Just cant grasp the 1500+ calorie rule

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  • Elzecat
    Elzecat Posts: 2,916 Member
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    Background – I’ve been consistently on MFP for about 5 months. Work out 3-4x a week, cardio and weights. Very religious about staying around 1200 calories. Drink TONS of water. Once a week, I’ll have a crazy cheat day (to keep my sane). I try to have my macros balanced (although I am no were near successful at it yet).
    I have lost 2lbs and NO inches.

    All my fabulous and successful friends on here have been drilling into my skull for MONTHS that I need to up my calories – 1500 min (I’m 5’8, 158lbs).

    I KNOW they are right – they’ve proven it in their weight loss. But it’s KILLING me to increase my calories.
    I know, I know – “body needs fuel”, “you are in starvation mode”, etc etc etc. I GET it. But it just doesn’t make SENSE.

    Everytime I have lost weight in the past, I have gone a very similar route to what I’ve been doing this time around – workout, eat fewer calories, etc – and YAY – I’m skinny.

    What has changed???

    The reason this is all coming out now ---
    One of my friends is on Jenny Craig.
    My mom is on Weight Watchers.
    My best friend does HCG (I know. Its from the DEVIL – but she’s freaking skinny).
    They are all having HUGE success --- and the common thread with each of these diets is that they are limited to very few calories (JC is 1200. Weight Watchers – IDK what the points translate, but its low – HCG, 500 duh)
    So why – if I am supposed to “eat more” to lose weight – am I still FAILING - and everyone else in my life on “restrictive diets” are succeeding?
    This is where the confusion comes in – and my inability to fully grasp the 1500 calorie mantra.

    I am sooooo tempted to join JC or WW – just to see SOME results. I don’t WANT to – but I am beyond annoyed with my failure and I NEED to lose 20lbs by August (my freaking wedding)…

    Is there ANYONE out there that can give me the "A-HA" that I need to stick with MFP and not cave to the commercialized, microwave meal plan?

    I don't know your goal weight, but you are in a healthy weight range for your height and I can tell you from my experience that the closer you are to goal, it can be tricky to drop those last few pounds. I am 5'8 1/2 and at 156, hoping to lose 6 more pounds, so I can relate.

    Your relatives and friends may be finding success but can they do those programs long term, like over a year, or for the rest of their lives?

    I can tell you that I eat 1850 calories (plus I almost always eat ALL of my exercise calories back) and I have been losing. Slowly, but steadily. Try upping your calories slowly, like if you're doing 1200 this week, try 1300 next week, etc. You won't know how it works unless you try it.

    I didn't see what you are doing for exercise, but strength training will also help :)

    Good luck!
  • MissNations
    MissNations Posts: 513 Member
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    Started MFP in February at 172. Currently weigh 154. MFP had me eating 1650 at first and then 1550 after the first 10 lbs came off. I have it set to lose one lb a week, but there have been several weeks when I've lost 2lbs.

    Point being, a person CAN indeed lose weight eating more than 1200. I'm proof.
  • Brittany3914
    Brittany3914 Posts: 258 Member
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    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/208407-how-to-repair-a-damaged-metabolism-stavation-mode
  • Babrao
    Babrao Posts: 152 Member
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    Are your friends who are on these eating programs also exercising 4-5x a week with cardio and weights like you are?
  • getsveltEagain
    getsveltEagain Posts: 1,063 Member
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    You said "everytime I've lost weight in the past, I have gone a similar route" Those are key words right there. Obviously, it worked for the short term, but you weren't able to maintain it. Why deprive yourself? Just my 2 cents.


    this!!!! 1200 calories is only short term, wait til your body goes into starvation mode, and youll end up storing everything you eat, probably as fat

    My theory is that when you (everyone) wants to lose weight they increase their exercise and decrease their food intake. This leads to the loss but is not maintainable once you change those habits. So you get to your goal weight and stop exercising or eating low calories in (even both) and where does that put you? Back to gaining the weight?!

