Increasing Calories for Christmas?
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I'm actually planning to do pretty much what you mentioned, with slight modifications.
I'm on 1210 calories at the moment, I will reach/beat my goal weight by December 21st.
The week starting December 7, I will increase to around 1500 calories.
The week starting December 14, I will increase to around 1800 calories.
Finally, the week starting December 21st, I will increase to maintenance, which will be approximately 2100 calories.
I think that increasing gradually will help the transition back to maintenance.
See I'd only be mantaining for a few days cause I havnt hit my goal yet, then I'd be going back to 1210, do you think I should still graduate it or I'll be fine?
You'll still be fine provided you understand the water weight. The scale will go up, but that's okay. You won't accumulate more fat unless you go over maintenance. You can eat a month at maintenance, one day, gradually build up to it, or just jump right in. Doesn't matter.
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__freckles__ wrote: »Also, I just want to throw it out there, but you can certainly eat more than 1210 calories to lose weight. Again, just throwing it out there, it's up to you. I'd rather eat as much as possible and still lose weight when cutting, but that's just me.
Well mfp said in order to lose 2lbs a week to have 1210. I know I can eat more but I wouldn't lose as much and at the moment since my BMI isn't in the healthy range I'd like to be losing 2 lbs a week.0 -
I'm actually planning to do pretty much what you mentioned, with slight modifications.
I'm on 1210 calories at the moment, I will reach/beat my goal weight by December 21st.
The week starting December 7, I will increase to around 1500 calories.
The week starting December 14, I will increase to around 1800 calories.
Finally, the week starting December 21st, I will increase to maintenance, which will be approximately 2100 calories.
I think that increasing gradually will help the transition back to maintenance.
See I'd only be mantaining for a few days cause I havnt hit my goal yet, then I'd be going back to 1210, do you think I should still graduate it or I'll be fine?
You'll still be fine provided you understand the water weight. The scale will go up, but that's okay. You won't accumulate more fat unless you go over maintenance. You can eat a month at maintenance, one day, gradually build up to it, or just jump right in. Doesn't matter.
Ok thanks, I think I'll just be jumping right in!0 -
__freckles__ wrote: »Also, I just want to throw it out there, but you can certainly eat more than 1210 calories to lose weight. Again, just throwing it out there, it's up to you. I'd rather eat as much as possible and still lose weight when cutting, but that's just me.
Well mfp said in order to lose 2lbs a week to have 1210. I know I can eat more but I wouldn't lose as much and at the moment since my BMI isn't in the healthy range I'd like to be losing 2 lbs a week.
Fair enough. Good luck OP. I think eating at maintenance for Christmas is a great idea.
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I'm eating whatever I like Christmas Day, but it will be business as usual every other day0
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__freckles__ wrote: »Also, I just want to throw it out there, but you can certainly eat more than 1210 calories to lose weight. Again, just throwing it out there, it's up to you. I'd rather eat as much as possible and still lose weight when cutting, but that's just me.
Well mfp said in order to lose 2lbs a week to have 1210. I know I can eat more but I wouldn't lose as much and at the moment since my BMI isn't in the healthy range I'd like to be losing 2 lbs a week.
Just because I see this type of thing ("MFP says to lose 2 lbs/week I have to eat XXX") posted a LOT, I figured I would leave this here:
If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal
If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal
Your profile says you originally had ~40lbs to lose and you've already lost some, so I'd say you're due to switch to losing 1 lb/week -- good news is, you get to up your calories and still lose at a fairly steady (and yet completely sustainable!) rate.
Check out these links, if you're interested (if not, I'll leave them here for someone else):
A Guide to Get You Started on Your Path to Sexypants
So You're New Here...0 -
I'm an advocate of a cheat meal, not day. In my experience, if I am diligent in logging and exercising I can go on a weekend vacation or have a holiday celebration and not worry at all about what I'm eating. Sure I might put on 1-4 pounds in a weekend....but as long as I get right back to being diligent those pounds fall off like nothing in a week or two max.
Best of luck! Remember you are only human. If you want to splurge a little, do it and don't feel guilty. If you want to stick with your logging, do it and be proud of yourself.0 -
For the holidays i'd boost the calories up a bit but since my mom is now diabetic we don't bother baking or buying as much stuff.0
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ActuarialChef wrote: »Just because I see this type of thing ("MFP says to lose 2 lbs/week I have to eat XXX") posted a LOT, I figured I would leave this here:
If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal
If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal
I think this is a good guide in general, though adjusted a bit upwards or downwards based on the person's height and GW. So, a very large person trying to lose 40 pounds could be eating more (and thus targeting a faster weight loss) than a smaller person trying to do the same. Since the calorie deficit would end up being a bigger percentage of total calories for a smaller person.
