Has anyone gone from eating less calories to more calories?

Miss_L
Miss_L Posts: 20 Member
edited December 20 in Health and Weight Loss
Has anyone gone from eating less calories to more calories and still lost weight? Im eating 1200 currently but i'm not losing(im actually gaining :( ) Its been suggested I eat more (~1500) but im scared i'll gain weight. I workout 4-6x a week, burning between 400-550 calories. What have u guys experienced?
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Replies

  • hazelovesfood
    hazelovesfood Posts: 454 Member
    I would like to know this too.
  • littlepinkhearts
    littlepinkhearts Posts: 1,055 Member
    Here's the link to a group which has a lot of members doing just that right now. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/3834-eat-more-to-weigh-less and lots of info for you to read :)
  • Darlingir
    Darlingir Posts: 437
    Me... and so happy I did....was at 1200 and exercising like crazy and was stuck for over six weeks..moved my intake to 1600 and dropped 5 pounds in a week
  • HMVOL7409
    HMVOL7409 Posts: 1,588 Member
    Yes. I went from 1200 to 1400; still plateaued and went up to 1600-1700 and lost the last 3-4 lbs I needed in a few weeks. Now maintaining around 2000.
  • MotorCityFemmeFatale
    MotorCityFemmeFatale Posts: 222 Member
    Its been suggested I eat more (~1500)

    At minimum
  • ddiestler
    ddiestler Posts: 353 Member
    I have increased my calories from 1200 to 1400 and even more if I exercise. Check out the group eat more to lose and it will tell you exactly what to do. You are eating too few calories for the amount of exercise you are doing.

    A car needs fuel to run..our bodies need fuel to function. It took me quite a while to fully understand this concept. I've hit plateaus that have lasted 6 months or more..eating more is definitly key.. friend me if you'd like

    oh, it is scary at first..trust the process though.

    Dawn
  • MileyClimb
    MileyClimb Posts: 414 Member
    me! I was eating between 1,000 and 100 calories and now eating my correct calories of 1,726. this is my 3rd day doing it. I already lost 2 pounds. yes eat more to weigh less is a great place it is helping me a lot.
  • sculley
    sculley Posts: 2,012 Member
    I went from not loosing eat 1200 to eating 1600 and seeing a difference . I am eating closer to my TDEE calculated calories.
  • melsinct
    melsinct Posts: 3,512 Member
    I was at 1200, plateaued severely (months) then went to 1400 and started losing. I plateaued again, went to 1500, and started losing again. I am finally maintaining at 1700 and change and now eat all of my exercise calories back. If you aren't fueling your body correctly, most of us will not lose any weight. Remember to give any change you make a few weeks to work before you declare it a success or failure.
  • emma3002
    emma3002 Posts: 1 Member
    Hi, i've been on mfp for 18 days now and so far lost 6lb. when i joined i put in the food i would normally eat in a day and was shocked to see i was only eating 600-700 cals a day, i am on 1200 now and can already see a difference. I can't believe after years of practically starving myself i am finally loosing the weight by eating more lol.
  • bluemist248
    bluemist248 Posts: 207 Member
    I've just recently gone from 1240, where my weight loss eventually stalled and increased it to 1460 and the scale has started moving again! :happy: So yes, I can confirm it works. It took about 2 weeks for it to kick in and it may be worth avoiding the scale in this time if you're likely to panic when/if you see a temp gain (mine was 1lb but I stuck with it and believed in the success stories of the people in the EM2LM group).
  • Smuterella
    Smuterella Posts: 1,623 Member
    As long as you eat between your BMR and your TDEE you will lose weight. FACT. The main problem however is working out these numbers.
  • PayneAS
    PayneAS Posts: 669 Member
    The first 3 or 4 weeks of my weight loss journey I was eating 900 cal/day (MFP suggested 1200 of course, I just wasn't hungry). I lost 4 lbs the first week, another 2 lbs the second week, then stalled on weeks 3 and 4. Then I started educating myself about BMR, TDEE, and the Eat More to Weigh Less group. According to the fancy scale my gym has, my BMR is about 1500. I've since then upped my minimum calorie to 1500. I'm supposed to eat that much plus 10% of my exercise calories which I try to but I don't always succeed. From week 5 till now I've lost a steady 1 lb per week as expected (except for my 2 week vacation). I was down 14 lbs... sadly last week was my son's birthday and I gave in to cake and ice cream. :(
  • goldengirl28
    goldengirl28 Posts: 129 Member
    Yeah me :)

    Joined 35 days ago, started on about 1380 cals, lost 4lbs withing 4 days and then lost nothing for the next 2 weeks did some investigation found the EMTLW group and upped to 1688.

    so far have lost 5 lbs in 10 days

    i cut my exercise right back to some walking and my ab toning exercise and once i get full grip of the eating more regime, will resume my C25K in maybe a fortnight. (and up the cals again ;) )
  • chrisb75
    chrisb75 Posts: 395 Member
    Me. Went from 1700 to 2400. Clothes still getting looser, haven't weighed in a while though.
  • PLUMSGRL
    PLUMSGRL Posts: 1,134 Member
    1200 calories is waaaay below my BMR (not healthy to eat below). I ate that way for over a year before I started to realize that was crazy. I stumble on to a group called Eat More to Weigh Less, and I'm currently doing a metabolism reset. I'm eating at my TDEE of 2350 cals/day for about 8 weeks. I started last week (at 2100, thought my activity level was lower-wrong) and lost a pound, I shouldn't have, so upped it. Most people who do the reset notice a "gain on the scale" for the first 4-6 weeks, then it starts dropping slowly. At that point it becomes safe to cut TDEE-15% (decrease cals). Doing this prevents plateaus, and gets your body to stop thinking your gonna starve it.

