Forever doomed to diet?

KaosKosmos

I am getting so frustrated because I stick to my daily calorie intake so well usually, but when I go over by only a few calories (like 200 at most) I gain weight instead of only maintaining. Is anyone else having this issue? And does anyone know if this is a permanent issue or is it a temporary adjustment type thing? Can I ever go back to a normal 2000 calorie diet without gaining weight on a daily basis?

xxvogue

I don't know whether you're a woman or a man, or how tall you are, but as a general rule women shouldn't be eating 2000 calories a day. I believe women are supposed to consume about 1500 to 1800 calories a day depending on height and fitness level. Also, people who were obese/overweight before will perpetually have to eat less to maintain than others (or so I've heard). Not fair, but kind of makes sense as your body is always trying to hit a higher weight.

Also, if the rises on the scale are overnight after being 200 calories over, you're not looking at fat gain. It's probably water.

DanaDark

Extra calories usually means more sodium and more carbs, both of which will cause a little extra water retention.

Additionally, make sure you are getting enough protein!

Lina4Lina

Wow, 2000 calories is a lot for someone so close to their goal. Honestly, you might do better with calorie cycling, meaning lowering your overall caloric intake so that those splurge days won't affect your weight loss. In the past, I had a lot of success with eating lower calories during the week and then splurging for a meal on the weekend. Right now, I'm pretty even but depending on how things work out, I may end up lowering my weekly calories to make up for the splurges that may occur on the weekend.

KaosKosmos

Thanks for the info everyone, I'm not actually eating 2000 calories, it's been a long time since I ate that much, I just assumed that 1800-2000 was the diet range for maintaining weight. I am hoping you are right and that it is just water weight, I will keep monitoring and see what happens.

geekyjock76

I don't know whether you're a woman or a man, or how tall you are, but as a general rule women shouldn't be eating 2000 calories a day. I believe women are supposed to consume about 1500 to 1800 calories a day depending on height and fitness level. Also, people who were obese/overweight before will perpetually have to eat less to maintain than others (or so I've heard). Not fair, but kind of makes sense as your body is always trying to hit a higher weight.

Also, if the rises on the scale are overnight after being 200 calories over, you're not looking at fat gain. It's probably water.

I can assure you that there are lots of women - many on this forum - whose maintenance range is at least 2000 calories or above and workout between 3-5 days a week engaging in moderate exercise in terms of intensity and duration or greater.

KaosKosmos

Wow, 2000 calories is a lot for someone so close to their goal. Honestly, you might do better with calorie cycling, meaning lowering your overall caloric intake so that those splurge days won't affect your weight loss. In the past, I had a lot of success with eating lower calories during the week and then splurging for a meal on the weekend. Right now, I'm pretty even but depending on how things work out, I may end up lowering my weekly calories to make up for the splurges that may occur on the weekend.

Thanks, I also do that weekend splurging with cutbacks during the week, glad to know that I'm not the only one. Maybe I just ate the wrong things during the last week. My fiance drives me crazy because he eats whatever he wants and never gains a pound, its just not fair and it makes it even harder for me to eat the right things when he gets to go to Culvers or Burger King every week

xxvogue

I don't know whether you're a woman or a man, or how tall you are, but as a general rule women shouldn't be eating 2000 calories a day. I believe women are supposed to consume about 1500 to 1800 calories a day depending on height and fitness level. Also, people who were obese/overweight before will perpetually have to eat less to maintain than others (or so I've heard). Not fair, but kind of makes sense as your body is always trying to hit a higher weight.

Also, if the rises on the scale are overnight after being 200 calories over, you're not looking at fat gain. It's probably water.

I can assure you that there are lots of women - many on this forum - whose maintenance range is at least 2000 calories or above and workout between 3-5 days a week engaging in moderate exercise in terms of intensity and duration or greater.

Again, depending on fitness level. I would never expect a marathon runner or a heavy lifter to only be eating 1500-1800 calories a day (and most people with moderate exercise in their day would need more well, it's just a base indication). In addition I wouldn't expect someone who is 5'1 to need the same number of calories as someone who is 6'0.

wftiger

Not to make you feel worse but my Doctor tells me every time I go to a visit that obesity is a chronic condition. You will never be cured. I am not in maintenance yet but i assume my maintenance will be lower then someone who has never been overweight. I accept that I will live the rest of my life watching a scale.

But I know I can do things to help this. The most important is gain muscle. The more lean muscle you have the more your BMR is. If I want to eat more at my goal weight then I better not lose any muscle now. So I work on that really hard.