I'm kinda scared to increase calories

weightloser122

I've been living off 1200-1300 for so long to lose weight but I think its time i start eating normal amounts of food. I'm kind of worried about gaining the weight back that I lost. Has anyone else gone through this? If I lose anymore weight I'm going to start looking frail and weak but I don't want to gain weight either. I just want to look fit and toned.

taso42

You just have to get an understanding of your total daily energy expenditure.. it's probably somewhere in the ballpark of 2000 calories a day. This means you can eat 2000 a day and stay at a stable weight.

But you also have to be prepared for what to expect when making such a transition. 1200-1300 is a rather low intake. When you bump it up, you will very likely get an initial weight gain. But it will stabilize within a few weeks.

The more you read up, the more you will understand... it may not eliminate the fear completely, but you will at least be armed with the knowledge and confidence to go ahead.

weightloser122

Yeah it shows my TDEE is 2000 from that calculator u sent me. It seems like so much food from what im used to. Will I gain body fat back? I'm really sedentary apart from moderate workouts

mustgetmuscles1

Small increments are best to restore metabolism. A lot of people know they need to eat more but dont do it slow enough and start seeing weight gain which causes them to panic and revert to old habits.

Some weight gain might be unavoidable as you begin to restore normal functions, but it is healthy.

weightloser122

yeah that sounds less scary than jumping to 2000 right away. maybe ill start with 1500 and see how that goes for awhile

taso42

Yeah, spot on. Increase by 100-200 calories every week for the next few weeks. Like I said in the other thread, you will very likely gain some weight. And then it will stabilize. Maybe by knowing this you won't get scared and bail out.

Chadomaniac

increase the calories , lift weights ... ur lean body mass will increase resulting in a metabolic increase which forces the body to use more caloies ... u will look leaner, healthier and u will be stronger.

mustgetmuscles1

yeah that sounds less scary than jumping to 2000 right away. maybe ill start with 1500 and see how that goes for awhile

You can start smaller if there is no hurry. Add 50-100 for a week or two. Then do it again. A couple months from now you will be back to a normal range. One video I watched suggested it can take just as long to restore normal metabolic rate as it took to slow it down in the first place.

AndyLL180

Congrats on hitting your goal. You look fantastic.

As others said... increase slowly... preferably with clean, healthy foods.

I'm not an expert but I would guess now is the best time to do strength training and lifting to improve your metabolism which will make it easier to maintain your current weight while eating more.

Andy

weightloser122

thanks for all the suggestions!!

geekyjock76

As everyone has stated: make very small increases to allow your RMR to recover. One reason people gain weight back after losing a lot via a VLCD is that they start introducing at a greater rate than the rate at which their RMR increases. Of course, if you did engage in a VLCD and lost a lot of weight, with a good portion coming from loss of lean body mass, you better just accept the possible fat regain that you may experience...Just make sure you are lifting - if you aren't already - during this time to allow for some of that potential regain to go to an increase in lean body mass.

weightloser122

its tough! i do like being lean i just want a little more muscle on my booty lol. dont want any additional body fat on my abs or legs or anything

taso42

shoot for lean and strong, not lean and frail.
strong is the new skinny

jenilla1

I maintain at 1700 plus any exercise calories I earn. I've been maintaining for a couple of years. When I was done losing, I gradually increased my calories so I wasn't overwhelmed by so much more food added in all at once. I just used the maintenance recommended my MFP and I have had NO problems maintaining. :flowerforyou:

geekyjock76

No offense, but you don't have much of a choice if you did engage in a VLCD and lost a lot of weight rapidly. I remember your original post and it seems like that's the route you took. It's your body's "gift" in trying to recover some of the weight back that was so rapidly lost. The only way you can minimize it is by introducing additional calories in periodic increments so your RMR can catch up and lift weights so that some of that fat gain comes with an increase in LBM. Don't let that scare you, though. The way I see it, if you gain a few lbs of actual fat mass so that you can once again eat a normal amount of calories, that's a small temporary price to pay.

weightloser122

do i look really frail ? its ok to be honest. i know im thin but i didnt think i was frail yet i wont be offended if u say yes

Dlibo1013

[you look awesome, i guess give it a try and see what happens but monitor it closely]
do i look really frail ? its ok to be honest. i know im thin but i didnt think i was frail yet i wont be offended if u say yes
[/quote]

geekyjock76

I know that was directed at Taso, but (from my perspective) you did lose a substantial amount of lean body mass along with the fat loss by looking at your photos. Whatever happens as you increase, don't get too scared. Eventually the weight gain will stop and you'll reach a point of relative weight homeostasis which will be your future and adjusted TDEE.

taso42

do i look really frail ? its ok to be honest. i know im thin but i didnt think i was frail yet i wont be offended if u say yes

Actually no you don't. But i think you would look even better with some more lean mass on you

weightloser122

alright im gona work on this!

jenilla1

You DON'T look frail.

Lupercalia

Honestly, you don't look "frail" to me, but you did lose a bit of muscle from your before photos.

Don't dwell on that. Just lift weights. What works great for me is setting some strength related goals, as this brings a really positive focus to one's training, and you will definitely see progress that you can be proud of if you've got some goals in mind. The other thing is to use a solid beginner's lifting program if you're not already. A lot of women here really like New Rules of Lifting for Women. It's a great program and there are lots of MFP users doing it. You'd have lots of buddies to discuss it with, lots of support here. I use a program called Starting Strength that I think is pretty great, but I don't find as many women talking about it here on MFP.

Work really hard on eating well. Up your calories slowly like everyone is suggesting, and think of what you eat and the quantities as a really important component of achieving your strength goals. Muscles need food, and you need proper nutrition to get through your training and beyond. Gotta live a happy, healthy life!

You can do it!

weightloser122

thanks! such a bummer i lost muscle despite lifting through my weight loss journey. maybe i lost too fast or something. ill make lifting my main priority now and look into a lot of the programs mentioned here