Women who eat more than 1800 calories a day !!!!

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  • ingfit
    ingfit Posts: 180 Member
    I eat 1800 cals per day and have one spike day/off day where I eat over maintenance (which is 2350 for me). I am 5'7" and currently weigh 171. I workout intensely 4 times a week and am losing 1 to 1.5 lbs a week.
  • cakeums
    cakeums Posts: 228 Member
    I eat 2000-2300 most days. I am 28, almost 5'10", and around 195lbs. Fat2fit says I should eat 1800 and change at a sedentary level - well, according to my FitBit, I average almost 9,000 steps per day. In fact, this week I got bumped from the lightly active level to the active level. About a month ago, I increased from 1830 to 2000 on MFP, and have gone over that quite a few times before I got my FitBit and started getting the calorie adjustment from it. According to it, I was eating just right. And it shows, because I have lost over 5lbs in 3 weeks! Before I had lost 7lbs in 7 weeks, but had stalled out for a couple of weeks.

    I do not pay much attention to my net once I get to about 2300 cals of food, if I am still under my net. My activity is all from walking/working, so I don't feel the need to eat, say, 2900 calories to meet a net of 2000. If I ate 2400 and have only net 1500, I leave it at that because I'm not doing any high intensity workouts, or lifting. I will start to work exercise in once my schedule allows.
  • cakeums
    cakeums Posts: 228 Member
    Oh, and a coworker was stunned and skeptical on Sunday when I was explaining to her that I eat 2000 calories or more in a day. I think eating more to lose more is something some people just need to see to believe!
  • ebaymommy
    ebaymommy Posts: 1,067 Member
    Thank you ladies so much! I thought it was just me who felt tired/ angry only eating 1200 calories a day. I am going to up my calories to a "normal" level now. Maybe my loss will be slower, but in the very least it wont feel like I want to sleep all the time.

    Yes, you will be amazed at the energy you have.

    Just as a caution to you (and anyone else who is upping their calories due to reading this thread).......

    1) you might want to up them gradually - like 150-200/day for a week or so, then take it up again until you get where you want to be

    2) do NOT freak out if the scale does crazy things. When I upped my calories the first week in January I had small but steady losses for about 3 weeks straight, then stalled out, then GAINED for a couple weeks, then went back to losing. This is especially true if you are lifting weights - those sore muscles retain water like no other! Give your body time to adjust to being fed.

    3) do not freak out if you suddenly feel like you are a starving monster. I had a few days on increased calories where I was like "Oh, I'm so full, how can I ever eat this much food?" that quickly turned into "OMG I'm sooooooo hungry, 2000 calories is not enough, I need to eat eat eat eat eat!" Best I can tell is that you are "waking" your metabolism up and the result is hunger! Don't be afraid of it....but do use your new, increased calorie allowance to even up your meals. I used to eat under 200 calories for breakfast and I always felt like I could eat my arm by lunchtime. When I initially upped my calories I only took breakfast up by about 50 calories or so and was still so very hungry at noon. Now I happily eat 400-500 calories for breakfast and I feel satisfied and ready to kill it at my morning workout session!
  • mama2shi
    mama2shi Posts: 300 Member
    Bump
  • Crystal_Pistol
    Crystal_Pistol Posts: 750 Member
    Minimum of 1700 calories a day, and when I exercise, I eat them ALL back. Sometimes I also borrow other people's calories because I don't have enough and I'm still hungry. I've lost 20lbs.
  • mrschappet
    mrschappet Posts: 488 Member
    I eat around 2000 calories a day :-) friend me if you would like some support! :flowerforyou:
  • ebaymommy
    ebaymommy Posts: 1,067 Member
    I eat around 2000 calories a day :-) friend me if you would like some support! :flowerforyou:

    You have lovely abs! Mine are still a work in progress....I hope they look like yours someday!
  • jessica_johnson2011
    jessica_johnson2011 Posts: 61 Member
    bump to read later
  • brandiuntz
    brandiuntz Posts: 2,717 Member
    I eat 1800-2000 a day. I'm 5'8", 168lbs, goal weight is in the 155lb range. When I first set up MFP, I had it at 1lb per week loss. That only gave me 1550 calories. I couldn't do it; was always hungry/tired. Switched to 0.5lb a week and the bump in calories (official net is 1740) has made a huge difference.
  • Tmrice721
    Tmrice721 Posts: 86 Member
    Bump... I love this!!!!!!
  • Eb155
    Eb155 Posts: 46 Member
    Bump!!! I really need to hear all these success stories. I'm upping my calories as of right now!! Thanks everyone for sharing! Feel free to friend me, I can always use this motivation!
  • ShellyAnnPaulson
    ShellyAnnPaulson Posts: 27
    Okay, so I'm 45 years old, 5'1 and weigh 206. I haven't started exercising yet. I know, I know I need to. I will soon. I really will. How many calories should I be eating? When I eat around 1200 I don't lose. I think I lose when I stay close to 1400 but should I be eating more? Or should I keep it lower until I start working out?

