Success with upping calories

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  • Belinda658
    Belinda658 Posts: 181 Member
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    I'm a week into this. Ate too high carbs though and had heavier than normal TTOM. Scales weren't nice to me today an I feel so full and bloated. Sticking with I though
  • Topsking2010
    Topsking2010 Posts: 2,245 Member
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    Bump
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,402 MFP Moderator
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    The same thing happened to me. I increased my calories from 1800 to 2600 awhile ago and saw immediate weight loss.
  • Love_flowers
    Love_flowers Posts: 365 Member
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    I have and still am having success with eating more to lose weight. Safe, healthy and achieveable.
  • wswilliams67
    wswilliams67 Posts: 938 Member
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    I'm new at this so forgive me if this has been explained 3000 times BUT... why the less 15%?

    Also, if I did that I would have somewhere around 1400 calories to eat a day. Then are you saying after you exercise you eat those back as well (possibly putting my totals at or somewhere near 2000 cals/day)?

    If you calculate your TDEE as sedentary (no exercise at all) then you need to subtract some percentage to achieve weight loss. usually 15% = 1 pound per week of weight loss, but morbidly obese folks can do 20% safely. NEVER more than 30% (2 pounds/week) or you will hit a wall and shut down your metabolism, then you'll have to increase your calories to TDEE to get it going again.

    I'll use myself as an example since I do not know your stats... I use http://www.cordianet.com/calculator.htm and use the Body Fat % calculator because it's more accurate based on my current physiology and not just age/height US standards.

    My current weight: 274
    My current BF%: 34%
    My goal BF%: 9%
    Exercise Level: Moderate (3-5 days/week)

    With those stats...

    Estimated Base BMR: 2141 Calories.
    Estimated TDEE: 3319 Calories.
    Estimated Daily Caloric Need For 1 Pound/Week Weight Loss: 2819 Calories.

    If I simply took 15% of my TDEE, (2821/day) = 1 lb/week loss.
    If I took 30% of my TDEE, (2323/day) = 2 lb/week loss. (but eventually I will plateau and have to recalculate or stall)

    If you notice... 15% is approx 500 calories which is what the standard story is for weight loss. -500 calories for 1 pound/week; -1000 calories for 2 pounds/week.

    If you want to avoid the plateau but lose consistently then aim for 20%.

    Since my TDEE takes my exercise into account I don't have to eat back my exercise calories and all I have to do is eat my caloric goal each day.

    If you want to be exact, calculate your TDEE based on ZERO exercise, subtract 15-20%, but you WILL have to eat back your exercise calories daily.

    Hope this helps
  • wswilliams67
    wswilliams67 Posts: 938 Member
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    Increasing protein does wonders for muscle mass and is an easy way to add calories to your diet. :) I upped my protein intake and lost about 4 lbs in a week after no weight loss for about 4 months.

    +1

    Carbs = glycogen stores (muscle energy) replenished

    Protein = muscle repair and growth

    Fat = brain/nerve function (this is why people get scatterbrained during low-fat diets)

    Your body will burn the following resources in order based on ease of metabolization:

    1. carbs/sugars
    2. muscle
    3. fat

    This is why it is important to do some kind of strength training while dieting. Avoid the muscle loss and force your body to burn fat during cardio.
  • LadyIntrepid
    LadyIntrepid Posts: 399 Member
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    I also lost weight more quickly when I upped my calories and ate all of my exercise calories back. It may not work for everyone, but it worked for me.
  • PJmetts
    PJmetts Posts: 210 Member
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    This is SOOOO MEEEEE! Thank you all for the stories, insight and guidance. After a year and a half at this I am going to figure out my TDEE or whatever that is and start eating MORE! I'm stuck in the same basic place for the past couple of months and it really has been bugging me. I did notice when I went on a small binge over Thanksgiving and didn't log I lost 2 pounds but they came right back when I went back to my 1400 cal diet and really made me frustrated. :noway: Off I go to calculate!
  • mauryr
    mauryr Posts: 385
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    It's been about a week since I upped my net cals from 1350 to 1800, added weights and reduced cardio a little... so far I've gained about 4 lbs. boohoo.... but since I've been at a plateau for over 6 months, it's worth a try. I read somewhere that there might be an initial weight gain, until one's body decides that it's "safe" to let go of the fat, and that the increase in available calories is not temporary.

