Trying to eat more, but how much??

I am also going to up my calories as I have been on a stall since the first of November. I have lost approx 60 lbs since Jan 2012 at 1250 calories and exercising. I have read the boards here and figured my BMR is 1707 and my TDEE is 1943 and if I take off 20% then I am down to 1554 calories a day. This does seem high but I am going to try and stick around 1400 a day and see what happens. I figured I would add a healthy protein drink during the day if I am low with whey and fresh veggies and almond milk. Something has to give I still have another 20-25 lbs to lose.

I would really like to hear from people who have lost over 20 pounds in a reasonable amount of time, actually eating at only a 10-15% deficit from their TDEE. I have looked thru threads and the group site, and still can't find any. In theory, it should eventually work, but I really would like to see that it works in practice as well.

Me. My wife.

I started at about 207 but got serious at 203, and in less than a year lost roughly 40 pounds. More importantly was the body fat, my bf % went down about 20%. Ate first I ate roughly 30% less than my TDEE, around 1700 cals, but was constantly hungry, lethargic, felt cold. I could tell that I wasn't eating enough so I did some research on reasonable deficits and landed at around 15 - 20% less than TDEE, around 2200, 2300 cals. After than I was not hungry, cold, or lethargic and the pounds started ticking downward like clockwork. I hit a plateau or two and shook it off by adding/changing exercise, and zig-zagging calories.

I'm a 5'10" male aged 33 and my wife is a similar-aged 5'9". I don't want to go too much into her specifics but her situation is a little unique as she has been breastfeeding the last year. She has been eating about 3,000 - 3,500 calories per day and losing so the information is useless for others.

I think you will find that almost every success story here revolves around eating a reasonable intake. Starving leads to binging in lots of people.

Hi all,

After plateauing for a couple months and doing some research I have decided to start eating more.

For the past four months I have been eating 1200 calories (pretty consistently). While at first I started loosing weight, I am noticing that my progress has stalled. I am not new to myfitpal and yoyo dieting. I lost weight last year (although not as much as I wanted to as I also hit a plateau then) but then went on holiday, sprained my ankle and gained it all back again. So I started here again in August this year. While I’m very accustomed now to eating this much I don’t want to damage my metabolism any more and would love to find a weight loss solution which is sustainable for the long haul. Thus, I am going to start eating more! I have enjoyed reading through these forums and just wanted to get everyone’s opinion on how much I should be eating and whether I need to do this ‘reset’ thing, or if I can just start eating at a smaller deficit (TDEG). Here is my info:

Current Weight: 67kgs (150ibs)
Goal Weight: 60kgs (130 ibs)
Height: 169cm (5.6 ft)
BMR: 1465
TDEE: 1831
TDEG: 1596
(I calculated this at sedentary as I have a desk job, and figure my workouts 3-4 times a week I will just account for and eat back)
Questions:

1. So I am basically just wondering if I am doing the right thing by aiming to eat 1596 (plus workout calories) a day? It does seem like a lot and I’m struggling to eat it but I know that I must have been eating this much (and more) for me to get out of shape in the first place, and that the fact I am struggling to eat it is an indication I have damaged my metabolism.

OR

2. Should I start by eating 1831 (plus workout) in order to reset my metabolism first? Is this something I have to do considering my eating history? If I have to reset how long for? Or will I be ok to just start by eating at the smaller deficit at 1596 (and not eating below my BMR)?

Appreciate your help!!

I lose a pound a week at 30-35% my TDEE (calculated at 2294)