I was scared to up my calories too, until...

GreenGettingLean
GreenGettingLean Posts: 252 Member
edited October 1 in Health and Weight Loss
Ah yes, the old "does increasing my calorie intake really make me lose weight?" debacle. I was also one of those who joined MFP, religiously ate 1200 (or less) calories a day and shed pounds fast. Obviously, that fast loss only lasted about 3 weeks and then the scale froze. For the next two weeks I pondered upping my calories - but what would this mean? Wouldn't I GAIN weight if I did that? After all, I ate too much in my pre-MFP life and that's what got me in to this mess in the first place!

This was my mindset for awhile, until it occurred to me that it might be a beneficial exercise to log an average day of eating before I decided to truly get healthy. For me, this meant giant bowls of "healthy" cereal, a "healthy" Subway sandwich with Coke and potato chips, a homecooked dinner such as lasagna or meatloaf, and of course a nice big bowl of ice cream for dessert. You know, because I'd been so "good" all day. Little did I know, this adds up to a 2,200 calorie day! Holy crap! It still dumbfounds me how much I was actually eating every single day, all the while thinking I was leading a reasonably healthy lifestyle. Compared to how much I was eating and considering my BMR and activity level, 1390 calories a day suddenly seemed very reasonable.

It really put into perspective for me that upping my calories from 1200 a day was absolutely necessary to keep losing weight. I've since upped my calories to 1390 and busting through my first plateau. I hope that this is a useful exercise for someone else too. Weight loss is never one size fits all and what worked for me might not work for everyone, but I'm sure I'm not the only one who had a hard time upping her calories!
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Replies

  • change_happens
    change_happens Posts: 491
    yes. having a higher caloric intake does help you lose weight.
  • GettingFitterVicki
    GettingFitterVicki Posts: 82 Member
    What a great idea. I should do this too.

    I'm stuck without losing and have been for about 3-4 really. The odd movement on the scale but nothing much!
  • SMarie1219
    SMarie1219 Posts: 67
    Love it thanks for sharing!! I'm not to that point yet, but someday soon I'm sure I will be.
  • skinnylove00
    skinnylove00 Posts: 662 Member
    i love this post
  • JenniferFalasco
    JenniferFalasco Posts: 5
    Thank you for posting! I've been stuck but scared to up my intake - it was smart thinking to put in your old eating habits to compare!
  • RunHardBeStrong
    RunHardBeStrong Posts: 33,069 Member
    Love it! Glad you got your groove back!!
  • stc74
    stc74 Posts: 297 Member
    I'm not having luck with 1200 cal or after 2 weeks of yo-yoing. I'm scared to up my calories to the recommended 1380 and yoyo from there. But what to do? I've spent a summer so frustrated not getting anywhere.
  • mamato2babes
    mamato2babes Posts: 90
    I've been stuck for awhile too, and considered upping my calories as well. But to what? How do you know how many to add??
  • billuaa
    billuaa Posts: 56
    Great words of wisdom, thank you!
  • Krash26
    Krash26 Posts: 2 Member
    Yes, that does help!!! I've hit the same plateau, juggling my calories between 1200 and 1000 during the week, but not every week. And once a week, I allow for "treat" day!! Whatever I have a craving for, I have!! But, I still haven't dropped any weight for a couple of weeks!!! Maybe I just need to up the calories with "good" food for the next couple of weeks and see what happens.
  • luv_lea
    luv_lea Posts: 1,094 Member
    I started MFP with 1200 cals also. When I hit a stopping point, I too was scared to up my cals. I finally decided to just do it and see what happened, and have been losing pretty constant ever since.
  • abigailhutch
    abigailhutch Posts: 101
    Thank you for sharing this! It is a great debate on here....and I too have been wondering if I really should up my calories! Thank you so much for opening up and letting us see how it is helping you!
  • CalamityCat
    CalamityCat Posts: 26
    This might sound a bit stupid, and for that I apologise - but how do you know what to up it to? At the moment I'm doing ok - but I expect I might have to do this without going crazy!

    Catherine
  • GreenGettingLean
    GreenGettingLean Posts: 252 Member
    I'm not having luck with 1200 cal or after 2 weeks of yo-yoing. I'm scared to up my calories to the recommended 1380 and yoyo from there. But what to do? I've spent a summer so frustrated not getting anywhere.


