Eat More to Weigh Less? I THINK NOT!

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xxtaliaxx
xxtaliaxx Posts: 123
in Motivation and Support
So I took the advice from people here and I upped my calories by 480 (to 1680) because apparently I should be eating more so I can lose weight. I have been doing this for a couple of weeks now and NOTHING HAS HAPPENED. I weigh exactly the same if not a pound or 2 more. I've been going to the gym and doing cardio mixed with some weight training on certain days and I even try to get some workouts in while I'm at work. I've been trying to do this because I have weigh ins coming up and I'm now about 5 pounds over my maximum weight and now I'm scrambling to drop it before then. My TDEE is around 2400 and my BMR is somewhere around 1600. So I've been eating as much as I should. This is going to sound bad but since I'm now in a rush to lose these 5 pounds that I gained by trying to eat right and up my calories I don't have time for this. I need to drop this ASAP so I don't fail my PFA. If you think you can help, please, by all means. My diary is open but be warned I have not logged since around 26 MAR because I didn't think it was working. And before anyone says that I gained the weight because I haven't logged that's not true. I've weighed this for the past like 3-4 weeks. WTF.
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Replies

  • Iron_Feline
    Iron_Feline Posts: 10,750 Member
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    How long did you give it before you decided it wasn't working?

    Are you new to weight training? Did you up your exercise?

    If you TDEE is 2400 then 1680 is still to low as it should be TDEE - 20 %. = 1920 cals a day

    Not logging means if you bosy had decided to start dropping the weight you might have countered that by over eating.

    EDIT: loking at your food diary you only gave it two weeks before deciding it wasn'y working. Before that you logged under 1000 cals on several days - is this accurate?
  • xxtaliaxx
    xxtaliaxx Posts: 123
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    I ate around 1920 on days I worked out. And no, I'm not new to weight training; I started back up after a while of not doing it though. And I've been eating like this for maybe 5 weeks now? Somewhere around there.
  • Iron_Feline
    Iron_Feline Posts: 10,750 Member
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    Sorry, edited my post look up ^^^^^
  • aberc
    aberc Posts: 98
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    If you were planning to lose 5 lbs very soon by eating more, you didn't do enough research. Increasing your calories from what your metabolism is used to usually makes you gain a little in the first few weeks as your metabolism readjusts. Also If you're strength training, you could also be gaining weight because of your increase in muscle (building muscle usually requires more calories..)

    It could also be water weight. The extra food might be making your body retain some extra water?

    I say increase it a little more, or drop it back down again and see what happens. If it's not working where its at, change it.
  • bethanytowell
    bethanytowell Posts: 256 Member
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    I honestly think that the "eat more to weigh less" suggestion works better for those of us who lift heavy. For someone who is mostly doing cardio and "strength training" it is probably counter-intuitive. Thats just my 2 cents.
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
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    I went all the way back to March 1st. There were a couple of days in the second week where you were near your new goal,, the rest you were significantly under or didn't log at all.

    I don't think eat more to weigh less is the issue.
  • Ed98043
    Ed98043 Posts: 1,333 Member
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    Upping your calories by 480 might have been too big of a jump - try dropping it a couple hundred and see what happens. It have found that it's an ongoing process of playing with calories and trying to find that "sweet spot" that results in measurable weight loss. For me, 1200 calories daily didn't work, but mixing higher calorie days with lower calorie days does the trick.

    As for needing to lose 5 lbs in a hurry to meet a weigh-in requirement - that's not going to happen with healthy weight loss because it isn't fast. If I needed to drop pounds quickly I would do a juice fast. It works as a diuretic and leaves minimal solids in your system...not true fat loss but will make the scale go down temporarily.
  • FireEngineRedHead
    FireEngineRedHead Posts: 281 Member
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    Bump. Having similar problems.
  • Sweet_Gurl_Next_Door
    Sweet_Gurl_Next_Door Posts: 735 Member
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    what works for one person doesn't necessairly work for another. there is no one size fits all. I think eat more to weigh less works for people like me who ate way under calories and was in starving mode since eating more + 30 day shred I am losing the weight. for someone who has zero trouble in eating healthy and keeping her calories undercontrol it may be a different story.
  • infamousmk
    infamousmk Posts: 6,033 Member
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    You probably should give it a little more time.
  • Iron_Feline
    Iron_Feline Posts: 10,750 Member
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    Honestly looking at your diary I suspect you ate more anyway, you have a large number of days where you haven't logged and several where you ate under 1000 cals a day - if you logged correctly.

