Eat MORE calories to lose weight? I don't get it...

wareagle8706

Exactly. That's the thing with sound bites, they're just that. Absolutist statements are never correct (usually )

Yeah, we get it already, but your initial posts are of no help to anyone if all you're going to do it make one small comment that doesn't have any fact or even anything interesting in it and then start arguing with someone. All of that is pointless and not constructive at all. I suggest that if you're going to reply to a post at least make it something worth contributing (i.e. useful to everyone) otherwise just keep your damn mouth shut and stop arguing with people just for the sake of arguing.

My initial post said how I feel about the phrase. I don't have to write an entire essay to explain myself - if I think it's an idiotic phrase, then I'll say so, so live with it.

I've noticed there aren't many people on MFP that care for you.... now I know why. You're not very helpful. People are here to be encouraged and uplifted and helped with useful information. You don't do any of those things.

Glucocorticoid

Thanks for your input. Now go continue to spread your misinformation as you've done in other threads.

Darlingir

poor OP...even more confused now...*sighs*

sweetmelissa40

Out of curiosity...why are any of you feeding into kenny536's behavior?? He does it because he knows it gets you fired up. Ignore him and he has no platform!!!
:glasses:

nickyskins

Ur body gets used to being on a diet and u will stop loseing after awhile when ur body gets used to ur diet so once inawhile u should have a SPIKE DAY to fool ur body into thinking that u r no longer watching ur calories. eat a few more cals maybe once a week to jump start ur weight lose.

ashley67203

Eating more works. There are rules to follow but it works. I hope you try it out because I can guarantee you will feel better, have more energy and stick with your healthy eating habits for the rest of your life. Eating the calories your body requires to function may seem like a no-brainer, but a lifetime of being told the opposite while living in a culture that celebrates body dysmorphia would give anyone doubts.

And since we're getting douchey about it, sound bites, by definition, contain sound. A quote is a text version of what has been said aloud. Improper use of the English language by people who are trying to belittle others by acting superior is hilarious to me, so thanks for the laugh.

Glucocorticoid

Ur body gets used to being on a diet and u will stop loseing after awhile when ur body gets used to ur diet so once inawhile u should have a SPIKE DAY to fool ur body into thinking that u r no longer watching ur calories. eat a few more cals maybe once a week to jump start ur weight lose.

You're thinking of a refeed. Nicky's advice can be useful to someone who is dieting and alread fairly lean, there is often a benefit into incorporating regular refeeds/full diet breaks when dieting. There are psychological as well as physiological benefits. Some of the benefits of the latter are refilling muscle glycogen, turning off diet-induced catabolism in order to assist with LBM preservation, and normalizing hormones that were depleted during dieting (leptin, ghrelin, insulin, etc.). Note that the refeed should be very high carb, and low fat. Calories will usually end up being at least at maintenance levels.

70davis

bump

yarwell

" It appears that the combination of a large quantity of aerobic exercise with a very low calorie diet resulting in substantial loss of bodyweight may actually accelerate the decline in resting metabolic rate. " - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2017606

"Moderate-intensity aerobic exercise programs of 6-12 months induce a modest reduction in weight and waist circumference in overweight and obese populations. Our results show that isolated aerobic exercise is not an effective weight loss therapy in these patients" - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21787904

Exercise less to lose weight would indeed appear to be as valid as eating more.

yarwell

this all takes fuel to run. Like a car engine needs petrol, diesel or electricity when it is in motion, 'uman beans (us) need a minimum amount of calories to function.

Does a car need a fuel hose stuck in it to run of can it run on the fuel in the tank ? No. Can a human run partly / mainly on the 10s of thousands of calories in their fat tank in the same way ? Absolutely.

myfitnessnmhoy

If I eat at a reasonable deficit, I am still fairly energetic, I can support good solid workouts, I'm burning calories at a fairly reasonable pace while taking in few enough of them to lose weight.

That's a good description, where is this sweet spot in terms of calorie deficit or weight loss rate ?

for me, personally, pretty darned close to MFP's estimates with a 1000 calorie deficit for now. your mileage may vary. mine will no doubt change as I get nearer to goal.

Actually, I've noticed a slight correlation between exceeding caloric goal and losing weight of late, so I may need to increase caliries / lower my weight loss goals a bit as an experiment.

notaperfect10

bump

lucashammonds189

50 k is absurd. But... Michael Phelps would 12,000 a day when training. He is not fat... at all. Hugh Jackman ate like 10,000 when getting ready for the last wolverine movie. He is not fat... at all.

Eating low cal diets while working out flips a switch in the body to store food as fat because its not sure it will get more food. This is why you dont undereat, and eat slighlty less than whats needed for maintenance. Take P90X, for example. If you weigh 180, want to get to 160, you would eat about 2400 calories a day.

kmt22

I know this is a pretty old thread but I had to chime in. This is how I see it: most everything conventional wisdom says is wrong.

Your body does not run on energy alone. You can't put gas in a car that does not exist. You need raw materials and building blocks as well as energy to put it all together and maintain it. And you have to weed out the incorrect parts as well as harmful ones. In other words it's about nutrition more than calories.

