Eating more to lose weight??

daybyday01
daybyday01 Posts: 6
in Health and Weight Loss
First off I wanted to introduce myself, my name is Sarah and I'm brand new to this website and just downloaded the app :)

But there's something I'm super confused about! I just bought my first session with a personal trainer, and he created a customized diet plan for me that consists of reaching 1500-1600 calories a day. However that seems like A LOT considering there's no way I eat that much everyday, (but perhaps is also the reason I haven't been losing any weight even though I've been working out). I always thought that the less you consumed, the more you would lose, but he told me this isn't the case? It's all about hitting certain numbers (protein vs fat vs carbs).

The plan also consisted of 5 meals a day which also is going to be hard to do. Does everyone eat this often (who are trying to lose weight)? I generally eat once in the morning, a small snack if anything for lunch, and a small dinner, (like a lean cuisine or smart ones) and I don't count calories but I would assume I definitely eat well under 1000 calories/day. I also work out 2-3x a week.... but I haven't seen ANY results doing this so I thought it was time to see a personal trainer. I can't afford any more sessions with him in the near future, but I learned a lot out of our initial visit, plus he created the meal plan for me which was great. I just honestly have no idea how I'm going to remember to eat that often, and remember to track my calories to meet the specific numbers I need each day for protein, carbs, & fats. Oye this seems like a lot of work! Wish me luck!!
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Replies

  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    1500-1600 calories is not a 'lot'.... Why have a trainer if you dong want to listen to them? Seems a waste of money to me!
  • daybyday01
    daybyday01 Posts: 6
    I'm going to listen to him! (Well today wasn't a great start, but tomorrow I'll eat more).

    I just thought it was interesting that he told me I had to eat so many calories to actually lose weight. That might not seem like "a lot" but to me it is because I usually eat under 1000 calories a day.

    I'm definitely going to listen and give this a try, I just thought it was odd because I always thought it was how much you consume vs how much you work out that is the equation for losing weight and I guess I was wrong.
  • missyrawien
    missyrawien Posts: 37 Member
    Eating smaller meals more often can keep your metabolism working at the same rate for longer so it can be really helpful to eat small meals 5 times a day or to have 3 meals and 2 snacks in between. As for the calorie limit that doesn't seem too low if you're working out alot, and if you're calorie intake is too low people do struggle to lose weight. It sounds good to me, eating under 1000 calories a day just seems too low!
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    There is such thing as eating too little... It can damage your body.
  • daybyday01
    daybyday01 Posts: 6
    There is such thing as eating too little... It can damage your body.

    Yeah I had no idea until now!
  • mazdauk
    mazdauk Posts: 1,380 Member
    1500-1600 is not a lot, especially as that will include some exercise calories (I'm guessing the trainer hasn't said to "eat back" exercise calories).

    How much do you want to lose? From your pic it can't be very much.:smile:
  • daybyday01
    daybyday01 Posts: 6
    1500-1600 is not a lot, especially as that will include some exercise calories (I'm guessing the trainer hasn't said to "eat back" exercise calories).

    How much do you want to lose? From your pic it can't be very much.:smile:


    I'm 145-148 (it seriously goes up and down constantly) and I'd LOVE to get down to 130 or less, but I'd be happy with 135 :)

    And my trainer said nothing about "eating back". He just gave me my meal plan and said 3-4 days a week at the gym and to mainly focus on strength training but have at least 2 cardio days also.
  • BrainyBurro
    BrainyBurro Posts: 6,129 Member
    the 5 meals a day thing is broscience. it's not based on actual facts. you can eat all of your calories in a single meal if you want, it will have little or no impact on your weight loss or metabolism.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/820577-meal-frequency-rev-up-that-furnace-lol

    eating "more" has to do with both meeting your macro requirements, as well as keeping your body from being "stressed" by your weight loss to a point where it produces an excess of cortisol, which seems to then cause your body to start conserving energy as a preventative measure. this is often blamed for weight loss stalls and plateaus.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/817188-iifym
  • BrainyBurro
    BrainyBurro Posts: 6,129 Member
    1500-1600 is not a lot, especially as that will include some exercise calories (I'm guessing the trainer hasn't said to "eat back" exercise calories).

    How much do you want to lose? From your pic it can't be very much.:smile:


    I'm 145-148 (it seriously goes up and down constantly) and I'd LOVE to get down to 130 or less, but I'd be happy with 135 :)

    And my trainer said nothing about "eating back". He just gave me my meal plan and said 3-4 days a week at the gym and to mainly focus on strength training but have at least 2 cardio days also.

