Question about eat more to lose more?

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1234567kate9
1234567kate9 Posts: 87
in Health and Weight Loss
I've read a lot about it, but I was wondering, has anyone who has not too much to lose (10-15lbs) found success with this method? Ive seen plenty of success stories about people with 50-100lbs to lose upping their calories and watching the lbs drop off, but I'm wondering if because I'm so close to my goal weight, that might not work so well with me. Thoughts?
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  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,391 MFP Moderator
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    Definitely worked for me. I increase my calories from 1800 to 2600 calories and I lost % body fat, 11 lbs and 6". You have to fuel your body to cut fat. If you don't fuel it, then you lose muscle.
  • taylor5877
    taylor5877 Posts: 1,792 Member
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    I think it's more about chosing more nutrient dense foods which tend to be less calorie dense, so that you end up eating a greater volume of food throughout the day.

    Reguardless, I'm still losing faster than 1 lb per week right now at a net goal of 2900 cals (MFP wants to put me around 2300).
  • Kristierlong
    Kristierlong Posts: 163 Member
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    I'm currently doing the RESET phase of EM2WL. When I started I was about 7 lbs away from my "goal weight". I'll begin the Cut phase in about 2 weeks. Feel free to add me as a friend if you'd like.
  • SPNLuver83
    SPNLuver83 Posts: 2,050 Member
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    It actually works better with people who have less to lose! When you don't have much to lose people tend to eat under their BMR, causing their body to slow down it's functions and they end up going up and down in weight.

    I just actually posted a YouTube Video explaining this. The link is on my profile page if you wanna check it out!
  • DanaDark
    DanaDark Posts: 2,187 Member
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    I spent years eating less than I am now and exercising more and gained weight steadily.

    Once I started eating more and adjusted my macros to include significantly more protein, I started losing weight faster than I ever managed to do so.

    Overall since starting MFP, looking to lose 19ish pounds. I say "ish" because as I get close to the goal, I may decide I am good to go before reaching it.
  • nlmillervt
    nlmillervt Posts: 242 Member
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    It seems to work better for me, but it hasn't been a controlled study, so to speak. At the same time I started eating more, I also started concentrating on getting a higher proportion of protein in my diet (nearly double from prior) and drinking a ton more water. I don't know if the increased rate of weight loss was due to the increased calories, protein or water, or the combination of the three. I'm happy with the results, though!
  • mrs_french
    mrs_french Posts: 9 Member
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    I've read a lot about it, but I was wondering, has anyone who has not too much to lose (10-15lbs) found success with this method? Ive seen plenty of success stories about people with 50-100lbs to lose upping their calories and watching the lbs drop off, but I'm wondering if because I'm so close to my goal weight, that might not work so well with me. Thoughts?

    i'm also curious about this! i've lost 20 pounds in about 6 months and still need to lose 30 pounds, but the scale will NOT move! if you increase your calories, what are you eating? are you eating larger portions of vegetables, fruits, and lean meats?
  • Momjogger
    Momjogger Posts: 750 Member
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    I wish this worked for me. I just don't understand it. My body does not work like that, and I work out ALOT. When I go up in calories I DO NOT lose. Wahaha. You can try it for a couple of weeks and see what happens - what can it hurt? Worst case you maintain I bet. Everyone is different. Good luck.
  • magj0y
    magj0y Posts: 1,911 Member
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    I'm on the 'high end' of a 'healthy weight' which doesn't look good on me with my small bone structure.

    I'm just looking at losing the 20'ish pounds I gained in the last 10 years. Hopefully I'll figure out soon whether eating more or less will work for me. But for now, I will listen to my body
  • albayin
    albayin Posts: 2,524 Member
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    I wish this worked for me. I just don't understand it. My body does not work like that, and I work out ALOT. When I go up in calories I DO NOT lose. Wahaha. You can try it for a couple of weeks and see what happens - what can it hurt? Worst case you maintain I bet. Everyone is different. Good luck.

    I wish it had worked for me as well. I must have done something terribly wrong as I actually GAINED more weight than I lost. I was at a record high when I tried to eat more and workout more.
  • gogonunubean
    gogonunubean Posts: 160 Member
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    Ok, Just to clear a few things up here - eat more, lose more is not about just upping your calories randomly. You still need a deficit to lose. Some people will benefit from this, others will not. I did. I was stuck on the magic 1200 calorie number and never ate back my exercise calories. I figured if a small deficit will make me lose a 1lbs a week, then a huge deficit will make me lose weight quicker - right? Wrong! I now keep my calories at 1200, but eat back my exercise calories, so I am averaging at around 1500 calories a day. I am 5.5, 139 lbs now and losing inches, body fat like crazy. Weight is going down slower, but that is not an issue for me.

