Calorie Intake?

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aprilflowers15
aprilflowers15 Posts: 10
in Food and Nutrition
Hi there, I am having a hard time understanding how many calories to eat. For about a year I ate 1000 calories a day, worked out 5 days a week, started doing bootcamp, stopped getting my period and then started to gain weight.

So I sought out a dietitian. She was horrified at my low calories, lectured me on BMR and TDEE and that I was putting my body in starvation mode. So I gradually upped my calories to 1300, lost about 2lbs but never lost another ounce in the last 4 months.

So I went back to her, she said it's STILL not enough. My BMR is apparently 2100. Knowing my anxieties, she suggested I start with netting 1500 calories.

I did, but then I stepped on the scale this week and saw that I gained MORE weight.

I am beyond frustrated. Everything I read, all the advice of professionals, suggests I need to net at a minimum of 1500 calories (most suggest I should eat around 1800 with how active I am) Yet, when I eat more, I gain weight.

My hormones, thyroid have all been checked and all came back normal.

Anyone else experience this?
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Replies

  • IsaackGMOON
    IsaackGMOON Posts: 3,358 Member
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    http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

    -500 from your TDEE, eat at that number. You'll lose 1lb a week.

    Eat your exercise calories back.
  • Navtendon
    Navtendon Posts: 168
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    I would focus on what foods you are eating. Not how much. Don't focus on calories in calories out. Private message me if you want good concise reading material.
  • aprilflowers15
    aprilflowers15 Posts: 10
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    Upping my calories to netting 1400-1500 made me gain weight. According to this website, I need to eat more! Won't that make me gain more???
  • aprilflowers15
    aprilflowers15 Posts: 10
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    I eat super healthy. I mostly eat clean. Fruits, Veggies, whole grains, lean proteins like fish and turkey.
  • IsaackGMOON
    IsaackGMOON Posts: 3,358 Member
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    Doesn't matter if you eat clean, calories in calories out.

    I could lose weight eating McDonalds if I was a in a deficit... maybe you should see a nutritionist if nothing is working?
  • aprilflowers15
    aprilflowers15 Posts: 10
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    I am seeing a dietitian. She's the one that wants me to start netting 1500 calories, even though she wants me to net more. This made me gain weight, hence my post.
  • IsaackGMOON
    IsaackGMOON Posts: 3,358 Member
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    Right, eat at 1500 for a week... eat back your exercise and see what happens. Can I just ask, how much do you weigh and how tall are you?
  • eganita
    eganita Posts: 501 Member
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    Perhaps you just need to give it some time for your body to adjust? I'd try the 1500 for a few weeks to see what happens.

    I'm 5'3"/130 lbs/29 years old and generally eat 1900 (also quite active)... as long as I am consistent with that number (or even a little over on the weekends, within reason), I lose weight. I am really happy using the TDEE calculation.
  • Navtendon
    Navtendon Posts: 168
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    Doesn't matter if you eat clean, calories in calories out.

    I could lose weight eating McDonalds if I was a in a deficit... maybe you should see a nutritionist if nothing is working?

    I respectfully disagree with this^

    But I don't think you stated totally incorrect facts:

    Can you gain weight if you "eat clean" but load up on fruits and nuts simultaneously? Absolutely. The carbs, however clean they may be, must be low if the fat is high to keep insulin low if significant weight loss is desired. Or, keep fat low with high levels of low glycemic carbs - this is less preferred b/c of higher inflammatory effects of insulin. Basically, a hunter gatherer diet was usually the former.

    Can you eat "dirty" and lose weight? Absolutely. You see these people all the time. I also see them all the time in the health care world when things spiral out of control. Depends on several metabolic factors, including genetics.

    The real questions are: Does weight loss mirror health? Does fitness even mirror health? Not exactly.