    Try for the whole month of May (5 weeks) to eat 1500 at least. See what happens... what do you have to lose, other than weight?
  • rchupka87
    rchupka87 Posts: 543 Member
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    I also struggled trying to understand this thinking. One day, on a thread much like this one, someone posted a link to an article on a website. The author made so MUCH sense, I thought to myself, "why have I been fighting this for soooooo long?" This article made it click in my head for me.

    It's a long read, what's an hour of your time in the grande scheme of things? Especially if that hour can change your life....

    Good Luck

    http://body-improvements.com/resources/eat/#intro
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
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    *edit - my question was already answered.
  • wookiemouse
    wookiemouse Posts: 290 Member
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    I think the HUGE difference is you're working cardio AND strength - are all your family/friends doing the same, or just cutting calories?

    The reason why you're not losing weight or inches is because when you go that low with strength training, your body will turn to muscles for fuel instead of fat. You're losing all the ground you're gaining!

    Try upping your calories for 2 weeks and see what happens. I increased my 2 snacks from 100 cals to 200 cals, plus increased my dinner cals, while doing heavy lifting 2x a week (30 mins) and 1 hour of cardio 3x a week - that meant I was taking in 1800 cals instead of 1200. In a year - I lost 8 lbs. BUT - I went from a size 10 to a size 4. Muscle takes up less room on your body than fat. The scale is not the be-all, end-all, just remember that. The healthiest, most toned women on the planet (those that rock a 6 pack!) weigh a ton more than your models. Aim for healthy, not skinny!

    I'm actually at the point of increasing my calories AGAIN. Got a FitBit and, coupled with MFP, found that I was consistently 400-600 cals UNDER what I should be eating for a 1 lb-a-week weight loss. So now I'm adding in more to my meals again - and have dropped 2 lbs in a week. It DOES work.
  • HauteP1nk
    HauteP1nk Posts: 2,139 Member
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    Have you tried maybe upping it to 1300-1400 calories? Maybe 1350?

    I have been eating 1300 calories and working out. I have lost about 15lbs so far (13 since i started tracking MFP).
    I was at 1200 calories but I noticed no changes in my body, but I was left with a sluggish feeling. Even adding that extra 100 calories back into my diet helps with the energy.
  • themommie
    themommie Posts: 5,006 Member
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    I have been eating 1200 cals for 21 mths and have lost 100 lbs, I think everyone is different and you have to find what works for you. Maybe you should up your cals by 100 for a few weeks and see what happens you can always increase or lower them to 1200 again. Play around with the cals and find what works for you. I think some people need to eat less to lose where some people need to eat more to lose, I think while some people go into starvation mode at 1200 cals some people go into starvation mode at 1000 cals
  • BlueInkDot
    BlueInkDot Posts: 702 Member
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    Bump for later.

    I have a great idea of how to answer this, but it will take some work. It'll be awesome though. Just you wait. :)
  • krclaytor
    krclaytor Posts: 16 Member
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    Its not the 1200 calories, its that once a week crazy cheat day thats killing your effort. Keeping you sane or not, you can't lose by taking in more calories than you burn, in general of course. Lets say MFP wants you to have 1500 calories. They are already taking into account that much less than that, your body will slow itself down for lack of calories. So after 6 days of getting your body into low cal burning mode, you pile in a ton of cals on your crazy cheat day. Since the next day I assume you go back to 1200 cals, your body has no time to readjust and just stores as much of it away as it can as fat. Bottom line, suck it up and limit your cheat days to once a month, and even then only one cheat "meal", not all three. I think you'll do much better. Also, if 1500 is too many cals, meet MFP halfway and get to at least 1350. After you begin to lose, MFP is going to lower it to that many cals eventually anyway. Good luck and stick with it.
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
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    I am 2 inches shorter than you, and 2 pounds lighter. I'm eating 1633 calories. I workout 3-4 times a week (Jillian Michaels DVD). The pounds are coming off. You are probably working out a whole lot more, thus need more fuel than I do.
  • Chris_acc_can
    Chris_acc_can Posts: 83
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    What is MFP telling you to consume?? What aren't you consuming that instead of this dumb... I mean magical 1200 calorie #.

