Who has started losing again after ADDING more calories?

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  • Feisty_Red
    Feisty_Red Posts: 982 Member
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    I was eating 1100-1200 daily and stalled for 2 weeks after loosing 20 lbs. Started eating around 1500 and I'm loosing again.

    I'm starting to feel better :) whew..
  • Christi6604
    Christi6604 Posts: 245 Member
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    After a 6 month plateau, I read this article (posted by someone else on these forums) and I upped my cals by about 150 per day and decreased cardio a bit (about 100 calories). I've dropped 8 more pounds and keep losing.

    http://www.fitnesswithnatalie.blogspot.com/2011/05/most-dreaded-word-in-weight-loss.html
  • vypeters
    vypeters Posts: 475 Member
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    Me! I actually was trying to get into maintenance and every time I'd up my calories my loss would stop for a couple of weeks, then start again fast. It does take a little time for your body to adjust to the higher calories and your metabolism to rev up, though.
  • AZChristy
    AZChristy Posts: 30 Member
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    I lost a bunch of weight last year by following mfp's guidelines but am now doing leangains so I started a new account for my new goals and approach. I eat way more now and I'm still losing. Last year I stuck to 1300 cals and ate back some of my exercise calories. Now I eat about 1500 on rest days and 2000 on workout days and am loving it and looking great.
  • Feisty_Red
    Feisty_Red Posts: 982 Member
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    After a 6 month plateau, I read this article (posted by someone else on these forums) and I upped my cals by about 150 per day and decreased cardio a bit (about 100 calories). I've dropped 8 more pounds and keep losing.

    http://www.fitnesswithnatalie.blogspot.com/2011/05/most-dreaded-word-in-weight-loss.html

    I've read that article too!!!!! That's what really put me over the edge to up my fuel!! And slow down on the massive amounts of cardio..Heck..I like weight training more anyways..awesome article..I just wish I would chill out..and listen :) I'm glad to hear you also have had a positive experience!!!!! :)))

    8 pounds..I would be dancing in the streets with that loss..go girl!!.. Never..ever will I take even a one pound loss for granted!!!
  • Feisty_Red
    Feisty_Red Posts: 982 Member
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    Me! I actually was trying to get into maintenance and every time I'd up my calories my loss would stop for a couple of weeks, then start again fast. It does take a little time for your body to adjust to the higher calories and your metabolism to rev up, though.

    Yeah! and YEAH :))
  • Feisty_Red
    Feisty_Red Posts: 982 Member
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    I lost a bunch of weight last year by following mfp's guidelines but am now doing leangains so I started a new account for my new goals and approach. I eat way more now and I'm still losing. Last year I stuck to 1300 cals and ate back some of my exercise calories. Now I eat about 1500 on rest days and 2000 on workout days and am loving it and looking great.

    Another yay!! :) Why is it so scary to do this? I think..because we have been so programmed...I'm talking since I was a kid..that you have to eat 1000 to lose weight! It's takes a reprogramming of the brain..I believe!!
  • Feisty_Red
    Feisty_Red Posts: 982 Member
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    and I'm so happy to see not ONE person has said..ya..I up'ed my calories and GAINED GAINED GAINED :)
  • mcarter99
    mcarter99 Posts: 1,666 Member
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    Have you gained muscle or lost inches in the past 3 months? What has your intake been?

    Don't get too intimidated by the numbers. If you think you might be too low, try higher for 2 weeks. If you think you might be too high (or if higher doesn't help), try lower for two weeks. You're not going to break anything for a 2-week test period as long as you're eating over 1200 and feel ok during workouts.
  • Chgosportsgal
    Chgosportsgal Posts: 38
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    My Dr. told me because of the intensity of my workouts, I HAD to hit at 2000 cals per day and 160g of protein. I do intense cardio 3x's a week and strength, abs, sculpt an toning 2x's week. Since I started eating more, I'm feeling much better and lost 3 lbs last week. I weigh in tomorrow - we'll see what happens!
  • PittShkr
    PittShkr Posts: 1,000 Member
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    EVERYONE!
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    and I'm so happy to see not ONE person has said..ya..I up'ed my calories and GAINED GAINED GAINED :)
    they're out there, seen several postings to that effect.

