Increase Calories for Weight Loss - Link to Info?

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_Khaleesi_
_Khaleesi_ Posts: 877 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have been pondering a calorie increase for a while (I am 5'9" and my limit is 1200 cals right now). This week I went up 0.8 lbs instead of down my usual pound or so. People are suggesting that I look into it now more than ever. Increasing calories is probably the scariest thing ever (for me). I have this deep seeded fear that it will mean even more gaining... it just doesn't seem logical that you would need MORE calories to LOSE weight. I just don't get it. But if I think back to my earlier weeks in this journey, I had my limit set at 1500 cals, and I was losing 2 lbs a week. I wasn't sure if that was water weight, or the first 10 lbs being easy because... they were the first ten pounds... but ya... there was definitely a difference.

Is there something I should be reading up on relating to upping calories to lose weight? I know that I am not in starvation mode now, I am rarely hungry... but I want to do this right. I want to be healthy. I know this has come up a bunch before, so if you don't want to write out replies, feel free to copy and paste from old topics or even just link me.

Thanks. Again, serious anxiety with me and this topic.
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Replies

  • aray379
    aray379 Posts: 131
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    I'm having the same issue. I eat about 1200 calories a day, more on days I exercise. I am not losing as much as I think I should be but I too have anxiety about uping calories because of my history (also have anxiety about messing up my metabolism eating too few calories). I've seen mixed information about this. From what I have read I could eat more and gain weight but I am not hungry even at 1200, I also think I eat very healthy. So I don't know what to do! Hopefully we can find some straight answers! I am thinking about going to a dietician or nutritionist to find the answer soon if nothing changes.
  • staceyo1211
    staceyo1211 Posts: 163
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    bump
  • mallorybriann
    mallorybriann Posts: 1,380 Member
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    I upped mine from 1220 to 1580 and have seen weight loss more rapidly than before. Sometimes our body gets used to the same cal intake and exercise.
  • kimmerroze
    kimmerroze Posts: 1,330 Member
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    Basically the science behind it is this...

    The MORE fat you have on your body, the LESS scared your body will be to get rid of the extra fat, because, well, it has LOTS to get rid of, so it isn't going to run out any time soon which means you can eat at a lower calorie count and still be okay because your body will make up the difference with the fat that is on your body.

    well as you lose weight you lose fat sooo...

    The LESS fat you have on your body the MORE scared your body will be to get rid of fat, to insure that your body doesn't hold onto that fat for fear that it wont get enough nutrition it is going to store anything it can as fat so that it always has those fat stores to keep it safe.

    so to prevent this from happening you must feed your body MORE so that it doesn't feel the need to hang onto that extra fat for fear of mal nutrition/starvation/whatever you wanna call it.

    Its your bodies way of preserving itself.
  • zakkthebear
    zakkthebear Posts: 52 Member
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    The body can adapt to nearly anything. Doing the same workout, eating the same foods, the same kcals, etc. it will adjust. This isn't to say to eat more or less, the key is variation in both exercise and diet which will lead to muscle confusion and "metabolic confusion" of sorts and help shorten plateaus.

    bump kcals one way or the other and change up the exercise.
  • beth40n2
    beth40n2 Posts: 233 Member
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    I was eating 1200 calories also and you loose for awhile,especially if you are really heavy. But then it was explained to me that you must eat your exercise calories also. So if you exercise 300 calories, you must then eat 1500 calories a day. It sounds weird, but it does work.

    Also eat a big breakfast, exercise in the morning. Those two things jump start your metabolism in the morning and you will burn calories at a higher rate all day.
  • _Khaleesi_
    _Khaleesi_ Posts: 877 Member
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    Basically the science behind it is this...

    The MORE fat you have on your body, the LESS scared your body will be to get rid of the extra fat, because, well, it has LOTS to get rid of, so it isn't going to run out any time soon which means you can eat at a lower calorie count and still be okay because your body will make up the difference with the fat that is on your body.

    well as you lose weight you lose fat sooo...

    The LESS fat you have on your body the MORE scared your body will be to get rid of fat, to insure that your body doesn't hold onto that fat for fear that it wont get enough nutrition it is going to store anything it can as fat so that it always has those fat stores to keep it safe.

    so to prevent this from happening you must feed your body MORE so that it doesn't feel the need to hang onto that extra fat for fear of mal nutrition/starvation/whatever you wanna call it.

    Its your bodies way of preserving itself.

