Eat more to lose more? Contradictory isn't it?

BarbraP44

Will someone explain why you eat more to lose more? You cannot lose weight unless you cut down your caloric intake and exercise. And you will not be able to keep it off unless you change your eating habits, eat healthier and controlled eating, exercise.... changing your lifestyle.

HMVOL7409

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/512956-tdee-what-is-it-and-why-you-should-not-eat-below-your-bmr



This thread, group is pretty self explanatory. I reached my final GW when I started following it. I still ate at a deficit but at a deficit that was based on my activity. I exercise a lot and eating 1200 cals was doing nothing for me fuel wise.

Elle408

In short, because even 'eating more' you're still at a deficit, just not as big as a deficit as you would be on at 1200. I'm not going to go into the science of it because someone else will do that much better.

All I know for me is, eating 1200 cals a day left me weak, cranky, exhausted, my hair fell out, I was obsessed with food and routines, I was freezing cold and had massive heart palpitations. Now, eating 17-1900 cals a day, I still lose weight, but I have none of the symptoms of before. I'm still at a deficit, and i'm still eating less than the 2500+ calories I was eating per day that made me fat in the first place... so I have in fact, changed my eating habits, learned a new lifestyle, am at a deficit and am eating more to lose more. I'm also not starving myself. It works for me!

180farm

It's not eat more to lose if your already eating too many calories. It's not to eat to few calories. Your body doesn't like either. When you eat too many calories you gain weight. When you eat to few calories your body wants to hold on to it. It's all about finding the happy medium. Too many start a diet and starve themselves in the beginning wanting the quick fix. It's just not sustainable for most people in the long run.

yarwell

It's a bit of a sound bite really, doesn't convey the whole story. Other variants might be :-

1. Exercise more so you can eat more and have a bigger deficit and hence lose more
2. Have a higher eating target so you can achieve it without frequently bingeing over it
3. Have a higher eating target so you can honestly record everything you eat
4. You have a metabolism type never seen in a metabolic study. Congratulations.
5. etc etc

yarwell

All I know for me is, eating 1200 cals a day left me weak, cranky, exhausted, my hair fell out, I was obsessed with food and routines, I was freezing cold and had massive heart palpitations.

yep, if I ate 2/3 of 1200 calories as carbs I would be pretty sick too.

You can be fully nutritionally supplied at 1200 calories, I ran the numbers yesterday. There was only 60g of carbs though, so I agree that 1200 cals of crap doesn't cut it.

Losing weight at a lower rate may be more sustainable and I don't have an issue with it, but eating over 1600 calories does require a level of exercise that many don't do especially smaller ladies with diminutive BMRs.

beccarockslife

Will someone explain why you eat more to lose more? You cannot lose weight unless you cut down your caloric intake and exercise. And you will not be able to keep it off unless you change your eating habits, eat healthier and controlled eating, exercise.... changing your lifestyle.

You regularly eat under 1200 cals a day, sometimes under 1000 so you aren't going to get it.

Elle408

All I know for me is, eating 1200 cals a day left me weak, cranky, exhausted, my hair fell out, I was obsessed with food and routines, I was freezing cold and had massive heart palpitations.

yep, if I ate 2/3 of 1200 calories as carbs I would be pretty sick too.

You can be fully nutritionally supplied at 1200 calories, I ran the numbers yesterday. There was only 60g of carbs though, so I agree that 1200 cals of crap doesn't cut it.

Actually, last year when I was very much pro 1200 and pro-low carb, my macros were immaculate, I ate as clean as possible - that was when the symptoms were at their worst, I regularly binged and had fainting spells. I need carbs, I'm going to eat them. If 2/3 of 'crap' is sustainable to me, I can run/exercise for miles and I maintain my weight (and my hair) - then rock on. Different strokes for different folks.

BarbraP44

You regularly eat under 1200 cals a day, sometimes under 1000 so you aren't going to get it.

If you are not hungry why force it?

mabernier

Well said and thank you for sharing your information!

Smuterella

Ok, lets get this clear. It isn't about eating more than you ate before you went on a diet and you still want to have a deficit from your maintenance amount. All Eat more to lose more means is that you can, most likely, eat more than 1200 calories (the set minimum) and lose weight.

Smuterella

You regularly eat under 1200 cals a day, sometimes under 1000 so you aren't going to get it.

If you are not hungry why force it?

Hunger, believe it or not, is not a good indication of what your body needs. If you have trained your body to only eat 1000 or so calories then it gets used to it. You might not feel hungry - but your body might be missing vital nutrients.

mabernier

Well put, the balance is key. I think we all forget that in the weight loss journey that we also have to live. We have to eat out with friends, grab a bite with our boyfriend or husband, attend a church event with food...lots of social things with food and when you start dropping down too low, you really have to be in control of all of your food...so eating out sometimes isn't easy and then the weight loss efforts start affecting your social life. So finding that balance where it truly is a lifestyle and works well in all areas of your life is key. That means giving yourself enough food so that food isn't your constant focus, giving yourself enough food so that you are satisfied, happy, fulfilled, capable of exercising, not being tired, etc. Give the body what it needs and it will give you what you need!

LondonEliza

Eat more to lose more is a bit misleading, the real thinking behind the soundbite is: 'Don't starve yourself to lose weight. Instead eat more, eat right, have more energy, exercise more and change your thinking about food. This philosophy is about becoming fit and healthy not just a quick few pounds dropped band-aid fix.

This is something I wrote which might help - http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/LondonEliza/view/some-observations-about-calories-a-few-weeks-in-249694 explain the whole eating more (and why you should) debate.

AthenaErr

Maybe this should be: 'eat more, cheat less' You need a cal deficit to lose weight. But when you go too low your body stops co-operating with your weightloss plan - so you either cheat, binge or get lethargic. Eating a bit more - but still in overall deficit - gives you more energy and helps you be consistent.

dansls1

It only works if one is starving themselves.

HMVOL7409

It only works if one is starving themselves.

Actually not true. Last I checked I wasn't purposely starving myself.

sniperzzzz

The reason this whole, eat more to weigh less, thing works for people, is because they ate at too large a deficit, to begin with.
When they ate more, they still lost weight, why? because they were still in a deficit, after they increased calories
So it does not mean, you can keep eating more, every time you plateau to continue losing weight.
Some people may very well need to lower calories, this leads to allot of confusion on this board.
The moral of the story is, find out your maintenance, and lower calories gradually, for continual losses.
And every now and then, take a full diet break for a week or two, eating at maintenance.