I'm so stumped. Somebody please help!

BriHealthy150

I've been plateauing for the past month, pretty much ever since I started going to the gym. I lost 60 pounds by just eating healthier foods and only taking in about 1000 calories a day. Now I know that wasn't healthy and maybe that's why I'm plateauing now, but I'm trying to eat more but I just don't know how much to eat. I keep reading posts on here and nothing is consistent about eating back exercise calories and whatnot.

So I'm trying to eat 1200 calories a day. MFP tells me to have 1600 a day. Is it bad if I don't? And if I burn 500 calories working out, do I have to eat more? Someone please give me a clear answer. I just want to keep losing.

wevans03

Over the last year, I have learned that I have to eat at least 1200 calories and eat about half of my exercise calories back and lose on a regular basis. If I stayed eating 1200 or under ( which is dangerous) I also plateaued and was more tired and easily chose to not exercise. If you were only eating 1000 per day, that is not healthy and your body is probably in starvation mode. If MFP says to eat 1600 with no exercise then I would stick to that and also if you are exercising then I would eat half the exercise calories back. I also would eat more when I exercise more to keep my metabolism up.

Ariberri9

If your net calories (the calories you eat minus the calories you burn via exercise) are below 1200, then you need to eat those exercise calories back until you reach at least 1200. If you don't do that, your body will go into starvation mode.

As far as 1600 vs. 1200, what is your diet/fitness profile set to? It depends on what you want, your height, your weight, your lifestyle, etc.

BriHealthy150

I weigh 244 now and I'm 5'2. I put in that my exercise goals are 40 minutes 5 times a week. So I need to net at least 1200?

psuLemon

If MFP is telling you to eat 1600, that is what you should aim for and then eat back 50-75% of your exercise calories. Your metabolic rate alone is around 1900 calories. Consistently eating under will just suppress your metabolism making you burn less calories. Eating less doesn't mean losing more. The only thing it will do is increase muscle loss which means a slower metabolism and the ability to burn less calories. Now you can reserve some of these if you do heavy weight training burn to repair your muscles, you should be eating around 2000 calories total.

bcl003

Yes you need to net 1200, if you don't you are starving your body. If MFP says to eat 1600 before you workout you are really starving your body, but please don't ever net under 1200 it makes people cranky and want to give up.

BriHealthy150

Thanks so much everyone!

Setof2Keys

This is a great question and it is refreshing to see others on here supporting and educating her instead of coming down on her for doing what we have all done when we first start learning about weight loss. WTG MFPers and this is a great place to ask questions.

DixiedoesMFP

Do you know your BMR and your TDEE? You want to eat more than your BMR and less than your TDEE to lose weight.

sisierra

I'm trying to get to 185 and one of my body builder friends on here has told me to consume 175g protein/ 150g carbs/ 50g fat and he didn't care how many calories I have to consume just as long as I hit those macros. I think something similar could work for you too!

KBienn

i hear ya, it is frustrating! i think that everyone is different and different things work for different people. i would recommend going to a nutritionist or doctor for advice. only they can look at exactly what is going on in your body.

secretlobster

Yes... You do need to eat more. If you're at all active, you almost definitely need to eat more than 1200 calories.

I damaged my metabolism by eating 800-1000 calories a day while working out 5-6 days a week. I lost the weight, but now I need to spend a lot of time repairing a metabolism that is downright broken. I know this process will make me gain weight back initially, but I cannot eat less than 1200 calories a day and unless I'm committed to resetting my metabolism... I would have to continue eating very-low-calorie for the rest of my life.

The worst part is, I didn't lose weight any more quickly than I would have if I were eating enough food. I starved myself unnecessarily.

So yes, please take it from me, it's not worth it to eat that little. You should always eat above your BMR.

ready2tryagain42

I try to net at least 1200 a day. If I don't...then I plateau.

PLUMSGRL

Read this blog by a member of Eat More to Weigh Less Group for clarification:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/lillebanon/view/my-take-on-eating-more-to-weigh-less-254554

graysmom2005

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

http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

Go to Scooby and put in your stats. This will give you the amount you need to be eating every day..and it's going to be way more than 1200. Doing that absolutely KILLED my metabolism. I lost 40lbs doing it the 1200 way and then I stalled, and gained. For TWO YEARS. Check out the EM2WL group. Amazing group of people eating 1800+ calories every day and losing fat...leaving their muscle where it should be, lots of energy, and revving up the metabolism. Good luck!

briabner

You might try this. If you are supposed to eat 1200 calories a day, thats 8400 calories a week. Try alternating days where you eat more and then other days eat less. As long as at the end of the week you are eating 8400 calories.

Example: Monday eat 1000 calories, tuesday eat 1500 calories and so forth just as long as you reach 8400 for the week.

Hope this helps sometimes your body just needs a change to get off a plat. My trainer told me to do this and it helped out greatly when I had been loosing weight several years ago.

PHATmommy68

I try to net at least 1200 a day. If I don't...then I plateau.

Do you mean that you have 1200 calories left over a day? That does not sound healthy!

FitterGill

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

http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

Go to Scooby and put in your stats. This will give you the amount you need to be eating every day..and it's going to be way more than 1200. Doing that absolutely KILLED my metabolism. I lost 40lbs doing it the 1200 way and then I stalled, and gained. For TWO YEARS. Check out the EM2WL group. Amazing group of people eating 1800+ calories every day and losing fat...leaving their muscle where it should be, lots of energy, and revving up the metabolism. Good luck!

This!!!

jcstanton

3500 cals is equivalent to 1 pound. In other words, if you eat 3,500 more calories than your body is using, you'll gain 1 pound. If you consume 3,500 calories less than your body is using, you'll lose a pound. (This is not per day, btw. If you consume 3,500 cals less than your body uses in a week, you'll lose one pound that week.) The amount of calories your body uses in the course of any given day (without exercise) is called your Base Metabolic Rate (BMR). This is the minimum amount of calories your body needs just to survive. That is why it's not recommended to eat less than that over an extended period of time. You are going to burn calories just by living your life (work, recreation, chores, etc...), and working out every day further boosts your body's calorie burning ability. If you don't eat back at least some of your exercise calories, you're going to drop under that recommended minimum and your body will start to shut down in order to conserve energy. MFP is saying you need to make sure your body has at least 1600 cals left AFTER EXERCISE and regular daily activity in order to operate efficiently. I hope this makes sense.

DixiedoesMFP

I try to net at least 1200 a day. If I don't...then I plateau.

Do you mean that you have 1200 calories left over a day? That does not sound healthy!

Net mean that calories eaten minus calories burned > or = 1200 calories