How is Eating more and losing more weight working for YOU??

Healthy_4_Life2

It isn't. I'm so over even giving that approach the benefit of the doubt anymore. In the two years I've been trying to lose weight, I've tried to eat 1700-1800 (high for me) for up to two months at a time on at least four separate occasions, and not once has it worked. Me, if I'm not losing, it means I have to eat less. So, what works is eating my BMR (1425 calories) and not eating my exercise calories back unless they put me under 1000. Now, that isn't an easy thing for me to achieve, but I've found it works. I maintain at 1800 and I'm comfortable with that level, but I'm over wasting my time with attempting to up the calories for weight loss.

I do have a chronic thyroid condition, so that might have something to do with this approach not working for me.

I was eating about 1200 before and I had since increased to 1450. I don't have any progress to report thus far though. I can understand your frustrations about upping calories and it not helping at all. Am glad that you tried it and realized that it will not work for you. I guess everyone is different and this is why am kinda apprehensive with upping my calories too much too fast.

myfitnessnmhoy

I can give you a comparison story. Again, I'll stress that every body is different, so what worked for me may not work for you.

About ten years ago, I weighed 280. I finally decided I had abused my body enough, and decided to lose some weight. At the time, I was working a 60-70 hour a week desk job, so lots of exercise was simply not in the cards. Don't get me wrong - I walked a couple of miles a day at lunch, etc, but hard-pumpin' calorie-stompin' sweaty exercise simply didn't fit into my life.

So, I decided to do it via a low-calorie diet. I started watching every calorie, and bemoaning each one that passed my lips. I probably dropped to about a 1000 calorie intake from my usual no-idea-but-too-much. I was miserable, but I started losing weight fast. Then, about a week later, my energy levels went into a tailspin and I plateaued - very hard. So I started fasting. Again, lost weight, but was miserable. Started eating again at low calorie levels, and managed to work my way through a disheartening and painfully hungry better part of a year until I lost to 250 (that's 30 pounds in about 10 months). My walk was a slog, and probably looked like a drunken shamble to anyone watching.

I then very slowly increased my calorie levels (1500/day-ish) and started feeling good again. Then something mysterious and wonderful happened - I started losing weight. My walks got brisker, my outlook on life got better, and the long painful progression of plateaus became less frequent (and I had the energy levels and mood to take them more in stride). In the next two months, I lost down to 230 (ten pounds a month, which is a little quick) without even really stressing about it. Though, admittedly,I did feel hungry all the time, and keeping such a restricted diet took a lot of hard work and discipline. But it was far less miserable than the previous year.

Fast forward to today. I'm trying to get from 230 down to 200 (top range of my ideal weight range for someone 6' 3"). It's been working pretty well but I decided that tracking my diet more carefully might work. I've used the tracker on this site to adjust my already-healthy-ingredient meals to lower my carb intake (which used to be 70-percent-ish of my caloric intake) down to something closer to 50-55%, and balance my fats and proteins up. I'm on a 1500-calorie diet, and I really try to stick to eating as many of my calories I can, but I'm finding that there are days when it's a real struggle. And I'm a big hungry boy - I never thought eating 1500 calories would seem like work.

So the net is - first, I've found for my own personal experience that eating too few calories is a horrible, miserable, awful way to lose weight, even though it does technically work.

And second, I've found that if I focus as much on WHAT calories I eat as HOW MANY of them, I can very easily stay with my diet, enjoy a nice big dessert every evening with a glass of wine, and feel comfortably full all day long.

For those few times when I'm just really hungry or there's a naughty food I'm trying to avoid, I keep a pack of cinnamon gum at my desk at work. That way, on Pizza Friday, I can chew a stick of gum right after eating my healthy lunch - the cinnamon drowns out the enticing aroma of pizza, and I'm not cheating on my calories.

And when I do give in and have a slice, I log it and adjust the rest of my food intake for the day to accommodate.

jellybaby84

It doesn't work for me.

