Eat More to Weigh Less?

AmberJo1984
AmberJo1984 Posts: 1,067 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I still don't understand how eating more can cause you to lose more weight. I just changed my goals to lose 2 pounds a week, and they INCREASED my calorie goal for a day. How does that make sense?

I started off with a 1200 recommended goal. When I just updated my profile to lose 2 pounds a week (instead of 1 1/2), it shot my calories up to 1470. I'm just trying to figure out how you can eat more but still lose. I guess I"m just still new to the weight loss thing. But, I would like to understand.

Replies

  • omma_to_3
    omma_to_3 Posts: 3,265 Member
    MFP doesn't use that theory. There is some other reason your calories shot up. You must have changed your activity level? From sedentary to lightly active? Or updated your weight to something higher?

    Looking at your ticker...the 1470 sounds right. There's no way MFP was recommending 1200 at your weight. I started out less than you and initially, for a 2 lb. loss, my calories were set to 1460 at sedentary. Did you perhaps manually override your initial goals to set the 1200 calorie level?
  • secretlobster
    secretlobster Posts: 3,566 Member
    I started off with a 1200 recommended goal. When I just updated my profile to lose 2 pounds a week (instead of 1 1/2),

    So you were eating the minimum recommended and decided you should be eating less?
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    actually you shuld eat less to weigh less..

    Look int itermittent fasting (IF)...interesting stuff...
  • ToughTulip
    ToughTulip Posts: 1,118 Member
    I eat 2000 calories a day to lose weight.
    Just eat less than you burn. Doesn't mean starve!
  • mgmlap
    mgmlap Posts: 1,377 Member
    I eat between 1500-2000 cal/day...It took my body about 2 months to get used to it..now the weight is melting off. You need to fuel your body..the more you fuel it..the more efficient it works
  • AmberJo1984
    AmberJo1984 Posts: 1,067 Member
    When I first signed up for MFP, it gave me a 1200 calorie goal starting off. I don't remember changing anything. I just set my goals (which were 1 1/2 pounds a week). That's what I've been on for a week. I just went to check those goals, and ended up changing it to 2 pounds a week instead. This is now what it has given me. I guess I just didn't expect it to change that much. I've barely been eating the 1200 calories as it is. I'm trying to do better.
  • kgavins25
    kgavins25 Posts: 24
    What types of foods are you eating to get to that 1500 2000 cal range? when i try to get those values my carbs and sugars are usually over my goals, and under in protein. can someone recommend a few meals/food items.
  • Yanicka1
    Yanicka1 Posts: 4,564 Member
    What types of foods are you eating to get to that 1500 2000 cal range? when i try to get those values my carbs and sugars are usually over my goals, and under in protein. can someone recommend a few meals/food items.

    Meat of any kind, greek yogurt, peanut butter, cottage cheese, full fat milk, protein shake, coconut oils and other healthy oils really help for calories.
  • secretlobster
    secretlobster Posts: 3,566 Member
    Your diet in general looks well-balanced. If you've only started a week ago, why would you make a change? I bet you anything that you will lose weight with a calorie goal of 1450, so if you make a change, I highly suggest sticking to it for at least a month before convincing yourself that you need to change your goals again. Keep up the good work.

    Edit: According to your ticker, you only have 3lbs that you want to lose. Is this correct? You are clearly a healthy weight and looking for a high-performance body. That's awesome, but you can't do it on a low-calorie diet. 1450 (NET!!) is a better goal for you :)
  • mccantin
    mccantin Posts: 2 Member
    Hi! Good job on working to toward a healthier you! :tongue:

    1200 calories at your current weight seems too little to me. I would recommend trying other tools like the one here http://www.livestrong.com/thedailyplate/ to see what they recommend. It's really easy to fall into the less calorie is better but if your body is starving, it will take everything you eat and store it and you won't see the results that you want.

    It will also be normal to lose more at first and then slow down. But take it from someone who was a yoyo dieter and who has now kept the weight off for 4 years, slow and steady usually works better and last longer. Your body being a little heavier right now needs more energy as you are carying more weight, etc. as you get lighter you body will need less and less calories. It seems weird I know, but that is how it works.

    Success to you!
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    Hi! Good job on working to toward a healthier you! :tongue:

    1200 calories at your current weight seems too little to me. I would recommend trying other tools like the one here http://www.livestrong.com/thedailyplate/ to see what they recommend. It's really easy to fall into the less calorie is better but if your body is starving, it will take everything you eat and store it and you won't see the results that you want.

    It will also be normal to lose more at first and then slow down. But take it from someone who was a yoyo dieter and who has now kept the weight off for 4 years, slow and steady usually works better and last longer. Your body being a little heavier right now needs more energy as you are carying more weight, etc. as you get lighter you body will need less and less calories. It seems weird I know, but that is how it works.

