How does eat more/lose more work?

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mskeith2
mskeith2 Posts: 22
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi all,

I keep reading all these things on the forums about people eating low calorie and not really losing any weight, and then upping their daily calorie intake and suddenly losing the weight. This goes against everything that I've always thought to be true, I.e the less you eat = the more weight you lose.

I'm 163cm and approx 57kgs, I want to lose just a few kgs. I probably average about 1000 calories per day, with 1 cheat day on a Saturday (where admittedly, I go "all out" and probably consume around 3,000 calories in food/alcohol). I exercise 5-6 times per week for 45 min to an hour. I alternate between endurance running at a steady pace, and doing HIIT combined with resistance training. I'm not weighing myself, because I feel like the scale distracts me and discourages me. I'm just going by how my clothes fit. They don't feel any loser. I've been doing this routine for nearly 3 months now and while I can definitely see muscle definition in my arms (as a result of resistance training) I'm feeling really discouraged that my clothes aren't any loser.

I've been reading that people have gotten results by upping their daily calories. So I'm going to try this. My TDEE is approx 1440 so I'm going to aim to consume around that, maybe slightly more on exercise days. I'm not scared about gaining weight, because I don't think that will happen based on my level of activity and number of calories I plan to consume (my TDEE). I'm just worried that I won't see any results and that i am more liekly to get results if i stick with my current regime (of eating approx 1000 cals). (And by results I mean fat loss/clothes feeling loser).

I know I'm not seeing results on my current regime, but I am wondering whether if I stick with it for longer, I will eventually see results? Or should I ditch my current regime and consume more calories because I am more likely to get results by eating more?

I'm particularly interested in stories from people who were eating low calorie and not seeing results and then who upped their calories and started losing fat.

Thanks.

Replies

  • DebbieLyn63
    DebbieLyn63 Posts: 2,650 Member
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    It is not eat more lose more, it is eat more lose slower. The point is to have a smaller deficit and lose the weight slowly so it will stay off longer. That is the theory anyway.
  • SurfyFriend
    SurfyFriend Posts: 362 Member
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    .
  • ThePersnicketyOtter
    ThePersnicketyOtter Posts: 147 Member
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    If you eat too little, your body adjusts your metabolism to be appropriate for that amount and you stop losing. At least that seems to be the commonly accepted idea.

    You should definitely eat more than 1000 calories a day. Not only is that unhealthy, there's no way it's sustainable forever. A "diet" should be a lifestyle you can keep up forever, not something that makes you miserable until you lose the weight then you stop... in that case, you'll just re-gain the weight.
  • SurfyFriend
    SurfyFriend Posts: 362 Member
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    You have the energy to perform at a more athletic level, lifting weights and doing cardiovascular activity. So you burn more and you have the fuel needed to build muscle, which helps burn fat. So if you want to be toned and slim, eat more, if you want to merely be slim, eat less. This is my understanding. I find more calories helps you workout harder, and sleep better, feel positive and make healthier decisions more naturally and avoid hurting your digestive system with a binge or so called "cheat meal".
  • volume77
    volume77 Posts: 670 Member
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    you eat more food to fuel your body and workouts. you repair your body from years of dieting and undereating. you then use a small deficient to lose weight slowly. it has helped me in maintinence. there is a group. i highly suggest eating more than 1000 calories. you will burn out and probably already have metabolism damage.... dont worry i did too, it is fixable. you can add me if youd like i am currently doing a reset for em2wl which means i eat at maintinence calories which or me is between 1700-2200 based on my bodymedia.
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
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    Your TDEE is 1440 or your BMR is 1440? Big difference. You need to be eating at least your BMR.

    It's not eat more to lose more. It's eat enough so your body can fuel itself and be healthy instead of eating muscle mass to survive and hanging onto fat reserves. 1,000 calories isn't enough for anyone to live on properly and certainly not enough to fuel the workouts you say you're doing.

    You may gain a bit if you increase your calories because your body has been depleted for so long but that will turn around as your whole system realizes it doesn't need to conserve anymore.
  • smmorri
    smmorri Posts: 44 Member
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    Instead of restricting your intake 6 days a week, and then binge eating 1 day a week...... I have found that it is better to eat at a ~80/20 % difference, throughout the day/week. That way, you allow yourself to have sweet/salty/alcohol/unhealthy treats, without going overboard.
  • emmalousmom1
    emmalousmom1 Posts: 121 Member
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    Hi all,

    I keep reading all these things on the forums about people eating low calorie and not really losing any weight, and then upping their daily calorie intake and suddenly losing the weight. This goes against everything that I've always thought to be true, I.e the less you eat = the more weight you lose.

    I'm 163cm and approx 57kgs, I want to lose just a few kgs. I probably average about 1000 calories per day, with 1 cheat day on a Saturday (where admittedly, I go "all out" and probably consume around 3,000 calories in food/alcohol). I exercise 5-6 times per week for 45 min to an hour. I alternate between endurance running at a steady pace, and doing HIIT combined with resistance training. I'm not weighing myself, because I feel like the scale distracts me and discourages me. I'm just going by how my clothes fit. They don't feel any loser. I've been doing this routine for nearly 3 months now and while I can definitely see muscle definition in my arms (as a result of resistance training) I'm feeling really discouraged that my clothes aren't any loser.

    I've been reading that people have gotten results by upping their daily calories. So I'm going to try this. My TDEE is approx 1440 so I'm going to aim to consume around that, maybe slightly more on exercise days. I'm not scared about gaining weight, because I don't think that will happen based on my level of activity and number of calories I plan to consume (my TDEE). I'm just worried that I won't see any results and that i am more liekly to get results if i stick with my current regime (of eating approx 1000 cals). (And by results I mean fat loss/clothes feeling loser).

    I know I'm not seeing results on my current regime, but I am wondering whether if I stick with it for longer, I will eventually see results? Or should I ditch my current regime and consume more calories because I am more likely to get results by eating more?

    I'm particularly interested in stories from people who were eating low calorie and not seeing results and then who upped their calories and started losing fat.

    Thanks.
    Your TDEE is more like 2300 calories, go to this site, your numbers are way off, and to gain muscle you need to eat alot more.
    http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/
  • mskeith2
    mskeith2 Posts: 22
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    Thanks.
    [/quote]
    Your TDEE is more like 2300 calories, go to this site, your numbers are way off, and to gain muscle you need to eat alot more.
    http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/
    [/quote]

    Oh you're right, my tdee is 1631, and according to that calculator to lose weight I need to eat 1304. So I will do that.
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
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    You're still messing up calculations somewhere. Your BMR is 1367 at minimum and you need to eat at least that, it's the number of calories your body needs to survive in a coma. If your TDEE is 1631 you must not do much more than wander slowly from your bed to the couch and back in a day. With no exercise at all it comes out to 1800. You have very little if anything to lose in weight so trying to lose vanity pounds should be done at a cut of about 10% but TDEE includes all your exercise and you say you do quite a bit so you need to fuel those workouts. At a cut of 10% with your exercise factored in you need about 1900 calories a day.

    People here may not be familiar with the metric system but your height of 5'4" and weight of 125 lbs means you don't need to lose much so doing a drastic cut with lots of exercise is just stressing your body out without giving you results. Plug your numbers in here yourself and get the results. http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

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