Scared to up my calories

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MorganLange508
MorganLange508 Posts: 28 Member
in Goal: Maintaining Weight
So I have recently reached my goal of getting down to 125 (I'm 5"4 btw) and keep losing.. I don't know if you guys have any tips to help me up my calories so I don't gain any back? I don't want to weigh under 120 either but I am scared to up my food intake ☹

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  • AverageJoeFit
    AverageJoeFit Posts: 251 Member
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    Don't be scared. You will gain a little when you're body restores it's glycogen reserves.

    Just take it slow maybe up your calories by 100 to 200 for a week. If you still lose then up again. I like to call it the calorie game.

    Play the game and find what works for you. :D
  • Lovee_Dove7
    Lovee_Dove7 Posts: 742 Member
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    Just add in another small meal or snack of about 200 cals. For example, If you have been restricting carbs, eat some additional slow carbs like brown rice or sweet potato. Or you could have a handful of roasted nuts. Just log it and see where that takes you, you certainly won't get "fat" doing that!
  • 5stringjeff
    5stringjeff Posts: 790 Member
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    Loomisj72 wrote: »
    Don't be scared. You will gain a little when you're body restores it's glycogen reserves.

    Just take it slow maybe up your calories by 100 to 200 for a week. If you still lose then up again. I like to call it the calorie game.

    Play the game and find what works for you. :D

    This. You'll have to learn to trust that MFP is giving you the correct number of calories to maintain on. You'll also have to learn how to tweak that number a little up or down as your body reacts to the change.
  • Dreysander
    Dreysander Posts: 294 Member
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    A friend of mine said this to me: Look at it this way, you know how to lose weight now if you need to. So if on the off chance you gain more weight than you want to by adding more calories, you know how to lose it again.
  • jayhd777
    jayhd777 Posts: 86 Member
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    Thanks for the tips... was pondering with the same question as I have reached my goal...
  • mazdauk
    mazdauk Posts: 1,380 Member
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    The most important thing is to keep logging accurately -both the type of food and the weight. (you can have something like 20 pistachios for 5 macadamia nuts, for example). Then you will know at what calorie level it starts creeping back on. I know, at my age and in my job, at 1800 calories I can keep my measurements steady. Three or four weeks of being naughty (going over 1800 calories more than once or twice a week, for example on holiday, over Christmas etc.) and clothes start getting tight. I then go down to 1600 and up the exercise until everything fits comfortably again. You should also look at your intake across the week - as long as I'm within 200 calories over the week (+/-) I'm generally OK.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    I would be more scared that I was losing weight I didn't want to lose!!
    How fast are you currently losing weight? That will tell you roughly how much more you can eat to find the maintenance balance. Just start increasing your goal week on week and treat the new goal the same way you treated your weight loss goal. Trust the numbers.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
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    Don't be scared!! up your calories by 100 or so cals at a time, you'll see all will be fine. Congrats on reaching goal but at this stage you don't want to keep losing so its time to eat a little more....
  • Chewer713
    Chewer713 Posts: 13 Member
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    I am trying to do the same! Are you exercising as well?
  • MorganLange508
    MorganLange508 Posts: 28 Member
    edited February 2016
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    Yes I am still working out consistently! I just want to be able to eat a little ice-cream and not feel bad lol
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
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    Eat the ice cream! don't be scared or feel guilty - you've earned it!
  • bruhaha007
    bruhaha007 Posts: 333 Member
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    You should shoot for a 40/30/30 ratio of macro nutrients. Carbs/Protein/Fat - If you stay within that general range and consume around 1200 calories a day you should be fine. Treat yourself to ice cream or similar once a week or so and if you ever have a week that you do over indulge you can always cut back the following week and potentially cleanse/fast one day to get back to your target weight. Best wishes!
  • ChrisM8971
    ChrisM8971 Posts: 1,067 Member
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    bruhaha007 wrote: »
    You should shoot for a 40/30/30 ratio of macro nutrients. Carbs/Protein/Fat - If you stay within that general range and consume around 1200 calories a day you should be fine. Treat yourself to ice cream or similar once a week or so and if you ever have a week that you do over indulge you can always cut back the following week and potentially cleanse/fast one day to get back to your target weight. Best wishes!

    Cleanses are pointless and don't do anything for you, your macro settings are down to personal preference provided you are getting enough protein & fats in your diet. You should definitely be able to eat more than 1200 and again there is no reason to fast other than personal preference.

    Set your MFP weight loss goal to maintain and use those calories as a guide only. The real amount you can eat will vary from person to person for many different reasons. Once you have the number given by MFP then slowly raise your daily intake up to that level. Remember if you are still losing 0.5 lb per week then you should be able to eat an extra 250 calories per day. Try adding 1-200 calories onto you daily total and leave it a few weeks to see how that works, then add more if required.

    As previously mentioned you may gain a little weight as glycogen stores replenish but that should settle down and also remember maintenance is a weight range due to fluctuations (say +/- 5lbs from goal) Other than that trust MFP it got you to your weight loss goal and will help you maintain it.

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