How long does it take...

justjenny

When you start upping your calories before you start seeing the scale go down? I have been doing this for the first time this week, and I gotta be honest, I am getting a little nervous. It seems to just keep creeping up. I think this is why I fail. I see the numbers go up, get scared they won't come down again, and so I just go back to below BMR calories, and then NOTHING happens. I think if I know there is an adjustment period I would be a little more patient...does this happen to everybody, or am I doing something wrong?

Love_flowers

At least two weeks give or take

You are doing the right thing by the way.

justjenny

Thanks! Glad to hear there is a light at the end of the tunnel. My weight seems to have gone up about 5 pounds in 5 days....eek!

Kourtne_KK

same here I use to eat one to two meals a day(on most days) lost about 1-3 lbs a week(did this for a couple of months) and now Im switching to eating 3-5 meals a day(I realized the more I workout the less I lose). I'm nervous that I have wrecked my metabolism. and all my weight will just come back. Do you get an initial weight gain before you lose? And why do you get an initial weight gain when you up your calories?

wswilliams67

This is a common concern. Remember that weight loss is a balance of a lot of things working together. I myself am currently at a plateau and I must now fine tune my program to get losing again. You will have to do the same about every 10 pounds or so.

First, be patient. Your body takes time to adjust to changes. When you up your calories you are essentially feeding your metabolism more fuel. Your body has to figure out what to do with that fuel. It also takes more water to use that extra fuel. It also depends on the quality of the fuel. Your weight can fluctuate 2-3 pounds daily just because of water.

You basically need to just use the MFP BMR goal calculator. Let it set your base caloric goals. Whatever it sets your daily intake at, make sure you eat that amount + eat back your exercise calories. You can then fine tune the macro nutrients for your particular lifestyle. If you aren't eating the caloric goal, but exercising heavily, you will stall and eventually gain weight due to 'starvation mode'. I know it sounds weird but it's true. It's the same if you only 2 times/day. Your metabolism will shut down. Again it's all about the right balance... and everyone is different.

Also remember that muscle weighs more than fat. If you are working out (weight training) and you are eating enough calories, your body will be able to more easily repair and build muscle. My best suggestion is to get a body analyzer. Omron makes a handheld one and you can get it on Amazon for under $30 I think. The scale is just one tool. I only use it so I can get a weight to plug into my BMI meter. As long as my body fat % keeps going down, then the scale can do whatever it wants. If my BF% keeps reducing then I know I'm not losing lean muscle, which is the goal for any weight loss program. Also go by the fit of your clothes and the mirror.

Once you get everything dialed-in you should start to see amazing results. But remember it's a journey so give yourself some slack and be patient. Another thing you can do is do a ton of research and reading on metabolism and various exercise programs.

Hope this helped.

wswilliams67

same here I use to eat one to two meals a day(on most days) lost about 1-3 lbs a week(did this for a couple of months)

Unfortunately you were probably losing lean muscle. Your body will convert fat as its last resort. Muscle gets converted to energy first.

now Im switching to eating 3-5 meals a day(I realized the more I workout the less I lose). I'm nervous that I have wrecked my metabolism. and all my weight will just come back.

If you are exercising heavy and not eating enough... yes, you will shut down your metabolism. Make sure you eat back your exercise calories. If you stay in this mode, yes, you will start to gain weight again. It's just how the body works. When you ask the body to do more work with less fuel it will naturally start to conserve and store what it can for the next work request.

Do you get an initial weight gain before you lose? And why do you get an initial weight gain when you up your calories?

Yes you 'can' get an initial gain before loss. Again your body has to adjust/adapt to the changes. Same thing for adjusting your calories. You are providing more fuel so your body needs time to adjust to figure out what to do with the extra fuel. Initially it will store it, then once it adjusts it will burn it off.

justjenny

This is a common concern. Remember that weight loss is a balance of a lot of things working together. I myself am currently at a plateau and I must now fine tune my program to get losing again. You will have to do the same about every 10 pounds or so.

