Too high? Too low? Not enough? Too much?

Tanishhaaaaaa

I upped my calorie intake to 1300 a while ago and lost about 2 - 3 pounds in 2 - 3 weeks (which is LOADS for me). But now, I'm not losing anything, and it's REALLY annoying me.

Does anyone have any suggestions how I can change what I eat to kickstart my weightloss again??

Should I lower my intake again??

Too many carbs and sugar??

Feel free to take a look at my diary!! Bare in mind that I'm allergic to nuts and fish, and am VERY picky.

CrystalT

Maybe you could try calorie cycling. I've done it before we good results.

What is calorie cycling?

Calorie cycling is a method used for weight loss, weight maintenance, OR weight gain depending on your caloric intake. Simply put: You eat a different amount of calories each day but stay within a certain average for the week; some people even do monthly averages.

An example of calorie cycling would be my current plan:

Sundays: 1800 calories
Mondays: 2000 calories
Tuesdays: 2800 calories
Thursdays: 1200 calories
Fridays: 1500 calories
Saturdays: 2100 calories

Weekly average = 1829 calories per day or 11,400 per week

The theory behind calorie cycling is that it keeps your metabolism guessing by not letting it get used to one caloric intake or another. To date, there aren't any studies that support this theory, but from my own personal experience, I can tell you that calorie cycling works just as well, if not better than eating the same amount each day. As of January 2008 I have lost 70 lbs since June 2007 and I'm loving every minute of my diet. In fact, I plan to calorie cycle for the rest of my life.

You can change your calories each week or do them in ANY order that works for you. The order doesn't matter at all as long as you're staying in range for the week or even the month.

Tanishhaaaaaa

How far out from your BMR do you go with the cycle??

cmriverside

At your age and weight, you should go UP in calories. Try 1600-1800. You said you lost when you raised it before, why don't you think that is the answer? Lowering it is not. You didn't lose when you ate less. Your body hasn't changed it's mind. You are undereating.



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CrystalT

How far out from your BMR do you go with the cycle??

I would say only a few hundred calories, but it depends on how you cycle. There's lots of different ways to do it. When I did it, my schedule was like what's above. I've seen some eat low during the week and high (maybe their maintenance level) on the weekend, but that would mean you would need to cut all your calories through the week, which would be 700/day. I was never comfortable with that myself.

If you are interested, you should google it. There are all sort of tools to help.

jamiesadler

I would say cut your carbs and increase your protein. Good luck

salxtai

This might help you work it out, its a bit lengthy but I used that method and got out of my plateau.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/477666-eating-for-future-you-method

SierraElegance

The first things I look at are protein and sodium. You are doing excellent with your sodium, so that's not the problem. I would say to try to up your protein-- but divide it into smaller portions all day. You need about 30 grams per meal, and at least 100 grams per day. Also, drink a lot more water and you will notice the difference!

AsaraFuriosa

I upped my calories from 1300 to 1500 and lost 6lbs that week verses 1.3-2lbs average I've been having for a year!!! However just like you for the last two weeks nothing. I realize now that that 6 lbs was not 1500 a day, but averaged out that way. Thanks I'm going to do that now!!! Yay for calorie cycling lol

zoewedd

:happy: Thank you for teaching calorie cycling, that answers a post I did earlier, I needed to know if I could 'save' calories for weekends or special occasions, as I work shifts it's not always easy. I've only been doing this for a week.