should I eat more calories?

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SportySpiceVT
SportySpiceVT Posts: 59 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I read that you should eat the amount of calories that your body will need to maintain your goal weight. For me, that is 1650. I have 14 more pounds to lose. After six weeks on MFP I've lost 4lbs eating about 1300 a day. What do you think about eating what your body needs to maintain your goal weight? I'm 5'5 and currently 142.6, trying to get down to 129.

I should also note, I am ALWAYS hungry eating the calories I am set at now. I don't know if it is just in my head or my belly is actually hungry.

Replies

  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,554 Member
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    Hmmm, it is an interesting theory. Basically it is just playing around with the size of your calorie deficit.

    By eating 1300 a day you are making the deficit bigger, by eating 1500 or 1600 you would reduce the deficit each day.

    This would most likely mean that you lose weight more slowly, but as you are not so very far from your goal, your body might respond well to more calories.

    Try it and see is the only way to find out, as long as you have a deficit and are logging accurately you should lose weight. Slowly is probably better at this stage, so give it a try, especially as 1300 is clearly not enough and you are hungry!
  • bry_all01
    bry_all01 Posts: 3,100 Member
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    yes
  • prestonmay
    prestonmay Posts: 107 Member
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    I alternate the carbs....and keep the calories the same. Non workout day 50, workout day 200 ..... No carbs after 12 for me
  • LisaKyle11
    LisaKyle11 Posts: 662 Member
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    are you exercising as well (can't tell because you didn't mention it and we can't see your diary)? if you aren't exercising, START. that way you can eat more -- plus your body and mind will get the many benefits.

    if you are, then you most likely need to be eating more than the 1300 you stated you are still hungry on. either way, your body is telling you (not just your mind) that you need more fuel. give it more. just do your best to keep it healthy and as unprocessed as possible.
  • SportySpiceVT
    SportySpiceVT Posts: 59 Member
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    I am exercising about 60-90 minutes a week. Not a lot. When I do exercise I am eating back my calories as I've seen a lot of people say that you should (usually 100-300 calories).
  • UsedToBeHusky
    UsedToBeHusky Posts: 15,229 Member
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    Prolonged periods of deep deficit will slow down your metabolism. At first, it will speed it up, but eventually your body will attempt to maintain weight with the lower calorie amounts. If you give yourself an occasional increase, then you give your metabolism a boost and you can return to the deeper deficit until it adjusts again. I generally weigh every day so that I can judge when to adjust my calories. My current calorie goal is 1650 but I generally eat 1200. I'm not very hungry because I eat several small meals and usually get 30-35 grams of fiber a day. Fiber helps you feel fuller and will aid the body in expelling fat. Best of luck!!
  • MikeInAZ
    MikeInAZ Posts: 483 Member
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    Find a better work out. (something high energy like a spin or kick boxing class).

    Eat lots of veggies and fruits, Reduce refined foods/sugars/carbs/fat/sodium/soda. Drink a lot of water. Increase fiber and complex carbohydrates. Take a multi vitamin and fish oil daily.

    Friend me and let me check out your food diary. It's something your eating or not eating.

    - Mike
  • SportySpiceVT
    SportySpiceVT Posts: 59 Member
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    If i were to lose a pound a week I should have lost 6lbs by now. I guess I'm just feeling frustrated with my SLOW progress. My official weigh-in is Friday but I weight myself daily to see where I am at. This week the numbers aren't changing. It is looking like it will be my 3rd weigh-in in a row at 142.6. In my head eating more shouldn't mean weigh-loss, but I have seen many of you raving about the benefits of eating more. I'm desperate to see some progress! :P

    I usually am at about 20grams of fiber a day. 30-35 sounds like a lot. I need to eat what you are eating! :)
  • 09246
    09246 Posts: 5
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    Drink more water, drink more green tea, and eat food that has more fiber. Also, is if you're emotionally "hungry," then you have to train your brain to know when you are hungry and when you are "hungry." This is all common knowledge, but it works--that's why it's so commonly known, I suppose.

    EDIT: Also, the slower it takes you to loose weight, the slower you will gain it back. Slow weight loss is still weight loss, is it not?
  • UsedToBeHusky
    UsedToBeHusky Posts: 15,229 Member
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    EDIT: Also, the slower it takes you to loose weight, the slower you will gain it back. Slow weight loss is still weight loss, is it not?

    That is so not true! You gain weight fast no matter what you do. You could spend a year taking off 20 lbs and then put that same weight back on again in 2 months. If you are making a legitimate lifestyle change, then you don't have to worry about putting weight back on.

    I think there are a lot of people on this site who are truly setting themselves up to fail when the justify slow weight loss by saying the slower you lose it, the slower you gain it back or the faster you lose, the faster you gain it back. The goal is to not gain it back!

    To the OP, high fiber diets do work and if you eat a lot of fresh fruits and veggies, then its not hard to achieve. You are on a plateau. The metabolism is misunderstood. Metabolism is the whole series of chemical reactions that your body undergoes. To complete all of these reactions, energy is required. Caloric energy is required and more readily used. Stored energy can be drawn upon, but caloric energy is preferred because stored energy is meant for other purposes and not daily use. If you force your metabolism to rely on stored energy daily, then it will adjust so that it can do more with less caloric energy to avoid using the stored energy. An occassional increase in calories tells your metabolism that it does not have to reserve stored energy, and it will resume normal activity levels. Hope this make sense.

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