    Find a BMR calculator on a google search and see what it recommends you eat just to maintain with no daily activities.

    Yeah, I've done that. but I want to lose weight, so I'm trying to figure out how many calories I should eat to lose weight? I have no idea what to keep my calorie count around? I feel like if I keep it to low, I don't lose, but if it's too high I don't lose. Ugh...
  • keiraev
    keiraev Posts: 695 Member
    I eat around 900 net per day because I read on here a while ago that short people shouldn't eat a lot as we don't burn as much. (I'm 4'11"). MFP has 1150 cals a day at 0.8lb a week weightloss for me. It was hard to stick to at first but i'm slowly adjusting. However I don't want to adjust to such a low figure if I could and should be eating more :/

    I work out around 3-4 times a week burning 300 cals if the gym machines are to be believed.

    That's completely not true. I have a friend on here who is your height and eats 1800 a day to LOSE and she is only 100lb.
  • B3Streeter
    B3Streeter Posts: 292 Member
    Lost weight when I started eating more! Here's my post with PICS:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/422324-always-a-bridesmaid

    p.s. Ignore my diary now, I don't log as accurately now that I am in maintainence
  • eksb
    eksb Posts: 93
    I'm 5'6", 145lbs after losing 35, and still looking to lose another 5-10. I have my calories set at 1740 for maintenance (as if I were sedentary, which I am often not but it's hard to track running after children and carrying a 20+ pound baby). I then add 300 more calories for nursing, eat all my exercise calories, go over my limit about twice a week, and eat way too much chocolate. As long as I stay away from a lot of sodium, I still consistantly, but slowly, lose weight. Go figure but it works for me.
  • tabinmaine
    tabinmaine Posts: 965 Member
    Minimum of 1700 calories a day, and when I exercise, I eat them ALL back. Sometimes I also borrow other people's calories because I don't have enough and I'm still hungry. I've lost 20lbs.

    hahaha, I love the "borrow other people's calories" statement !!
  • kryptonitekelly
    kryptonitekelly Posts: 335 Member
    Minimum of 1700 calories a day, and when I exercise, I eat them ALL back. Sometimes I also borrow other people's calories because I don't have enough and I'm still hungry. I've lost 20lbs.

    hahaha, I love the "borrow other people's calories" statement !!

    hahaha that made me laugh :)
  • SandyMilton
    SandyMilton Posts: 130
    Definitely watching this thread!!
  • Moonblood
    Moonblood Posts: 199 Member
    This thread is amazing! I was eating around 1400 cals a day, and lately I've been feeling so sluggish and haven't had much energy to work out. After reading this last night I upped my cals to 1600 and ate my exercise calories back from exercise and I woke up this morning feeling refreshed and have more energy than ever! I also woke up feeling like a hungry beast! I am going to slowly up my calories to 1800 or so. I hit my goal weight last autumn, but managed to gain 2 lbs back, but it could be muscle. I'm 5'5", 22 and weigh 111-112lbs. I'd love for women who are eating high calories to add me! My diary is open.
  • rmk20togo
    rmk20togo Posts: 353 Member
    LIfe long dieter here (lost 75# and kept it off for 8 yrs now). I ran across another thread Monday and then this one Tuesday that both convinced me to try increasing my calories to 1750. Two days with the increased calories and I've gained back the 1 pound I'd lost.......:grumble: I do have to rely on the scale rather than inches. I've worked out for so many years, I doubt I'm still building muscle and losing fat.

    I still believe in this approach and expected a gain (maybe significant) since I've deprived my body of fuel for almost 10 years and burn 750-850 calorie 6x/week. Did anyone else experience an initial gain when they increased their calories?

    I'm hanging in there for at least a week and trusting the process. I've seen the same advice over and over again and am finally getting it through my thick head.

