Weight Plateau Help - Increase Calories?

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Replies

  • LessCookiess
    LessCookiess Posts: 538 Member
    Interesting.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 13,393 Member
    Interesting.

    Are you saying that eat more to weigh less is interesting? I agree with you that it is! Or are you saying that the OP's case is interesting? @xchocolategirl I am curious to find out what you find interesting! :smile:
  • LessCookiess
    LessCookiess Posts: 538 Member
    edited March 2017
    PAV8888 wrote: »
    Interesting.

    Are you saying that eat more to weigh less is interesting? I agree with you that it is! Or are you saying that the OP's case is interesting? @xchocolategirl I am curious to find out what you find interesting! :smile:
    @PAV8888- I find it interesting that you now find my post interesting!! The concept of eating more to lose weight does definitely sound interesting. It did seem like the Op was undereating for his height and weight, so you're rationale does sound legitimate. I also find his case interesting so yes a double wammy of interest hit my way, and I couldn't find enough words to describe how fascinating I thought it was :)
  • ercarroll311
    ercarroll311 Posts: 295 Member
    Can't put it any better than @PAV8888. If your goal is better health and sustainable weight loss (as opposed to dropping weight really fast, hurting your body possibly permanently, destroying your metabolism, and gaining it back, then starting over again), listen to the advice. Loss will be slower than starving yourself (the deficit you're describing is starving yourself), but it'll be much easier to maintain because you'll have more energy, a higher metabolism, and better habits that you can carry with you through maintenance. I've tried it both ways, though never nearly as drastic as your deficit. I gained the weight back every time I tried the huge deficit, and only in the last two years have I succeeded at keeping weight off and having the highest metabolism I've had since junior high. Not to mention, I actually came out of it with some muscle this time. It's a hard mentality "eat more to lose weight", but it's true, and it goes beyond the number on the scale.
  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
    If you are so anxious to increase something, increase exercise. Increasing calories won't make you lose weight.
  • crb426
    crb426 Posts: 652 Member
    At 440 I would make sure you're at the perfect amount of calories to lose weight at a slow and steady rate. This is for many reasons including health, but also so you don't end up with excessively saggy skin or the higher chances to gain it all back if too aggressive.

    When you plug in your stats with a 2lb loss per week goal, what number does mfp give you? Stick to that, and try to move more. I love a good long walk.

    As far as the 2 week stall, it could just be that next week you'll have a bigger drop. Be patient. Remember it's a marathon, not a sprint.
  • trigden1991
    trigden1991 Posts: 4,658 Member
    Be patient.
  • ilex70
    ilex70 Posts: 727 Member
    It is very very rare for me to say anyone should eat more.

    That said @ 440 even if you body fat percentage is 60% that would give you an estimated lean mass of 176 pounds. At .8 grams of protein per pound of lean mass you should target at least 140 g of protein a day to preserve muscle mass. Bumping that 1 g of protein per pound of lean mass wouldn't be a bad idea either to help with satiety; 176 g a day.

    Does this meal company provide a macro breakdown of what they send you?

    Don't know that you need to eat more, but weight loss isn't linear.

    What really has me scratching my head is how little you have been losing (2 pounds a week) at that intake and weight.

    You should have about a 14,000 calorie a week deficit using sedentary TDEE, or IOW 4 pounds a week.

    So, yes, the meals your are receiving seem suspect.
  • leggup
    leggup Posts: 2,942 Member
    I'm in your diary. Are you using a food scale for non-packaged items? Are you eyeballing the sauces for the Primal meals, or are those pre-measured?
    Jif Crunchy Peanut Butter - Peanut Butter, 1 Tbsp (32g)
    Kraft - Sharp Shredded Cheese, 0.25 cup
    Nathan's - Beef Hot Dog, 1 Hot Dog (no bun or condiments?)
    Jason's Deli - Salmon Salad, 1 Salad (no dressing?)
    Greenwise Publix - Organic Dark Chocolate Covered Almonds, 8 gram
    Sara Lee - Cinnamon Raisin Toast, 2 slices (no butter?)
    Veggie Egg White Omlet, 1 serving (no brand, no weight, no idea)

    In the past 2 weeks there were 3 days with zero logging and even more days 1/2 logged (breakfast and lunch, no dinner, only 500 or so calories logged). Tighten up your logging and I have a feeling you're eating more thant 1,200 calories per day. Additionally, 2 weeks is not a plateau, although it is a good reason to tighten up on your logging.
  • Daddy78230
    Daddy78230 Posts: 125 Member
    http://eatmore2weighless.com/weight-loss-calculator/ Here you can Calculate what your burn and how many calories a day you should be eating to lose weight in a healthy way.

    TDEE is Total Daily Energy Expediture - how many calories you use every day doing your normal routine with exercise
    BMR is Basal Metabolic Rate - the amount of Calories you need to just lay in bed and breathe.

    I think you will find you are way under. You can eat more and healthier and lose weight.

    That calculator seems spot on for me. The calculator calculated 3380 calories to maintain my weight.

    I'm 6 foot 238 lbs (22% BF) and moderately active. I was 310 lbs. I eat at least 3250 calories at maintenance. My weight trends downward slightly during maintenance as long as I'm staying moderately active, and the majority of my calories come from whole foods
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,452 Member
    How long on this program?

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

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  • TxTiffani
    TxTiffani Posts: 798 Member
    I'm 5'0 and have 25-30lbs to lose and I'm eating 1200 cals....I think you definitely need to eat more. Aside from being too small amount to sustain your muscle mass, you are setting yourself for some huge binges!! What amount did MFP give you to lose 2lbs/week? Surely it's much much higher than 1200?!
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,373 MFP Moderator
    Francl27 wrote: »
    You won't lose more by eating more. Plateaus are normal and due to water retention.

    1200-1500 seems very low for someone your size though.

    Vastly over-generalized. This assumes that there is a linear relationship by eating xx number of calories and your TDEE. Often, substantial decrease in calorie consumption can deregulate metabolic rate and other adjustments caused by hormones, decreasing TDEE. And in many cases, severe caloric restriction can lead to decreases on spontaneous NEAT and TEF. So increasing calories can lead to improved weight loss, higher compliance, increases to TDEE. Even more so, look at refeeds and reverse dieting. Hell, look at overfeeding and the impacts on metabolism.