Can't get on board with eating MORE calories...

If you are calculating your daily intake properly in the first place, the eating more to lose more thing should NOT work. But if you are a stupid person who "wants to lose alot fast" and you just set your cal goal for the minimum 1,200, your body might fight you a bit and it is going to be hard to maintain.
Listen to MFP and just eat what it tells you.
Starvation mode it largely a myth!!

Personally, on my second week of doing MFP faithfully and working out, I was coming in way under my calorie count, and lost no weight. I upped my calories (by adding healthy stuff of course) and ate smaller meals and more snacks throughout the day and I lost 3 pounds that week. It seems as though it worked for me.

Absolutely! You owe it to yourself to try. Give is 2- 3 weeks and see. I tried it and now wouldn't even dream of looking back. There are two choices, keep doing what your doing and perhaps not lose as much, become discouraged or commit to a trial period and see what happens. My bet is you'll be very glad you did. Not to mention with a bit more calories you're likely to make the longer term life style change. It's not just overall count, quality of food and meals with snacks are key.

MFP is a guide, a learning tool and an ESTIMATE not an exact science.

Best of luck!

Yes, it is working for me. I lost 8 pounds and stalled for 2.5 months. I saw a nutritionist and she said inwas eating too little and I should be at 1800 and not 1200. I am losing again and , feel great. I was scared to increase too but I was seriously working my butt off and sticking ton1200-1300 calories and couldn't lose an ounce to save my life.

It really is working for me.
Theresa

From what I understand, smaller meals and snacks every 2 hours will keep your metabolism up and will keep burning. Like adding wood to a fire while camping. The flames are bigger and the heat is more intense when wood is added for fuel - no fuel, no burn.

There is no metabolic advantage of eating smaller more frequent meals. It may help reduce cravings but the NIH has already proven this wrong. In all actuality, there are some studies that suggest interim fast (where you fast for 16 hours or more and eat within the smaller windows) may increase body fat reductions.

If you are calculating your daily intake properly in the first place, the eating more to lose more thing should NOT work. But if you are a stupid person who "wants to lose alot fast" and you just set your cal goal for the minimum 1,200, your body might fight you a bit and it is going to be hard to maintain.
Listen to MFP and just eat what it tells you.
Starvation mode it largely a myth!!

Unfortunately, MFP is only as smart as the person that inputs the data. Not everyone is as knowledgeable as others. Case in point at my work. i recently had a discussion about programs like MFP. The girl wanted to lose 2 lbs per week so she could meet her goal for her vacation. Not knowing any better, she set it that way. I told her it's way too aggressive and why.

Also, many people don't put exercise into the TDEE calculations and don't want to under why they should. It's also why there are so many fights on eating back exercise calories.

I had stuck with the 1200 calorie thing and everyone told me to up it and i did to 1300 and somehow I've gained two of the 6 pounds i lost last week back so Idk how it works by adding calories something is way off balance I'm going back to my 1200 calorie intake today.

Weight loss isn't linear. It's water weight. For you to gain 2 lbs of fat, you need to eat 7000 calories above your TDEE. And judging by your ticker, you should be aiming for 1/2 lb per week. And more than likely, if you are exercising, you should be around 1800 calories as you are probably burning 2400. The only thing 1200 calories a day is doing for you is slowing down your metabolism and maintaining your body fat.

Below is proven results of eating more. This is what I got from one of the ladies I ran calories for. She eats between 1800-2000 calories and does heavy weight lifting. She is 36 years old and cut 4% body fat in a month. Cutting body fat is what makes you skinny, not the weight loss.

"I just wanted to thank you for your help. You helped me a few months back and I just wanted to give you an update on my progress. 12 weeks ago I started at 154 and 28% bf. I got my bf remeasured last Friday and it was 24%. But I only lost 1 pound. It is crazy to me but I have learned to ignore the scale. You were right that keeping consistent and not giving up my body would finally adjust.

Thanks again for your help!

Stephanie"

Just don't think of it as "eating more." Think of it as eating the RIGHT amount. Think of MFP and the way you eat as a tool. You need to use the right tool for the right job. You don't use a bulldozer to plant a tulip. You don't use a sledgehammer to swat a fly. You don't use a roller to paint the Mona Lisa.

If it was a simple matter of "eat less and you'll lose faster," we'd all just stop eating until we got to the right weight. It doesn't work that way. We need to find the right amount to eat, and it's usually more than the 1200 bare minimum.

bump for later...

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Worked for me - I gained a couple pounds in the first two weeks, but then I dropped it all - it got mae over my plateau.

Well I indeed hope its water I know i didnt eat that many calories and even at 1300 calories i know that's not going to make me gain 2 lbs.. some are saying its what i ate over the weekend but i watched carefully and had under my cals then also, so who knows where the 2 lbs came from will be interesting to see how the rest of my week goes.

Well if you are under your calories, then you didn't really up your calories to 1300 now did you, lol.

Bump...

Me too.

Thinking about eating back exercise cals/eating more than 1300 gives me anxiety, which then leads to binges (Though I've only binged once in the past 6 weeks, which is a HUGE improvement for me)

I do have an eating disorder, so just try to eat the minimum of what your body actually needs before you get into a routine. And make sure to fuel your body properly so that it can recover after workouts!!

I have found that if I go up and down in calories I lose best. I did best with weight loss (which was not my main goal btw) when eating between 1300 and 1700 calories a day.

Also, I do not believe it is a simple matter of calories in/calories out. I also seem to do best if I eat nutrition packed foods. I can eat 1800 calories of whole grain foods, fruits, veggies, a bit of meat (not much), and lose weight, but if I eat 1500 of fast foods and dessert, I don't do as well.

I have wondered why. I think it could be that the human body works more efficiently on nutrition packed foods and a balanced diet.

Another thing I am doing is I stopped pursuing weight loss over a year ago. I decided that I was tired of the roller coaster and was going to find a way to work on my health and feel good. I went on a low glycemic food plan and lost a bit of weight. Then I went on an anti inflammatory eating plan and lost even more.

But I am treating weight loss as a side effect. The weeks I lose, that's a real happy side effect. The weeks I don't register a loss, I don't get upset or worry or fuss about it, because I am feeling better than I did a year ago. I figure that weight loss should be a side effect to the pursuit of health, not the end in itself. That way I feel better while working on my health and am much less likely to have the roller coaster thing of gain and loss over time, because this pusuit of health is a commitment for the rest of my life, not just a weight loss thing.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/524791-women-who-eat-more-than-1800-calories-a-day


http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/518533-major-sucess-with-higher-calories

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