Major sucess with higher calories!

runbyme
runbyme Posts: 522 Member
edited November 12 in Food and Nutrition
Good morning! I just had to post about the sucess I have had with eating a higher calorie diet!

I started here at MFP the 1st of January and was given the 1200 calorie plan most of us get set up with. I exercised 4 times a week and at the end of the month, I had gained 3#! Sooo discouraged!

I read through the forums, looking for clues. Looking for hope. I read a few peoples posts about eating enough to lose weight and I thought they had lost their minds. I mean, you have to starve to lose weight right? Even at 1200 calories, I was only netting about 800-900 because I wasn't eating back my exercise calories. In my mind, I figured the weight ought to be falling off of me! How wrong I was!!

I contacted hellitsdan and had him run my numbers to see what was up. He immediately set me up with the minimum of 1800 calories and said my TDEE was 2250. No way! I cried most of the night. It seemed so absurd to think that if I wasn't losing wieght at 800-1000 calories a day, that I would at 1800. Thankfully, I listened and was a good student!

Today marks my 1 month of eating this higher calorie diet and I won't ever go back! As of today, I have lost 4.4#, 6" off various measurements, most off my hips and thighs, and my BF% went from 28% to 24.6%!! Just think what next month may hold!

Anyone who is struggling with a VLCD and isn't finding sucess, please up your calories. You'll have more energy to work out and you won't be hungry!

Good luck to all of you on your weightloss and fitness journeys!

Kathy
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Replies

  • mscarmen803
    mscarmen803 Posts: 40
    I started with the 1200 mfp gave, but like you I went up on my calorie intake after reading the forums also..hope to see a difference myself.. keep up the great work!
  • qkidney
    qkidney Posts: 258
    Congrats! And thanks for posting this!

    I think a lot of people (I'm one of them) are afraid to eat more because I know i used to think the less I ate the more I'd lose!

    I've slowly been upping my calories so I am hoping that I will see some changes too!

    :flowerforyou:

    Edited to say: helloitsdan also has pointed me in the right direction!
  • giag09
    giag09 Posts: 203 Member
    awesome i upped my calories i am eating like 150 more havent seen a change but i am doing 30 day shred and i think i am gaining muscle i guess i shall see ... its so empowering to be able to tweak this and that to make yourself healthier!!!!!!!!!
  • mslack01
    mslack01 Posts: 823 Member
    That is awesome! I wonder if he would run my numbers for me? I have no idea if I should up mine and what I should up them to. But I know things aren't working well. I don't always eat great, but I'm not usually terrible either.
  • Reckabek
    Reckabek Posts: 487 Member
    been at a plateau for several months. Recently i started eating back my excersise calories but not upped my daily intake yet. But stories like yours and others make me feel better about doing it! Ive lost 95 lbs on low fat low cal small portions. So to up that scares the crap outta me! But i just the last few months started excersising and think i do need to up it all. I know i have about 10 pound s or more of extra skin that will never go away. And would prefer to be in my 130's...but with that said the 140's would be like the 130's if that makes sense! I cant seem to push these last 10 lbs! Its frustating! So needless to say im going to keep eating bk my excersise cals. See if that does anything and if not up my daily allowence too! Woohoo im so happy for ya! :happy:
  • RunHardBeStrong
    RunHardBeStrong Posts: 33,069 Member
    I love it and congrats!! I have always ranged between 1800-2100 and in turn net 1200-1500 after exercise. I have lost 101 lbs and still losing. Down to my last 40 lbs and I keep waiting for the loss to slow but it hasn't so I just keep plugging away. Not gonna mess with a good thing that is working! Good luck and keep it up!
  • katstroet
    katstroet Posts: 1
    That's awesome! It's a mind-game because eating more calories - isn't that what got us here in the first place? I have had slow but good success since Jan 1 (10 lbs) but that's on the 1200. But how long can I sustain this? I am just starting to work out now, and am hungry! Think I will up my calories and give it a try! Thanks for the info!
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    :drinker: Woohoo! :drinker:

    Welcome to the dark side, where we really do have cookies, and have enough calories to eat them.
  • MJ7910
    MJ7910 Posts: 1,280 Member
    i have found the key is staying active. where i've gone wrong before is i ate more calories and didn't exercise, it ruined everything! as long as you're doing some kind of physical activity you can keep your metabolism high. if i would eat 1200 and not exercise, i would be back in the same position i was (25 lb heavier) in no time. but i have been able to eat more calories as long as i stay active. i am now up to about 1700-1800 and seeing if i can eat more and still keep it off. i also started at the low end and realized that just wasn't working for me. who wants to be starving all day? not me.
  • Rays_Wife
    Rays_Wife Posts: 1,173 Member
    :drinker: Woohoo! :drinker:

    Welcome to the dark side, where we really do have cookies, and have enough calories to eat them.

    And pizza! :bigsmile:
  • Rays_Wife
    Rays_Wife Posts: 1,173 Member
    I'm so happy for you Kathy!! Glad you found what works for you. When I discovered I didn't have to starve to lose weight, I broke down and cried. I was also scared to eat more, but a really smart lady convinced me to give it a try (wink wink LorinaLynn) and I am SO glad I did!
  • RunHardBeStrong
    RunHardBeStrong Posts: 33,069 Member
    :drinker: Woohoo! :drinker:

    Welcome to the dark side, where we really do have cookies, and have enough calories to eat them.

