Upped my calories and upped my weight!

econut2000

I agree that everyone needs to do what's best for them, however, my thought is that if you try something, you need to stick it out to see if you get results. You most certainly didn't gain an actual 6lbs in 1 month. Sometimes, you just need to stick things out for a bit longer than you anticipated. Of course the number on the scale isn't what really matters - it's how your clothes fit and how you feel. THAT is what people notice! Our weight isn't tattooed on our forehead! For me I've lost 14 lbs which isn't a whole lot in comparison to what I need to lose overall, but more important I'm down from a size 22 to a 16!! That's an awful lot of inches lost for only 14lbs!

I am currently in the process of upping my calories. I'm 5' tall, my BMR is 1550-1650 depending on the equation and I'm upping slowly. Right now I'm eating 1600 cals/day for 2 weeks then up to 1700 for two weeks and evaluate (I lost 0.6lbs last week which was great since the scale hadn't budged in a month and a half). It still makes me nervous because I am beyond sedentary - I have neurological problems and unfortunately getting off the couch most days is a challenge (I can get in about 20 mins of exercise once or twice/wk). However, I also know I have absolutely NO intention of eating only 1200 -1400 cals per day for the rest of my life. Since eating less is not something I can live with forever, I think upping my calories is the way to go. I've done the low carb thing before (and looking back on things I don't think I was netting anywhere near 1200 cals either - I was running 30-50miles/wk) and lost 60lbs about 8 years ago. Which was fabulous, however, I started gaining immediately after I reached goal and when I started this journey on MFP I was 95lbs heavier!! I absolutely couldn't maintain the way I was eating. So now I won't deprive myself of anything but I'm learning to eat waaaayyyy better and add those favorites in as "treats". Otherwise if I feel deprived I end up binging on crap food.

So my suggestion is if you've stuck it out for a month, what is another month or so of trying? The long term benefits (long term weight maintenance, more energy, feeling satisfied) may certainly outweigh the short term set back of a small weight gain. If it doens't work out, it wasn't time wasted, it was an experiment to see what may or may not work for you! Good luck!! :flowerforyou:

gidgeclev

What works for some doesn't work for others. If you feel that you are gaining weight on that amount of calories then go lower again and see if it works. Personally I can't lose weight unless I seriously resrict carbs and eat under 1200 a day as well. That's what works for me. It wouldn't have been ideal at 20 but I am 53 and my hormonal state, lifestyle and metabolism are completely different.
It's your body and only you can determine what works for you, sometimes you just have to experiment a bit to find out what is the best regime to suit your metabolism and sometimes you have to just change what you are doing to relieve the boredom and give you a bit of kick start. Do some research, find a weight loss plan that you like the sound of and follow it for a month to see what happens, try another one, try a low carb one, then a low fat one, then a strict calorie counted one until you find a way of eating that is sustainable, enjoyable and is producing the results that you want. It's a lifetime journey.

Yori1

Bump

FlaxMilk

bless you flaxmix. there's a bit more to diagnosis than dsm. (and incidentally, dsmv is in the final stages of development if you want to update your bookmarks).

I work in the field and diagnose daily. But thanks!

FlaxMilk

And in addition, even the proposed criteria for AN, due to come out in 2013, would link caloric intake to resulting in an underweight body.

Suicides and eating disorders and self-injury in teens increase after a made for tv movie comes out. Telling people on MFP that they are heading for anorexia could actually be the right trigger in the wrong person.

LizKurz

I would never up my calories in order to lose weight. Conventional wisdom says if you want to lose weight eat less and exercise more. I don't know why some people on MFP say to eat more food. It makes no sense to me. I do eat some of my exercise calories on days I am extra hungry but I try not to. I'll agree we probably shouldn't eat below 1200 calories but even occasionally I'll do that. I don't believe in eating if you're not hungry. All my life this is what I have been taught and that is the way I've lost 47 pounds. If eating more food really works for some well good for them. I know it would never work for me. :flowerforyou:

Conventional wisdom never trumps math and science. I don't want to sound mean, but its bad advice like this, that can hurt people.

LizKurz

You or I don't have the definitive answers for everybody. I have no problem with people playing around with their calories. That means playing with higher or lower calories. Let adults choose what's best for their lives.

