Upped my calories and upped my weight!

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  • meerkat70
    meerkat70 Posts: 4,616 Member
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    lost a fair bit myself, not following starvation advice...

    Omg!!! Congratulations..that is quite impressive :flowerforyou:

    Thank you. Still a long way to go, though. :-)
  • chachadiva150
    chachadiva150 Posts: 482 Member
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    She's lost 47 lbs and I've dropped 6 sizes and gained muscle at the same time. Both schools of thought are present here, and the OP can choose the one that makes most sense to her.

    I am stunned by how many people seem to get personally offended when people choose not to eat more. It's fine to disagree, but some of these "rebuttals" are unnecessarily rude.
    I agree with you. People can choose to eat whatever they want to eat. I believe in playing around with calories. If it takes going a bit lower, then so be it.

    I've stopped giving people that advice because MFP is all about eating and eating. It's in reaction to so many people legitimately starving themselves. However, a diet of 1200, 1500, 1800 is NOT starving yourself. People and their bodies are different.

    Some people get great results on a lot of calories. Other people need more modest calories. :flowerforyou:
  • sunshine__angel
    sunshine__angel Posts: 366 Member
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    Is it possible that your gain could be due to muscle, or water retention as opposed to fat? For me, increasing my calorie intake by 200 calories a day actually helped me lose weight. I'm not sure the same can be said for everyone - it's kind of trial and error until you find something that works for you. How are your sodium levels? Are you eating your exercise calories back too? Just try adjusting different things, something will work for you eventually. Good luck!!
  • kdeaux1959
    kdeaux1959 Posts: 2,675 Member
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    Looks like you are pretty close to your goal weight and your profile pic appears to be really pretty thin... Kind of hard to tell for sure in the mirror. If you are trying to go too low, that may be the problem... It may be that you are actually over the necessary calories to lose but in that case, I would take a great deal of care going too low... Maybe increase some high intensity activity

    That being said, another thing that may be necessary is to get a thyroid profile. In other words, you may want to get a check up and make sure that there is not an endocrine issue here.
  • NU2U
    NU2U Posts: 659 Member
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    My own experience while trying to follow a 1200 CPD plan......it made me feel sick, weak, and moody. I got terrible headaches, and the worst stomach pains. I was starving...and starvation is quite painful. I upped my calories, and I'm finally starting to lose weight...and I feel like my body is actually healing.
  • mfpcopine
    mfpcopine Posts: 3,093 Member
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    A 6-pound gain is a probable sign of the obvious: She's consuming too many calories for her activity level.
  • liftingheavy
    liftingheavy Posts: 551 Member
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    I would never up my calories in order to lose weight. Conventional wisdom says if you want to lose weight eat less and exercise more. I don't know why some people on MFP say to eat more food. It makes no sense to me. I do eat some of my exercise calories on days I am extra hungry but I try not to. I'll agree we probably shouldn't eat below 1200 calories but even occasionally I'll do that. I don't believe in eating if you're not hungry. All my life this is what I have been taught and that is the way I've

    lost 47 pounds. If eating more food really works for some well good for them. I know it would never work for me. :flowerforyou:

    Oh no...not another one!!


    Conventional wisdom is what got us into this mess.

    She's lost 47 lbs and I've dropped 6 sizes and gained muscle at the same time. Both schools of thought are present here, and the OP can choose the one that makes most

    sense to her.

    I am stunned by how many people seem to get personally offended when people choose not to eat more. It's fine to disagree, but some of these "rebuttals" are unnecessarily rude.

    .........says the person who responds about "rude rebuttals"...with a "rude rebuttle"....

    Ding, ding, ding..now back to your corner

    Did you intend to quote me? There is nothing rude about my reply. Read any of the threads about eating more and eating exercise calories and they turn into an all out brawl.

    So my statement is absolutely true, and it's stunning. Statements about how people got fat ("conventiontional wisdom") and telling the OP to ignore anyones advice is rude.
  • meerkat70
    meerkat70 Posts: 4,616 Member
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    I agree with you. People can choose to eat whatever they want to eat. I believe in playing around with calories. If it takes going a bit lower, then so be it.

