How weird...

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sandytoshiko
sandytoshiko Posts: 67 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
In the week before last week I have had a couple of days I went over 1200 calories, family in town, etc. usually stay under but definitely ate more than usual. But I still lost weight! In fact faster than normal! Any one else truly experience the eat more lose more? I know it shouldn't be the norm, but I do believe now that you have to shake up your metabolism..
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  • IndianMuslim
    IndianMuslim Posts: 154
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    I wish I had your luck and genes :wink:

    I am gaining weight while eating just 1200 cal / day...
  • PtheronJr
    PtheronJr Posts: 108 Member
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    What is your height and current weight? 1200 is fairly low, your body might be going into starvation mode which means it will desperately be holding onto fat and water weight and actually increase retention in those areas. When you upped your calorie intake, your body might have decided it was safe to start burning fat reserves faster instead of holding onto what it had by slowing your metabolism.
    Losing weight takes balance, you see the best results when you're in deficit but only by a few hundred calories, you have to let your body know that you're trying to shed excess weight and not that your supply of food has been drastically cut off. Remember, you may be trying to lose your weight, but your body can interpret that as you starving or suffering from a decrease in food supply, which will cause it to do everything in its power not to lose energy reserves.
  • Love4fitnesslove4food2
    Love4fitnesslove4food2 Posts: 711 Member
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    1200 calories is a very steep deficit more most people; it is unsurprising that you'd lose with more than that.
  • sandytoshiko
    sandytoshiko Posts: 67 Member
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    What is your height and current weight? 1200 is fairly low, your body might be going into starvation mode which means it will desperately be holding onto fat and water weight and actually increase retention in those areas. When you upped your calorie intake, your body might have decided it was safe to start burning fat reserves faster instead of holding onto what it had by slowing your metabolism.
    Losing weight takes balance, you see the best results when you're in deficit but only by a few hundred calories, you have to let your body know that you're trying to shed excess weight and not that your supply of food has been drastically cut off. Remember, you may be trying to lose your weight, but your body can interpret that as you starving or suffering from a decrease in food supply, which will cause it to do everything in its power not to lose energy reserves.

    I'm 5'3" and CW: 123, SW: 138, GW: 118
  • init2fitit
    init2fitit Posts: 168 Member
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    Were you more active those days?
  • init2fitit
    init2fitit Posts: 168 Member
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    Also, considering that you're only 5 lbs away from your gw, you might want to change your weight loss to .5lbs a week.
    You don't have as much to lose, so you don't need to make that much of a deficit.
  • stealthq
    stealthq Posts: 4,298 Member
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    Not surprising you still lost. I'm your height and current weight and am still losing slowly on 1500-1600/day. And I'm sedentary - lift weights once a week and that's it.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,404 MFP Moderator
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    I wish I had your luck and genes :wink:

    I am gaining weight while eating just 1200 cal / day...

    this isnt physically possible outside water weight.


    OP, what is your exercise routine? Or are you active? That isnt a lot of calories and can probably lose weight at higher calories. High deficits lead to more muscle loss.
  • init2fitit
    init2fitit Posts: 168 Member
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    I wish I had your luck and genes :wink:

    I am gaining weight while eating just 1200 cal / day...

    this isnt physically possible outside water weight.

    It'd be possible with a concerning medical condition.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,404 MFP Moderator
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    I wish I had your luck and genes :wink:

    I am gaining weight while eating just 1200 cal / day...

    this isnt physically possible outside water weight.

    It'd be possible with a concerning medical condition.

    true but that means your metabolic rate would have to be around 700 calories.... it would pretty much be super rare to see that.
  • sandytoshiko
    sandytoshiko Posts: 67 Member
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    I wish I had your luck and genes :wink:

    I am gaining weight while eating just 1200 cal / day...

    this isnt physically possible outside water weight.


    OP, what is your exercise routine? Or are you active? That isnt a lot of calories and can probably lose weight at higher calories. High deficits lead to more muscle loss.

    I run 3-5 times a week. Long bike rides on weekends.
  • michellechawner
    michellechawner Posts: 892
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    I barely lost anything on 1200, stalled at 1300, ate 1400 and the pounds came FLYING off. And I didn't have that much to lose either.

    1200 really is a bad start point, I hate that MFP puts everyone there it seems...

    Eat too little and your body will hold onto it because it isn't given enough energy to properly fuel the workouts... Play around with it and see what works best for you - it can take 6 weeks, so I was changing mine up ever 5-6 weeks to see what works best.
  • I_Will_End_You
    I_Will_End_You Posts: 4,397 Member
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    It's not weird... because you don't have to eat that little to lose weight. Nice huh?


    tumblr_mob58hwzxp1rnikqmo1_250.gif
  • JustYandy
    JustYandy Posts: 221 Member
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    I stopped working out so much and lost all of a sudden 5 lbs in 5 days really strange for me too then I thought...The thing is It takes 4 weeks pure 1lb of fat lost to show on the scale and 1lb of muscle gain takes 6 weeks...Thats why everyone gets frustrated after a week and no sign...water fluctuates,food intake,sodium....your body may have needed those extra calories maybe you have the activity level wrong?I don't know for sure just some good fun facts my personal trainer taught me..
  • TamTastic
    TamTastic Posts: 19,224 Member
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    I never went below 1400 cals the entire time it took me to lost 135 lbs. :wink:
  • jamielynas
    jamielynas Posts: 366 Member
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    I wish I had your luck and genes :wink:

    I am gaining weight while eating just 1200 cal / day...

    I would see a doctor and have your thyroid tested.
  • JustYandy
    JustYandy Posts: 221 Member
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    I barely lost anything on 1200, stalled at 1300, ate 1400 and the pounds came FLYING off. And I didn't have that much to lose either.

    1200 really is a bad start point, I hate that MFP puts everyone there it seems...

    Eat too little and your body will hold onto it because it isn't given enough energy to properly fuel the workouts... Play around with it and see what works best for you - it can take 6 weeks, so I was changing mine up ever 5-6 weeks to see what works best.

    Nice to know , mine is set to 1200 calories, I burn about 500 calories when I workout but my eating calories are around1500-1700 per day
  • slim4health56
    slim4health56 Posts: 439 Member
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    I've seen similar posts at least 100 times since joining MFP July 1 (and from folks who are successful in losing weight), so I absolutely believe you. You're going to run into people here who say it's impossible but you can trust your body over another's opinion. Certainly, there are many variables (activity, water retention from hormones, et cetera) but if you've been consistent with your logging and measurements, I say congratulations!
  • TamTastic
    TamTastic Posts: 19,224 Member
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    Our bodies are like a car. They need fuel to run well. Obviously premium fuel is going to make it run better but if you don't feed it enough it won't work as well. On average. But in all honesty it takes the right combo of food and exercise for YOUR body. Take the time to find out what combo works best. :smile:
  • lisahewitt22
    lisahewitt22 Posts: 102
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    When I first tried losing weight with MFP I was on a 1200 calorie diet and I lost weight at first but then after a while I actually started gaining weight because I was always trying to be under 1200 and sometimes I would eat as low as 900 calories to stay under so when I ate even a little more I would be heavier the next day. I think 1450 is the magic number for me.

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