Is "eating more and losing more" true?

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  • hinmana
    hinmana Posts: 16
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    I found that I was not eating enough and that is why I wasn't losing any weight. My body was in starvation mood trying to keep everything it had. I now eat 1600-1700 net calories so I eat close to 2200 to 2500 a day to keep up with what I am burning off through exercise. I found it hard a first to eat so much but now I have a rountine done and eat 5-6 smaller meals a day and it is working!
  • cgsr
    cgsr Posts: 113
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    This is only my third day back on MFP, I failed many times, but only because I didn't give it my all..:(

    Do you think I will feel better in a few days or am I doomed to be a psycho mean person while I am losing weight?

    I think you're a lot less likely to fail if you set your calories someplace where you aren't pissed off and ravenous.

    Who loses more weight in the long run? The person who loses at 1lb/week and sticks to their goal or the person who sets a goal of 2 lbs/week and quits after a month?

    ^^^that's some awesome advice right there...plus I too increased my cals after noticing a plateau and it work great.
  • xoalyssaox
    xoalyssaox Posts: 320
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    I am 5'2. My body fat is 28.92%, I am trying to lose 50 pounds by my wedding October 5. (162 days)
    I think it depends on a lot of factors. How tall are you? How much are you trying to lose? What is your % of body fat? Are you trying to gain muscle at the same time?

    I am under 5 feet tall, I run and lift weights weekly, and I'm trying to lose "the last ten pounds" while gaining muscle. My goal is to cycle my calories, spiking once a week, so my daily calorie intake should be between 900 and 1800 calories. When I tried upping my calories according to the fat2fit.com calculators (which suggested 1800 calories a day), I started gaining immediately.
  • xoalyssaox
    xoalyssaox Posts: 320
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    Wow I totally calculated that wrong. It's 41% :(
    I am 5'2. My body fat is 28.92%, I am trying to lose 50 pounds by my wedding October 5. (162 days)
    I think it depends on a lot of factors. How tall are you? How much are you trying to lose? What is your % of body fat? Are you trying to gain muscle at the same time?

    I am under 5 feet tall, I run and lift weights weekly, and I'm trying to lose "the last ten pounds" while gaining muscle. My goal is to cycle my calories, spiking once a week, so my daily calorie intake should be between 900 and 1800 calories. When I tried upping my calories according to the fat2fit.com calculators (which suggested 1800 calories a day), I started gaining immediately.
  • angiechimpanzee
    angiechimpanzee Posts: 536 Member
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    Eating more calories does not cause anyone to lose more weight. It's illogical and scientifically impossible. If you increase your calories from 1200 to 1400 you will lose slightly slower.

    HOWEVER if the amount of calories you're eating is making you irritable then WHY THE HELL (excuse my language) are you eating that little? In order for weight loss to be a long-term success, you need to be doing something that you can happily do for a long period of time, or at least long enough to reach your goals. Not something that's pissing you, and everyone around you off.
  • Mommyof3texans
    Mommyof3texans Posts: 347
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    The first time I did this a year ago, I had to up from the 1200 this gave me to around 1350 to start losing. This time, I'm using a deficit from my TDEE (I'm around 1,640 cals) and I am losing. If you are eating a healthy, balanced diet there is no reason to be hungry while losing weight!
  • CoderGal
    CoderGal Posts: 6,800 Member
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    <-120. I eat about TDEE (maintenance) + exercise calories to loose weight.
  • angiechimpanzee
    angiechimpanzee Posts: 536 Member
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    I think it's true, for the simple fact that when I was only eating 1200-1300 cals that I was extremely moody. Even my boss noticed it and would bring it up and that would just make me more miserable. Then after I lost ten pounds I was trying to lose 5 more but I ended up so hungry that I just gave up and gained all the weight back. Now I'm eating 1450cals and don't feel like I'm starving myself, so yes I think if you eat more you lose more.
    your weight loss success after increasing your calories wasn't due to the actual increase in calories itself, it was due to the fact that you were now on a plan you could comfortably maintain for a long period of time. there's a difference.

