Calorie Confusion..

JennMarieFitz

SO here's my problem. For about two months, I ate healthy - pretty clean and lean (with a few bad days here and there). Over the course of those two months I lost ONE pound. While my clothes did fit a lot better, it was disheartening to not see a big change in the scale. I did a lot of bike riding, running, and dancing while I restricted my calories to 1200, and often I hit at around 1000 instead. I know this is low, but I felt full and I ate at every mealtime, with two snacks a day.

I then took a vacation back to my hometown for three weeks, watching what I ate, but not actually counting calories. I lost 4 pounds! Is this a clue that I need to eat more calories during the day, because I didn't eat as healthy as I do when I'm counting. (I had things like cheeseburgers and pizza hut, things I NEVER eat.)

Does anyone have an explanation that would help me continue to lose the weight in a healthy way?

chrisb75

Congratulations, you fed your body and it thanked you by releasing the weight it was holding on to. Go here and be freed from "dieting" and start changing your life:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/3817-eat-more-to-weigh-less

NoAdditives

Definitely eat more. 1200 is not enough for most people.

yarwell

did the exercise change in the 3 weeks too ?

FrenchMob

For a small female working a desk job and doesn't exercise, 1200 calories is adequate. But for someone that's active, not enough.

shellsrenee01

I have found that when I hit a plateau and the scale won't budge, it ends up dropping several pounds at once after a particularly "bad" week (like right after Easter and also my graduation party). I learned that it's called zig-zagging your calories, which confuses your body and the weight ends up coming off in chunks (haha).

Do some reading on it! It works well for me!

JennMarieFitz

In response to if my exercise changed -

I did my best to stay active, but I didn't push myself like I do when I'm at home. I make myself walk/jog or go for a bike ride every day at home. On my vacation I went for a jog about every other day. How do I know how much to up my calorie intake to? I'm really realizing that what I've been eating is way too low.

Zig-zagging calories seems to make sense, too. Thanks!

NoAdditives

I did my best to stay active, but I didn't push myself like I do when I'm at home. I make myself walk/jog or go for a bike ride every day at home. On my vacation I went for a jog about every other day. How do I know how much to up my calorie intake to? I'm really realizing that what I've been eating is way too low.

From your profile it looks like you don't have much to lose. I'd increase to 1500 net calories to start, but you might be able to get away with more. You should also incorporate strength training into your exercise routine.

BuckeyeLife

I worked out less, ate more, lost 3-4x the weight as opposed to watching what I ate, working super hard, and kept my calories lower. I'd recommend Eat More, Lose More philosophy. My girlfriend is doing pretty nicely and it is AWESOME to have a lady who can eat, makes for great meals together.

medaglia_06

Definitely eat more... you are not giving your body enough fuel for the amount of exercising you are doing. Up your calories and enjoy the weightloss... I did! Just make sure you up them with "good" calories (although I still make room for my weaknesses )

kawortman

You probably have it right, if you do not give your body enough fat to burn the calories then it does not, but also it just might have caught up with you and lost. Weight is a very fickle thing. I would keep tracking your intake and doing your exercises - at least that way you know if you are getting all the nutriments that you need in your body. I was very surprised to find out that when I ate more good fats (not saturated fats) I lost more weight; of course you have to watch what kind of fats you eat, but if I cut back on my good fats I do not lose. Let me know how you progress. It is hard, but well worth doing, because you are making your body much healthier and keeping your body healthy is what it is all about. Kathy

medaglia_06

How do I know how much to up my calorie intake to? I'm really realizing that what I've been eating is way too low.

Find your BMR and TDEE and eat in between there. You should NOT eat below your BMR and I try to stick close to mine.

http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/

First use the Military Body Fat Calculator

Then the BMR calculator (use the Katch-McArdle #s)

Good luck!

medaglia_06

Find your BMR and TDEE and eat in between there. You should eat below your BMR and I try to stick close to mine.

OOPS! You should NOT eat below your BMR

JennMarieFitz

Thanks to everyone I joined the group mentioned in the first comment, the "Eat more to lose more" group. In all honesty, I do NOT want to do this the unhealthy way. I'm trying to lose the weight to help with my self image, but if I feel terrible all the time, I'd rather just be flabby.

In truth, I've never gotten more migraines than when I ate so little.

jmjm55077

Sometimes it's about more than losing a couple of pounds...did you feel healthier for exercising and watching what you ate? Have you lost inches...even if your weight is not leaving perhaps the inches are? Being at home could have meant more activity, more eating in public (which usually results in less food) and more relaxing...Stick to what you are doing and remember our bodies take time to heal just like they took time to store on the fat...enjoy the new you and good luck!

Jbarbo01

1200 calories a day is completely unnecessary for weight loss and nutrition. Its difficult to get the right amount of vitamins and minerals on that small amount and its too low to lose weight on it. The paradox of weight loss is that if you stress too much about what youre eating, you often wont lose even if youre eating very little. Youll see losses when your more relaxed and just eating when youre hungry and stopping when youre full. Ive been doing that recently and its really helped. Focus more on satiety than calories. You can definitely have 1600-1900 calories a day and still lose weight, which gives you enough wiggle room to practice healthy eating habits of listening to your body cues. In Okinawa, there is very little obesity without calorie counting because they practice the principle of eating until theyre 80% full. That sounds like what you did on vacation, and thats probably why you lost. You didnt stress, you ate enough, but still were mindful of it.