    Success to you!

    Actually if your body is starving it will attack your fat cells first. Think about it - your body builds fat cells to store fat for times when there is not food...so a little fasting will have your body attacking your fat stores....Makes sense, right? If you have 6% or less body fat then you should not fast...or so I have read...just throwing this out there..
  • juliebeannn
    juliebeannn Posts: 428 Member
    I eat between 1500-2000 cal/day...It took my body about 2 months to get used to it..now the weight is melting off. You need to fuel your body..the more you fuel it..the more efficient it works
    this...
    Meat of any kind, greek yogurt, peanut butter, cottage cheese, full fat milk, protein shake, coconut oils and other healthy oils really help for calories.
    and this...
  • astrampe
    astrampe Posts: 2,169 Member

    Actually if your body is starving it will attack your fat cells first. Think about it - your body builds fat cells to store fat for times when there is not food...so a little fasting will have your body attacking your fat stores....Makes sense, right? If you have 6% or less body fat then you should not fast...or so I have read...just throwing this out there..

    A little fasting will burn fat... As long as you refeed after that....Not continiously eating to little...Muscle burns more calories than fat - so if your body don't get enough energy from food, it will get rid of the high maintenance parts first...your muscle...
    Don't confuse IF with a constant very low calorie diet - it is not even close to being the same....
  • Beezil
    Beezil Posts: 1,677 Member
    This is why health and biology classes should be mandatory in school and definitely prioritized higher on the list of importance. If people aren't informed or don't even understand how their bodies work, how are they supposed to stay healthy in this day and age?

    If you don't eat enough, over a long period of time, eventually your metabolism will slow down to compensate for the lack of nutrients. This in turn will stall weight loss for those trying to lose. This is also why people say eat more to weigh less, it's basically just saying don't starve yourself. Eat enough to fuel your body properly, or your body will stop working as it should in prime condition.

    Muscle soreness, fatigue, lethargy, eating disorders, muscle loss, all things that are possible to come from eating too little for a long period of time. Just my .02 though so take it how you want I suppose.
  • littlepinkhearts
    littlepinkhearts Posts: 1,055 Member
    Check out the Group at http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/3834-eat-more-to-weigh-less Read up the main page topics. You might be interested in the theory behind it. I believe it's based on the premise that if you've been dieting (and most people Low Cal diet) for a while, then you should be eating more to lose the weight.
  • secretlobster
    secretlobster Posts: 3,566 Member
    This is why health and biology classes should be mandatory in school and definitely prioritized higher on the list of importance. If people aren't informed or don't even understand how their bodies work, how are they supposed to stay healthy in this day and age?

    If you don't eat enough, over a long period of time, eventually your metabolism will slow down to compensate for the lack of nutrients. This in turn will stall weight loss for those trying to lose. This is also why people say eat more to weigh less, it's basically just saying don't starve yourself. Eat enough to fuel your body properly, or your body will stop working as it should in prime condition.

    Muscle soreness, fatigue, lethargy, eating disorders, muscle loss, all things that are possible to come from eating too little for a long period of time. Just my .02 though so take it how you want I suppose.

    This. I like the way you put this. I was eating 1200 calories a day for a couple months. I obviously didn't starve, but my metabolism did take a hit, and my weight loss and energy really stalled until I started eating more. "eat more to weigh less" (the philosophy, not the group) is not about a dichotomy between gluttony and starving to death. It's about matching your expected physical performance with an adequate diet. You won't die on 1200 calories a day, but if you're an active person who expects to be able to perform more than just basic tasks like walking up a flight of stairs without assistance, it's not in your best interest to eat as little as possible.
  • omma_to_3
    omma_to_3 Posts: 3,265 Member
    When I first signed up for MFP, it gave me a 1200 calorie goal starting off. I don't remember changing anything. I just set my goals (which were 1 1/2 pounds a week). That's what I've been on for a week. I just went to check those goals, and ended up changing it to 2 pounds a week instead. This is now what it has given me. I guess I just didn't expect it to change that much. I've barely been eating the 1200 calories as it is. I'm trying to do better.

