should i up my cals??

I think you are maybe you aren't eating enough. The recommended is 1lb a week. Just try 1lb for a few weeks or so and see how you manage.

If you are losing weight, but are still hungry, increase them a little bit more so you are in between 1lb and 0.5lb a week weight loss.


Also, make sure you are getting enough protein and fiber in your diet. This is what will keep you full. I tend to feel fuller if I have a high protein meal with a glass of water. Try eating slower as well. About 10 chews per mouth full of food. When I am doing this, I sometimes struggle on the meal I am trying to eat lol.

How long have you been eating this many? First things first, to see the effect of any diet change you usually need 4 weeks. (just an FYI, people bounce their cals around after a week or so and never understand if it worked/didn't work etc.)

My first instinct is yes, you should eat more. Eating more helps you to maintain your lean body mass so that the number going down on the scale doesn't include as much muscle mass but is more fat. That said, you have to accept that with eating more you'll lose slower (in my opinion its a better option but you have to accept this fact).

Perhaps try increasing your calories and then sticking with it for 4 weeks. After reassess.

hi!
i am 22 yo female, currently weigh 230 and work out 3/4 times a week burning around 700/800 cals eat time.

MFP has me on 1280 cals a day, I always eat most of my exercise cals back and always try to get everything balanced out correctly.
I get hungry yeah, but not starving, still getting the hang of when is the optimal time for things to be eaten.

should i change my weight loss to 1lb a week rather that 2lbs? am i eating too few cals??

Sounds to me like you're doing great and being smart. You should have no problem losing all the weight you want if you keep it up. Here's my far-from-professional advice. Try it! Give it a shot for like a month, see how you like it. You're not in a race, you're trying to figure out a new way to live. It's a lot easier to live your life with a few hundred extra calories to play with.

If it doesn't work no biggie, you change it back. But I have a feeling you'll still lose and it'll be healthy and sustainable.

Good luck, though I don't think you need it.

I'm going to go with "stick to the 2 pound a week loss" for now. You need to get that weight off. It's important, and you will be much healthier.

You have plenty of stored body fat to sustain you. I think the 1280 is fine for now. I'm assuming you are trying to get down to the 150 or less weight.

If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal,
If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal,
If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal,
If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal, and
If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal.

1280 is plenty of calories for you - as long as you are eating most of your exercise calories. If you are really hungry on some days, bump it up 300-400 calories on that day. You'll still be eating at a small deficit.

This might explain what you're thinking about in better detail:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/477666-eating-for-future-you-method

Hello! I was in a similar situation in jan. I just stopped losing. So I upped my calories from a 2 lb deficit to a 1.5. 250 calories made a night and day difference. And I started to lose weight again. I still lose anywhere between 5-6 lbs pounds a month. It's not as quick as it could be but I want my skin to go stretch back. I hope this helps.

Hi there,

I would stick to the calories MFP has set for you. I started my weight loss journey in January and I have lost 11 kilograms (24 pounds). I am 22 also and started at the weight of 70 kilograms (154 pounds) and ate 1200 calories per day. At the start, I did appear not starving but hungry at times, however I stuck by it and eventually my body adapted and the hunger feeling got less and less. I work out doing both cardio and strength training approximately 5 days per week (however I rarely eat my calories back -- unless I know I am going out one night, etc.).

I have only just upped my calories as I have reached my goal 'weight', but I am starting to look more seriously at toning my body up and gaining weight back through muscle, therefore I have upped my calories by 100 calories more and have added a bit more protein to my diet, a little less fat & a little less carbs. Eating more protein I have found keeps me fuller for longer & is harder for your body to break down and therefore burning more calories in the process of this break down. Also, heavy multigrain breads and rice, etc. also fill me up for longer than ordinary white bread. I am not sure what foods your eating, but I'd recommend eating the 1200 calories per day and experimenting with alternative foods if you have been already and opting for Low GI and healthier choices.

Good luck, stick to it.
xx

id say increase, because thats pretty much what im told to do on here, and im way more than 100lbs lighter than you are, so i think that you can certainly eat a bit more than that given youre bmr would be a lot higher. id suggest that maybe work out your TDEE requirements putting your self as a little bit active, and then go off that - but cut by like 20% for weight loss? good luck on your journey. im a personal trainer so im very impressed with your work out efforts

I'm going to go with "stick to the 2 pound a week loss" for now. You need to get that weight off. It's important, and you will be much healthier.

You have plenty of stored body fat to sustain you. I think the 1280 is fine for now. I'm assuming you are trying to get down to the 150 or less weight.

If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal,
If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal,
If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal,
If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal, and
If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal.

1280 is plenty of calories for you - as long as you are eating most of your exercise calories. If you are really hungry on some days, bump it up 300-400 calories on that day. You'll still be eating at a small deficit.

That's really helpful information, thank you for sharing that