I've upped my calories!!!

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Missy0104
Missy0104 Posts: 77
in Health and Weight Loss
I did it - I increased my goal to 1400 a day instead of the 1200 MFP set for me. I am still in the obese cat (although only 20 lbs away from the "overweight" category). Why was it so psychologically hard for me to do that?? I've done the numbers and I know that 1200 is below even a 1,000 daily deficit and yet I clung to that number for dear life. LOL...

I feel a little free. Just sayin'....
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Replies

  • elizabethblake
    elizabethblake Posts: 384 Member
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    Good for you! I upped my calories a couple of weeks ago and lo and behold - the scale started moving! I think 1200 is much too low for most people.
  • Jade_Butterfly
    Jade_Butterfly Posts: 2,963 Member
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    I say good for you. . . Sometimes it takes a lot of courage to move out of our comfort zone. . You have done great thus far. . Good luck in the remainder of your fitness journey!:bigsmile:
  • joseph9
    joseph9 Posts: 328 Member
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    Way to go - let us know how it works out.
  • OfficialPR
    OfficialPR Posts: 1,610 Member
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    I had to increase mine to 1700 from 1500 and that's HARD for me to reach...I'm under and yet I force myself to eat more so I can LOSE more...metabolism & blood sugar needs to be regulated and trained.
  • JWoodyard07
    JWoodyard07 Posts: 55 Member
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    I did the same as well. I just wasn't losing weight. But I upped my calories and the weight is coming off! Good luck. I am sure you will do great.
  • anubis609
    anubis609 Posts: 3,966 Member
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    Psychologically, it seems mathematically correct to reduce more to lose more. Biologically, it doesn't work that way. That's why it was so hard to accept. Good move in upping the calories.
  • charityateet
    charityateet Posts: 576 Member
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    I did that a week ago or so, the scale went up a bit at first.....but I think it's coming back down. It's psycological that's for sure..ya gotta eat to lose...
  • LaMaMiK77
    LaMaMiK77 Posts: 82
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    Ok so I'm at 135.2 pounds and I'm 5'2"" tall. My calories are at 1200. Do you think that may be causing my headaches everyday? I'm drinking water eating all my calories plus the ones I burn when exercising. Do you think may be I should up my calories? Cuz I can't take having a headaches everyday. :(
  • AggieCass09
    AggieCass09 Posts: 1,867 Member
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    this will help you so much....i promise

    i've been gradually doing this since january (and added in zig-zagging in march) and it finally fixed my poor metabolism ( i used to eat 800 cals net)

    i've lost 4.4 lbs in the past 2 weeks...hope you have great success as well!
  • SRH7
    SRH7 Posts: 2,037 Member
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    So glad to read this post. I've not lost an ounce in weeks despite sticking more or less to under 1200 calories (5' 8" and 182lbs).

    Just decided this evening to up my calories from tomorrow to 1500 calories. Will give it a week and see how I get on.

    If I only lose a pound a week by upping my calories, so be it. Better than losing nothing on 1200!
  • anubis609
    anubis609 Posts: 3,966 Member
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    Ok so I'm at 135.2 pounds and I'm 5'2"" tall. My calories are at 1200. Do you think that may be causing my headaches everyday? I'm drinking water eating all my calories plus the ones I burn when exercising. Do you think may be I should up my calories? Cuz I can't take having a headaches everyday. :(

    Headaches can be a symptom from under nourishment. Even at 1200, your BMR may not require such a deficit.
  • MoonIite
    MoonIite Posts: 341 Member
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    I also upped my calories. Since I'm working on the last 10 pounds I changed my weight loss goal to 0.5 lb a week (instead of the usual 1 lb). After a week of increasing my intake and eating all of my exercise calories I lost 1.8 lb. My daily deficit went from 400-500 to 250-200. I actually lost more once I upped my intake.
  • Missy0104
    Missy0104 Posts: 77
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    Ok so I'm at 135.2 pounds and I'm 5'2"" tall. My calories are at 1200. Do you think that may be causing my headaches everyday? I'm drinking water eating all my calories plus the ones I burn when exercising. Do you think may be I should up my calories? Cuz I can't take having a headaches everyday. :(

    I used this site to get an "idea" of my total energy expenditure a day. While I'm sure it's not exact - it gave me an idea of what my "maintenance" TTE would be and then you can do your deficit from there.....

    http://www.health-calc.com/diet/energy-expenditure-advanced

    Even at a 1,000 deficit I'm around 1400 calories a day (assuming little to no exercise that day) - I would eat more on days I exercise. So yah, 1200 was WAY too low for me but for some reason it was like my mind just couldn't let go of the "eat less/lose more" mentality. I hope this helps....
  • Missy0104
    Missy0104 Posts: 77
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    If I only lose a pound a week by upping my calories, so be it. Better than losing nothing on 1200!

