Wondering if I should up my calories??

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Kimono
Kimono Posts: 367
in Health and Weight Loss
I am sure this has been asked a billion times, but would really like your thoughts. I started here on Feb 10. Goal was to lose 6 lbs. I was already working out a lot, mostly running, about 35 miles a week. My calories for 1 pound a week weight loss is 1300. I have been following it and eating my exercise calories and still have not lost anything. And I took my measurements and they haven't changes either. I have seen a lot of you say you upped your calories and then lost. Just wondering if I should up them, lower them or leave them for now. Thanks.

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  • Kimono
    Kimono Posts: 367
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    I am sure this has been asked a billion times, but would really like your thoughts. I started here on Feb 10. Goal was to lose 6 lbs. I was already working out a lot, mostly running, about 35 miles a week. My calories for 1 pound a week weight loss is 1300. I have been following it and eating my exercise calories and still have not lost anything. And I took my measurements and they haven't changes either. I have seen a lot of you say you upped your calories and then lost. Just wondering if I should up them, lower them or leave them for now. Thanks.
  • shalinik78
    shalinik78 Posts: 82
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    :frown: Guess what , even I joined on 12th Feb ... going to gym burning 1500 Cals a week , besides that am running around a 2 year the whole day following the cal calculator here on this site - but no results :( whats going wrong ? NEED HELP !
  • Kimono
    Kimono Posts: 367
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    Bummer, sounds like we are in the same boat.
  • duffyzmom
    duffyzmom Posts: 644 Member
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    Kimono - you might want to check out calorie cycling. Alf recommended it to me but I haven't started it yet. Plan to next week. The website is http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm# The concept is that your body has adjusted to the calories you are eating despite all the exercise. So you move your calories up and down from day to day while still eating a basic low calorie amount over the course of the week. My weight loss has stalled so I'm willing to try just about anything right now.
  • helkat922
    helkat922 Posts: 150 Member
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    I have experimented with eating the calories and not and I personally find for me that I lose more if I don't eat them. Just a thought? I sometimes eat them, some days I don't.
  • Kimono
    Kimono Posts: 367
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    Kimono - you might want to check out calorie cycling. Alf recommended it to me but I haven't started it yet. Plan to next week. The website is http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm# The concept is that your body has adjusted to the calories you are eating despite all the exercise. So you move your calories up and down from day to day while still eating a basic low calorie amount over the course of the week. My weight loss has stalled so I'm willing to try just about anything right now.
    I am going to check that out. As far as not eating my exercise calories as a choice, I dont' think I could survive. I would starve and have no energy. So maybe this cycling would help. Thanks for the info.
  • amycakes812
    amycakes812 Posts: 441
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    Maybe you could try changing up yoir workouts. It would be a good jolt to your body, especially if you have been doing the same thing for awhile. Try adding in weights and a different form of cardio and see if that helps.
  • songbyrdsweet
    songbyrdsweet Posts: 5,691 Member
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    I am looking my best right now eating ~1700-2000 calories a day, and I'm not even running like you are. The scale hasn't moved much, but I can see a big change in the mirror, how my clothes fit, and what people are saying to me. It's best to start off with a higher number of calories so you have somewhere to go once you stall.
  • laurs
    laurs Posts: 37 Member
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    I'm in the same boat.. weight loss has plateaued and the last 8 lbs seem to like where they are. I'm going to try the calorie cycling. Anyone have a positive experience with it?

    I'm currently on MFP at 1200 cals a day.

    This is what the calorie cycling site calculated for me, I put myself down at exercise ~3x/week:

    Ex Fat Loss Fat Loss Maintain
    Mon 1042 1389 1736
    Tues 992 1111 1389
    Wed 1250 1666 2083
    Thurs 1042 1389 1736
    Fri 992 1250 1562
    Sat 1146 1527 1909
    Sun 1042 1389 1736

    I'm guessing that, though tempting, I should not go with the extreme fat loss column and stick with just fat loss, eh? It seems like that's a lot of cals though, because it sets me at 1388 Calories/day for fat loss. Any thoughts or suggestions?

    Any positive experiences for you guys with calorie cycling?

    By the way, I've tried to up the exercise as of late as well and will continue to do that (varying my activities from running 9.5 K to yoga, floor hockey, HIIT and weight training).
  • jaxkipi
    jaxkipi Posts: 233
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    I am sure this has been asked a billion times, but would really like your thoughts. I started here on Feb 10. Goal was to lose 6 lbs. I was already working out a lot, mostly running, about 35 miles a week. My calories for 1 pound a week weight loss is 1300. I have been following it and eating my exercise calories and still have not lost anything. And I took my measurements and they haven't changes either. I have seen a lot of you say you upped your calories and then lost. Just wondering if I should up them, lower them or leave them for now. Thanks.