    I've stopped giving people that advice because MFP is all about eating and eating. It's in reaction to so many people legitimately starving themselves. However, a diet of 1200, 1500, 1800 is NOT starving yourself. People and their bodies are different.

    Some people get great results on a lot of calories. Other people need more modest calories.

    Depends how much working out you're doing. If you're eating 1200 cals, and working out twice a day, burning 600 cals... well, that's en route to anorexia. Netting less than 600 cals per day over an extended period of time fits the dietary criterion for a diagnosis of anorexia.

    It isn't just about what you put into your body. It's also about how much you burn off.
  • TMcD71
    TMcD71 Posts: 1
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    i have been told that under 1200 calories can put your body in starvation mode. i try to go around 1300 to 1500 do about 90 minutes of cardio and also strength training.
  • LoveyEstelle
    LoveyEstelle Posts: 16
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    I enjoy conversations like this because there are so many misconceptions and confused people. I honestly do not know the correct answer (if there is just one since every body is different) so I am experimenting by following my trainers advice. He is having me eat no less than 1750 calories on my non-workout days and up to 2500, depending on the intensity, on my workout days. I am 5'3" and currently weigh 135lbs but my body is extremely muscular. He said that even at my goal weight of 120lbs that I should consume no less than 1650 calories to maintain, and that is if I was just sitting on the couch all day. Like I said, I don't know if he is right but I have ridden the roller coaster long enough on my own. I just started my first week and have committed to 8 weeks of doing it his way long enough to see it pay off. The bright side that if it does work then I will be able to enjoy eating the rest of my life instead of looking into a bleak future of 1200 calories. My diary & weight loss is public so feel free to check back in 8 weeks and see the results.

    I would like to also put my opinion out there that flabby & skinny is not cute. I would rather be bigger and toned. And you need food to energize your workouts and live life!
  • ashleynicol3
    ashleynicol3 Posts: 187 Member
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    I plateaued for about 5 weeks and I got the same advice as you - up your calories. I tried upping them from 1200 to 1400 and I tried eating all my exercise calories back at that level, but I felt like I was eating too much. I was terrified I'd gain weight, so I dropped my calories back down to 1200 after about a week or two. I've started losing 1-2 lbs per week since I dropped it back down about 3-4 wks ago. Personally, I think I lost weight at first because my eating habits changed drastically and I went from zero exercise to exercising in some way almost every single day. After that, my body was confused - or stubborn LOL - and I kinda feel it was used to me giving up and saying - okay, enough, let's have a Bic Mac LOL. I just had to be patient and let my body know that this is how it's going to be from now on.

    We're all different and some things will work for some people and not others. I say switch it up, different exercises, different calorie intakes if necessary, and see what works. Just keep going no matter what the scale says!!!
  • NU2U
    NU2U Posts: 659 Member
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    I enjoy conversations like this because there are so many misconceptions and confused people. I honestly do not know the correct answer (if there is just one since every body is different) so I am experimenting by following my trainers advice. He is having me eat no less than 1750 calories on my non-workout days and up to 2500, depending on the intensity, on my workout days. I am 5'3" and currently weigh 135lbs but my body is extremely muscular. He said that even at my goal weight of 120lbs that I should consume no less than 1650 calories to maintain, and that is if I was just sitting on the couch all day. Like I said, I don't know if he is right but I have ridden


    the roller coaster long enough on my own. I just started my first week and have committed to 8 weeks of doing it his way long enough to see it pay off. The bright side that if it does work then I will be able to enjoy eating the rest of my life instead of looking into a bleak future of 1200 calories. My diary & weight loss is public so feel free to check back in 8 weeks and see the results.

    I would like to also put my opinion out there that flabby & skinny is not cute. I would
    rather be bigger and toned. And you need food to energize your workouts and live life!

    ^^^ This!!!
  • 70davis
    70davis Posts: 348 Member
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    bump
  • cheddle
    cheddle Posts: 102 Member
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    up your calories by around 300 to 1200, but also burn the 300 extra using high-intensity interval training i.e: sprints, intervals or heavy weight lifting.