Calories in being as small as poss and calories out as big as poss is the only thing that's ever kept me slim. As soon as I eat over 1200 ish with exercise or 1000ish without exercise my weight skyrockets.

sblack91

So far, it's not working for me!
I am 5'1". 108/109lbs and had been losing 1lb/week for the past couple of months on 1200 cals until I hit a 2 week plateau and it was recommended I upped my calories. I've done so, and in the past 2 weeks I have gained over 3lbs. I'm hoping this is a temporary thing because it has been pretty disappointing, considering how hard it was to lose originally!

But I have read lots of people saying they've had great success with upping their calories, so it just seems not to work for me - Good luck!

WickedGarden

Not working for me.

To lose a pound of fat, I'd have to burn 3500 calories.

My 'base' is 1200 calories. At my current weight, if I were to maintain, my BMR is right around 1400. So if I were to eat back all my exercise calories, I wouldn't have much of a deficit, it would only be a 1200 calorie deficit a week, that's not even a HALF a pound of fat!

So I'm going to eat my BMR recommendation, 1400 and workout like I am...6 times a week and burn the 600-800 calories (actually, I'm burning a little less than I used to since I'm getting fitter). I'll see what that does for me.

spynoodle

I upped from 1200 to 1400. I've lost 2 pounds overall, but maybe 1 pound in the last couple of weeks. I am a SLOW loser!!!

I have not gained anything!

bugbeenz

I can't say the scale is saying eating more is working for me, but how I'm feeling in general and my clothes certainly say it is!

I starting here just over a month ago and like most wanted the weight to come off as quickly as possible so was eating 1200cals a day. The first 10days or so I felt fantastic, then into the next week or two I was getting daily headaches. I specifically recall one day going for a walk and not being able to reach the halfway point of my usual route, I had to turn back before I collapsed. I WASN'T left starving, just had little energy and those pesky headaches. After reading many threads on here and learning about BMR and TDEE, I thought it sounded pretty logical to up my cals.

I now have mine set to 1450, but I consistently net over that simply because I don't always log my condiments (mainly olive oil).

I feel great (other than having a crap headcold at the moment) and gone are those awful headaches. I have far more energy and I can happily say I will never go back to eating 1200cals a day. It took me 10years to put on 30kilos, logic tells me it won't fall off within the few months that I would ideally like it to. I'm happier to take my time with it and hopefully keep it off forever.

myfitnessnmhoy

Here's part of the problem: This website is an approximation of your BMR, and really doesn't use any sophisticated testing to determine what your real BMR is, nor does it test for what factors affect your personal BMR.

I knew a guy at a previous job who has an incredible BMR. He's sedentary, because he literally cannot exercise - his doctor has recommended strength training and no cardio. He has to eat an astonishing amount of food to get through the day - like a half-dozen eggs with bacon and a half-loaf of toast for breakfast, a pan of lasagna for lunch, and lord only knows what for supper. He was 45 years old when I knew him, skinny as a rail, picture-perfect bloodwork, and he struggles to keep weight on. And he's got a desk job.

If he tried to follow the recommendations at this site, it'd kill him in a month.

I've also known people who exercise all day long and still need to follow diets that are lower than mine, and this site would recommend WAY too high a caloric intake for them.

About the only thing I can suggest, getting started, is that you go with the averages (because they're right a good percentage of the time). Give it a few weeks, and see how you feel. If you're tired and hungry all the time and not losing weight, then your metabolic rate might have dropped and you might consider experimenting with some extra calories. If you're not hungry but your're not losing weight, consider reducing some calories or get more exercise and don't eat your exercise calories.

If the numbers seem wildly off to you or it just totally isn't working, see your doctor and have your BMR measured by something other than a generic center-of-the-road average-driven website. The tools here are very good, but if they aren't asking for bloodwork and immersing you in pools of water to test body fat content and doing stress tests to determine your fitness level. Then force the site to accept your ACTUAL BMR and use that as your baseline, and see how that works.

You may also need to consider other diet plans. Restricted-carb diets like Atkins, for example (for which you'd really want to use tools designed to support that specific diet).