    Hi. If you're working out a lot and eating only 1300 calories, I can tell you with confidence that your body is in starvation mode and you won't loose anything. This low of a caloric intake with as much aerobic exercising you are doing can cause your body to burn muscle. Please be careful.

    How I know this? Well, I'm in a medical program to loose another 50 pounds for a total of 70. I'm on a 1200 cal diet. I have to be on this diet to save my life since I have graded liver disease related to my obesity (NASH). I was told that since I work as a nurse walking up to 7 miles in a 12 hour shift, that I may need to increase my caloric intake during those times...(work times).

    Good luck with everything. And there is never a dumb question. Ask away.

    Kathy
    url=http://www.myfitnesspal.com/weight-loss-ticker]41101.png[/url]
    Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Calorie Counter
  • gilly88
    gilly88 Posts: 114
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    hey!
    i know what u mean, i plateau often as well since only have a small amount to lose. people on here like Banks and songbyrdsweet told me to up my cals so i did (from 1200 to 1300 then to 1500) and in a week and a half of eating 1500 i've lost 1.2lbs. this might pile back on next week hah but i will keep u posted.
    also i calorie cycle - i think its great. b/c on the days you arent so hungry (ie you dont work out) i eat less, then on the days i do a hard workout, i can eat virtually anything i want - feels like a cheat day but isn't , as long as u count the cals and eat relatively clean.
    :)
  • nursevee
    nursevee Posts: 344 Member
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    Are you only running? If you are then perhaps you should consider throwing in a few weight sessions per week. That will help your body burn while at rest as well as when active. I try not to rely on my exercise calories and therefore aim to simply stick to what my base daily cal limit is. The less exercise cal's you use, the more weight you should lose. In addition to this, drinking as much water as you can will stave off hunger, increasing your calories for the meals at the beginning of the day (ie: breakfast being the more calorific and dinner the least) and not eating after 7pm.

    Due to tendonitis in my ankles I can't actually exercise much although I do try and I've lost 4lbs since last week.

    Good luck and don't give up! Sometimes it does take the body a few weeks to adjust the metabolism!!!

    - Vee
  • Mmarcos
    Mmarcos Posts: 31
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    Have you been doing weight training? It is the second most important component to fat loss. 1st is diet.
  • duffyzmom
    duffyzmom Posts: 644 Member
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    I'm in the same boat.. weight loss has plateaued and the last 8 lbs seem to like where they are. I'm going to try the calorie cycling. Anyone have a positive experience with it?

    I'm currently on MFP at 1200 cals a day.

    This is what the calorie cycling site calculated for me, I put myself down at exercise ~3x/week:

    Ex Fat Loss Fat Loss Maintain
    Mon 1042 1389 1736
    Tues 992 1111 1389
    Wed 1250 1666 2083
    Thurs 1042 1389 1736
    Fri 992 1250 1562
    Sat 1146 1527 1909
    Sun 1042 1389 1736

    I'm guessing that, though tempting, I should not go with the extreme fat loss column and stick with just fat loss, eh? It seems like that's a lot of cals though, because it sets me at 1388 Calories/day for fat loss. Any thoughts or suggestions?


    I decided to put in no exercise and use that as my base. Then I will adjust for excercise calories that I know I've burned. I'm hoping that will give me a more accurate picture.

    KIMONO: Another thought how much are you running? When I was training for the marathon I gained weight and I'm pretty sure that was due to the stress on my body from the high mileage. Cortisol is a nasty thing and if your body is stressed it will react.
  • Kimono
    Kimono Posts: 367
    Options
    I am sure this has been asked a billion times, but would really like your thoughts. I started here on Feb 10. Goal was to lose 6 lbs. I was already working out a lot, mostly running, about 35 miles a week. My calories for 1 pound a week weight loss is 1300. I have been following it and eating my exercise calories and still have not lost anything. And I took my measurements and they haven't changes either. I have seen a lot of you say you upped your calories and then lost. Just wondering if I should up them, lower them or leave them for now. Thanks.

    Hi. If you're working out a lot and eating only 1300 calories, I can tell you with confidence that your body is in starvation mode and you won't loose anything. This low of a caloric intake with as much aerobic exercising you are doing can cause your body to burn muscle. Please be careful.

