1800 calories & gaining

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chocochip1867
chocochip1867 Posts: 7
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi,
I lost about 50-60 pounds in 2012 by eating 500-1200 calories per day. Then I started bingeing this year, because of heavy restriction and feeling deprived. I took it as a sign of my body wanting me to eat more.

I went on a site that told me, at my young age where I'm still growing and developing, I should be eating no less than 1800 calories per day. I'm 5'5" and my weight has gone up to 127.6 pounds since increasing calories.

Do you think it would be OK to eat about 1350-1400 calories a day, instead of 1800? I really feel like 1800 is a lot, and I don't feel so hungry that I need to eat that much. On 1800 I'm gaining inner-thigh fat. It may be due to slowing down my metabolism, but I just need some advice about what to do. I don't want to gain much more.

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  • chocochip1867
    chocochip1867 Posts: 7
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    Is anyone able to help or give some advice, please?
  • xMatter
    xMatter Posts: 4
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    I am no expert, but from my experience and my current diet, you really need to reduce carbs/sugars. I am eating less than 50g a day, but eating all sorts of filling meals. I follow the Ketogenics diet, but more so, the MCT Ketogenics diet. I have burned fat yet maintained my same weight. I do not exercise, but have young kids so they keep me busy. A lot of people never heard of this diet, and they usually just count calories. I eat about 2500 calories a day. Since minimal carbs are involved, weight gain does not happen. Do research on Keto and see if it works for you.
  • CaffeinatedConfectionist
    CaffeinatedConfectionist Posts: 1,046 Member
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    How long has it been since you increased your calories to 1800? It can take the body at least 4-6 weeks to adjust to a new amount of food, especially considering how much you increased your intake. You can't expect your body to immediately adjust to eating 2-3x what you were accustomed to, especially if you were eating between 500-1200 calories for a long time. Usually once the body gets accustomed to your new eating habits, people see weight coming back off.

    You might try increasing more incrementally, eating at 1400 for a few weeks, and increasing again to 1800, if you feel like 1800 is too much of an increase to handle at once. Just be patient, give it a month or two, and reevaluate. :flowerforyou: Base your analysis on how you feel, how much energy you have for workouts, etc.

    I'd also recommend checking out this very useful and informative thread: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/963088-level-obstacles-lose-weight-target-fat-easy?hl=leveling+obstacles&page=1#posts-14690973
  • rduhlir
    rduhlir Posts: 3,550 Member
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    Reducing carbs/sugars might be what you want to do, but not for all. I eat well over that (208 g) and am losing at 1800-1900 calories per day.

    Anyway, OP....

    When did you increase the calorie intake? If it was recently, as in the last week or two, then weight gain is normal. I gained at first as well. With only having to lose 8 lbs it will take a lot longer, and I would focus on a .5 lb loss a week. So expect it to take a few months to lose those few pounds. I dont' know how your macros are set, but I would focus on a 40/30/30 figure.
  • chocochip1867
    chocochip1867 Posts: 7
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    That's what I was originally planning on doing, but people told me that I should jump right to 1800, so I wouldn't prolong starvation any further.

    It's been 18 days, as of today. So maybe I need to give it more time.
    It's just that...I feel so full on 1800 calories. I also find it hard to reach 1800 with all healthy foods, without eating a lot of almonds/cashews.

    Thanks for the advice. Really appreciate it :)
  • xMatter
    xMatter Posts: 4
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    Reducing carbs/sugars might be what you want to do, but not for all. I eat well over that (208 g) and am losing at 1800-1900 calories per day.

    I dont' know how your macros are set, but I would focus on a 40/30/30 figure.

    I focus on:
    70% fat
    25% protein
    5% carbs

    with a 2310 calorie intake.
  • Lleldiranne
    Lleldiranne Posts: 5,516 Member
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    500 calories a day was way too few. Your metabolism has slowed down. It will take a while for it to adjust but in the long run, you'll be healthier.

    In the mean time, please look at your goals again. 5'5" and 127.6 is healthy, your body is probably trying to put back the essentials it needs. If you are worried about a bit of belly bulge or whatever, try lifting weights. You can eat plenty (1800 calories like suggested) and still have a great look when you have an appropriate amount of muscle.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    I'd wait a bit, give it another 2 or 3 weeks so your metabolism can adjust, then go down to 1600 or something.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    That's what I was originally planning on doing, but people told me that I should jump right to 1800, so I wouldn't prolong starvation any further.

    It's been 18 days, as of today. So maybe I need to give it more time.
    It's just that...I feel so full on 1800 calories. I also find it hard to reach 1800 with all healthy foods, without eating a lot of almonds/cashews.

