Success stories by upping calories PLEAS

EmmaKarney

I lost weight on 1200, but I also lose weight on 1450... so go figure.

I could probably lose on more, but since this feels like a decent amount of food and the weight is coming off at a nice pace I don't want to up my calories right now.

ruwise

I started on 1400 calories and within 3 weeks hit a plateau. I upped to 1900-2400 (depending on activity level) and since then have lost at least 1 lb a week. I haven't done any photo's yet but I will tell you I feel so much more satisfied and motivated. As a previous yo-yo dieter/binger I would highly recommend it.

Lovinglish

No pics but I have a story. I've noticed that I lose more on weeks Ive eaten more than my recommended cal intake. However ive noticed I cant do it consecutively. So for a few weeks I eat right then I slip a few days in there when I don't be to strict on cals One bi weekly weigh in I realized I lost 6 pounds. A weight loss journey is truthfully going to have to be tailored to you. Gotta find out what works and what doesn't. Best of wishes

FitChimi

Bump

angdpowers

I don't know how to upload photos on here, but I eat around 1600-1900 cals a day.

I've lost pretty steadily and I haven't had to "kill myself" doing it. I do try to eat as much UNPROCESSED foods as possible and I've seen a huge change. I don't even have to workout as much.

Think about it, if you are eating awesome and not losing, ppl say its because you are too sedentary.
If you are super active and not losing, ppl say its because your eating crap food.

ALL NOT TRUE!!

I truly feel like its WHAT you eat that makes the difference!!! EAT! Just pick the right foods. I eat tons of fruit and veggies, and make sure I get enough cals.

bobf279

Just wanted to point out the ravens suck!! I'm a Steelers fan

^^^^ Agreed

dp1228

Don't have new pictures since consistently upping my calories but I'll share my experience. Despite being on this site for two years and losing a good amount of weight eating low calories, I recently got really serious about my calories because I was losing and gaining the same 4 pounds for about 2 months. i was getting so frustrated that i started cutting calories to 1400 or below (without logging so it may have been slightly more or less then that). and all this time i haven't been paying attention to net calories. the calorie limit on my diary right is 1650 but I've been netting between 1800-2200 most days for the past two weeks and I'm so much happier doing that. I've dropped those pesky 4 pounds again and I'm hoping they're gone for good. i weigh myself every day for right now just to see what's going on but i have been getting comments this past week on how i look like I've dropped more weight and that is usually a very good sign lol. i can't ever go back to eating less then 1600 every day I would be miserable.

ETA: im five pounds away from the goal i set two years ago. My new goal is to lose an additional 15-20 pounds while still maintaining lean body mass and really cut my body fat %. i cant do that eating low calories :drinker:

snowmanluv

Thank you, thank you, thank you for posting this. I've been wondering the same thing. I started out in the 990-1200 range total calories then subtract out exercise (3x). After reading the MFP and figuring out my TDEE (scooby workout) I upped it to 1350-1450. Well I gained 1 pound that week with exercising (6x cardio and 4x weight light lots of reps). Next week gained another 1.5 (took it down to 1200-1300 range). I believe that your calories shouldn't below. I don't know if it's an age thing. If it's related to to restricted calories forever and resetting them. I tried and gained now discouraged. To top it off everybody 40plus group goes to me I can't lose weight unless I'm 800 or 1000. They did it with success while I'm gaining weight. I am short so gaining 2.5 pound in a 2 weeks is a big deal because project that out by a couple of months. I would be enormous. Plus with the thyroid issues I am always leary of gaining too much too soon.

d3gus

Thank you, thank you, thank you for posting this. I've been wondering the same thing. I started out in the 990-1200 range total calories then subtract out exercise (3x). After reading the MFP and figuring out my TDEE (scooby workout) I upped it to 1350-1450. Well I gained 1 pound that week with exercising (6x cardio and 4x weight light lots of reps). Next week gained another 1.5 (took it down to 1200-1300 range). I believe that your calories shouldn't below. I don't know if it's an age thing. If it's related to to restricted calories forever and resetting them. I tried and gained now discouraged. To top it off everybody 40plus group goes to me I can't lose weight unless I'm 800 or 1000. They did it with success while I'm gaining weight. I am short so gaining 2.5 pound in a 2 weeks is a big deal because project that out by a couple of months. I would be enormous. Plus with the thyroid issues I am always leary of gaining too much too soon.

I started back in January needing to lose 90lb. I joined MFP in February and like many others let MFP set my food goal whch was 1200. I managed to lose 26lb then stalled for about a month then went on a cruise here let's just say i enjoyed the all inclusive food and drink. When i got back i weighed myself and had put on 3lb. I read the road map and upped my calories, first to 1400 for a week then 1600. I have lost the 3lb i put on plus another 3lb in just 2 weeks ( total 29lb ). I am trying to make sure that i always eat over my BMR, but do struggle to eat that much. I will keep on this for another month to see where i go with it - but it does seem to be working at the moment and i never feel hungry.!!

d3gus

I forgot to mention I have Hashimoto's disease ( thyroid ) so weight loss is a continual struggle - i am currently taking armour which is the only thing that keeps me sane!

