So scared of gaining weight

rcharlee · May 2012

I need to find out what caloric intake is appropriate for me.

I decided to commit to getting healthy at the beginning of January this year. So far I have lost 18lbs, and have another 24lbs to go. I'm 27, 5'4, and 163.9lbs right now. I am doing Turbo Jam 5 times a week, Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred 3-4 times a week, use a stationary bike or gazelle glider 1-2 times a week, strength train 4-5 times a week, and play competitive tennis 2 days a week. Weekdays I work out at least 40 minutes, and upwards 80 minutes a day, and on the weekend it's 60-90 minutes of tennis.

I've seen post after post about "eating more to lose," but I just can't seem to understand this. I've also used TDEE tools, ect. to find out what I really should be eating calorie wise, but I'm scared that the numbers I see will make me gain weight. So here's the question..... can someone please help me figure out how many calories I should be eating based on my activity level, height, age, and weight?

Qarol · May 2012

I'm no expert, but what I understand about the eat more to lose is not letting your caloric deficit get too high. Especially the closer you get to goal. Hopefully some of my smart friends will see this and respond.

Zylayna · May 2012

Unfortunately I don't have time to answer your question in full right now, but if you repost your question in this forum: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/3817-eat-more-to-weigh-less (Eat More To Weigh Less) we are quite helpful and friendly and would love to help you determine what your tdee, tdee cut and BMR values are so that you can lose weight in a healthy way. :flowerforyou:

There are also a bunch of stickies at the top of that group that you can read through to get a better understanding of what the group is all about.

Hope to see you there!

BrokenBarbiexoxo · May 2012

I am so you.

I am 5ft4, 26, exercise less than you.. But Iam upping my cals to lose weight. It seems insane. I currently eat 500-750 cals a day (don't abuse me, I know it's wrong and I'm doing something about it) and my weight loss stopped 3 weeks ago and I have now gained a pound.

I am going up between my BMR and TDEE slowly as of Monday as I have killed my body.

I'll be honest, the thought of eating more to weight less scares the crap out of me, as I know I will gain to begin with, and it seems a crazy concept anyway, until someone explained it all to me... Add me if you want to go through it together, it's scary and I can't imagine eating so much food! But our bodies need it hey.

BrokenBarbiexoxo · May 2012

see below.

BrokenBarbiexoxo · May 2012

My BMR is 1427 and my TDEE without exercise is 1712 (I am 5ft4 same as you, office job and weight 138) so my calorie goal is 1,370 and I am meant to eat back the exercise calories (but I won't do this yet) x (with my exercise i do my BMR is 1,427 and TDEE is 1,962 so I should eat 1,570 and not eat exercise calories) x

Nyodra · May 2012

English BMR Formula
Women: BMR = 655 + ( 4.35 x weight in pounds ) + ( 4.7 x height in inches ) - ( 4.7 x age in years )
Men: BMR = 66 + ( 6.23 x weight in pounds ) + ( 12.7 x height in inches ) - ( 6.8 x age in year )

Metric BMR Formula
Women: BMR = 655 + ( 9.6 x weight in kilos ) + ( 1.8 x height in cm ) - ( 4.7 x age in years )
Men: BMR = 66 + ( 13.7 x weight in kilos ) + ( 5 x height in cm ) - ( 6.8 x age in years )

To determine your total daily calorie needs, multiply your BMR by the appropriate activity factor, as follows:

If you are sedentary (little or no exercise) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.2
If you are lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.375
If you are moderatetely active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.55
If you are very active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.725
If you are extra active (very hard exercise/sports & physical job or 2x training) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.9

LJCannon · May 2012

:flowerforyou: bumping to read later

inraptorswetrust · May 2012

I'm in the same boat. I've been doing about 1100 calories per day net. I cannot imagine eating 1400 calories like the calculators recommend. I'm giving it a shot though, because I despite working hard and eating (mostly) clean I haven't lost anything for over a month. It's definitely scary and will take some discipline, I'm going to give it a shot.

rcharlee · May 2012

Well I joined a group, upped my calories from 1430 to 1900, and will now continue my workout routine and see what happens.