    Record your exercise, set your goals and on the My Home tab it will tell you total calories to consume. Eat that and you will realize your goals.
  • dewgirl321
    dewgirl321 Posts: 296 Member
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    Background – I’ve been consistently on MFP for about 5 months. Work out 3-4x a week, cardio and weights. Very religious about staying around 1200 calories. Drink TONS of water. Once a week, I’ll have a crazy cheat day (to keep my sane). I try to have my macros balanced (although I am no were near successful at it yet).
    I have lost 2lbs and NO inches.

    ...

    They are all having HUGE success --- and the common thread with each of these diets is that they are limited to very few calories (JC is 1200. Weight Watchers – IDK what the points translate, but its low – HCG, 500 duh)
    So why – if I am supposed to “eat more” to lose weight – am I still FAILING - and everyone else in my life on “restrictive diets” are succeeding?

    According to what you've said (aside from your "crazy cheat day") YOU ARE following a diet limited to very few calories. Why would 1200 calories work through JC if it's not working through MFP? Why not try the 1500 and see how it works out? Check out the success stories on MFP and see what they have done to be successful.

    You can do a quick fix program that may or may not help you lose weight, but you probably won't be happy with your body composition, and your weight loss will probably only be short term. If you only care about losing the weight for your wedding, go ahead and try the fads and quick fixes. But if you want to lose weight in a healthy, maintainable way, try listening to successful MFPers and actually try the things that have worked for them.
  • Awkward30
    Awkward30 Posts: 1,927 Member
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    Okay, so your tdee should be around 1700 and your bmr around 1550. Eating 1200 you should be at a deficit of 3000 cal a week if you eat back exercise calories. Honestly, one crazy cheat day a week can easily knock that out. Do you really need one every week? Log them as accurately as you can and see if that is where our deficit is going. Upping to eat 1500 and not eating back exercise calories should also work. But if you net 1500, you won't have much of a deficit. Also, you should do resistance training to maintain your lean mass and this burn more fat
  • love2cycle
    love2cycle Posts: 448 Member
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    I haven't read all the posts, but hopefully you have found the answer. My experience? I'm 53, and since I've had to diet several times in my life, I never tried to eat back the calories when I was younger. I usually stayed at 1500 calories per day, exercised constantly, and the weight came off. Since I'm older, that doesn't work, but eating back the calories does. I didn't believe it would work at first, but since nothing else was, I decided to give it a try. The first week I lost 2 pounds! I lost 18 all together. Anyway, it may have something to do with age, but I'm only speaking by my own experience.
  • Chipmaniac
    Chipmaniac Posts: 642 Member
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    I have been eating 1200 cals for 21 mths and have lost 100 lbs, I think everyone is different and you have to find what works for you. Maybe you should up your cals by 100 for a few weeks and see what happens you can always increase or lower them to 1200 again. Play around with the cals and find what works for you. I think some people need to eat less to lose where some people need to eat more to lose, I think while some people go into starvation mode at 1200 cals some people go into starvation mode at 1000 cals
    I agree. People often try to simplify things too much. There are few hard and fast rules. I leave around 500 calories per day "on the table" in addition to the 1000 calorie deficit MFP calculates and I've been losing a little over 3 pounds a week for three months with amazing consistency, exactly what the deficit predicts. The whole "starvation mode" trope is overblown and largely a myth. There is the concept of diminishing returns and the OP may be experiencing this, but there is not a magical number where this occurs at. It's a continuum and it also varies from person to person.
  • nikkiprickett
    nikkiprickett Posts: 412 Member
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    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/538943-how-to-calculate-calorie-goals-according-to-nrolfw


    this should help, i'm 5'8, 193...I was eating 1300 a day and when it told me to drop down to 1200 i kinda freaked out...one of my mfp friends shared this with me and now i'm sharing too!! I upped mine only to 1600 because i don't want to gain all the weight back then find out I was eating too much so I'm gradually increasing to see what my body does rather than eat what the formula tells me to eat and gain then have to start all over...i'm sooooo getting this book sometime soon though!

    hope this helps :)
  • nrogerscowper
    nrogerscowper Posts: 1
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    Here's the thing. I'm fixated on 1200 calories a day, but only if I don't exercise. If you're working out 3-4 times a week, you need to fuel that extra activity!

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