    This whole weight loss thing is basically an experiment though, right? You could always try upping your intake by a couple hundred and dropping back if it doesn't work. Don't get frustrating, keep up the good work!

    And I love your Finding Nemo quote :flowerforyou:
  • GreenGettingLean
    GreenGettingLean Posts: 252 Member
    This might sound a bit stupid, and for that I apologise - but how do you know what to up it to? At the moment I'm doing ok - but I expect I might have to do this without going crazy!

    Catherine

    Not stupid at all! For me, I went in to my MFP settings and changed my goal from "lose 1 lb a week" to "lose .5 lb a week." That bumped me up to 1,390 calories a day.
  • mcguink
    mcguink Posts: 15
    Brilliant post, thanks so much. I have not hit the plateau yet but I'm sure it's bound to happen...love this post!
  • mcguink
    mcguink Posts: 15
    Love the Hepburn quote too...it's one of my faves :-)
  • GreenGettingLean
    GreenGettingLean Posts: 252 Member
    Love the Hepburn quote too...it's one of my faves :-)


    Thanks, mine too!
  • CalamityCat
    CalamityCat Posts: 26
    Thanks:)
  • rossana1223
    rossana1223 Posts: 3 Member
    I have hit my first plateu...so early it seems. I am scared to try this too but know something needs to be done in order to reach my goal weight. Thanks for the post. I will try 1380 calorie intake and see what happens. What about exercise? Change that up too? I walk 45-60 minutes 5 times a week.
  • CaptainMFP
    CaptainMFP Posts: 440 Member
    I'm religious about eating my exercise calories, so I don't personally have issues, but here is some advice that might make it easier to decide on a number. This comes from my brother (20+ marathons, 87 miles of Keys 100 in May of this year) to my wife about nutritionally supporting exercise. He said to eat 200 to 400 extra calories every day she ran at a minimum. If you want to up calories, but are scared, consider this. Increase your total for the day by 150 calories per 30 min. of vigorous exercise in a day. If you do 60 min. of serious cardio, make sure to eat at least 300 more calories. I have a pretty good understanding of brain function, so I understand the psychological fear of increasing calories. If you tie the increase incrementally to exercise output, you will likely feel more comfortable because you are increasing caloires to FUEL a specific activity -- exercise -- which together will boost your metabolism and help you lose.

    (For the record, I LOVE the starting post! Putting a modest increase in calories into context of what we ate before we started shows that modest increases in calories won't break you. LOVE IT! I'd also encourage those struggling with a plateau to read this article (http://fitnesswithnatalie.blogspot.com/2011/05/most-dreaded-word-in-weight-loss.html). Speaking as a biology professor, it is the best article I've ever seen to accurately but clearly explain metabolism and why eating more is essential to weight loss.)
  • FirewifeCarrie
    FirewifeCarrie Posts: 118
    So glad to hear about your experience! I too was like you, eating only 1200 calories..most days less than that. I lost 30 pounds relatively 'easy' and then BAM, the plateau slapped me in the face. I upped my calories and have cycled my calories up and down, but haven't seen the scale move. I still hover around the same numbers. I started all of this probably over a month ago so I was hoping to see results by now. I'm trying to not get down about it because I'm very happy with how I look and I haven't been this size since highschool but I was hoping to lose around 5-10 more pounds. How long before you started seeing results? I know everyone is different but just curious. :smile:
  • MoonIite
    MoonIite Posts: 341 Member
    I actually had to up my cal intake after starting a new workout program (Turbo Fire).
    Before I was taking in 1300-1400 calories but that left me hungry and tired. I figure since I'm burning more calories (according to my HRM) that I'll eat back some of my exercise calories to bring my deficit down to the 400-500 range. That did the trick :laugh: Now I have to make sure that I hit at least 1500 cals minimum when I do longer the moderate workouts, so I won't feel so run-down afterward.
  • GreenGettingLean
    GreenGettingLean Posts: 252 Member
    I have hit my first plateu...so early it seems. I am scared to try this too but know something needs to be done in order to reach my goal weight. Thanks for the post. I will try 1380 calorie intake and see what happens. What about exercise? Change that up too? I walk 45-60 minutes 5 times a week.