Honestly, nameless faceless people on the internet shouldn't be so dogmatic. [\quote]




It's not about being dogmatic, it's about helping other people. If people are going to give out bad advice that has potential to harm, it's up to the people who know better to refute that.

LizKurz

What works for some doesn't work for others. If you feel that you are gaining weight on that amount of calories then go lower again and see if it works. Personally I can't lose weight unless I seriously resrict carbs and eat under 1200 a day as well. That's what works for me. It wouldn't have been ideal at 20 but I am 53 and my hormonal state, lifestyle and metabolism are completely different.
It's your body and only you can determine what works for you, sometimes you just have to experiment a bit to find out what is the best regime to suit your metabolism and sometimes you have to just change what you are doing to relieve the boredom and give you a bit of kick start. Do some research, find a weight loss plan that you like the sound of and follow it for a month to see what happens, try another one, try a low carb one, then a low fat one, then a strict calorie counted one until you find a way of eating that is sustainable, enjoyable and is producing the results that you want. It's a lifetime journey.

Well that diet sounds like the diet for a diabetic, or prediabetic, which most people are not. I think that's something people need to remember when giving out advice, is that if you have any medical condidtons, your diet and exercise regimen is going to look diffent and it won't work for most people.

gidgeclev

Read the whole post please. Low carb and low calorie works for me but I am 53 not 23. I'm not advocating that everyone does what do, I'm advocating an experimental approach to see what works best for individuals. There is a lot of very ill informed and dogmatic opinion on these boards sometimes which is not helpful.

Cath2907

Personally I take a "day off" once per week. I don't binge eat on that day but I am a good bit more relaxed about my eating. As I understand it restricting your calories too much can set your body to "starvation" mode. This is when it tries to hang on to all your reserves as it thinks it's being starved. I figure I can give it a little bit of a boost on my off day to persuade it that I'm really not trying to starve it to death. I also believe that a sensible low calory (but not monstorously so) diet with a moderate amount of daily exercise is the way to a sustainable change. If you are exercising for 2 hours strenously per day it stands to reason that you need to eat more than if you are doing a 10 minute walk around the block. I'd recommend listenning to your body and eating when hungry - just be sensible about what you eat. Keep your exercise reasonable and sustainable and drink plenty of water.

Ok - my advice is pretty low tech and general but then my personal approach is much the same. Making a healthy living change rather than focussing on the lbs every day. Good luck, I'm sure you'll be back on track soon.

ellesoul

A few things come into play in this arguement:

Age, Gender, Activity level, Activity type

Men generally have a higher metabolism than women and younger people have a higher metabolism than older people.

The amount you work out and the type of activity you choose to do matters. Yes at the end of the day it's calories in vs. calories out, but the exercise you do will indeed effect your net calories.

Everyone is different.

You can definitely lose by upping your calories, you could also gain (if your basal metabolism isn't burning the extra calories and if you're not doing extra activity to burn them off)...

6 lbs of fat that quickly = impossible

jcarnes66

I started off at 290 pounds (I didn't start MFP until I was already down 10 lbs). I went through the profile numbers and was given about 1740 cals/day. I chose to lose 2 lbs/week. Typically, I eat between 1100 and 1400 calories. It's VERY rare that I end up within 200-300 calories of my total allowance. I do normally eat way over my daily protein 'allowance' and am usually quite a bit under on carbs and fat. I do this because with all the cardio I've been doing, I don't want to lose the muscle I already have.

I've stuck with this way of eating for 3 months now and am down 53 pounds overall. I weigh myself every morning.

Recently, I went through about 3 straight days of gaining about 3 pounds overall. I didn't increase or decrease the number of calories I was eating but instead, increased my exercise. Over the next 3 days, I lost those 3 pounds and then some. 'Conventional wisdom' says that you lose weight by eating fewer calories than you expend.

I have my own conventional wisdom that says 'If you eat calories from crap foods, don't expect to lose fat - no matter how many calories you eat'. It's fairly easy to lose weight....it's tough to lose fat without a proper diet and exercise.

This is the most difficult part for me because I can't stand vegetables. I wish I liked them...I really do. Other than that, I have to be careful not to eat breads and sugar from cereals, 'fruity' yogurts, etc. I've had to develop a taste for things I probably would have never eaten before!