    Amen!! I've been stalled for 2 weeks now and like you said, even at 1 lb a week I'd be 2 lbs down by now vs. nadda!!!
  • SRH7
    SRH7 Posts: 2,037 Member
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    Ok so I'm at 135.2 pounds and I'm 5'2"" tall. My calories are at 1200. Do you think that may be causing my headaches everyday? I'm drinking water eating all my calories plus the ones I burn when exercising. Do you think may be I should up my calories? Cuz I can't take having a headaches everyday. :(

    I used this site to get an "idea" of my total energy expenditure a day. While I'm sure it's not exact - it gave me an idea of what my "maintenance" TTE would be and then you can do your deficit from there.....

    http://www.health-calc.com/diet/energy-expenditure-advanced

    Even at a 1,000 deficit I'm around 1400 calories a day (assuming little to no exercise that day) - I would eat more on days I exercise. So yah, 1200 was WAY too low for me but for some reason it was like my mind just couldn't let go of the "eat less/lose more" mentality. I hope this helps....

    Just looked at that website you've quoted and it says my BMR is over 1500. Maybe there is something in upping calories...
  • Riverofbeauty
    Riverofbeauty Posts: 205 Member
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    It's so strange how increasing calories can cause you to lose more weight. Last week I decided to move onto maintaining, and was going to gradually increase my calories (so about 50-100 a day last week), but ended up losing .5kg! Not what I wanted, so I've upped it even more this week. But definitely interesting how it all works.
  • Missy0104
    Missy0104 Posts: 77
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    Ok so I'm at 135.2 pounds and I'm 5'2"" tall. My calories are at 1200. Do you think that may be causing my headaches everyday? I'm drinking water eating all my calories plus the ones I burn when exercising. Do you think may be I should up my calories? Cuz I can't take having a headaches everyday. :(

    I used this site to get an "idea" of my total energy expenditure a day. While I'm sure it's not exact - it gave me an idea of what my "maintenance" TTE would be and then you can do your deficit from there.....

    http://www.health-calc.com/diet/energy-expenditure-advanced

    Even at a 1,000 deficit I'm around 1400 calories a day (assuming little to no exercise that day) - I would eat more on days I exercise. So yah, 1200 was WAY too low for me but for some reason it was like my mind just couldn't let go of the "eat less/lose more" mentality. I hope this helps....

    Just looked at that website you've quoted and it says my BMR is over 1500. Maybe there is something in upping calories...

    What's sad is that I've gone to that site and calculated it like 5 times and STILL was dragging my heals on upping them. LIke somehow I did the math wrong and if I went back to the site on a different day it would say "oh you're right...our bad....you should be eating 1200". LOL.
  • anvacarz
    anvacarz Posts: 58
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    Ok, I am thouroughly confused now.... Can someone please explain how/why this works? It's more than calories in/calories out... So much to learn!
  • Missy0104
    Missy0104 Posts: 77
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    Ok, I am thouroughly confused now.... Can someone please explain how/why this works? It's more than calories in/calories out... So much to learn!

    it's really your Total Energy Expenditure - a calorie deficit (500 calories for 1 lb per week and 1,000 calories for 2 lb per week on average). So for me, my TEE is roughly 2400 (what I would eat to maintain my current weight) and I'm doing a 1,000 deficit because I'm obese and I tend to indulge on weekends anyways so I'm hoping it evens out to at least 1 lb a week. If I was only eating 1200 calories each day (which is what I was aiming for before) then I'm actually at a 1200 per day deficit which is too low and I'm guessing it's why I wasn't losing.

    Your Total Daily Energy Expenditure consists of three components:
    1.The energy (calories) needed to maintain the body's basic functions like breathing, heartbeat, nervous system, circulatory system etc. (aka Resting metabolic rate (RMR) or Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR))
    2.The energy your body needs to perform your daily physical activities (e.i., walking, typing, exercising in the gym etc.)
    3.The energy your body needs to digest your meals and convert it to immediate fuel or fat (fuel for future use)
  • brandy1castillo
    brandy1castillo Posts: 19
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