Upping calories to break a plateau... PASS.

cerrajean
cerrajean Posts: 188 Member
edited November 1 in Health and Weight Loss
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?

Replies

  • anadeliacenteno
    anadeliacenteno Posts: 16 Member
    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.
  • Anayalata
    Anayalata Posts: 391 Member
    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.
  • jenifer7teen
    jenifer7teen Posts: 205 Member
    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.
  • cerrajean
    cerrajean Posts: 188 Member
    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!
  • theroadto100
    theroadto100 Posts: 209 Member
    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.
  • cerrajean
    cerrajean Posts: 188 Member
    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.
  • 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.
  • cerrajean
    cerrajean Posts: 188 Member
    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!
  • kdiamond
    kdiamond Posts: 3,329 Member
    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.
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