Should I: Up/Lower Calories or Keep Doing What I'm Doing?

cari4jc1

I would love some advice/feedback. I have lost 11 pounds so far which I know is great, but I keep having these weeks that I "gain" instead of lose. For instance when I started doing this seriously I was at 1200 cals for a while and exercised 3-4 times a week for 30-45 mins. I didn't lose anything. Was tired all the time and had headaches. I upped my cals to 1530 and lost 2 pounds that week and for the next 3 weeks. Somewhere since then I upped my exercise to 5-6 days a week for 45-75 minutes and my cals have been at about 1660. I keep having weeks that I'll lose nothing for a couple weeks and then out of nowhere last Monday and Tuesday I lost a pound each day, but then ended up "gaining" it back and am still holding those 2 pounds. I really don't think I'm actually gaining weight...it's probably just water weight or something. It's pretty impossible to eat enough to gain all that weight especially when I exercise like I do.

So, should I lower my calories or up them yet again or just keep doing what I'm doing and hope my body stops being stupid.

My diary is open so you are welcome to take a look and I put in the exercise notes what I'm doing.

Oh and my BMR is about 1640.

skinnynerd

I'm not sure this will help. On the days that I gain a pound", I have consumed too much sodium. If I watch the sodium the next day, then I lose the pound from the previous day. I get the most sodium from eating out.

mcarter99

I would pick a calorie goal and stick to it for a month and then step on the scale and judge your results. The jumping around doesn't really tell you anything. Maybe the week you lost well it was due to the 1200 calorie weeks before? There's no secret number. Eat below what you expend, eat above 1200, the bigger the deficit the more you'll lose over a long period.

cari4jc1

I would pick a calorie goal and stick to it for a month and then step on the scale and judge your results. The jumping around doesn't really tell you anything. Maybe the week you lost well it was due to the 1200 calorie weeks before? There's no secret number. Eat below what you expend, eat above 1200, the bigger the deficit the more you'll lose over a long period.

I had been at the 1200 cals for a couple months at least and then May 1st is when I upped it to 1530 and then I've been at 1660 for at least a month if not a little longer.

Hope that clarifies the time frame.

JulieRoselovesFreeze

I'm not sure this will help. On the days that I gain a pound", I have consumed too much sodium. If I watch the sodium the next day, then I lose the pound from the previous day. I get the most sodium from eating out.

^This^

Sometimes it takes a me couple of days and some extra water to flush out too much sodium...then the scale makes sense again

cari4jc1

I'm not sure this will help. On the days that I gain a pound", I have consumed too much sodium. If I watch the sodium the next day, then I lose the pound from the previous day. I get the most sodium from eating out.

^This^

Sometimes it takes a me couple of days and some extra water to flush out too much sodium...then the scale makes sense again

I'm usually under my goal for sodium each day, but maybe it's set too high..? How do I figure out a good number for it to be?

WEB3

Just peeked at your diary. Keep an eye on the sodium, that will cause water retention and your scale won't move.

Have you lost any weight in the past 2 months since upping from 1200?

Also, are you using a heart rate monitor to get your calories burned or going bu what MFP says? MFP is very generous and not always accurate.

Goal_Line

This is consistent with my experience. I'd go 7-10 days with no loss or even a slight gain and then lose 3 lbs in 2 days. There are lots of none fat related factors that influence your weight (water retention, bowel movements all kinds of stuff). Keep the long view, measure progress over longer time periods to adjust for short term influences and don;t stress over a small gain form day to day.

As for eating. I' in the eat more, burn more camp. I eat when I'm hungry. Just make sure I eat quality food and burn in in daily workouts.

Goal_Line

Just peeked at your diary. Keep an eye on the sodium, that will cause water retention and your scale won't move.

Have you lost any weight in the past 2 months since upping from 1200?

Also, are you using a heart rate monitor to get your calories burned or going bu what MFP says? MFP is very generous and not always accurate.

The heart rate monitor is very good advise!

mcarter99

I would pick a calorie goal and stick to it for a month and then step on the scale and judge your results. The jumping around doesn't really tell you anything. Maybe the week you lost well it was due to the 1200 calorie weeks before? There's no secret number. Eat below what you expend, eat above 1200, the bigger the deficit the more you'll lose over a long period.

I had been at the 1200 cals for a couple months at least and then May 1st is when I upped it to 1530 and then I've been at 1660 for at least a month if not a little longer.

Hope that clarifies the time frame.

This isn't scientific but I clicked on two random weekdays in May and you were at around 2000 calories and two in June and you were at around 1600-1700. It sounds like you're 'adding back'?

The scale can be affected by so many things. I still say I'd pick the (lowest) deficit over 1200 YOU feel comfortable with and just go with it. If you're not losing over long time spans like a month, you probably need to stop adding back or start eating less. Ignore the scale noise in the interim.

cari4jc1

Just peeked at your diary. Keep an eye on the sodium, that will cause water retention and your scale won't move.

Have you lost any weight in the past 2 months since upping from 1200?

Also, are you using a heart rate monitor to get your calories burned or going bu what MFP says? MFP is very generous and not always accurate.

Yes, I have lost the 11 pounds since May 1st when I first upped my cals from 1200 to 1530. I lost 8 pounds the first month and then 3 so far in June.

How do I figure out what my sodium should be? I am usually under my current goal.

As for the HRM, I would love one, but don't have one yet. I figured MFP calories burned is not completely accurate although it's pretty close to other calculators that I've looked at for my exercises. I still take it with a grain of salt though and I don't generally eat back my calories burned. WIth that said I do know that I definitely don't "phone it in" when I workout as Jillian Michaels says all the freaking time. I work hard and I push myself each day to make sure I maximize the burn that I do get.

mcarter99

11 lbs. in 8ish weeks is terrific!

cari4jc1

I would pick a calorie goal and stick to it for a month and then step on the scale and judge your results. The jumping around doesn't really tell you anything. Maybe the week you lost well it was due to the 1200 calorie weeks before? There's no secret number. Eat below what you expend, eat above 1200, the bigger the deficit the more you'll lose over a long period.

