Upping my calories in order to lose weight. Help, please!

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Hello everyone,

I used to weigh 223 pounds, but last summer I lost 25 pounds by eating healthily. I used to yo yo diet before, but I stuck to my healthy eating for that summer. I had a hard time trying to lose again when I went back to college, because my school had an all you can eat buffet and I just couldn't control myself.


Around the end of that year of college, I was feeling SUPER depressed and I needed to go on an anti-depressant. I was afraid of gaining weight so I was prescribed Wellbutrin, which was supposed to be weight-neutral. I had been on Lexapro a couple of days before this, and I don't remember if weight-gain was one of the side effects of it, but I did some research and I found out that many people gained weight on Lexapro. It worked VERY well for me, but I feared gaining weight! It was also pretty expensive....

Anyway, within the first 3 months of taking Wellbutrin, I lost an additional 10 pounds. It completely knocked out my appetite for about a week or two, but after my appetite came back, I was able to stay focused and continue to lose an additional 15 pounds or so. While losing the 15 pounds I was eating 1,350 calories a day, which I now think was way too low for me. I am 5'7.

This is where things got complicated for me. I noticed that my yo yo dieting tendencies came back around the end of December. I was eating poorly and eating too much. Ugh, I've been stuck between 173 pounds and 180 pounds for the past 2.5 months, and I'm binging like CRAZY because my appetite came back with a vengeance, and I'm was always hungry. Now, my hunger is normal, but my cravings are horrible.

So here is my question: My body has been used to consuming about 1,200-1,350 calories a day for a couple of months, minus the binges. I can't eat that little anymore, because I need more food.

-What will happen if I upped my calories to 1,500 a day?MFP said that would be a good amount for me to lose about a pound a week, but I'm scared that my body will get confused and I will gain weight. I'm afraid to eat this much!

-Do you think this will make me gain weight? If I exercise, should I eat more?

-Any tips about how I can get more water in my diet? I really don't drink enough water, and it's terrible...

- I'm a pescatarian that does not eat dairy or butter. I can eat a lot of fruit, but any tips about how to get more vegetables in my diet?

-How can I eat/ lose weight without feeling restricted? I feel like that is what causes my binging, the feeling that I CAN'T eat something really causes me anxiety, and I end up eating it anyway.

Please let me know what you all think, even if you only answer one question, I will be thankful for it.
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Replies

  • myheartsabattleground
    myheartsabattleground Posts: 2,040 Member
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    Up your calories.
  • MB_Positif
    MB_Positif Posts: 8,897 Member
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    Breathe. Just up the calories. The scale may go up a little initially but it will be water weight. Good luck!
  • sugarsugarhownow
    sugarsugarhownow Posts: 2
    edited March 2015
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    :) Thank you both for the quick reply! I going to do it, I guess I just needed to hear someone say it.

    I'm so excited to eat more! :D
  • berz82
    berz82 Posts: 100 Member
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    just up them a little bit and stick to good foods
  • LaurenAOK
    LaurenAOK Posts: 2,475 Member
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    Definitely up your calories! Your BMR (basal metabolic rate) is about 1600-1700 calories with your stats, meaning you would burn that much even if you were in a coma (http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/). Your'e not in a coma, so your body actually burns a lot more than that every day from your daily activities and functions.

    1500 sounds like a good number, and I would also say eat back at least half of your exercise calories. I eat back all of mine, but I know that's not too popular around here since MFP can overestimate the calories you burn.

    You MIGHT see a temporary gain on the scale when you start eating more. Don't let that freak you out, your body is just adjusting. The scale will start moving downwards again soon enough. Your health is more important than a temporary scale gain, and eating more is definitely the healthier option for both your physical and mental health. Good luck!
  • mathandcats
    mathandcats Posts: 786 Member
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    I'm 5'3" and 148lbs now. I started at 212lbs eating 1500 - I don't think it was enough for me. I'm eating 1650/day and still losing at the suggested rate (2-3lbs/month at this point). I'm not that active - about 30 mins of strength or circuit training 5-6 times/week and a bit of walking around campus and such.
  • lindseyrenee8
    lindseyrenee8 Posts: 27 Member
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    How can I eat/ lose weight without feeling restricted? I feel like that is what causes my binging, the feeling that I CAN'T eat something really causes me anxiety, and I end up eating it anyway.