    But if someone is comfortable eating 1,200 calories a day (as in not irritable, not moody, not uncomfortably hungry, eating all the right foods, etc) and decides to increase it to 1,500, that person isn't going to lose weight any quicker than they had been before. In fact the rate of weight loss would slow down.
  • kealambert
    kealambert Posts: 961 Member
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    Upping my calories worked for me.
  • emilynicole02
    emilynicole02 Posts: 355 Member
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    Upping my calories worked me. I was eating 1200 calories and then I plateaued. I upped my calories and started losing again.

    this is what happened to me as well.
    how many calories were you burning per day?
    and how many days a week were you working out?
    and what did you up your calories too?

    thanks :)
  • magerum
    magerum Posts: 12,589 Member
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    I haven't read any of the other replies and I'll make mine real brief.

    Yes. You need to make sure you're measuring as acurately as possible with a good food scale and HRM. Then you can dial it in.

    My recent example:

    2600 - 2700 calories daily had me at one weight for 5 weeks.

    I changed nothing else except added more calories last week, up to 3100 daily. I lost 2 lbs during the first week of increased cals. It does work as long as you're "measuring" properly and as acurately as possible. I did 1200 calories a day for 7 months straight (lost 140lbs this way and most of my muscle mass too) and have been steadily increasing them since then. This is month 12 and I'm still going strong. I thought I was adjusting up to maintenance @ 3100, but it spurred some additional loss.

    -M

    Good luck!
  • iron_jj
    iron_jj Posts: 446 Member
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    It does work! My last months progress in measurements; 1 inch off my thighs, 1 off my hips, 2 off my waist and 1.5 off my arms. Only lost 3ish pounds on the scale. All of this while eating 1800-2100 calories + lifting. :wink: Just an example.. Give it a shot it'll be worth it!
  • tangiesharp
    tangiesharp Posts: 315 Member
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    OP,

    Yes, it is true. Check out the group Eat More to Weigh Less. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/3817-eat-more-to-weigh-less There are a couple of posts about TDEE and BMR which will help answer your question.. Lots of really good information and support.
  • HeartME511healthy
    HeartME511healthy Posts: 163 Member
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    It depends on your body. If you have a lot of weight to lose, then no. If you're close to your goal or already relatively small, then yes.

    I need to lose 50. I would like to do it in 5 months before my wedding.. bahaha. Hey a girl could dream right?

    10 pounds a month is a healthy weight loss, but you have to be careful on how you get there. I am not expert but I have struggle with weight loss and success or no-success.. You have to find what works for you, are you working out? if so then you may want to consider eating some of those calories. I am currently trying this myself and my Dr told me I was under eating and to eat protein protein protein. At some point I tried a vegetarian program he suggested that I only do that for 3 days, and to eat meat not vegan protein. So you have to make sure you set your goals realistic for yourself. If you are angry and under eating then that could be why, I say eat and chart your progress and from week to week you will know what works for you.

    This is not a simple task otherwise there would not be obesity nowhere in the world. So to get healthy we have to think long term health opposed to short term and quick. It didn't take overnight to put the weight on and it won't take overnight to get it off either. You can do the goal weight but are you going to be determined enough to obtain it. And I an talking to myself when i say this as well.
  • SeatownTilt
    SeatownTilt Posts: 11
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    Upping my calories worked for me. I feel like I have a lot more energy, and it feels "cleaner" too, if that makes sense. For me, I broke the plateau when I really focused on making sure I have the right balance of nutrients (40C/30F/30P) for me, and broke my meals into 5-6 times a day, 300-450 calories a meal. I am a 5'9" 180lb male, and on a workout day, my cal limit is ~3100, ~2500 on a non workout day.