I had been at the 1200 cals for a couple months at least and then May 1st is when I upped it to 1530 and then I've been at 1660 for at least a month if not a little longer.

Hope that clarifies the time frame.

This isn't scientific but I clicked on two random weekdays in May and you were at around 2000 calories and two in June and you were at around 1600-1700. It sounds like you're 'adding back'?

The scale can be affected by so many things. I still say I'd pick the (lowest) deficit over 1200 YOU feel comfortable with and just go with it. If you're not losing over long time spans like a month, you probably need to stop adding back or start eating less. Ignore the scale noise in the interim.

Haha yeah you probably got lucky and clicked a day where I had a special treat aka Java Chip Ice Cream. It's my crack, which is why I only eat it every once in a while.

Sometimes I do eat back 100ish calories if I'm still hungry, but I don't feel like I over eat back calories since MFP probably over estimates calories burned.

Thank you for the advice! I'm questioning if maybe I should go back to the 1530 calories.

WEB3

11 pounds is great!

I'm trying to lose my last 10 and incorporating a HRM has helped me keep on track.
I saw you logged 800 calories burned for a JM video. That seems really high. I burn 250-350 for an Insanity video and that is intense! MFP said I was burning 500-600. That is a big difference.

http://calorieline.com/tools/tdee

This site gives details based on activity level. Play around with the numbers and like others have said, stick to a calorie goal for a month and be honest with yourself about your treats! Don't deprive yourself but don't beat yourself up. When I have a treat I don't beat myself up about it and just work extra hard the next day.

cari4jc1

11 pounds is great!

I'm trying to lose my last 10 and incorporating a HRM has helped me keep on track.
I saw you logged 800 calories burned for a JM video. That seems really high. I burn 250-350 for an Insanity video and that is intense! MFP said I was burning 500-600. That is a big difference.

http://calorieline.com/tools/tdee

This site gives details based on activity level. Play around with the numbers and like others have said, stick to a calorie goal for a month and be honest with yourself about your treats! Don't deprive yourself but don't beat yourself up. When I have a treat I don't beat myself up about it and just work extra hard the next day.

Thank you for giving me that site. It was very interesting and I love that it had so many choices for activity level. I'm actually eating at the correct calorie level according to the chart given, which is reassuring.

As far calories burned goes. I don't look and see that MFP says I burned 800 calories and then eat 800 extra calories because I know MFP over estimates. I might eat 100-200 back on some days if I'm hungry, but not as a normal. I'm a member at Jillian Michaels website and when you enter the exercises you do there's a choice to enter one of her dvd's and it'll give me the calories burned for the dvd I did that day. It's usually 100-200 off. Sometimes more or less. For today's exercise though it was about 200 off I think.

cari4jc1

bump

Sidesteal

I would stop weighing yourself so frequently. I would not reduce calories.

dena789

Have you read the sticky post http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/23912-links-in-mfp-you-want-to-read-again-and-again at the top of the General Diet and Weight Loss Help page? There is one that might be of special interest to you http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/3047-700-calories-a-day-and-not-losing It will explain what happens when you go from very low calories to higher intake.

Don't give up... it will take some time for your body to realize it isn't starving. :flowerforyou:

love4fitnesslove4food_wechange

I most certainly would not decrease your calories. Just to give you an idea of how much you could potentially eat to lose...I am only 4'11 and quite small--when I'm losing I eat 1700-1900 usually and surely burn less than you from exercise (when you're going for 75 minutes) since i simply cannot burn more than 700 calories a day from purposeful exercise without spending 2+ hours working out. Yes everyone is different but i am quite confident that you are creating an adequate deficit to lose without reducing your calories.

Also, this past week I "gained" several pounds despite eating at a deficit---impossible. This happens to almost everyone at some point. The human body fluctuates--it is 65% water and water weight is influenced by sooo many things. I really wouldn't look at a few weeks as crucially important--it's the weight trend that matters and yours is going down.

Keep doing what you're doing.

LifeChangingExp

bump

cari4jc1

Have you read the sticky post http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/23912-links-in-mfp-you-want-to-read-again-and-again at the top of the General Diet and Weight Loss Help page? There is one that might be of special interest to you http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/3047-700-calories-a-day-and-not-losing It will explain what happens when you go from very low calories to higher intake.

Don't give up... it will take some time for your body to realize it isn't starving. :flowerforyou:

Thank you for that! I will definitely read it this morning.

cari4jc1

I most certainly would not decrease your calories. Just to give you an idea of how much you could potentially eat to lose...I am only 4'11 and quite small--when I'm losing I eat 1700-1900 usually and surely burn less than you from exercise (when you're going for 75 minutes) since i simply cannot burn more than 700 calories a day from purposeful exercise without spending 2+ hours working out. Yes everyone is different but i am quite confident that you are creating an adequate deficit to lose without reducing your calories.

Also, this past week I "gained" several pounds despite eating at a deficit---impossible. This happens to almost everyone at some point. The human body fluctuates--it is 65% water and water weight is influenced by sooo many things. I really wouldn't look at a few weeks as crucially important--it's the weight trend that matters and yours is going down.

Keep doing what you're doing.

You're right I know. It's difficult to look at the big picture sometimes.

FlyEaglesGuy

If you at eating decent from day to day and your weight fluctuates by a full pound, may be due to sodium and not enough water!

Chug chug chug!!!