Upping my calories

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gracebridges90
gracebridges90 Posts: 39 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hello all, so I wanted to discuss the topic of calories. so I've been at this for 2 months and truthfully, I've flutuated 5 pounds and as far as inches haven't lost any at all. My calorie intake was 1300 and I actually would leave like 100-130 calories because I was afraid to eat. I've been exercising (cardio & strength) 3 times a week now on top of it. I'm considering moving my calorie intake up to 1500. when talking to other people I've heard I should eat more calories even though this seems so counterproductive. Any one else up their calories and had success losing??

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  • Serah87
    Serah87 Posts: 5,481 Member
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    44 yrs old, 5'2 and eat between 1800-2100 calories.

    Read this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
  • R3dVamp
    R3dVamp Posts: 18
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    Yes, I have just started this week and am having some interesting results. Previously i was eating 1500 calories going to the gym 2 times a week and rollerblading for 3 hours once a week. I re did my calculations and discovered that in order to support my lifestyle i needed to be eating 2400, this is maintenance level so when i exercise i dont eat the calories back. I have only been doing this for 5 days and on the first three days i gained 3kg, but wasnt really concerned as I expected to gain, i mean you cant add in and extra 1000 calories and not expect to gain. I have been weighing myself every few days to check progress and at last weigh in yesterday i had dropped 2 kg again. Add me if you like, and you can follow my progress as this is definatly having an interesting effect on my body. I dont have my usual cravings for chocolate as i am just too full to eat anymore.
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
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    Read this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
    ^^^This.

    Weight loss takes a whole lot of trial & error to find what works for you. Eat 1,500 calories for two weeks, then reevaluate.

    Your goal should always be to find the maximum number of calories at which you lose weight, not the minimum.
  • brianpperkins
    brianpperkins Posts: 6,124 Member
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    OP ...

    Looking at some of your earlier posts, I see some issues. The way MFP is constructed, members use their Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT) calories as the basis ... not BMR. If your weight loss goal is one pound per week, your net caloric goal should be NEAT - 500 per day ... or NEAT - 3500 per week if you want to look at it that way.

    As the NE in NEAT indicate ... those calories do not include exercise so the plan is based around eating back actual exercise caloric burn (a number that is often overestimated). The goal is to hit that net caloric goal ... not routinely come up short before factoring in exercise. Recalculate your numbers based on NEAT ... measure what you eat ... accurately assess your exercise ... log it all ....
  • gracebridges90
    gracebridges90 Posts: 39 Member
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    wait so how would I find this number?
  • brianpperkins
    brianpperkins Posts: 6,124 Member
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    wait so how would I find this number?

    NEAT for sedentary is about BMR x 1.2 ....

    https://www.acefitness.org/certifiednewsarticle/2882/resting-metabolic-rate-best-ways-to-measure-it-and/
    http://www.shapefit.com/exercise/burn-calories-neat.html
    http://www.muscleandstrength.com/articles/determine-daily-calorie-macronutrient-intake



    or you could calculate your TDEE which includes exercise averaged across the week ... as in Scooby's caclulator with TDEE -20% as a popular formula used on MFP

    http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/
  • gracebridges90
    gracebridges90 Posts: 39 Member
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    Thanks!! and so I get this right with mfp, it has it set up to where the calorie deficiency is already set up so I should be eating all if not coming very close to my calories without exercising instead of leaving like 100-200 then exercising and leaving more of a deficiency. Does that make sense? and could that be why I'm not losing?
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,725 Member
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    Thanks!! and so I get this right with mfp, it has it set up to where the calorie deficiency is already set up so I should be eating all if not coming very close to my calories without exercising instead of leaving like 100-200 then exercising and leaving more of a deficiency. Does that make sense? and could that be why I'm not losing?

    It could be. You could also be eating more than you think. Make sure you read the link that was posted

    How do you determine your total food intake? Are you weighing all your food and logging everything - food, drinks, restaurant food, fruits & vegetables, sauces and condiments etc that you consume?
  • gracebridges90
    gracebridges90 Posts: 39 Member
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    Yes I am now. I just bought a food scale so I could accurately measure my food. I'm giving that some time to make sure because I'm not sure how many times I might have underestimate how much I ate. Even down to condiments I make sure to measure out and coffee creamer, etc.
  • jilliangetsit
    jilliangetsit Posts: 97 Member
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    YES! It does sound counterproductive but/especially if you are exercising - YOU NEED MORE CALORIES lol I had lost about 12 lb on the 1200 cal limit that MFP gave me (fine and dandy) but I ended up exhausting myself because I wasn't providing myself with enough nutrition(energy) to sustain my daily routine let alone exercise on top of that. The weight came off, sure - slowly. Then all I wanted to do was ...well, nothing...and eat and it came right back. This go around I've increase my intake to 1400 (+/- 200 cal on a day to day basis depending on exercise and intensity) and literally 20 lb have fallen off of me in the last two months. I am 5'9" tall and went from 193.2 to 172.0 in two months. I'm sure WHAT I'm eating that makes up my daily 1400 calories has everything to do with how well this is working - (mostly clean/unprocessed foods and that is ON a Budget :) it can be done) but I don't feel hungry/deprived of food - I'm well rested every day and I'm losing weight. EAT to LOSE is real!! haha
    Feel free to add me if you'd like to peek my diary etc. Cheers and best of luch to you!
  • gracebridges90
    gracebridges90 Posts: 39 Member
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    Thank you Jillian! Only thing is I'm so scared to eat!! I'm always leaving calories at the end of the day netting like 1200. I guess I need to try it since what doing is not working
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
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    I'm so scared to eat!! I'm always leaving calories at the end of the day netting like 1200. I guess I need to try it since what I'm doing is not working.
    Weight loss takes a whole lot of trial & error to find what works for you. Try it for two weeks, then reevaluate.

    Your goal should always be to find the maximum number of calories at which you lose weight, not the minimum. Food = fuel.

    Edited to add read the Sexypants link: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

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