Foodie711711 · May 2012

Wow you workout alot. Congrats on your dedication and weight loss so far. When my weight loss stalled for months, I posted a similar question and everyone explained to me the eat more to weigh less idea. It sounded good and I couldnt complain about eating more food!! I slowly raised my calories from 1600 to 2000( do not eat my exercise calories back unless I drop under my BMR). I just started this a little bit back and I too am scared of gaining the weight back. I was told that there would be a weight gain in the begining but then it will even itself out and Ill keep losing again. Now while I'd like to tell you Im a success story to this philosophy..I do not know yet. I decided to ban my scale for a month so I do not freak out about the initial gain and to give it a fair amount of time before I say this method does not work for me. I'll make sure to write back once I know my results. Good luck if you attempt this!!

Qarol · May 2012

Well I joined a group, upped my calories from 1430 to 1900, and will now continue my workout routine and see what happens.

You might want to bump your calories a littler slower than that. Perhaps 100 cals each week for a few weeks. Otherwise, you might see some initial increases on the scale that might discourage you.

pnut80 · May 2012

oh my! yes you should NEVER eat below 1200!!! that is soooo bad unhealthy!! but i am not the weight loss police lol so i wont beat u up

but as far as eating more to weigh less...it works!! or shall i say it is working for me and ive only seen positive posts about it on MFP. i have been eating 1200 a day since january and i had lost almost 16 lbs, about a month ago i plateaued. i couldnt seem to get past it so i started researching it in the forums and kept reading everyone say eat more eat more. i was sooooo scared i would gain and ruin everything i had accomplished. but i decided to give it a try, my frustration with not losing pushed me to try. the first 3 or 4 days the scale went up about a lb total but then it started going back down and it hasnt stopped since. i think its about workin your way to a maintenance cal intake...cause lets face it, we are not gonna be "dieting" forever." and i just think this is the best way to do it....in my opinion lol.

so heres my suggestion, go to http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ and figure up your numbers, then figure 15%-20% of your TDEE and subtract it from you TDEE, that is what you should be eating. or at least that is what i was told. i think with 15% you should lose a lb a week. but i figured 20% for my total.

i am no weight loss genius, i just found all this info on the MFP forums, and its working great for me

hope this helps and good luck!

BrokenBarbiexoxo · May 2012

oh my! yes you should NEVER eat below 1200!!! that is soooo bad unhealthy!! but i am not the weight loss police lol so i wont beat u up

hehe :laugh:

I hope it works for me also :happy:

Sarauk2sf · May 2012

I am so you.

I am 5ft4, 26, exercise less than you.. But Iam upping my cals to lose weight. It seems insane. I currently eat 500-750 cals a day (don't abuse me, I know it's wrong and I'm doing something about it) and my weight loss stopped 3 weeks ago and I have now gained a pound.

I am going up between my BMR and TDEE slowly as of Monday as I have killed my body.

I'll be honest, the thought of eating more to weight less scares the crap out of me, as I know I will gain to begin with, and it seems a crazy concept anyway, until someone explained it all to me... Add me if you want to go through it together, it's scary and I can't imagine eating so much food! But our bodies need it hey.

First - kudos to you for recognizing the issue and what you need to do. I am sure you know, but want to emphasise that if you have been on very low calories for a while, you metabolism will probably be messed up (supressed). The good news is - it is 'fixable', the bad news is - you will probably gain a little to do it. In some ways, going immediately to what your maintenance should be can be beneficial, but I understand why that would just be too much and going up slowly makes the most sense.

I would suggest that you look into joining this group: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/4455-metabolism-repair-mode they should be able to help with your concerns and questions as you do this.

