Has anyone else taken this gradually?
amonkey794
Posts: 651 Member
Hi. I've noticed everyone has taken the leap to eating their TDEE all at once. I was curious if their was anyone who has tried/had success of increasing their calories at a slower pace? Luckily, I have already lost all my weight (unfortunately the unhealthy way) and gotten to my desired body composition 
. The only issue now is that my body maintains with a quite low calorie intake, due to me treating it so poorly for so long 
. I'm coming off and ED mindset (I still struggle mentally) and I know mentally and emotionally, I am not strong enough to make the jump all at once, especially with all the other stressors in my life at the moment. Obviously I still want to get healthier, but maybe by gradually doing this, so I don't overwhelm myself. Has anyone actually had success? I know most people are on cuts and stuff, but all I need to do is teach my body to maintain where it was meant too, not at 1300 calories
. The only issue now is that my body maintains with a quite low calorie intake, due to me treating it so poorly for so long . I'm coming off and ED mindset (I still struggle mentally) and I know mentally and emotionally, I am not strong enough to make the jump all at once, especially with all the other stressors in my life at the moment. Obviously I still want to get healthier, but maybe by gradually doing this, so I don't overwhelm myself. Has anyone actually had success? I know most people are on cuts and stuff, but all I need to do is teach my body to maintain where it was meant too, not at 1300 calories 0
Replies
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I never went to TDEE, but have gradually worked up to my cut number. I made sure to stay at each jump in calories for about 2 weeks before moving onto the next increase. Every time though, I experienced a speeded up version of the side effects people tend to get - stuffed, starving, fatigue, stability, and finally a small loss. I've managed to lose 5 pounds while increasing my cals slowly, so it is possible. So....it was more like doing a bunch of dancing for me....three steps forward and two steps back, stepping up from 1400 to 2200 a day. Patience is absolutely necessary for em2wl, no matter which way you slice it though.0
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Thank you so much! That makes me feel a whole lot better 2 weeks sounds like a good number, thank you!
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I too didnt eat at TDEE, but instead jumped to just around my cut number.. I think I am still below it by alittle and thinking of upping again.. probably during my next exercise cycle0
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I jumped from 1200/day to my BMR (1700) for a month. Then I increased to TDEE based on each day. So on a non-exercise day, I only eat 2200, but on an exercise day I eat around 2600-2900. As a result, I have not seen much weight gain. I gain and lose the same three pounds now and it doesn't bother me one bit since I consider it to be maintaining! I have been doing that for 5 weeks now and feel great. I am going to be upping to my average TDEE of 2600 next week though. Just do what works for you! I gave myself at least 4 weeks before upping calories because after 2 weeks my body didn't feel settled at the higher calorie level.0
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Okay I'm shooting for 1400 ish area right now just a smidge above my BMR 0
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I moved up slowly (1500 to 1900) over the course of 3 months. I am pretty much where I want to be numbers wise in weight, and I didn't really gain any over that slow increase. I may have even lost a half pound or so. As others said, patience is vital to EM2WL - nothing will change overnight.0
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Go with what ever feels right for you. If you feel more comfortable increasing slowly, then I would say go for it
On the long run, you might want to consider doing a reset, to get your metabolism up and going again. I know it is hard, to wrap ones head around the prospect of gaining weight especially when you come from the department of ED (like myself too).
But let me tell you one thing....it is the most liberating thing I ever did. I am finally no longer scared to eat.
And mind, my TDEE is at 2600, so I had to eat a lot compared to my previous intake (I was around 1200-1300 I would say).
Yes, I gained a bit. But I know it will come off again, and if not in numbers, at least my clothes will be fitting better. I simply do not care about the scale any longer. It has tyrannized me for over a decade. But that's over thanks to EM2WL
Sorry for the ramble lol0 -
I have reached my goal weight and what I have done is increasee my calories by 100 more a day and stay at that calorie level for 2 weeks. I have lost weight every time I've done this so in turn I would have a cheat day sometimes 2 cheat days to gain it back since I don't want to be smaller than 125. I am now up to 1500 calories as of today and will see how I fair at that level. I love doing it this way because I have several cheat days where I ate whatever I wanted in order to gain weight back. I also feel if I do it slowly like this that maybe I'll be able to eat at a higher maintenance level but time will tell.0
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i've gone from eating under 1000 in February, to 2106 in June. I worked on getting it above 1000 consistently, then up to 1200 consistently, then 1400, 1500 and so on till i've finally made it to where I am. Yes it was a struggle. I found it comfortable for me to up them slowly to give me time to adjust my thinking as I went. I'm finally used to eating over 2000, even though some days I still forget what i'm doing and forget to eat. But my stomach actually growls now to remind me haha. I gained 4 pounds in the process, plus about 5lbs water weight that keeps coming and going as it pleases. Do whatever way works for you and happy eating :flowerforyou:0
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i've gone from eating under 1000 in February, to 2106 in June. I worked on getting it above 1000 consistently, then up to 1200 consistently, then 1400, 1500 and so on till i've finally made it to where I am. Yes it was a struggle. I found it comfortable for me to up them slowly to give me time to adjust my thinking as I went. I'm finally used to eating over 2000, even though some days I still forget what i'm doing and forget to eat. But my stomach actually growls now to remind me haha. I gained 4 pounds in the process, plus about 5lbs water weight that keeps coming and going as it pleases. Do whatever way works for you and happy eating :flowerforyou:
PINK!!! So good to see you, doll and how positive and committed you are
To the OP~ I started out at Cut-15% for about 9 weeks, then went to Reset and am in Week 6 of that.
It's been HARD but I DO NOT regret it one bit.
Yep, I gained a LOT.
But like Noor said, I am not afraid to eat anymore and I feel so emotionally free from being controlled by food. 0 -
Thank you all for your responses! 0
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I never did a reset. I started off at my TDEE with a 20% cut. But I did increase my calories slowly....like, super slow. Looking back, I wish I had just jumped in with both feet. It took 6 weeks for my body to figure out what the heck I was trying to do. I kept bouncing back and forth between the same 2 pounds and finally when I got up to my final increase, that's when the weight started coming off.0
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I've been going gradually. Going from my start weight, I had 95 pounds to lose, and creeping along at like a fraction of a pound a week would make me crazy. So right now I'm set to net just above my BMR and it's working fine for me. As I get close to my GW I'll probably start moving towards TDEE-15% but for now I'm losing about a pound a week and I'm not hungry so it's going good.0
