So scared of gaining weight

rcharlee

I need to find out what caloric intake is appropriate for me.

I decided to commit to getting healthy at the beginning of January this year. So far I have lost 18lbs, and have another 24lbs to go. I'm 27, 5'4, and 163.9lbs right now. I am doing Turbo Jam 5 times a week, Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred 3-4 times a week, use a stationary bike or gazelle glider 1-2 times a week, strength train 4-5 times a week, and play competitive tennis 2 days a week. Weekdays I work out at least 40 minutes, and upwards 80 minutes a day, and on the weekend it's 60-90 minutes of tennis.

I've seen post after post about "eating more to lose," but I just can't seem to understand this. I've also used TDEE tools, ect. to find out what I really should be eating calorie wise, but I'm scared that the numbers I see will make me gain weight. So here's the question..... can someone please help me figure out how many calories I should be eating based on my activity level, height, age, and weight?

Qarol

I'm no expert, but what I understand about the eat more to lose is not letting your caloric deficit get too high. Especially the closer you get to goal. Hopefully some of my smart friends will see this and respond.

jyska

Unfortunately I don't have time to answer your question in full right now, but if you repost your question in this forum: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/3817-eat-more-to-weigh-less (Eat More To Weigh Less) we are quite helpful and friendly and would love to help you determine what your tdee, tdee cut and BMR values are so that you can lose weight in a healthy way. :flowerforyou:

There are also a bunch of stickies at the top of that group that you can read through to get a better understanding of what the group is all about.

Hope to see you there!

BrokenBarbiexoxo

I am so you.

I am 5ft4, 26, exercise less than you.. But Iam upping my cals to lose weight. It seems insane. I currently eat 500-750 cals a day (don't abuse me, I know it's wrong and I'm doing something about it) and my weight loss stopped 3 weeks ago and I have now gained a pound.

I am going up between my BMR and TDEE slowly as of Monday as I have killed my body.

I'll be honest, the thought of eating more to weight less scares the crap out of me, as I know I will gain to begin with, and it seems a crazy concept anyway, until someone explained it all to me... Add me if you want to go through it together, it's scary and I can't imagine eating so much food! But our bodies need it hey.

BrokenBarbiexoxo

see below.

BrokenBarbiexoxo

My BMR is 1427 and my TDEE without exercise is 1712 (I am 5ft4 same as you, office job and weight 138) so my calorie goal is 1,370 and I am meant to eat back the exercise calories (but I won't do this yet) x (with my exercise i do my BMR is 1,427 and TDEE is 1,962 so I should eat 1,570 and not eat exercise calories) x

Nyodra

English BMR Formula
Women: BMR = 655 + ( 4.35 x weight in pounds ) + ( 4.7 x height in inches ) - ( 4.7 x age in years )
Men: BMR = 66 + ( 6.23 x weight in pounds ) + ( 12.7 x height in inches ) - ( 6.8 x age in year )

Metric BMR Formula
Women: BMR = 655 + ( 9.6 x weight in kilos ) + ( 1.8 x height in cm ) - ( 4.7 x age in years )
Men: BMR = 66 + ( 13.7 x weight in kilos ) + ( 5 x height in cm ) - ( 6.8 x age in years )

To determine your total daily calorie needs, multiply your BMR by the appropriate activity factor, as follows:

If you are sedentary (little or no exercise) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.2
If you are lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.375
If you are moderatetely active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.55
If you are very active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.725
If you are extra active (very hard exercise/sports & physical job or 2x training) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.9

LJCannon

:flowerforyou: bumping to read later

inraptorswetrust

I'm in the same boat. I've been doing about 1100 calories per day net. I cannot imagine eating 1400 calories like the calculators recommend. I'm giving it a shot though, because I despite working hard and eating (mostly) clean I haven't lost anything for over a month. It's definitely scary and will take some discipline, I'm going to give it a shot.

rcharlee

Well I joined a group, upped my calories from 1430 to 1900, and will now continue my workout routine and see what happens.