Good luck

pnut80 · May 2012

oh my! yes you should NEVER eat below 1200!!! that is soooo bad unhealthy!! but i am not the weight loss police lol so i wont beat u up

hehe :laugh:

I hope it works for me also :happy:

im sure it will! and congrats on your progress so far! :happy:

BrokenBarbiexoxo · May 2012

I am so you.

I am 5ft4, 26, exercise less than you.. But Iam upping my cals to lose weight. It seems insane. I currently eat 500-750 cals a day (don't abuse me, I know it's wrong and I'm doing something about it) and my weight loss stopped 3 weeks ago and I have now gained a pound.

I am going up between my BMR and TDEE slowly as of Monday as I have killed my body.

I'll be honest, the thought of eating more to weight less scares the crap out of me, as I know I will gain to begin with, and it seems a crazy concept anyway, until someone explained it all to me... Add me if you want to go through it together, it's scary and I can't imagine eating so much food! But our bodies need it hey.

First - kudos to you for recognizing the issue and what you need to do. I am sure you know, but want to emphasise that if you have been on very low calories for a while, you metabolism will probably be messed up (supressed). The good news is - it is 'fixable', the bad news is - you will probably gain a little to do it. In some ways, going immediately to what your maintenance should be can be beneficial, but I understand why that would just be too much and going up slowly makes the most sense.

I would suggest that you look into joining this group: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/4455-metabolism-repair-mode they should be able to help with your concerns and questions as you do this.

Good luck

Thank you, I really appreciate you posting that link and I will definitely go and have a look now! Thank you so much

I know I will gain, but in the long run, I need to do it so hopefully it'll work out ok for me

x

WandaJean1564 · May 2012

okay so if I eat my 1200...and do my 60 min walks each day ( yesterday was a 40 minutes walk cause I was up at 3:30 am)..I will lose weight????
and to the Op congrats on your success

rcharlee · May 2012

okay so if I eat my 1200...and do my 60 min walks each day ( yesterday was a 40 minutes walk cause I was up at 3:30 am)..I will lose weight????
and to the Op congrats on your success

Initially you probably will, but will most likely stop losing or even gain when you eat a low amount of calories and exercise some of that off. I don't think the average American woman's body only needs 1200 calories. I was eating 1400ish, and that isn't enough for my body to function on; since I work out like a mad woman.

http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/
This is the calculator site that a fitnesspal posted in her blog that finally helped me completely understand what is going on.

Sarauk2sf · May 2012

okay so if I eat my 1200...and do my 60 min walks each day ( yesterday was a 40 minutes walk cause I was up at 3:30 am)..I will lose weight????
and to the Op congrats on your success

Initially you probably will, but will most likely stop losing or even gain when you eat a low amount of calories and exercise some of that off. I don't think the average American woman's body only needs 1200 calories. I was eating 1400ish, and that isn't enough for my body to function on; since I work out like a mad woman.

http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/
This is the calculator site that a fitnesspal posted in her blog that finally helped me completely understand what is going on.

OP: Another good thread for you is http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/538381-in-place-of-a-road-map?

Just a word of caution - you may be overtraining as it looks like you do A LOT of exercise (or, as you say, work out like a mad woman) - you may want to consider cutting back a bit as that much can put a strain on your body and become counterproductive.

ETA: another useful link: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/521728-upping-cals-what-to-expect-why-you-need-patience?

rcharlee · May 2012

okay so if I eat my 1200...and do my 60 min walks each day ( yesterday was a 40 minutes walk cause I was up at 3:30 am)..I will lose weight????
and to the Op congrats on your success

Initially you probably will, but will most likely stop losing or even gain when you eat a low amount of calories and exercise some of that off. I don't think the average American woman's body only needs 1200 calories. I was eating 1400ish, and that isn't enough for my body to function on; since I work out like a mad woman.

http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/
This is the calculator site that a fitnesspal posted in her blog that finally helped me completely understand what is going on.