I started off with a 40lb target loss at a 0.8lb/week (400 calorie/day) deficit -- which was already TDEE-20% so going lower would've made no sense for me.
Now I have about 32lbs to lose, and I'll probably drop that to 0.7 or even 0.6/week soon.0 -
ActuarialChef wrote: »Just because I see this type of thing ("MFP says to lose 2 lbs/week I have to eat XXX") posted a LOT, I figured I would leave this here:
If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal
If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal
I think this is a good guide in general, though adjusted a bit upwards or downwards based on the person's height and GW. So, a very large person trying to lose 40 pounds could be eating more (and thus targeting a faster weight loss) than a smaller person trying to do the same. Since the calorie deficit would end up being a bigger percentage of total calories for a smaller person.
I started off with a 40lb target loss at a 0.8lb/week (400 calorie/day) deficit -- which was already TDEE-20% so going lower would've made no sense for me.
Now I have about 32lbs to lose, and I'll probably drop that to 0.7 or even 0.6/week soon.
Agreed. I stole it from someone else -- I'm not sure where the original person got it from, but I see it everywhere so I figured I would add it to this thread haha.0 -
Last Thanksgiving, I took a 10 day vacation and went home to Massachusetts. This is not a trip we make often and there is very little good Italian food in the south, so I ENJOYED food during my trip! However, instead of pigging out, I ate normal (which were small to me) portions of food. I felt like I ate a ton of food, but I gained no weight during that 10 days. Needless to say, I was thrilled!0
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Sounds very health to me!0
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Oh, and back to the original topic: Luckily, my big holidays for the year are over and done with -- Rosh Hashanah (Jewish High Holidays), followed almost immediately by (Canadian) Thanksgiving. I indulged so much during those holidays that the subsequent weight gain was what drove me to start back up at MFP and embark on a serious weight loss plan in the first place.
So, take it from me: Don't do it. It's not worth it.
You can still enjoy the holidays. Eat everything. Just less of it. And hit the gym the next day.
(The good news is, Christmas is a non-issue for me... and hopefully by the time Passover rolls around in the spring, I'll have this food control thing down to a science.)0 -
Your calorie goal now seems awfully low. If you jump straight to 2100 from 1210, I suspect you will have some water retention.Hey there.
So I'm going to up my calories for over christmas(starting maybe the 20th December). Ill be switching from losing to mantaining then back again afterwards.
First off, is this a good idea/healthy?
Also, should I slowly increase like start a few weeks before and increase or does it matter?
My calorie intake now is 1210 and will be 2100.(both according to mfp)
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In order not to gain, you must be meticulous with your portions and logging, as well as exercise estimates if you eat your calories back, because there really is no margin of error. I think it's exciting that you are planning ahead for the holidays.
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Thanks for all the responses guys!0
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I too am afraid of the holidays and what it will bring. I enjoy the homemade goodies but realize that is what got me where I am now. I will have to remain in control and 'accountable' for myself. hope I have the willpower to do it.0
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sandymayhew2014 wrote: »I too am afraid of the holidays and what it will bring. I enjoy the homemade goodies but realize that is what got me where I am now. I will have to remain in control and 'accountable' for myself. hope I have the willpower to do it.
If I may be frank...
Homemade goodies, etc. did not get to you where you are now (assuming "where you are" is "overweight" (by any amount)). Eating more than your body requires is what caused you to gain weight. I eat goodies (both homemade and store bought) and am still losing weight because I work those things into my daily calorie allowance.
Enjoy the holidays, enjoy the family/company, and enjoy less of the food than you used to, and you won't have to worry about derailing your efforts because of a holiday.
Remember that holidays will exist forever, even if you're not dieting. You need to learn how to effectively manage them now, so that when you've reached goal weight you don't over-indulge and slide back into your old ways.0 -
I'm probably going to lower my deficit around Christmas too, from 750 calories to 500. I'll be right around 40 pounds to go at that point anyway, so if it wasn't then I'd be doing it right after the New Year.0
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I'm probably going to lower my deficit around Christmas too, from 750 calories to 500. I'll be right around 40 pounds to go at that point anyway, so if it wasn't then I'd be doing it right after the New Year.
Yeah but be careful: When you reduce your calorie deficit, you have to reduce it *from* a lower number. Because you now weigh less than you used to (congrats!), your body burns fewer calories simply by existing every day. So your starting point is lower.
It's a good rule of thumb to recalculate TDEE and target calories every 10lbs or so.0
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