    On days you seem to log fully the amount bounces between 1200 and 1900 cals - so I would think you are still undereating.

    Oh and aberc is correct - it takes about 6 weeks for the body to sort itself out as your body needs to adjust to the extra calories and realise it doesn't need to hold onto fat.

    Eat more is not a quick weight loss - it's about losing slowly and healthily without messing up your metabolism. I think you may not have realised this.
  • violinkeri
    violinkeri Posts: 212
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    Nothings going to work if you dont log--how do you know accurately what you ate? I bottomed out on 1200 very quickly. Now I lose slow and steady at 1600.

    Also important is that the less you are trying to lose, the slower it will be. especially because a difference of 5 lbs is likely all within a healthy body weight for you.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,047 Member
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    Two weeks? How about eating more like 1800 for a month. You are still undereating. And your body doesn't turn on a dime. You've been undereating for so long, you really SHOULD eat at Maintenance for a month and then drop back down to 1800. You need a good reset.

    Don't blame the tool. It's the operator.


    "Why won't my car run?" -

    "Did you try putting gas in it?"
  • Kid4life68
    Kid4life68 Posts: 2 Member
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    Try carb cycling every other day to keep your metabolism guessing and don't focus so much on cardio. Try lifting more as that has a greater EPOC effect and your body will keep burning calories long after the cardio session.
  • Machafin
    Machafin Posts: 2,988 Member
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    What kind of macros are you at? Make sure you are getting plenty of protein. Healthy fats are also important (avocado, almonds, olive oil, fish oil, etc.) but in lower amounts. Sometimes the quality of a diet makes a difference too
  • adamalle
    adamalle Posts: 88 Member
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    Did you do your numbers properly? Follow this, there are maybe one or two people it hasn't worked for. Give it time, it's not a quick fix.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/912920-in-place-of-a-road-map-3-2013
  • csheltra26
    csheltra26 Posts: 272 Member
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    also another thing to keep in mind is that if you have been undereating for a long time, generally it takes a while for your body to catch back up.
  • csuhar
    csuhar Posts: 779 Member
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    If your weight is going to be an issue, I've got to ask if you're measuring using the same scales they'll use for your PFA. It doesn't help to make weight on one scale if the scales they use say you're still over.

    My home scale said I was 231, but the scale on base said I was 235. Luckily, it's not as critical for me. But if you're cutting it close, it will help to use their scales.
  • xxtaliaxx
    xxtaliaxx Posts: 123
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    If I logged on days with low calories, usually it's because I ate something that I have no idea how to log (example: my friend made dinner, and she doesn't know what she put in it and doesn't look at calories) or I went somewhere that doesn't have a nutrition chart OR I just wasn't hungry. And if I'm not hungry, I'm not going to stuff myself because that's just uncomfortable for me.
    And I've been doing this for more than two weeks.

    Machafin: I strive to meet my macros, especially protein. I try to add things into foods to get to that point; sometimes, it just doesn't work and I end up over or under. certain things.

    My Command Fitness Leader said to try juicing...I just don't have a juicer. But a friend of mine does so I might try that. I'm also looking in to getting a personal trainer.
  • darkguardian419
    darkguardian419 Posts: 1,302 Member
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    Did you do your numbers properly? Follow this, there are maybe one or two people it hasn't worked for. Give it time, it's not a quick fix.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/912920-in-place-of-a-road-map-3-2013

    QFT. Remember, keep your TDEE and BMR in mind, but also be mindful of the fact that they are estimates.

    MAKE SURE YOU ARE WEIGHING YOUR FOOD. You may think you're eating 1800, but could end up eating closer to 2200 easily. That's been my biggest issue was not properly weighing my food.

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