Most importantly, don't be impatient. Trying to force yourself to lose weight very quickly is something you really want your doctor involved with. 1 to 2 pounds a week is about the pace you want unless someone far more qualified than an anonymous Internet nobody such has myself has recommended it.

myfitnessnmhoy

An aside - if you work out more and aren't losing weight, start doing waist and other measurements. It could simply be that you're losing FAT and gaining MUSCLE. The scale does not tell the whole story.

CarrieAnne22

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bcattoes

Eating more than what? The MFP recommendation? BMR? Both? Something else?

I use hunger as my eating guide, but I'm usually within the MFP recommendation (weekly average) which is also over my BMR.

It's working. I've met my size goal and now I'm just focusing on becoming more fit - lowering BF, losing inches and increasing endurance. That is working as well.

iremmy

BUMP

clairegogogo

WOW, 3000 cal? how did you do it? :O

Hello,

Would some of you lovely MFP people share your personal stories/tips about how eating more calories has worked for you. Yes, I realize that everyone is different, but am interested in hearing from anyone who's had great or not so great experience. Any information on what worked for you or not worked?? I see that there are other posts about eating more, but I would like to hear success or not so successful input.

Thanks so much for your input.

It helped me cut to 12% body fat from 18% and i can eat over 3000 calories without gaining any weight. Also i continuous increase my weight during strength train. And it has work for the 100+ people i set up plans with.

quiksandy

When I upped my calories I was able to continue to lose but it really depended on WHAT I was eating. If I ate junk...I didn't lose but rather gained. If I ate healthy stuff...more lean proteins, veggies, whole grains, etc...I lost. Even though my caloric intake may have been the same, my body responded to what I put in it. I still eat junk occasionally and I almost always find it causes me to gain weight. Sugar is my weakness and my biggest problem.

So, go for it. Up your calories. But remember to make those calories good ones.

castaliavt

It doesn't work for me. I will gain weight if I eat over 1600 calories regularly. I can maintain between 1400-1600 and I'll lose if I'm under 1400. So I try to keep under 1400 and work out.

Before I started trying to lose weight, I just logged my food for a couple of weeks, eating what I normally ate. I was between 1600-2000 a day and gaining slowly. At the time I was doing crossfit 4x a week and cardio 2x a week. Healthy stuff too, aside from the occasional chocolate craving.

I need to eat less to lose.

Interestingly enough, I was listening to this week's Jillian Michaels podcast and she addressed this very issue. She basically said that 1200 cal a day while exercising (and not eating back exercise cals) is not harmful and is a good way to lose weight. She had a lot to say about starvation diets - like the HGC one or various others that give you 500-600 cals a day to eat, but she said 1200 is fine. And most of the biggest loser contestants ate about that when she was on the show.

bachooka

I'm eating what someone at my goal weight would eat to maintain, and then not eating back my exercise calories unless I'm hungry. Just over 2200 a day.

russellma

Raising my cals helped me reach my goal weight and broke my stall. Basically, I set my goal to 0.5 lb. per week and then ate back part of my exercise calories. My goal was to try to at least net 1200 calories. I generally ate 1500-1600 calories per day and lost a pound or so a week, even though my goal was only 0.5 lb.

It works IF you are accurately recording your food (with the correct measurements) and IF you are giving an accurate exercise calorie burn.

Just FYI, If you know your average heartrate, you can check one of the calorie burn calculators online to compare the number you're getting from your HRM or MFP. My Polar FT4 actually gives a lower reading than the calculator below, so I just go with the lower number.

http://www.calories-calculator.net/Calories_Burned_By_Heart_Rate.html

myfitnessnmhoy

http://www.calories-calculator.net/Calories_Burned_By_Heart_Rate.html

That is one heckuva useful site. Thank you.

MummyDB

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castaliavt

It works IF you are accurately recording your food (with the correct measurements) and IF you are giving an accurate exercise calorie burn.


http://www.calories-calculator.net/Calories_Burned_By_Heart_Rate.html

It doesn't work for everyone even WHEN they're accurately logging everything. I log every single bite I eat and use a food scale.