Scared to up my calories

Options
2»

Replies

  • shaycat
    shaycat Posts: 980
    Options
    I started at 1200 cals, did fine and then stalled. Upped my cals to 1350, did ok then stalled. Upped to 1450, stalled again. I now eat 1500 plus exercise cals at a 40/30/30 ratio, lift heavy 3x/wk, and recently added some occasional running. My scale is continuing to drop, and most importantly not taking lean mass with it.

    This is what I tried to do! But eating 1900 or more calories a day didnt work for me. I started gaining weight, and fat and inches. Now my jeans a getting tight and I am mad that I tried to up.
  • em9371
    em9371 Posts: 1,047 Member
    Options
    If you are eating 1350 and doing all that exercise, your net will be well below 1000 which is seriously unhealthy.Bmr is what your body needs to keep you alive, by netting less than bmr your body will burn muscle so you are cancelling out any benefit you get from weight training. It's hard to build muscle in a calorie deficit anyway, and at that much of a deficit you will actually lose rather than gain muscle, which in turn slows metabolism and you regain weight by eating less.

    The reason you gained going to 1950 is because it's such a big jump in calories and it takes your body time to adjust. Ideally you should increase by 100 per week.
    Unless you ate 11500 cals over maintenance will not be fat, it will be sodium, water, increased volume of food and the gain will only be temporary.
  • em9371
    em9371 Posts: 1,047 Member
    Options
    I'm freaked out too.... MFP had me netting 1360 a day, but I was seriously struggling to stay below that, even when I ate nothing but fruits, veggies, and lean proteins.

    Using the fat2fit method that helloitsdan recommended, I should be eating 1723 a day. I was okay with that and thought it would probably motivate me to work out harder and more often to create a deficit, until I put it into MFP, which is warning me that I will gain at that rate. Now I'm afraid to click the save button!

    The reason mfp thinks you will gain is because fat2fit includes exercise already, mfp expects you to log and eat back exercise.
    If you added exercise cals to the mfp goal it should be pretty near the fat2fit one.
  • katysmelly
    katysmelly Posts: 380 Member
    Options
    It is mathematically impossible. That's certainly mostly water.

    My dad visited for a week and there was much sight-seeing and eating in restaurants...I ate a LOT of food. Vast quantities. I gained five pounds in one week! Three days after dropping him off at the airport, I'd lost three of them. You can't lose three pounds of fat in three days, so that was obviously water. :)
  • UrbanRunner81
    UrbanRunner81 Posts: 1,207 Member
    Options
    I eat around 2217 calories daily that includes exercise. I don't add exercise in (I count it as one calorie).
    Every day it tells me I am going to gain weight, but I weighed myself today and I've lost a pound. It is off because I don't include exercise. it is around the same calories I would eat anyway if I added the exercise.
    I also keep track if I don't eat the calories from days before so if I am having a hungry day I have calories leftover, I use them.

    I am not gaining weight and I eat lots of food. :)
  • donwannabefatnomo
    donwannabefatnomo Posts: 10 Member
    Options
    I too was worried and slightly confused. When trying to loose weight, MFP wanted me to consume 1850 calories a day. I ate 1850 to 2000 and exercised without eating my exercise calories . . . needless to say, I lost weight (about 10 pounds a month).

    Now, I've been at my goal since the end of January 2012 and it's been a real trick trying to NOT loose any more weight! I never thought I'd have such a problem. I reduced my exercise, but still do exercise and NOW I do eat my exercise calories which total 2500 to 3000 calories a day. I net an average of 2200 to 2500 calories a day . . . and things have "stabilized" some . . . I only lost 5 pounds in close to 3 months . . . still, I don't want to loose anymore - part of me is afraid of cutting back on exercise - and at the same time I don't want to gain . . .

    Anyway - there's more to calories consumed and exercise to weight loss and gain . . . just keep playing with it and things will balance and there will be ups and downs - just take them in stride and try to have a high end and a low end in your goal - when you get too close to the high end, then cut back to loose . . . when you're too close to the low end - go treat yourself!

Categories