Should I be 'Uping' my cals??

Kari121869
Kari121869 Posts: 180 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Ok so I'm noticing that people are 'uping' their cals and losing weight - are you also increasing your workouts per week? (mins done and # of times per week?) Thinking maybe I should increase then - I was originally doing 1200, then did the TDEE - 20% which was 1489 (I rounded up to 1500)... that produced a 4lb loss in a month - but now 3 wks later i'm at a standstill again. I even cut down 100 cals/day about 1.5wks ago and nothing happened.... should I increase my cals and if so to what amount do you suggest??
Here's my schedule so far:
Mon/Wed/Fri I do 30DS. Tues/Thurs I either do 25 min minimum on my ski machine or I do my own strength workout that lasts approx. 30 min.
I do not eat back my cals burned.... I have been really watching my carbs (stay within my limit most days) and drink at least 9 bottles of water a day...

Any help is really appreciated!!

Replies

  • Phildog47
    Phildog47 Posts: 255 Member
    Sounds like you are doing everything RIGHT... you're going to have lull periods and ups and downs. Now teach ME! :happy:
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
    How much more weight do you have to lose?
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    Are you losing weight? Yes ---> Are your energy levels good? Yes ---> keep doing what you're doing.
    Are you losing weight? No ---> Are your energy levels good? Yes ---> Eat a little less.
    Are you losing weight? Yes ---> Are your energy levels good? No ---> Eat a little more.
    Are you losing weight? No ---> Are your energy levels good? No ---> That sucks.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    with only 15ish lbs to lose I would suggest changing to TDEE -15%.

    For your intake, are you weighing solid foods and measuring liquids? If not you are probably eating a lot more than you think you are.
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
    ^^^ This. TDEE - 15%. Do not eat extra cals for exercise (assuming that you counted them in your TDEE.) Your amount of exercise sounds fine.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    How long have you been stalled? Weight loss isn't linear...you're not going to have a loss necessarily every week. Sometimes a fat loss can be masked by water...or maybe you weighed in at a different time or conditions were different or whatever. If it's only been a week or two, I'd hardly call that a stall.
  • micheleb15
    micheleb15 Posts: 1,418 Member
    with only 15ish lbs to lose I would suggest changing to TDEE -15%.

    For your intake, are you weighing solid foods and measuring liquids? If not you are probably eating a lot more than you think you are.

    This. I don't know your stats, but I would double check your food log before doing anything with calories. It's ridiculously easy to underestimate food - cooking oil, mints, extra coffee creamer, and extra ounce of meat, etc. Having a misc. 100 calories not accounted for daily obviously equals over 700 for the week.
  • ktsimons
    ktsimons Posts: 294 Member
    When I hit a plateu I EAT a TON! I go completely off plan and eat big carbs and lots of calories - TWO DAYS ONLY. Then break down to about 800 calories the next day with most of the calories coming from liquids...protien shakes, clear soup. I will eat anything and everything on Saturday and Sunday, then Monday drop down to 800 then Tuesday, go back to the regular plan of 1,400 (or whatever is your usual). It might not be the healthiest thing to do, but it seems to jar my metabolism and gets the scales moving again. That said, what works for one, may not work for another but 3 days of your life isn't much to waste to try and get a boost.

    Also, this is my fix after a month of not loosing - not just a week or 2. At some point, there would be more pigging out than not - LOL!
  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
    with only 15ish lbs to lose I would suggest changing to TDEE -15%.

    For your intake, are you weighing solid foods and measuring liquids? If not you are probably eating a lot more than you think you are.

    QFT
  • Kari121869
    Kari121869 Posts: 180 Member
    Are you losing weight? Yes ---> Are your energy levels good? Yes ---> keep doing what you're doing.
    Are you losing weight? No ---> Are your energy levels good? Yes ---> Eat a little less.
    Are you losing weight? Yes ---> Are your energy levels good? No ---> Eat a little more.
    Are you losing weight? No ---> Are your energy levels good? No ---> That sucks.

    I lose weight for a couple of weeks then nothing for another 3 - but my energy levels are usually pretty good...

    I dropped it down 100 cals/day to 1400.... see what happens.... thanks for your input.
  • Kari121869
    Kari121869 Posts: 180 Member
    with only 15ish lbs to lose I would suggest changing to TDEE -15%.

    For your intake, are you weighing solid foods and measuring liquids? If not you are probably eating a lot more than you think you are.

    Yes I measure everything - I don't want to be 'cheating' myself...
    I've dropped cals/day by 100 - see what happens... thanks for your input - definitely helps.
  • Kari121869
    Kari121869 Posts: 180 Member
    ^^^ This. TDEE - 15%. Do not eat extra cals for exercise (assuming that you counted them in your TDEE.) Your amount of exercise sounds fine.

