Eating more to lose weight - Does it work?

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Replies

  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    It's not going to work for everyone. It would depend mostly on how many you are eating to begin with, and partly on the fact that everyone has different calorie needs. I think the most important thing to remember is that guidelines are just that and while they are a good starting point, you really need to find out what works best for you. It may or may not be the same thing(s) that worked for others.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    What I am saying, you won't get fit off of eating 800 calories. I understand that there are stories of those who did the surgery and then got fit after they lost weight, but at that point, they are probably eating more.

    This. A good friend of mine who had WLS over a year ago is currently eating a normal amount of food. The extreme calorie restrictions are temporary.

    My experience with eating enough vs not eating enough: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/494091-i-just-don-t-care-anymore
  • Elizabeth_C34
    Elizabeth_C34 Posts: 6,376 Member
    No this doesn't work, apparently. I'm back up to my starting weight so forget that *kitten*.

    May I ask you why it doesn't work for you?
    How long did your body to adjust to upping your calories?

    Are you weighing and measuring your food accurately?

    When I upped my calories,I was told to give it 2-3 weeks because I may see temporary water weight gain. It takes a bit for your body to adjust to the increase in calories.

    Ahh nevermind my response. I'm just having a hard day. I increased my workouts (cardio/strength), and have been keeping my foods in check and within my range. Seems I'm gaining more now than ever and it's a bit depressing.
    I'm 5'9, back to starting weight of 181.2 this morning and am trying not to let it bring me down. I'm honest in my diary logging (as it only hurts me not to be!) and I suppose all I can do is drink a ton more water, and keep up with exercise.

    And yes, I make sure the types of calories I eat count. I don't just eat "anything." I'm health conscious and love clean meals. I know I've gotta make them even cleaner if I want the results I'm after!

    How long have you been trying to lose weight?

    Don't give up yet! Remember women can fluctuate quite a bit throughout the week or month. This is normal. Just keep your eye on the long-term trend. :smile:
  • RunHardBeStrong
    RunHardBeStrong Posts: 33,069 Member
    It works for me. As another poster said she does, I started with taking my weight x's 10 giving me 2600 cals/day to start then my deficit came in through exericise giving me a net of 2000-2100 per day. Lost 50 lbs doing it this way. Now I consume 2100-2200 cals per day after exercise net of 1500ish, down another 30ish pounds and still going. I average about a 1 lb loss per week sometimes a bit more on 2200 gross cals/day.
  • heatherrose86
    heatherrose86 Posts: 43 Member
    I upped my calories this week and lost. MFP had me on 1370 to lose 2 lbs per week and it was horrible and if it's horrible and I'm hungry I am not going to do very well.

    So my week looked like this:

    Mon: 1370
    Tues: 1370
    Wed: 2500 (I figured maybe a kick-start would get the surprising my body over with instead of surprising it slowly)
    Thurs: 1600
    Fri: 1600
    Sat: 1800
    Sun: 1800

    Today, down 2.6 lbs from last Monday, despite being at MFP's 1-lb per week numbers. I don't expect this every week but if it stagnates I'll just need to switch things up again.
  • TrailRunner61
    TrailRunner61 Posts: 2,505 Member
    I'm going to add one more bit of info here. I am a recovered anorexic. When I was eating hardly anything, and I mean a few crackers a day, I lost on average, only 3/4 of a lb per week. Yes, I know because I kept immacculate records. I was on 2 raquetball leagues, I worked out with weights every other day, I had 2 small children, a house and yard to take care of, etc etc., so I was also exercising my butt off. There were days that I had less than 300 calories, several in fact. I got down to 96lbs and started having chest pains. I had no appetite and even now, when I get stressed I have a hard time eating. Anorexia is a mental disease. Some people eat when stressed, others don't.
    Anyway, what my point here is.. I'm losing more weight now per week while eating than when I was anorexic! Yes I weigh more than I started but I've lost 20lbs since I started on MFP about Jan. 8th or so! I eat healthy, I don't deprive myself of things I want, I just fit them in my diet with exercise calories. I know I'm feeding my body good food that it needs to be nourished, not starving it and I know I'm becoming more healthy!
    You have to EAT to live. Do it.
  • rainunrefined
    rainunrefined Posts: 850 Member
    uh yeah.. but it really depends on WHAT you're eating.
  • jabba11
    jabba11 Posts: 44 Member
    1200 calories is not the "magic number" its..THE MINIMUM..I am absolutley convinced that you need to eat between your BMR and TDEE..What I typically do is try to eat as many calories as I can without going over TDEE or my macros which can be a challenge. these days I am regularly burning over 1000 calories in excercise a day which is nice in that it allows me to eat more but I wish i could manage it without busting fat or carbs or sugars(sugars are important to me for health reasons). With all that said you have to fuel your body people and ya know what unless you are some kind of fitness proffessional or competitor you should enjoy what you eat to an extent. I do beleive eating "clean" will get you the best results but it wont be very much....fun..for the avergae person. BE HEALTHY not skinny or obssesive..
  • EoinMag
    EoinMag Posts: 25 Member
    Can someone who's saying yes post a link to a peer reviewed study please?

