Am I eating enough?

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Hi,

Last week was my first week back on track. I ate a NET calorie (average) over 7 days of 1486 and lost 2.6lbs.

This week, my NET average so far (over 4 days) has been 1012 and I have gained 1.6lb.

On average I'm eating 1864 calories a day and burning 852 - this is exercise (Polar records calorie burn) and steps (deducts 2,500 automatically before giving calorie allowance).

Was last weeks 2.6lb a fluke, or was it because I had been eating more? Do I need to eat more this week to see a better result (and stop gaining?) or should I try eating less?

Thanks

Replies

  • Boppinbird
    Boppinbird Posts: 76
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    I tend not to try and focus on all this calorie stuff. Eat sensibly and exercise to get fit and you won't go far wrong. I tend to go for a low fat diet and have a free day so I get a treat and I've been losing weight steadily since last April. I think your weight fluctuates naturally, but so long as you see a trend of losing weight you should be fine.

    Of course I guess it all depends on how much weight you need to lose and what your metabolism is like. But generally sensible eating and an active lifestyle generally works for most I believe.
  • wohwy
    wohwy Posts: 22
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    Hi there!

    It's not unusual to lose a lot more on the first week of starting a new diet and/or exercise routine. As for the weight gain, it could be water retention while your muscles heal from your exercise or it could be near your TOM. I've experienced going up and down a pound or two.

    Do you weigh yourself at the same time each day and in similar weight clothes? Our weight fluctuates all throughout the day so that could be a factor too.

    As Boppinbird said, eat sensibly and exercise to get fit.

    In case you're still at a loss on calorie intake, here's a good tip from snowchj that I found here on the message boards:

    1. Eat normally for two weeks, but diligently track your calorie intake and body weight.
    2. Total up all your calories during that time period.
    3. If you lost weight, add pounds lost x 3500 to the calorie total. If you gain weight subtract pounds lost x3500 from the total.
    4. Divide the total by the number of days (14 in this case).
    5. The resulting number is your TDEE. Eat 500 calories less than your TDEE everyday to lose 1lb per week.

    Keep in mind though that weight loss is non-linear.

    Good luck!