How do you know?

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shelcof
shelcof Posts: 62 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
How do you know when it time to increase your calories?
I have been eating 1200 calories since January, lost 36 pounds, but now I have been stuck for the last month or so. I'm so afraid of increasing my calories and getting fat again :(

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  • ProTFitness
    ProTFitness Posts: 1,379 Member
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    Try increasing exercise and instensity of it first then try increasing the calories by 100. PS I eat any where between 1600-1800 calories a day and I am far from being over weight. Not eating enough will slow your fat buring process off and you do not want that. Also make sure your doing Strength training as well
  • emmajones321
    emmajones321 Posts: 10 Member
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    Wow good going with the weight loss! Sounds like you may be in the dreaded rut. Increasing cals would be best if you want to slow down the rate you lose weight or to maintain your current weight. Or, increase your output with some exercise and then you can increase your food input guilt free! :)
  • morganadk2_deleted
    morganadk2_deleted Posts: 1,696 Member
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    Hi i can't see your diary Are you eating to enough?

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/61706-guide-to-calorie-deficit


    This is just a part of it! please read the link above


    Generally someone with a BMI over 32 can do a 1000 calorie a day (2 lbs a week) deficit
    With a BMI of 30 to 32 a deficit of 750 calories is generally correct (about 1.5 lbs a week)
    With a BMI of 28 to 30 a deficit of 500 calories is about right (about 1 lb a week)
    With a BMI of 26 to 28 a deficit of about 300 calories is perfect (about 1/2 lb a week)
    and below 26... well this is where we get fuzzy. See now you're no longer talking about being overweight, so while it's still ok to have a small deficit, you really should shift your focus more towards muscle tone, and reducing fat. This means is EXTRA important to eat your exercise calories as your body needs to KNOW it's ok to burn fat stores, and the only way it will know is if you keep giving it the calories it needs to not enter the famine response (starvation mode)


    Also this might be helpful http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/00trayn/view/how-to-bust-a-3-month-plateau-87677

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/153704-myth-or-fact-simple-math-3500-calories-one-pound-eat



    Good luck on your journey
  • lesley1981
    lesley1981 Posts: 329 Member
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    I plauteaued for around 6 weeks at one stage and found that the only thing that kick started my weight loss again was eating normally for a week or two and then cutting back again. Everyone's different though...

    Rather than looking at the numbers on the scales, perhaps you could look at your measurements, as sometimes they can change when the scales don't
  • anu_6986
    anu_6986 Posts: 702 Member
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    1) You could change your "per week loss".
    2) You could do calorie zigzagging(eat more on one day and less on another day, but your weekly calorie deficit remains the same)
    3) Change your workout routine
    4) Do workout zigzagging

    Basically keep the body guessing.
  • shelcof
    shelcof Posts: 62 Member
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    I'm guessing I need to exercise more, and that will probably jump start my metabolism? I looked into zigzagging my calories, but the lower calorie days I think I would be hungry all the time. Eating 'normally' for a week might be a good idea...but my 'normal' has changed so much I don't think I could go back to eating the way I did before.

    I'm really very inconsistent about my exercise...I walk on days when I have time, and do some strength training stuff when I don't, but its not a daily thing by any means

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