For the 500,000 time EATING MORE WORKS

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  • mariiyah
    mariiyah Posts: 136 Member
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    I know there are a million and one topics out there about this
    But I feel there needs to be one more confirmation for those ppl struggling at 1200 calories and not losing
    Here is my story of how increasing calories worked

    I've been on this site 100 days and lost maybe 4 pounds in the first 40 days while struggling to only eat 1200 calories
    after that nothing.....for 60 days I just stayed the same
    1 week ago I took advice from another thread and found out my BMR and TDEE measurements and increased my calories to 1500
    and this week lost 1.5 pounds....

    So for those of you who "Can't stay under 1200 cals" it's really not necessary
    Just thought I would share my success

    can u tell me which thread or site i can go to to measure my BMR and TDEE?
    the 1200 calorie diet is not working for me.
  • ladyraven68
    ladyraven68 Posts: 2,003 Member
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    I know there are a million and one topics out there about this
    But I feel there needs to be one more confirmation for those ppl struggling at 1200 calories and not losing
    Here is my story of how increasing calories worked

    I've been on this site 100 days and lost maybe 4 pounds in the first 40 days while struggling to only eat 1200 calories
    after that nothing.....for 60 days I just stayed the same
    1 week ago I took advice from another thread and found out my BMR and TDEE measurements and increased my calories to 1500
    and this week lost 1.5 pounds....

    So for those of you who "Can't stay under 1200 cals" it's really not necessary
    Just thought I would share my success

    can u tell me which thread or site i can go to to measure my BMR and TDEE?
    the 1200 calorie diet is not working for me.

    Calculate your body fat first - http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/mbf/
    then use it to find your BMR and TDEE - http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/

    Good luck :)
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    now im confused.... the fat2fitradio.com website says my bmr is 1529 and for my activity level (sedentary) it recommends 1931 calories.

    but i just upped my calories on mfp to 1700 from 1420. so how many calories should I be eating?


    sorry for being repetitive I just dont understand which one to follow

    Your BMR is 1529 and your TDEE is 1931, so 1700 is what you should be eating. Don't eat below your BMR or above you TDEE and you should be fine.

    Sorry to contractict, but the fit2fat tool already bakes in a deficit - so she should be eating at the amount they tell her to - the 1,931.
  • jj3120
    jj3120 Posts: 358
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    Congratulations!! - OP

    I am just 5'0"

    My weight loss had stalled at 152.0 lb for 5 weeks so I increased my calories from 1400

    For the last 3 weeks I have eaten 1800 - 1956 some days more.

    I initially put on a little but was expecting that, now 2 weeks running I have lost weight and am now at 150.9 and very happy!

    Still a way to go but now I'm eating properly I haven't had one desire to binge - if I'm hungry I eat something and knowing I CAN eat makes me eat something healthy for my body.

    Initially you have to have patience and give your body time to realise it will always be fed from now on. This is forever.
  • ebaymommy
    ebaymommy Posts: 1,067 Member
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    ok, but I don't understand it, the reason most of us are here is because we ate high calories.......so how is eating high calories supposed to make us lose? I am 5ft 51/2 and at my highest 174 now at 146 and want to be at 135.........I cannot seem to lose that last 10 lbs! I am at 1200 cal/day but I work out 4 days a week and burn anywhere from 400-800 each time. I am scared as all hell to increase cals, ive worked so hard to just get here ya know?

    I'm 5'5" and 121.5lbs. I'm eating 2000-2800/day (depending on my workouts). I'm basically at my goal weight - a couple more pounds I'd like to lose purely for vanitys sake. I've lost 3.5lbs since January 1st eating this way. My diary is open if you want to see what I eat.
  • geckofli
    geckofli Posts: 155 Member
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    Bump
  • ili_s
    ili_s Posts: 66
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    Slightly off topic... but I'd like to remind everyone that it is important to recalculate your BMR from time to time because as you lose weight you need less calories (before exercise). Or do as fat2fitradio says and calculate your BMR for the weight you want to be and eat at that level.
  • fuzzyslipperz
    fuzzyslipperz Posts: 49 Member
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    For the peeps at the beginning of the thread who wanted someone who lost on > 1200 cals and kept it off, that could be me. :P I'm 5'4, 120ish right now and lost 50 pounds about 8 years ago. I never ever went below 1500, and often sat at around 1800 (gross, not net).

    I did do quite a bit of exercise, but not crazy amounts. Oh, and I'm 44, not a teen. AND the weight has stayed off within a 5 pound limit.

