Is 1200 calories not enough

lnicker
lnicker Posts: 13 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I need advise on how many calories I should be eating. First of all, I have to work at keeping weight off and worked really hard to lose 60 pounds prior to now and my fitness pal.

MFP tells me I need 1200 net calories. My body seems to starve at that amount so I upped it to 1400 net. I am also training for a half marathon so I am eating a lot of extra calories to make up the net calories. I am putting on weight. I know a lot of people say this could be muscle and I do think some of it is that, but my pants keep getting tighter and my stomach seems to be getting larger. And I know when training that you shouldn't worry about not losing weight, but for someone who has struggled my whole life, having my pants getting tighter on me is really hard for me. Now I wonder should I cut back to 1200 again and make sure I eat back all the exercise calories, or should I be eating even more? I can't seem to find my right number. Any help would be appreciated.

Replies

  • MayaSPapaya
    MayaSPapaya Posts: 735 Member
    Maybe try 1300? Meet it in the middle...personally I know 1200 is enough for me since I'm not starving and actually feel full on it and am losing weight. But if you're training for a marathon, my guess is you need more than that. Look up the in place of a road map page, it'll help you.
  • JanaCanada
    JanaCanada Posts: 917 Member
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/865024-1200-and-why-it-won-t-work

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    This content has been removed.
  • jellybaby84
    jellybaby84 Posts: 583 Member
    Could you be over estimating what you burn or under estimating what you eat?

    If not then yes I would cut back on what you're eating. Maybe don't eat all the exercise calories or aim to net 1200, one of the two.

    If you are actually putting on weight (rather than just plateuing) then I really don't think eating *more* can be the answer! Eating too little can stop you losing weight (in the short term) but there's no way it can scientifically make you *gain* weight.
  • lnicker
    lnicker Posts: 13 Member
    Oh and I should mention that I am 5' 4" and 140 and gaining :) I have put on 6 pounds and 4 of them have been since I upped my calories to 1400 and started training for the half.
  • lnicker
    lnicker Posts: 13 Member
    Oh and I should mention that I am 5' 4" and 140 and gaining :) I have put on around 6-7 pounds and 4 of them have been since I upped my calories to 1400 and started training for the half.
  • lnicker
    lnicker Posts: 13 Member
    Weight Watchers to lose the first amount but then I platued but I was at a good weight so I was fine with that. Just not enjoying gaining it back.
  • skincy
    skincy Posts: 108 Member
    As an avid marathoner, I can tell I gained weight with running as well. Make sure to include weight training in your program. I was gaining weight because I was not eating enough calories because with all the miles I was putting in. Just running 6 miles and doing 30 minute resistance routine I can eat around 3000 calories a day and lose fat. If I have a long run of it could be an extra 2000 calories a day on top of what I need to survive. So please make sure you are getting enough calories as you body will hold on to that fat. Definately use the road map to figure out your TDEE and -20% off of that for weight loss. Also when doing long runs your body can hold on to alot of water and it will make you pants tight around the belly and hips, it does me anyway.
  • lnicker
    lnicker Posts: 13 Member
    Skincy - What's the road map and TDEE?
  • yo_andi
    yo_andi Posts: 2,178 Member
    Oh and I should mention that I am 5' 4" and 140 and gaining :) I have put on 6 pounds and 4 of them have been since I upped my calories to 1400 and started training for the half.

    How much time?
  • lnicker
    lnicker Posts: 13 Member
    I have been tested for Thyroid a couple times because I have several symptoms that make me think I have and issue, but my numbers always come back normal.
  • lnicker
    lnicker Posts: 13 Member
    I'm in week 8 of my trianing plan.
  • skincy
    skincy Posts: 108 Member
    Skincy - What's the road map and TDEE?

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12
  • Warchortle
    Warchortle Posts: 2,197 Member
    million threads on this. Eat above your BMR and under your TDEE
  • shoewhore
    shoewhore Posts: 4 Member
    This may or may not be helpful since i dont know what your diet plan consists of but maybe try swapping out the carbs you consume, I know you need the carbs for marathon training but I do find that I feel much heavier around the waist area if I eat bread and pasta. Good Luck!!
  • IronPlayground
    IronPlayground Posts: 1,594 Member
    You should always be very careful at how quickly you increase or decrease your intake especially since you are doing a lot of steady state cardio. Your body will adjust to your calories. If you increase too rapidly, your metabolism will not adjust as quickly and you can, in fact, start gaining.

    Here's a good video from Layne Norton explaining this:

    http://youtu.be/QHHzie6XRGk

    ETA: To answer your question, just based on what you are training for, 1200 is not going to be enough and you will need to gradually increase your calories.
  • JanaCanada
    JanaCanada Posts: 917 Member
    Skincy - What's the road map and TDEE?

    :huh:
    I posted the link for you in the third post of this thread, along with another interesting link.
  • burnscassie
    burnscassie Posts: 1
    Sorry I don't have any professional advice for ya, Lisa, but I saw your post and wanted to say, KEEP IT UP! You look amazing and are doing awesome!! :)
  • Greenrun99
    Greenrun99 Posts: 2,065 Member
    million threads on this. Eat above your BMR and under your TDEE
  • jennfranklin
    jennfranklin Posts: 434 Member
    Somewhere in between because 1200 calories is just not enough!
  • ecw3780
    ecw3780 Posts: 608 Member
    I would go back to the 1200 and eat all the exercise calories. Also, get some sort of tracker that syncs you can wear all the time to accurately track your burn.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    There's gotta be something else going on here...training for a marathon and netting 1,400 calories, you really should lose. It is possible that you increased your intake too quickly and your metabolism hasn't adjusted to them yet...it can take awhile for your metabolism to catch up to what you're doing. It also could be an error in your calories in/out...i.e. you're underestimating your intake and overestimating your burns.
  • xxcooneyxx
    xxcooneyxx Posts: 221 Member
    I would go back to the 1200 and eat all the exercise calories. Also, get some sort of tracker that syncs you can wear all the time to accurately track your burn.

    This is what I was going to say. Also, if you feel like you are starving at 1200 calories, then it's time to change what you are eating. a TBS of butter is 100 calories, for that you could have a little over 3 cups of broccoli. If one person eats a TBS of butter and one eats the broccoli, the one who ate the broccoli will stay fuller longer, because our body feels satisfied based off of volume and not calories. If you are eating 1200 calories and still starving, you need to change what you are eating in order to feel fuller.

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