why does eating more = weight loss?

fightininggirl

so professor what would you reccomend for a 5"4 inches tall lady who weighs 190 pounds. she is working out 6 days a week trying to lose this weight. I eat 3 meals and 2 snacks currently I am trying to find my right calories but seem to be stuck on how to find it. I am 37 years old.

My goal weight is to weigh 134 pounds. would appreciate any help you can give. I thought eating more calories would mean more weight gain. logic says I would need to eat less to lose weight. but I don't know

Mindmovesbody

The more weight you loose the faster your metabolism runs which burns more fat.

You should adjust your calorie intake after some weight loss see where your numbers sit.

If you do not eat enough calories the body will go into starvation mode and hold on to fat no weight loss.

Eat more the body will begin metabolizing again at rate for your current weight and will burn off the fat stores once again as it is no longer in starvation mode..

Very simplistic explanation but get the point over.

I think there are people all over the world that would disagree with this. They eat very little calories and their bodies do not hold on to fat. Starving people do not have lots of body fat.

Starving people also have no muscle mass. In order to burn fat AND build lean muscle you need to FUEL your body. When you are ready for maintenance the hope is that you are netting above 1200 so when you go to maintenance you do not have to dramatically reduce your cals (under 1200) to stay the size you are finally happy with!

GG70

My theory and I have nothing to base this on just my own little thought bubbles...

When people cut back below 1200 they usually cut out most essential nutritients especially essential fatty acids and fat soluble vitamins. When they add back calories they put more nutrients into their diet and those are usually nutrient dense foods which is needed to aid in metabolism ie more efficient ability to catabolise maconutrients and micronutrients.

Man cannot live by protein shake, protein bar, salad with nothing but a squeeze of lemon, chicken breast, and broccoli alone. To quote someone I guess.

But thats my moment of zen. Ouch my brain hurts.

I totally agree with this theory.

SanteMulberry

The more weight you loose the faster your metabolism runs which burns more fat.

You should adjust your calorie intake after some weight loss see where your numbers sit.

If you do not eat enough calories the body will go into starvation mode and hold on to fat no weight loss.

Eat more the body will begin metabolizing again at rate for your current weight and will burn off the fat stores once again as it is no longer in starvation mode..

Very simplistic explanation but get the point over.

I think there are people all over the world that would disagree with this. They eat very little calories and their bodies do not hold on to fat. Starving people do not have lots of body fat.

Starving people also have no muscle mass. In order to burn fat AND build lean muscle you need to FUEL your body. When you are ready for maintenance the hope is that you are netting above 1200 so when you go to maintenance you do not have to dramatically reduce your cals (under 1200) to stay the size you are finally happy with!

^^^THIS^^^ There are only two ways to reduce body fat. 1) Take in fewer calories to force your body to "catabolize" (that is, use your body (hopefully, your body fat) for fuel or 2) expend more calories through exercise, forcing your body (hopefully) to use body fat to fuel the increased caloric expenditure or 3) some combination of the two. The problem we are discussing is the way your body "catabolizes" itself. Will it retain muscle and burn fat :happy: or will it retain fat and burn muscle :sad: ? It is thought that, if the calorie deficit is too high (either with too little food intake, two high an expenditure of calories through intense exercise or some combination of the two), your body will go into "defense" mode (survival mode) where it burns muscle, cuts energy levels and activity, retaining fat for "the long haul". :frown:

It doesn't mean that everyone who is "just not losing, no matter what I do!" is actually in this situation. One of the posters above said (and he is probably correct) that often, the dieter is not faithfully logging EVERY mouthful (and is eating more than is being logged) or is overestimating calories expended through exercise. But I do know that for older people, the problem may frequently be that they are not eating enough, nor are they moving enough. Sarcopenia (loss of muscle mass) is a significant problem for the elderly. (If you are over 30 and want to get depressed, read up on sarcopenia and its progression after 30). Even drearier reading is on "sarcopenic obesity" (as the name implies, it is a combination of sarcopenia and obesity.) Weight training is now the leading recommendation, along with eliminating "empty" calories, as many of the elderly are limited in their ability to withstand cardio routines, but almost anyone can lift weights. They are even using weight training in nursing homes with octogenarians---with surprising results.

aaramini93

When I went through my weight loss transformation, I learned that it's not about just eating more or just eating any sort of calorie food.. This I feel is where the big debate between counting calories comes into effect; it does seem to crazy at the fact that eating more food can lead to weight loss, but it's not about eating just any kind of food/calorie. It's about eating more "whole foods"; when your body fuels up on whole foods, your body absorbs the macro and micro nutrients to fuel your lean body mass.

Now, many people have the perception that when trying to lose weight, the most obvious thing to do is simply eat less. The problem with this is that by eating less, your sending your body composition into the wrong direction. So by restricting the calories you put into your body, your cause\ing your body to take a valuable step back and tell itself.. "This person is attempting to starve me.. Holy crap, what do we do? Hey look at this delicious muscle; lets eat some of this muscle because it looks like it can be used as a great tasty energy source." This process is known as gluconeogenesis.

