Who has started losing again after ADDING more calories?

124

Replies

  • Tropicalgirl3
    Tropicalgirl3 Posts: 37 Member
    I started working with a health and exercise coach and the first thing she did was up my calories. I was at 1200 and she upped it to 1500. She said she would have liked to up it more but knew that I would freak out. I agreed to give it a try and it worked!! I started losing consistently almost immediately. She said 1200 is barely enough for the lungs, heart, etc to just function. She still warns me never to go below 1400 (especially on good work out days) because my body will start rebelling!! Guess what...so far she has been 100% correct. The other key factor is to include lots of lean protein and fiber in that calorie total as well as watching your fat. So far so good, I plan to keep trying and see where it takes me.
  • Elen_Sia
    Elen_Sia Posts: 638 Member
    I have now increased my calories a total of 4 times since Feb. I am 5'2" and currently weigh 98 lbs. I started my journey with 1200 calories a day. My goal now is 1828 calories a day. I lift weights 3x a week and bike outside 4x a week. And boy, do I need all those calories every day. I don't "need" all that cardio but I love to bike when the weather's warm, and biking is my thinking time.

    Upping/not upping calories for the purpose of weight loss is not a precise science; it's anecdotal at best so take everyone's experience here with a barrel of salt.
  • Tropicalgirl3
    Tropicalgirl3 Posts: 37 Member
    I started working with a health and exercise coach and the first thing she did was up my calories. I was at 1200 and she upped it to 1500. She said she would have liked to up it more but knew that I would freak out. I agreed to give it a try and it worked!! I started losing consistently almost immediately. She said 1200 is barely enough for the lungs, heart, etc to just function. She still warns me never to go below 1400 (especially on good work out days) because my body will start rebelling!! Guess what...so far she has been 100% correct. The other key factor is to include lots of lean protein and fiber in that calorie total as well as watching your fat. So far so good, I plan to keep trying and see where it takes me.
  • parisiantwyst
    parisiantwyst Posts: 41
    I'd been eating around 1200 calories for a couple of weeks and losing about .5-.8lbs per week. Then, last week, I had a busy week and ate out a lot. Despite the gain in calories, (approx. 1400 total per day) I lost 3.2lbs this past week!
    I think a lot of it depends on the exercise you do, but I haven't had any gains!
  • CurlDiva
    CurlDiva Posts: 33 Member
    How are you calculating your BMR because if you are working out 6 days a week there is no way you should only be eating 1200 a day. I was eating that when I was doing nothing (sendentary lifestyle). I am 5foot9 and now that I am working out 6 days a week doing insanity I have to eat a minumum of 1620 a day. I use the beachbody calculator http://www.teambeachbody.com/eat-smart/nutrition-tools/caloric-needs because I know my goal....with MFP I have a daily goal of 1400 then I earn eat back calories when I work out. I may have missed it but what are your current stats, height, age, weight?
  • Feisty_Red
    Feisty_Red Posts: 982 Member
    You guys are soo helpful! Thanks for taking time out of your day to help!! :drinker:
  • Najay
    Najay Posts: 273 Member
    I have. I started eating some of my exercise calories back and my body started dropping weight again. It was stalled for 4 months. I think its the bodies way of saying it needed more food and my metabolism kicked back in.
  • marie_cressman
    marie_cressman Posts: 980 Member
    Please put my mind at ease..been stalled for 3 months...after looking into it..best option was to up calories(wasnt eating after exercise 1200 daily) I've gone with eating no less than BMR and if I exercise...I try to eat back that..shy of 100 calories....unless I go really high ..but that just doesnt happen with me!


    I've started..and I am just really paranoid :indifferent: Sucess stories?? :love:

    meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! I was eating 1600 cals and working out 1hr a day 6 days a week and not dropping anything. I was so pissy I went to a nutritionist and she suggested I up my calories to 1800 since I'm working out so much and I dropped 3lbs within 2 weeks of upping. :)
  • jenjam27
    jenjam27 Posts: 44 Member
    I started working with a health and exercise coach and the first thing she did was up my calories. I was at 1200 and she upped it to 1500. She said she would have liked to up it more but knew that I would freak out. I agreed to give it a try and it worked!! I started losing consistently almost immediately. She said 1200 is barely enough for the lungs, heart, etc to just function. She still warns me never to go below 1400 (especially on good work out days) because my body will start rebelling!! Guess what...so far she has been 100% correct. The other key factor is to include lots of lean protein and fiber in that calorie total as well as watching your fat. So far so good, I plan to keep trying and see where it takes me.
  • mcarter99
    mcarter99 Posts: 1,666 Member
    I agree...this seems to go against everything that's been programmed. I currently net 1200 - 1400 per day and haven't lost a pound in months. I've been concentrating on eating really clean, adding more strength training, and increasing my protein intake. I will try to increase my cals to 1600 - 1800 to see if that makes a diff. Another question...i've been having a hard time meeting my protein requirements (approx 150 g per day). What are some of your best sources that are low in fat/cals??