Now, with all that said, about once I month I go to Culver's (or somewhere similar) and have a double cheeseburger and fries! I'd have to off myself if I couldn't do that once in awhile! I just make sure I put in some extra exercise around that day.

JustJennie1

I would never up my calories in order to lose weight. Conventional wisdom says if you want to lose weight eat less and exercise more. I don't know why some people on MFP say to eat more food. It makes no sense to me. I do eat some of my exercise calories on days I am extra hungry but I try not to. I'll agree we probably shouldn't eat below 1200 calories but even occasionally I'll do that. I don't believe in eating if you're not hungry. All my life this is what I have been taught and that is the way I've lost 47 pounds. If eating more food really works for some well good for them. I know it would never work for me. :flowerforyou:

Same here. What works for one person might not work for everyone. The whole point of my trying to lose weight is to expel more calories than what I'm taking in. The simple equation to losing weight is Eat Less, Move More which is what I've been doing. Granted I know that I won't be able to sustain what I'm doing right now for the long-run but for right now it's working ok for me.

callmeBAM

A calorie isn't a calorie.

If I upped my calorie intake by eating cotton candy versus... something healthy, I would gain weight. Just saying, you can't make a simplistic statement like I increased calories and gained weight, so I should not increase calories.

Looking at your journal, your daily fat intake looks VERY low! Try getting more of you calories from natural fats instead of carbs and your body should react in a positive way.

eeebee

I would never up my calories in order to lose weight. Conventional wisdom says if you want to lose weight eat less and exercise more. I don't know why some people on MFP say to eat more food. It makes no sense to me. I do eat some of my exercise calories on days I am extra hungry but I try not to. I'll agree we probably shouldn't eat below 1200 calories but even occasionally I'll do that. I don't believe in eating if you're not hungry. All my life this is what I have been taught and that is the way I've lost 47 pounds. If eating more food really works for some well good for them. I know it would never work for me. :flowerforyou:

Oh no...not another one!!
Conventional wisdom is what got us into this mess.

She's lost 47 lbs and I've dropped 6 sizes and gained muscle at the same time. Both schools of thought are present here, and the OP can choose the one that makes most sense to her.

I am stunned by how many people seem to get personally offended when people choose not to eat more. It's fine to disagree, but some of these "rebuttals" are unnecessarily rude.

Totally agree! Each to their own etc....

mixedfeelings

I gained around 100lbs eating between 700-1500 calories, I would eat very little in the week and a bit more at the weekend and couldn't work out why I was gaining. I've upped my calories since joining this site, I make sure my net is always at least 1200 but days when I work out I'm eating between 1600-1900 calories, the first three months were slow but it's now starting to come off, as my ticker shows, this is even with eating the odd bit of chocolate cake! It can take time but if you keep cutting calories eventually your body will give up, mine did, I had no energy and the gaining snowballed.

msbanana

Depending on how obese you are will depend on if you can "build" lean mass while at a deficit.
These types of results are only seen in Obese 2 and Obese 3 people where ATP is concentrated enough in their muscles that they can stimulate growth.

If OP isnt fueling first her Basal Metabolic needs then she should just throw in the towel now.

You need fuel to live and work and play.
Without it youll eventually break down.

Now if OP is eating back all her cals and netting above BMR then she will do just fine.

I think people get confused about dieting and feel that its primarily working out then eating right.

Truth is its 70% diet, 20% sleep and 10% working out.
Without the first 2 in place you will increase your diet timeline longer than it really needs to be.

Agreed. It took me a long time to get this through my thick skull and I did lose about 80lbs using the "conventional" method BUT I stalled out and switched up my diet. I started eating a higher calorie, higher protein, higher fat diet and I dropped the last 40 super fast like. In that time period I also made HUGE strength gains where as I wasn't making any sort of gains at all as I lost the first 80. I was too worn down from netting 800 calories a day.

