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

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GreenGettingLean
GreenGettingLean Posts: 252 Member
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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  • change_happens
    change_happens Posts: 491
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    yes. having a higher caloric intake does help you lose weight.
  • GettingFitterVicki
    GettingFitterVicki Posts: 82 Member
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    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
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    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
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    i love this post
  • JenniferFalasco
    JenniferFalasco Posts: 5
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    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
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    Love it! Glad you got your groove back!!
  • stc74
    stc74 Posts: 297 Member
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    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
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    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
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    Great words of wisdom, thank you!
  • Krash26
    Krash26 Posts: 2 Member
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    Love the Hepburn quote too...it's one of my faves :-)
  • GreenGettingLean
    GreenGettingLean Posts: 252 Member
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    Love the Hepburn quote too...it's one of my faves :-)


    Thanks, mine too!
  • CalamityCat
    CalamityCat Posts: 26
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    Thanks:)
  • rossana1223
    rossana1223 Posts: 3 Member
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    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.

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