    Very interesting. So how much would you suggest that I bump? Is 150 cals a good amount?

    @Zakk- it must be kcals then, I change my exercise routine all the time... the joys of having summer weather and being able to do things outside.
  • helloiloveukitty
    helloiloveukitty Posts: 448 Member
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    I'm worried about this too. I just upped myself from 1200 to 1450, I only have 20lbs left to lose, might seem like a lot but I'm down 83 total so to me its not too much more. I seem to be going slow as a snail on 1200, not in like energy...just in weight loss. I'm terrified I'll gain or just stay this weight and stay fat.
  • klfazio
    klfazio Posts: 48 Member
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    I know exactly what you mean but oh, if I could just do this subject justice. Took me years to figure it out. There ARE articles all over the internet explaining it better than I could. Just Google your question. Basically, if you exercise then you have to subtract those cals from what you eat. So lets say you burn 200 cals per day in exercise....so you are really only taking in 1000 cals per day, not 1200. And the body will only tolerate that for a short time (for me, about 2-3 days) and then everything comes to a halt. 1000 is just not enough to keep a body going since we need energy for EVERYTHING (even sleeping). In some countries the word they use for "calories" is "energy"....and going below 1200 is actually dangerous, especially in the long term. So, if you are exercising PLEASE make sure to "eat back" at least half if not all the cals you burned. Just try it for one week and watch what happens. I only have 8 lbs to go as a result of learning this. All the best to you!! :happy:
  • patricia184
    patricia184 Posts: 49 Member
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    I'm worried about the same thing: I logged calories for ten months around 1200/day; lost 15 pounds. I fell off MFP, gained back 25 pounds. Now I'm back on at 1200 calories/day and losing. Afraid to add calories but was advised to by professional. Help! Any literature to read regarding this?
  • michellep325
    michellep325 Posts: 4 Member
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    Figure out your basic metabolic rate (BMR). You can google it and this will give you an average amount of calories you need each day just to function without exercise. If you eat too little your body goes into starvation mode and turns your food into fat and slows down your metabolism causing a very slow weight loss or even weight gain. Adding more calories will increase your metabolism. Good Luck
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,411 MFP Moderator
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    This analogy may or may not work for you, but when you have a sports car, you have to feed it better and more gas because it burns more effeciently, so why not feed yourself more and better to burn more calories.



    I can tell you from personal experience, every time I plateau, i increase my calories by 200. And every time (it's been 4 times so far) I do this, I lose more weight. Although, for me, it isn't about weight loss. For me, I am looking at body composition. I am increasing the amount of lean body mass and reducing my total body fat. I have 33% of my total body from so far (started at 18% and now at 12%) and working to get to 9% body fat by October. Everytime I gain LBM, i have to increase my calories. I started my journey with 1800 caloires and now eat 2800 calories and soon will be at 3000 + daily.


    It's rather simple, muscle burns fat... and food is fuel. The more muscle (lean muscle mass) you have, the more calories you burn at rest and the more calories you need to take in. It's all based on deficits. If your BMR increases, then to maintain the 500 calorie deficit you need to increase your calories. If you don't, you will lose muscle as your body will start to pull the proteins from that source because it will deplete the proteins from your fat body stores. Below are some links to help you out.


    Also if you need help figuring this out, feel free to contact me.



    http://www.cordianet.com/calculator.htm

    http://www.bmi-calculator.net/body-fat-calculator/body-fat-chart.php

    http://www.scientificpsychic.com/fitness/diet.html

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/282320-caloric-intake-body-fat
  • kimmerroze
    kimmerroze Posts: 1,330 Member
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    Basically the science behind it is this...

    The MORE fat you have on your body, the LESS scared your body will be to get rid of the extra fat, because, well, it has LOTS to get rid of, so it isn't going to run out any time soon which means you can eat at a lower calorie count and still be okay because your body will make up the difference with the fat that is on your body.

    well as you lose weight you lose fat sooo...

    The LESS fat you have on your body the MORE scared your body will be to get rid of fat, to insure that your body doesn't hold onto that fat for fear that it wont get enough nutrition it is going to store anything it can as fat so that it always has those fat stores to keep it safe.

    so to prevent this from happening you must feed your body MORE so that it doesn't feel the need to hang onto that extra fat for fear of mal nutrition/starvation/whatever you wanna call it.

    Its your bodies way of preserving itself.

    Very interesting. So how much would you suggest that I bump? Is 150 cals a good amount?

