Struggle Party of ????????

hevnlydreamr

Hi Everyone

I am one of those people who have eaten at or below 1200 calories for a very long time. It is a lifestyle, although not a good one, that I have adapted and learned to live happily at. I am not hungry or deprived. When I wanted a treat, I would allow myself one. A year ago I got within about 10 lbs of my goal weight. I was, and still, very active (Insanity, jog, kickboxing, ect). Within a year I gained 10lbs back. The only explanation I could come up with was that I was in starvation mode. About a month and a half ago, as impossible as it seemed, I decided to up my calories to 1500 and then 1700. I never thought it would be so hard. :frown:

1700=TDEE-20%

I know the group recommends a -15% but at the moment i am struggling with where I am at. I figure I would slowly move my way up. Starting with a metabolism reset seems to be damn near impossible. Call me crazy, but I cant fathom eating over 2000 calories.

I try to eat as much protein as possible (meat, cottage cheese, greek yogurt). I throw in the occasional protein shake/bar when I can. I eat a lot of salads, fruits and veggies. I dont like to eat a lot of starchy carbs, but have forced them into my diet just for the calorie increase. I dont know what else to throw into my diet without going the unhealthy route.

Unfortunately I have gained another couple pounds since upping my calories and it is killing me. My body would probably benefit from a metabolism reset but I am barely hitting my calorie mark now. And if i gain anymore weight, the only thing I will be able to wear is sweats lol. :huh:

Im trying to have patience and not give up, but I dont know what else to do.

Greenrun99

Hey,
Unfortunately a lot of people here have seen an increase in weight when increasing their calories as your body is holding onto food thinking your splurging and not trying to reset.. and with some it can take time (read the sticky on some time frames) to reach a balance and then start losing.
As for eating and what to eat alot of us have our diary open to everyone and you can look over them and see what foods we are eating to reach that goal.. there are some things you can eat that are high in calories that people suggest (nuts, peanut butter, olive oil) that increases them..
You can vent in this group about the problems your seeing as we are mostly supportive of the method.

hevnlydreamr

Thanks greenrun99, I will definitely check out some of the food diary's.

Zylayna

Lots of us have taken our times upping calories (especially those of us coming from VLCD's for years). I personally did not jump into a metabolism reset right away (although I wish I could go back and do it then instead of 8 weeks later now). But it took me WEEKS to get used to higher cals. Take your time if you need it. Eventually you will get to a place where you will be able to handle those higher cals and you may want to consider the metabolism reset then.

In the mean time, you will most likely gain weight...it's inevitable. I wish I could tell you different, but it just is. How much depends on each person.

In regards to learning to eat more calories....ditch as many diet foods as you can and learn to eat full fat, normal foods as much as possible. Part of the eat more process is actually learning how to eat differently, normally. When I first started eating more, I kept trying to get the calories in by eating the low cal, low fat foods I had trained myself to eat and I also found myself saving cals for the end of the day because that's what I had to do before. I have learned now NOT to do that...it's the worst time to try and cram down extra cals! I plan my day ahead and space food out every 2 - 3 hours now and leave just enough for a small snack at night (more if I know I'm going to be at a party or a movie or something where I need the calories)

I hope some of that helps. Lean on the group when you feel you need the encouragement...that's why we are here.

FitterGill

Lots of us have taken our times upping calories (especially those of us coming from VLCD's for years). I personally did not jump into a metabolism reset right away (although I wish I could go back and do it then instead of 8 weeks later now). But it took me WEEKS to get used to higher cals. Take your time if you need it. Eventually you will get to a place where you will be able to handle those higher cals and you may want to consider the metabolism reset then.

In the mean time, you will most likely gain weight...it's inevitable. I wish I could tell you different, but it just is. How much depends on each person.

In regards to learning to eat more calories....ditch as many diet foods as you can and learn to eat full fat, normal foods as much as possible. Part of the eat more process is actually learning how to eat differently, normally. When I first started eating more, I kept trying to get the calories in by eating the low cal, low fat foods I had trained myself to eat and I also found myself saving cals for the end of the day because that's what I had to do before. I have learned now NOT to do that...it's the worst time to try and cram down extra cals! I plan my day ahead and space food out every 2 - 3 hours now and leave just enough for a small snack at night (more if I know I'm going to be at a party or a movie or something where I need the calories)

I hope some of that helps. Lean on the group when you feel you need the encouragement...that's why we are here.

Brilliant advice :-)