Little bit of advice please..

Lindyxx

I have been counting calories for the past 5 weeks, sticking to 1200 cals a day, and I have lost 10lb in 4 weeks, now this past week, after browsing the forum, and looking at the posts about TDEE, I decided to try and do it that way, and it seems doing it the TDEE way I have put on 3lb?? Can anyone give me any advice please as what I might be doing wrong?

vstraughan

First - HUGE congrats on the 10lb achievement! *applause*

Second - how did you FEEL during those 4 weeks vs. now? Physically, energy levels, mentally.

If it worked for you and you felt good, why change?

If it worked but you didn't feel good then you probably did need to change. There are many people who swear by TDEE. I'd look at it as any time you make a change, your body needs a little time to adjust. If you want to stick with it, it's probably worth leaving it 3-4 weeks before you re-assess.

Lyadeia

If you were eating consistently at 1200 calories and then jumped overnight to something a few hundred calories higher, the scale will play tricks on you to make you think you have gained all that fat when it is really most likely water weight. That is why for people on VLCDs that want to go up to TDEE-20% it is recommended to do this slowly and add about 50-100 calories per week until you get to your correct level.

Lindyxx

First - HUGE congrats on the 10lb achievement! *applause*

Second - how did you FEEL during those 4 weeks vs. now? Physically, energy levels, mentally.

If it worked for you and you felt good, why change?

If it worked but you didn't feel good then you probably did need to change. There are many people who swear by TDEE. I'd look at it as any time you make a change, your body needs a little time to adjust. If you want to stick with it, it's probably worth leaving it 3-4 weeks before you re-assess.

Thank you, I felt ok on the 1200 cals a day, some days I felt I could eat a bit more than that, but most days I was fine.

I changed because of reading all the post on here about TDEE, people were saying at 1200 cal you might lose for a while but then it will stop, cos your body isnt getting enough food, and will store it.

Im now not sure what to now, change back or stick with it for a little while longer.

Lyadeia

I would personally stick it out at TDEE-20% since you are there now. After a while, the scale will start cooperating. Plus, when things stop working, it will be much easier to cut calories to get things going again if you are already eating a pretty good bit of food. If you are eating 1200 and then things stop, if you cut more calories your health may suffer.

Lindyxx

If you were eating consistently at 1200 calories and then jumped overnight to something a few hundred calories higher, the scale will play tricks on you to make you think you have gained all that fat when it is really most likely water weight. That is why for people on VLCDs that want to go up to TDEE-20% it is recommended to do this slowly and add about 50-100 calories per week until you get to your correct level.

I sort of did jump overnight, but I havent jumped a great deal, I was eating 1200 a day, then eating my exercise cals back to, which was around 200 cals, so that makes 1400 a day. Doing it the TDEE way I was eating 1600 a day, so its really only a 200 cal difference, dont know how I could put 3lb on with that.

Lindyxx

I would personally stick it out at TDEE-20% since you are there now. After a while, the scale will start cooperating. Plus, when things stop working, it will be much easier to cut calories to get things going again if you are already eating a pretty good bit of food. If you are eating 1200 and then things stop, if you cut more calories your health may suffer.

Yea that does make sense - thank you.

Lyadeia

If you were eating consistently at 1200 calories and then jumped overnight to something a few hundred calories higher, the scale will play tricks on you to make you think you have gained all that fat when it is really most likely water weight. That is why for people on VLCDs that want to go up to TDEE-20% it is recommended to do this slowly and add about 50-100 calories per week until you get to your correct level.

I sort of did jump overnight, but I havent jumped a great deal, I was eating 1200 a day, then eating my exercise cals back to, which was around 200 cals, so that makes 1400 a day. Doing it the TDEE way I was eating 1600 a day, so its really only a 200 cal difference, dont know how I could put 3lb on with that.

You are still in a deficit, so just remind yourself that you did NOT gain fat. It is not possible when eating in a deficit. But your body does react to different amounts of food or different amounts of exercise by releasing hormones that affect your water retention. It's similar to that time of the month for us females...we did not gain 5 pounds of fat, we just retained 5 pounds of water due to our bodies natural processes. Annoying as heck fire, but it certainly wasn't something we did "wrong" with our diet and exercise routines.

Lindyxx

If you were eating consistently at 1200 calories and then jumped overnight to something a few hundred calories higher, the scale will play tricks on you to make you think you have gained all that fat when it is really most likely water weight. That is why for people on VLCDs that want to go up to TDEE-20% it is recommended to do this slowly and add about 50-100 calories per week until you get to your correct level.

I sort of did jump overnight, but I havent jumped a great deal, I was eating 1200 a day, then eating my exercise cals back to, which was around 200 cals, so that makes 1400 a day. Doing it the TDEE way I was eating 1600 a day, so its really only a 200 cal difference, dont know how I could put 3lb on with that.

You are still in a deficit, so just remind yourself that you did NOT gain fat. It is not possible when eating in a deficit. But your body does react to different amounts of food or different amounts of exercise by releasing hormones that affect your water retention. It's similar to that time of the month for us females...we did not gain 5 pounds of fat, we just retained 5 pounds of water due to our bodies natural processes. Annoying as heck fire, but it certainly wasn't something we did "wrong" with our diet and exercise routines.

Thanks - its just so bloody annoying tho lol hopefully it will be gone next week and more.