    @Zakk- it must be kcals then, I change my exercise routine all the time... the joys of having summer weather and being able to do things outside.

    For sure... start with that, and if you don't see a change maybe try a little more. I went from 1200 to 1450 and I have seen better results...

    Just be prepared that because your body isn't used to the extra 150-200 cals or what ever you decide to bump it, you MIGHT see a slight weight gain, as in maybe a 1-2 pound increase for about a week or two and then when your body adjusts it will start losing again.

    the reason this happens is because you are all of a sudden feeding your body more and so it thinks "oh my goodness this is extra food and I might not get extra food for a while so I better hold onto this" but once your body realizes that this is the new amount that you are going to be CONSTANTLY feeding it, it wont feel the need to hold onto that extra calories. and for the most part that 1-2 pound gain is water weight. so don't be alarmed. and stick with the new numbers for atleast 2 weeks.
  • cjasins
    cjasins Posts: 93
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    Hi! I had this same issue. I am 5'5" and I weighted about 210. I was eating around 1300-1400 cals per day and I workout regularly. I was stuck and the weight just wasn't coming off. I upped my intake (after alot of protest) and now the weight seems to be falling off I am down about 25 lbs and I have lost at least 8 inches from my waist. Your body may be going into starvation mode. To determine your correct intake you can use this calculator http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/ then use the link on the page to determine the calories you need to maintain your current weight and how many to cut to lose (usually cut 500/day from your maintence. Hope this helps! Good Luck!
  • kimmerroze
    kimmerroze Posts: 1,330 Member
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    Figure out your basic metabolic rate (BMR). You can google it and this will give you an average amount of calories you need each day just to function without exercise. If you eat too little your body goes into starvation mode and turns your food into fat and slows down your metabolism causing a very slow weight loss or even weight gain. Adding more calories will increase your metabolism. Good Luck

    you are confusing BMR and your Maintainence calories...

    BMR- is the amount you would need to survive if you were sleeping all day or in a coma
    Maintainence calories- is the BMR calories (need to survive if you slept all day) PLUS walking, sitting eating chewing standing, driving, calories that you burn, better known as your ACTIVITY LEVEL.

    Maintainence calories are the calories needed each day just to function without exercise, NOT your BMR calorie count.
  • MrsJax11
    MrsJax11 Posts: 354 Member
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    I think this is exactly what happened to me over the last week or so....when I looked at my net calories for the last 2 weeks there were quite a few days under 1000....most days I wasn't super hungry-- but when the hunger came on, it was fierce!
    I am going to aim for 1200 net cals minimum...I was losing about 2 lb per week around that amount.
  • _Khaleesi_
    _Khaleesi_ Posts: 877 Member
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    Okay, I used this site: http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm

    It says that my maintenance is 1970 kcals/ day, my fat loss is 1576 kcals/ day and my extreme fat loss is 1456 kcals/ day.

    The first site that psulemon linked to put my BMR @ 1495 kcals (not maintenance but BMR) and said that in order to lose weight I should be consuming 1300 calories. This calculation was done only with my hieght and age, not my weight.

    Which one to I 'believe'? lol. Gosh this is confusing.
  • _Khaleesi_
    _Khaleesi_ Posts: 877 Member
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    Bump!
  • kimmerroze
    kimmerroze Posts: 1,330 Member
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    Okay, I used this site: http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm

    It says that my maintenance is 1970 kcals/ day, my fat loss is 1576 kcals/ day and my extreme fat loss is 1456 kcals/ day.

    The first site that psulemon linked to put my BMR @ 1495 kcals (not maintenance but BMR) and said that in order to lose weight I should be consuming 1300 calories. This calculation was done only with my hieght and age, not my weight.

    Which one to I 'believe'? lol. Gosh this is confusing.

    DONT go with the BMR... or atleast work up start at 1300 and let your body get used to it and then go up to 1450 and see how you like it there, remember you can always drop back down. And also remember to give it atleast 2 weeks to see if its really working for you. one week wont tell you anything.

    Some people caution eating under your bmr... because lets face it, if 1496 calories (your BMR) is what you would need to survive if you were in a coma, then WHY IN THE HECK would we want to eat below our survival calories, but for a while it does work, but you don't want to stay below for very long.
  • ivansmomma
    ivansmomma Posts: 500
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    I've gone from 1200 to 1400 calories with the same exercise right now, and have started losing. I'm not a fast loser (age, meds, etc) but at least it's moving downward.

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