Higher Calories, I'm giving it another week

marm1962 · May 2012

Ok....I need to lose about 50 lbs......I have been with MFP for awhile now and I'm about at my wits end. I've done 1500 calories and lots of exercise, lost 20 lbs.....first time with Phen*, second time just better food and exercise. Moved and lived with my son....his wife is not the best cook and we were not eating healthy either, no jobs for awhile so I couldn't buy my own food, do I gained my 20 lbs back. Moved to our own place and got back to eating healthier and exercising....btw I clean houses for a living, I don't burn the same amount of calories at work everyday because I may clean 1, 2, or 4 houses a day.
I went back to 1200 calories and have been bouncing back and forth.....lose 10 lbs, gain 10 lbs. In any given weekend I can gain 6 lbs.....not sure why, but I know it's not water weight because it takes the whole week to lose it, and yes I am very aware of how many calories it takes to gain a pound.

Now.....I have been reading a lot on here about not eating below your BMR, depending on which program I use, my BMR is somewhere between 1527 and 2000, so I settled on about 1700 and giving myself a little leeway to about 1900. I started this on Monday May 14th at 183 lbs, My husband and I also walk 3 days a week (2 miles in about 30 minutes). They warned that at first you may gain weight......I did. Tuesday May 22nd I was up to 187 lbs. This morning, May 26th, I weighed in at 183 lbs. Since I've been down to 183 before and regain it back, I am giving this another week to see where it goes....if I regain the weight then I am at a loss as to where to go from here.

I am 49 years of age, 5'4" tall and my diary is open to the public, please keep your sarcasm to yourself, because I have a tendency to bite back. Constructive criticism is very welcome.

wftiger · May 2012

First off I am not a believer in eat more to lose more. Basically the math doesn't add up for me to believe in it. But I understand why people give it a try and it may work for some.

The only thing I could maybe recommend you try is try lowering your carbs for a while. When I had a sort of plateau (it wasn't a really one I just got cranky because it wasn't enough of a loss) my MD told me to move my carbs down and the weight would come off quicker. And it has. I am on restricted carbs as it is so I just restricted them more.

I would think if you try to keep yours under 100 net you might see a bit more of a loss.

Of course, just my opinion on what has worked for me. Every body is different so it may not work for you but it is worth a try.

chubby_checkers · May 2012

It does take awhile for you body to adjust. Longer than you would think; about a month or more. You can check out the group Eat More to Weigh Less. There's a lot of information and they can likely answer questions for you. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/3834-eat-more-to-weigh-less

palmerig88 · May 2012

1200 is definitely not a magic number. Be honest about your daily activity level (not include. Exercise) and eat what mfo tells you to eat at one lb loss per week. This will give you the high calories goal you are looking for and you will lose. Don't give yourself ranges like that. If you work out eat that back. Mmmmmmmm. Honestly it is all scientific and it works if you stick to it.

marm1962 · May 2012

It does take awhile for you body to adjust. Longer than you would think; about a month or more. You can check out the group Eat More to Weigh Less. There's a lot of information and they can likely answer questions for you. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/3834-eat-more-to-weigh-less

Yes, I've been there.....I don't basically have any questions, just lost as to how I'm supposed to lose this weight. I get sooooo sick of hearing "more calories out and less in = weight loss", because it's not necessarily true. I mean the basics are sound, but I know I burn more than 1200 calories a day, but still wasn't losing.

palmerig88 · May 2012

Forget 1200!

marm1962 · May 2012

1200 is definitely not a magic number. Be honest about your daily activity level (not include. Exercise) and eat what mfo tells you to eat at one lb loss per week. This will give you the high calories goal you are looking for and you will lose. Don't give yourself ranges like that. If you work out eat that back. Mmmmmmmm. Honestly it is all scientific and it works if you stick to it.

I am honest about my activity level, problem is I cannot afford something that tells me how many calories I burn a day. MFP is obviously way off when it comes to calories burned for housework or I'd be a super model by now. I don't include my exercise that is why I give myself the range that I do. So far it's working, but like I said I will give it another week to see if I get to go below the 183.

I know my age is a factor with all the postmenopausal crap and all, much more difficult than when I was 30....lol

marm1962 · May 2012

First off I am not a believer in eat more to lose more. Basically the math doesn't add up for me to believe in it. But I understand why people give it a try and it may work for some.

