Upping calories to maintain or continue to lose

mmddwechanged

Please share your success story about how you continued to lose or maintain after uppi g your calories. I just raised mine from 1300 to 1660. My mind is playing games with me, trying to sabatage but I'm ignoring it.

Chief_Rocka

I upped mine from 1200 to 1250 and got fat

melsinct

I plateaued for a good 2 months because I was eating 1200-1300 calories a day and was always hungry. After I upped my calories to 1400, I started losing again within a week or two. I am now at maintenance.

It is easy to let your head get the best of you but think of it this way: if you are eating in a calorie deficit, you won't gain weight. I don't know your stats but I am sure that 1600 is still a deficit for you.

TavistockToad

Please share your success story about how you continued to lose or maintain after uppi g your calories. I just raised mine from 1300 to 1660. My mind is playing games with me, trying to sabatage but I'm ignoring it.

are you trying to keep losing or maintain?

LorinaLynn

My tip? Ignore the scale. Go by measurements, how clothes fit, and photos.



I hit my initial goal weight in June 2011. I lost a little more after that. I gained some back since then.

I don't look the same at that same weight anymore.

californiagirl2012

Please share your success story about how you continued to lose or maintain after uppi g your calories. I just raised mine from 1300 to 1660. My mind is playing games with me, trying to sabatage but I'm ignoring it.

Your body is the end game, not what the calculator or anyone here tells you. The only way to know for sure is if you test it out. If it works for you great. Time will tell.

We are all different. That does not work for me. Really it depends on your RMR and many people have a lower RMR than the calculators say. The only way to know for sure is to go to a lab and have it tested.

If you plug in all your info (typically age, gender, height and weight) into one of those calculators what you get is the average metabolic rate of a group of people who share your age, sex, height and weight. What you DON’T get is YOUR EXACT calorie needs.

To say eat more is wrong.

To say eat less is wrong.

To find the exact calories needed for YOU to be in a healthy sustainable calorie deficit is the right answer. Wait, if you need to adjust by 100 do it, wait, adjust, wait, adjust, wait. The tortoise wins this race.

All that matters is calories. A healthy balanced diet within a calorie budget for a deficit that is right for YOU is all that matters for weight loss. Don't make it complicated.

Too many changes at once can be hard on some people. I've always eaten healthy so it easy for me to simply eat less. Eating at a calorie deficit is hard on people; even a small deficit puts your body in a state of flux with hormones and such. Everyone is different. Some people can handle a deeper calorie deficit than others, this is not right or wrong, it just is. Stress in your life affects your hunger hormones; lack of sleep, fatigue, job stress, family stress, financial stress, etc. Add in emotional eating issues and it gets even more complicated. Most people can only handle so much change/stress at once, they try to do too much and fail. Sometimes it might be a better strategy to eat at maintenance and make some small changes first, it really depends on how much stress you are taking in at the moment.

jacksonpt

For me...
1800 cals = fast weight loss... good for my motivation, but bad for muscle retention
2000 cals = slower loss, but still steady loss. Good for progress and muscle retention (with proper macros)
2300 cals = maintenance
2500 cals = slow gain... keeps added fat relatively low while building muscle
2700 cals = rapid gain and sloppy bulk

pen2u

I wasn't able to work out for over a week, continued to eat up to or just over my allotted cals, and lost 3 pounds. I'm beginning to think I've been eating too few cals (or I've lost major muscle tone in a week?)

sarahharmintx

I went from 1320 (March to September) to 1690 for about the last 3 weeks. Ive finally started to lose again.

At that point, I was so frustrated, I was willing to take the chance to gain pounds. At least it would have been a reall, solid movement - not the 3 ounce dance I did for weeks.

Its taken about 3 weeks but I can tell a difference and I have started to see the scale move again.

Koldnomore

I did 1200 for about 2 weeks while I was researching.. I've gone from 1200 to 1800..I lose at 1800, it's slow but I can do it. I can probably still lose at 1900 though I have determined that 1650 BEFORE exercise works for me at this time. I have started Zumba for 1 hour 2x/week I am now eating back half calories (@300) per session over the week which averages to about 1735 /day and I still lose.

It's all about what works for your body. It's a numbers game, nothing more. If you are eating with your TDEE as a baseline and taking an appropriate cut according to how much you have to lose:

If you have 75+ lbs to lose 20% cut
If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 15% - 20% cut
If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 15% cut
If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 10- 15% cut
If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 10% cut

Unless you have already messed up your metabolism by under eating for long periods this will work for 99% of normal people without some sort of medical condition. Eating is not BAD, don't be scared to fuel your body.

Koldnomore

I wasn't able to work out for over a week, continued to eat up to or just over my allotted cals, and lost 3 pounds. I'm beginning to think I've been eating too few cals (or I've lost major muscle tone in a week?)

