Nervous about increasing the Calories

Mads1997

Hi all, I previously lost 20kg but have been maintaining for the last 6+months with no logging and have managed to stay within a few kilo.
After reading the posts about eating your BMR I have decided to give it a try but I am really nervous about putting on weight. I am 5'10 and currently 90 kg, I want to lose another 18kg. At present I am eating 1400 cals plus eating my exercise cals back but the weight has started to stagnate as it did towards the end last time I was here.

My BMR now is a little over 1600. I was going to try and up my cals to 1700 plus exercise cals. Will I put on with this amount.? I eat pretty well and have my diary open if you want to comment.

Lozze

Short term? Yes.

Long term. No.

I'm a bit shorter (5/6) but am 102kg. I eat 1673 calories and am losing very consistently. Most women who do eat higher lose weight quicker than those who eat less.

TheFunBun

Totally go up! It'll bounce up a bit, but go right back down. Just stay away from the scale for 4 weeks and you'll be pleased.
Nothing feels better than eating well and still losing weight, so it's worth it!

My experience has been at a 1lb a week netting my BMR of 1910 after a brief jump in weight.

Mindmovesbody

Here is the short story...

Your BMR is what you need to eat for your organs to function properly. You should make sure you eat enough calories to cover your BMR EVERY DAY. If you were in bed ALL DAY and did not get up to walk around or anything, your BMR is what would keep you alive.

You need to figure out your TDEE - Total daily energy expenditure. This is how many calories you burn daily. This is your basic organ function, plus getting out of bed and doing everything you do in a normal day. If I had t o guess, you are eating too few calories and your metabolism has adjusted and is slow now. You will probably need to readdress your caloric needs.

Check out the group on here Eat More to Weigh Less. There is a wealth of info here and when you read the original post it gives you all the tools needed to figure out exactly what you should be eating! Good Luck!

Mads1997

Thanks for your replies.

I don't know if I can eat my TDEE which is 1966 without eating crap. I can't do a lot of exercise as I have a muscle disease so I do rely on eating pretty well.

adammeynell86

hey, first post on here!

You will find an initial rebound weight gain, this isnt anything to be concerned about, when you cut your diet your metabolism will of attempted to compensate, lowering accordingly, this means that when you attempt to increase calories your body will initially be unprepared to deal with them, and you will see a small amount of weight gain.

This is not a problem however, providing you are active you metabolism will quickly "rev up" to the challenge, and you as long as you dont introduce bad habits, you will not see any detrimental weight gain.

Of course, you can attempt to negate this effect by introducing calories slowly, if you are starting at 1400calories a day and want to end up at 1700calories increasing 100 calories a day per week should give your body sufficient time.

Di3012

Totally go up! It'll bounce up a bit, but go right back down. Just stay away from the scale for 4 weeks and you'll be pleased.
Nothing feels better than eating well and still losing weight, so it's worth it!

My experience has been at a 1lb a week netting my BMR of 1910 after a brief jump in weight.

What if, during those four weeks, the OP ends up putting on 8lbs or more, if they had kept their eye on the scales they would have been able to curb that and sort it out.

You are taking it for granted that upping the calories will work, that is not necessarily true as I can think of one person I know who has done just that and is now putting weight back on........

OP if you do up the calories, keep tabs on it all, be very strict with logging and make sure you exercise xxx

TheFunBun

Totally go up! It'll bounce up a bit, but go right back down. Just stay away from the scale for 4 weeks and you'll be pleased.
Nothing feels better than eating well and still losing weight, so it's worth it!

My experience has been at a 1lb a week netting my BMR of 1910 after a brief jump in weight.

What if, during those four weeks, the OP ends up putting on 8lbs or more, if they had kept their eye on the scales they would have been able to curb that and sort it out.

You are taking it for granted that upping the calories will work, that is not necessarily true as I can think of one person I know who has done just that and is now putting weight back on........

OP if you do up the calories, keep tabs on it all, be very strict with logging and make sure you exercise xxx

You can't really make a decision on it before 4 weeks. Continuing weekly weigh ins is what makes people say, "OMG gained 8 lbs, going back down to negative 500 calories". It makes you panic. Nobody likes to see it go up.

Going up to BMR isn't going to make her gain 8 lbs. 8 lbs is 28k calories over maintenance. If she's maintaining now, increasing by 400 cals is at WORST going to be a 4 lb gain at the end. And if you're maintaining for 6 months (I think that's what she said, can't scroll far enough) 4 lbs is a risk, but she has to do something or continue stalling.

Mads1997

I should have kept tabs on how many cals I was eating whilst maintaining, which would have been helpful.

I will start increasing my cals tomorrow, maybe just 100 at a time.

Lolli1986

okay... i am a little unsure in this case, and i think maybe everyone else here probably should be too.

if you have a muscle disease, i wonder how possible it is that your bmr is lower than you expect. you've been maintaining weight for months on net 1400, and the advice I am seeing given to you seems to be in regards to gross intake.

frankly, i have tested this at both sedentary and very active (1 hour exercise every day, 3 days intense, 2 days gentle walk) and I stay the same weight if i am netting around 1400 cals. my bmr is supposedly 1350, so either my body is seriously broken for absolutely no reason (no history of ED of any sort) or the equations are not correct for me.

(also, I gross 1800, so i am by no means a small eater)

to me, this suggests that my bmr is lower than expected, and yes, while this does not apply to the majority as most follow the equations quite well, i would be very wary to give you any advice regarding what will happen if you increase cals.

if you feel that there is no harm in risking an actual weight gain that might not just drop back off, then go for it.

generally the 'eat more cals' advice is designed for those who can exercise lots - it boosts our ability to use our bodies. if we can't use our bodies, then this advice might be misguided.

ps. i spent two years largely immobile due to injury, grossing roughly 1500cals... and i gained. i could not eat less without being starving, so in order to maintain i had to add in a few 10 min walks per day to burn that excess 100-200cals. i know that with injury and illness losing weight is really hard.

*edit. okay i see that you didn't count what you were maintaining on. i recommend doing a month of just logging what you usually eat so that you have a baseline to work from. that is what i did.

KBecks

HI Mads, I just wanted to give you some encouragement and to enjoy the food! :-) See how you feel for energy with the extra calories. I hear what you are saying about not eating crap to add in the calories. I am just starting to journal, but if you have foods that you like that are healthy and more calorie dense, go for those and enjoy them to the fullest!!!!! :-)

I am just beginning and starting to figure out my calories. Try not to obsess over your calories and pay attention to your appetite and how you are feeling and whether you feel good!

Best wishes!!

Mads1997

Thanks everyone.

sniperzzzz

What if, during those four weeks, the OP ends up putting on 8lbs or more, if they had kept their eye on the scales they would have been able to curb that and sort it out.

You are taking it for granted that upping the calories will work, that is not necessarily true as I can think of one person I know who has done just that and is now putting weight back on........

OP if you do up the calories, keep tabs on it all, be very strict with logging and make sure you exercise xxx

Finally someone here with a bit of sense.
Mads1997 if you would like some help pm me, and i will do my best to help you get things moving in the right direction.