2 months of weight loss, afraid to eat normal again!

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jmhoward24
jmhoward24 Posts: 2 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I lost 20 lbs in about 2 1/2 months by being lightly active and eating about 1500 calories a day. I am a man, 6ft 180 lbs...I started off at 200 lbs and wasn't real sure how many calories that I ate previously but it must have been A LOT! My maintenance calories are listed at 2280 but I'm paranoid that eating about 1000 more calories a day is going to cause my body to store it as fat. Any suggestions?

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  • jen31889
    jen31889 Posts: 121
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    I am wondering about this too for when I start trying to maintain my weight.
  • Nailrep
    Nailrep Posts: 966 Member
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    Increase your intake by 200 calories a day for two weeks at a time. Check your weight weekly. When you stop losing and see your weight stay consistant, try to stay close to that daily intake. This is a slow process. But your body needs to slowly get used to the increased intake. JMO, but I think it will work for you!
  • yojibalinese
    yojibalinese Posts: 38
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    Just be careful. You're at the line of starvation mode for men there on your calorie count. You'll likely hit a wall and gain weight if you don't eat a little more than that. When you do eat a little more, you'll probably notice that you're gaining a bit of weight, but it will go back down again when your body realizes it's not starving and goes back to burning fat.
  • cookiegeorge
    cookiegeorge Posts: 17
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    Good question! I was just thinking this also. I still have about 50 pounds left to lose, but I'm thinking ahead of when I've finally made it.
  • Shaye85
    Shaye85 Posts: 107
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    eat the calories they recomend, but get it from healthy sources...and watch your sodium...dont fall back into old habits or it will come back just as fast!
  • mjf0461
    mjf0461 Posts: 470 Member
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    Increase your calorie intake 2-500 calories for a couple of weeks and see if you maintain,lose, or gain weight. If you continue to lose then increase again a couple hundred. keep doing this till you hit the numbers of maintaining.. good luck
  • bmj1985
    bmj1985 Posts: 32
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    I'm not to the maintenance point but maybe you could slowly add back those calories. Maybe try adding 200 calories back per week and weighing yourself to make sure you're staying the same weight. After a few weeks you'll be at your maintenance calorie intake and also have a better idea of if it will really help you keep the same weight. Just an idea, it's probably something you just have to play around with and figure out what works best for you. :smile:
  • LaurenRoseMD
    LaurenRoseMD Posts: 39
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    I suggest you schedule an appointment with your doctor to go over weight maintenance. Your doctor will be better able to tell you your maintenance than MFP. ;)
  • LaurenRoseMD
    LaurenRoseMD Posts: 39
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    Just be careful. You're at the line of starvation mode for men there on your calorie count. You'll likely hit a wall and gain weight if you don't eat a little more than that. When you do eat a little more, you'll probably notice that you're gaining a bit of weight, but it will go back down again when your body realizes it's not starving and goes back to burning fat.

    1. There is no set "starvation mode" for men or for women. The starvation threshold is essentially eating less than 35% of your metabolic need. He has been eating 1,500 calories per day or approximately 65% of his metabolic need. So, he's not even close to starvation.
    2. You should probably refrain from giving any form of advice in the future. Why? See #3.
    3. This kind of advice can not only be damaging to the person at whom you're directing it, but can also be damaging to other people who may read it in a forum setting.
  • jmhoward24
    jmhoward24 Posts: 2 Member
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    The crazy thing is, I don't even feel hungry at 1500 calories. I still eat a good amount of food, it's just not loaded with calories. For breakfast I'll have cereal and a cup of coffee, for lunch I'll have a sandwich, apple, and some almonds..then for supper I'll have a bigger meal such as grilled chicken and 2-3 servings of vegetables. Then I'll eat some 100 calorie snacks throughout the day. I've never cared about being "big" or having a lotta muscle so I'm not about gaining muscle mass. I just want to have normal blood pressure, pulse, and cholesterol. I guess what I'm worried about is the times that I do slip up and go out with some friends and chow down on a 1,500 calorie entree! Ah...this healthy eating is taxing! ;) I'll try slowly increasing my calorie intake a little, def don't want starvation mode creeping up on me.

    **EDIT**

    Just read the above post, now ya see how this can be confusing! ha. There's so much contradicting information out there right now.
  • LaurenRoseMD
    LaurenRoseMD Posts: 39
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    The crazy thing is, I don't even feel hungry at 1500 calories. I still eat a good amount of food, it's just not loaded with calories. For breakfast I'll have cereal and a cup of coffee, for lunch I'll have a sandwich, apple, and some almonds..then for supper I'll have a bigger meal such as grilled chicken and 2-3 servings of vegetables. Then I'll eat some 100 calorie snacks throughout the day. I've never cared about being "big" or having a lotta muscle so I'm not about gaining muscle mass. I just want to have normal blood pressure, pulse, and cholesterol. I guess what I'm worried about is the times that I do slip up and go out with some friends and chow down on a 1,500 calorie entree! Ah...this healthy eating is taxing! ;) I'll try slowly increasing my calorie intake a little, def don't want starvation mode creeping up on me.

    **EDIT**

    Just read the above post, now ya see how this can be confusing! ha. There's so much contradicting information out there right now.

    There is only contradicting information because there are varying levels of knowledge being displayed here. Some apparently know nothing about nutrition while others seem to have a better grasp of it. The best advice is to talk with your doctor. Always, talk to your doctor before making a dramatic change to your diet even if it's just switching to maintenance from loss. Your doctor will probably want to do a CBC (complete blood count) before recommending your maintenance diet levels. This is the healthiest way to go about it.

    Good luck.
  • snookemz
    snookemz Posts: 82
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    you definately don't want to just jump to that calorie level, and just like losing weight there is no magic number to maintain. Your doctor may or may not be well versed in nutrition, but s/he should be able to point you to someone who is. Maybe you can get a referral to a nutritionist for a game plan on your next steps. Also, its harder to find healthy calories to add in than it is to figure out low calorie meals to lose weight in my experience. You may have a hard time adding calories in now that you're so used to the 1500 calorie level. You might find it easier to do small things like add an extra snack - Cliff bars are fantastic and high protien at 200-300 calories a bar or adding avocado to a sandwich for healthy fat (tupperwear makes a great container to keep cut avocados fresh). The slow increase every week approach is usually prefered. You'll find your ideal calorie range in time. Maintaining is the hardest part of the process so getting advice from an expert could be the best move you make :)

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