Success with upping calories

jonesin_am

My scale weight loss has been at a standstill (+-3lbs) for 5-6 months now. At first I wasn't tracking calories and thought I was eating too much so started using MFP. Started out at 1200. Was extremely hungry and tired so upped my calories to 1500 with the advice of a local personal trainer. Was not eating back exercise calories though which I think was miscommunication between me and her. But still...no weight loss. BTW I exercise 6-7 days a week for an hour.

So...after reading thread after thread about TDEE and BMR, etc...I decided to look into it, do some research and try upping my calories some more. What could it hurt? I wasn't losing now...the worst thing is that I would gain a little and have a little more to lose. But I wouldn't know if I didn't try.

This may be a coincidence but after upping my calories by 600 this weekend (for a total of 2100) I have already seen a loss on the scale and it's only Tuesday. Everyone says it doesn't happen that fast...but the scale hasn't moved this low EVER!

Go figure...I just needed more food!! It's a little scary at first to make such a drastic change but I encourage you to try it if you have been thinking about it. And give it time. Yes, I've seen results within days but I'm giving it at least until the end of the month before making any other changes. Every body is different and requires different things...this is just my experience and it makes sense. If you're constantly eating below your calorie alottment or eat only 1200 calories AND are not losing try eating more. You don't have to tell me twice to eat more food. I LOVE food

Does anyone else want to share their experience with upping their calorie intake? I'd love to hear others success (or failure) stories!

SopranogirlCa

I am trying this too, starting today. I have been struggling lately so I will give this a try.

DanaDark

Glad to hear that you've got the scale to move again!

It is indeed tough to NOT be afraid of food, but part of that mentality gets most of us in the upper weight range a lot. Slowly gain weight, get afraid of food, eat way too little, stall quick, give up. Rinse and repeat.

Feeding the body's activities is very important! I always look at exercise as something you have to invest in. So, you have to eat another calorie to burn an extra 2 for example.

foleyshirley

I love seeing these threads. The more people realize that this can and does work for many people, the more confidence they might have to try it.

jonesin_am

I love seeing these threads. The more people realize that this can and does work for many people, the more confidence they might have to try it.

That's exactly why I posted it! I was so afraid of upping my calories because I didn't want to gain. But in the end I was worse off by staying exactly where I was for FIVE months. My motivation suffered a lot due to all of the hard work I was putting into it and not getting a whole lot of results out of it. If you want different results try something different, right?

T1mH

I'm seeing this advice a lot lately. This only works for people that are exercising, right? If a person was in a plateau on a low cal diet without exercise is upping calories likely to break the plateau?

DanaDark

I'm seeing this advice a lot lately. This only works for people that are exercising, right? If a person was in a plateau on a low cal diet without exercise is upping calories likely to break the plateau?

It works when the caloric deficit is simply too high. This can be created through simply not eating enough, exercising way too much, or, most commonly, a combination of both.

kaypat09

I love seeing these threads. The more people realize that this can and does work for many people, the more confidence they might have to try it.

+1

Wen37

I'm glad you posted this today of all days. I was thinking just this morning that I should start eating back my exercise calories. My scale or inches has not budged in months. I like you are scared to death to try this but here I go. I will start today and eat every single exercise calorie back. Thanks for posting!

wswilliams67

Usually if you exercise heavily 3-5 days/week you will need to stay above 2000 calories/day. I stalled at 1500. Did my research as well and found my TDEE (with 3-5 days exercise) to be around 3280/day. Subtracted 20% for 2640/day but that was a difficult number to hit cleanly each day so I just did the simple math of subtracting 1000/day for a total of 2280/day to get to my 2 pounds a week loss. Just remember you need to recalculate at every 10 pound loss to avoid plateaus. And using those numbers I don't have to eat back my exercise calories which makes it even easier to track.

If you eat clean, eating 2000+/day is VERY filling and actually pretty difficult. I'm definitely NEVER hungry.

wswilliams67

I'm glad you posted this today of all days. I was thinking just this morning that I should start eating back my exercise calories. My scale or inches has not budged in months. I like you are scared to death to try this but here I go. I will start today and eat every single exercise calorie back. Thanks for posting!

If your calculated TDEE includes your exercise then there's no need to eat back your calories. Just eat to your caloric limit.

DocMarr

I have been on MFP for a year now and I have consistently eaten about 1700-2000 calories per day. I had gained 30 lbs by 4 years of overwork and under exercising. I did not want to approach this as a 'diet' but as a healthy lifestyle change.

