Eating more to lose more?
GeoBaybee
Posts: 69 Member
Hello,
I've started to hit somewhat of a plateau in my weight loss. I've read about eating more whenever this happens. I plan on adding 120 calories to my daily intake, to put me at 1420 cal/day. Do you think this will be sufficient? Has anyone had success from adding calories?
I've started to hit somewhat of a plateau in my weight loss. I've read about eating more whenever this happens. I plan on adding 120 calories to my daily intake, to put me at 1420 cal/day. Do you think this will be sufficient? Has anyone had success from adding calories?
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Replies
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when i hit a "plateau" its usually because i'm not logging correctly and am eating more than i thought i was or i haven't recalculated my calories in awhile. If you have lost 10 or more you should recalculate your calories you get less as you lose. Eating more calories will not help if you are already not losing.21
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No. Adding more calories would actually slow down your weight loss, not speed it up.21
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This isn't how it works. Stalls are normal, but eating more when you're not losing will never make you lose more.
The 'eat more to lose more' thing is just a way for people to lose weight in a more sustainable way, in the sense that you'll lose more if you don't give up because your new diet is not sustainable.9 -
You might not lose because you eat too little. If you eat low calorie, you will eventually hit a point where your body will decide it is starving thus preventing losing, it happened to me to. Good thing in this situation would be calculating you TDEE, and be honest with yourself when you do. How active are you? Eg. to maintain my weight, I work out almost everyday for more than an hour, my work hours wary, but my adivice is, don't count work expenditure into account, unless you work physically like in a warehouse or construction or factory. I maintain at around 2200-2500, depending on day. I tend to up my calories to maintain for a while eg two weeks, to entice weight loss again all you do is deduct around 200 cals, and this is pretty aggressive deduction in my opinion. What is your weight and hight? How much do you workout?No. Adding more calories would actually slow down your weight loss, not speed it up.
Depends on her daily needs, her workouts, her work, her activity, you don't know that it will slow it down, very very close minded opinion.1 -
How long have you been at your current calories and how long have you been on the "plateau"?1
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I will add my stats to see if this helps. I am 5'5". I started this journey at 161 lbs and am currently at 129 lbs. I have done 1300 calories this whole time. I do exercise 3-4x a week. I wear an Apple Watch that shows my average steps a day is around 12k. My average calorie burn is 1925 (active calorie average is 416).0
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Eat less, lose weight. Eat more, gain weight. You can't change physics.
Others will tell you that this isn't the case based on their own anecdata, but there is no science behind them.7 -
I would like to lose around 10-12 more lbs.1
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OP no, adding more calories will not do anything other than slow weight loss. Now if you are talking about taking a short diet break and going into maintance this is different.
To break the plataue and stay in your deficit, reassess the following:
1) Has it been 3 - 4 weeks of no loss? If not, give it more time
1) If you have lost 8 - 10 pounds did you re-do your goals in MFP?
2) Do you use a food scale to weigh all of your food? Have you been including everything like condiments, ketchup, mayo, dressing, oils, dipping saucse, butter?
3) Do you eat back exercise calories and if so, could you be eating back too many thus keeping your out of your deficit.
Keep in mind weight is not linear. There may be a week or two when you loose and then a week or two when you do not.5 -
Are you weighing your food and logging everything correctly? How much do you have to lose? The closer you are to your goal the slower the loss. To answer your initial question yes you can eat more and still lose, but it depends. Yes you can eat more than 1200 calories and lose because for most people that is not enough, but if you are already eating close to maintenance calories then no you will probably not lose.
Edit to add: Your weight it in a healthy range and this is why you are not losing. You are active and should be eating more than 1300 calories a day. So yes I would recommend changing your MFP goal to 0.5 pounds loss per week and see what it recommends.0 -
Are you weighing your food and logging everything correctly? How much do you have to lose? The closer you are to your goal the slower the loss. To answer your initial question yes you can eat more and still lose, but it depends. Yes you can eat more than 1200 calories and lose because for most people that is not enough, but if you are already eating close to maintenance calories then no you will probably not lose.