Foodie711711

Wow you workout alot. Congrats on your dedication and weight loss so far. When my weight loss stalled for months, I posted a similar question and everyone explained to me the eat more to weigh less idea. It sounded good and I couldnt complain about eating more food!! I slowly raised my calories from 1600 to 2000( do not eat my exercise calories back unless I drop under my BMR). I just started this a little bit back and I too am scared of gaining the weight back. I was told that there would be a weight gain in the begining but then it will even itself out and Ill keep losing again. Now while I'd like to tell you Im a success story to this philosophy..I do not know yet. I decided to ban my scale for a month so I do not freak out about the initial gain and to give it a fair amount of time before I say this method does not work for me. I'll make sure to write back once I know my results. Good luck if you attempt this!!

Qarol

Well I joined a group, upped my calories from 1430 to 1900, and will now continue my workout routine and see what happens.

You might want to bump your calories a littler slower than that. Perhaps 100 cals each week for a few weeks. Otherwise, you might see some initial increases on the scale that might discourage you.

pnut80

oh my! yes you should NEVER eat below 1200!!! that is soooo bad unhealthy!! but i am not the weight loss police lol so i wont beat u up

but as far as eating more to weigh less...it works!! or shall i say it is working for me and ive only seen positive posts about it on MFP. i have been eating 1200 a day since january and i had lost almost 16 lbs, about a month ago i plateaued. i couldnt seem to get past it so i started researching it in the forums and kept reading everyone say eat more eat more. i was sooooo scared i would gain and ruin everything i had accomplished. but i decided to give it a try, my frustration with not losing pushed me to try. the first 3 or 4 days the scale went up about a lb total but then it started going back down and it hasnt stopped since. i think its about workin your way to a maintenance cal intake...cause lets face it, we are not gonna be "dieting" forever." and i just think this is the best way to do it....in my opinion lol.

so heres my suggestion, go to http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ and figure up your numbers, then figure 15%-20% of your TDEE and subtract it from you TDEE, that is what you should be eating. or at least that is what i was told. i think with 15% you should lose a lb a week. but i figured 20% for my total.

i am no weight loss genius, i just found all this info on the MFP forums, and its working great for me hope this helps and good luck!

BrokenBarbiexoxo

oh my! yes you should NEVER eat below 1200!!! that is soooo bad unhealthy!! but i am not the weight loss police lol so i wont beat u up

hehe :laugh:

I hope it works for me also :happy:

Sarauk2sf

I am so you.

I am 5ft4, 26, exercise less than you.. But Iam upping my cals to lose weight. It seems insane. I currently eat 500-750 cals a day (don't abuse me, I know it's wrong and I'm doing something about it) and my weight loss stopped 3 weeks ago and I have now gained a pound.

I am going up between my BMR and TDEE slowly as of Monday as I have killed my body.

I'll be honest, the thought of eating more to weight less scares the crap out of me, as I know I will gain to begin with, and it seems a crazy concept anyway, until someone explained it all to me... Add me if you want to go through it together, it's scary and I can't imagine eating so much food! But our bodies need it hey.

First - kudos to you for recognizing the issue and what you need to do. I am sure you know, but want to emphasise that if you have been on very low calories for a while, you metabolism will probably be messed up (supressed). The good news is - it is 'fixable', the bad news is - you will probably gain a little to do it. In some ways, going immediately to what your maintenance should be can be beneficial, but I understand why that would just be too much and going up slowly makes the most sense.

I would suggest that you look into joining this group: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/4455-metabolism-repair-mode they should be able to help with your concerns and questions as you do this.

Good luck

pnut80

oh my! yes you should NEVER eat below 1200!!! that is soooo bad unhealthy!! but i am not the weight loss police lol so i wont beat u up

hehe :laugh:

I hope it works for me also :happy:

im sure it will! and congrats on your progress so far! :happy:

BrokenBarbiexoxo

I am so you.