    We shall see :-)

    Anyway, for me, I've been trying to get BF from 16% to 12%-ish. I've decided that if I can't lose the last bit of fat, I should gain some muscle instead... that would have the effect of lowering BF% - (but increase weight).
  • Mrsbrandnewmeslimandtrim
    Mrsbrandnewmeslimandtrim Posts: 267 Member
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    bump
  • wswilliams67
    wswilliams67 Posts: 938 Member
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    It's been about a week since I upped my net cals from 1350 to 1800, added weights and reduced cardio a little... so far I've gained about 4 lbs. boohoo.... but since I've been at a plateau for over 6 months, it's worth a try. I read somewhere that there might be an initial weight gain, until one's body decides that it's "safe" to let go of the fat, and that the increase in available calories is not temporary.

    We shall see :-)

    Anyway, for me, I've been trying to get BF from 16% to 12%-ish. I've decided that if I can't lose the last bit of fat, I should gain some muscle instead... that would have the effect of lowering BF% - (but increase weight).

    Yes the longer you are at a plateau it will take your body a bit longer to respond. That's why it's important to catch a plateau and adjust your numbers accordingly. My trainer told me that if your weight loss stalls for 3 weeks then you are at a plateau and need to recalculate. If your goal is to be a certain body fat % then focus on that and don't concern yourself with the number on the scale. I recently calculated my numbers based on BF% and my goal is 9%. At 9% I'll be 197 pounds if I don't gain any more lean muscle (which is unlikely). The US standards for my height say I should weight 150-160! LOL That will never happen. If you lift consistently and do moderate cardio you should see the fat melt off once your metabolism starts up again.
  • Belinda658
    Belinda658 Posts: 181 Member
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    upped from 1200/binging last week to 1500. Was full and bloated all week but today it all seemed to go and now im down 2 pounds from last week
  • ktaqt3399
    ktaqt3399 Posts: 141 Member
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    bump
  • keelz2010
    keelz2010 Posts: 182
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    I've had the same problem of not losing on 1200 cals twice and each time upping my cals has resulted in weight loss. :)
  • allifantastical
    allifantastical Posts: 946 Member
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    I just upped my calories from 1200 to 1500. We'll see how that goes.
  • nellyett
    nellyett Posts: 436 Member
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    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

    I'm new at this so forgive me if this has been explained 3000 times BUT... why the less 15%?

    Also, if I did that I would have somewhere around 1400 calories to eat a day. Then are you saying after you exercise you eat those back as well (possibly putting my totals at or somewhere near 2000 cals/day)?

    It took me a while to get my head around the numbers too! :)

    I calculate my TDEE at a Sedentary rate to see what I need to maintain if I sit at my desk all day. My stats are:

    5'5" - 134 lbs - 21.9% BF - 40 yrs old.

    BMR = 1404
    TDEE= 1685 (This is if I sit around all day and want to maintain my current weight)
    TDEE - 15% = 1432 (this is my calorie deficit to lose weight at 0.5 lbs per week)

    *a 20% deficit puts me under my BMR*

    So, basically if I didn't work out and wanted to lose weight by diet alone, I eat 1432 cals per day.

    I do it this way so it motivates me to get out there and workout. If I go to bootcamp or for a run, I use my HRM and add in my exercise calories. If I burn 300 cals, I eat an extra 300 cals. ie; base cals of 1432 + exercise cals of 300 = total cals eaten for the day 1732.

    Because my deficit is already factored in at the 1432, this is where I want to NET. The exercise cals cancel out the extra cals I eat. I make sure to eat above my BMR of 1404.

    My main focus right now is to build muscle and lower my bodyfat %. I focus on heavy weights to build muscle and I completed the C25k program this year and learned to love running. I run for cardiovascular conditioning, and mental health. That is my time for me :)

    If I go over on calories one day, I try and stay under the next so I balance it out for the week.

    I could just set MFP at a steady 1700-1800 or so and not eat back my calories, but I am more motivated to workout the other way.

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