1200 cals vs 1600

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vvww88
vvww88 Posts: 21 Member
in Food and Nutrition
So mh caloric intake was set to 1200 cals/day which after reading so many threads I realize it was not maintainable.
(My goals were set to lose 2pounds/week- and it did work I’m down 9 pounds)
So I have no adjusted it to lose 1 pound/week and my calories are set at 1600.
Will this change cause weight gain at first? will I gain it all back?
Or will this help me keep off the weight I have already lost and continue to gradullay lose still?

Thanks- I’m clearly still a newbie here :)

Replies

  • SuzySunshine99
    SuzySunshine99 Posts: 2,984 Member
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    If you are logging accurately, all it will do is slow down your weight loss, but not stop it or cause you to gain.
    Bear in mind that depending on how you spend your extra 400 calories you might see a gain in water weight at first.
    High sodium foods and alcohol can cause you to retain water but it will go away.
    So, give it some time at 1600 before you decide if it's working for you or not.
  • gallicinvasion
    gallicinvasion Posts: 1,015 Member
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    You should not gain anything from switching your rate of loss to 1 lb per week. (Keep in mind that when you increase calories, you might see a small jump in water weight which shows up on the scale, but please be assured that this is temporary!)

    If you’re scared to jump up to 1600 at once, you can try two weeks at 1400, then go up to 1600 (this would allow you to see what your rate of loss is at each level, and give you more data for your personal weight loss plan).

    But if you were losing 2 lbs a week as expected at 1200, then going right to 1600 shouldn’t result in weight gain at all. You’ll still lose, just have to ride out any initial water retention that may show up on the scale for a few days.
  • vvww88
    vvww88 Posts: 21 Member
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    Thank you both for the reassurance! I will see what happens in the next couple days (my weigh in day is Monday and yesterday I started 1600)
  • Panini911
    Panini911 Posts: 2,325 Member
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    as others have said, it shouldn't cause ANY gain just slow down rate of loss.

    i will note though, this is a good time to ensure you are properly weighing and logging food. with a smaller deficit there is less wiggle room for logging errors. So use a food scale on all food, carefully select diary entries. Do this and you certainly will continue to lose weight at 1600 cals.
  • SuzySunshine99
    SuzySunshine99 Posts: 2,984 Member
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    vvww88 wrote: »
    Thank you both for the reassurance! I will see what happens in the next couple days (my weigh in day is Monday and yesterday I started 1600)

    Again, you'll need to give it some time. A few days at 1600 is not going to tell you anything. See what your trend is over the next 3-4 weeks at least.
  • savithny
    savithny Posts: 1,200 Member
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    You should just lose slower.

    I was (unintentionally) losing at about 2 pounds a week earlier this spring. I've lessened my efforts over the past few weeks and I'm watching the rate of loss drop, but not stop.
  • purple4sure05
    purple4sure05 Posts: 287 Member
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    I was losing 1.5 to 2 pounds a week on 1200 calories. I switched to 1500 exactly two weeks ago. I dropped from 132 to 130.5 just before the first day, then climbed up to almost 133 over a few days. Now I've been moving up and down between 130 and 132.5 ever since. It's been pretty annoying since I never fluctuated like this at all before. It's only been two weeks so people tell me to wait longer, but just throwing my experience out there for reference.
  • dawnymo1
    dawnymo1 Posts: 48 Member
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    I actually lose faster with 1600 calories , 1200 was horrible …..
  • emilysusana
    emilysusana Posts: 416 Member
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    My weight always goes up for a bit when I increase my calories. Just remember it’s temporary. Give it a few weeks and it will sort itself out.

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