    "eat back" is an MFP concept. here on MFP, if you follow the daily calorie goal listed on your "MY HOME" page, you'll see the goal increase as you add exercise for the day. this is because MFP builds the calorie deficit into your goal. by adding exercise, you increase your TDEE, however MFP wants you to maintain that constant calorie deficit, thus you must "eat back" those exercise calories. not everyone does. some only eat back a portion because they consider the MFP exercise database to be overly generous with the amounts of calories burned, so they might only eat back 75% of their exercise calories.
  • stephanie8625
    stephanie8625 Posts: 119 Member
    bump
  • lauren3101
    lauren3101 Posts: 1,853 Member
    Your personal trainer sounds like a good one.

    It is perfectly possible to eat 1500 - 1600 calories a day and lose weight. I upped my calories to 1800, still lost weight. Then I bought a fitbit and realised that I was still under-eating even with the increase, so I now eat around 2200 calories a day and I lose 1.5lbs a week, most weeks.
  • snookumss
    snookumss Posts: 1,451 Member
    You may eat more calories than you realize. If you start counting them, you'll begin to recognize what that small breakfast and snack actually added up to. ALSO... eating more is actually important. Yesterday I burned over 3000 calories, my record is just over 4000 for a regular work day. Its actually not that crazy that dieting too much is too hard on your body and it won't let you lose weight because it thinks you need all that fat to keep from starving! He sounds knowledgeable, but the five meals a thing may be easier than you think. An apple and yogurt could be a meal.
  • melanieell07
    melanieell07 Posts: 20
    I will say this from experience I thought what you thought, to lose weight you ate three meals a day and as little as possible. I would watch my husband who it seems was eating all the time drop weight like crazy and it started getting frustrating. I started eating more and started losing. I've been on MFP now for a couple months, I eat between 800 - 1200 calories a day three meals a day plus three snacks so that's six small meals a day. I also walk three or four times a day for an average of 30 - 60 mins (depends on the time of day) I trend not to eat back my calories and I'm averaging between 1 - 2 lb weight lose a week.
  • BrainyBurro
    BrainyBurro Posts: 6,129 Member
    You may eat more calories than you realize. If you start counting them, you'll begin to recognize what that small breakfast and snack actually added up to. ALSO... eating more is actually important. Yesterday I burned over 3000 calories, my record is just over 4000 for a regular work day. Its actually not that crazy that dieting too much is too hard on your body and it won't let you lose weight because it thinks you need all that fat to keep from starving! He sounds knowledgeable, but the five meals a thing may be easier than you think. An apple and yogurt could be a meal.

    in bold is why very low calorie diets lead to a cycle of yo-yo dieting. your body will adapt to these low calories and to keep losing, you'll need to keep going lower. once you go back to eating normally, you will gain back the weight more easily than you lost it, which leads to another period of crash dieting (etc.). this is because your body adapts to the lower calorie intake and your BMR decreases. this is how the yo-yo cycle starts. some unfortunate people are stuck in that cycle for years or decades until they learn what they are doing wrong.
  • spaceblanket11
    spaceblanket11 Posts: 1
    I personally found it an odd concept too. However I find that if I don't eat small meals frequently I tend to stuff my face cause I'm so hungry. Also I have found that if I have a snack first I'm actually much less hungry than I thought. Just don't fall into the trap of "they said I needed to eat more calories a day so I'll eat this tub of ice cream". Everything in proportions, some ice cream is fine but a tub, not good (I'm not saying I haven't done this before). Some foods can fill you up as well, nuts and nut butters, eggs, oatmeal fills me up in the am. Think of the extra food as the energy you need in order to exercise so you CAN lose the weight!
  • __Di__
    __Di__ Posts: 1,659 Member
    1500-1600 is not a lot, especially as that will include some exercise calories (I'm guessing the trainer hasn't said to "eat back" exercise calories).

    How much do you want to lose? From your pic it can't be very much.:smile:


    I'm 145-148 (it seriously goes up and down constantly) and I'd LOVE to get down to 130 or less, but I'd be happy with 135 :)

    And my trainer said nothing about "eating back". He just gave me my meal plan and said 3-4 days a week at the gym and to mainly focus on strength training but have at least 2 cardio days also.

    Hi! Welcome to MFP!

    Stick with what your trainer is advising because will see him on a regular basis and if the plan he has set out for you does not work, he will know how to adapt it.

    Give it a shot.
  • wonderbolt
    wonderbolt Posts: 48
    You don't have to eat extra junk food. You can eat calorie dense foods like nuts or avacado :)
  • Biggipooh
    Biggipooh Posts: 350
    With 1500 to 1600 cal a day I wouldn't lose any weight either. To much!
  • knitwit0704
    knitwit0704 Posts: 376
    Eating smaller meals more often can keep your metabolism working at the same rate for longer so it can be really helpful to eat small meals 5 times a day or to have 3 meals and 2 snacks in between.