The only thing I could maybe recommend you try is try lowering your carbs for a while. When I had a sort of plateau (it wasn't a really one I just got cranky because it wasn't enough of a loss) my MD told me to move my carbs down and the weight would come off quicker. And it has. I am on restricted carbs as it is so I just restricted them more.

I would think if you try to keep yours under 100 net you might see a bit more of a loss.

Of course, just my opinion on what has worked for me. Every body is different so it may not work for you but it is worth a try.

Thank you, I'm not sure what 100 net carbs are, I count all carbs and they are at 40% of my total calories.

heatherrose86 · May 2012

It takes me a week to lose 6-8lbs worth of water weight, it really is water weight... because if it was fat, it would take a hell of a lot longer to burn off 6-8 lbs than one week

Keep it up and you will see results, you sound like you are just expecting yourself to fail

Your set calories are similar to mine, just make sure they are from healthy, whole foods and not things loaded with sodium or you will retain water and the scale will reflect it, which generally causes de-motivation.

If you have already lost on the higher calories I would be sure that if you keep it up you will continue to lose. Maybe avoid the scale for a month and surprise yourself when you do weigh-in.

Edited to add: What about a pedometer? Mine was $20 and I wear it when I walk the dog and clean the apartment, I generally burn 300-400 calories a day. It's not perfect, but it's something.

palmerig88 · May 2012

Just read the summarys. I am retail store manager so I picked 'lightly active'. Sometimes I'm up and down a ladder changing lightbulbs and mopping. Sometimes I'm sitting in meetings. It all works out. Eating too little holds you back. If your activity is cleaning house just pick the lightly active and log exercise if you go for a walk or ride a bike!

marm1962 · May 2012

It takes me a week to lose 6-8lbs worth of water weight, it really is water weight... because if it was fat, it would take a hell of a lot longer to burn off 6-8 lbs than one week

Keep it up and you will see results, you sound like you are just expecting yourself to fail Your set calories are similar to mine, just make sure they are from healthy, whole foods and not things loaded with sodium or you will retain water and the scale will reflect it, which generally causes de-motivation.

If you have already lost on the higher calories I would be sure that if you keep it up you will continue to lose. Maybe avoid the scale for a month and surprise yourself when you do weigh-in.

Thanks, not really expecting myself to fail, just a bit frustrated. I'm glad to hear someone else has problem losing the water weight.....I knew it wasn't fat, I also try to avoid higher sodium items, but they sneak it up on you.

I cannot avoid the scale as I have to monitor my water weight from night to morning. I was gaining up to 10 lbs in one day (have not done that in a long time), and my doctor told me that as long as it was gone by morning we didn't have a problem. Heart disease runs in the family. However, I only log my weight on Monday mornings and I go from there and ignore the little gains and losses during the week.

slowturtle1 · May 2012

1200 is definitely not a magic number. Be honest about your daily activity level (not include. Exercise) and eat what mfo tells you to eat at one lb loss per week. This will give you the high calories goal you are looking for and you will lose. Don't give yourself ranges like that. If you work out eat that back. Mmmmmmmm. Honestly it is all scientific and it works if you stick to it.

I am honest about my activity level, problem is I cannot afford something that tells me how many calories I burn a day. MFP is obviously way off when it comes to calories burned for housework or I'd be a super model by now. I don't include my exercise that is why I give myself the range that I do. So far it's working, but like I said I will give it another week to see if I get to go below the 183.

I know my age is a factor with all the postmenopausal crap and all, much more difficult than when I was 30....lol

It's easy to start worrying about things that haven't happened yet, especially when we are afraid of repeating old patterns. I would say that if what you're doing is working, let it keep working. When your weight begins to fluctuate, which it will because that is normal, just keep doing what you're doing--eat within your calorie goal, include your exercise calories in that goal, make healthy choices as much as possible, drink your water--and soon you';; fluctuate back down and start to lose again. If you have increased your calories you may not be losing a whole pound a week. That's normal also. As long as you're not continuously gaining it's all still going the right direction. Good luck!

autumnk921 · May 2012

I went to a great site to get your numbers for you: http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

You may want to check it out & play with the numbers too....

