Switching to the 'eat more to weigh less' philosophy?

bright_and_shiny
bright_and_shiny Posts: 67
in Health and Weight Loss
For those who've increased their calorie intake in line with the 'eat more to weigh less' philosophy, what made you decide to do so? When did you make the switch? Has it worked for you?

I have only lost 0.2lb for each of the last two weeks, despite 'doing everything right' as best I can, and am wondering whether I should give this a try, but I don't want to sabotage myself.

The long version of my story:

- I'm 27, female, (just under) 5'2" and about 122lb - but a healthier weight on me would be about 108lb (or at least, I want to lose about that much fat - quite happy to put on muscle regardless of the number on the scale).

- MFP has me set to 1200kcal (aiming to lose 1lb/wk, lightly active), and I'm usually eating about that (net) - I tend to go over about once a week, but if I do, I usually aim to be under the next day - and am sometimes a little under if I've been exercising a lot. I try to eat reasonably cleanly, and make most of my food at home rather than eating processed food. I weigh and measure my food too. There are some things I don't log religiously (herbal tea etc) but I'm not hiding anything substantial in my diet. I'm getting about 6 glasses of water a day (aiming for more!), and fill up on nutrient-dense foods like vegetables. I don't feel hungry or hypoglycaemic on 1200cals (and am not really sure what I'd do to increase what I'm eating).

- In terms of activity, I'm on my feet a bit for work. When I joined MFP (on 25/6/12), I was working 14+ hours a day for a week (mostly on my feet), then (once I was back in town and on my feet only on average 4-6 hours a day) I started the 30DS. I got a HRM (Polar FT60) two weeks ago, so I'm tracking that properly too.

- In the first two weeks, I lost about 3lb (57kg ->55.5 - sorry, I'm a metric girl but trying to cater for the larger audience as best I can!), then the following week I was up by 0.5lb (56kg) (I didn't eat over my cal target enough to justify that). I went back to 55.5kg the week after, then 55.4 last week and 55.3 this week. I am feeling fitter and may be a little more toned, but it's disappointing not to see the numbers reflecting the work I'm putting in (I don't expect to lose 1.5lb a week, but I'd hoped for more than 0.2lb a week consistently!). I'm hoping that some of it is that I've put on some muscle, but I'm going to arrange some bloodwork with my doctor and possibly talk to a nutritionist as well - but I thought I'd seek the collective wisdom of MFP as well, if anyone cares to read through all this!

- I've read around MFP a lot, so I'm aware of the different philosophies - it's just that so much of the info is conflicting, and I just don't know what to do. :ohwell:

I'd really appreciate any constructive tips/advice/support! :flowerforyou:

Replies

  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    If at 108 lb you were 20% fat that's 86 /bs / 39kg of fat-free mass which puts your BMR at goal weight around 1200. So your total consumption is probably 1600 - 1800 cals/day depending how much exercise and activity.

    A 20% deficit from 1600-1800 is 1280 - 1440 cals/day so I wouldn't think you want to be eating much more.

    A +/- 1kg daily weight fluctuation is common, especially in women, and with a deficit producing a loss rate around 0.3kg per week you're going to have to assess progress on a monthly rather than a daily basis.

    You didn't say how much you're eating now (actual food calories) and your diary is closed.
  • bright_and_shiny
    bright_and_shiny Posts: 67
    Sorry - it was open to friends only but I've fixed it now. I've been eating roughly 1400 cals gross on average, netting about 1200cals. It does tend to vary a bit; I'm working on that. Thanks for replying! :)
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    Some days you have twice as many carbs as others, that'll cause water retention to change a fair bit and wobble the scales. Consistently lower carbs would be better, and maintain the protein...

    Lyle McDonald reckons that "After much toing and froing and research had been done it was eventually found that a protein intake of about 1.5 g/kg of lean body mass (LBM; note that researchers actually used Ideal Body Weight but this is a rough proxy for LBM) was necessary to spare LBM losses in a non-training obese individual consuming low calories."

    1.5g of protein per kg lean body weight is about 60g for you by my guesswork ;-) 60-80g per day should have it covered.
  • bright_and_shiny
    bright_and_shiny Posts: 67
    Thanks yarwell - I really appreciate your knowledge and encouragement! I'll aim for more consistency over the next few weeks and see how I go. :smile:
  • Cat_296
    Cat_296 Posts: 40
    My advice would just be to stick at what you're doing. You've increased you're exercise and your body may be hanging onto water for repair purposes. Give it another 4 weeks or so doing what you're doing before you change anything. My body does something very similar - I'll get almost no weight loss for 4-6 weeks and then suddenly it'll drop by a few pounds, then sit at a level for another few weeks, then drop again.

    If nothing happens after 4 weeks, then maybe have a rethink of your exercise and have a closer look at the balance of your macros.

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