Increasing my calories & I'm nervous!

ljmiller11

Hi All,

A little about me. I'm 25, female, 5' 5'' and 143lbs. Aiming to achieve around 135lbs by Summer. Since Christmas I have lost 11lbs which is obviously very pleasing in such a short time but I have now stalled. Probably to be expected but frustrating none the less.

After crawling the forums on MFP for advice I have decided the only thing to do is to try increasing my calories. I've looked at the Road Map post and worked out my stats which puts me at eating around 1,500 per day. (FYI: I sit at a desk all day) I have been eating 1,200 calories as recommended by MFP but it seems this may not be the best way in the long term.

I am however nervous about upping my calories despite the fact my brain is telling me it's the sensible thing to do.

I work out at least 4 times a week (usually a Jillian Michaels or Tae Bo DVD) plus weekend hikes or bike rides. If anyone out there who is a similar size and has similar goals to me can offer any advice or share a succes story it would be very welcome.

Feel free to check out my diary for an idea of what I am currently eating (ignore Valentines Day!). I do all my own cooking and weigh everything religiously and so I am not under/over estimating portion sizes. I also add no salt or excess fats to my cooking and drink at least 2 litres of water a day.

Thanks for reading :happy:

L x

Lgreen0816

Hi! I've just done the same thing. Still waiting to see a difference but it's only been a few days. I'm much older than you and weigh more but I'll be happy to take this journey with you. Feel free to friend me if you like. Everything in my brain tells me this should be the correct course - I just need to see proof in my body.

Best of luck to you!!

proton77

Good job on having lost 11 lbs so far! There's still time to get down to 135 lbs or even more if you stick to your diet and exercise. You probably don't need to eat 1500 a day. Given your BMR at around 1400, you can safely eat between 1300 - 1400 and still lose weight. I lost 22 lbs in 13 weeks so can you!

ljmiller11

bump

geekyjock76

You're going to have to do it eventually if you ever want to eat at true maintenance again. And the sooner you do, the better it will be for your mental health. Many people reference the adaptations to the endocrine system when chronically exposed to a large deficit but I find that the psychological damage is probably the most disturbing and complicated side effect to address and fix.

Sarauk2sf

Are you planning on eating some of those exercise calories back...as the 1,500 looks low if you do not.

Not that you should be eating what I do, but as a comparative, I am older than you by quite a bit (lower BMR), only a few pounds heavier, weight train about 4 x a week, do no cardio to speak of, have a desk job and am a lazy bish outside lifting and would lose 1 pound a week at about 1,700 calories a day.

Weight loss is not linear and is impacted by water weight which fluctuates and can mask 'real losses'. You have lost 11lb in less than 8 weeks - that is a pretty quick rate (some will be water weight though so it's probably more like 1lb a week).

pandorakick

Good job on having lost 11 lbs so far! There's still time to get down to 135 lbs or even more if you stick to your diet and exercise. You probably don't need to eat 1500 a day. Given your BMR at around 1400, you can safely eat between 1300 - 1400 and still lose weight. I lost 22 lbs in 13 weeks so can you!

From everything I've read it is only advisable to eat below your BMR if happens under guidance of your doctor. And never for very prolonged periods of time.

ljmiller11

Are you planning on eating some of those exercise calories back...as the 1,500 looks low if you do not.

Not that you should be eating what I do, but as a comparative, I am older than you by quite a bit (lower BMR), only a few pounds heavier, weight train about 4 x a week, do no cardio to speak of, have a desk job and am a lazy bish outside lifting and would lose 1 pound a week at about 1,700 calories a day.

Weight loss is not linear and is impacted by water weight which fluctuates and can mask 'real losses'. You have lost 11lb in less than 8 weeks - that is a pretty quick rate (some will be water weight though so it's probably more like 1lb a week).

Yes, I plan to eat half my excercise calories back to allow for any miscalculate burns as I don't have a heart rate monitor yet.

I think you're right, a big amount of my current loss will be water and so that's why I want to get this right now so I can progress as I want to. I just find the opinions on these forums so confusing, particularily because a lot of the advice is for those with big amounts to lose. Since I have a smaller amount to lose, I'm finding it hard to know the best way without going to any extremes or denying myself as I do love food, hence why I am here!

Thanks for your support. All advice is welcome x

PrincessNikkiBoo

I've just started increasing my calories up to maintenance and I'm very nervous about it all as well. Feel free to add me and we can support each other.