    Read this blog by a EM2WL member, it will give you more info and links:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/lillebanon/view/my-take-on-eating-more-to-weigh-less-254554

    Good luck on your endeavors!
  • tlhorsley
    tlhorsley Posts: 141 Member
    It does sound like with the amount of exercising you are doing that you probably need to be eating more.

    I recently joined the Eat More group too and have found lots of good reading and lots of support. This is only day 3 of me eating more so I can't say how it has worked for me yet but I do think you need to eat more...
  • TripleJ3
    TripleJ3 Posts: 945 Member
    Currently I am eating at Maintenance, but I am eating about 1,000 more calories a day!

    I am very active so this will change in a few weeks when I cut it by 15% to start to lose again and when it gets colder out I usually don't run. I hate the dreadmill! I will still do some sort of cardio but much less.

    I can't believe for years I forced myself to eat 1200-1600 calories of super clean, strict eating and never dropped a pound! Or if I did, I would quickly gain it back. As I said, I am maintaining, but I am eating 2600 calories a day and haven't gained. I ate about 2300 for 3 weeks and 2600 for about a week. I don't use a scale unless I have to so I may have gained scale weight but all my clothes fit so I am happy!

    And actually full!
  • cari4jc1
    cari4jc1 Posts: 233
    I also have increased my calories. I was at 1200-1300 calories forever and wasn't losing anything even though I worked out 45-60 minutes 4 times a week. I was having headaches and fatigue and finally updated my mfp profile information and it jumped my calories to 1530. That week I lost 2 pounds and continued to lose 2 pounds a week. My calories are now up to 1660 and I feel so much better and seeing results finally. I never would have thought that eating more would help, but it totally did.
  • musicgirl99
    musicgirl99 Posts: 252 Member
    bump for later
  • MeDoula
    MeDoula Posts: 233 Member
    bump for later

    I did. Details later.
  • fiveohmike
    fiveohmike Posts: 1,297 Member
    Hey!

    I went from eating 1200 calories to eating 3114 calories. Down 8lbs so far.

    Also check our group out: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/3817-eat-more-to-weigh-less

    Mike
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,431 MFP Moderator
    Started at 1800, now around 3000 ish
  • setlak
    setlak Posts: 3 Member
    How can I find out more about the Eat More Weigh Less group and how to calculate the BMR? I think this is my problem. I am having trouble losing 10 pounds. I work out about 3-4 times and week, consume about 1200 cal a day and eat healthy but I am not losing weight.
  • SRH7
    SRH7 Posts: 2,037 Member
    How can I find out more about the Eat More Weigh Less group and how to calculate the BMR? I think this is my problem. I am having trouble losing 10 pounds. I work out about 3-4 times and week, consume about 1200 cal a day and eat healthy but I am not losing weight.

    You can join the group here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/3817-eat-more-to-weigh-less

    All the info you need should be in there but in case it's not... this is what I am doing (everyone is different but it's working for me!):

    * Calculate your TDEE (http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html)
    * What I did was set my activity levels at the lowest (so little or no exercise)
    * Take 15% or 20% off your TDEE (depends on how fast you want to lose weight)
    * Set this as your calorie count for the day
    * Make sure you log any exercise during each day
    * Eat back at least 50% of those exercise calories 'earned'

    So, for me (5' 8'' and 183lbs), my TDEE is 1900 calories, my target calories (TDEE minus 20%) is just over 1540 calories and if I do any exercise (for example today I earned 200 calories) I eat around 50% of those calories on top.

    This gives steady, achievable weight loss and ensures your body has the fuel it needs to exercise.

    Hope this makes sense!
  • loves_jc
    loves_jc Posts: 86 Member
    I had 1240 is what it wanted and I was at a bit of a stall I took my calories up to 1680 and now lossing again.
  • medaglia_06
    medaglia_06 Posts: 282 Member
    Has anyone gone from eating less calories to more calories and still lost weight? Im eating 1200 currently but i'm not losing(im actually gaining :( ) Its been suggested I eat more (~1500) but im scared i'll gain weight. I workout 4-6x a week, burning between 400-550 calories. What have u guys experienced?

    I started at 1,200 and lost the first month and lost a little less the month after that and a little less the month after that (see a trend?) I upped my calories to 1,560 and the weight started coming off faster again :happy: I was terrified to try it, but I gave it a shot and it worked! I don't eat back as much of my exercise calories, but it has definitely helped me!
  • medaglia_06
    medaglia_06 Posts: 282 Member
    Yes. I went from 1200 to 1400; still plateaued and went up to 1600-1700 and lost the last 3-4 lbs I needed in a few weeks. Now maintaining around 2000.

    Good for you!
  • turkeyhunter60
    turkeyhunter60 Posts: 319 Member
    If I only eat about 1200, working out 3-4 times a week, I get nowhere. Need to eat those workout calories back, at least.
  • 2youngatheart
    2youngatheart Posts: 338 Member
    Bump...very interested!
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