people who LOST weight eating MORE

I eat around 3000 calories each day - lean meats, whole grains, low fat dairy, fresh fruits and veggies.

I lose 1lb each week.

More is less!

what is your exercise regime?

you cant just be eating 3000 cals a day and losing 1lb a week

bump to read more later.

i will also add, i was still losing weight while upping my calories.
it shouldnt have been happening but it was, and i recently accidentily lost another 2kg eating 2000cal a day (thats why im now eating 2100-2300)

if you only have 10-20 pounds to lose, set it to 0.5lb a week weight loss.

but how tall are you? Im wondering because im only 5 1

bumpadybump

Read this. Brilliant article! Oh also read the comments section too


Titled:
I’ve started working out; why am I still gaining weight?!

http://www.columbussports.com/content/writers/dan_falkenberg/ive-started-working-out-why-am-i-still-gaining-weight.shtml


Here are a couple of paragraphs from the article


One thing I’ve noticed about my most successful clients, the majority of them actually gained a pound or two during the first month of exercising. My clients who weren’t very successful were those that maintained the same weight during the first month, the second month, and so on. Why? I’d have to say it’s because my most successful clients were working so intensely that they experienced extra glycogen and water storage. My clients who wouldn’t put in the effort didn’t need extra glycogen stored, so they didn’t see any initial weight gains.

You see, my successful clients saw an extra pound or two on the scale during the first month, but as the program went on, that extra glycogen storage meant their bodies had the extra fuel to stay revved up and burning off excess calories. It also meant that of the food they ate, less was going into fat storage and more was going into “high-octane” glycogen storage. Less fat storage equals faster weight loss.

So here’s my advice. Don’t be scared of delayed results within the first month. Your body is going through an adaptation process, and it requires some time to prepare itself for its new lifestyle. Keep your exercise intensity up, your eating habits right, and you’ll slowly start to see your fat loss results overcome your new glycogen and water storage results. You’ll slowly start to see that success you set out to achieve.

Thanks for posting this article. NOW I understand why, after increasing intensity and duration of workouts, I stopped losing.
Am sitting here eating a rice cake with PB right after my breakfast for the very first time in months. Used to stick to 250 cal breakfast. My New Year resolution:
I will eat more to fuel my body and I won't trust the scale. I am aiming at a fat loss instead of weight loss.
Thanks again.

Your welcome!

I havent lost on the scale in the past 4 weeks (eating at defecit) but have noticed the fitted top that I bought 4 weeks ago is no longer a fitted top. Its loose now lol i wish i'd bought the smaller size now as well. So my body is recomposing itself once again! I've lost fat. There is a pattern with me I have found. I lose heaps of centimetres and then the scale eventually catches up to the hard work I'm doing. So whilst the scale isn't moving I dont get discouraged because my clothes are getting looser.

I have found the fat is melting off me in the past 8 weeks since I started doing hill sprints!!

Actually from the period of Oct 12 - Dec 12 2011 I lost 2.5 kg and 3 cms off my waist. The next couple of months after this might show a different story. My body might decide it doesnt want to lose scale weight and that it is happy to lose centimetres. So if I dont lose scale weight from the period Dec 12 - Feb 12 but lose centimetres it will still look to others that I have lost weight. I will look leaner and be in smaller clothing even though the scale weight stays the same.

I also take note of peoples comments. I hadn't seen this one lady in around 5 or 6 weeks and she told me how fantastic i'm looking and that I've lost heaps of weights since I last saw her!! haha even though i'd lost nothing on the scale. This is what spurs me on to keep going... all these comments and especially the comments from people I havent seen for a month or two. Even in just 1 month they can tell a difference.

Also... are you getting close to goal weight? You might find it better to focus on body recomposition, (losing body fat %) rather than scale weight. The closer to goal you are the slower it will take and if you are exercising you will go through holding patterns where your body needs time to readjust before lowering on the scale. I'd only start to get worried that you arn't losing fat if you havent noticed a change in how your clothes are fitting or measurements are not going down you after a period of 1 month Then you'd need to look at changing some things, like challenging yourself with a different exercise routine, activity, intensity, frequency, duration. Also a change in diet. For the past month I also decided to cut way down on bread and a lot more brown rice and chicken/tuna. So I'm curious to see my measurements in 5 weeks time.

I have found over the past 21 months I have needed to have a lot of patience. I have no idea what number my body wants to settle at. I'll continue to eat a defecit until I like the look of my tummy area. This might be 2 kgs away or 5 I dunno. I might only need to lose 2 kg and increase my calories to maintenance level and get there by toning my tummy and recomping to a lower body fat %.

