Having a hard time upping my cals. :(

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EthanJeremiahsMama
EthanJeremiahsMama Posts: 534 Member
in Food and Nutrition
This may sound dumb to some people but this is mainly the only source of where I can vent too, with people who do support me so.. maintenance mode seems much harder to me than when it came to losing actual weight. I'm basically at my "GOAL WEIGHT." as in my goal #.. BUT.. not satisfied with my body. I know it takes hard work to get to where you wanna be.. yes, I am at least happy with the weight I have lost, and switching it up to a MUCH healthier lifestyle than before. All I used to eat was fast food, processed foods, a whole load of carbs - white bread, white rice.. sweets.. all that junk. Now I hardly ever think about it, yes I do have a cheat meal every now and then but not often.. (my diary is open to view for feedback) Anyway.. I'm at a point where I should definitely be increasing my calories. BUT I am so used to eating around 1,200 cals that i'm scared to up my cals only because I'm nervous for a possible rapid weight gain. I've been on the "thick" side mostly ALLLLL my life, I was always unhappy and such an emotional eater. I've been called fat before, "thunder thighs" all of that mess. My confidence was just SO low. So after almost 5 months of losing the weight, eating much healthier & going to the gym 3 times a week.. i'm NOW basically a bit under weight by 8-10 pounds. I'm around 5'5-5'6.. and I do not really want to state my weight on here because alot of people have said rude things to me but I just wanna know if there is anyone who was or is in the same position as me, trying to get to maintenance mode as far as calories & having success with it.. did you up your cals week by week? Slowly but surely I do want to get there, I do not want to lose anymore weight. Yes, I still carry a whole lot of fat around my heaviest area which is my thighs & lower stomach area.. My pictures don't do much justice on here, the pics look so small but trust me.. I could literally grab fat off my thighs hah. I'm apple shaped. But my upperbody is thin enough already, now i'm hearing things from my own boyfriend and other people "you're too skinny! your collar bone shows too much! stop losing weight!" I do not try to starve myself either. And btw, thanks for reading this long entry post of mine to anyone that would like to give me some feedback / advice / help.. I TRULY DO APPRECIATE IT.

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  • kdiamond
    kdiamond Posts: 3,329 Member
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    Let me tell you something hun, when I was at my 'perfect' weight (105lbs back a few years ago), I was eating 1000-1200 calories a day and exercising a few times a week (not hardcore, basically just cardio and light weights). When I started really working out and having the same issues as you, not wanting to up my calories for fear of gaining all of the weight back, guess what, it started coming back...I was having to lower my calories just to try to lose back the few pounds I gained. Trust me this is a vicous cycle. Finally I upped my calories to 1500 and ate back a reasonable amount of exercise calories (~250-300) I started maintaining and not gaining.

    Especially for someone who is 5'6" and especially for someone who is exercising, your body needs those calories. You will even out. If you don't eat enough, not only will your body stop losing it will gain. I have been there.

    Now I am happy eating 1500-1800 a day and maintaining my weight right at 110 pounds. I even do cheat days once a week and eat 2000+ calories with no change. You have to trust that your body will figure it out.
  • Allyson1985
    Allyson1985 Posts: 148
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    Good ways to get more calories is plain peanut butter and nuts. Almonds, cashews, you name it ... calories are high, and they're good calories. That's what I go toward when I'm shy of my 1400 goal.
  • EthanJeremiahsMama
    EthanJeremiahsMama Posts: 534 Member
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    Let me tell you something hun, when I was at my 'perfect' weight (105lbs back a few years ago), I was eating 1000-1200 calories a day and exercising a few times a week (not hardcore, basically just cardio and light weights). When I started really working out and having the same issues as you, not wanting to up my calories for fear of gaining all of the weight back, guess what, it started coming back...I was having to lower my calories just to try to lose back the few pounds I gained. Trust me this is a vicous cycle. Finally I upped my calories to 1500 and ate back a reasonable amount of exercise calories (~250-300) I started maintaining and not gaining.

    Especially for someone who is 5'6" and especially for someone who is exercising, your body needs those calories. You will even out. If you don't eat enough, not only will your body stop losing it will gain. I have been there.

    Now I am happy eating 1500-1800 a day and maintaining my weight right at 110 pounds. I even do cheat days once a week and eat 2000+ calories with no change. You have to trust that your body will figure it out.


    Thankyou so much for your response, it means alot!! <3 I am trying to eat more, it's just hard because I worry if i'm going to be taking in too much carbs or sugars as well. I love carbs.. and I noticed that carbs is what slowed down my weight loss at one point when I was trying to lose. Maybe I should eat double or well **more** of the amounts I actually do eat within each meal.. otherwise i'd seriously just binge :\
  • Lisa__Michelle
    Lisa__Michelle Posts: 845 Member
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    Slowly start upping upping them. Start with 1250, then 1300, 1350, etc. until you get to maintenance. Instead of focusing on the scale, why not start strength training and focus on those thighs. Build muscle under there so you won't have to worry about being "skinny fat." You can do it!
  • carolinedb
    carolinedb Posts: 236 Member
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    I've not been through maintenence yet, but I wanted to comment because I've noticed that recently a lot of your statuses have been related to people being harsh on you about your weight. I really hope that you can tune them out, because I wonder if the amount of stress you're putting yourself under over the scale weight is affecting your appetite.

    That being said, try strength training, and eating healthy proteins and fats. To echo what others have said, almonds are awesome! Also, hummus, protein shakes, and 2% milk. When I was in treatment for my ED, they had me on a lot of those to safely up my calories. Maybe that would work for you? Oh, and they eased me into upping my calories--I believe it was 100/day each week.

    Hope all this helps! I'm cheering for you!
  • DestinyDarbi
    DestinyDarbi Posts: 260 Member
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    I went through this not long ago. I've been in maintenance mode for about 6 weeks. I was SO paranoid that I was going to suddenly get fat again if I didn't stay around 1200 calories! But trust me.. your body will adjust. What I do is this: I set my calories to about 50 less than what MFP says I would need to maintain. This way, I'm not going way under my maintenance calories, but I feel a lot less "pressure," if that makes sense!

    Just up your cals slowly and you'll adjust. It's scary at first, but I promise, you can do it. I did =)
  • FaithHopeBELIEVE
    FaithHopeBELIEVE Posts: 626
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    You can do it girl! You are so sweet and I'm so sorry to hear some others were being so rude. :( You are on the right track!
  • Sway
    Sway Posts: 100 Member
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    Yes, I'd slowly uppen the calories... that way you'll see what calorie range will maintain, and which ones will start to add weight back.

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