There is a big difference between eating more to lose weight

There is a big difference between eating more to lose weight and eating how you used to eat.

I read a lot of posts from people from both sides of the fence: the ones who tell you to eat more to lose weight, and the others who say they simply "can't" eat all their exercise calories back, or reach their calorie goal for the day because they're so "stuffed", or lose weight if they aren't eating at MFP's 1200 calorie guideline.

What I don't understand is, most people came to MFP because they were eating well above their recommended caloric intake, so how all of a sudden are they now not able to eat exercise calories back and not eat up to 1200, 1300, 1400 calories?

I bet you that for most people, if you were to take an *honest* look at what you were *really* eating before you came to MFP, and just logged your calories as you normally ate when you gained weight, you were probably eating well above 2500, 3000, or even 4000 calories a day. For most average size people, that could account to a 10, 20, or even 30 pound weight gain. (This is the average person, this is not counting someone who may have other health issues going on...)

So this is why traditional "dieting" fails - people go from eating a ridiculous amount of calories to all of a sudden restricting themselves to 1200 calories a day. It's such an extreme measure that it's hard for most people to keep it up as a lifestyle.

Now look at the sensible approach. If you've got a good amount of weight to lose, losing a half to one pound a week is a very reasonable and healthy goal to strive for. To do so, all you need to do is somehow cut 500 calories a day from what you normally take in.

That's not hard to do - cutting down on a portion size, walking for 30 minutes, skipping a soda or two - just small things - can add up. If you were eating 4000 calories a day eating 1000 calories worth of donuts and/or pizza, you could cut that by eating 1 instead of 2 slices or 2 pieces of donuts. Let's say you're a 5'6" sedentary woman, and your daily calorie needs at goal weight are about 1800 calories a day to maintain. If you're about 20 pounds overweight, you could simply take off 250 calories from food, and 250 from walking, cleaning, doing something for 30 minutes to an hour. It's not extreme and it won't make you feel like you're "dieting".

The whole point when people say "eat more to lose weight" is that you don't have to go to such extreme measures (going from 3000+ calories a day to 1200! That's just crazy!)

Just get used to eating a little less than your maintenance calories. "Eat more to lose weight" does not mean stuffing your face with seconds, thirds, box loads, and packages of all the stuff you used to eat. You're still reducing calories if you're eating like you were at your goal weight.

It boggles my mind, especially when I read about folks who have 30+ pounds to lose and all of a sudden say they are "fine" and "not starving" eating only 1200 calories a day now.