Upped my calories--how long to wait it out?

whitney_elyse

After a 9-month plateau and hearing 10 million people tell me that the solution is to eat MORE (my usual daily average was 1300, plus an additional 400-500 calories burned via exercise, 5 x/week) I finally gave in! I've been eating 1800+ for about 3 weeks now. Thankfully, I haven't gained weight. I also haven't lost an ounce either. I know it's a slow process but how long should I wait this out before deciding that maybe this solution (while it has worked so well for many others) just isn't the fit for me?

florymonde

Maybe give it a couple more weeks. If you still don't lose or gain, bump those calories up further. Why not? Going lower didn't help, you tried that already.

Bridget0927

Bump, I'd like to know too :-)

dawlschic007

I would give it at least two or three months. If you were stuck for 9 months, then it's going to take some time for your body to readjust to the calories.

am06or

After a 9-month plateau and hearing 10 million people tell me that the solution is to eat MORE (my usual daily average was 1300, plus an additional 400-500 calories burned via exercise, 5 x/week) I finally gave in! I've been eating 1800+ for about 3 weeks now. Thankfully, I haven't gained weight. I also haven't lost an ounce either. I know it's a slow process but how long should I wait this out before deciding that maybe this solution (while it has worked so well for many others) just isn't the fit for me?

were you eating back your exercise calories before so 1300 + 400 or 500 = 1700 or 1800 which means you aren't actually eating more now...

If this isn't the case agreed give it 6-8 weeks

taso42

Are you in a calorie deficit? Where did the 1800 come from? Have you worked out your TDEE? Find your TDEE and take out a deficit of around 20% or 500 calories.

Aries03

Bump

daj150

Upping calories doesn't really mean anything. The whole "upping calories" thing is more for weight lifting and body building. The main culprit of the plateau is not how many calories you are eating, but what is in the food you are eating. For example, let's say I am just starting out, and I go on the Special K "diet". I will probably see huge results if I had a less-than-stellar eating lifestyle. However, after a while, I will then plateau despite my best efforts of exercising and eating within my calories. The reason: put simply, there is probably a lot of junk in what I am eating. Maybe the type of carbs are the problem...such as sugar. Maybe I am consuming a crazy amount of sodium and not getting enough fluids.

Here is another problem. If you are doing the same exercise routine for a long period of time, it loses its effectiveness. In many cases, you may see negative results by sticking with the same thing. Therefore, I always recommend changing up your workout routines at least every 3 months. You can go longer of course, but the idea is to keep as much variety as possible to keep your body from getting "comfortable" with 1 way of doing things.

mustgetmuscles1

If you were only eating 1300 cals and burning an additional 400-500 and not losing then the time to fully repair the metabolic slowdown can take as long as the program that caused it. If you are not gaining at 1800 cals per day then you are doing fantastic and should be very happy with that. I would bet that in a month or two you start to see some movement on the scale or in measurements.

This video is on metabolic damage. He is mostly talking about competitive body builders but we see the same thing on here many times per day. People getting caught in the downward spiral of lower cals to unhealthy levels and no longer losing weight.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/815934-layne-norton-on-metabolic-damage?hl=layne#posts-12225299

cedarghost

Upping calories doesn't really mean anything. The whole "upping calories" thing is more for weight lifting and body building. The main culprit of the plateau is not how many calories you are eating, but what is in the food you are eating. For example, let's say I am just starting out, and I go on the Special K "diet". I will probably see huge results if I had a less-than-stellar eating lifestyle. However, after a while, I will then plateau despite my best efforts of exercising and eating within my calories. The reason: put simply, there is probably a lot of junk in what I am eating. Maybe the type of carbs are the problem...such as sugar. Maybe I am consuming a crazy amount of sodium and not getting enough fluids.

Here is another problem. If you are doing the same exercise routine for a long period of time, it loses its effectiveness. In many cases, you may see negative results by sticking with the same thing. Therefore, I always recommend changing up your workout routines at least every 3 months. You can go longer of course, but the idea is to keep as much variety as possible to keep your body from getting "comfortable" with 1 way of doing things.

Really? If I eat the wrong type of foods, even at a calorie deficit, it can cause me to stop losing weight? Can you explain? I thought as long as my intake was less than what I burned, I would lose weight so long as I stayed above my Basal Metabolic Rate.

Capt_Apollo

it'll probably take twice as long as you'd like.

you haven't gained weight, so that's good. focus on that. focus on the fact that you probably have more energy now, and aren't as cranky (i'm assuming you were cranky. many ppl are when they eat so little).

boboandh

Bump

UsedToBeHusky

Are you in a calorie deficit? Where did the 1800 come from? Have you worked out your TDEE? Find your TDEE and take out a deficit of around 20% or 500 calories.

^^This.

Melo1966

What are your stats?

xilka

I change it up every few weeks.
So, one week, I'll have a net intake of 1400,
the next week it's 1300, and then 1500, and back to 1400....

Maybe take it down for a week, and back up again.

jofjltncb6

Upping calories doesn't really mean anything. The whole "upping calories" thing is more for weight lifting and body building. The main culprit of the plateau is not how many calories you are eating, but what is in the food you are eating. For example, let's say I am just starting out, and I go on the Special K "diet". I will probably see huge results if I had a less-than-stellar eating lifestyle. However, after a while, I will then plateau despite my best efforts of exercising and eating within my calories. The reason: put simply, there is probably a lot of junk in what I am eating. Maybe the type of carbs are the problem...such as sugar. Maybe I am consuming a crazy amount of sodium and not getting enough fluids.

