Success stories by upping calories PLEAS

I hear that we should give the upping at least a few weeks, preferably 1-1,5 months, before giving up on it. I'm looking forward to seeing how much has come off this week, since my last weeks loss was 0,9 kg (ca. 2 lbs)! :bigsmile:

Yes I'm on month two now, I do burn between 400 and 600 cal per workout some days I add cardio abs on the top. Actually most of days lol love that one

Awesome...I do P90X and use the Max Insanity on Cardio Days.

I'd watch out working abs every day. Your muscles need to time to recover. I've never done cardio abs, but I do Ab Ripper 3 times a week

bump to keep an eye on this.

I only started the road map and eating more 2 weeks ago - but so far I am down 1lb and I am eating 1700-1900 a day - which is a big jump from my previous 1200 with my net used to be between 700-900

net now coming in between 1300-1500 as I am just walking at the moment for exercise

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

I always challenge the so-called "clean eaters" to peruse my diary. Clean eating is fine if you enjoy living by common-sense-defying strict rules and such. But I prefer to eat what I enjoy and watch my macros.

Same here. I'm perfectly happy with my progress that sometimes includes pizza and cheeseburgers.

Maybe I'd have a slightly flatter stomach if I gave up my bagels for breakfast. My love of bagels trumps my desire for a 6 pack.

I'm not sure how "clean eating" qualifies as common-sense-defying, but I don't think ANYONE eats "clean" 100% of the time. I would consider myself a "clean eater", but I still eat things like french fries and candy occasionally. I just choose to fuel my body with foods it can actually use rather than crap that it just literally craps out without using or that, worse yet, causes inflammation.

^^^THIS!

I don't understand why the sneers and hostility at people who don't eat processed or junk foods on a daily basis. I eat whole foods. That doesn't make me a freak and it doesn't mean that when I'm at a friends party, for instance, I don't have a piece of her birthday cake because OMG SUGAR CARBS etc. No! I've just learned that I personally feel and look better eating the way I do. Reducing internal inflammation, as the poster I quoted mentioned, is a pretty big deal to me. Doing so has seriously changed my health both physically and emotionally, and made me feel about 1000 times better, period. I also have to deal with hormonal imbalances that aren't helped by eating sugar, processed foods, etc. So yeah, I'd honestly rather have a lovely breakfast of eggs and bacon than something like pancakes with syrup. Don't feel sorry for me, as I truly enjoy what I eat, just as I'm assuming you do.

As for the OP--I lost a bunch of weight eating less calories because I didn't know any better. I started out eating 1400-1600 calories, net. Another weight loss site recommended that as my daily calorie goal, so I just went with it. Now I realise that my BMR is around 1600, so eating that way wasn't doing me any favours. However, I was getting through my kettlebell workouts and was walking a bit, and generally feeling pretty good. Weight was falling off steadily. After losing about 25 lbs, I started lifting heavy in addition to my work with kettlebells, and suddenly found myself very HUNGRY, and even the dreaded HANGRY following my workouts. That was my big clue to eat more, so I did. I think I increased my calories by about 100 each day for the first couple weeks. It just seemed the natural thing to do at the time. I thought I'd better try to find out exactly how much I should be eating, and ran across IPOARM (in place of a road map) and Eat More to Weigh Less. After lots of reading and cross checking various statements, I thought it all made about as much sense as this stuff ever does. Fat loss is still somewhat mysterious, even to the researchers, experts, doctors, you name it!

I now eat 1800-2000 calories/day and feel much happier. I'm losing fat, and it seems I'm hanging on to my lean body mass. The scale moves much more slowly, but the inches are coming off at pretty much the same rate. Body fat is steadily decreasing, which is what I care most about, rather than the number on the scale.

I have those "whooshes" where I have remained at the same weight all month, then suddenly lose 6 lbs or something.

Don't feel sorry for me, as I truly enjoy what I eat, just as I'm assuming you do.

Love this! I don't feel sorry for myself as I eat ribeyes for dinner dipped in the most amazing homemade mayo with sweet potato fries. :happy:

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

I always challenge the so-called "clean eaters" to peruse my diary. Clean eating is fine if you enjoy living by common-sense-defying strict rules and such. But I prefer to eat what I enjoy and watch my macros.