    All of the women on this thread eating real food are such an inspiration!!!!
  • tabinmaine
    tabinmaine Posts: 965 Member
    LIfe long dieter here (lost 75# and kept it off for 8 yrs now). I ran across another thread Monday and then this one Tuesday that both convinced me to try increasing my calories to 1750. Two days with the increased calories and I've gained back the 1 pound I'd lost.......:grumble: I do have to rely on the scale rather than inches. I've worked out for so many years, I doubt I'm still building muscle and losing fat.

    I still believe in this approach and expected a gain (maybe significant) since I've deprived my body of fuel for almost 10 years and burn 750-850 calorie 6x/week. Did anyone else experience an initial gain when they increased their calories?

    I'm hanging in there for at least a week and trusting the process. I've seen the same advice over and over again and am finally getting it through my thick head.

    All of the women on this thread eating real food are such an inspiration!!!!

    Many have said to expect a little gain the first couple of weeks but then it started falling off.... hang in there, I just started this as well and I have stayed the same.... but that might change and I might be up next week. Either way, I am working out and eating... I am happy, and that is what is most important !!
  • Annaflower
    Annaflower Posts: 43
    Feel free to add me. I am 5'8" and over 300lb eating around 1600 to 2000 kcal per day. Just started exercising so that may change as I am set to sedentary and therefore will eat back some exercise calories. My diary is open so have a look. Most of my evening meals are recipes the my daughter and I cook and each serving usually has 3 portions of veg included in the recipe. If you want to have a go at any of them just message me and I can send you the info.

    Good luck.
    A x
  • rmk20togo
    rmk20togo Posts: 353 Member
    Thank you ladies so much! I thought it was just me who felt tired/ angry only eating 1200 calories a day. I am going to up my calories to a "normal" level now. Maybe my loss will be slower, but in the very least it wont feel like I want to sleep all the time.

    Yes, you will be amazed at the energy you have.

    Just as a caution to you (and anyone else who is upping their calories due to reading this thread).......

    1) you might want to up them gradually - like 150-200/day for a week or so, then take it up again until you get where you want to be

    2) do NOT freak out if the scale does crazy things. When I upped my calories the first week in January I had small but steady losses for about 3 weeks straight, then stalled out, then GAINED for a couple weeks, then went back to losing. This is especially true if you are lifting weights - those sore muscles retain water like no other! Give your body time to adjust to being fed.

    3) do not freak out if you suddenly feel like you are a starving monster. I had a few days on increased calories where I was like "Oh, I'm so full, how can I ever eat this much food?" that quickly turned into "OMG I'm sooooooo hungry, 2000 calories is not enough, I need to eat eat eat eat eat!" Best I can tell is that you are "waking" your metabolism up and the result is hunger! Don't be afraid of it....but do use your new, increased calorie allowance to even up your meals. I used to eat under 200 calories for breakfast and I always felt like I could eat my arm by lunchtime. When I initially upped my calories I only took breakfast up by about 50 calories or so and was still so very hungry at noon. Now I happily eat 400-500 calories for breakfast and I feel satisfied and ready to kill it at my morning workout session!

    I love that you reminded me about sore muscles. I did a 2 hour master circuit class on Saturday with tons of burpees, mountain climbers, jump rope, sprints, running stairs, and other calf-destroying exercises and my calves have gotten progressively tighter since. Today I can barely walk in flats. Monday I kickboxed and had the instructor as my partner. My right shoulder muscle literally cramped itself into a knot just holding hit pads for him. Tuesday I had to bend over to wash and dry my hair because I couldn't hold my arms up. Today I can barely put on my sweater or hook/unhook my bra. I work out a lot and hardly ever get really sore any more. The crazy sore calves and shoulders may well account for my 1# gain.

    You gals are a fountain of knowledge.
  • rmk20togo
    rmk20togo Posts: 353 Member
    I can't even tell you how good that run yesterday was and how STRONG I felt.... my legs were like pistons... bahahaha
    ( not really but felt like it)

    I am loving this thread and your comment. I lost 75# years ago with WW (and kept it off) and over the past 2 years started getting serious about losing 20# more. I've lost a grand total of 5# since June 2011. I've been a major gym rat and runner for about 4 years. When I started working out I saw amazing gains in my speed, strength, and endurance. Once I got serious about counting calories (started with Lose It) I noticed not just a leveling off but a decline in my workout performance. I was eating 1200-1500 total per day and burning 750-850 a day/6 days a week doing HIIT, cardio, and strength training. The math made no sense (not losing) and I assumed my performance was declining because of aging. This thread makes me rethink that, especially with so many 'shredded' girls on here eating so much food. I've lifted heavy for 2 years and see no definition like some of you are seeing. Yesterday I read a thread that convinced me to try 1750 a day regardless of exercise and I'm going to give that a month, even though it scares me to death.

