How many calories is too many? Or too few?

airstream267
airstream267 Posts: 2
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi all: i would love some input on this. i just returned from a trip home for the holidays, 10 days, where i fell off the wagon pretty solidly, ate heartily and didn't really exercise, and also didn't log for 6 days or so. I expected to have gained at least a pound or three. But no, i lost one!!! How??!

I understand starvation mode and so forth but i in no way starve myself, as far as i know. I get plenty of exercise usually (hiking/biking) and eat back at least 2/3 of the calories burned if not all. I am 5'4" and have lost 20 so far (currently 128) with 8 more to go. I am eating 1200 per day plus those burned as i said. I have a clean diet of whole foods, mostly fruit, veggies and meat, but I think about food constantly, and crave sugar mightily. Should i be eating more? I saw where some folks lost more when eating more! Boy i love to eat. I would love yalls thoughts.

Replies

  • kgeyser
    kgeyser Posts: 22,505 Member
    This is from another thread on this forum basically asking the same question as to why eating more caused weight loss. Sometimes an increase in calories causes water weight to be released. Hope it helps explain what happened.

    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/of-whooshes-and-squishy-fat.html

    Hat tip to ILiftHeavyAcrylics for the link.
  • Phaedra2014
    Phaedra2014 Posts: 1,254 Member
    When I don't work out for a few days I drop weight. I think it is water weight. When I work out intensely for a few days (all other things being equal) I put on a pound or two, which again is water weight.

    The same may have happened to you.
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,329 Member
    it helps to know what your maintenance is and to go from that online calculators are just estimates.


    also the link from body recomposition isnt really about saying the subjects were eating too little to begin with. the article discusses how carb refeeds affect insulin and leptin which in turn leads to whooshes. if you got that subjects should have always been eating at the higher amount to lose weight then i'm sorry but you misunderstood the point.
  • airstream267
    airstream267 Posts: 2
    The "squishy fat" article made me laugh and i could relate to it.

    After i re-read my initial post i realized i wasn't entirely accurate; some days are hamburger and pizza days where i couldn't pry myself off off the couch with a skinny stick; generally even on once-every-two-weeks or so cheat days i don't go over about 1800 or so.

    And as far as calorie intake, does anyone have thoughts on my levels, or have their own numbers to share?

    Thank you!!
  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
    How many calories is too many? Depends on what your goals are. If it is to lose weight, then anything over TDEE is too many.

    Too few? Anything below BMR is too few in my book. Actually I prefer to be at least a couple hundred cals over BMR for a minimum.

    Figure those two numbers out and you've got it made. Go for a 10-20% cut from TDEE (depending on how much you have to lose), and aim for goal every day. And if on some days you go over goal, as long as you're at TDEE, you won't gain.

    Best move I ever made was switching to this method. No more stress or anxiousness about going over, or worrying about an upcoming party or the holidays. Love it! :bigsmile:

    Great info here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/974888-in-place-of-a-road-map-2k13
  • str160
    str160 Posts: 8 Member
    What do you do for normal daily job/activities? How much extra walking and other stuff did you do on holiday? That will add to the effect of losing some weight. May be a small amount, but you probably boosted your metabolism a bit and everything inside worked a little better...
  • daybehavior
    daybehavior Posts: 1,319 Member
    This is from another thread on this forum basically asking the same question as to why eating more caused weight loss. Sometimes an increase in calories causes water weight to be released. Hope it helps explain what happened.

    Wow thanks. I've been on this forum for over three years now and this is seriously the first time I've seen anyone explain WHY eating more can cause you lose weight. They just say, "youre not eating enough, TDEE - 20% blah blah blah".

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