    That said, if you have been consistently eating MORE than you should (which is the reason most of us are here!) eating more on top of that will not help.

    So research your BMR, deficit and nutrition and go from there - Good luck.
  • Jennilynncoco
    Jennilynncoco Posts: 28
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    I think this is actually my problem i am 5'11 and limit myself to about 1200 calories a day and i work out at least 4 times a week. I noticed i have not been losing weight but in fact gain a couple lbs and i am a pretty clean eater i usually dont eat any processed foods. So i am trying to up my calorie in take to 1500 i am going to try that and see if i see a difference and if that does not work maybe up it more or cut it more from 1200, any suggestions if this does not work??
  • smartfitmom3
    smartfitmom3 Posts: 11
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    Eating 5-6 small meals a day every 2-3 hours speeds up your metabolism and gets your body in fat burning mode so yes.

    I lost 18lbs within the last 2.5 months and close to having a 6 pack even though I just had my 3rd child in May. I wasn't trying to lose a lot either.
  • ghostrider1924
    ghostrider1924 Posts: 9
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    I just started eating more to lose more and am now eating back ALL of my exercise calories. I only started ten days ago and when I did my weekly weigh in, I had gained the 1.4 lbs I'd spent the previous two weeks losing. I've been running and not doing much strength training and looking at my body, I don't think I've gained muscle, and of course it could be water weight, but that much?

    I am philosophical about it though and believe that I should stick with it for at least a couple of months to really tell what the results will be. My body may be in an adjustment phase, right? I do think it's WAY healthier to eat a decent amount of mainly very nutritious foods and fuel the exercise I do and believe that if it levels out eventually, my weight loss and fitness will be sustainable. I don't want to look and feel good temporarily, but for the rest of my life...

    Any hints or personal experiences are appreciated and feel free to add me as a friend. I'll be updating on my page regularly on how eating more to lose more is going!

    Hope you're all doing well on it, those of you who are! I REALLY want this to work as it seems the healthy way to lose weight and get fit!
  • albayin
    albayin Posts: 2,524 Member
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    Eating 5-6 small meals a day every 2-3 hours speeds up your metabolism and gets your body in fat burning mode so yes.

    This is not always true...
  • 1234567kate9
    1234567kate9 Posts: 87
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    I wish this worked for me. I just don't understand it. My body does not work like that, and I work out ALOT. When I go up in calories I DO NOT lose. Wahaha. You can try it for a couple of weeks and see what happens - what can it hurt? Worst case you maintain I bet. Everyone is different. Good luck.

    Yeah, I think I'll probably try it for the month of August and see what happens. Hopefully the scales start moving down!
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,391 MFP Moderator
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    I wish this worked for me. I just don't understand it. My body does not work like that, and I work out ALOT. When I go up in calories I DO NOT lose. Wahaha. You can try it for a couple of weeks and see what happens - what can it hurt? Worst case you maintain I bet. Everyone is different. Good luck.

    Some bodies need more than a few weeks. Its better to wait 4-6 weeks so your body can get used to the additional calories.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,391 MFP Moderator
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    Eating 5-6 small meals a day every 2-3 hours speeds up your metabolism and gets your body in fat burning mode so yes.

    This is not true, the nih has already done studies on meal frequency and increased MF does not promote greater weight loss. Your body will burn as many calories if you eat 1 meal or 10 meals. What it does for some people is prevent cravings.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    I think it's actually exercise more to eat more to lose more, make sure you extract the full story :-)

    As an example, someone who increases their calories and increases their protein is probably getting the benefit of the increased protein content, not the extra calories. A re-mix at the previous calorie level to more protein could have been at least as effective.
  • albayin
    albayin Posts: 2,524 Member
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    I think it's actually exercise more to eat more to lose more, make sure you extract the full story :-)

    As an example, someone who increases their calories and increases their protein is probably getting the benefit of the increased protein content, not the extra calories. A re-mix at the previous calorie level to more protein could have been at least as effective.

    This is what I believe the more I read about this theory/cult/trend/whatever, the more I believe often we don't get the whole picture...

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