Does eating more to weight less work for everyone?

mcpherson4 · July 2012

I think only when you are at a stall and near your goal. Not for starting out. Also, most in this group lift heavy. FYI

hucksmom1 · July 2012

It has gotten me through two plateaus. Here is a really good article I found on the subject. Mainly, you have to confuse your body. It gets used to what you've been doing & it's no longer effective, so change things up to get your metabolism kick started again.

http://www.burnthefat.com/break_weight_plateaus.html

heybales · July 2012

Generally, the idea is eating more than an unrealistically set goal that MFP set based on less than accurate activity level choice and bigger than wise weight loss goal.

But rest of the phrase should be eating more than now but less than previously.

Since vast majority have no idea how much they used to eat that got them into trouble, but only the lowest goal they've ever seen, it always looks bad to eat more.

heybales · July 2012

A car with dirty air filter and badly gaped spark plugs and under-inflated tires will still operate and drive you places.
But is it getting the power and gas mileage it could be getting?

It's ain't broke - but is there anything to fix? Of course there is.

The world is full of mediocrity because people can get by with whatever, but never even thinking it could be better if they changed some things.

So it goes with weight loss. While it is said slow and steady is better, that's compared to crash diets and massive loss that is mainly things other than fat.
But slow and steady because of slower metabolism doesn't mean it's better either, not when a few tweaks could work better, and added side benefit of getting to eat more and not have discouragement, and little range of movement in calories eaten without negative consequences.

But nothing wrong with losing slower than expected or possible by choice.

Bobby_Clerici · July 2012

^^^^^^^^
THIS
And answer for yourself.
Why would you NOT want to eat more?
Who wants to get on some absurd, doomed-to-fail-in-the-end crash diet when they can eat well and sustain steady, lasting results?
Smarten up folks!

Nette_54 · July 2012

Eating more has worked for me, I used to have breakfast then I would eat again when I was hungry which was usually around 4pm in the afternoon. I had a dietitian visit me after my accident and she told me what I had to eat and I couldn't do it, I made myself sick trying so she got me to start having Optifast shakes to give me more calories but I still couldn't get the calories up. It took me another 3 years before I could eat the amount of food needed but as soon as I succeeded I started to lose the weight. Another mistake I made was not having carbs at the night time meal and my dietitian said by the time breakfast came around my body was starving again. I have now lost 15 kilos / over 30 pounds

wellbert · July 2012

tried it. gain weight like crazy eating at slightly under my tdee.
im doing it again though
just want to get stronger.

TDEE 3100 calories

Eating 3100 net result = +1/1.5lb /week
Eating 2500 net result = +.5lb a week
Eating 2000 net result = 0

I don't think the calculators work for everyone.

caraiselite · July 2012

i don't believe solely restricting calories works for everyone.

for some people low carb will always be better. you can't argue with ketosis

rchupka87 · July 2012

It works for me.... I've lost 67 pounds so far.... :happy:

gatorginger · July 2012

I started out at eating 1000 a day and have upped my calories several times and every time I do I lose weight. So for me it has worked. I am now up to 1300 calories a day and in another week plan to up my calories again. I don't need to lose any more weight so I have been working my way up to find my maintenance level so when I do lose more weight I just have a cheat day to add it back lol

vanessa829 · July 2012

Yes

If you are eating heathier

Emancipated_Tai · July 2012

Nothing works for EVERYONE!! However, the concept has changed my life and allowed me to lose more weight than I did only consuming 1200 calories. I suggest it, but always do your own homework & try different things to find out what works best for you

Rivers2k · July 2012

I just asked a DR and a Personal Trainer about this. Both said I should be eating more often (6 times a day) but same amount of calories and not to eat after 8pm. It is supposed to get your body into a regiment of your metabolism burning all day. I take in 2000 calories (5'11" male) but eat 5 times a day breakfast at home, morning snack lunch and afternoon snack at work, then dinner when I get home. They suggested 6 times but I can seem to swing that.

So I would say its eat more often not eat more.

tasiamere · July 2012

Craziest concept but works when done right! I normally take a week out of each month and bump my calories up by 100-150. This normally gets me over any back and forth .4-.5 lbs that I teeter between. It actually works though! Who knew :-)

redmapleleaf · July 2012

It didn't for me.

Helloitsdan · July 2012

Fire them both.

the eat more to weigh less is a concept to get you to understand that food isnt bad for you.
It's here to show you what your BIG 3 are and tries to educate you on how food effects your body.
Out of 250 people, i've only come across 2 where it didnt work over the past 9 months.
2
Out of 250.