I am 5ft4, 26, exercise less than you.. But Iam upping my cals to lose weight. It seems insane. I currently eat 500-750 cals a day (don't abuse me, I know it's wrong and I'm doing something about it) and my weight loss stopped 3 weeks ago and I have now gained a pound.

I am going up between my BMR and TDEE slowly as of Monday as I have killed my body.

I'll be honest, the thought of eating more to weight less scares the crap out of me, as I know I will gain to begin with, and it seems a crazy concept anyway, until someone explained it all to me... Add me if you want to go through it together, it's scary and I can't imagine eating so much food! But our bodies need it hey.

First - kudos to you for recognizing the issue and what you need to do. I am sure you know, but want to emphasise that if you have been on very low calories for a while, you metabolism will probably be messed up (supressed). The good news is - it is 'fixable', the bad news is - you will probably gain a little to do it. In some ways, going immediately to what your maintenance should be can be beneficial, but I understand why that would just be too much and going up slowly makes the most sense.

I would suggest that you look into joining this group: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/4455-metabolism-repair-mode they should be able to help with your concerns and questions as you do this.

Good luck

Thank you, I really appreciate you posting that link and I will definitely go and have a look now! Thank you so much

I know I will gain, but in the long run, I need to do it so hopefully it'll work out ok for me x

WandaJean1564

okay so if I eat my 1200...and do my 60 min walks each day ( yesterday was a 40 minutes walk cause I was up at 3:30 am)..I will lose weight????
and to the Op congrats on your success

rcharlee

okay so if I eat my 1200...and do my 60 min walks each day ( yesterday was a 40 minutes walk cause I was up at 3:30 am)..I will lose weight????
and to the Op congrats on your success

Initially you probably will, but will most likely stop losing or even gain when you eat a low amount of calories and exercise some of that off. I don't think the average American woman's body only needs 1200 calories. I was eating 1400ish, and that isn't enough for my body to function on; since I work out like a mad woman.

http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/
This is the calculator site that a fitnesspal posted in her blog that finally helped me completely understand what is going on.

Sarauk2sf

okay so if I eat my 1200...and do my 60 min walks each day ( yesterday was a 40 minutes walk cause I was up at 3:30 am)..I will lose weight????
and to the Op congrats on your success

Initially you probably will, but will most likely stop losing or even gain when you eat a low amount of calories and exercise some of that off. I don't think the average American woman's body only needs 1200 calories. I was eating 1400ish, and that isn't enough for my body to function on; since I work out like a mad woman.

http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/
This is the calculator site that a fitnesspal posted in her blog that finally helped me completely understand what is going on.

OP: Another good thread for you is http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/538381-in-place-of-a-road-map?

Just a word of caution - you may be overtraining as it looks like you do A LOT of exercise (or, as you say, work out like a mad woman) - you may want to consider cutting back a bit as that much can put a strain on your body and become counterproductive.

ETA: another useful link: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/521728-upping-cals-what-to-expect-why-you-need-patience?

rcharlee

okay so if I eat my 1200...and do my 60 min walks each day ( yesterday was a 40 minutes walk cause I was up at 3:30 am)..I will lose weight????
and to the Op congrats on your success

Initially you probably will, but will most likely stop losing or even gain when you eat a low amount of calories and exercise some of that off. I don't think the average American woman's body only needs 1200 calories. I was eating 1400ish, and that isn't enough for my body to function on; since I work out like a mad woman.

http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/
This is the calculator site that a fitnesspal posted in her blog that finally helped me completely understand what is going on.

OP: Another good thread for you is http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/538381-in-place-of-a-road-map?

Just a word of caution - you may be overtraining as it looks like you do A LOT of exercise (or, as you say, work out like a mad woman) - you may want to consider cutting back a bit as that much can put a strain on your body and become counterproductive.

ETA: another useful link: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/521728-upping-cals-what-to-expect-why-you-need-patience?

Thanks! There was some great info in there. I am planning to reduce my exercise too; taking a rest day, and probably only doing one of the workout dvd collections at a time.