Edited to say:

I have been trying to stick to around 1800 - 2000 calories but it just doesn't seem enough to get me by. I find after dinner i am hungry. I listen to my body and eat when i'm hungry. I've been eating around 2100 - 2400 during the last few days. If I continue eating in this range I hope it is still enough of a defecit to lose the fat. Because back in August I ate between 1800 - 2600 for 2 months and I maintained my weight. I didnt lose on the scale and didnt lose centimetres. I guess I need to find that sweet spot. I have to make sure though I have enough fuel to power me through my intense excercise. Maybe my body is needing more food now that i'm doing the hill sprints. Also maybe its because i'm closer to goal weight that I need more. I might experiment for the next 5 weeks and continue to eat between 2000 - 2200 and see what happens. 18 - 20 just isnt enough for my needs i'm finding

So, were you undereating initially and then wised up? What was your intake? What did you raise it to?

How was weight loss before/after raising your calories?

I think this might help people who are afraid to up their calories--despite netting less than 1200...sometimes substantially less while working out.

Dunno about that, it was eating more that has me overweight in the first place.

There's a difference between eating a lot and sitting on your butt all day vs. exercising a lot and eating enough to fuel your body. If you create a calorie deficit by eating less and exercising more, you are potentially creating too large of a deficit. You'll lose weight quickly at first, but it will likely slow down as you continue to exercise. Setting MFP to lose 2 lbs per week, eating that calorie goal and not eating exercise calories back is creating a deficit of more than 1,000 calories. That's not good for you. And we often forget that not eating enough isn't just creating a deficit, it could potentially prevent us from getting enough of the nutrients our body needs.

I pretty much now eat about as much as I did when I was sitting on my butt and didn't exercise. And I lose weight because I create a moderate calorie deficit with exercise instead of with food (except on rest days, when I create a deficit with eating a little less). I keep my body fueled for my workouts and eat enough to help preserve my lean muscle mass. Eating properly allows me to perform better and feel better. Starving is what prevents people from maintaining their weight loss and their ability to continue with their weight loss plan.

After only a few days of trying I've already lost 1.5 lbs. What I have changed is:
I exercise every day as I did before with the same intensity. But (referring to the article that was mentioned earlier) I now know much better what is going on in my body. So for exercise my body wants to store glycogen and needs water to do so, ok, I hydrate before, during and after exercise. I cut back on carbs and replaced with fat. Oh, I thought that would ruin everything but it didn't. I used to be very hungry, I am not any more. Seems my body just wanted enough water and fat. I used to be one of those who think that in order to get rid of the fat I have to drastically cut back on it. I thought 8 cups of water a day is fine. For me it is not. Now I drink 1 cup before, 1 cup during and at least 2 cups after working out.
I'm curious what will happen next. Maybe it is true that I don't lose weight but inches for a while and then the scale is catching up. Would be great:drinker: :drinker: :drinker:

So, were you undereating initially and then wised up? What was your intake? What did you raise it to?

How was weight loss before/after raising your calories?

I think this might help people who are afraid to up their calories--despite netting less than 1200...sometimes substantially less while working out.

Well, I started out with 1200 calories/day and wasn't always eating back my exercise calories. I did much better when I started eating 1200 NET calories, and since I'm near my goal, I raised gradually to 1400 NET calories and now 1650 NET calories and I'm still steadily losing 1-2 lbs per week (although my goal is set to 1/2 lb per week).

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I stopped losing since a while ago. this is really frustrating. Now I am really confused how much I should eat to keep my energy up enough to have good run without actually gaining too much weight.

I don't know what you have your goals set at but you could try upping your calories by 100-150 per day and see where you are in 2 weeks.

bump

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bump. will have to read later.

You should be able to eat back you exercise calories and still lose. Not eating them back should make you lose faster, unless you get to where your are not consuming enough calories for your body to work efficiently.

If you look at longer term, I don't know if eating at a larger deficit will cause you to lose any faster. If you think about it, when you have large deficits, you tend to slow your metabolism down due to the loss of lean muscle mass. While though with small deficits maintain their metabolism and reduce the chances of plateaus. It would definitely be interesting to see a study that would compare the two groups.

I've been trying my best to stay at or below my MFP Calorie suggestion, and not eating back the calories I've burned through exercise. I've been exercising a minimum of 60 minutes per day at least 5 days per week. Mostly cardio, treadmill, bike & elliptical, working with a personal trainer once a week on strength & resistance and I'm bummed about how slow the weight is coming off. My weight started at 306 back on December 6th, and compared to my lifestyle prior to starting this exercise and diet, which was ZERO exercise and terrible eating habits, I really thought I would have lost more than 10lbs by now?

What am I doing wrong? I drink a minimum of 8 glasses of water a day, getting vitamins, staying away from candy & sweets. I just don't get it. Am I not eating enough? MFP says I should eat about 1860 calories per day. I'm burning anywhere from 600-800 calories per day at the gym, plus whatever is being burned doing crunches daily and weights a couple times a week.