I lost about 26 lbs (my target was 30 lbs loss) between November and April and then I also got stuck at 4lbs above my target weigh, and between April and October this year nothing moved. Eventually I decided just to go onto maintenance - and surprise, surprise my weight started to drop again!

Looking back I realised that over the summer I was still eating plenty -usually my 1700-2000 per day but during that time I upped my exercise a lot and was burning about 2200-2600. Although I ate back a lot of my exercise calories, and never had lower than 1200 NET, my deficit was still obviously too high, as sometimes I ate 500-600 calories fewer than I burned.

I have since bought a fitbit and now measure accurately what I burn in a day and still log all my food.

I have actually found that my biggest losses have come when I am eating ALMOST but not quite at MAINTENANCE. I eat about 1800-2100 calories per day and I now burn (fitbit measured) about 1900-2200 calories per day. If I end up about 800-1000 calories fewer than I burn (over the WEEK), then I have a weight loss. If I have a bigger deficit nothing moves.

Why anybody wants to try and survive on 1200 a day beats me when, with regularly exercise, you can still eat lots of good quality healthy food and lose weight healthily. Thumbs up from me for eating clean but BIG!

wswilliams67

I'm seeing this advice a lot lately. This only works for people that are exercising, right? If a person was in a plateau on a low cal diet without exercise is upping calories likely to break the plateau?

If you are not exercising then upping your calories may or may not work based on how many calories you are eating per day (if you are only eating like 500/day then upping will most likely work, but 1200 should be your minimum). The whole TDEE & caloric intake formula works the same whether you are training or not. You just have to do the math to find your numbers.

This thread got me figured out: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

And this calculator is great if you want to go by body fat % goals: http://www.cordianet.com/calculator.htm

But remember to adjust this every 10 pounds or once per month, whichever comes first.

nellyett

Yep, it worked for me too....was stalled out for months on a low cal diet and as soon as I started NETTING above my BMR (which is 1404 at the moment), I started losing again immediately.

I figured out my TDEE at Sedentary, less 15%, then eat back all of my exercise cals. I have lost a steady 0.5 lbs per week since. I only have about 5 lbs to go. Also, using the Sedentary / Eat back exercise cals motivates me to get out there and do my workout so I can have the extra cals for dessert!! LOL

a_crotty

I had to up mine last week after starting the Atkins anyhow\, but I too believe this to be something needed for many people here.

Melo1966

Just started this and noticed that I am hungry more. I am taking this as a good sign that my metabolism is increasing. I could eat only 900-1200 and not be hungry, strange.

Derpes

Nice work!

My wife suggested this - I am stuck at the never ending plateau despite working out more.

Hope that things continue to work out.

lacurandera1

I agree with the above posters in being so glad to see people say things like this! No one should be afraid of food. And, if you're hitting it hard, you need to be eating like you are hitting it hard! Personally, I love love love eating 2300 calories a day. LOL. Only bad thing is sometimes it's really hard to eat that much.

lacurandera1

Oh, and yes it CAN happen that fast. I hadn't lost in many many months and was approaching my goal weight. Changed my macros, started lifting more regularly and doubled my protein intake and BAM! 4 lbs in a week. After 4 months of steady weight.

cbm1951

Ok, here goes. I have a TDEE of 2752, a BMR of 2006. By my calculations, taking away 15% from my TDEE, I should be able to eat 2233 calories a day to lose weight. WELLLLL......when I eat 1500 - 1600 a day, I gain weight. What am I doing wrong? I do go to the Y three times a week doing what I can. I have health issues that keep me from doing much. I do ride the recumbent bike for 30 minutes, getting in 2.5 - 3 miles within the 30 minutes. I also use the weight machines for legs and arms...approximately 30 minutes all total for the weight machines. I estimate that I only burn 300 - 325 calories each visit at the Y. I don't eat back those calories. I stay at or below the 1560 calories per day that MFP suggests.

What am I doing wrong? I am scared if I eat the 2233 calories calculated using my TDEE and my BMR, I won't lose anything at all...or even gain.

Cyclink

My wife had a hard time losing weight at 1200 calories per day. After weeks of frustration at not losing weight, I convinced her to increase her intake by 200 calories per day. For the first week, she stayed at the same weight, but felt better and was not hungry all the time. After a week, she started losing weight. She's down 15 pounds in the last 4 months (which includes a few weeks when we were traveling and not eating so well).