    It never hurts to change up your exercise routine and keep your body guessing! Our bodies tend to get very comfortable with what we are doing.
  • heathersmilez
    heathersmilez Posts: 2,579 Member
    ! I'd also encourage those struggling with a plateau to read this article (http://fitnesswithnatalie.blogspot.com/2011/05/most-dreaded-word-in-weight-loss.html). Speaking as a biology professor, it is the best article I've ever seen to accurately but clearly explain metabolism and why eating more is essential to weight loss.)

    Thank for this link, good read.

    I'm hoping I'm not already in plateau mode. It's only been 10 days, I only have 10 lbs to lose and am eating 1200 a day 6x a week, the 7th 1500 and at the moment, no I'm not eating my exercise cals back b/c most days its just a 40 min walk or 40 min walk + 20 min Kick boxing so total is about 300cals) which I'm logging as 2.0 to be on the safe side hence that decision. So far I'm feeling good, not weak or tired and also newly vegan and that was a surprisingly easy adjustment.
  • ibbray04
    ibbray04 Posts: 227 Member
    Ah yes, the old "does increasing my calorie intake really make me lose weight?" debacle. I was also one of those who joined MFP, religiously ate 1200 (or less) calories a day and shed pounds fast. Obviously, that fast loss only lasted about 3 weeks and then the scale froze. For the next two weeks I pondered upping my calories - but what would this mean? Wouldn't I GAIN weight if I did that? After all, I ate too much in my pre-MFP life and that's what got me in to this mess in the first place!

    This was my mindset for awhile, until it occurred to me that it might be a beneficial exercise to log an average day of eating before I decided to truly get healthy. For me, this meant giant bowls of "healthy" cereal, a "healthy" Subway sandwich with Coke and potato chips, a homecooked dinner such as lasagna or meatloaf, and of course a nice big bowl of ice cream for dessert. You know, because I'd been so "good" all day. Little did I know, this adds up to a 2,200 calorie day! Holy crap! It still dumbfounds me how much I was actually eating every single day, all the while thinking I was leading a reasonably healthy lifestyle. Compared to how much I was eating and considering my BMR and activity level, 1390 calories a day suddenly seemed very reasonable.

    It really put into perspective for me that upping my calories from 1200 a day was absolutely necessary to keep losing weight. I've since upped my calories to 1390 and busting through my first plateau. I hope that this is a useful exercise for someone else too. Weight loss is never one size fits all and what worked for me might not work for everyone, but I'm sure I'm not the only one who had a hard time upping her calories!

    Wow, your post is about me! :happy:

    I was totally going to post the same thing. I also hit a plateau a few weeks into this journey and was so scared to up my calories. I finally decided to just go ahead and up them to 1400/day. And since then I've dropped 1 lb/week. Thanks for sharing this. I hope it helps those who are struggling with it.
  • GreenGettingLean
    GreenGettingLean Posts: 252 Member
    Thanks everyone for all the feedback! It took about 5-7 days after upping calories for me to see results. I'm a firm believer in not recording a weight loss until it sticks for a few days, so waiting a day or two was killing me! But sure enough, it has stayed off and I even enjoyed a yummy splurge meal last night!
  • Lesliecs
    Lesliecs Posts: 930 Member
    This is probably one of the most talked about topics in MFP! Thanks for posting your experience. I, too, had the same dilemma after being on 1200 calories for a few weeks.....then coming to a standstill. And like you, I was scare to up my calories, even though everyone said I should. So I jumped in and did it..... and luckily, continued to lose which still eating healthier, but just more calories. There are still days when I struggle to eat all my calories because I guess I still have the mindset that fewer calories is better...... but I'm working on it!

    Congrats on your weight loss so far and keep up the good work! :flowerforyou:
  • vettle
    vettle Posts: 621 Member
    Thanks everyone

    I've been eating 1300 calories and eating back most burned when I can for three months now and lost 24 pounds. Now I'm starting to see the scale slow down. Starting Monday Aug 8 I upped my calories to 1500 and entered into a zig zag program but my mind is going.. well you're going to GAIN back some weight now that you're eating 200 calories more a day.

    What is the DEAL with our minds!!? So thanks everyone for slapping some sense into me as well. I shouldn't gain weight since I am still eating under my maintainance calories, the worst that happens is that I don't lose the weight as quickly. But to get out of a plateau I'm doing everything I can.


    Anyone else currently adding calories to lose weight please add me!!
  • charsauce
    charsauce Posts: 51
    thanks for this! I will keep this in mind for when I eventually plateau eating the minimum amount of calories! <3
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