I think I might need to eat more?

Okay MFP has me eating around 1500 cals, but I just don't feel like it is enough. Pretty much every other site I have known about I should be eating around 1700-1800 cals/day. But part of me is afraid to eat more, for fear of not losing weight, but rather gaining weight. Last year around this time I had a test done at the gym that showed me how many calories I should eat to gain, maintain, or to lose and that one was around 1800 calories to lose weight.

So the question is have any of you eaten more than what MFP suggests on a daily basis and still lost weight?

Replies

  • LoraF83
    LoraF83 Posts: 15,694 Member
    Yes. MFP started me at 1200. That was unbearable. I upped it to 1500. Then 1700 (roughly my BMR). Then my hair started falling out. I followed the info I found on fat2fitradio.com and I'm now at 2100 (not eating back exercise calories) and I'm still losing...and my hair is coming back in.


    Check out fat2fitradio.com and the group her "Eat More Weigh Less".

    Good luck!
  • thuy5
    thuy5 Posts: 22
    hi there,
    it is pretty tough isn't it ? I was originally on 1200 and starving so I exercised like crazy to earn more calories to consume but I was tired most of the time. The weight loss was very gratifying, however after 3 months of strictly logging and following the plan I am now trying a happy medium now of eating more but still staying below my TDEE.

    Maybe go check out the TDEE calculator to see what your body requires to maintain which will make you feel better! I am now consuming 1700 cals a day and still losing (albeit a bit slower, but its much more comfortable for me and more manageable!!!). I think at my old diet I was consuming close to 3000 cals a day (and gaining weight steadily) so I feel better that i am closer to half of that now. I get scared cause i don't want to see the scale go the otherway, but realistically its not going to happen at only 1700 cals (my TDEE for the activity level i do right now is around 2100)

    Good luck!
  • ktanderson05
    ktanderson05 Posts: 207 Member
    Thank you for the input! Makes me feel better that I'm not the only out there who is constantly feeling hungry, and it is okay to eat some more.
  • thuy5
    thuy5 Posts: 22
    Yes. MFP started me at 1200. That was unbearable. I upped it to 1500. Then 1700 (roughly my BMR). Then my hair started falling out. I followed the info I found on fat2fitradio.com and I'm now at 2100 (not eating back exercise calories) and I'm still losing...and my hair is coming back in.


    Check out fat2fitradio.com and the group her "Eat More Weigh Less".

    Good luck!

    oh wow, my hair is falling out like crazy right now, i thought i twas just because i'm returning to normal from having had a baby 5 months ago, maybe I need to up my calories even more? might just wait to see what happens after a couple of weeks as I've only upped to 1700 calories recently!
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,428 MFP Moderator
    Just a point of reference, every women i have worked with is eating 1800+ as long as they are exercing. And you can gain a lb of fat unless you are eating 3500 calories more than you burn in a day. And considering your metabolic rate is probably around 1700-1900, you can probably eat in the 2000's without issue.
  • ktanderson05
    ktanderson05 Posts: 207 Member
    I haven't been exercising and I have a desk job so I'm trying to keep it lower!