    Is why I am here on MFP because I gained 200lbs. Believing I am supposed to diet and restrict to loose weight, I ended up binging on the food anyway. Since I learned to eat within my limit, I have yet to binge and I'm loosing faster than ever. If you want to eat 1500, eat them. As long as you are eating at a deficit, (which i think you are at 180lbs) you wont gain. If you are still worried, eat 1500 and burn a few hundred calories everyday. Worrying will cause stress and stress causes weight gain.
  • amandastock
    amandastock Posts: 53 Member
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    I am also 5'7" and am eating 1600-1700 a day and losing weight. I was 163 a month or two and now 156. If you only eat 1300 all week but then binge on Saturday it evens out to the same as you would just eat 1700 a day but way less stressful. You could even eat 2000 and then workout and burn 2-300 and still lose.
  • captivatedlife
    captivatedlife Posts: 60 Member
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    Breathe. Eat more. Eat more vegetables (they're low calorie and will fill you up!). Easy ones are greens that cook cook down - raw it looks like a lot but add lemon juice, salt and fresh chopped garlic and saute and you're in heaven! Have a little bowl of icebreaker each day - or whatever your poison is! Mine is ice cream - yum. I put it in a little ramican that holds maybe 1/4 cup and that was my treat every night for the first month.

    Set a water goal. You drink 3 8 oz cups of water a day now? Drink 4 next week. 5 the week after until you reach for goal. Don't like water? Drink it super cold or add flavoring to it. Be mentally healthy as well as food healthy through this!
  • amandastock
    amandastock Posts: 53 Member
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    Actually you're probably binging because your calories are too low and not sustainable. Just try 1700 for a week or two and don't binge. You probably won't even want to binge because your body will be getting more each day that it needs
  • LaurenAOK
    LaurenAOK Posts: 2,475 Member
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    Oh and my tip for water is to get a cool water bottle and keep it with you at ALL times. I used to drink maybe only a cup of water a day and now I drink a gallon a day because I take my bottle to school, work, and everywhere else and just keep sipping from it and refilling it. This is the bottle I have, I love it:
    http://www.amazon.com/Camelbak-Products-Groove-Bottle-0-6-Liter/dp/B00G46CK0M/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1425773103&sr=8-2&keywords=camelbak+groove
  • blossomingbutterfly
    blossomingbutterfly Posts: 743 Member
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    What everyone else has said - up the calories. See. :)
  • maidentl
    maidentl Posts: 3,203 Member
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    -Any tips about how I can get more water in my diet? I really don't drink enough water, and it's terrible...

    Why is it terrible? Do you have dark colored urine, have dehydration issues? If your urine is pale and there's nothing else going on, you don't need to force feed yourself extra water.
  • Ms_LisaKay
    Ms_LisaKay Posts: 103 Member
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    I find that the more I focus on eating protein, the less I have hunger pangs & cravings. When I get into the carby stuff like pasta or cookies (processed carby stuff), I tend to crave/hunger much sooner. I don't eat enough veg to know how those carbs affect me on the full/crave scale, so I can't say if there is a difference for me. Maybe adding some protein while you add cals can help with the cravings. It does for me. Good luck!
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,627 Member
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    i upped mine to 1500 from 1200 and am MUCH happier. and not nearly as hungry and snarly. LOL
  • honkytonks85
    honkytonks85 Posts: 669 Member
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    If you're binging you should consider seeing a counsellor or looking at meditation and mindful eating.

    I'm not 100% convinced that upping your calories will stop your binging. It certainly never has for me.. but I guess try it out and see how you go.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
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    In order to UP your calories and still lose weight, you have to be certain of how much you are eating. This is the only way to ensure you stay at a deficit.

    If you are not losing weight now on 1300 calories, then you eating more than you think you are. This happens by underestimating food intake and overestimating calories burned. In this scenario, you will not lose weight upping your calories to 1500.

    Do you weigh your food and log everything you eat, including calorie beverages, condiments? Do you do your own research to ensure that you are choosing correct entries for your food log?

    Do you log your calories burned via cardio? If so, where do you get those estimates from?

    If you are dong the above and are sure of how many calories you are eating, then you can up your calories and eat more while staying in a deficit and lose weight at a slower rate.

