Who began to EAT MORE and lost weight ?

I am stuck for a couple of days/ a week now in my wieght loss and I fear my metabolism is mixed up, cause I was pretty close to my goal weight last year and then gained and lost and..... anyways, I am trying to do it right now. But I am not sure if I might eat too little (I eat around 1200 to 1300 cals a day and I am 5ft4 and weigh 62 kg)? I read all these post about eating more to keep your metabolism at a certain rate. I exercise 5 (cardio and strength) times a week and I eat these calories back (at least partially). But nothing is happening right now...
Who ate more and actually started to lose? Did you combine eating more with more strength training?
Hope to hear from you!
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Replies

  • Aeramis13
    Aeramis13 Posts: 135 Member
    you are NOT "stuck" until you hit multiple weeks (like 3-6), so a week of anything isn't a week of anything...

    ETA: I didn't get stuck but i knew it wasn't realistic to keep up my 1200 calorie eating while burning my tushie off, so i stepped my calories up. I'm now happier and losing like a fiend :)
  • Pixi_Rex
    Pixi_Rex Posts: 1,676 Member
    bah you are not stuck. Keep doing what you are doing and things will get going again.
  • Gee_24
    Gee_24 Posts: 359 Member
    Me. Went from 1200 to 1800 gradually. Still losing. :-)
  • DawnieB1977
    DawnieB1977 Posts: 4,248 Member
    I went from 1200 to 1500 then to 1600 and I carried on losing, and changing shape. I still lost on 1200, but once I upped my calories I started to develop better muscle and my hips got a lot smaller.

    I'm on 1800 now as I'm pregnant. I hope to gain as little weight as possible!
  • keeptehpeace
    keeptehpeace Posts: 189 Member
    I'm 5'3, 63kg currently, and I'm doing 5:2; on non-fasting days I'll average around 1400, my BMR is 1456 so my daily output is about 1690. Then I add in exercise on top of that, 250 five days a week.
  • jellybeanmusic
    jellybeanmusic Posts: 161 Member
    I stalled for around 3 months trying to eat 1200 then upped to 1400 (always net, I always ate my work out cals back) and it started coming off. I'm only 5'2. I'd imagine that 1200 is also too low for young you're taller.
  • candiceh3
    candiceh3 Posts: 379 Member
    You are not stalled. Having just one salty meal, working on a new exercise causing water weight, or your menstrual cycle, can all cause multiple days in a row of the same weight.

    It isn't a stall until you've been there a month :).
  • Irenaekl
    Irenaekl Posts: 116 Member
    You can't be stuck for 'a couple of day' or even a week......you shouldn't weigh yourself every day - once a week is more than enough. Your weight can fluctuate by 2-3 lbs in just a few hours and as someone said, a different exercise or a bit of water retention or the time of the month can cause you not to show a loss. When your weight stays the same for 4-5 weeks then you need to look at what you are doing and recalculate your calorie needs.
  • agentventi
    agentventi Posts: 84 Member
    Right here. Eat more, that is too low for you.
  • LisaGNV
    LisaGNV Posts: 159 Member
    Me. Ate a super clean 1200 & the scale didn't move forever. Bumped it to 1500 & things started moving in the right direction.
  • akaMrsmojo
    akaMrsmojo Posts: 762 Member
    I did, I started at 1280 and hit a wall and upped it gradually. No more walls.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    A few days, a week, even a couple of weeks without a loss are all well within the normal fluctuations you are going to see while losing weight. Read up on water weight and all of the lovely things that can cause us to retain it (exercise, stress, hormones, sodium, etc).

    I stalled out for a couple of months when I tried to drop my calories below 1400 while working out. I tried a lot of things to break that plateau but among them was raising my calories to 1500. I raised them again to 1600 after I started losing weight and then again to 1800 and kept losing.

    You are already eating back some of your exercise calories, which is good, but you may still be undereating. Do you have your MFP goal set to two pounds a week (most people do)? Since you're already at a healthy weight for your height and only have 4 pounds to lose that may be too aggressive a goal for you. You might try resetting it to 1 pound or even 1/2 pound per week.
  • Thanks! Well, I wasn't stuck for only a couple of days, but I lost a pound and then I was stuck for a month or so. I think it might have been too low and now I am trying to up it slowly. I am still kind of afraid that it could lead me to gaining more but I hope it won't.
  • MityMax96
    MityMax96 Posts: 5,778 Member
    I have.
  • sfbaumgarten
    sfbaumgarten Posts: 912 Member
    I ate more after I hit a plateau on WeightWatchers and started losing again. I wasn't on MFP at the time so I'm not sure how the extra WW points translated calorie-wise.
  • sarahertzberger
    sarahertzberger Posts: 534 Member
    Before I got pregnant I did, I used to eat at 1500 calories (sometimes a little less) and then, my trainer wanted me to up my calories which I was really scared to do, but I did, I upped them to 2000-2200 and I started losing weight again, my husband did the same thing and lost 10 pounds in less than a month and best part of all is we have more energy and feel overall so much better, and we're not hungry all the time anymore either!
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    I've been eating 1650 a day and I lost 6 lbs last month. That was mostly walking 60-90 minutes every day. 35, 5'5", 154 lbs at the time.
  • i don't understand how that works. how eating more can cause more weight loss. what if you are basically sedentary (some walking).

    i always read that if you weren't losing weight...you were taking in too many calories (or not burning the excess calories).

    what is the science behind eat more/lose weight. i currently aim for 1200. i typically hit maintenance 1440 or 100 below maintenance. my weight loss has been very minor. (which i would expect because i am eating so little under maintenance). if i ate more would i lose weight?
  • MityMax96
    MityMax96 Posts: 5,778 Member
    i don't understand how that works. how eating more can cause more weight loss. what if you are basically sedentary (some walking).

    i always read that if you weren't losing weight...you were taking in too many calories (or not burning the excess calories).

    what is the science behind eat more/lose weight. i currently aim for 1200. i typically hit maintenance 1440 or 100 below maintenance. my weight loss has been very minor. (which i would expect because i am eating so little under maintenance). if i ate more would i lose weight?