I do use a food scale and weigh everything that's not prepackaged. I am very close to my goal (10 lbs -12 lbs out).I don't feel like this is my maintenance when I am burning 1900-2100 calories a day.0 -
Do you "trend watch" your weight on the scale? Gaining 1 loosing 1 sounds like fluctuations that are a normal part of weight loss and even maintaining weight.
Water weight/fluctuation due to sodium, carbs, muscle repair, female hormones, hydration and lack thereof.
Plus you are the last 10 pounds which is a little challenging than the first. The fluctuations are even more important to watch for now.1 -
Eating more to lose more when a plateau hits is never the answer... I don't have any helpful advice, but I know that increasing consumption is not going to help.5
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Are you weighing your food and logging everything correctly? How much do you have to lose? The closer you are to your goal the slower the loss. To answer your initial question yes you can eat more and still lose, but it depends. Yes you can eat more than 1200 calories and lose because for most people that is not enough, but if you are already eating close to maintenance calories then no you will probably not lose.
Edit to add: Your weight it in a healthy range and this is why you are not losing. You are active and should be eating more than 1300 calories a day. So yes I would recommend changing your MFP goal to 0.5 pounds loss per week and see what it recommends.
No to the yes you can eat more and still loose but it depends statement.
Eating more to weight less (and yes there is a group here in MFP called EM2WL), is just a very slow way to loose weight. It allows you to not be in very much a hurry sort of speaking to loose. So upping your calories is your choice but this does not break a stall like you are wanting to do and keep working with your deficit.3 -
Are you weighing your food and logging everything correctly? How much do you have to lose? The closer you are to your goal the slower the loss. To answer your initial question yes you can eat more and still lose, but it depends. Yes you can eat more than 1200 calories and lose because for most people that is not enough, but if you are already eating close to maintenance calories then no you will probably not lose.
Edit to add: Your weight it in a healthy range and this is why you are not losing. You are active and should be eating more than 1300 calories a day. So yes I would recommend changing your MFP goal to 0.5 pounds loss per week and see what it recommends.
No to the yes you can eat more and still loose but it depends statement.
Eating more to weight less (and yes there is a group here in MFP called EM2WL), is just a very slow way to loose weight. It allows you to not be in very much a hurry sort of speaking to loose. So upping your calories is your choice but this does not break a stall like you are wanting to do and keep working with your deficit.
Most people on here tell MFP they want to lose 2 pounds a week (wouldn't we all) and for the majority this answer would be 1200 calories. So the OP originally asked if she upped her calories (which for her activity 1300 seems low) she could still up her calories and yes still lose. Because she is within a normal BMI weight loss will be slower than what she is used to.
Speaking from experience when I started yes I chose the 1200 calorie route, but then educated myself and hired a coach and with her help was able to lose at 1700 calories a day (starting weight 170 pounds). By following macros and exercise I was able to lose 30 pounds. So in this case yes I could eat more and still lose weight. I'm not alone in this scenario because others have done the same.0 -
I started at 1200 calories and had a pretty similar problem. I lost weight quickly at first and plateaued with about 5-10 vanity lbs to go. I met with a fitness coach who looked at my log and said that "1200 calories was really light" for someone who was working out as much as me (5 days a week minimum, 30 minutes of cardio minimum each day + 30 min- 1 hr of weights). She advised me to add 100 calories back and try to get it all in healthy fats, as I was eating really lean. It seems to have worked. I've lost some more weight, but more than that, I've "leaned out" a ton in the last month.
I fully believe in CICO, but I think the 1200 calorie basement that MFP has is probably just too low for some people.1 -
I started at 1200 calories and had a pretty similar problem. I lost weight quickly at first and plateaued with about 5-10 vanity lbs to go. I met with a fitness coach who looked at my log and said that "1200 calories was really light" for someone who was working out as much as me (5 days a week minimum, 30 minutes of cardio minimum each day + 30 min- 1 hr of weights). She advised me to add 100 calories back and try to get it all in healthy fats, as I was eating really lean. It seems to have worked. I've lost some more weight, but more than that, I've "leaned out" a ton in the last month.
I fully believe in CICO, but I think the 1200 calorie basement that MFP has is probably just too low for some people.
