Upping calories to break a plateau... PASS.
cerrajean
Posts: 188 Member
When I started MFP it set my goal at 1370. When i lost about 15lbs, It went to 1320. When I got to 34lbs (where I'm still at, a couple months later) it advised I revisit my goals, and set me to 1250.
That was around late October or early November, and while I was glad to have maintained my weight over the holidays (except 5lbs that went as quickly as they came) I'm tired of being stuck, so I tried some of the more common advice I've seen and adjusted my goal to 1.5lbs/week as opposed to the 2lb/week I'd originally set.
Yesterday was day 1 and I went for a bear of a hike, burned 1540 calories (HRM verified) so (again, based on the advice I've seen repeatedly) I attempted to eat back my exercise calories. This put me at almost 3000 calories on the day, and I was uncomfortably full. (and in order to get that high, i wasn't eating very nutritionally either.)
Today was my first day at 1500 calories without exercise, thanks to morning traffic, and I'm still uncomfortably full, having rounded the day out at 1435.
I never thought I'd say this, but I miss 1250! I simply don't eat 1500 calories normally. I don't know that I'm looking for advice so much as sharing my story, but I really think I'm going to set it back to 2lbs and try something else. I need to listen to how my body is feeling, not what MFP is telling me. Thoughts? Advice?
That was around late October or early November, and while I was glad to have maintained my weight over the holidays (except 5lbs that went as quickly as they came) I'm tired of being stuck, so I tried some of the more common advice I've seen and adjusted my goal to 1.5lbs/week as opposed to the 2lb/week I'd originally set.
Yesterday was day 1 and I went for a bear of a hike, burned 1540 calories (HRM verified) so (again, based on the advice I've seen repeatedly) I attempted to eat back my exercise calories. This put me at almost 3000 calories on the day, and I was uncomfortably full. (and in order to get that high, i wasn't eating very nutritionally either.)
Today was my first day at 1500 calories without exercise, thanks to morning traffic, and I'm still uncomfortably full, having rounded the day out at 1435.
I never thought I'd say this, but I miss 1250! I simply don't eat 1500 calories normally. I don't know that I'm looking for advice so much as sharing my story, but I really think I'm going to set it back to 2lbs and try something else. I need to listen to how my body is feeling, not what MFP is telling me. Thoughts? Advice?
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Replies
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You know reading your story is like reading mine. I was in a plateau for so long that I just gave up for few months. Now, I have to lose weight again. I am trying to lose the weight that I gained but hopefully I will now try to get so discouraged when I do get into a plateau. The thing is that I am just like you eating more than 1250 seems a lot. One of my doctors recommended me to eat at 1800, to maintain weight but to lose it decrease 1500. I am doing much less 1250 and it is still a battle but eating more is too much.0
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There's a lot of high calorie foods like peanut butter, almonds, protein shakes, and so forth that are not filling and help you get more calories.
I kind of hit a plateau on my last 10lbs to lose, but thankfully it coincided with a trip to Los Cabos where I ate whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. Tortas, cheese up the a**, candy, pastries, etc.
Then I came back and went back on my regular diet, and 3 weeks later, I hit my goal weight.
You don't have to do it for a week, but that's just my 2 cents.
Edit: You can also try cooking with more oil, lots of calories (healthy ones) there.0 -
is it just me or does it seem crazy how many calories they say you burn for activities? i live in colorado... we hike the rockies... if i hike for 6 hours for sure i feel like i need a protein bar and some trail mixy stuff along the way.... but to eat back almost a day's worth of calories (1500) seems crazy.
to me...... bottom line... you should listen to your body in most cases ( if you arent in the midst of an anorexia/bulimia/compulsive eating disorders)..... so don't eat once you feel full/satisfied. and don't ignore the signs of hunger.0 -
is it just me or does it seem crazy how many calories they say you burn for activities? i live in colorado... we hike the rockies... if i hike for 6 hours for sure i feel like i need a protein bar and some trail mixy stuff along the way.... but to eat back almost a day's worth of calories (1500) seems crazy.
to me...... bottom line... you should listen to your body in most cases ( if you arent in the midst of an anorexia/bulimia/compulsive eating disorders)..... so don't eat once you feel full/satisfied. and don't ignore the signs of hunger.
Nope, never any eating disorders here, just insulin resistance, but I've been good lately about taking my meds, so that shouldn't be a factor. (My first big plateau around 15lbs led to getting back on the meds after admitting defeat and dealing with the fact that my body was trying to sabotage me.)
I actually did eat peanut butter today for the first time in a few months, simply because it IS higher in calories. I've decided i'm going back to 1250 but I'm going to change how I get there- more veggies, similar fruit count, fewer carbs, and maybe more dairy. I used to be the queen of dairy before I started paying attention to how many calories cheese had in it!0 -
You shouldn't have to eat foods that aren't nutritious to meet your goals. There are plenty of healthy high calorie foods out there like nuts and nut butter.0
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You shouldn't have to eat foods that aren't nutritious to meet your goals. There are plenty of healthy high calorie foods out there like nuts and nut butter.
Yeeeeaaah, after a 5 mile hike in the steep ups and downs of the NorCal Redwoods pizza just sounded better, haha.
Normally I'm pretty healthy though.0 -
It will take a couple days to get used to eating the higher amount of food just like a took a little while to get used to the lower amounts.0
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I am back at 1250 today and happy to be. If I want more, I know I can always work out, and I'm hoping that the extra calories the past few days with shake my system up and get it burning again. I was up one pound this morning, but I never pay attention to a weight unless I hit it 2 days consecutive, so we'll see tomorrow.
Thanks guys for the input!0 -
Honestly unless you're an athlete who trains for hours daily I see no need to eat back 1500+ calories...that being said I would probably eat back 750 of them. You can also vary your calorie intake by day and by activity level, that actually works very well in most cases.0
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