So if you know what your relative TDEE is and consistently eat below that number and above BMR you should be losing weight.

The Eat more to lose more concept wants you eating enough to maintain lean mass while cutting fat.
The only reason for ANYONE to eat below BMR is if they are above Obese II.

I challenge everyone to arm themselves with spoon and fork and start building a healthy relationship with food today!
Diets that work are the ones that focus 80% of their attention in the kitchen and not on a treadmill, bike or footpath.

Get your info here:
>>>>>IMPORTANT!!! To get your numbers right please visit---> http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12 <---read the instructions. I lay everything out to help you have a true fat burning diet.<<<<<<<

sistasledge101 · July 2012

2 weeks ago I started upping my calories from 1200-1500. finally I've reached my 1990 but, somedays its more like 1800. I had an initial 2lb gain probably cause of restricting my carbs and then upping them with em2wl. Yesterday i was at 164.8, today I'm at 164.4

Seems to be working

I cann't sustain 1200-1400 calories for the rest of my life, so I decided to take my journey slower.

Hellaine · July 2012

Man, my first two months here I did the 1200 calorie deal (before I knew better) and it didn't work at all, I just stayed at 0 pounds lost or gained. Not only that but I was miserable all of the time and was like 'screw this, I'd rather just not lose weight'.

Some friends who had lost major weight counseled me about adjusting my calories and so for the past few weeks I eat a base of 1800 cals a day plus eating back some of my workout cals. Must work for my body because I now lose about a pound of week. Not only that but I feel as strong as an ox--I never feel crappy, I don't spend all day obsessing about food and what and when to eat (I eat pretty whole and healthy though, no processed foods). I have energy to workout more and I feel good while I work out. It feels really sustainable, like, I could do this for the rest of my life and it would be no thing at all. This is the first time in my life where I have a weight loss/health living plan that just feels right and 'clicks'.

mturgeon05 · July 2012

[[/quote]^^^^^^^^
THIS
And answer for yourself.
Why would you NOT want to eat more?
Who wants to get on some absurd, doomed-to-fail-in-the-end crash diet when they can eat well and sustain steady, lasting results?
Smarten up folks!
[/quote]

Love this. I was just currently at a place where I kept upping my calories by 100 every couple of weeks to see how high I could go before I got to maintenance. Nothing better than eating good food and losing inches at the same time. Gotta give it some time, though. Your body needs to adjust. Most people quit too soon because they see an initial gain on the scale. Heck, I was up 6 pounds this week, but down 3 inches. Works for me!

Helloitsdan · July 2012

I just bought a Fitbit and found out I was way off on my TDEE.
Online calculators gave me appx 2100-2300 avg daily burn.
Fitbit over the past week and a half has given me 2700-3200 daily burn.
I've been cutting 20% off that and still losing.
I ate half a pint of Ben and Jerry's last night and woke up 3lbs lighter today.
This **** works!
You just have to believe in it!

half_moon · July 2012

Not all of us can eat half a pint of ice cream and lose three pounds. To assume so would be ridiculous.

RushBabe214 · July 2012

bump

ironanimal · July 2012

IIFYM.

Helloitsdan · July 2012

Scientific studies show that people who diet for long periods of time have the best losses AFTER a binge.
This can be explained with raised leptin levels and reduced cortisol.
Its not about calories in vs calories out but hormones up and hormones down.

I'm only 5'6" at 37 years old.
On paper I should be eating 2200-2500 a day.
Just learn how your body uses food and you can manipulate it to work for you.
Oh!
And you need to believe it will work.
Self induced stress due to worrying about weight loss will sabotage your plan.

Case and point, look at all the 1200 calorie fail posts on this forum.
So many people eating so few calories and losing so few inches.
While the others are eating 1600-2500 cals and losing.

Easy decision.

waldo56 · July 2012

Whereas the engineering approach is to start at that point, figure out your rate of loss, and reverse engineer your actual real TDEE, not one that some formula estimates for you. Once you are armed with this info, you can move yoru calorie setpoint around at will and lose or gain precisely what you expect to lose or gain, within a loss band of about 2 lb loss to 0.5 lb loss per week if you have a lot to lose. A bigger deficit than that will cause stalls and whatnot, and act wonky, your deficit is too big, that number decreases as you get closer to your goal weight, a deficit smaller than 0.5 lb/wk your body has a good chance of modulating your metabolism to match.

If you weigh in every day, and calculate a moving average of your weight, this rate can be compared to calorie in/out data and your true TDEE calculated (or sedentary TDEE, that is Total expenditure - exercise).