    I'm actually here right now because I started logging to try and see how many more calories I can get away with and possibly lose the last 2-3 winter pounds. I can't help it, I like sitting at exactly 120 - OCD, I guess. :P

    So far I am holding steady with an average of (gross) 2K/day, net 1200ish (I have an active job AND a farm so I get a lot of activity in) so I'll probably up it again this week. :)

    (I always wanted to be one of those people who were full at 1200 cals, but I am NOT one of those people. Had 80g of fiber yesterday and over 100 g of protein with very little sugar and I still could have eaten more LOL).
  • ingfit
    ingfit Posts: 180 Member
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    Also here is a great link to calculate your TDEE:

    http://www.health-calc.com/diet/energy-expenditure-advanced

    Try this site
  • Burlesque12
    Burlesque12 Posts: 177 Member
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    Bumping...great info!
  • Burlesque12
    Burlesque12 Posts: 177 Member
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    how do I calculate the amount of calories I need having TDEE and BMR?
    www.fat2fitradio.com/tools - use the Military Bodyfat and then the BMR/Cal Calculators :)

    Congratulations OP :D


    thanks!!!
  • jjelizalde
    jjelizalde Posts: 377 Member
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    Eating more works. It sounds totally backwards, but it works. The more I eat, the more I lose (keeping within my calorie goals and exercising of course). I'm averaging a pound every five days!
  • RachRice29
    RachRice29 Posts: 19
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    Bump
  • theartichoke
    theartichoke Posts: 816 Member
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    Amen! MFP should offer all new members a chance to read a well written article about that when they join. It is the truth and nothing else is going to work. Eat your flipping calories please!
  • alf1163
    alf1163 Posts: 3,143 Member
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    ok, but I don't understand it, the reason most of us are here is because we ate high calories.......so how is eating high calories supposed to make us lose? I am 5ft 51/2 and at my highest 174 now at 146 and want to be at 135.........I cannot seem to lose that last 10 lbs! I am at 1200 cal/day but I work out 4 days a week and burn anywhere from 400-800 each time. I am scared as all hell to increase cals, ive worked so hard to just get here ya know?

    Hello there, those last 10 lbs will be the hardest to lose but not impossible. The best thing you could do is to eat clean as much as possible. Dont be afraid to increase your calories but only if those calories are coming from healthy foods. I read in your profile that you like salty foods, make sure you are drinking a lot of water. Are you doing some kind of strength training? That can also help. In order to lose those last 5-10lbs you are going to have to challenge yourself, vary your workouts and definitely eat more but healthy foods. Give it a try, you wont be dissapointed.
  • huntindawg1962
    huntindawg1962 Posts: 277 Member
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    I don't think she's on her high horse! I think she's just stating facts! If people actually did research on the subject of losing weight and getting fit maybe they could learn something! Everyones body works the same way in the fact that we have to eat our BMR (thats what we need if we didn't do anything but just stayed in bed all day) to keep our body going and when we eat these low calories, yes were losing weight but it's from muscle and were not losing FAT.

    Well, no actually. I eat below my BMR every day and have been averaging about 3.3 lbs a week for three months. I must respectfully disagree that it is one-size fits all. So I should eat more and lose even more faster? I work out with weights several times per week, lean muscle mass is remaining (even increasing) and I am in definite caloric deficit (so much for that "MFP folklore", too). A lot also depends on how much you have to lose.

    It always scares me on these threads where someone says they are not losing what they think they should and then 22 posts come on potentially "bombing their program" and telling to eat more when we know very little about the initial poster, how long they are stalled, even how much they presently weigh nor what their goal (how much they need to lose). If it works for you - great - share it that it is what you did. There are the other stories too where people added calories and gained. I personally would be cautious about taking bulletin board based assessments on someone's plan based on a couple vanilla sentences and recommending someone "eat more" as a response.
  • kwest_4_fitness
    kwest_4_fitness Posts: 819 Member
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    Amen! MFP should offer all new members a chance to read a well written article about that when they join. It is the truth and nothing else is going to work. Eat your flipping calories please!

    It's odd that you would make such a wholesale statement. Please remember, what works for you may not work for someone else. I stay within 1200 to 1300 calories a day and exercise regularly and have lost 72 lbs with relative ease over the past year. That's on top of quitting smoking, which generally creates a perfect storm for weight gain. I've developed some very nice muscle tone and have seen the elasticity in my skin slowly creeping back.