Here is another problem. If you are doing the same exercise routine for a long period of time, it loses its effectiveness. In many cases, you may see negative results by sticking with the same thing. Therefore, I always recommend changing up your workout routines at least every 3 months. You can go longer of course, but the idea is to keep as much variety as possible to keep your body from getting "comfortable" with 1 way of doing things.

:noway:

MeDoula

I've been on VLCD and lots of yoyo dieting for half of my life. In the end, I was gaining fatter on VLC. I bumped my cal up to do a reset and gained a bunch of weight. I cut after 8 weeks and but was still gaining for several more weeks. Now it seems that I finally stopped gaining at my cut and I started eating more in May. I guess the longer you go low cal, the longer it will take your body and metabolism to recover.

daj150

Upping calories doesn't really mean anything. The whole "upping calories" thing is more for weight lifting and body building. The main culprit of the plateau is not how many calories you are eating, but what is in the food you are eating. For example, let's say I am just starting out, and I go on the Special K "diet". I will probably see huge results if I had a less-than-stellar eating lifestyle. However, after a while, I will then plateau despite my best efforts of exercising and eating within my calories. The reason: put simply, there is probably a lot of junk in what I am eating. Maybe the type of carbs are the problem...such as sugar. Maybe I am consuming a crazy amount of sodium and not getting enough fluids.

Here is another problem. If you are doing the same exercise routine for a long period of time, it loses its effectiveness. In many cases, you may see negative results by sticking with the same thing. Therefore, I always recommend changing up your workout routines at least every 3 months. You can go longer of course, but the idea is to keep as much variety as possible to keep your body from getting "comfortable" with 1 way of doing things.

Really? If I eat the wrong type of foods, even at a calorie deficit, it can cause me to stop losing weight? Can you explain? I thought as long as my intake was less than what I burned, I would lose weight so long as I stayed above my Basal Metabolic Rate.

The quick and dirty answer is yes. Your body needs a certain amount of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients to process what you eat and provide energy and nutrition to all areas of your body. So, if you are eating a ton of processed foods with mostly added nutrients (added vitamins is a good example), then you body might not be getting enough of something it needs, and as a defensive reaction, it will start storing more of that nutrient. Typically, this means that it will hold onto calories and fat as well. Hence, you have the possibility of reversing your weight loss, even at a calorie deficit. Also, by calorie deficit I do not mean someone going to the extreme and only consuming 1000 calories a day when they should be consuming 1600, for example.

However, as I usually tell people, everyone's body processes things differently, and if you really want a good snapshot of what YOU need, you should go to a nutritionist, get some a bunch of tests done, and find out what you need. Although, if you don't have the money for that, I recommend researching how to naturally make a lot of processed foods you may eat.

cedarghost

Upping calories doesn't really mean anything. The whole "upping calories" thing is more for weight lifting and body building. The main culprit of the plateau is not how many calories you are eating, but what is in the food you are eating. For example, let's say I am just starting out, and I go on the Special K "diet". I will probably see huge results if I had a less-than-stellar eating lifestyle. However, after a while, I will then plateau despite my best efforts of exercising and eating within my calories. The reason: put simply, there is probably a lot of junk in what I am eating. Maybe the type of carbs are the problem...such as sugar. Maybe I am consuming a crazy amount of sodium and not getting enough fluids.

Here is another problem. If you are doing the same exercise routine for a long period of time, it loses its effectiveness. In many cases, you may see negative results by sticking with the same thing. Therefore, I always recommend changing up your workout routines at least every 3 months. You can go longer of course, but the idea is to keep as much variety as possible to keep your body from getting "comfortable" with 1 way of doing things.

Really? If I eat the wrong type of foods, even at a calorie deficit, it can cause me to stop losing weight? Can you explain? I thought as long as my intake was less than what I burned, I would lose weight so long as I stayed above my Basal Metabolic Rate.

The quick and dirty answer is yes. Your body needs a certain amount of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients to process what you eat and provide energy and nutrition to all areas of your body. So, if you are eating a ton of processed foods with mostly added nutrients (added vitamins is a good example), then you body might not be getting enough of something it needs, and as a defensive reaction, it will start storing more of that nutrient. Typically, this means that it will hold onto calories and fat as well. Hence, you have the possibility of reversing your weight loss, even at a calorie deficit. Also, by calorie deficit I do not mean someone going to the extreme and only consuming 1000 calories a day when they should be consuming 1600, for example.

However, as I usually tell people, everyone's body processes things differently, and if you really want a good snapshot of what YOU need, you should go to a nutritionist, get some a bunch of tests done, and find out what you need. Although, if you don't have the money for that, I recommend researching how to naturally make a lot of processed foods you may eat.

Ok, that makes sense. But what about that guy that ate all those Twinkies and lost like 30 pounds, dropped his BMI and most of his loss was bodyfat?

n0ob

by request:

mustgetmuscles1

by request:

LOL I love this.

ToshaFeb268

What I found funny with myself is that for the month of December I decided to place myself on maintenance because I felt like I was losing too much per week before I started tracking on MFP. I am still losing weight and eating more calories per day.

whitney_elyse

I figured out my TDEE and subtracted 25% from that calorie estimate. I do feel better and I like that. I never ate back exercise calories before and I still am not, since that's calculated into the calorie estimate.

And I was only moderately cranky before