Mztae78

I was at a plateau for a few months eating 1450 per day, I upped to 1850 and now I am losing weight again. I do not eat back my exercise calories PLUS I dont feel like im starving to death

tjphelps73

Yes, changing your calories will help. I just increased mine two weeks ago from 1300 to 1600 and lost four pounds over the last two weeks. I have added heavy lifting and noticed I was always hungry..duh...muscle burns more and I was starving my muscles. I am usually not that slow but I am just startling the Heavy lift.

Also - I started MFP at 1800 calories...dropped to 1500 and then dropped to 1200 and normally ate back all my exercise calories. I still have 60lbs to drop but I have noticed after the first 120lbs loss the pounds are coming off slower now.

StacieHof

Bump

MeIShouldB

UPPING CALORIES HAS GOTTEN ME OVER 2 PLATEAUS!

LisaGirlfriend

bump

quinnwinn

bump

coffee4me57

bump-read later

Cedarwren

bump

yaybazinga

thanks everyone for sharing your stories, it's giving me hope I'm upping my calories right now according to TDEE -20% as I've been loosing slowly (1 lb per week would be an excellent rare week for me), hoping for some good results

missdibs1

I've hit plateaus twice now already (started 6 weeks ago) where I didn't lose or gained over a period of a week even though I was doing all the same things. Both times, I tried a "cheat day" where I ate to gain for one day and then went back to eating to lose. Both times, after a slight initial gain, my weight quickly dropped off. There is one caveat, and that is that if you are really obese and insulin resistant, that won't work for you, but for normal people, cheat days can work really well as plateau busters. I have not tried eating more every day, and wouldn't unless I was increasing activity commensurately. Hope this helps -:

what do you eat on cheat days?

auddii

Too much arguing about clean eating. Not enough pics. :laugh:

I started at 1500 calories back in October or November and in December switched to TDEE-25%.

I "aim" to eat around 1800, but as long as I'm below 2400 a day I don't really care (and there a *few* extreme blow outs...).





ETA: I do stronglifts 3x a week and do cardio twice a week.

benmullins

What's happening is your body is getting used to your current intake all the while you're telling it that it needs to burn what it is getting. So what then happens is your body goes into survival mode and only burns enough to maintain the current status quo. By up'ing your caloric intake, you are telling your body to go ahead and eat up. There's plenty coming. After about 2 weeks, drop back down again. It tricks your body into working at the same pace until it realizes that it's getting less again. At that point, you have burned enough calories you need to get over that plateau.

It's kind of like tricking your muscles by doing different variations of exercises. Keep building your lean tight muscles and you'll burn calories by sitting around as muscle uses quite a few calories just to maintain...

BluthLover

Bump for late!!

schuagah

Bump

missdibs1

What's happening is your body is getting used to your current intake all the while you're telling it that it needs to burn what it is getting. So what then happens is your body goes into survival mode and only burns enough to maintain the current status quo. By up'ing your caloric intake, you are telling your body to go ahead and eat up. There's plenty coming. After about 2 weeks, drop back down again. It tricks your body into working at the same pace until it realizes that it's getting less again. At that point, you have burned enough calories you need to get over that plateau.

It's kind of like tricking your muscles by doing different variations of exercises. Keep building your lean tight muscles and you'll burn calories by sitting around as muscle uses quite a few calories just to maintain...

I will try this

jfrankic

Here ya go...... http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1003122-12mos-46-pounds-lost-heavy-lifting-mom-5-8

I've been eating around 2,000 a day for the past 10 months and losing steadily. Then I started to maintain my weight when I cut out cardio. I've increased to 2,200 a day (often more, I ate 3000 yesterday) and am losing again. I should add that I have very little to lose, so every ounce of fat lost is a big deal.

Read the roadmap that is linked in the post above.

ThinLizzie0802

I agree! I don't understand how eating clean is common-sense defying? My common sense tends to steer me away from low-grade, genetically modified, over processed, sugar-laden food. Everyone deserves to treat themselves, but my hormones, skin, hair, and overall body are thanking me for finally starting to rid it of junk crap food.

amandaleigh_

I started doing this (TDEE - 20%) in October 2012 at 165 pounds. I had already lost 70 pounds and was dancing around 165 for an entire year. I upped my calories from 1200 (what MFP originally had me set at) to 1700-1800. In May 2013 (7 months later) I hit 142 pounds. So, I lost 23 pounds by... EATING MORE!

Here's a progress photo!



I can't recommend this enough for people who have hit walls and are still training hard and eating right. Try it out! I'm not saying what works for me will work for everyone, but I've had an awesome experience with it. It's less about dieting and more about fueling your workouts. At 165 pounds, I was able to workout a whole lot longer and a whole lot more intense than I did when I weighed more. So, in order to sustain such workouts, I needed more fuel to reap the benefits. It sort of makes sense when you think about it. Even when the idea of eating more scares you.

Jan3D

You look amazing - I love how your added muscle weight at 135 looks even better than the pic before. How tall are you and what is your training routine?

mandeenicoleb

Bump


loving it