So who's upped their calories to lose?

victoriacedeno96

Ok so Calories need to be upped so that your metabolism doesn't go into starvation mode. If your body is in starvation mode it will hold onto your fat instead of get ride of it. Also you cannot Yo-Yo from day to day. You have to be consistent no going crazy on cheat days. Look at your calories for one week they need to average out to the amount your suppose to be eating. I went from 1200 calories to 1800 and lost 3 pounds the first week.

TallGiraffe

thank you so much for this info, i am going to try the tdee because my weight loss has stalled

glassxxballerina

I'm set on 1546 based on TDEE/BMR (30% deficit). I usually exercise 6 days a week (triathlon training) and, depending on the day and how hungry I am afterwards, might eat back most of my exercise calories (based on burn calculated by HR monitor). So I usually end up around 2,000 or so most days.

I've been having a rough time lately with keeping my calories on track but when I do I lose between 2-5 pounds per week.

LorinaLynn

I so don't get this upping your calories to lose weight! Sorry, total novice here can someone explain please!! :-)

Don't think about it as "eating more," think about it as "eating right."

We need to eat less than our body burns in a day to lose weight. But if you eat toooooo much less, your body freaks out. Hormone levels get screwed up, you can get fatigued, you retain fluid when you do eat, and eventually, it can mess up your metabolism. Not to mention, any time you lose weight, you lose some amount of muscle with the fat. If you're not eating right, you lose a larger percentage of muscle than you would if your body was getting the right nutrition. In other words, you're losing pounds, but not necessarily all that much fat.

For instance, my TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) is about 2300 calories. The ideal deficit for weight loss is between 10-20% below your TDEE, especially if you don't have a lot of weight to lose. So that's between 1800-2100-ish calories a day.

If I were eating just 1200 calories, that only giving it about HALF the fuel my body needs.

If your employer cut your salary in half, you'd have a hard time getting by for more than a few weeks. But you could probably manage, if you HAD to, on a 10-20% cut in wages. You'd adapt. Same thing with your body.

Icedcoffee29

Thanks so much everyone! Love reading this.

uwdawg07

I went from 1200 to 1500 - 1600 and lost 4.5 pounds pretty quickly! And being so close to goal, I was really surprised by that. Stalling out for me now though....I'm thinking about upping again. I work out a lot, too.

It feels so good to fuel myself!

Good luck!

Icedcoffee29

I went from 1200 to 1500 - 1600 and lost 4.5 pounds pretty quickly! And being so close to goal, I was really surprised by that. Stalling out for me now though....I'm thinking about upping again. I work out a lot, too.

It feels so good to fuel myself!

Good luck!

Wow you've done amazing! Nice job!

Lyndz_88

I was given 1200 a day but i have over 5 stone to lose, so i am eating 1600 a day, then im gonna drop 100 every stone i lose, to prevent a plateau (hopefully)

AmyRhubarb

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Been eating at 1800+ for nearly a year with fabulous results. Best progress I've made has been since making this change and eating according to the info here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

This past week I've been tired, and eating over goal every day, so decided to up cals again - just reset to 1950 and will see how this goes for the next 4-6 weeks, and adjust if needed.

It works, it's sustainable, and so much easier for me - I really wish I had discovered the the thread I linked three years ago. No more guilt from going over 1200, or even 1400 or 1500 cals, no more plateaus, no more anxiety over birthdays, dinners out, holidays - my body is so much happier, and I look and feel so much better.

Don't be afraid to eat more - there are so many of us having such good results, and countless threads posted weekly from people who are "staying below 1200, working my butt off and scale isn't moving" or "tired and burnt out", "scale is stuck, this doesn't work even though I eat my 1200", etc etc. Which crowd do you want to be like?

My dairy is open, and there are other photos in my profile (I think those are public, not sure), feel free to have a look. I'll never go back to under-fueling this body - 44 years old and I look and feel better than I did in my 30's. :drinker:

Pepper2185

I eat 2000 calories every day.

I lost every single pound eating this way.

Bssh

Fantastic!

Icedcoffee29

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Been eating at 1800+ for nearly a year with fabulous results. Best progress I've made has been since making this change and eating according to the info here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

This past week I've been tired, and eating over goal every day, so decided to up cals again - just reset to 1950 and will see how this goes for the next 4-6 weeks, and adjust if needed.

It works, it's sustainable, and so much easier for me - I really wish I had discovered the the thread I linked three years ago. No more guilt from going over 1200, or even 1400 or 1500 cals, no more plateaus, no more anxiety over birthdays, dinners out, holidays - my body is so much happier, and I look and feel so much better.

Don't be afraid to eat more - there are so many of us having such good results, and countless threads posted weekly from people who are "staying below 1200, working my butt off and scale isn't moving" or "tired and burnt out", "scale is stuck, this doesn't work even though I eat my 1200", etc etc. Which crowd do you want to be like?

My dairy is open, and there are other photos in my profile (I think those are public, not sure), feel free to have a look. I'll never go back to under-fueling this body - 44 years old and I look and feel better than I did in my 30's. :drinker:

Thank you! Wow you look amazing, your arms are killer! I totally Peeped your diary, it's lovely and realistic.

Dlacenere

I just upped from 1780 to 2000 and am still losing. I never thought this would be possible - I started out at 1200 like most others, it really works.

pushyourself14

I just ate 1500 calories worth of almonds as a snack. So today I'm upping.