    HAHAHA! And wine.....
  • 70davis
    70davis Posts: 348 Member
    bump
  • secretgirl4611
    secretgirl4611 Posts: 474 Member
    MFP set me a goal of 1,430 which for me is pretty low compared to how I can eat. I love to eat :) But when I WORKOUT I earn extra calories which now I will be eating them for sure. ONE QUICK ? to eat back my calories I earned adding extra fruit or vegis can I also add like maybe a snack like: nutella toast or cheese and crackers or sumthing good??
  • SamMorBelsmom
    SamMorBelsmom Posts: 164 Member
    My girlfriend at the gym was having the same issue so I told her to add about 400 calories in high protein food. She had been dieting at working out for 3 months and only lost 4 lbs. One week eating the extra 400 calories in protein and she dropped 5 lbs in the one week. 3 pounds the next and she hasn't stopped. She came in to hug me and thanks me cuz "I am finally seeing results and my husband doesn't hide from by the evening because I am no longer turning into a bear!"
  • 2012asv
    2012asv Posts: 702 Member
    Love your post. I just began 1800/day i'm on my second week. I wish I did it sooner.
  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
    Great job! It is hard to wrap our minds around eating more to lose more, because we've been told for so long that to lose weight you must eat less & exercise more. Which I suppose is true if you're a couch potato shoveling junk food into your face all day long. :tongue:

    I like the way it's put in the book "The New Rules of Lifting For Women" by Lou Schuler:

    "I hope I've convinced you by now that 'Eat less' is a formula for slowing down your resting metabolic rate. And 'Exercise more' is a way to increase your metabolic rate.
    The combination, however, can be expressed this way: Slow down your metabolism while speeding it up.
    Does that sound reasonable? if a financial adviser told you to run up your credit cards while putting away money in a savings account, would you take that advice? .... Would you say to your employees that you want them all to start working longer hours, and as a reward, you're going to pay them less?"

    Gotta fuel that body if you're gonna work it! My daily intake right now is 1580 and I eat most of my exercise cals back most days. I don't leave myself hungry at the end of the day, that's for sure. I only have a few more pounds to go, so they are coming off slowly at this point. Or maybe I don't have any more pounds to lose, but fat, and muscle to build! Still reading the book & want to start lifting heavy and building more of that lean muscle. Which means upping my calories, I'm sure! Win win! :tongue:
  • rmk20togo
    rmk20togo Posts: 353 Member
    I'm a newbie at eating more calories so I can't speak for results. I can speak for more energy and better workouts. I need to meet this hellitsdan....:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
  • Maystar80
    Maystar80 Posts: 85 Member
    i have found the key is staying active. where i've gone wrong before is i ate more calories and didn't exercise, it ruined everything! as long as you're doing some kind of physical activity you can keep your metabolism high. if i would eat 1200 and not exercise, i would be back in the same position i was (25 lb heavier) in no time. but i have been able to eat more calories as long as i stay active. i am now up to about 1700-1800 and seeing if i can eat more and still keep it off. i also started at the low end and realized that just wasn't working for me. who wants to be starving all day? not me.

    I'm so glad to read success stories with upping calories and the point you make here is sooooo wonderful! I've yoyo-ed for a while and my thinking on upping calories used to be "but then I'll definitely gain weight because that's how I've gained weight before, by eating just a little bit more." But what's most important to remember is that those times I've gained weight I wasn't exercising as much as I'd like to believe and I was binge eating and junk food eating a lot more. I've just started raising calories a couple weeks ago and hope to start seeing the benefits, but I'm also making sure I exercise enough to earn those calories. Thanks for the reminder!
  • dododo123
    dododo123 Posts: 105 Member
    You are so right, you can't lose weight on VLCD for some reason. I have tried it as well and failed. I am happy about your success.
  • Erica0718
    Erica0718 Posts: 469 Member
    congrats, that is great :flowerforyou:
  • bbriscoe13
    bbriscoe13 Posts: 175 Member
    I had the same problem. I wasn't eating back my exercise calories and I wasn't losing weight. Once I started eating back my exercise calories I dropped 3 pounds in a week! Good luck! :) Thanks for sharing!!
  • embersfallen
    embersfallen Posts: 534 Member
    bump for later
  • jadedone
    jadedone Posts: 2,446 Member
    For me, eating enough keeps me from making crazy choices later in the week. It is a lot easier for me to resist cupcakes if I am not walking around hungry!

    I also know for me to lose that the food intake is the biggest thing for me. (for scale success)
    But for measurement success, I need to lift weights and exercise intensely. Otherwise the only thing that happens is my calves get a tiny bit more definition, and everything else stays the same.
  • squishycow7
    squishycow7 Posts: 820 Member
    Glad you're having success!!! Wish there were more posts like this to show everyone that it works! :)
  • tbresina
    tbresina Posts: 558 Member
    Its so scary though and I can't wrap my mind around how I can lose weight with more calories! If I don't lose this week I will try it!
  • Coco_Puff
    Coco_Puff Posts: 823 Member
    I'm finding the same thing. This is only the first week of making sure I eat all my exercise calories, but after being stuck since early Jan., the scale has started moving again and my tummy feels flatter! How can this be, that I have cheated myself all these years, under the mindset that we have to give it all up to lose weight, when in fact, the food world is our oyster! As long as we exercise and eat healthy enough to support our workouts, we can have it all!!!!! YAY for us!!!!!!
  • slrrese
    slrrese Posts: 180 Member
    So, I have a question about upping your calories. If you/when up your calories do you still eat back your exercise calories or not?
  • Stephanie2167
    Stephanie2167 Posts: 83
    How do you know how to up your calories? I'm at 1200 and have a desk job. So I'm wondering if I up them, how much I should and how to reflect that in MFP?
  • peaceinside
    peaceinside Posts: 272
    Yipper skipper! another really good way to do it is figure out what your calories would be to maintain your goal weight and set that as your daily intake and don't worry about eating exercise cals back, if you do it's ok but just concentrate on that maintenance calorie intake and the results are wonderful!!!
    Peace! :flowerforyou:
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