If you are scared to increase calories

I dont know if the OP or others are still watching this thread but I hope so. This idea is very intriguing and I promised myself that I would eat to support my new exercise program.

I am a 47 yo female and 4'11 and currently at 186.8 lbs and 47.32% body fat, my goal weight is 118. I started the Insanity program with my husband on 4/9 and do it faithfully every day (6 days a week) and burn between 350-600 calories a session (measured on a HR Monitor). MFP set my calories at 1250 to loose 1lb a week and I have been eating back my exercise calories (I mean who can be happy on 1200 calories!). So I have been averaging about 1600 calories a day. I actually gained 2lbs the first 2 weeks, but lost 3 inch on my hips and 1.5 off my waist. Now I'm down 1.5 lbs from my starting weight (4 weeks in) and have lost a total of 10.5 inches. One whole pant size, but no real scale change (kinda depressing). Anyway, according to the Fat 2 Fit website, I should be eating somewhere between these two for an interim goal weight of 152lbs:

Moderately Active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk) 2130
Very Active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk) 2370

This is very scary!!! It goes against my basic instinct to cut calories when the scale doesnt move but Is this right? I really want this to work, like plenty of others on here I have dieted and lost, only to gain it back and then some...I allowed myself to get up to an obscene weight and now I just want to be healthy, active and fit. Could really use some support and help with this.

On a side note, I feel so much better now with the exercise, I dont know how to describe it, but now any movement my body makes now, I feel fully "engaged"? I mean when I stand I feel strong and can feel my legs and abs supporting me, we I sit, I sit straighter, when I walk, bend, dance.......etc......I just feel stronger.

If anyone is interested, I'm going to start trying this method this coming week. I plan to stick with it for at least 2 months no matter what happens. So, if you want to see if it really works, I will be giving weekly updates on my blog. I am going to do weekly weight and measurement updates. I am using the Fat2Fit method of eating at the TDEE of your goal weight. I am one of those people who has gone about half way to their goal weight and just stalled. I've exercised more, but haven't seen the results I'm looking for. Here is what is changing for me:

1. My daily calories is going way, way up. I have been netting about 1500 on average. Now, I will be eating at around 2700 calories.

2. I'm cutting back slightly on the amount of cardio I do and replacing it with some strength training. I do not have a gym membership and I have limited exercise equipment. I will be using some dumb bells, resistance bands, and I have access to a heavy bag at work. The rest will be body weight resistance exercises.

3. I'm changing my ratios to 40% carbs, 30% protein, 30% fats and 30g of fiber.

I will update my blog every Sunday with the weekly results. I go into this with no pre-expectations of whether or not this is going to work. The math seems to work out. Even if it is wrong, MFP says I should lose 0.3 lbs a week anyway. So, if anyone is curious to whether or not this works then feel free to check out my blog on Sundays. I have already updated with my initial stats.

I have set my calories to 1800. I am trying to create an exercise routine, but am not always consistant with it. I work at Starbucks 4 days a week. My TDEE is apparently 2303, BMR 1675.

So if I eat 1800, burn off 400, I can't eat those 400 back?

It depends on how you set your TDEE. If your set your TDEE above sedentary, then you would eat the calories back. If you set it to light or moderate, then that activity is included in the TDEE calculation, so you wouldn't eat them back.

Tdee is 'total daily energy expenditure' so you should choose the activity level that includes your exercise.
If tdee is 2303, you eat 1800+400, you have eaten 2200 which is only 103 deficit and you probably won't lose.
The reason you need to eat exercise back with
Mfp calcs is because exercise is not included in activity level. With tdee it is so you don't eat them back.
With an active job and 3 or more workouts a week you should choose mod active.

No, no. I wouldn't eat 1800+400, hun. What I'm trying to say is that, if I ate 1800, then burned off 400, if I ate those 400 back, I'd be netting the same amount as if I didn't work out. Do you see what I mean, hun?