OP: Another good thread for you is http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/538381-in-place-of-a-road-map?

Just a word of caution - you may be overtraining as it looks like you do A LOT of exercise (or, as you say, work out like a mad woman) - you may want to consider cutting back a bit as that much can put a strain on your body and become counterproductive.

ETA: another useful link: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/521728-upping-cals-what-to-expect-why-you-need-patience?

Thanks! There was some great info in there. I am planning to reduce my exercise too; taking a rest day, and probably only doing one of the workout dvd collections at a time.

Aleara2012 · May 2012

I was in your boat not a long while ago. 3 months on 1200 - lost 30lb and then nothing... I staretd even gaining a little while still on 1000-1200 calories... that continued for 4 weeks. Till I upped my calories 2 weeks ago and am now eating around 1800. I have lost 1lb in those 2 weeks..and I hope I continue to lose! It is so much easier at 1800 calories than it was on 1200, I am a bit impatient to lose the remainign 30 lb but now I know I can do this indefinately. Living on 1800 calories that is. So eventually the weight will come off, even if it takes a couple of years!

Shezziixo · October 2012

I need some advice I started my weight loss challenge 2 years ago at 9st7
In a year I lost a stone just by exercising and reached 8st7 .. I was so much happier and then I started eating healthy and lost more weight dropping to 7st11 I was also put on an exercise plan by my personal trainer at the gym ..
Recently I've become more strict with my diet and fell to 7st5 and now I am scared of gaining weight! ..
I am happy with my body but people keep telling my I am too slim and don't eat enough I aim to not exceed 800kcal counting food and drink and currently exercise 6 days a week with a daily burn goal of 500kcal .. Recently I've been told to eat more and I've increased my diet to 5 meals a day eg, breakfast, fruit, lunch, fruit and main meal, sometimes a low kcal hot chocolate and I feel so guilty I'm now consuming about 1000kcal a day and I'm scared ill gain .. Cause anyone advise me on what's best eat less stick to my 3 meals 800kcal limit or increase to 1000kcal 5 meal?

thelovelyLIZ · October 2012

Pretty much this. I continued to lose inches as I got closer to my goal weight because I was eating more and lifting, and building lean muscle.

Also, make sure you aren't overworking yourself and are eating enough to maintain that kind of activity level. 80 minutes a day is A LOT and you could easily be on your way to over training or injuring yourself. Rest days are important. You HAVE to take them. I'm not saying you have to lay on the couch all day, but take at least one day a week where all you do for your exercise is a nice walk or something. Your body needs this time to build muscles and repair the damage done.

Finally- and you're not going to like this- you need to comfort and get over your fear of gaining weight. Virtually every successful weight loss story I know has gained a few pounds after hitting their goal. Most didn't gain it all back, but this did add back a few? You know why? Our bodies weight will naturally fluctuate. Just how it is. I've put weight on recently because I've been training for a half marathon, and running 6+ miles several days a week and needing to eat back 500-900 calories a day is just not conducive with weight loss. The sooner you accept that you will not just hit your goal weight and magically sit there, and then learn to love and respect your body at every size, the happier you will be. I'm not saying this to dash your dreams, I'm saying it because it's reality, and I don't want you to fall into an unhealthy obsession with not gaining back any weight.

liesevanlingen · October 2012

Something to be aware of is that working out may cause a slight weight gain because you are building muscle and muscle weighs more than fat. It just takes up a lot less space. Rather than focusing on a goal weight, you may want to try focusing on a goal size. Since I started trying to lose weight, 'I've dropped 30 lbs of fat, but put on 12 lbs of muscle, which makes for a not very impressive total weight loss of 18 lbs. I weighed 192 lbs when I started and weigh 174 now. BUT...I've gone from a size 18 to a size 12 and everyone keeps commenting on how good I look. So remember that the number on the scale isn't the most important one. How you look and feel is more important that what you weigh.

So scared of gaining weight

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