That is a lot of almonds.

themedalist

When I first joined MFP in July 2011, I was eating 1200 calories a day and working out 5-6 days a week. I lost about 1 pound per week. After doing much reading, I decided that was too little food for my activity level so I upped it to 1600 to 1800 calories a day and consistently lost 1.5 to 2 pounds a week. It worked for me!

Icedcoffee29

I haven't weighed in yet and I know there will likely be a gain. I feel bloated. :ohwell:

plynn54

I did, I just make sure my net calories for the day are at least 1200, since I started doing this two weeks ago, i lost 4 lbs

30ismyyear

Ugh, this is so hard to decide! I decided not to go with MFP usual 1200 calories and instead upped it to 1360 eating back most exercise calories burned.... however when I calculate my BMR I get anywhere from 1300-2148!!! That's a huge difference. There are 2 sites that both said 1800ish which would mean I'm eating too little. But I don't want to eat more and not gain. Soo confusing!

tppchef

I just upped my calories today! I am just as nervous. I've been working out at least an hour a day five times a week, & have been logging on here for weeks. I am happy that my workouts are finally consistent, but now it's time to get serious about dropping those numbers too.

Sweet_Gurl_Next_Door

me!

I was eating 1100-1200 calories and couldn't lose weight

here I am now eating 1400 calories and working out 6 days a week

I am now at 186 pounds

I was 197 pounds before this

wannatangle

I set my goal at 1400 and I still eat some of my exercise calories back. I had been gaining what I lost originally and then I started to lose again. I can't tell you the rate because I'm not sure but I've lost more than 6 pounds since January. Several weeks in there were gains so I'm happy with the 6 pound loss, especially since I am only trying to lose another 6 pounds.

sniperzzzz

So what you all going to do when you stop losing weight again, increase them even more to lose more weight lol.
The truth is if you, had lowered your calories gradually to begin with and not had such an agressive deficit then this problem could have been avoided, lesson learnt i think

wannatangle

I think the problem is when people get here they follow MFPs goals without thinking much about it. I know that I did. It told me to eat 1200 calories and that is what I was doing. Then I was confused as to why I was gaining weight at that level.

AmyRhubarb

So what you all going to do when you stop losing weight again, increase them even more to lose more weight lol.
The truth is if you, had lowered your calories gradually to begin with and not had such an agressive deficit then this problem could have been avoided, lesson learnt i think

Since upping mine, I haven't had a stall in weight/fat loss in about a year. I do check my numbers as my body changes though, and make adjustments if needed, but so far the only thing I've done is go up another 150 calories just yesterday. If I gain or don't get the results I'm looking for, I'll adjust back down.

Like you said, it's gradual. :bigsmile:

Naomi_84

Me!! After a 12 lb loss then 5 week plateau at 1300 calories a day I increased to 1700 based on a website which works out your TDEE and lost in the first week!! Fingers crossed this is the start of consistent losing again X

sniperzzzz

I think the problem is when people get here they follow MFPs goals without thinking much about it. I know that I did. It told me to eat 1200 calories and that is what I was doing. Then I was confused as to why I was gaining weight at that level.

True enough, mfp built in calorie calculator can be confusing. Surely they would have seen all the 1200 calorie threads littered all over the forums by now, and tried to improve their calorie calculation system!

sniperzzzz

I don't know how many times this video has been posted on these forums, its interesting non the less. DR Layne Norton explains metabolic damage, due to aggressive deficits and low calories. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHHzie6XRGk

psuLemon

So what you all going to do when you stop losing weight again, increase them even more to lose more weight lol.
The truth is if you, had lowered your calories gradually to begin with and not had such an agressive deficit then this problem could have been avoided, lesson learnt i think

Since upping mine, I haven't had a stall in weight/fat loss in about a year. I do check my numbers as my body changes though, and make adjustments if needed, but so far the only thing I've done is go up another 150 calories just yesterday. If I gain or don't get the results I'm looking for, I'll adjust back down.

Like you said, it's gradual. :bigsmile:

Same thing happened to me. When I upped my calories from 1800 to 2600, I never plateaud as I maintained a very small deficit. And I am doing the same thing now, post a bulk phase. I am consistently losing 1 lb per week pending my diet is good for the week.

Icedcoffee29

So what you all going to do when you stop losing weight again, increase them even more to lose more weight lol.
The truth is if you, had lowered your calories gradually to begin with and not had such an agressive deficit then this problem could have been avoided, lesson learnt i think

Since upping mine, I haven't had a stall in weight/fat loss in about a year. I do check my numbers as my body changes though, and make adjustments if needed, but so far the only thing I've done is go up another 150 calories just yesterday. If I gain or don't get the results I'm looking for, I'll adjust back down.

Like you said, it's gradual. :bigsmile:

I love hearing that! I actually didn't start out on MFP, I started on WW so I am not sure where I was cal wise.

justmeg86

I have been reading articles that say you should eat more to lose weight and have had a lot of questions. When I lost about 30 pounds 2.5 years ago I was eating a lot and exercising a lot. I got sick and was not able to exercise for a month or so and when I got back into it I did it slowly...I had gained a few pounds and felt like I was starting compeltely over. I started using MFP and it told me my calorie intake should be like 1,210 and I thought that was a drastic cut, but figured they knew what they were talking about. I felt terrible when I'd eat more than that number and didn't really log much on the weekends b/c I am terrible on weekends. I recently started only half using the app to track things and have been eating more. I finally feel like I am making some progress and losing some weight. Aftrer all, 1,210 calories is not much when you consider I burn 500-600 a day at the gym. I don't want or need to lose a drastic amount of weight but would like to get back down to what I was 2 summers ago!