I understand that some people will gain a pound or two. I have gained 8. That's right, 8. I am so discouraged and about to go back to my 1200 calories a day. I feel like a pig and clearly my body thinks I am a pig too because it's gained 8 pounds. I've been doing this for a few weeks now. I don't think an 8 pound gain could be normal. Now my last 10 pounds I needed to lose has turned into 18 pounds,

I gained 30-40 :noway:

and guess what baby, I kept.it.moving

There was no way in the world I was turning back to 1200. There is no magic # of how much you gain, everyone is different, and several people gain WAY more than 8lbs. (I gain that just w/TOM)...don't underestimate how water weight looks on the scale. If you let the scale rule you, it will take you to places that you don't wanna go. You have to remember that *eventually*, you will reach a goal and *have* to eat at maintenance. If you have not already reset, your body will do the exact.same.thing that it's doing now, and you will pack those lbs right back on. You have to look beyond the fact that it's summertime right now, and we all want to be at our smallest. You have to think ahead to the holidays, and the comfort food of the cooler weather. Will you have a place in your diet for those? Is it really worth forcing your body to live off of less than it needs to survive, just to be where you want to be right now? :huh:

I would pray that the answer is no, but..... :ohwell:

Kiki

I have been reading through this thread and want to thank you for taking the time to share this information. I was losing at 1300-1400 calories but noticed a decline in my energy level after increasing my workout load. Call me crazy for wanting to fix something that is not broken, but I know I can get away with eating more. There are people my height (5’1”) who can maintain on 2000+ cals a day. Why should I be an exception? I started eating my TDEE cut a couple of days ago and gained 2 pounds in the process. I would have reverted back to my old ways if I hadn’t known what was going to happen. I know it’s too early to be posting this, and maybe I’m getting ahead of myself, but I am already seeing progress . I am down one inch in my waist so that tells me I’m doing something right. I am not hungry at the end of the day and am able to work out harder and more efficiently than ever before.

I have been reading through this thread and want to thank you for taking the time to share this information. I was losing at 1300-1400 calories but noticed a decline in my energy level after increasing my workout load. Call me crazy for wanting to fix something that is not broken, but I know I can get away with eating more. There are people my height (5’1”) who can maintain on 2000+ cals a day. Why should I be an exception? I started eating my TDEE cut a couple of days ago and gained 2 pounds in the process. I would have reverted back to my old ways if I hadn’t known what was going to happen. I know it’s too early to be posting this, and maybe I’m getting ahead of myself, but I am already seeing progress . I am down one inch in my waist so that tells me I’m doing something right. I am not hungry at the end of the day and am able to work out harder and more efficiently than ever before.

This sounds similar to me! I only started 4 days ago with a reset, but I do notice more energy. I haven't gained anything (which to me tells me I really wasn't eating enough before!) and it feels nice not to have to go hungry to meet my calorie goal. I can't be that different than everyone here, so I'm giving it a shot and hopefully my metabolism will get with the program!

I'm only 14..I only have time to go to the gym once a week, where I can do weight lifting
I do pop Pilates at home 6 days a week, which I reckon is a sort of strength training... because I can already see a little bit of tricep muscles forming.. and my chest is so much more defined. I do cardio 3 times a week.
Just recently upped my calorie intake from 1200 to 1600
I've been eating at 1200 for 3 weeks
Was wondering if what im doing is enough and does anyone have an advice for me?

Since you're only 14 years old, my advice would be stop focusing on losing weight or dieting, please, as you are still growing. Your body needs extra calories to support this growth. MFP has an age limit of 18 for a very good reason! I'm all for teenagers exercising and building strength (so keep it up!) but it's not sensible to restrict your calories, unless you're looking to stunt your growth with vitamin deficiences etc. You need to fuel your body properly
Eat at maintenance, eat back exercise calories and keep doing what you're doing with regards to workouts. You'll find that as you grow more your body will naturally take a shape you quite like Patience is key.

It's been one week after upping my calories from 1200 to 1600.... and I can honestly say that this was such a great decision! I felt fuller longer, I didn't get cravings, I fuled my body..... and I have more energy!
Thank god for this group!

hey guys i know to expect weight gain etc, so the scales are gone, that way i am not going to freak out and eat less again!

