...Is eating more what I should be doing??

dakotababy
dakotababy Posts: 2,407 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I am still stuck at my weight. This is ridiculous and it has been well over 3 months. I have tried to increase exercise, add intensity, increase calories, change meals, change exercise. Occasionally I will get on the scale and ill be a pound less, but I am stuck around the 215-220lb mark.

I am obese - so is eating "more" (more than 1800 calories/day) going to help or hinder me at this weight? I am currently at 1390 and I am thinking of going back down to 1200. Any thoughts? New ideas?

Replies

  • salsagal36
    salsagal36 Posts: 91 Member
    How tall are you?

    I've had the same dilemma. I weigh meticulously so I know it's not portion size causing me to be over calories. I recently worked out my bmr to be 1679 (I'm 5ft 4 and 234lbs) so have started eating above that for the last week or so, still no change yet so I look forward to seeing your replies.
  • dakotababy
    dakotababy Posts: 2,407 Member
    I am 5'7. I increased my calories to 1600...then 1800...then for the month of december and beyond, i took a complete "diet break" thinking that I was eating too little this whole time. I have lost nothing from this.

    I had more success eating less...but I am still unsure if I am just doing things wrong here.
  • dakotababy
    dakotababy Posts: 2,407 Member
    oh yeah and I tried the "decrease carbs/fat and increase protein" thing and that didn't work either.
  • jennifer_417
    jennifer_417 Posts: 12,344 Member
    I would say notch up your calories a bit. Going from 1390 to 1800+ is a pretty dramatic change, and may not give you the results you want. Add 100 calories a day for a week and see how it goes. Then add another 100. If nothing changes after a few weeks, then adding cals is probably not your solution.
  • syrklc
    syrklc Posts: 172 Member
    Have you had your thyroid levels checked?
  • dakotababy
    dakotababy Posts: 2,407 Member
    Have you had your thyroid levels checked?

    No...I really don't want to think this is a problem. I have done some research on it though, and I do not suffer from any symptoms of hyper/hypo thyroid. But yeah honestly - I have never had my thyroid checked.
  • lexielexie40
    lexielexie40 Posts: 25
    Weight Watchers says you have to eat 5 serves of fruits and veggies. I suggest you limit drink lots of water.
  • mgobluetx12
    mgobluetx12 Posts: 1,326 Member
    If eating less was working for you, why do you want to eat more? I was on a plateau for a month and I actually decreased my calories to get me going again. I know a lot of people here eat more to weigh less, but that doesn't always work for everyone. You didn't say your age, so I can't do a full workup on your TDEE/BMR. Do you know these numbers? I would say drop down to wherever you were eating enough, but still losing and eat back your exercise calories until you're not hungry. Probably not all of them, but around 50%. I'm 6'2 and I eat 1400 a day, more when I work out, and I've lost over 50lbs since July. Calories can be trial and error sometimes. Just have to figure out what works for you.
  • tinkermommc
    tinkermommc Posts: 558 Member
    I've always stayed above 1500 cals. Realized less than that made me grumpy. It's just a figure out what works for you though. If you did less calories. maybe a couple weeks higher will help, especially if you have plateaued.
  • dakotababy
    dakotababy Posts: 2,407 Member
    If eating less was working for you, why do you want to eat more? I was on a plateau for a month and I actually decreased my calories to get me going again. I know a lot of people here eat more to weigh less, but that doesn't always work for everyone. You didn't say your age, so I can't do a full workup on your TDEE/BMR. Do you know these numbers? I would say drop down to wherever you were eating enough, but still losing and eat back your exercise calories until you're not hungry. Probably not all of them, but around 50%. I'm 6'2 and I eat 1400 a day, more when I work out, and I've lost over 50lbs since July. Calories can be trial and error sometimes. Just have to figure out what works for you.

    I hit the beginning of the plateau. I was about 2 months into being stuck so that is when i started to increase my calories. I am 23.
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
    Work out your TDEE and go from there.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets
  • mgobluetx12
    mgobluetx12 Posts: 1,326 Member
    Check out this site: http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ A lot of people use that on here. Your BMR is 1627, which means the number of calories you need to eat a day to keep your basic body functions working. There is a lot of controversy about whether people should eat under this number. My BMR was 1960 and my doctor told me to eat 1400 cals. I'm losing just fine. In fact, I lost 15lbs in December alone. According to that website, if you were not exercising, you could eat about 1500 cals and still lose. Any exercise, then you'd eat (like I said above) about half of those back unless you're still truly hungry. Try this for 3-4 weeks because sometimes it takes that long for your body to adjust.

    Also, definitely don't do low carb/fat. Your body needs GOOD carbs and fats to lose weight. The prime eating ratios are 40% carbs/30% protein/30% fat. This is recommended by top nutritionists and what I've used to lose successfully.
  • dakotababy
    dakotababy Posts: 2,407 Member
    Alright - So i have adjusted my fat/carb/protein amounts, but I have set my calories at 1300 and see how that goes since I have been at 1500-1800 calories for the last 2 months an have seen no progress what so ever.
  • Lozze
    Lozze Posts: 1,917 Member
    Cn you open your diary so we can give advice?