    I would not change a single thing that I'm doing right now because it works, I'm not hungry, I don't binge and I eat a lot of food. My doctor high-fives me every time I see him because I'm doing, medically, everything he and I discussed regarding my health and fitness level. My blood work is great and I only have energy deficiency issues if I stay up too late on MFP and Facebook.

    Work with your doctor, people. They are the only source of information you should be relying upon. Good advice is just that...advice. There's a counter argument on the internet for every statement made on this site. Much of it can be proven untrue simply because our bodies react differently to different stimuli under different circumstances. Do you have a lot of stress in your life? This can cause weight retention and gain. Are you over 40? Metabolism begins to slow in your late 30's and 40's, making weight more difficult to come off. Pre-menopausal women (the span of 15 years between 35 and 50) are likelier to have more difficulty losing weight and keeping it off due to rapid hormone fluctuations and hormone deficiencies.

    If for any reason what I currently do all of a sudden stops working and I find myself in a plateau for more than 8 weeks, I would certainly consider changing my game plan. But it wouldn't be based on any plan other than one my doc and I discuss and create.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    Amen! MFP should offer all new members a chance to read a well written article about that when they join. It is the truth and nothing else is going to work. Eat your flipping calories please!

    It's odd that you would make such a wholesale statement. Please remember, what works for you may not work for someone else. I stay within 1200 to 1300 calories a day and exercise regularly and have lost 72 lbs with relative ease over the past year. That's on top of quitting smoking, which generally creates a perfect storm for weight gain. I've developed some very nice muscle tone and have seen the elasticity in my skin slowly creeping back.

    I would not change a single thing that I'm doing right now because it works, I'm not hungry, I don't binge and I eat a lot of food. My doctor high-fives me every time I see him because I'm doing, medically, everything he and I discussed regarding my health and fitness level. My blood work is great and I only have energy deficiency issues if I stay up too late on MFP and Facebook.

    Work with your doctor, people. They are the only source of information you should be relying upon. Good advice is just that...advice. There's a counter argument on the internet for every statement made on this site. Much of it can be proven untrue simply because our bodies react differently to different stimuli under different circumstances. Do you have a lot of stress in your life? This can cause weight retention and gain. Are you over 40? Metabolism begins to slow in your late 30's and 40's, making weight more difficult to come off. Pre-menopausal women (the span of 15 years between 35 and 50) are likelier to have more difficulty losing weight and keeping it off due to rapid hormone fluctuations and hormone deficiencies.

    If for any reason what I currently do all of a sudden stops working and I find myself in a plateau for more than 8 weeks, I would certainly consider changing my game plan. But it wouldn't be based on any plan other than one my doc and I discuss and create.

    It's great if you have found a doctor that you can work with, but I just want to make a note of caution. Doctors are notoriously bad about giving advice about nutrician. Most are not experts in any way in this field. If someone wants to chat to a professional about their diet they should really see a Registered Dietician.

    BTW: I am not saying your doctor is one of them and its great that you are having regular check-ups.
  • mare91467
    mare91467 Posts: 91 Member
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    In January 2011, I began my journey to lose weight and by October, I had lost 30lbs. I was on a very strict calorie and nutrition counting diet and exercising religiously 6 days a week going from one program to another. Initially I started with 1200 calories and then began to eat my exercise calories. I also began eating more than 1200 calories a couple of days a week to keep my body guessing and to keep the weightloss going.

    Well, it didn't. I am sure that eating more calories works for some or even most people. But, it doesn't work for every person. It doesn't work for me. I do not lose weight unless I eat 1200 calories and I can not count the exercise calories. I do take one day off each week from counting calories so that I don't burn out from the diet but the moment I stray from the 1200, I either stagnate or begin to slowly regain weight. In addition, I have to closely watch my sugar/fat/sodium intake because for some reason when I overedo any of these, I tend to lose control of my eating and my diet goes to crap.

    Maybe my body is unique or I am not accurately counting portion sizes or exercise calories , however for me this works and only this works. My point is that advice is great and we all need to educate ourselves and try different things to find the right combination that works for us. But in the end, our bodies tell us what is right. Good luck to you all!
  • packersfn7
    packersfn7 Posts: 62 Member
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    I only lost like a pound in 3 weeks. Going to the gym every day, staying within my calories, not eating any exercise calories. This week, I ate two higher calories meals and lost 2.5 so far. It does work.

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