But is this feeling pudgy normal?? not bloated as such just pudgy and fat! i look down and all i see is this big wobbly stomach, i am sure it wasn't this pudgy yesterday?

I haven't done measurements, (hasn't even been a full week since i last did them) my clothes fit the same, and for the first time since starting this journey almost 2 weeks ago, i have actually netted my BMR on a normal eating day!

Normal as opposed to my weekly splurge days where i don't bother with cals

Honestly, yes. That is normal. It's just part of the adjustment process as your body re-learns how to digest larger amounts of food. Your metabolism is still used to digesting lower cals. When your body discovers that this is legit, and not just a binge, it will be willing to let go of food a bit faster. At the beginning, our bodies often aren't very trusting of us in this dept., so it thinks it should hold on during the "feast" because "famine" is around the corner. You should expect this every time you raise the cals.

I found this group as I was researching why I lost 7 pounds in 5 weeks. Now, nothing for 6 weeks, even though I've been netting under my goal, exercising more, and even cut out alcohol. Duh, I was netting under my BMR. I first came across the road map rules that made sense to me. Now that I've found this group it makes even more sense. MFP had me set to 1300, which I really did not have a hard time with. I was eating 5-6 small meals a day and sometimes eating back (or drinking back until I cut wayyyy back on that 2 weeks ago) some my exercise calories. I would end up netting anywhere from 800-1300 cal. However, when I followed the formulas, my BMR is more like 1400.

I am ready for upping my calories and getting back on track but I have a few questions I hope anyone can help me with. BTW, I had a slow day at work and literally read all 18 pages of this thread, including the links! You would think I was an expert but I do want to know more.

On the road map rules it looks like the 20% cut is more common. What is the benefit of 15% over 20% cut?

I understand that I pick my exercise level and then dont count my exercise calories unless I will net under my BMR. But what if I really like to log my exercise calories? Doing this is a real motivator for me. Im a total anal list maker kind of person and I love logging my activity and seeing it count towards something. Im scared if I stop dong this I will loose the motivation. My question is, can I set my MFP goal to my BMR or "sedentary/desk" activity level and then log my exercise?

I understand that I never want to NET below my BMR, or EAT less then my cut TDEE. This is another reason why I want to log my exercise. If I use my 20% cut number, there is only a 345 calorie difference from my BMR. On my exercise days I can easily go over this, meaning I would need to eat the difference back, so I need to keep track one way or the other.

However, if I use my 15% cut, there is a 625 calorie difference, which I may come close to, but probably wont exercise over. But, then Im afraid if I use this number and I know I dont need to worry about eating back any exercise calories, I may not exercise as much. I know it may sound strange, but I really like that motivator of knowing what my NET is when I add the exercise in.

Then there is the whole "pick your exercise category" It seems so vague to me. I just ordered a heart rate monitor that I am really excited to use and compare just how accurate (or inaccurate) MFP has been. I've had one in the past so I do have a pretty good idea and I dont think its been that for off. My exercise currently includes lifting free weights, body weight workouts, running, swimming, yoga and HIIT. Some days only 20 minutes, other days 2 hours. I did go back and add up last weeks time and I came up with 4.5 hours of exercise. I log anywhere from 130 calories to 650 burned per work out.

Here are my numbers

145lbs
5' 4.5"
41 years old
22.5% BF

I used both Scooby and Fat2Fit for my calculations. They were within 100-150 of each other, so I just did an average

BMR 1431

15% cut
TDEE sedentary 1460
moderate activity (3-5hours/week) 2057


20% cut
TDEE sedentary 1374
moderate activity 1775

I am having a really hard time knowing what to plug in MFP. I will say it again, I really want to log my exercise. What are the opinions on setting my goal to 1550 (about 100 over my BMR) Then, logging my exercise and eating back the calories so that my NET is never under 1430 and my EAT is never less then 1850? (I came up with this number as something between 15% and 20% cut.

I know this is a really long post and Im hoping anyone is willing to take the time to read it and help me. I am 100% open to advice and willing to do what it takes to loose weight. My goal weight is 135 and 16-18% BF. but I really would love to see if I could get to 125. Being only 5'4.5" it seems reasonable.

Thanks to everyone who has posted here. It looks like a great support community and I am looking forward to being a part of it.