    I don't eat back my burned cals - no I didn't count them in my TDEE - I put 'sedetary/low exercise' for that to maximize cals burned while exercising...

    I'll try the -15% and see what happens.. thanks for your help.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    Are you losing weight? Yes ---> Are your energy levels good? Yes ---> keep doing what you're doing.
    Are you losing weight? No ---> Are your energy levels good? Yes ---> Eat a little less.
    Are you losing weight? Yes ---> Are your energy levels good? No ---> Eat a little more.
    Are you losing weight? No ---> Are your energy levels good? No ---> That sucks.

    I lose weight for a couple of weeks then nothing for another 3 - but my energy levels are usually pretty good...

    I dropped it down 100 cals/day to 1400.... see what happens.... thanks for your input.

    Weight loss, especially with so little to lose, won't be linear. There will be weeks where you bust your butt and see nothing, there will be times when you see a lot of progress.

    I would adjust your patience/expectations, not your calories if you're seeing progress every couple of weeks.
  • Kari121869
    Kari121869 Posts: 180 Member
    When I hit a plateu I EAT a TON! I go completely off plan and eat big carbs and lots of calories - TWO DAYS ONLY. Then break down to about 800 calories the next day with most of the calories coming from liquids...protien shakes, clear soup. I will eat anything and everything on Saturday and Sunday, then Monday drop down to 800 then Tuesday, go back to the regular plan of 1,400 (or whatever is your usual). It might not be the healthiest thing to do, but it seems to jar my metabolism and gets the scales moving again. That said, what works for one, may not work for another but 3 days of your life isn't much to waste to try and get a boost.

    Also, this is my fix after a month of not loosing - not just a week or 2. At some point, there would be more pigging out than not - LOL!

    I've heard alot of people doing this - up their cal intake big time for a couple of days - then go back to their 'regular' cal intake or lower for a day and it 'shakes' the metabolism up... wasn't sure if it really worked and was a little scared to gain lbs back that I worked so hard to loose....

    I'll wait another few wks to see if my cutting 100/cal/day does anything and if still at a standstill I'll try the 'eat more' strategy for a day or two.

    As for logging everything I eat (oils, creamers, etc) I actually do log everything.. I don't use oil for cooking - I use spray and I can't have milk (I have almond milk and I log it anytime I use any amount)... even if i use mustard, hot sauce, etc I log it...
    But I do appreciate the mention of it... often times those 'little' things can creep up and really cause an issue.
  • Kari121869
    Kari121869 Posts: 180 Member
    Are you losing weight? Yes ---> Are your energy levels good? Yes ---> keep doing what you're doing.
    Are you losing weight? No ---> Are your energy levels good? Yes ---> Eat a little less.
    Are you losing weight? Yes ---> Are your energy levels good? No ---> Eat a little more.
    Are you losing weight? No ---> Are your energy levels good? No ---> That sucks.

    I lose weight for a couple of weeks then nothing for another 3 - but my energy levels are usually pretty good...

    I dropped it down 100 cals/day to 1400.... see what happens.... thanks for your input.

    Weight loss, especially with so little to lose, won't be linear. There will be weeks where you bust your butt and see nothing, there will be times when you see a lot of progress.

    I would adjust your patience/expectations, not your calories if you're seeing progress every couple of weeks.

    You're probably right - may be my patience level that needs adjusting.... so used to loosing quicker I guess - last time I had to loose weight I was only 30 and it seemed to come off alot faster...
    Thanks again for your help.
  • whodarescheerall
    whodarescheerall Posts: 5 Member
    I have lost 30lbs in 3 months and went from 32% body fat to 13%. I started at 250 lbs and am now 220 lbs with 195 of lean muscle at 6'02".
    I started with a calorie deficient diet while working out 2x 45 min a day except for Saturdays. when I dropped to 15% body fat at 230 lbs, I stopped loosing weight and was getting weaker, better stated, I had less energy. So one the top trainers saw me and said, without knowing my diet, grabbed me and said, you are not eating enough, and I have to up calories big time. In my head I felt fat still not until the did a fit test test, that I realized the major change in my body. I was then told my metabolism and insides are back to that to a teenager, and this point with amount of work i am doing with amount of I was taking, my body was in starvation mode. So I, reluctantly, started to put in more calories close, (hard to break a eating habit) to the amount worked out plus minimum daily amount. Within a week and a half, I had more energy than every, and I dropped 6 lbs, like that..
    So basically, after a certain point you need to eat the calories burnt plus minimum daily, so that your body doesnt retain everything, and has the energy to push forward, plus for aesthetic purposes, it will release, or use the storage that you have. My only issues now is really waiting for my skin to catch up since I am in my 30s.