Surely you realize that losing more weight and leaning out is the result of your exercise plan and hiring a dedicated fitness coach, and not the result of a measly 100 cal/day adjustment right?5 -
Are you weighing your food and logging everything correctly? How much do you have to lose? The closer you are to your goal the slower the loss. To answer your initial question yes you can eat more and still lose, but it depends. Yes you can eat more than 1200 calories and lose because for most people that is not enough, but if you are already eating close to maintenance calories then no you will probably not lose.
I do use a food scale and weigh everything that's not prepackaged. I am very close to my goal (10 lbs -12 lbs out).I don't feel like this is my maintenance when I am burning 1900-2100 calories a day.
Weigh your prepackaged stuff. You will be surprised how far off it is. It could be enough to throw off your numbers.9 -
Are you weighing your food and logging everything correctly? How much do you have to lose? The closer you are to your goal the slower the loss. To answer your initial question yes you can eat more and still lose, but it depends. Yes you can eat more than 1200 calories and lose because for most people that is not enough, but if you are already eating close to maintenance calories then no you will probably not lose.
I do use a food scale and weigh everything that's not prepackaged. I am very close to my goal (10 lbs -12 lbs out).I don't feel like this is my maintenance when I am burning 1900-2100 calories a day.
how are you burning 1900 to 2100 calories a day???3 -
Are you weighing your food and logging everything correctly? How much do you have to lose? The closer you are to your goal the slower the loss. To answer your initial question yes you can eat more and still lose, but it depends. Yes you can eat more than 1200 calories and lose because for most people that is not enough, but if you are already eating close to maintenance calories then no you will probably not lose.
Edit to add: Your weight it in a healthy range and this is why you are not losing. You are active and should be eating more than 1300 calories a day. So yes I would recommend changing your MFP goal to 0.5 pounds loss per week and see what it recommends.
No to the yes you can eat more and still loose but it depends statement.
Eating more to weight less (and yes there is a group here in MFP called EM2WL), is just a very slow way to loose weight. It allows you to not be in very much a hurry sort of speaking to loose. So upping your calories is your choice but this does not break a stall like you are wanting to do and keep working with your deficit.
Most people on here tell MFP they want to lose 2 pounds a week (wouldn't we all) and for the majority this answer would be 1200 calories. So the OP originally asked if she upped her calories (which for her activity 1300 seems low) she could still up her calories and yes still lose. Because she is within a normal BMI weight loss will be slower than what she is used to.
Speaking from experience when I started yes I chose the 1200 calorie route, but then educated myself and hired a coach and with her help was able to lose at 1700 calories a day (starting weight 170 pounds). By following macros and exercise I was able to lose 30 pounds. So in this case yes I could eat more and still lose weight. I'm not alone in this scenario because others have done the same.
I am not debating this with you in the least. The advice was not good sound advice based on OP's case in general.
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You might not lose because you eat too little. If you eat low calorie, you will eventually hit a point where your body will decide it is starving thus preventing losing, it happened to me to. Good thing in this situation would be calculating you TDEE, and be honest with yourself when you do. How active are you? Eg. to maintain my weight, I work out almost everyday for more than an hour, my work hours wary, but my adivice is, don't count work expenditure into account, unless you work physically like in a warehouse or construction or factory. I maintain at around 2200-2500, depending on day. I tend to up my calories to maintain for a while eg two weeks, to entice weight loss again all you do is deduct around 200 cals, and this is pretty aggressive deduction in my opinion. What is your weight and hight? How much do you workout?No. Adding more calories would actually slow down your weight loss, not speed it up.
Depends on her daily needs, her workouts, her work, her activity, you don't know that it will slow it down, very very close minded opinion.
Knowing the law of thermodynamics is not being closed minded. Starvation mode is not a thing.11 -
Since it's been just under a month, have you considered that some of the 1lb 'regain' (which really isn't much in the scheme of things) is due to TOM? You might have lost a bit last month coming off TOM and now you're just bloating a little and will lose in another week or so.
I agree with making sure you measure everything- cooking ingredients/oils and prepackaged as well. Do you eat back exercise calories? All or some of them?1 -
nutmegoreo wrote: »Are you weighing your food and logging everything correctly? How much do you have to lose? The closer you are to your goal the slower the loss. To answer your initial question yes you can eat more and still lose, but it depends. Yes you can eat more than 1200 calories and lose because for most people that is not enough, but if you are already eating close to maintenance calories then no you will probably not lose.