    Because a lot of times, people eat way below their caloric needs...and therefore it throws things out of whack in their body.....
    So the body lowers metabolic rate to compensate for the lower caloric intake.

    In your case, and most peoples case.....1200 calories is way too low.
    That is basically for someone who lays in bed all day and does nothing....
    So when you do that, but are still active, your body says well, I am gonna make do with what I have, and anything I get, I will hold on to.
  • MityMax96
    MityMax96 Posts: 5,778 Member
    if i ate more would i lose weight?

    also from the looks of things, you may not have much left to lose...
    except for LBM and you don't want that...
  • MityMax96
    MityMax96 Posts: 5,778 Member
    sorry for the multiple posts...
    But one other thing.

    If you are doing weight lifting, and you are starting to develop muscle.
    Your caloric needs go up.....
    LBM requires more calories than does fat.
  • if i ate more would i lose weight?

    also from the looks of things, you may not have much left to lose...
    except for LBM and you don't want that...

    thank you for the explanation. i really don't have much to lose if any. i was thinking about eating more consistently--as in 1500 every day and more if i exercise. I get very hungry--especially in the evenings. I think for me, I would probably gain weight...as my body would be happy to see the increase...but maybe it would level out.
  • MityMax96
    MityMax96 Posts: 5,778 Member
    if i ate more would i lose weight?

    also from the looks of things, you may not have much left to lose...
    except for LBM and you don't want that...

    thank you for the explanation. i really don't have much to lose if any. i was thinking about eating more consistently--as in 1500 every day and more if i exercise. I get very hungry--especially in the evenings. I think for me, I would probably gain weight...as my body would be happy to see the increase...but maybe it would level out.

    Try this then.
    Start exercising ( I recommend weight lifting, but to each their own).....
    Up your caloric intake by about 200 calories......see where you are in 2 - 3 weeks.
    Make sure you are getting:
    0.8 - 1.0 gr/pound of body weight per day in protein
    0.4 - 0.5 gr/pound of body weight per day in fat.
    Then adjust your carbs to make up the rest of the calories.

    See where you are at in 2 - 3 weeks.....
    And tweak things accordingly....
    If you need more calories, up the carbs.
    If you need less calories, lower the carbs.
  • loriq41
    loriq41 Posts: 479 Member
    I am on like week 5...lol..now THAT is a plateau!...I am gonna up my cals as although they are set to 1420...I rarely get to that and I do full body weights for 35 minutes 3 times per week and cardio for 45-60 min two times a week...I noticed that when I went over one day my weight did not move so I am thinking that is the culprit..but who knows with less than 15 lbs left to lose and the weight training I have been doing!
  • MityMax96
    MityMax96 Posts: 5,778 Member
    I am on like week 5...lol..now THAT is a plateau!...I am gonna up my cals as although they are set to 1420...I rarely get to that and I do full body weights for 35 minutes 3 times per week and cardio for 45-60 min two times a week...I noticed that when I went over one day my weight did not move so I am thinking that is the culprit..but who knows with less than 15 lbs left to lose and the weight training I have been doing!

    Try a day or two where you go over your calories......then back to your eating plan.
    See what happens.
    So for a 5 week period on a calorie restricted plan, you may need to do a "refeed" for a couple days.
  • HeyGoRun
    HeyGoRun Posts: 550 Member
    Me after a month of up and stuck!
    Before 1200-1500 now 1400-1800<<working!
  • erulasse
    erulasse Posts: 141 Member
    Trust me, that's not stuck...

    I was 'stuck' for 3 MONTHS, even put my calories down further (1,000 calories) hoping for some loss, but nothing happened.

    As soon as I went back up to 1,700... It started falling off again almost instantly!
    I know there's a biological reason behind it, but I don't understand, nor do I care... All I know is that 'cheating' will not help you here; eat enough calories, be patient and you'll do just fine :bigsmile:
  • I have read that if you eat more frequently you will lose. Not more food but smaller meals and snacks
  • Greenrun99
    Greenrun99 Posts: 2,065 Member
    I did.. I was VLCD for a long time.. started eating more and started losing.
  • MityMax96
    MityMax96 Posts: 5,778 Member
    Trust me, that's not stuck...

    I was 'stuck' for 3 MONTHS, even put my calories down further (1,000 calories) hoping for some loss, but nothing happened.

    As soon as I went back up to 1,700... It started falling off again almost instantly!
    I know there's a biological reason behind it, but I don't understand, nor do I care... All I know is that 'cheating' will not help you here; eat enough calories, be patient and you'll do just fine :bigsmile:

    hormones. :wink:

    Do some reading on leptin.