I'd go with you weren't eating enough. Why not try it out for a while and see

surromom2010

Ok I've got a stupid question to go with this. I've been dancing around the same weight for the last month or so as well so I'm wanting to up my calories since that was the problem last time. When I calculate the number of calories I should eat to lose 1lb a week is the number I get my NET calories or total calories before exercise?

jacksonpt

Ok I've got a stupid question to go with this. I've been dancing around the same weight for the last month or so as well so I'm wanting to up my calories since that was the problem last time. When I calculate the number of calories I should eat to lose 1lb a week is the number I get my NET calories or total calories before exercise?

Depends. Do you factor exercise into your lifestyle/activity setting? If you do, then that number already includes exercise, so you don't need to eat back exercise cals. If you don't, then that is the number you need to net INCLUDING exercise cals.

pwnderosa

I just upped from 1280 net to 1520, changing my settings to lose 1/2 lb a week. Mostly to give myself more wiggle room for the holidays. I usually eat back most of my exercise calories. Been on MFP for about 3 months now and I haven't really plateaued yet but I'm interested to see how I do with a bit more food.

mmddwechanged

Thankyou for all of this!
I'll give it at least two weeks and see how it goes:)

mmddwechanged

Please share your success story about how you continued to lose or maintain after uppi g your calories. I just raised mine from 1300 to 1660. My mind is playing games with me, trying to sabatage but I'm ignoring it.

Your body is the end game, not what the calculator or anyone here tells you. The only way to know for sure is if you test it out. If it works for you great. Time will tell.

We are all different. That does not work for me. Really it depends on your RMR and many people have a lower RMR than the calculators say. The only way to know for sure is to go to a lab and have it tested.



If you plug in all your info (typically age, gender, height and weight) into one of those calculators what you get is the average metabolic rate of a group of people who share your age, sex, height and weight. What you DON’T get is YOUR EXACT calorie needs.

To say eat more is wrong.

To say eat less is wrong.

To find the exact calories needed for YOU to be in a healthy sustainable calorie deficit is the right answer. Wait, if you need to adjust by 100 do it, wait, adjust, wait, adjust, wait. The tortoise wins this race.

All that matters is calories. A healthy balanced diet within a calorie budget for a deficit that is right for YOU is all that matters for weight loss. Don't make it complicated.

Too many changes at once can be hard on some people. I've always eaten healthy so it easy for me to simply eat less. Eating at a calorie deficit is hard on people; even a small deficit puts your body in a state of flux with hormones and such. Everyone is different. Some people can handle a deeper calorie deficit than others, this is not right or wrong, it just is. Stress in your life affects your hunger hormones; lack of sleep, fatigue, job stress, family stress, financial stress, etc. Add in emotional eating issues and it gets even more complicated. Most people can only handle so much change/stress at once, they try to do too much and fail. Sometimes it might be a better strategy to eat at maintenance and make some small changes first, it really depends on how much stress you are taking in at the moment.

I have read this before on other threads, but somehow reading it as it applies to MY question made it sink in a bit. I do know what to do be successful because I have had success before. My goal weight is between 145 and 150. I'm about 151 to 154 right now. So close! Not the time to start doubting my success:)

msbunnie68

I am 0.8kg from goal weight so I looked at upping my calories to slow my weight loss down a bit. I was eating at 1330 and losing about a pound each week. I changed my goal to 1/2 a pound and MFP upped me to 1540. I thought that whole 200 cal a day jump (nearly a 1/4 more calories per day) would make me feel a bit icky to begin with so I decided to step it up over the next week or two. I manually reset my calories to 1440 for this week (recorded a loss still) and I will up it again to 1540 in a week's time. I think the gently gently approach with my body is the way to go as I don't want to drastically change the foods I am eating as they are back to the healthier style I enjoyed in my twiggy 20's. I prefer to make little adjustments to what I have relearned so I am not searching for chocolate or cake etc after a good days eating to suddenly fill up another 200-300 cals.

mmddwechanged

I just changed my settings back to the way they were before, asking myfitnesspal to do the math with the goal of losing one pound a week. Then I go over by 300 almost every day. But I'm keeping it the same until I reach my goal because thisethod has been working for me! When I reach my goal (first ill jump up and down all excited and perhaps go shopping!) then I will slowly adjust the myfitnesspal settings by just one hundred a week like any of you have suggested, and keep evaluating and reflecting before making any more small changes.

MB_Positif

I upped mine from 1200 to 1250 and got fat

Shut the front door!

I've been maintaining for a while now and throughout my loss I went from 1360 to 14 something to 1600. To maintain I am at about 1800. No gains at all when I went up.

FitForLife81

at 1200 I lost nothing.......
at 1600 I started losing fast........
at 1800 still lose slow........
2000-2200 seems to be maintenance for me!

norcal_yogi

bump

Nerdy_Rose

5'2" 125lbs, eating 1900 or less I lose weight. 2,100-2,400 I maintain. Bazinga.

Chadomaniac

For me...
1800 cals = fast weight loss... good for my motivation, but bad for muscle retention
2000 cals = slower loss, but still steady loss. Good for progress and muscle retention (with proper macros)
2300 cals = maintenance
2500 cals = slow gain... keeps added fat relatively low while building muscle
2700 cals = rapid gain and sloppy bulk

great info here ! im around the same on those figures