Increasing Calorie Intake from 1200

oeagleo
oeagleo Posts: 70 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have a question that I hope someone here can help with. I started out over 300 lbs, and decided to exercise as much as I could at that rate. All I could do at that time was walk about 1/2 mile at 2 MPH. I bought a heart rate monitor to keep track of the heart rate zones, etc, started walking on a treadmill, and limited myself to around 1200 calories total intake, somewhere between 1000 and 1200. This worked for me, as my activity increased, the pounds came off. Now, at just over 200 lbs, I have a gym membership, and go 6 days a week, alternating body parts with cardio. I can fairly easily do an hour on the elliptical at level 5, so I know I'm doing okay. Now, here's the point, I believe that now that I'm in better health, and have lost most of the massive amount that I was carrying, I believe i should kick up my intake a bit, it seems that I've been "stuck" at 206 for about a month, even with the exercise. The Body Fat % isn't a lot of help, it fluctuates too much, (I have a biometric scale), but I can see and feel the difference. I probably should add that I'm a 65 year old Male, that has been "heavy" all of my life, mostly due to sedentary jobs, and poor eating habits.

I suppose I'm just asking for confirmation that I should kick up my caloric intake to the recommended 1500 that MFP says, and see what happens, I just don't want to pack on pounds that I worked so hard to take off. I also supplement my workout days with Muscle Milk, and it seems to help.

Thanks in advance for any input.

Replies

  • Saree1902
    Saree1902 Posts: 611 Member
    Hello,
    I've seen quite a few forum posts which suggest that more calories would be beneficial. Since I'm on a tablet, I can't work out how to copy and paste so I'll try to type them...sorry if I get it wrong!
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/865024
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/833500
    Good luck!
  • wahmx3
    wahmx3 Posts: 633 Member
    Congrats on what you have lost so far, amazing especially considering how little you have been eating. You definitely need to eat more to be healthier overall.... patients in a coma are fed at least 1200 calories just to keep them alive. I am female, 5'4", weigh 145, am 45 years old and eat around 1500 calories a day (I don't eat back exercise calories as I go by my BMR and TDEE). You definitely need to eat more, at least 1500, expect to maybe gain a pound or two while you transition but you will feel so much better.
  • alaskaang
    alaskaang Posts: 493 Member
    I would increase your intake. As you get closer to your goal you just don't have the excess body fat to burn for the extra calories. If you're concerned about gain, just start with increasing on your workout days and monitor how you do. If you're hungry or not having normal energy levels, eat more. You might have some fluctuation to start, but should level off after two to three weeks.
  • amylahminute
    amylahminute Posts: 613 Member
    1200 is considered the safest bare minimum you should be taking in to keep your vital functions going. Consider using a simple calorie calculator to really know how many calories you should be taking in:

    http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/


    Also, if you want to put more tailoring into your intake calculation, MFP user heyBales created this awesome spreadsheet to better hone in on exactly how much you should be eating:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/813720-spreadsheet-bmr-tdee-deficit-macro-calcs-hrm-zones



    Want more support from people who are upping their calories and still losing weight? Try...

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/3834-eat-more-to-weigh-less



    Good luck!!
  • dschiefer
    dschiefer Posts: 5 Member
    I just wanted to say GREAT JOB!!!! You are an inspiration. I am 160 lb female, and work out most days. I do 1400 calories a day. Men are typially recommended more calories then women. I would try to switch up the foods your are ealing too and see if that makes a difference. Are you eating several small meals per day? Have a good carb and protein every two to three hours and that will also boost your metabolism. Good luck!
  • oeagleo
    oeagleo Posts: 70 Member
    Okay, y'all have convinced me, I am going to try to hit 1500-2000 calories a day, and have decided to add a protein product (Whey) to add protein to my intake. I have been "missing" the protein mark for a while, and after discussing it with a nutritionist at the gym, they explained that after and during exercise, the body can actually start using muscle for "food", if it can't get the protein it needs. (I think I have that right, anyway, I was convinced I needed to up my protein intake, it was around 17-20 (whatever they are, grams, I think) per day. Anyway, I'm going to give this a shot, I do believe it's going to help.:smile:

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