Your body can excrete substances it doesn't need. It is not practical for your body to be carrying around massive energy stores beyond a short reserve - you wouldn't be able to walk let alone feed yourself in the first place. In this day and age maintaining health and body weight is about detox as much as anything else (of which exercise is a part). Your body needs all detox pathways open to excrete metabolic waste yes, but also all the garbage and chemicals we are exposed to in our environment and diet on a daily basis, even if we think we are eating 'healthy.' If your body can't keep up and get rid of all the poison that you may eat from lean cuisines, protein shakes, gatorade, etc (and yes these things do contain poison) then your body has to do something to help you. Your body will do anything it can to avoid being sick. If it can't eject the toxin it gets sequestered in a fat cell where it is safely quarantined til the body can detox it later. This is why a person can be eating 1500 calories a day and not lose weight. I dont care how much you work out...if the body is not able to handle what's hiding in that fat cell it will do everything it can to avoid breaking it open. If the body doesn't have enough calories, protein, fat, and nutrients then the detox systems do not work properly. Further impaired the problem gets worse. Fat is especially important, both to take in fat soluble nutrients but to excrete fat soluble toxins. Our bodies are also designed to make energy from fat - fat uptake is extremely efficient. There are some people who would argue that you should be getting at least 50% of your calories from fat. Eat fat to lose fat. And so on. This is not a one size fits all. Some things are toxic to all people. Some things are toxic to only some folks (peanuts, gluten for example). Some detox impairment is as a result of damage to the gut or other system.

A major detox pathway is the lymphatic system. Lymph vessels run alongside blood vessels and carry 3x more lymph than we have blood, yet it doesn't have a pump. Lymph is moved through one way valved chambers by body movement. This is why exercise is important. You are "burning calories" yes, but depleting energy is not what helps you. It's the movement of lymph and cleansing of the body so every cell can do its job better.

Why doesn't a wild lion get fat? (Or any wild animal, pick one.) It's not eating oreos. It's eating clean wild meat, not factory farm meat from sick animals. It's not eating grains or mold toxins. It's not drinking alcohol. It's not slathering endocrine disrupting chemicals on its skin to cleanse and moisturize. It's not breathing combustion exhaust fumes. I could go on and on.

If a calorie is a calorie is a calorie then you could eat Twix bars exclusively to 1500 calories and lose weight and be healthy. But we all know that's not true. If "eat less calories than you use" were true then people who are desperately eating calorie restrictive diets and doing chronic cardio at the office gym would not be sick and overweight. You could eat a low calorie diet and be sedentary so long as you have a deficit, right? But that doesn't happen for everyone. That's not the whole picture. Of course there are so many more variables that are all interconnected. Doctors don't study nutrition. And people have so many different views about diet and exercise and what's the right thing. If the medical establishment could cure diseases then people wouldn't be dying of cancer, heart disease, and diabetes. But they do. We as a society, for all we think we know, we really don't know that much about how the human body really works. We can only observe the effects.

The whole philosophy of eat more to lose weight is about #1 eating less garbage, #2 taking out the garbage, and #3 providing the nutrition and energy to function optimally.

Anyway that's just my philosophy. I eat plenty of calories and plenty of meat, veggies, butter, and bacon fat. I used to be sick and overweight and I thank my body for showing me *something* I was doing was wrong. My energy is great and my pants fit just fine.

carmelo2003

all you people are lost. I consume between 2800-4200 calories per day. I lost 60 pounds and burn fat wonderfully. Here is reality. FAT burns fat. A high fat diet at 55-68% will burn fat and lose weight. A carbohydrate diet is calorie restricted diet. It sucks. All calories ARE NOT created equal.

Keep your micros at 50-67% fat 20-26 % protein and 4-9 % carbohydrates with at least 30-70 grams of fiber per day, and it is game over. Sugar is terrible. STOP consuming sugar and STOP counting calories.....it is a WASTE OF TIME.

lastly do weight training but no isolation movements............(barbell complex) or HITT .....sprinting..............this is a win win...I am 52 years of age and 178 pounds of lean muscle............It is all about consuming good fats through whole foods and low carbs..........medium protein and EAT your FISH..............Salmon.............99% whole food. forget the JUNK..........grains/starches/wheat/bread/ sweets and sweet drinks suck.............wake up people.......

Here is what you should eat. Whole foods......eggs/peanut butter/almonds/limes/lemons/broccoli/kale/salmon/tuna/whey protein/fiber supplements husk/sirloin/steak/..........raspberries/blackberries/strawberries///...........bottom line keep your carb intake below 100 grams per day, or if you are froggy, 50 or below but you have to EAT and eat plenty......low calories are a JOKE.

1600 calories? PLEASE.............I do that by 3pm. I work out 140 minutes per week. 4 days....................that's it.............Pay attention......whole foods through saturated fats are GREAT...................we have been lied to for years...............these experts are a joke.

carmelo2003

calorie intake is a joke...............try eating whole foods and stay on a high fat medium protein diet at 2800-4200 per day...........works for me...................I am 52 years old. I lost 60 pounds and added muscle............quite easily in fact............High fat is the way to go.....end of story. Calorie restricted diets are a JOKE.

diannethegeek

No really, what's with all the zombie threads lately?

threnjen

No really, what's with all the zombie threads lately?

They are being resurrected with really terrible posts, too