Lost weight by increasing calories? Please Respond

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Replies

  • treehugger215
    treehugger215 Posts: 97 Member
    I was stuck during august and september and halfway into october! I increased my calories, I didnt gain, but I didn't lose. Now, I', back at a lower amount and losing again :)
  • pmhath
    pmhath Posts: 7
    As I read all these replies it reminds me of when I resolved to lose "X" amount of fat. I used Jillian Michaels ripped in 30. Well it took 60 for me but dropped right about 15#'s. I WAS NOT counting calories. Did not know BMR, TDEE or anything like that. Just tapered off some of my poor eating habits. Then every now and then after the workouts I would be so hungry! I would mix up a protein shake with a ton of calories AND eat a large meal. I believe this would be an unintentional "spike" in calories. Now I would swear that soon after I would drop another pound or two, consistent with other comments above. I was also someone who under any circumstance WOULD NOT BELIEVE adding calories would help DROP weight. Nope. Not me. Well with so many people having success from this why not try it myself right?? I cringe every time I log my calories because they are so high, but no real weight gain has been noticed. So why not move forward?? Still feels weird but giving it a go. Came waaayyy too far to quit. Hope other people are taking note from these great replies!
  • geordiegirl27
    geordiegirl27 Posts: 307 Member
    Some good advice thanks guys.

    I was always a low calorie dieter, I run most days. I had put on weight despite the exercise, despite eating very little. Joined here to figure out what was wrong. I wanted to lose weight to make running easier, less weight to carry and all that. I was always tired and had the attention span of a goldfish - not good when I'm at work.

    My net was ridiculously low and even I knew it was low. So I looked around and found the EM2WL group, read with conservative interest as the weight was slowly coming off but again it stopped.

    I then decided to give EM2WL a go, it wouldnt hurt I could always drop calories again if I needed too.

    A week or so later I was out for a run, one of my favourite routes through the woods. I got to the end of the hilly bit and thought wow my training is paying off I got up and down those hills with no real effort. It was later I realised I had actually fuelled my body for once, I normally ran on empty believing it would burn fat quicker.

    I havent lost many more lbs but I've dropped a clothes size, even in the highstreet I can get a smaller size jean which is still unbelievable, I am eating more than I have ever eaten.

    I still dont net much above my BMR but for me its a huge amount of food more. I wont ever go back to low calorie its just not worth it. Oh and I have more energy, can retain information much better and am about to start the weight lifting when the gym opens at work.

    I have even started to ignore the scales, as someone who weighed in 2 & 3 times a day I now dont bother, occasionally like this week I have been on the scales 2 days running, curiosity more than anything. Apparently since yesterday I have lose 2.5lb.... I dont think so really its a guide and not one I am happy to trust anymore. I like the measurements and how my clothes fit that is my new truth.

    I love my new way of fuelling my body to do what it needs to do and what I want it to do.

    Good luck
  • Verity1111
    Verity1111 Posts: 3,309 Member
    So, I've hit a plateau and I think that it maybe due to the fact that I'm not eating enough calories. I generally exercise off about 400 calories a day and have about a 500 calorie deficit each day. I'm thinking that I should start eating to up to the high range of calories, but I'm scared that I will gain. Has anyone beat a plateau or lost more weight by increasing their calories? I need the courage!

    To tell you to eat more is wrong.

    To tell you to eat less is wrong.

    To find the exact amount of calories for you to be in a sustainable calorie deficit is correct. Some people can handle a deeper calorie deficit than others. Some people have emotional eating disorders and it comes into play. Even a small deficit puts your body in a state of flux with hormones and such and everyone is different. Neither is right or wrong, it just is. The more stress you have the more your hunger hormones get turned on and that comes into play with what kind of calorie deficit you can handle.

    You just need to find the correct calories for YOU to be healthy and sustainable and and still lose weight. It might require some experimentation and tremendous patience. You can always notch up and down by 100 until you find what is sustainable and still allows you to lose weight.

    Your body loses weight in chunks, not linear. I have found that you can do everything right and your weight loss seems to plateau but if you are patient and keep exercising and eating at a deficit (however slight) you will lose it, it will suddenly "whoosh". There are so many variables for the scale; water retention, digestion, hormones, allergies, sodium, carbs, water intake, DOMS, inflammation, the list goes on. People mistakenly think they lose or gain weight when they eat more or less because of these fluctuations.

