Hi there, I've been reverse dieting (increasing my calories from about 1500-1700 toward TDEE of 2300-2400) for the past 10 weeks and can definitely relate to how overwhelming that amount of food is in the beginning. I was one who "ripped the bandaid off" by increasing from 1700 calories to 2200 calories, then 2400+ calories in 2 weeks.

I remember the first 3-4 weeks felt like I was constantly stuffing myself full of food, eating all the time, even when I had 0 hunger cues and like you said, nothing sounded good. This is where meal planning came in really handy. I knew exactly how much I needed to eat per day and would eat it whether I was hungry or not (after 7+ years of diets likely averaging around 1500-1700 calories a day, I honestly had lost all hunger cues - I've not been "hungry" with the stomach growling, etc. in years). I split my meals into 6 per day - 500 calories for breakfast, 300 for mid-morning snack, 500 for lunch, 300 mid-afternoon snack, and 500 for dinner, with a 200 calorie snack for dessert.

Around week 4-5, I noticed my body was finally reacting to all this food - by 11am I was ready for my 300-calorie snack, 1pm, I needed lunch. It feels good to have my hunger cues back again and my body is reacting positively - my sleep has improved, my hair is growing like crazy, and while I have gained about 10-11 lbs the past 10 weeks, I've also been bodyweight training, so hopeful some is muscle.

In your case, I would recommend finding your TDEE (as I'm sure you have) and making a focused effort to plan each of your meals and eat them at designated times, whether hungry or not, in order to meet your intake goals. Consistency is key and even if you are unable to work out strenuously due to medical issues, your intake, if calculated correctly, should still allow you to lose the weight.

Don't feel alone. I've gone through bouts of depression too and know how tough it can be. This community is here for you!

Im sorry you are struggling with things. I know its not easy increasing calories, especially when everyone out there seems to think you need to eat less and move more. Its simply not the case. increasing cals is tough. Our human nature is to fight it because we have been programmed to believe that dieting means we have to suffer, and eat nothing but carrot sticks and drink cucumber water. I PROMISE you, it gets easier.

For a lot of members, ripping the bandaid and jumping high in cals worked. For a large majority, we had to go at it slowly. I was a slow increaser. I started around 1400 cals and slowly increased to 2400.. then to 2800, and now Im currently consistent at 3000. Its taken me a very, very long time to allow my mindset to shift and accept that this is in fact the only way to get myself out of the diet cycle. I like to think of it as my hill to climb, before I get to the top. I think about what my life will look like in a few years, when my metabolism is burning higher than ever, and I am eating extremely well, and NOT having to think about whether eating a piece of cake will send me into a tailspin and have me running for a treadmill.

This process is NOT easy. Ive been at it four years, and Im still working my way to TDEE. I refused to believe for a few years that my burn was as high as the calculators and my fitbit were telling me. Had I listened and trusted the process earlier, I might be two years closer to my end result. But looking back, I needed the extra time for my mind and my heart to fully understand the process, to fully believe that the diet industry is completely wrong
Resetting means having to let go and allow your body to regain what it has lost from years of restrictive dieting. It needs to build back the muscles it lost, the tissues, the fibres that it was depleted. It needs to heal and trust you completely again, trust that you arent going to starve it all over again, and for a lot of bodies, that trust takes a long time.

I know it feels like you are stuffed, like you cant possibly eat anything more at 1700 cals, but I assure you, you can. Once your body starts to understand you are feeding it more, it will eventually kick the metabolism up and start to burn more of your energy, which in turn, signals to your brain, it needs more food, and starts the hunger signals. The hurdle is getting over the "full" feeling:) I used to set a timer for 1.5 hours and regardless of what my signals were telling me, I ate something. If it was a snack time, then I ate something around 150-200 cals.. if it were a meal, then I worked at easting at least 300-500 cals. As someone already said, energy dense foods make a big difference in helping you increase your cals up.

Some things that can help..
- Get rid of all DIET products. No low fat/no fat products in the house. Full fat cheeses, milk, dairy products if they arent an issue for you.
- Nuts/Seeds are your friends. They carry a lot of calories, and GOOD fats for your body. Your body needs fat!!
- Oil. If you cook, swap cooking sprays for oils. add a bit of oil to your pan for extra calorie boosts. Again, you need fat!
- Protein. If you enjoy protein shakes or bars, use them. Your body needs protein to help you build muscle. If you are used to eating only an ounce or two of meat, increase your meals by another ounce or two. Build up slowly.
- Spreads/Dips/Creams If you like dips with your veggies, cream in your coffee.. all of the things we were programmed to omit from our diets to help us lose weight.. bring those back in again.
- Be kind to yourself. Know that this is a long process. This is for life. This is to help you get to a point you never have to worry about calorie counting, never have to sweat eating dessert, never have to feel like you cant eat something. This is all about giving you a healthy outlook on eating and life again, and its not easy.


we are all here. We are all going through it. Know that you are not alone.
Feel free to add me as a friend and if you need to chat, im here.