If I eat more than 1000 calories

pavingnewpaths · July 2012

I find myself gaining weight, HOW is this possible? It's extremely frustrating as well.

Okay, so the past month or so i've been eating about 900-1000 calories per day (my diary is open) simply because I just don't get hungry. I don't exercise much so I don't really feel the need to eat a lot, plus I eat filling foods that don't contain many calories.

Last Saturday I weighed in at about 182. Since then i've eaten more than I usually do, sticking closer to my 1200 calorie goal, but never going over. Yet, my weight has begun to fluctuate and raise. Instead of my usual discrepancies (where I would fluctuate two above or two below my last weigh in.) I've started to fluctuate between 183-185, which is really irking me. Yes, I have been eating more than I usually do, but i'm still under my goal, and there's still a very prominent deficit, how could I possibly be gaining weight?

UsedToBeHusky · July 2012

You have caused your metabolism to slow way down. Find out what your TDEE is and eat that for a month. Ignore the scale because you are going to gain no matter what you do. After a month, shave 300 calories off your TDEE and you body will burn mostly body fat.

DanaDark · July 2012

1. You definitely need MUCH more protein in your diet. You simply aren't getting enough.

2. By eating more, even healthy, your body is getting the nutrients it NEEDS. Certain ones it can store but needs water to store them. So the weight you gain when you eat a little more is water.

I would not suggest eating fewer calories than your BMR. You need to supply your body with the proper nutrients and materials (Vitamins, Minerals, Proteins) to function propery. It CANNOT make these materials out of your fat cells.

pavingnewpaths · July 2012

So zig-zag my calories?

jppd47 · July 2012

Its possible that the more you eat, the more water you'll retain. Especially with carbs and salt. I wouldn't worry about it. Take measurements of your body and don't worry about the scale so much. 3500 calories in surplus = add about a pound. So with eating that low I doubt your eating a surplus.

Food is your friend, and so is exercise. Enjoy them both, get a good resistance training regimen going and fuel yourself. your bones and muscles will thank you

LoraF83 · July 2012

No, zig-zagging calories means to eat low calories one day, higher calories the next (or low calories one week, higher the next). People think it keeps their metabolism "confused" and therefore working harder.

What the other poster is suggesting is a "reset." You eat at a maintenance level for a month, don't weigh yourself at all, then start eating a reasonable deficit after the month-long reset.

pavingnewpaths · July 2012

Oh! Okay, I see. Apparently my TDEE is 2011.
So I would just eat 2011 calories for about a month and then go back down to 1200?

That sounds reasonable. I'll try it out. Thanks guys

pavingnewpaths · July 2012

Also, quick question! This is maintenance, so i shouldn't gain more than 10 pounds or something, right? haha.

UsedToBeHusky · July 2012

No... eat at TDEE for a month to reset your metabolism. Then, do not eat less than 300 calories below TDEE. Eating less than that will cause your body to use much more than stored body fat for fuel.

UsedToBeHusky · July 2012

There is no way to know how much you will gain, but like I said. Ignore the scale. Start fresh after you have eaten at maintenance for a month.

Acg67 · July 2012

Stop weighing everyday, it's most likely water fluctuations, unless you have underlying undiagnosed medical conditions

UsedToBeHusky · July 2012

If you go back to 1200 calories a day, you will have this problem again. If you must go back to 1200, do it slowly. Eat 1700 one week, 1500 the next week, then 1200. But at 1200 calories you will lose muscle. Muscle is what generates your metabolism so the less you have the slower it gets. If you go back to 1200 calories, you will have to do this again.

mcarter99 · July 2012

Be aware this 'resetting your metabolism' thing is 100% a forum theory. So is 'don't eat below your BMR'.

Your small fluctuations are almost certainly water. Ignore it and forge ahead.

UsedToBeHusky · July 2012

They're hardly theories!

yarwell · July 2012

Indeed. "Myths" or "Group think" would be better descriptions.

shelbynicole32 · July 2012

Its probably just water retention. Weighing everyday will absolutely drive you nuts with your bodys natural water fluctuation.

AbbsyBabbsy · July 2012

Ok, could you source out the idea that people shouldn't eat less than 300 calories than their TDEE? Because that's not even a lb a week, and I've never heard that a lb a week will cause your body to cannibalize you muscles.

And how accurate are these online TDEE calculators? 300 is such a small deficit any error in the numbers could eat it up.

pavingnewpaths · July 2012

All right. I'll try eating exactly 1200 for the next two weeks, if I don't continue losing weight i'll attempt to reset my metabolism.*

I don't want to jump ahead by assuming there are issues that aren't actually present.

sanhol · July 2012

What is TDEE?

UsedToBeHusky · July 2012

First off, I learned this from someone with a degree in nutritional science. And I read it in the New Rules of Lifting for Women. While achieving weight loss is a matter of calories in/calories out, there is more at work within the body. What you are eating is also extremely important. The body produces hormones, such as cortisol and grehlin. Cortisol is a stress hormone that increases the body's efficiency at burning calories in order to force your body to function with fewer calories. Grehlin is the hormone that generates the feeling of hunger. If your diet is lacking in unsaturated fats (and you're in a calorie deficit), the body immediately assumes its starving and begins to generate these hormones.

Electrolytes also impact weight. The body uses minerals, such as sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium. A deficiency of any of these minerals creates an imbalance and in reaction, the body absorbs excess waters into cells and they swell. Women actually have additional water retention issues that are just mandatory, and can't be avoided.

People who are in a calorie deficit for long periods of time, inevitably, develop nutrition deficiencies that disrupt water balance or cause the body to generate hormones like cortisol and grehlin. The closer you are to TDEE, the easier it is to ensure that you achieve the balanced diet that your body needs. If you don't fulfill those needs, then your body will work against your efforts to lose weight.

You can call them theories, but all of this is based in science. If anything, MFP's "3500 calories = 1lb" and "deficits based on BMR" are more the forum theory than this. Sure, 3500 calories would and should equal a 1lb of weight loss, but that is total weight loss and NOT fat loss. Depending on whether your diet is balanced or not, that 1lb could be 3/4 fat + 1/4 water or 1/4 fat +1/4 water + 1/2 muscle or it could just be 1lb of water.

Besides... I ate a 300 calorie deficit below my TDEE for the last 3 weeks and lost 13 lbs. Sure, a lot of it was water, but what wasn't was a little muscle and a lot of fat.

OP - Even though I didn't mention it, protein is extremely important too. Really the message I'm hoping to get across here is that it is more important to make certain that your diet is nutritionally sound than it is to cut as many calories as possible from your diet. You can PM me if you want to talk about it more. I'm not going to continue to engage newbies who haven't even begun to do the research that I have.

UsedToBeHusky · July 2012

I find it funny that everyone who disputes this only started with MFP in the last few months. I guess none of you have plateau'd yet. I guess none of you have had a need to find out why or how the body works in order to get results. Best of luck to you all!

If I eat more than 1000 calories

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