    How I know this? Well, I'm in a medical program to loose another 50 pounds for a total of 70. I'm on a 1200 cal diet. I have to be on this diet to save my life since I have graded liver disease related to my obesity (NASH). I was told that since I work as a nurse walking up to 7 miles in a 12 hour shift, that I may need to increase my caloric intake during those times...(work times).

    Good luck with everything. And there is never a dumb question. Ask away.

    Kathy
    url=http://www.myfitnesspal.com/weight-loss-ticker]41101.png[/url]
    Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Calorie Counter

    I am eating my exercise calories, and that is never less than 500 calories and sometimes as much as 800. So that is between at least 1800 and over 2000 calories. Maybe that is too much?? But I hope not because there are times that I am still starving at this amount.

    I have been weight training more for a couple weeks. I always did about 1 maybe 2 times a week. Now I have been doing the Shred and that has been leaving me sore. And I use an exercise ball and free weights.

    I don't have a lot to lose and I have a fairly muscular build, so I know it gets harder to lose the last few pounds.

    And the cortisol thing, that is very good information. I have a question about this, I was under the impression this is what makes us store belly fat. Is that right? Is this produced when you exercise too much? And how do you know when it is too much? Oh and I don't have belly fat, I am a total pear shape. Does that matter for cortisol??

    Thanks for all the info. You guys have great wealth of information.
  • songbyrdsweet
    songbyrdsweet Posts: 5,691 Member
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    I am sure this has been asked a billion times, but would really like your thoughts. I started here on Feb 10. Goal was to lose 6 lbs. I was already working out a lot, mostly running, about 35 miles a week. My calories for 1 pound a week weight loss is 1300. I have been following it and eating my exercise calories and still have not lost anything. And I took my measurements and they haven't changes either. I have seen a lot of you say you upped your calories and then lost. Just wondering if I should up them, lower them or leave them for now. Thanks.

    Hi. If you're working out a lot and eating only 1300 calories, I can tell you with confidence that your body is in starvation mode and you won't loose anything. This low of a caloric intake with as much aerobic exercising you are doing can cause your body to burn muscle. Please be careful.

    How I know this? Well, I'm in a medical program to loose another 50 pounds for a total of 70. I'm on a 1200 cal diet. I have to be on this diet to save my life since I have graded liver disease related to my obesity (NASH). I was told that since I work as a nurse walking up to 7 miles in a 12 hour shift, that I may need to increase my caloric intake during those times...(work times).

    Good luck with everything. And there is never a dumb question. Ask away.

    Kathy
    url=http://www.myfitnesspal.com/weight-loss-ticker]41101.png[/url]
    Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Calorie Counter

    I am eating my exercise calories, and that is never less than 500 calories and sometimes as much as 800. So that is between at least 1800 and over 2000 calories. Maybe that is too much?? But I hope not because there are times that I am still starving at this amount.

    I have been weight training more for a couple weeks. I always did about 1 maybe 2 times a week. Now I have been doing the Shred and that has been leaving me sore. And I use an exercise ball and free weights.

    I don't have a lot to lose and I have a fairly muscular build, so I know it gets harder to lose the last few pounds.

    And the cortisol thing, that is very good information. I have a question about this, I was under the impression this is what makes us store belly fat. Is that right? Is this produced when you exercise too much? And how do you know when it is too much? Oh and I don't have belly fat, I am a total pear shape. Does that matter for cortisol??

    Thanks for all the info. You guys have great wealth of information.

    Cortisol doesn't just cause fat storage in the abdomen. It also causes protein breakdown for conversion to glucose, and the protein will either come from muscle or dietary protein (or both in the case of being in a deficit). Neither of those are great options.

    Cortisol is produced in response to general distress as well as chronic aerobic activity, like running long distances. You run low on glucose so your muscle is broken down for the amino acids.

    In your pictures you look very lean. Are you aiming for a scale weight or body fat %?
  • Kimono
    Kimono Posts: 367
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    Thanks for all the information.
  • Kimono
    Kimono Posts: 367
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    I looked up information on Cortisol. Very interesting-I showed the information to my running partner-she is also using mfp but has not posted anything yet. She is not losing weight either and has more of an issue with belly fat. She is going to ask her doctor about doing a test that measures cortisol.

    As for me I am looking to lose some fat from my butt and thighs, that is where I carry my weight. If the scale doesn't move but I lost inches or tightened and lifted my rear that would be just fine also. I have no idea what my body fat % is.

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