    I'm similar height and weight and am consistently losing on 1690.
  • Bettyeditor
    Bettyeditor Posts: 327 Member
    Hi,

    I'm sorry to hear that you are stuck at a plateau. Here are a couple things that have helped me. Not sure if they will help you, but couldn't hurt to think about. :)

    #1 The "fat burning zone" really works for me. I keep my blood glucose between 80 and 120 at all times. I do this by eating 6 times a day, 3 meals and 3 snacks. And having at least 15g carbs for each snack and 30-45g for breakfast and 45-60g for lunch/dinner. I have type 2 diabetes (or used to - I'm almost off medicine now) so I already had blood glucose testing kit. But anyone can buy one at the store. When you keep your bg in the "zone" all day you really do become a fat burning machine. :)

    #2 Eating high-nutritional-quality food has helped me more than calories. Sometimes I eat 1,100 cal a day and sometimes 1,500. And I keep losing weight every week. But I get those calories from massive amounts of veggies every day, plus some lean chicken/turkey, a very few nuts, occasional fish, and only potatoes/rice for my carbs. I eat very little processed foods. As you know, you can eat 1,200 in a single double quarter pounder cheeseburger or eat 1,200 with six meals of high quality food. I'm sure your food is high quality, but the awesome thing about tracking food in MFP or elsewhere is seeing trends. I have upped my fiber to 25+ grams per day and decreased my fat to less than 47 grams per day. My triglycerides went from 260/219 in Aug/Oct down to 154 (normal is 150 and below) in Dec. 17, 2012.

    So for me, I don't really track my calories too closely and I don't try to hit exactly the same calories every day. Although I can see from reports that I average about 1,350 cal a day. And I have been averaging about 2 pounds a week weight loss the last 4 months. I still have a lot of weight to lose thought.

    Hang in there, I'm sure that you'll find something to help. And I do join others in urging you to get your thyroid checked. The nutritionist through my doctor has been a lifesaver and a big reason why I've been able to lose weight and improve my health.

    Best of luck to you!
    ~~Betty
    I am still stuck at my weight. This is ridiculous and it has been well over 3 months. I have tried to increase exercise, add intensity, increase calories, change meals, change exercise. Occasionally I will get on the scale and ill be a pound less, but I am stuck around the 215-220lb mark.

    I am obese - so is eating "more" (more than 1800 calories/day) going to help or hinder me at this weight? I am currently at 1390 and I am thinking of going back down to 1200. Any thoughts? New ideas?
  • Bettyeditor
    Bettyeditor Posts: 327 Member
    I agree about the percentages. At first I was just focused on keeping carbs under 50% then focused on keeping fats under 30%. For the last few months all my meals have been between 40/30/30 cards/protein/fat and 50/25/25.

    Its true that a low carb diet is not good for the body. Carbs have been the key for me to control and practically eliminate my diabetes. BUT I have also noticed that eating "too low carb" is harder to achieve that you realize. The "average" American diet and the proportions and servings we are used to are actually massively high in carbs. When I started measuring, I was shocked just how low a healthy amount of carbs is, so my perspective had to change a lot. If I eat lean meat and veggies for dinner, I only have enough carbs left for a 1/2 cup of rice, for example. A single piece of pizza will max out your carbs for a meal. Staying at or under 160-180 carbs per day can be challenging. But I've been relearning how to eat. :)

    I think that MFP has some limitations in terms of how useful the settings and numbers are. For example, I ought to be able to set a target RANGE (not single number) for carbs/protein/fat and the food diary should just show me the percentages (rather than calculate on them) so I can tweak my meals as I go through the day to hit the correct percentages. Also, some things should be a min target but not have a maximum, such as fiber. Its silly to see my fiber number in red. The more the better! :)
    Check out this site: http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ A lot of people use that on here. Your BMR is 1627, which means the number of calories you need to eat a day to keep your basic body functions working. There is a lot of controversy about whether people should eat under this number. My BMR was 1960 and my doctor told me to eat 1400 cals. I'm losing just fine. In fact, I lost 15lbs in December alone. According to that website, if you were not exercising, you could eat about 1500 cals and still lose. Any exercise, then you'd eat (like I said above) about half of those back unless you're still truly hungry. Try this for 3-4 weeks because sometimes it takes that long for your body to adjust.

    Also, definitely don't do low carb/fat. Your body needs GOOD carbs and fats to lose weight. The prime eating ratios are 40% carbs/30% protein/30% fat. This is recommended by top nutritionists and what I've used to lose successfully.
  • 2013sk
    2013sk Posts: 1,318 Member
    How much water are you drinking a day? Try and drink at least 2 litres a day!! Low card, High protein diet, Lots of chicken, fish, eggs, green leafs, nuts, fruit, veg, etc - Good luck!

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