Same here. I'm perfectly happy with my progress that sometimes includes pizza and cheeseburgers.

Maybe I'd have a slightly flatter stomach if I gave up my bagels for breakfast. My love of bagels trumps my desire for a 6 pack.

I'm not sure how "clean eating" qualifies as common-sense-defying, but I don't think ANYONE eats "clean" 100% of the time. I would consider myself a "clean eater", but I still eat things like french fries and candy occasionally. I just choose to fuel my body with foods it can actually use rather than crap that it just literally craps out without using or that, worse yet, causes inflammation.

^ This! I agree that very few people eat 100% clean all of the time myself included, but I never understand the "mocking" (or I guess maybe "challenging" is a better word) of clean eating that goes on around here. To me it's about more than just weight loss. It's about the optimal performance and health of my body. I choose not to fuel it with crap, chemicals, salt and hydrogenated oils - how is that defying common sense?! Sounds pretty sensical to me. To each their own though I guess. Most people who choose to eat clean do so because those are the things they enjoy eating, so to those who enjoy eating pizza and cheeseburgers and who are happy with their progress, more power to ya!

But back to the topica at hand: I never started out on MFP at a 1200 calorie goal. I started at 1500 and have worked my way up to 1700. By eating this much I have lost 24 pounds since mid-October and I'm pretty pleased with that, because I really didn't have all that much to lose in the first place (just 30 pounds). To me, upping my calories wasn't really about busting through platueas but it just seemed like a natural progression as I make my way towards my goal weight to start eating more. Easing myself onto maintenance I guess. Everyone has to play around and figure out what works for their own bodies. Personally, I feel like I would faint if I restricted myself to 1200 calories per day; however, some people have had lots of success that way. But I'm happy having success by eating more!

Started MFP at 1,200 calories and doing way too much cardio. Lost 20 pounds quickly then came to a screeching halt and plateaued for weeks. When I upped to 1,600 and cut back my cardio, I started losing again. After another plateau over the summer I upped to 1,800 and started strength training. The fat started melting off again.

I'm now eating 1,800-2,000 calorie per day weekdays and usually as high as 3,000 on weekends and doing P90X. My weight is staying fairly stable, but I am still losing fat. I'm 20.3% now with a goal of 18%.

Edit to add- I'm 37 yo, 5'4". The 131 lb pic is from before I started P90X. I've got much better looking arms now and my abs have firmed up.

Awesome!!!!! I am your age and height, this is so nice to see, you look great :-) I am slowly upping and lifting more, hope I have results like yours!

Now I'm down from the 122.4 ish that I was stuck at to 121.6 (and not dehydrated from hangover :laugh: )

:laugh: is THAT why I always weigh less the morning after I've been drinking!? I never would have put that together.

bump

I might also add, if you are currently consuming 'net' 1000calories, You can not automatically increase your food intake too 1500cal per day..

You must eat extra 100cal per day for a week, then another 100cal for another week, etc.. to slowly build your metabolism back up

i'm thinking about trying to increase my cal intake starting tomorrow.... having struggled with eating issues in the past i'm terrified of increasing calorie intake. in the past i lost ~50lbs in 3 months eating 600-800 cals/day and staying in the gym long enough to burn ~1000 cals. i obviously gained all this weight back since its completely unsustainable. MFP is now telling me i should be eating 1200 cal/day to lose THESE 50 lbs i'd like to lose, but i almost think thats too low. i havent been losing and going off strict cals in/cals out its making no sense to me! i'm contemplating up-ing my cals to 1500 net cal/day. i'm currently hovering around 200 lbs and trying to get down to 150. i'm 5'7" and 23 y/o. any suggestions/thoughts would be appreciated!!

No pics yet, but I upped from 1400 to 1900 because I've been stuck FOREVER.
Lost 4 pounds last week, seriously.
I'm waiting to see how this week's weigh-in goes;
but I had to weigh myself twice last time just to believe it! lol

What is this "clean eating" people are talking about?

OP, forget that whole starvation mode nonsense. Your metabolism slows down and when going with low calories for too long, you can cause metabolic damage.

You can up your calories to help your body restart. IMO, everyone should aim to eat as much as they can while still losing body fat.

Ps: I was looking to add some weight a few months ago and I up my calories. The first week, I lost weight. I had to go as much as 3500 to gain a lb.