One month increased calories to TDEE no weight loss

One thing that struck me going through your diary is that you aren't actually eating 1,570 a day anyway. I've gone back to Saturday 16th February and could only see 1-2 days in all of that time that you've hit 1,570.

On top of that, when I've gone back before Saturday 16th Feb I'm seeing this:

15th Feb
Totals 903
princesselle1's Daily Goal 2,400

14th Feb
Totals 920
princesselle1's Daily Goal 1,817

12th Feb
Totals 606
princesselle1's Daily Goal 1,981

11th Feb
Totals 891
princesselle1's Daily Goal 1,817


I've gone back to 1st Feb in your diary - so the month that you say you've been eating at 1,570 and in fact on a load of days you've been eating under 1,000.

Also, I have read other people posting similar stories and it seems that this strategy doesn't work for everyone. I'm currently doing TDEE-20%, and it's working for me, but, again, I've heard of people following that formula for 6 months or better and gained. Typically, I think, you should give a new program 6-8 weeks to see if it works for you.

Just my opinion now.

If they gained weight the either:

a) they miscalculated their TDEE, the usual reason for that is overestimating their activity factor. Occasionally medical issues like hypothyroid can slow the metabolism enough that the BMR calculation to be incorrect by a significant margain.

or

b) they were not tracking their calories carefully, and were actually eating more than they thought they were. Inaccurate measurements can mean someone can be eating 20-30% (or greater) more or less than they actually are. If someone thinks they're eating TDEE - 20%, but they're underestimating their food intake by 20%, they'll be eating their actual TDEE, and won't lose.


All the decent sources of information for using this method advise using feedback from real world results, and adjusting the calories based on that, because all a calorie calculator can do is give you a good estimate to use as a starting point. Assuming that someone is tracking their calories correctly, if they calculate their TDEE, and after 3-4 weeks are not losing weight, then the should either recalculate their TDEE, perhaps with a different activity factor, or just subtract 100 or 200 calories from their original number, and try eating that for a week or two, to see if that starts weight loss. If someone has a medical condition that may be slowing their metabolism, e.g. hypothyroid, then seeing a doctor to get the issue treated would be better than just lowering the calories to the number that enables them to lose, as the result would be being able to lose weight on a higher amount of calories and being better able to keep the body nourished.

This method is based on basic human physiology and maths, and as much as certain factors can result in someone's metabolism being slower or faster than the calculators predict, the method actually will work for everyone. Some adjustment of the numbers may be necessary and it's well accepted that the calorie calculators are just an estimate to give a starting point, but if you include that adjustment in as part of the method, AND track your calories properly, it WILL work. No-one is a "special snowflake" whose body breaks the laws of physics.

Not everyone will end up eating more using this method though... if someone got fat by overeating, then they will eat less as a result of using this method. The "eat more" part of the "tag line" for this method, really only applies to people who are in the habit of undereating, or who have failed at dieting in the past due to being too restrictive. The point is to find the "sweet spot" number of calories where you can lose at a slow and steady rate, and not feel deprived while continuing to lose successfully. Like I said, some may need to adjust the numbers somewhat compared to what the calculators predict, but it's worth it, rather than being constantly frustrated through not losing, or constantly run down, tired and hungry from undereating.

When you calculated your TDEE did you already caluclate your exercise/activity in, in other words did you calculate based on sedentary? or lightly active or moderately active. If you di dnot account for your exercise then you should be eating at least some of your exercise calories back. If you already allowed for it then you wouldn't.

That being said I agree with a few other posters you didn't meet your calories goals almost ever through the at least the whole month of February. You can't just set the goal to 1500 calories and still keep eating 1200, you need to eat closer to your goal calories.