    Stories about how you did it or someone you know just don't cut it, thanks.
  • lovebeinGIGI
    lovebeinGIGI Posts: 72 Member
    I keep reading this over and over and while the nutritionally knowledgable part of my brain KNOWS this and it's something I've actually practiced in the past (even on advice of many dietitians I've worked in the same office with), one day of increased calories shows a GAIN on the scale the next day!! With me being so close to my goal, it's frustrating to see the scale go down and down and down...little by little and then I decided to "eat more" and then I see a gain!!
  • Gigglles
    Gigglles Posts: 24 Member
    I have been reading all of these posts... I keep getting more and more confused... So i am going to put my story/problem out there and hopfully someone can give me some advice lol!


    I've battled my weight for my entire life... Ive lost before, about 8 years ago I dropped 100lbs in 10 months, all i did was get active and eat less, same as I am trying to do now. Ive been steadily loosing at least 1lb a week until the last two weeks Ive seen nothing, I am fearing that I will stop loosing for good now. I usually eat MFP calories each day, I do not eat my exercise calories back, just feels like to much to me, I did try to eat more one day and it made me feel uncomfortable and over full at the end of the day.

    I also have a husband who is not so supportive, he wants to eat things like taco bell, wendys, and chinese. I try to not eat these things, but then it tends to cause arguments which causes me stress... so I give in and end up eating :( and he still looses weight while eating the way he does. Which again makes me stress out. I want to feel better, I want to look better to me. He loves me the way I am but I dont.

    *sigh* I have gotten off topic. I am just confused as what to do. I want to continue to see weight loss. I still have a long way to go.

    Anyone have any advice?
  • Elizabeth_C34
    Elizabeth_C34 Posts: 6,376 Member
    Can someone who's saying yes post a link to a peer reviewed study please?

    Stories about how you did it or someone you know just don't cut it, thanks.

    This isn't your thread. Go search pubmed if you want to do some research on it on your own. Or start with google. The process is known as "adaptive thermogenesis" The OP is specifically asking for personal experience.

    You can, however, start with this, which addresses why it's difficult for people who have lost weight to maintain it versus someone who never gained: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20935667

    This one too: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11430776
  • Gigglles
    Gigglles Posts: 24 Member
    one more question... what is TDEE?
  • erinmel00
    erinmel00 Posts: 18 Member
    bump
  • Elizabeth_C34
    Elizabeth_C34 Posts: 6,376 Member
    one more question... what is TDEE?

    Total daily energy expenditure. It's all the calories you burn throughout the day so BMR + activity calories = TDEE.
  • JustLena75
    JustLena75 Posts: 114
    So, how do you explain the success of people who have had weight loss surgery and eat around 800 calories/day during their losing phase?

    People who have had bypass surgery have to be very well micromanaged under a doctors care. Most of them are malnourished and suffer from secondary nutritional deficiencies and must take supplements and eat a specific amount of proteins, carbs, etc. to avoid overfilling their stomachs and suffer serious consequences. Why go through all that torture if you haven't had the surgery and don't need too? Another side effect muscle loss. Eating below TDEE and above BMR allows you to maintain lean muscle your mass.