BMR: 1516
TDEE: 2349 (this is to maintain the weight you are at - 183lbs)
Cals/day: 1997

I put in -15% which is what most say to do...
If I put in -20%

Here are the numbers for that:

BMR: 1516
TDEE: 2349
Cals/day: 1879

I hope this helps...I would put your cals somewhere b/t 1879-1997 to lose but do not eat back exercise calories b/c they are already calculated in there!! Good luck!!

vim_n_vigor · May 2012

I don't see any fruit in your diary, so you could be missing out on some key nutrients that your body really needs. I am trying to find the number that works for me too. I am 5'4'' and it seems like keeping my Gross intake between 1500 and 2200 with a moderate deficit has me feeling the best. I track my deficit by the week, not the day.

marm1962 · May 2012

I don't see any fruit in your diary, so you could be missing out on some key nutrients that your body really needs. I am trying to find the number that works for me too. I am 5'4'' and it seems like keeping my Gross intake between 1500 and 2200 with a moderate deficit has me feeling the best. I track my deficit by the week, not the day.

lol, apparently you missed it....I have bananas, oranges, and apples. I don't eat a lot of them because I'm cutting back on the sugar a bit. I was having an apple for a snack and and orange later in the day. Sometimes I would have a banana either for breakfast or a snack after dinner. And they are high in carbs and was making me go over my intake.

marm1962 · May 2012

I just tried readjusting with MFP, the problem is if I put in a weight loss of 1 lb a week with lightly active and exercise times a week (30 minutes), it gives my calorie goal as 1470 (below my bmr), if I go to moderately active it gives me 1590. For now I will leave it at the 1700 mark and see where it takes me.

mfpcopine · May 2012

First off I am not a believer in eat more to lose more.

Nor am I.

grimm1974 · May 2012

First off I am not a believer in eat more to lose more. Basically the math doesn't add up for me to believe in it. But I understand why people give it a try and it may work for some.

The only thing I could maybe recommend you try is try lowering your carbs for a while. When I had a sort of plateau (it wasn't a really one I just got cranky because it wasn't enough of a loss) my MD told me to move my carbs down and the weight would come off quicker. And it has. I am on restricted carbs as it is so I just restricted them more.

I would think if you try to keep yours under 100 net you might see a bit more of a loss.

Of course, just my opinion on what has worked for me. Every body is different so it may not work for you but it is worth a try.

I've switched to the eat more philosophy. I have began losing again after 3 weeks in. I'm not sure what you mean by the math not adding up. It is pretty straight forward. You eat 15-20% of your TDEE which creates a calorie deficit while keeping above your BMR. If the approach is failing, then you just have to find where the problem is. It has to be one of a few things: incorrect food logging, difference in actual and calculated BMR/TDEE, or incorrect calculations in calories burned.

I believe the most important part of this diet is to keep that protein number close to your goal. When I'm consistent in hitting that number, I have the most success. I also found the strength training to be a huge boost. Before I was doing an all cardio workout. You also need to keep track of your measurements beyond what the scale is showing. I showed a significant change in body measurements weeks before the scale budged. I mean, I went from like a 50 inch waist measurement down to 47inches without losing a pound. I lost .5 inches in my neck and 2.5 inches in my hips.

marm1962 · May 2012

I went to a great site to get your numbers for you: http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

You may want to check it out & play with the numbers too....

BMR: 1516
TDEE: 2349 (this is to maintain the weight you are at - 183lbs)
Cals/day: 1997

I put in -15% which is what most say to do...
If I put in -20%

Here are the numbers for that:

BMR: 1516
TDEE: 2349
Cals/day: 1879

I hope this helps...I would put your cals somewhere b/t 1879-1997 to lose but do not eat back exercise calories b/c they are already calculated in there!! Good luck!!

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This is close to what I found out at another site.

marm1962 · May 2012

I want to thank all of you for your comments and suggestions, I will keep them all in mind and try to have a little more patience, after all....I've waited this long, so what's a few more weeks.....lol

Newtylee · May 2012

I think you could cut down on your protein shakes, like have 2 instead of 4/day as I don't think you need that much. But, I'm no expert and I don't believe too much protein makes you gain weight.

Higher Calories, I'm giving it another week

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