    ETA - they usually give up after 4 weeks though, as one would.
  • DeeDee2211
    DeeDee2211 Posts: 1,133 Member
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    I went from 1200 losing 1 lb. per week, to 1410 and I'm losing 1.5 to 2.5 every week. Good luck.
  • SonoraflowerKim
    SonoraflowerKim Posts: 61
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    Sounds similar to what I was doing, eating low calories and not seeing a change in my weight as it should have been. I began this weight be gone journey 2 years ago. So when I started using MFP in June 2012, I had already conditioned my body to accept low amounts of food and also not understanding how it all works on exercise, eating, etc.

    Now that I do understand it a bit more with the help of MFP and Fitbit, I can see that my intake and my calories from exercise (which I work out over 2 hours a day) had to go up. I slowly went from 1200 to 1400 to 1600 and now I am at about 1900 a day. BUT I work out more than the average person would work out. You could call it "I am a bit OCD about working out" That being said, I have lost about 2 pounds in the last two weeks.

    I think what confuses me and others is how this all works, with wanting the weight gone, being afraid to eat anything that could cause a weight gain, and exercising.

    I don't eat red meat, pork, drink milk, soda, alcohol, sugar, or white flour. So for me its a challenge just to find the right mix of carbs, protein, fiber, etc. to make sure my body is working right and I lose the last few pounds I want to lose!

    For me adding more calories based on my active life style works!!
  • SuMcP
    SuMcP Posts: 244 Member
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    I stalled by only netting 1200 / day - now I net 1400 / day but zig zag my days having under on some and over on others to make up a weekly target - losing between1-2lbs / week even though MFP states that it should be around 1/2 lb / week. See fat2fitradio.com pod cast on plateaus - it's really helpful.
  • Feisty_Red
    Feisty_Red Posts: 982 Member
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    My Dr. told me because of the intensity of my workouts, I HAD to hit at 2000 cals per day and 160g of protein. I do intense cardio 3x's a week and strength, abs, sculpt an toning 2x's week. Since I started eating more, I'm feeling much better and lost 3 lbs last week. I weigh in tomorrow - we'll see what happens!
    '
    This sounds like me..except I was doing intense cardio 6 days with weight/ab/leg work 30 mins every other day!!! Again..I'm glad to hear you also had positive results!!!! :)))
  • sammniamii
    sammniamii Posts: 669 Member
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    I had hit a place where I was loosing inches, but nothing on the scale. After reading alot of posts, researching and checking around, I upped my calories (TDEE - 20%) and the scale started it's downward climb again. Plus, now I don't feel so tired - MFP had dropped me to 1700 and I was hungry, tired and grumpy.
  • Feisty_Red
    Feisty_Red Posts: 982 Member
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    Have you gained muscle or lost inches in the past 3 months? What has your intake been?

    Don't get too intimidated by the numbers. If you think you might be too low, try higher for 2 weeks. If you think you might be too high (or if higher doesn't help), try lower for two weeks. You're not going to break anything for a 2-week test period as long as you're eating over 1200 and feel ok during workouts.

    Not noticable..maybe an inch....intake calories had been around 1200...so with the amounts of cardio...with a HRM(yes..Im sure its not 100% accurate) I was burning upwards of 400-800 a day...so..ya..no good :(

    Agreed on 2 week trial...I'm staying off scale for 2 weeks and see what happens... fingers crossed
  • MtnKat
    MtnKat Posts: 714
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    Yep.

    I have been eating 1200 cals (plus exercise cals) for years. I'd be unhappy, resentful and angry at the fact that 1200 cals was all the food I could eat. I worked out just so I could eat....couldn't stand the vicious cycle. Eventually I would just quit and go back to my regular eating. This time around my body/weight loss just completely stalled out which is why I thought I would try "eating more to weigh less" (there's a group on MFP if you are interested).

    Now I eat around 1900 cals every day and I love it. I have been losing about the same amount of weight as I was when I was eating 1200 cals. I am much happier - I enjoy my food - my body is happy too. Why would I want to go back to starving myself??

    Good luck and keep your body fed. Your body will thank you for it.
  • _Elemenopee_
    _Elemenopee_ Posts: 2,665 Member
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    ME!!!!!!! I was on 1200 for months until I stalled and started looking for answers like you are now. I'm volley between 13 and 1400(NET) now depending on how hard I've pushed myself that day. If I'm hungry, I eat, if I'm bored I refill my water and try to drown away the urge to get some candy (my weakness).

    After the first few weeks I still didn't believe upping would really work but with the help of my awesome MFP friends and just sticking with it. I've lost 23 lbs...and counting.

    You can do this! Best of luck! :)

    ETA: I'm only 5'1" so a lower calories range is right for me. If I was much taller, I'd need more!

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