I do use a food scale and weigh everything that's not prepackaged. I am very close to my goal (10 lbs -12 lbs out).I don't feel like this is my maintenance when I am burning 1900-2100 calories a day.
Weigh your prepackaged stuff. You will be surprised how far off it is. It could be enough to throw off your numbers.
THIS! Been doing this for over a year and a half and I weigh EVERYTHING! Those pre-packaged foods are way off... they could be adding hundreds of calories to your day; no joke!1 -
the only time this eat more to lose more works is when one has been in a pro-longed calorie deficit, which was caused ones metabolism to slow to a point where continuing to eat at a low calorie level is actually maintenance level. In these instances, a diet break is recommended of a month or so of slowly adding back x amount of calories per week ..but eventually math takes over and you can't keep eating more to lose more...
OP may fit into this category as it seems she has been consuming 1200 calories to drop all of her calories...2 -
I started at 1200 calories and had a pretty similar problem. I lost weight quickly at first and plateaued with about 5-10 vanity lbs to go. I met with a fitness coach who looked at my log and said that "1200 calories was really light" for someone who was working out as much as me (5 days a week minimum, 30 minutes of cardio minimum each day + 30 min- 1 hr of weights). She advised me to add 100 calories back and try to get it all in healthy fats, as I was eating really lean. It seems to have worked. I've lost some more weight, but more than that, I've "leaned out" a ton in the last month.
I fully believe in CICO, but I think the 1200 calorie basement that MFP has is probably just too low for some people.
Surely you realize that losing more weight and leaning out is the result of your exercise plan and hiring a dedicated fitness coach, and not the result of a measly 100 cal/day adjustment right?
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Eating more I guess depends on your daily activity level and it depends on the food you eat. For example if your workouts are hard, then you must eat more to nourish your body with the lost nutrients. I suggest if you eat more, add HIIT to your workout routine. It will boost your metabolism that will help you lose weight and keep it off.
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No need to complicate things If u platued keep the calories the same and increase the duration and intensity of ur cardio1
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Are you weighing your food and logging everything correctly? How much do you have to lose? The closer you are to your goal the slower the loss. To answer your initial question yes you can eat more and still lose, but it depends. Yes you can eat more than 1200 calories and lose because for most people that is not enough, but if you are already eating close to maintenance calories then no you will probably not lose.
I do use a food scale and weigh everything that's not prepackaged. I am very close to my goal (10 lbs -12 lbs out).I don't feel like this is my maintenance when I am burning 1900-2100 calories a day.
how are you burning 1900 to 2100 calories a day???
I think she probably means total, like her TDEE is 1900-2100, not that she is getting exercise burns of that high.
OP for what it's worth, I'm 5'2 and lost 30 lbs and never ate less than 1600 cals while losing. I am a proponent of the saying "the winner is the person who eats the most and still loses the weight". That means slow and steady weight loss for me, and I never really hit one of those plateaus that I couldn't explain. If you are on a plateau, eating more won't break that, but it may give you more energy to fuel your workouts, help preserve your lean body mass, and generally make the process more enjoyable.
If I were you, I would tighten up the logging by using the food scale for everything, including packaged foods, and add extra calories, not to break the plateau, but because this close to goal weight you shouldn't be aiming for more than 0.5 lb/week loss. If your TDEE is 2000 for example, then you should be eating in the neighborhood of 1750 (total, including exercise calories) to lose the rest of your weight.2 -
Are you weighing your food and logging everything correctly? How much do you have to lose? The closer you are to your goal the slower the loss. To answer your initial question yes you can eat more and still lose, but it depends. Yes you can eat more than 1200 calories and lose because for most people that is not enough, but if you are already eating close to maintenance calories then no you will probably not lose.
I do use a food scale and weigh everything that's not prepackaged. I am very close to my goal (10 lbs -12 lbs out).I don't feel like this is my maintenance when I am burning 1900-2100 calories a day.
how are you burning 1900 to 2100 calories a day???
I wear an Apple Watch that tells me my daily calorie burn based on my heart rate. Only 350-600 of that is "Active/Exercise" calorie burn.
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