    This is what I do.
  • scottaworley
    scottaworley Posts: 871 Member
    I like eating several small meals because i have blood sugar problems. I would recommend it if you also have blood sugar spikes or if you find it hard to eat 500 calories in one meal, though as has been mentioned you could eat all of your calories in one sitting if you desired. Your net calories (calories eaten - calories burned), to my understanding, should always be over 1200 to keep your body out of starvation mode.
    *EDIT* Everyones weight fluctuates throughout the day based on a variety of factors. Weigh yourself in the morning for a more accurate weight.
  • lincs_lass
    lincs_lass Posts: 18 Member
    remember also that if you've been eating so little you may initially put on weight until your body gets used to being able to use the extra calories! Also I try and avoid all diet processed food (i.e. low calorie) as they tend to have more sugar in to compensate for the lack of fat/taste! I now prefer to have more tasty full fat varieties in smaller quantities than vast amounts of what ends up being sugar! Remember good fats are your friend and do not need to be avoided but just counted in your daily calorie allowance! Good luck! :smile:
  • CassieReannan
    CassieReannan Posts: 1,479 Member
    I think thats a right goal for you, considering you would'nt eat back exercise calories.
    I am 180, 5'6 and eat 1700 a day.. I still lose!
  • acidosaur
    acidosaur Posts: 295 Member
    1500-1600 is not a lot, especially as that will include some exercise calories (I'm guessing the trainer hasn't said to "eat back" exercise calories).

    How much do you want to lose? From your pic it can't be very much.:smile:


    I'm 145-148 (it seriously goes up and down constantly) and I'd LOVE to get down to 130 or less, but I'd be happy with 135 :)

    And my trainer said nothing about "eating back". He just gave me my meal plan and said 3-4 days a week at the gym and to mainly focus on strength training but have at least 2 cardio days also.

    Hi! Welcome to MFP!

    Stick with what your trainer is advising because will see him on a regular basis and if the plan he has set out for you does not work, he will know how to adapt it.

    Give it a shot.

    Yes, I agree with this.
  • d4ley1
    d4ley1 Posts: 73
    i have found i do better as far as loss is concerned eating up to my daily target than trying to save 100s of cals im happy with 6 left now results are better for me too
  • luckynky
    luckynky Posts: 123 Member
    It's all about metabolism. If you go a while eating too little, it won't matter how much you're working out-- you won't lose weight. Your body adjusts in order to ensure survival. It's called metabolic damage. Someone else posted this in another thread, and I found it to be VERY insightful! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHHzie6XRGk
  • __Di__
    __Di__ Posts: 1,659 Member
    It's all about metabolism. If you go a while eating too little, it won't matter how much you're working out-- you won't lose weight. Your body adjusts in order to ensure survival. It's called metabolic damage. Someone else posted this in another thread, and I found it to be VERY insightful! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHHzie6XRGk

    It is all about calories in -v- calories out.

    The body can only adjust so far, if the person continues eating at a deficit and exercising into the bargain, the weight will still drop.

    I have to admit, the way people go on about metabolism, anybody would think it is a flimsy, delicate little flower of a thing. It is not, it is extremely complex and clever and until a person dies, it continues to work.

    If it stops, you are dead.
  • jillianbeeee
    jillianbeeee Posts: 345 Member
    bump
  • msjames1999
    msjames1999 Posts: 528 Member
    bump.
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
    I suspect that is with exercise - what they talk about on MFP as 'eating back your calories'.

    I 'net' 1230 - in other words, after exercise is subtracted out, I have 1230 calories left a day for running my body's daily functions. Because I'm set to lose a pound a week, that means I NEED 1730 to maintain myself. Because I'm not eating that, I take the extra from my body's savings - fat. I eat 3 times a day plus a snack usually at 9 (read desert).

    You will be exercsing, so if you eat what you were told, with exercise, you are netting less than that - I'm guessing 1200 calories on average - more on days you're not at the gym and less on days you are.

    It is EASY to eat 1500 calories. A big glass of milk or orange juice, two slices of toast with butter is more than 500 calories. A bagel with cream cheese is 500 calories. If it wasn't easy to eat 1500 calories/day, we wouldn't be here logging our food.
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
    It's all about metabolism. If you go a while eating too little, it won't matter how much you're working out-- you won't lose weight. Your body adjusts in order to ensure survival. It's called metabolic damage. Someone else posted this in another thread, and I found it to be VERY insightful! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHHzie6XRGk

    With all due respect many people are taking this video way, way, way out of context.

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