    Thanks for the advice. Really appreciate it :)

    18 days isn't long enough, and there is nothing wrong with eating lots of nuts if they fit yor macros.
  • Lupercalia
    Lupercalia Posts: 1,857 Member
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    500 calories a day was way too few. Your metabolism has slowed down. It will take a while for it to adjust but in the long run, you'll be healthier.

    In the mean time, please look at your goals again. 5'5" and 127.6 is healthy, your body is probably trying to put back the essentials it needs. If you are worried about a bit of belly bulge or whatever, try lifting weights. You can eat plenty (1800 calories like suggested) and still have a great look when you have an appropriate amount of muscle.

    THIS. You are at a healthy weight for your height at 127.6

    If you don't like your body composition (you find it flabby or whatever), lifting weights will help, and I think you'll find lifting is much more rewarding than restricting calories like a madwoman.

    Get your metabolism back up to speed by eating an appropriate amount of food and lift weights. Try not to worry so much about what the scale says--use a tape measure or the fit of your clothing to gauge progress instead.
  • Mads1997
    Mads1997 Posts: 1,494 Member
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    Ermmmm why not follow MFP calorie allowance, log your exercise and eat those calories back also.
  • FluffyMcNutter
    FluffyMcNutter Posts: 68
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    Your metabolism isn't going to decrease because you are eating more. That's backwards. Metabolism slows down when you lose Lean Body Mass and/or when you feed it less than it needs to function for a long period of time...and hormonal things can have a part in that as well.

    Please give it 4-6 weeks of eating at this level before you decide whether or not it works. Your body needs time to adjust. Your metabolism will actually start to increase because you are feeding your body what it wants. While you've been eating at such a large deficit, your body has had to figure out how to function on less energy, so it's been trying to be more efficient...which means burning less fat. So, now that you are fulling feeding it, your body can go back to doing what it wants to do...and also burning fat. It's kind of a beautiful formula if you think about it. Give it some time to work. The increase in your energy and apetite will let you know the scale will come around soon.
  • pkw58
    pkw58 Posts: 2,038 Member
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    I am on maintenance, and here are somethings I have noticed about myself, but nothing scientific -

    1) I get lazy about weighing and measuring my food. So every time I eat at home, I weigh or measure. Just to keep on track.
    2) There are a lot of articles and scientific studies that prepackaged and restaurant nutrition/calorie counts are off - like around 20% too low. So I use the count given, but don't eat my exercise calories back on the days I have a heavy "eating out day" even if I am pretty sure I ate on plan.
    3) I also have my calories set to losing 1/2 a pound a week - for some reason, it is the right amount of calories vs the MFP maintenance.

    For activity calories, I wear a nike fuel band. I just log it as one lump sum. The more active I get (yoga, barre3, walking), the easier it is to maintain.
  • melindasuefritz
    melindasuefritz Posts: 3,509 Member
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    127.6 you dont need to lose weight
    anyways to lose w eight u need to weat 1270 calories or less only eating 500 calories a day will put u in starvation mode and make u wamt to binge and gain weight
  • tashaa1992
    tashaa1992 Posts: 658 Member
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    I would suggest sticking to this for at least eight weeks then reassess. I have a similar story, I've suffered with anorexia from the age of six, I'm twenty one now, thankfully I'm in recovery, but when I was admitted into hospital in 2011 I was on a 2500 meal plan and gained just over two stone in around three months, obviously because my body had been starved for such a long period of time. I lost one stone of the weight I had gained naturally, I was consuming the same amount of calories still. Obviously I understand it's not the same and our bodies are different, but your body is most likely gaining because it doesn't know when it'll next get fed properly, it's trying to survive and I'm sure if you stick with this, not only will you be able to eat more to lose but you'll feel 100% better too. Hope I have helped somehow xx
  • mistyblue1963
    mistyblue1963 Posts: 11
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    i would try to eat 1800 calories per day to prevent the bingeing ,and increase exercise to tone the body.
  • rduhlir
    rduhlir Posts: 3,550 Member
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    That's what I was originally planning on doing, but people told me that I should jump right to 1800, so I wouldn't prolong starvation any further.

    It's been 18 days, as of today. So maybe I need to give it more time.
    It's just that...I feel so full on 1800 calories. I also find it hard to reach 1800 with all healthy foods, without eating a lot of almonds/cashews.

    Thanks for the advice. Really appreciate it :)

    You answered your own question here actually. 18 days is no where near long enough for the body to adjust to the the calorie increase, so yes weight gain would be possible over those days. I gained as well the first few weeks, but it once my body realized that the goal was still to lose weight it jumped right on board and those few pounds melted off in a matter of weeks, plus some.

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