    Good luck! :)
  • mabug01
    mabug01 Posts: 1,273 Member
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    Yes, eat more. Check out the Eat More 2 Weigh Less group here on MFP to figure out how to do this correctly. If you have the budget, get more vegetables by buying snack sized packets and eat vegetables at every meal, including breakfast. Eat the vegetables first, before the remainder of your meal. Most of the issues you are having can be solved with planning ahead of time to make sure you have the foods you need and access to water. Try thinking of this as another class; you'll only need to spend 15 minutes a day doing your "homework" to get yourself prepared for the next day. Best of luck.
  • 999tigger
    999tigger Posts: 5,235 Member
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    So here is my question: My body has been used to consuming about 1,200-1,350 calories a day for a couple of months, minus the binges. I can't eat that little anymore, because I need more food.

    Then dont, eat more. You cannot diet on an amount you cant sustain. You will have to accept 1lb a week weight loss, which is fine.
    -What will happen if I upped my calories to 1,500 a day?MFP said that would be a good amount for me to lose about a pound a week, but I'm scared that my body will get confused and I will gain weight. I'm afraid to eat this much!

    Yes thats fine, im on similar and manage ok. Your body is smarter than you, no need to worry it wont get confused and if you eat at a deficit you will lose over time. 1500 calories is eating at a deficit= you will lose. your reasoning and fears are unfounded.
    -Do you think this will make me gain weight? If I exercise, should I eat more?

    If you are at a deficit, then you will lose over time.

    Exercise is where you are really missing out. Its hard to say with exercise because we dont know what you are doing, the frequency, intensity or duration.

    Some people do fasted cardio, but the benefits imo are too small. If it suits you try it. the idea is that the body has no choice but to burn fat.

    My preference is to make sure ive eaten 1-2hours before so i have some carbs in me to fuel a workout. If its only an hour workout you can avoid that. Just be smart and pick a suitable breakfast or pre workout snack, google has many suggestions and articles. the fastest and one that i still use is simply a banana. If you arent running out of energy then you probably dont need anything. Hydrating is just as important for an effective workout. Hence people carrying round water bottles.
    -Any tips about how I can get more water in my diet? I really don't drink enough water, and it's terrible...

    If you gym it you drink water there, before and after, if you push the exercise then water is a boon and the most refreshing thing. The requirement to be hydrated is 1.6L for a woman and 2l for a man. It is fluid i.e just about all drinks as well as water contained in food. Look at the colour of your urine as a rough guide it should be light straw or lighter.
    - I'm a pescatarian that does not eat dairy or butter. I can eat a lot of fruit, but any tips about how to get more vegetables in my diet?

    Am I missing something here? err just eat more fruit and veg? Soup, boiled veg and big portions, just go for your 5-7 a day. Stews as well.
    -How can I eat/ lose weight without feeling restricted? I feel like that is what causes my binging, the feeling that I CAN'T eat something really causes me anxiety, and I end up eating it anyway.

    Dont restrict yourself then, its bonkers and you know the result is binging or quitting. Plan your meals so you get enough nutrition and select food that also fills you up. fruit and veg is good, but you should also consider fibre 20/24+ grams and make sure your protein is c50g+. If you are exercising then you will need more. you should also do mixed cardio and resistance training.

    Your aim is to eat at the deficit, so of you arent restricting then your choices are:

    1. Moderate the amount you eat.
    2. Find an alternative that gives you most of the benefits.
    3. exercise and burn more calories so you cna eat more food.

    Weigh your food using scales and log it all.
    be wary of how you calculate exercise burns and for the moment eat a max of 50% back.
    I get the alarm bells that you are suffering from eating more than you think. If you were truly on 1250 calories you would be losing. You need to tackle this issue as well as the binging.

    Exercise is your friend. Its also got many benefits including dealing with moderate depression. You have to get off your behind and go and do it though, but then you have to want to lose weight and get healthy enough to take responsibility. That requires you to commit.
  • Ms_LisaKay
    Ms_LisaKay Posts: 103 Member
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    Man, i <3 this thread! There is SUCH great advice here! I am checking it drunk, & still am glad I bookmarked it! Great advice from many posters. . Try calculating your TDEE too, try http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.htm for one people recommend. Cals in < cals out (CICO), embrace it, it's the MFP way! (And science too, so they say.)