    I can assure you that this will overcome your platue and cause a nice shift in body composition AND make you feel fuller and healthier
  • bluefox9er
    bluefox9er Posts: 2,917 Member
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    From now, regardless of how much I burn, I think I'll aim to eat my BMR number.Mfp says I need to eat 1300 calories a day for a lbs/week drop and exercising 3 times a week. In actuality, I strive to aim for approx 1000 calories a day.

    If I was to eat 1300 calories and burn 1,000 I KNOW I'll be constantly hung and struggle even harder to exercise. The obvious answer seems to be to eat *some* of your exercise calories...the ''how many'' is the million dollar question.
  • ladyfingers39
    ladyfingers39 Posts: 335
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    OP is almost to goal, so something is going on. There is no way you gained fat, unless you are not being honest about what you ate. Have you been lifting more weights? There is so much that could go into why this has happened. Sodium? Don't get discouraged, I know it's tough to see the scale go up!
  • theNurseNancy
    theNurseNancy Posts: 149
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    Watch your sodium intake. Most likely it is water weight. Make sure you are intaking enough water as well. Sometimes it helps to change up what you're doing, whether it be adjusting your food or changing up a workout. Good luck :]
  • Justacoffeenut
    Justacoffeenut Posts: 3,808 Member
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    bump
  • ImRadical4Jesus
    ImRadical4Jesus Posts: 144 Member
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    Okay, so following good advice from the forums, for the past month I've been trying to up my net calories to around 1300-1400 (not masses but previously I was netting in the 900's-1200's and had been at a plateau for 3 months) well, I can say my plateau has been broken, just in the wrong way, and now I'm up 6lbs. I honestly don't understand. I know your body is supposed to freak out for a couple of weeks and gain a couple of lbs before it settles and starts losing again but I've been trying this for a month and I'm gaining?

    How long before my body settles and starts losing again? I am feeling really, really low about this.

    MFP started me at 1200 I lost 5 pounds, but realized that I was in a starvation mode, I know eat 1788 plus earned back calories. Yes I gained, but just lost 2 pounds. You still may not be eating enough.

    If you were eating 900 to 1200 then upped to to what you are now 1300-1400, keep upping them. When you eat right now, because you are in a starvation mode, your body doesn't know that it is to lose weight, it is storing up the fat and you may be loosing muscle. Once you eat the calories you need to lose, your body will "unfreak" and you start to lose weight.

    Go to www.fat2fitradio.com Calculate your BMR using the BMR calculator. Once that is done read your BMR from the Katch-McArdle formula. Then read the next two paragraphs titled "How many calories should I eat?" Then look at the chart. According to your daily activities, find what calories you should be eating.

    My BMR is 1322 My calories to eat is 1788 I freaked ( but saw how I was depriving my body of the fuel it was needing just to function for the day). So I have been eating that much plus my earned calories from working out. Like I said I gained (but lost inches) and starting to lose weight now. It really does work!!!! Don't be so glued to the scales...start measuring yourself. I've lost over 6 inches on my waist and hips. I feel better, not tired, my body is happy that is it being fueled!

    Hope this helps
    Deb
  • chachadiva150
    chachadiva150 Posts: 482 Member
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    Depends how much working out you're doing. If you're eating 1200 cals, and working out twice a day, burning 600 cals... well, that's en route to anorexia. Netting less than 600 cals per day over an extended period of time fits the dietary criterion for a diagnosis of anorexia.

    It isn't just about what you put into your body. It's also about how much you burn off.
    If a doctor will cut you open, rearrange your digestive system, sew you back up and then tell you to eat 500-1000 calories for the first 6 months and then 1000-1500 calories for the rest of your life (with exercise), then I think a regular person choosing to eat 1800 calories is well within their rights.

    You or I don't have the definitive answers for everybody. I have no problem with people playing around with their calories. That means playing with higher or lower calories. Let adults choose what's best for their lives.

    Honestly, nameless faceless people on the internet shouldn't be so dogmatic.

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