    Hope that helps.
    My works outs are:
    Spinning,
    long slow jogs,
    interval runs,
    interval climbs,
    40 to 60 mile bike rides,
    swimming,
    plyometrics
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    ^^^ This. TDEE - 15%. Do not eat extra cals for exercise (assuming that you counted them in your TDEE.) Your amount of exercise sounds fine.

    I don't eat back my burned cals - no I didn't count them in my TDEE - I put 'sedetary/low exercise' for that to maximize cals burned while exercising...

    I'll try the -15% and see what happens.. thanks for your help.

    The point of TDEE is to include your exercise.
  • narya12
    narya12 Posts: 9
    When I hit a plateu I EAT a TON! I go completely off plan and eat big carbs and lots of calories - TWO DAYS ONLY. Then break down to about 800 calories the next day with most of the calories coming from liquids...protien shakes, clear soup. I will eat anything and everything on Saturday and Sunday, then Monday drop down to 800 then Tuesday, go back to the regular plan of 1,400 (or whatever is your usual). It might not be the healthiest thing to do, but it seems to jar my metabolism and gets the scales moving again. That said, what works for one, may not work for another but 3 days of your life isn't much to waste to try and get a boost.

    I've done this too, but discovered it quite by accident. I plateaued and was stuck for a few weeks. Then it was my birthday and I kind of 'let go' for a couple days with restaurants, cake & ice cream, cocktails, etc. I probably ate 4 times as many calories than I was used to in those two days. Then I felt bad and got back on track, but was too afraid to weigh myself for another week. When I did, I had lost FOUR pounds! It was like I'd knocked something loose with all that food, lol.

    Our bodies are so weird sometimes.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    Are you losing weight? No ---> Are your energy levels good? No ---> That sucks.

    Brilliant!
  • Kari121869
    Kari121869 Posts: 180 Member
    ^^^ This. TDEE - 15%. Do not eat extra cals for exercise (assuming that you counted them in your TDEE.) Your amount of exercise sounds fine.

    I don't eat back my burned cals - no I didn't count them in my TDEE - I put 'sedetary/low exercise' for that to maximize cals burned while exercising...

    I'll try the -15% and see what happens.. thanks for your help.

    The point of TDEE is to include your exercise.

    I was told to mark sedetary so you can loose faster... Actually I read it on a TDEE website a couple of times.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    ^^^ This. TDEE - 15%. Do not eat extra cals for exercise (assuming that you counted them in your TDEE.) Your amount of exercise sounds fine.

    I don't eat back my burned cals - no I didn't count them in my TDEE - I put 'sedetary/low exercise' for that to maximize cals burned while exercising...

    I'll try the -15% and see what happens.. thanks for your help.

    The point of TDEE is to include your exercise.

    I was told to mark sedetary so you can loose faster... Actually I read it on a TDEE website a couple of times.

    That defeats the purpose of using TDEE otherwise it is the same as using MFP and you should eat the cals back. The less you have to lose, like you do, the closer you should be eating to true TDEE including exercise to avoid losing lean muscle as you lose fat.
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
    ^^^ This. TDEE - 15%. Do not eat extra cals for exercise (assuming that you counted them in your TDEE.) Your amount of exercise sounds fine.

    I don't eat back my burned cals - no I didn't count them in my TDEE - I put 'sedetary/low exercise' for that to maximize cals burned while exercising...

    I'll try the -15% and see what happens.. thanks for your help.

    The point of TDEE is to include your exercise.

    I was told to mark sedetary so you can loose faster... Actually I read it on a TDEE website a couple of times.

    TDEE means Total Daily Energy Expenditure. It includes all activity including exercise.
  • mantium999
    mantium999 Posts: 1,490 Member
    with only 15ish lbs to lose I would suggest changing to TDEE -15%.

    For your intake, are you weighing solid foods and measuring liquids? If not you are probably eating a lot more than you think you are.

    This. Welcome to the world of slooowww progress. That last bit is always the hardest to get. Keep at it with the strength training though. My wife has found that, while she thought she needed to lose 15 lbs, with doing heavy weights and only losing 5 lbs she is much happier with what she sees in the mirror. Good luck to you.
  • Kari121869
    Kari121869 Posts: 180 Member
    Ok I got the message - thanks to all of you!! I'm trying to eat more and including my burned cals. I really appreciate all the words of wisdom from everyone on here... I have alot to learn about this whole weight loss/life change thing - and if it wasn't for people willing to give their knowledge, etc others wouldn't realize what they are doing wrong or right.

    I did eat more cals yesterday (after reading the many posts on here) - even though I have to admit it was hard... but when I got on the scale today it was down a half lb......

    Again - thanks to you all for your knowledge and willingness to voice it...

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