    Losing weight requires tremendous patience. You will not lose it when you want it or where you want it. The body does its thing. Some apparent plateaus can last a month or so. You cannot make it happen faster. You must focus on two things; calories and exercise. Nothing else matters. Scales and metrics don't matter. The day in and day out grind of exercise and calories are all that matters. It is not very exciting until things fall into place. You get your victories and you ride one victory to the next.

    The scale is a trend tool. The scale is good but put it away and only check once a week and only use it as a trend tool. It will fluctuate, it does not matter. Take front side and back progress pictures at least once a month. You will see differences that the metrics won't tell you and it's that little bit of NSV that will keep you going until the next victory.

    Exercise is to make your lean body mass pretty, strong, and healthy (especially lifting weights).

    A calorie deficit is to lose fat. A calorie budget keeps your fat level where you need to be, either losing fat or maintaining.

    Nothing else really matters much.
    THIS is true too :] Which is why I said to "try" taking off 200 calories OR try calorie cycling or basically try whatever you need to try until you find what works for you. It really depends on the person how much weight you lose and at what level of calories and exercise. etc
  • Verity1111
    Verity1111 Posts: 3,309 Member
    My theory has no science to it like a lot that has been said here, but I had a lot of luck "spiking' my calorie intake once a week or so, paired with more days of exercise. My thinking (and I had heard this, but don't know the research behind it) was that the spike puts your body into a mode of needing to deal with/burn more. The next day or two, good exercise paired going back down to the usual calorie count, helped for me. I could have just been lucky though.

    By "spike", I'm talking maybe a 25%-50% increase just for that one day.
    I tend to do this a lot by accident and although I'm not like 100lbs overweight, I am only maybe 40 or so, I often can lost 3lbs in one week, so maybe it's true. :]
  • Verity1111
    Verity1111 Posts: 3,309 Member
    <snip>I know some people don't believe in this, but when I was pregnant I did not eat enough and doctors found ketones in my urine. <snip>

    I believe you.

    When the average person wakes up in the morning it would not surprise me to find ketones in the urine.

    It doesn't matter what they have been eating the previous day, it's what the body does naturally to keep itself alive.

    Ketones in the urine is also a rubbish way of determining how many ketones you are producing by the way. You probably had way more than you were detecting, those are just the ones lost.
    <snip>Ketones are produced by your body and can damage your liver and kidneys if you continue to "starve" or eat too little for too long of a time.<snip>

    Ketones are not toxic in any way, they are a naturally occurring fuel source that is used in the absence of dietary carbohydrate.

    People on ketogenic diets are not falling over and getting sick, ketogenic diets have been prescribed for decades as a therapeutic aid to all manner of medical conditions.

    But I guess there are a lot of misconceptions out there spread by people who constantly parrot this toxic ketone stuff, including doctors.

    Don't confuse ketosis with ketoacidosis, which is a serious condition. Levels of ketones in the latter are WAY higher than those that can be achieved by dietary modification alone.
    False. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/info/diabetes/hyperglycemia.php

    P.S. I was not "up in the morning" This was done in the late afternoon as my husband works. I WAS under-eating and that is why the ketones were in my urine. I'm sorry if I trust my dr more than you, but yes I did have more than what was in my urine because after they also ran blood tests, that is true.

    "Ketoacidosis happens when there is not enough insulin in your blood." No, I am referring to "ketosis", not ketoacidosis.

    Quote: "While diets such as Atkins do seem to promote weight loss, there are a number of hazards that may be associated with keeping the body in a state of ketosis. For one thing, it MAY put stress on the kidneys and eventually lead to kidney disease or failure." I'd rather not risk it.

    "Some health and medical experts contend that a low carbohydrate diet may help improve certain conditions, including obesity. For instance, the American Academy of Family Physicians and the American Diabetes Association now recognize “low-carb” diets as a suitable approach to weight loss. However, these organizations also express concerns about the long-term effects. In contrast, the American Dietetic Association, the National Academy of Sciences, and the American Heart Association strongly oppose low-carb diets due to the risks associated with ketosis. In fact, they recommend a minimum of 3.75 ounces (100 grams) of carbohydrates per day to avoid ketosis."
  • Helloitsdan
    Helloitsdan Posts: 5,564 Member
    Leptin increases with carb uptake.
    Ketosis is truly only for those with specific allergies to carbs or for short periods of time.
  • Xhellokitty5588x
    Xhellokitty5588x Posts: 14 Member
    bump

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