 683

    2010 172 lbs - size 12, 34 inch waist, 40 inch boobies and a 45 inch booty
    2012 172 lbs - size 8, 28 inch waist, 36 inch boobies an a 38 inch booty

    Awesome numbers!! Good for you! And thanks for the tip. :-)

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