    There are many methods of weight loss and even fitness, but only a few of these actually take health into account. There is a reason that even you calories-in calories-out crowd use the terms "clean" and "dirty". You all know the implications whether consciously or subconsciously.
  • Peppah7
    Peppah7 Posts: 64 Member
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    I'm so with you... Cannot find my "sweet spot". Right now I am eating net 1250 & losing maybe 1 pound per month when the calculations say it should be 1 pound per week. Scared to up it & scared to reduce it, lol... Good luck, I am interested in your responses here. Feel free to friend me. :happy:
  • indianwin2001
    indianwin2001 Posts: 296 Member
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    http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

    -500 from your TDEE, eat at that number. You'll lose 1lb a week.

    Eat your exercise calories back.

    I agree this will work-It is foolproof
  • deansdad101
    deansdad101 Posts: 644 Member
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    Hi there, I am having a hard time understanding how many calories to eat. For about a year I ate 1000 calories a day, worked out 5 days a week, started doing bootcamp, stopped getting my period and then started to gain weight.

    So I sought out a dietitian. She was horrified at my low calories, lectured me on BMR and TDEE and that I was putting my body in starvation mode. So I gradually upped my calories to 1300, lost about 2lbs but never lost another ounce in the last 4 months.

    So I went back to her, she said it's STILL not enough. My BMR is apparently 2100. Knowing my anxieties, she suggested I start with netting 1500 calories.

    I did, but then I stepped on the scale this week and saw that I gained MORE weight.

    I am beyond frustrated. Everything I read, all the advice of professionals, suggests I need to net at a minimum of 1500 calories (most suggest I should eat around 1800 with how active I am) Yet, when I eat more, I gain weight.

    My hormones, thyroid have all been checked and all came back normal.

    Anyone else experience this?
    April;

    All those "medical professionals" have, for over 40 years now, parroted the low fat / high carb mantra in spite of what is now overwhelming evidence that it's simply WRONG.

    "Anyone else experience this?" - you bet, thousands have!
    Some recognize that the company line advice (check with your doc / dietitian) is much like beating your head against a wall - feels SO good when you STOP.

    Others don their Scarlett O'Hara mask, bury their heads in the sand and refuse to consider anything which challenges (based on the science) what they "know" (most of which is based not on actual research but what others have told them or they "heard".

    If "- 500 from your TDEE...." and the ever present "a cal is a cal..." dogma really was that simple wouldn't EVERYBODY find weight loss a simple process and we'd ALL be slim, trim, and beautiful?

    Couldn't agree more with the previous poster who said that it's about WHAT you eat - NOT how many cals (Yes, cals do "matter" but macros matter MORE - both for weight loss and even more importantly, long term well being.

    A quick look at your diary leads me to think that you've tried to incorporate many of the things you've "heard" are healthy and will promote weight loss. (An apple a day / low fat / etc). Unlike others who will be quick to challenge your "willpower", ability to accurately track calorie intake, or motivation, I'd suggest that you should try to focus on ONE specific "plan" and see how that works for you. Give it a fair chance (at least a few months) and then decide.

    You already know what hasn't been working and that the "dietitian" hasn't a clue.

    Do your own research and learn WHY something other than the "company line" might just be what is best for you.

    My suggestion would be to start here, you'll find a wealth of information, links to actual "science", and an open minded group of individuals willing and able to point you in the right direction without judgement - IF you decide it's a path you'd like to pursue.

    You will need to copy/paste the link since MFP is sort of funky about what they allow to link.
    http://tinyurl.com/kqluv2o

    Best of luck finding what will work for YOU.
  • Sandigesha
    Sandigesha Posts: 226 Member
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    When calories are too low, you need to gain some muscle mass. Do some basic program, like 5x5, even if its 3 exercises a session. Start at whatever online calculator (not MFP calculator which is RETARDED ) tell you to lose a pound a week, eat that for 3 weeks weighting in every week. After 3 weeks see how the weight has changed, and adjust your calories in accordance to that (like, if you gained 0.5 kg in 3 weeks, drop 300-500 cals a day, and see where you get in another 2 weeks, but dont change it too much, no more than 500 at the time - you very well may be gaining weight for 2 weeks and then start losing on the same calories) until you find that sweet spot t which you will lose a kilo in 2 weeks (pound a week) Hope this is clear.
  • emilyGPK
    emilyGPK Posts: 83 Member
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    Regardless of what some expert might say, if you are not losing weight after several months on however many calories you are eating and these are being accurately logged, you will need to drop that number a bit to start losing again. Nothing in a textbook trumps what your body is actually doing.
  • indianwin2001
    indianwin2001 Posts: 296 Member
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    [/quote]
    April;



    If "- 500 from your TDEE...." and the ever present "a cal is a cal..." dogma really was that simple wouldn't EVERYBODY find weight loss a simple process and we'd ALL be slim, trim, and beautiful?