From your bodies standpoint, your body absolutely HATES to burn its fat as energy because fat is not your bodies natural source for optimal energy. So what does this have to deal with eating more food? Well, when you fuel your body with macro/micro nutrient dense foods, the food will not only fuel your body and hunger, but it will cause your metabolism to increase. The increase in metabolism is not because your losing weight; its because your body is now able to hold onto its lean muscle and is now FORCED to burn the stored fat. This is why bodybuilders go on what they call a cutting phase.

This cutting phase is due to the process of strategically reducing calories while maintaining its lean body mass. Which is why bodybuilders look very muscular yet may weigh more than the average joe. The key is that by fueling your lean body mass, you will cause a reduction in your body fat percentage; leaving you to have a nice lean physique.

When fueling your body on "any" sort of calorie, your body does not find a use for it. Although some may argue that as long as I hit my calories, I will lose weight, what happens when all of those calories consist of sugar/processed foods with little to no fiber, vitamins or macronutrients? It's simple, if your lean body mass isn't being properly fueled, then you will have a much more fatty tissue based physique.
Example: Say I eat 3000 calories a day to lose weight but all of these calories are coming from ice cream, pop tarts, chips, candy, soda, cake, and deep fried foods, yes I will technically lose weight. Now what's happening on my insides? Well for one thing, I'd expect a ****load of acne due to the sugar and processed foods but also I'd beware of diabetes or high blood pressure. Just picturing my physique, do I think this person will have a lean healthy looking physique opposed from an individual eating macro and micro nutrient dense foods? Absolutely not!

So to generally answer your question, by fueling your lean body mass with micro and macro nutrient dense foods, your metabolism increases, you stay satiated for a longer period of time and your body fat percentage decreases because your body is forced to resort to burning your fat as fuel while maintaining lean muscle. PLUS, you get to enjoy a whole lot more food; who doesn't enjoy eating some seriously delicious foods?

SkinneyGirl28

I can skip breakfast, eat a fare lunch and skip dinner. Snack on some veggies with hummus or a fruit and nut mix and drop pounds. My body won't go into starvation mode. I have to eat 3 decient meals a day just to maintain my weight, All because Ihave the metabloism of a 12 year old boy. I am constantly fighting the gaining battle. I often get too busy to eat. Then I drop down to 130 and get scared. At 125 I look like skin draped over bones and people think I am anorexic. So it just doesn't work for everybody!
Thus my name,
SkinneyGirl28

iamjude17

Sorry to keep bringing this up. I just really want to understand better, so I can have better results. And Like I said before, what I'm doing cause a 21 pound weight loss in a month. I was at 274 on Jan. 11th, 253 on Feb. 13th and am weighing in again on March 13th. So, I guess I'll see then if what I'm doing is still working or not. Sorry to be a bother folks....I'm just really new to all this!

SanteMulberry

I can skip breakfast, eat a fare lunch and skip dinner. Snack on some veggies with hummus or a fruit and nut mix and drop pounds. My body won't go into starvation mode. I have to eat 3 decient meals a day just to maintain my weight, All because Ihave the metabloism of a 12 year old boy. I am constantly fighting the gaining battle. I often get too busy to eat. Then I drop down to 130 and get scared. At 125 I look like skin draped over bones and people think I am anorexic. So it just doesn't work for everybody!
Thus my name,
SkinneyGirl28

Yes. I know a woman who is tall and tends to be very thin (5'10" and says her lowest weight was 115 before she started lifting--has a hard time pushing past 130). She works very hard at keeping her muscle (she definitely needs it for her job as a paramedic in a wilderness resort area where they do a lot of rescue work). People used to ask her if she had anorexia (not so much now that she does a lot of lifting).

lovinmomma

The more weight you loose the faster your metabolism runs which burns more fat.

You should adjust your calorie intake after some weight loss see where your numbers sit.

If you do not eat enough calories the body will go into starvation mode and hold on to fat no weight loss.

Eat more the body will begin metabolizing again at rate for your current weight and will burn off the fat stores once again as it is no longer in starvation mode..

Very simplistic explanation but get the point over.

I think there are people all over the world that would disagree with this. They eat very little calories and their bodies do not hold on to fat. Starving people do not have lots of body fat.

Actually \I am a prime example of this I used to eat about 800 calories a day and was not fat but holding on to a few extra, when i lost the MOST wieght i was eatting about 2500 cal a day, because the metabolism slows down and when you start eatting a little more food it holds on to it. DONT eat too little it takes FPREVER fpr the metabolism to catch up!

rodow

bump

jacksonpt

Funny how this thread is only barely on topic every 5th post or so... though, I guess after 10 pages I should have expected as much.