When I upped my cals I did gain some weight (I had more food in my guts on a regular basis) but once that stabilized (which actually for me took a couple months) I started dropping weight again...

breyn2004

I would never up my calories in order to lose weight. Conventional wisdom says if you want to lose weight eat less and exercise more. I don't know why some people on MFP say to eat more food. It makes no sense to me. I do eat some of my exercise calories on days I am extra hungry but I try not to. I'll agree we probably shouldn't eat below 1200 calories but even occasionally I'll do that. I don't believe in eating if you're not hungry. All my life this is what I have been taught and that is the way I've lost 47 pounds. If eating more food really works for some well good for them. I know it would never work for me. :flowerforyou:

I'm not sure that agree with this. MFP set me at 1200 calories... I tried that and I did not feel that it was enough to support my exercise, etc. I upped my calories to 1500 and I lost 70 pounds in just over a year. I do not eat my exercise calories back, but I do get my regular calories in. You have to take in enough calories to support your daily activity so that your body doesn't go into starvation mode. I upped my calories to maintenance a couple of months ago (1740) and I also added strength training. For fear of gaining waiting due to the calorie increase, I still stayed closer to 1500. But after a few weeks of that, I weighed with my nutritionist and found that I was up in fat and down in lean which says "starvation" mode. I made a point to meet my 1740 goal and I have since lost a few more pounds of fat mass and gained lean mass!

Good luck to you! It's a tough learning process....everyone's body is different. Hang in there!

Happy Logging! :happy:

breyn2004

I would never up my calories in order to lose weight. Conventional wisdom says if you want to lose weight eat less and exercise more. I don't know why some people on MFP say to eat more food. It makes no sense to me. I do eat some of my exercise calories on days I am extra hungry but I try not to. I'll agree we probably shouldn't eat below 1200 calories but even occasionally I'll do that. I don't believe in eating if you're not hungry. All my life this is what I have been taught and that is the way I've lost 47 pounds. If eating more food really works for some well good for them. I know it would never work for me. :flowerforyou:

No offense but dont listen to this advice.
Its a surefire way to drop hormones and maintain fat.
Yikes!

Continue eating at your rate and measure your progress.
The human body can fluctuate up to 5lbs or more daily.
If the body fat doesnt drop after a month then adjust macros.

"Like"

Helloitsdan

Thank you all for your suggestions, but I'm still stumped with the conflicting advice.

in terms of exercise, I run 3-4 miles 5/6 days a week and strength train with 5kg dumbells 3x a week.

I calculated the following on fattofit:
BMR: 1490
TDEE: 2223

The thing is, if I'm gaining on a net of 1300-1400, surely logic tells me I will gain on 1490-2223?

How much am I supposed to bump my calories up by?

Thank you all for your replies!

Ideally, you should net somewhere between 1490 and 2223 calories per day.

1490 is your basal metabolic rate, or the energy needed to sustain your most vital bodily functions (such as breathing and maintaining body temperature). You should net at least this amount every day to ensure that you're not depriving your body of the energy it needs to survive.

However, unless you're in a coma (unlikely, because you're here on the forum), you actually expend far more than 1490 calories every day. In addition to breathing and such, you get up and move around and exercise and so on. That's where your total daily energy expenditure comes into play. 2223 calories is the total amount of energy needed to get you through your normal daily activities.

In theory, if you ate exactly 2223 calories, you would expend every single one of those calories and thus maintain your weight. If you ate less than that, you'd need to obtain the missing energy from your body's own energy stores. This should result in weight loss.

If I were you, I'd up my net to around 1600 calories a day for a while (give it a month or two), and see how I feel. Feel free to experiment with calories and macronutrient ratios and exercise levels, but I definitely would not restrict your calories any further. Your maintenance calories should be pretty close to your estimated TDEE, so over time, you'd want to work up to around two thousand calories or so -- and it looks like you're pretty close to your goal weight, so now is a good time to begin the transition to maintenance.

(Edited for typographical errors -- I haven't had my daily coffee yet, so I'm not fully functioning at the moment!)

^^^Din Ding Ding!!!

winner Winner chicken Dinner!

Gang!

Youll gain weight when you work out hard.
The bodies natural reaction to injury is to become enflamed.
Post deadlift and squat days, i'll weigh up to 5lbs more because of muscle glycogen, water and becoming enflamed durring the repair process.
For those saying to eat VLCD, at some point your body will use lean mass for fuel so keep it up!
Youll lose a lot of weight!
In lean mass!
But you wont look good naked!
Its the road to Skinny Fat City!

You have to first meet your Basal Metabolic needs, then fuel your day with food and water.
If you dont have the Diet and rest part down you are doing it wrong!

Oh! And to the person saying we are all different????
Read 1 physiology book then get back to us.