First, be patient. Your body takes time to adjust to changes. When you up your calories you are essentially feeding your metabolism more fuel. Your body has to figure out what to do with that fuel. It also takes more water to use that extra fuel. It also depends on the quality of the fuel. Your weight can fluctuate 2-3 pounds daily just because of water.

You basically need to just use the MFP BMR goal calculator. Let it set your base caloric goals. Whatever it sets your daily intake at, make sure you eat that amount + eat back your exercise calories. You can then fine tune the macro nutrients for your particular lifestyle. If you aren't eating the caloric goal, but exercising heavily, you will stall and eventually gain weight due to 'starvation mode'. I know it sounds weird but it's true. It's the same if you only 2 times/day. Your metabolism will shut down. Again it's all about the right balance... and everyone is different.

Also remember that muscle weighs more than fat. If you are working out (weight training) and you are eating enough calories, your body will be able to more easily repair and build muscle. My best suggestion is to get a body analyzer. Omron makes a handheld one and you can get it on Amazon for under $30 I think. The scale is just one tool. I only use it so I can get a weight to plug into my BMI meter. As long as my body fat % keeps going down, then the scale can do whatever it wants. If my BF% keeps reducing then I know I'm not losing lean muscle, which is the goal for any weight loss program. Also go by the fit of your clothes and the mirror.

Once you get everything dialed-in you should start to see amazing results. But remember it's a journey so give yourself some slack and be patient. Another thing you can do is do a ton of research and reading on metabolism and various exercise programs.

Hope this helped.

Yes, this does help. Thank you. One last question though. Should I go by the TDEE method? Or just set my calories based on MFP BMI? If I go by their stats, I should eat about 1200 calories a day. I work out 3 to 4 days a week. 30 minutes of cardio....30 minutes of weight training (circuit training). With that in mind, how many calories more per day should i be eating?

BlackKat75

One last question though. Should I go by the TDEE method? Or just set my calories based on MFP BMI? If I go by their stats, I should eat about 1200 calories a day. I work out 3 to 4 days a week. 30 minutes of cardio....30 minutes of weight training (circuit training). With that in mind, how many calories more per day should i be eating?

In my personal experience, MFP sets calories too low. In September I rigidly tracked everything I ate - down to teaspoons of spices - if it crossed my lips I added it to my diary. I also carefully tracked all my exercise and ate back all my exercise calories. I had asked MFP to set me to lose 1 lb a week, and it gave me a daily goal of 1240 calories (which dropped to 1200 calories during the course of the month). I kept pretty rigidly to this for the entire month (I think I ate an extra 200 calories net for the whole month). Instead of the 1 pound a week that MFP set for me, I lost nearly 10 pounds in 30 days. Too fast for me. I then discovered the TDEE method and calculated my BMR per various online calculators and found that it was somewhere between 1350 and 1380 calories. I immediately upped my daily intake to 1400 (and I eat back my exercise calories) and I've continued to lose - this time at my desired 1 lb / week rate. Before you stick rigidly with MFP's suggestions have a look at the online calculators and try to get a sense of your BMR and ensure that it's not below MFP's daily goal.

sarahrbraun

When you start upping your calories before you start seeing the scale go down? I have been doing this for the first time this week, and I gotta be honest, I am getting a little nervous. It seems to just keep creeping up. I think this is why I fail. I see the numbers go up, get scared they won't come down again, and so I just go back to below BMR calories, and then NOTHING happens. I think if I know there is an adjustment period I would be a little more patient...does this happen to everybody, or am I doing something wrong?

I'm in the same boat you are in...I have barely lost in 3 months, so I checked my TDEE and it is supposed to be 2400 calories or more! I have been eating 1,400-1,500 calories a day. For the last 7-10 days I have been attempting to eat 2,000 calories a day. I really hope to see a loss when I weigh in on Monday.

justjenny

Thanks for the info. I am going into my second week of TDEE eating. I also got back onto my carb cycling. Looking forward to seeing how this goes!