    Theresa

    ^^^Not true at all. "Most' are NOT malnourished or 'micromanaged'. There CAN be deficiencies if you don't eat correctly. Post-op eating should be protein heavy so that you do not lose muscle. I'm coming up on my 8th year post-op and have had ZERO problems/complications. Do not paint everyone with such a broad brush.
  • Dave198lbs
    Dave198lbs Posts: 8,810 Member
    Can someone who's saying yes post a link to a peer reviewed study please?

    Stories about how you did it or someone you know just don't cut it, thanks.

    I reviewed these posts and I am a peer.

    It works.

    Proceed accordingly.
  • pattan59801
    pattan59801 Posts: 142
    bump for later
  • akiramezu
    akiramezu Posts: 278
    It all depends on who you are, your genetics, your body type, the amount of body fat you have, the amount of muscles you have, your height, your weight, your gender and your activity level

    If you told a skinny 130 pound girl who was 4 feet 6 inches tall to eat 2000 calories to lose weight, she probably wouldn't
    If you told a 200 pound man who was 6 feet 2 inches tall to eat 2000 calories to lose weight, he probably would
    if you told a giant body builder who weighs over 250 pounds, 6 feet tall to eat 3000 calories instead of his usual 5000 calories to lose weight/fat, then he probably would.

    At the end of the day, you must find the balance that works for YOU. it requires a lot of experimenting, I'm 160 pounds, 5 feet 8 inches tall @ 16% body fat and I can lose weight/fat while eating anywhere between 1500 to 2500 calories, I could also lose weight/fat whilst eating 1200 calorie, why? because these amount of calories are the calories which puts me at a deficit. I train 4 hours a day, extremely intense so my maintenance would probably be 3000+ calories, so any calories below 3000 would theoretically allow me to lose weight.

    However, I am a firm believe that eating more allows you to lose weight, hence why i eat between 1500-2500 calories. with a 4500 calorie day. But it works for ME, because that is WHO I AM. would it work for others? i have no idea, go try it out for yourself.
  • lind3400
    lind3400 Posts: 557 Member
    Can someone who's saying yes post a link to a peer reviewed study please?

    Stories about how you did it or someone you know just don't cut it, thanks.

    I reviewed these posts and I am a peer.

    It works.

    Proceed accordingly.

    Good enough for me!!!!:happy:
  • judykritikos
    judykritikos Posts: 161
    A few notes - STOP LOOKING AT THE SCALE EVERY 20 MINUTES! Women who are still having periods are going to fluxuate 3-5 pounds week to week. Weigh once a week, after you've eliminated body fluids, first thing on Friday morning - since typically you've eaten well during the week (NOT the weekend), and have done the majority of your workouts. Secondly - if you added 300-500 cals of CHOCOLATE, this theory doesn't work. Be REASONABLE. Yes - eating at least your alloted cals (1200, 1500 - whatever yours is) of GOOD fuel food will help you lose weight. If you are eating 300 cals BELOW your alloted cals - you won't go into "starvation mode" in 3-4 days or a week. However, you will notice lethargy, weakness and (ask your friends) your brain won't be working well and you'll forget stuff. You need to fuel the body - the brain, muscles, cells, etc. Stay away from the junk and "white flour/white sugar", eat better vege's and some pasta occasionally - and you'll see the body responds favorably. Lastly, if you're craving yogurt/cheese, or pasta - or meat. HELLO... that's Mr. Body telling you it needs those things and you're not giving it enough. That doesn't apply to Mr. Chocolate. He lies.
  • chaniray
    chaniray Posts: 83 Member
    Can someone who's saying yes post a link to a peer reviewed study please?

    Stories about how you did it or someone you know just don't cut it, thanks.

    I reviewed these posts and I am a peer.

    It works.

    Proceed accordingly.

    lolz
  • Tandi_S
    Tandi_S Posts: 439 Member

    That doesn't apply to Mr. Chocolate. He lies.

    :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
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