Can anyone recommend some good, healthy ways to increase calories? Having loads of trouble getting anywhere without eating junk food! I admit I am a small eater with a poor appetite but I'm aiming to up my calories to 1700 per day after having been on 900-1300 for a long while. Any suggestions?

THIS!!

Hi There
Please somebody clarify it to me I'm a bit confused. MFP allows me 1200kal my BMR is 1480kal, I'm not exercising therefore I am in sedentary category.
My question is- Should I eat 1200kal which MFP allows me or eat my BMR instead??


thank u

I'm starting to have this issue too, some good suggestions I've seen on here are:

Regular Cheese
Peanut butter or other nut butters
regular cottage cheese
Avocados
regular yogurt

I know at the beginning, I was getting lower fat of all these things, but now I'm putting them back one by one

Regular Everything.. Get rid of all fat free or light products in your house.
Greek yogurt
NUTS!
More meat in your serving
Protein Powder/Shakes/Bars
Beans and Lentils
Cheese

I agree with the idea of eating the proper amount of calories based off BMR/TDEE. But something in the calculator at fat2fitradio.com does not add up when selecting your activity level; at least for me. I think you need to be careful when estimating how many calories you are actually burning in exercise and then setting an average daily calorie goal, instead of logging exercise.

For example if I set my current weight and goal weight the same, it should give me the number of calories for maintenance.

Sedentary: 2000
Light(1-3 workouts/wk) 2300

Now assume I really only workout once a week for 30 minutes and burn 300 calories. That is fine to eat 2300 calories on that day, but every other day of the week I would be overeating by 300 calories. I would eventually gain pounds, not maintain. The calculator is assuming I am burning an extra 2100 calories per week from exercise when just changing from sedentary to light activity. I didn't check all the other possibilities.

If you were honestly only ever working out 1 day a week, then yes, you would be better going with Sedentary.. The vast majority of people in a weight loss mode are actually in the Moderately active category.

Try this calculator instead if you are worried about it. This one takes in the actual amount of HOURS you spend doing activity to calculate your value.. http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

I tried this a week ago, and after one day, I was so full from all the food that it freaked me out. I don't know if I have the guts to keep it up. It seems like so much food. It's 1,000 more calories PER DAY, than I eat now. Geez. But, maybe that is why I can't shave off the last bit that I'd like to lose. I went through the calculator on the site and found my body fat %. Maybe I'll give it a shot. Its kinda scary.

It is scary for sure. But it works. I was you 9 weeks ago.. I went from 1400 cals a day to 2400 cals.. The first few days it was hard to figure out how to get in 1000 more cals a day, but once you get in it, you realize just how much your body needs it. It took about 3 days and then I found I was waking up in the morning absolutely starving! I sign my metabolism was saying "FEED ME!!!"

In the first few weeks, Yes I gained a few pounds, And yes that is hard to accept, especially when you are desperately trying to lose it.. but remember, unless you actually ate an additional 3500 cals , there is no way you actually gained a pound. Water retention is a big one.. also your body is thinking you are in a "binge" cycle, so its holding on for dear life, not knowing if you are going to starve it again (ie: eating under BMR)... so it will hold on to it for a bit..
But eventually your body starts to trust you again, and realizes this is normal, so it starts to shed the pounds again.. This time FAT pounds.. not MUSCLE pounds, as you normally lose in a low cal diet.

It is frustrating in the beginning. I had many days where I was desperate to go back down to 1400 cals again just to see the scale move. But I would rather EAT and be happy and healthy than starve and be miserable. On another note, over this past 9 weeks, I sleep better, My hair stopped falling out, my skin feels smoother, Im not so tired and ragged, I dont yell and get cranky at my kids as often....

Over the 9 weeks I have dropped about 4 pounds, and it is going down.. and if I can LOSE WEIGHT that eating as much as I am, Why in the heck would I EVER go back to eating 1400???

Take the leap... put the scale away for a good 4-6 weeks. Take your measurements and dive in. You will thank yourself in time:)

TY for help