    I wonder if I will see a gain in the beginning and how long it might last be\fore the numbers start going back down.

    If I only see an increase in my workout performance I'll be thrilled. In the past two years my running speed has slowed and my max number of pushups has declined. I really wonder if fuel could be the culprit.

    Stats:
    51 years old
    5'6"
    163
    31.5% BF (in spite of working out hard 6-7x/week. This number has not changed in 2 years)


    PS, be thankful if you have a good nutritionist. I took a 29 page spreadsheet that included my calories eaten, exercise, macro nutrients, etc. to a nutritionist and all I got was, "You're doing everything right. I don't know why you aren't losing. That will be $150 please." I'd love to find one who understands fat loss and muscle building.


    This is how I feel, except I'm in the distance runner category not a gym rat (all my cross training is done here at home- plus pilates/yoga etc). :) The ONLY time I saw weight loss while running was when half marathon mileage peaked w/ long runs of 9-11 miles.... otherwise, it looks perfect on paper- but it DOESN'T WORK RE WEIGHTLOSS.


    I'm trying to net at least 1700 cal per day, which means I have to eat 1900-2200 depending on workout. I wish I enjoyed it more- perhaps if I actually start losing weight again at some point, I won't feel like I'm choking down food.

    I'm a distance runner as well and didn't see any weight loss while training for and completing a half marathon. I attributed that to GU's, gels, Sport Beans, etc.

    If only my body would read all the calories in/calories out data.
  • Mainey13
    Mainey13 Posts: 54 Member
    I am eating 1200 calories, work out hard 5x a week, and cannot fathom eating 1800 calories a day!! I just dont see how eating that much can help me lose weight??? Im scared to try because I dont want to gain any weight (although I havent lost any either) in a long time.

    [I do heavy weights, cardio and spinning classes]
  • gemiwing
    gemiwing Posts: 1,525 Member
    LIfe long dieter here (lost 75# and kept it off for 8 yrs now). I ran across another thread Monday and then this one Tuesday that both convinced me to try increasing my calories to 1750. Two days with the increased calories and I've gained back the 1 pound I'd lost.......:grumble: I do have to rely on the scale rather than inches. I've worked out for so many years, I doubt I'm still building muscle and losing fat.

    I still believe in this approach and expected a gain (maybe significant) since I've deprived my body of fuel for almost 10 years and burn 750-850 calorie 6x/week. Did anyone else experience an initial gain when they increased their calories?

    Hi :D

    I just upped my cals from (at my lowest point)500 a day to 1200 a day (right before MFP) and then now to where I am plowing through 1900 easy :D 2500 on hard workout days.

    I gained TEN POUNDS in a week. Guess what? Week two and it's gone PLUS another pound :D So yep- give it time and enjoy eating and FUELING yourself! It does work and it takes time- so you're right to stick with it and wait.

    SO happy to be eating well and feeling energized instead of stagnant- it's amazing to feel my body growing after so many years of 'nothing' from lack of fuel and exercise. Love it!
  • tabinmaine
    tabinmaine Posts: 965 Member
    I am eating 1200 calories, work out hard 5x a week, and cannot fathom eating 1800 calories a day!! I just dont see how eating that much can help me lose weight??? Im scared to try because I dont want to gain any weight (although I havent lost any either) in a long time.

    [I do heavy weights, cardio and spinning classes]

    You have not lost any because your body is starving itself. you are eating approx 8400 calories a week and guess what, prob burning approx 3500-4000 calories or more just from working out. So your body is living on about 5000 calories a week. It prob needs at least 8400 just to support your breathing and blood circulation and your organs to function properly, that's at rest, before you get out of bed.
    Guess where those extra 3400 calories are coming from ?

    Your body is eating itself to survive, including your muscles.
  • mocha76
    mocha76 Posts: 184 Member
    Love this thread!!
  • clearly_ninja
    clearly_ninja Posts: 62 Member
    Just been on the fat to fit radio site to see how many calories it suggested I eat.
    It came back with the figure of 2106 which seems extremely high. And it worked this out via my bmr.

    Thats all well and good however one method (harris-benedict) had my bmr at 1847 whereas (katch-mccardle) only has me at 1067 which is what mfp puts me at.

    I have been losing steadily over the past month but if I can be eating more then i'm all for it I just wonder which of these methods is most accurate?
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