    I am on my 11th week of my new meal/workout plan and I have dropped a total of 14.8lbs of fat, and added 5.2lbs of muscle, and my metabolic age reading on my scale has gone from 44 to 21.

    If you are serious about wanting to drop weight before your wedding, AND KEEPING IT OFF, then cardio is also key!
  • purpleface
    purpleface Posts: 21 Member
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    I was eating 1200 (sometimes barely even that) & I was so hungry all the time & so tired. So I thought enough is enough & upped it to 1580 & lost 3lbs. And I've lost 5lbs since then. It's only been a month since I started so I think it's done wonders eating more. You just have to see what's right with your body but you will get there eventually :) And to be fair, it's generally harder if you've only got a little bit to lose as well so just give it time, keep exercising & you should see results soon :)
  • ladyraven68
    ladyraven68 Posts: 2,003 Member
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    I am only eating 1200 calories a day. I am sooo moody, my fiance doesn't even want to be around me. It kind of reminds me of how I acted when I was anorexic. :( I was SO mean back then because I was HUNGRY!

    I have read on here a lot of people saying they eat more calories like 1400-1500 hundred and lose more then they did with 1200.

    This is only my third day back on MFP, I failed many times, but only because I didn't give it my all..:(

    Do you think I will feel better in a few days or am I doomed to be a psycho mean person while I am losing weight?

    You need to figure out your TDEE and take a deficit from there.

    I was eating 1200 to start, but it was too low for me and made me ill, I'm now happily losing over a pound a week at 1600.
  • Helloitsdan
    Helloitsdan Posts: 5,564 Member
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    You may not lose eating more, but what you will notice is that a higher % of your weight loss will come from fat instead of lean muscle. So eating more may not lead to faster weight loss, but could lead to faster BF% decreases, which is really what it is all about.

    ^^^This.

    Also it may keep you from having to rebuild lean mass later.
    That means eating above TDEE and busting *kitten*.
  • darlilama
    darlilama Posts: 794 Member
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    There is no one right answer for everyone. It's not as simple as "eat more, lose more". IF that was true, then we wouldn't have an obesity epidemic in the U.S. would we? :smile: On the other hand, you do have to eat "enough".

    If you honestly answered the questions that MFP posed to determine your daily caloric intake, then you are in the ballpark at least. For example, I have my goal as "maintenance" . Right now I'm not trying to lose or gain... just stay the same. I set my activity level to "sedentary" because I have a desk job and often end up sitting at that desk more than 8 hours a day. If I had a job where I was on my feet most of the day, then my activity level would certainly be set to something higher. I'd suggest you be on the conservative side as I think most people seem to think they do more than they actually do (myself included).

    Based on the info I gave, MFP calculated 1600 calories a day. I tried out several other calculators on the web (e.g. WebMD and others) and they gave me less than 1600... so I manually changed my MFP goal to be 1500 calories a day to be "safe"... I mean it wouldn't hurt if I ended up losing a few more lbs. :)

    From that point, I add in my daily exercise calories burned and I use a Heart Rate Monitor to ensure that I'm as accurate as I can be.

    Thus far, it's working. I'm always weighing within two lbs more or less than my goal... which I would consider natural body fluctuations.

    So... answer the questions honestly, do the math, get a HRM if you're exercising, and log carefully and completey. Unless you're a real odd duck, you will be eating enough and will be losing weight.

    ALTHOUGH... even though I really had plenty to eat, the first couple of weeks were difficult for me and I'm sure I was cranky. :laugh: It definitely got better!
  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
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    I don't know that it will help you lose 50lbs in 5 months (anyone willing to predict that about any diet is most likely a hack), but it will help you lose bodyfat while maintaining muscle (which in turn, helps you lose bodyfat), and it may help you from becoming a real bridezilla. So you will look better and feel better for the wedding. Sounds like win-win to me!

    P.S. Like Tangiesharp mentioned, check out the group. Read the posts about being patient- because unlike most other diets, upping your calories will likely not produce a quick initial loss.

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