Here are my charts for example:
Weight:

This chart is pretty self explanatory, you see my loss, a period of maintenece, and bulking. I weigh in every single day. When you do this there is no need to freak out about results. Everything went entirely as predicted, with average loss/gain rates exactly what I expected them to be.

Sedentary TDEE:

A little tougher to decipher, the red line is my 2wk avg sedentary TDEE. The gray line is the same thing (over 1 week) with protein calories removed and lean mass gain removed, the purple line is a formula that uses lean mass to predict the gray line, the blue dots are the daily readings for the gray line with protein included. Everything but the red line on this chart is used to check protein utilization to guage muscle growth and figure out how much I protein to eat a day. The red line though is what my MFP calorie set point if based on. You can see that it is about 2750 cal/day before exercise.

Diet:

Here is my diet the whole time. The blue line is the red line in the graph above, 2 week sedentary TDEE. The red dots are my daily food intake for the day, the green line the moving average of those dots. The orange line is the moving average for daily exercise, the black line the moving average for net calorie intake. There is a crush of information on this chart, but the difference between the black and the blue line is my calorie deficit/surplus, you can see how this relates to the weight chart.

You can see though that I kept eating more and more and more over time, despite not following the exact methods of the Eat More group here. You can aslo see that twice when my weight stopped moving for more than a week, I increased my calorie intake to get it moving again, as the problem was obviously too much deficit, not too little.

When you do it like this you don't have to wonder if you are doing it wrong, of if the formulas are right for you. Heck you don't even have to worry about calorie counting errors, in food or exercise, as long as you always do it the same way the error totally cancels out.

mcarter99 · July 2012

The '1200 calorie fail posts' all seem to have the same common denominator-- they started a new exercise program that is also aggressive. The people are losing fat, it's just not showing up on the scale due to water issues. 1200 is not the problem. Patience and scale reliance is.

I wouldn't take any hormone advice from anyone who's not an endocrinologist. We KNOW weight loss is calories in vs. calories out. The studies into leptin and ghrelin are inconclusive so far.

What Waldo said about 'reverse engineering your own TDEE'.

Helloitsdan · July 2012

The people posting the Fail threads are trying to do too much with very little energy.
I'm simply trying to make life easier for them!
And while i'm not an endochrinologist I do know a bit about how this stuff works and i'll continue to push this info to the new dieters to make their lives easier.
I've done it for 100s so far and i'll continue to build that list.

Read my Road Map so you can see where i'm coming from.
That way we wont have to butt heads so much.

I do like Waldos charts but the average dieter probably wants a very simple way of setting up and using this tool.
I simply give them the steps to do exactly that.

Simply eat below TDEE and above BMR.
Best results have been seen with a 20% cut to TDEE and moderate exercise.
Period.
You dont have to worry about "eating back calories" because youve already made sure that happens.

dmgwalsh · July 2012

I lost 20 pounds from November to March due to radical diet change for health reasons and moderate exercise. No alcohol, no beef, and other dietary changes. March 1, I weighed 170. Did P90X2 exercise with same diet for three months. I still weighed 170.

Got my calories to the 1200 per day area for about a month. P90x2 exercise. You guessed it-170.

Listened to Helloitsdan, raised my calories to 1900-2100 per day. moderate exercise. 4 pound loss. 166.

Couldn't believe the scale but there it is so far.

I am 5' 10" tall. 17% bf and 60 years of age, but this seems to be working for me.

I am trying to get down below 160 lbs and a bit less bf%. We shall see!

KarinFit4Life · July 2012

I just want to mention that Ive had frequent scale weight drops after eating pizza the night before....
No pigging out or whatever, its all about fitting it into your macros.

mcarter99 · July 2012

I'm not saying people should make charts like Waldo's. I'm saying you don't need to obsess over which TDEE estimate is right for you, are you eating at the right deficit from TDEE, etc. Pick a number you think seems do-able and about the deficit you want, in a month see if you lost the weight it predicted. If not, adjust from there. No charts needed.

I tried to read your Road Map post, Dan, but it had so many misinterpretations in the first four paragraphs I had to stop. I DO agree that TDEE minus 20% makes a lot more sense than the MFP plan. That's about all, though.

You understand that calories is a measure of energy, and that our body gets calories from stored body fat? We don't have to fuel our exercise (or our BMR) from today's food. That's how weight loss works. We eat 1200 to get adequate nutrients and satiety (not calories). We burn calories to reduce stored fat.

Does eating more to weight less work for everyone?

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