    Something had to be set up differently/incorrectly when you first signed up. If your ticker weight is correct, there's no way MFP put you at 1200 calories a day. They wouldn't adjust calories up when you move from a 1.5 lb loss to a 2 lb loss.
  • AmberJo1984
    AmberJo1984 Posts: 1,067 Member
    Thank you, everyone, for your suggestions. I appreciate the help with my questions. I just want to lose the weight (the right way) and be the healthiest I can be. It gets confusing, I guess, starting out; but, I'm getting there. Again... thank you all.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    like i said it was just my two cents worth...

    but from reading a lot of articles and research it appers that the six meals a day plan for weight loss is really just myth...when I read that it surprised me becuase when I first started eating healthy working out, I usedthe six small meals a day thing and I lost weight but at about 170 I stopped losing weight and could not get my body fat % any lower..so I started looking into other means to accomplish that...
  • AmberJo1984
    AmberJo1984 Posts: 1,067 Member
    When I first signed up for MFP, it gave me a 1200 calorie goal starting off. I don't remember changing anything. I just set my goals (which were 1 1/2 pounds a week). That's what I've been on for a week. I just went to check those goals, and ended up changing it to 2 pounds a week instead. This is now what it has given me. I guess I just didn't expect it to change that much. I've barely been eating the 1200 calories as it is. I'm trying to do better.

    Something had to be set up differently/incorrectly when you first signed up. If your ticker weight is correct, there's no way MFP put you at 1200 calories a day. They wouldn't adjust calories up when you move from a 1.5 lb loss to a 2 lb loss.

    As you said, something must have been off. I didn't manually change anything... but, I must have typed something wrong.

    You know... come to think of it. I think I did type in my starting weight wrong, at first. I had to change that (but, I did that by editing previous weight entries). I just today went back and changed my calorie profile.
  • geekyjock76
    geekyjock76 Posts: 2,720 Member
    People need to know what their maintenance calorie range is and educate themselves first before making drastic changes to dietary and exercise habits. Fat loss requires a lifetime commitment to healthier habits; thus spend the time before making changes to become more knowledgeable in how nutrition impacts body composition.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member

    Actually if your body is starving it will attack your fat cells first. Think about it - your body builds fat cells to store fat for times when there is not food...so a little fasting will have your body attacking your fat stores....Makes sense, right? If you have 6% or less body fat then you should not fast...or so I have read...just throwing this out there..

    A little fasting will burn fat... As long as you refeed after that....Not continiously eating to little...Muscle burns more calories than fat - so if your body don't get enough energy from food, it will get rid of the high maintenance parts first...your muscle...
    Don't confuse IF with a constant very low calorie diet - it is not even close to being the same....

    Agreed - I think that IF is a good strategy to use with other things to help get rid of body fat..that is my reading of it anyway...and I am open to any other suggetsions on the topic...:) I would never want to fast for multiple days...being Italian I think that is against my religion..lol
  • omma_to_3
    omma_to_3 Posts: 3,265 Member
    When I first signed up for MFP, it gave me a 1200 calorie goal starting off. I don't remember changing anything. I just set my goals (which were 1 1/2 pounds a week). That's what I've been on for a week. I just went to check those goals, and ended up changing it to 2 pounds a week instead. This is now what it has given me. I guess I just didn't expect it to change that much. I've barely been eating the 1200 calories as it is. I'm trying to do better.

    Something had to be set up differently/incorrectly when you first signed up. If your ticker weight is correct, there's no way MFP put you at 1200 calories a day. They wouldn't adjust calories up when you move from a 1.5 lb loss to a 2 lb loss.

    As you said, something must have been off. I didn't manually change anything... but, I must have typed something wrong.

    You know... come to think of it. I think I did type in my starting weight wrong, at first. I had to change that (but, I did that by editing previous weight entries). I just today went back and changed my calorie profile.

    That would totally make sense. I do believe if you edit your weight, then you have to go back in and recalculate your goals. It doesn't do it automatically. You have to do it periodically as you lose weight too - unless MFP has you at 1200 calories. It will never put you below that regardless of weight.
  • Feed_the_Bears
    Feed_the_Bears Posts: 275 Member
    Ironically, there is a group on this on MFP called "East More 2 Weigh Less" and you should check it out. It explains everything. Basically, restrictive calorie diets are a race to the bottom that destroys your metabolism. Eat "clean" fuel and lots of it to restore your metabolism and you will start cutitng at a farily high calorie range. Now you should exercise in there too.

    Check out the group. It's too complicated to explain here.

    Good luck.
  • AmberJo1984
    AmberJo1984 Posts: 1,067 Member
    Ironically, there is a group on this on MFP called "East More 2 Weigh Less" and you should check it out. It explains everything. Basically, restrictive calorie diets are a race to the bottom that destroys your metabolism. Eat "clean" fuel and lots of it to restore your metabolism and you will start cutitng at a farily high calorie range. Now you should exercise in there too.

    Check out the group. It's too complicated to explain here.

    Good luck.

    Oh, believe me. I'm definitely exercising. I've been exercising every afternoon; and, yesterday, I started waking up at least an hour early to exercise before work too. It gives me so much more energy.

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