    [/quote]

    They all would be slim,trim,and beautiful if they ate -500 from TDEE but people don't do this or have any clue TDEE exists
  • NickDoesFitness
    NickDoesFitness Posts: 112 Member
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    After eating so few calories for such a long time, you might need to reset your metabolism, as your body is so used to functioning at such a level. Try looking into it, see how it works out for you.

    Or sometimes, when I hit a plateau, I go crazy at an all you can eat, mcdonalds, burger king, the works for a full week straight! I'll put on maybe 2 lbs, but then my body will kick start back into losing weight again. Or you could try carb cycling, I've heard positive things from it, or maybe try keto dieting for awhile?
  • Fit_in_Folsom
    Fit_in_Folsom Posts: 220 Member
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    Use the IIFMM calculator that Issac gave you. Right on the money. Eat enough and keep up with the healthy foods. Get in exercise 4x a week and don't eat your cals back since you are using the outside calculator. Watch your macros and your cals and get enough. I have been using this and it does work!
  • indianwin2001
    indianwin2001 Posts: 296 Member
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    Use the IIFMM calculator that Issac gave you. Right on the money. Eat enough and keep up with the healthy foods. Get in exercise 4x a week and don't eat your cals back since you are using the outside calculator. Watch your macros and your cals and get enough. I have been using this and it does work!

    ^^This
  • deansdad101
    deansdad101 Posts: 644 Member
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    Use the IIFMM calculator that Issac gave you. Right on the money. Eat enough and keep up with the healthy foods. Get in exercise 4x a week and don't eat your cals back since you are using the outside calculator. Watch your macros and your cals and get enough. I have been using this and it does work!
    FiF;

    Sorry but NO calculator is "right on the money" (Not saying that it wasn't for you - assume it was but that doesn't mean it is for everyone).

    Which IIFMM calculator?
    Just ran my numbers through it for kicks.
    Mifflin = 1569/1883
    Harris = 1603/1924
    Katch = 1691/2029

    So which one is "right on the money"?

    The "best" of them are + or - 14% off. So 2029 MIGHT be 2313 or it MIGHT be 1745 - which is it?

    It would be wonderful if all these "guesstimates" were 100% accurate and all answers could be as simple as CICO and could be provided in 140 character twits but it's just not that simple.

    http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/40/1/168.short
  • Fit_in_Folsom
    Fit_in_Folsom Posts: 220 Member
    Options
    Use the IIFMM calculator that Issac gave you. Right on the money. Eat enough and keep up with the healthy foods. Get in exercise 4x a week and don't eat your cals back since you are using the outside calculator. Watch your macros and your cals and get enough. I have been using this and it does work!
    FiF;

    Sorry but NO calculator is "right on the money" (Not saying that it wasn't for you - assume it was but that doesn't mean it is for everyone).

    Which IIFMM calculator?
    Just ran my numbers through it for kicks.
    Mifflin = 1569/1883
    Harris = 1603/1924
    Katch = 1691/2029

    So which one is "right on the money"?

    The "best" of them are + or - 14% off. So 2029 MIGHT be 2313 or it MIGHT be 1745 - which is it?

    It would be wonderful if all these "guesstimates" were 100% accurate and all answers could be as simple as CICO and could be provided in 140 character twits but it's just not that simple.

    http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/40/1/168.short

    Deansdad, not going to get in a debate here. There are a number of tools out there to calculate goals. You are right, there will be variance. The OP is looking for some help on the topic of cal goals. My "right on the money" is not talking about accuracy, but that the people encouraging this girl who is looking for help are giving her good advice on looking for a good tool for calorie and macro goals. There is not a magic bullet but many people use IIFYM and do very well.

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