    15182052.png
    Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Nutrition Facts For Foods


    Some people hate this...but here...I go.. ;) whey protein powder...I dont leave home with out it... cup of Fage greek yogurt...2 scoops choc powder...1tsp peanut butter...cup ice... walla! chocolate p.butter shake...and protein? could be close or over 70gm depending.. and I am picky.. body fortress is good.. the ice really makes it takes so good...blend it up..and go :)

    Thanks so much!!! I will definitely try...sounds yummy :)

    You may wanna go with a flavored vanilla greek yogurt..especiallly first starting out with the powder...I use plain now..but it might be a bit too...bland at first! and a little more p butter is cool too !

    I know people here log so this probably goes without saying but it's like a 525 calorie drink even before the little more PB. Just a heads up, for those who drink then log then realize they have to skip dinner or go run 5 miles. :happy:
  • Feisty_Red
    Feisty_Red Posts: 982 Member
    How are you calculating your BMR because if you are working out 6 days a week there is no way you should only be eating 1200 a day. I was eating that when I was doing nothing (sendentary lifestyle). I am 5foot9 and now that I am working out 6 days a week doing insanity I have to eat a minumum of 1620 a day. I use the beachbody calculator http://www.teambeachbody.com/eat-smart/nutrition-tools/caloric-needs because I know my goal....with MFP I have a daily goal of 1400 then I earn eat back calories when I work out. I may have missed it but what are your current stats, height, age, weight?


    That was in the begining...I was at 1200 when I didnt check anything...just that was the number everyone seemed to use.... I am now trying for between 1500-1800...for the record though...most of my weight loss...... 6lbs0..and it was on that 1200 crazy exercise train! :( Which makes this even more confusing ;) And its no way muscle drop...I have me some muscles ;)
  • matthej28
    matthej28 Posts: 40 Member
    Me!! I was eating 1280 calories, and not only was I only losing about a half a pound a week, but I also was a lot more tired and felt like I wasn't eating enough. I changed my MFP goal to 1500 and in the past two weeks I've lost 6 pounds (3 lbs a week), plus I feel like I have more energy! And when I go over my calorie intake some days I don't freak out, because it's probably good for me in the long run and it makes up for the days I undereat
  • veganbaum
    veganbaum Posts: 1,865 Member
    I lost a lot of my total weight loss initially by eating about 900 calories a day (unintentionally, I didn't realize I was eating so little until I started tracking). My weight loss had stalled - for months, that's why I started tracking. Started eating 1200, little bit of loss, then stalled. Changed my weekly weight loss goal so my daily goal was around 1500-1600. Didn't do a thing. I maintained (for 6 months!)- BUT then I started spiking and losing again (spiking is kind of like zig-zagging but with one *big* calorie day). Interestingly, my WEEKLY calories still work out to about 1600/day (so, same deficit), but I wasn't losing when I ate that per day, I had to spike.

    Anyway, even though I spike the bottom line is I had to eat more than 900 and more than 1200 to lose again. I plan on going to maintenance soon and creating my deficit through running (which I do now 3x/wk) and lifting. I'll see how that goes. I'm not afraid to change things when they're not working - and that's what I think is most important (and giving it TIME - some people get freaked out after two weeks - "I'm gaining!!!!" or "I'm not losing!!!!" "What am I doing wrong?" but they keep changing what they're doing every couple weeks). Pfft. I gain at least three pounds after each spike day - it's water weight. Upping calories while still in an *honest* deficit (and barring medical issues) will likely result in a temporary gain before losing again. Try it, if it doesn't work, try something else, and good luck!
  • Feisty_Red
    Feisty_Red Posts: 982 Member
    I agree...this seems to go against everything that's been programmed. I currently net 1200 - 1400 per day and haven't lost a pound in months. I've been concentrating on eating really clean, adding more strength training, and increasing my protein intake. I will try to increase my cals to 1600 - 1800 to see if that makes a diff. Another question...i've been having a hard time meeting my protein requirements (approx 150 g per day). What are some of your best sources that are low in fat/cals??

    15182052.png
    Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Nutrition Facts For Foods


    Some people hate this...but here...I go.. ;) whey protein powder...I dont leave home with out it... cup of Fage greek yogurt...2 scoops choc powder...1tsp peanut butter...cup ice... walla! chocolate p.butter shake...and protein? could be close or over 70gm depending.. and I am picky.. body fortress is good.. the ice really makes it takes so good...blend it up..and go :)

    Thanks so much!!! I will definitely try...sounds yummy :)

    You may wanna go with a flavored vanilla greek yogurt..especiallly first starting out with the powder...I use plain now..but it might be a bit too...bland at first! and a little more p butter is cool too !

    I know people here log so this probably goes without saying but it's like a 525 calorie drink even before the little more PB. Just a heads up, for those who drink then log then realize they have to skip dinner or go run 5 miles. :happy:

    agreed...she may want to try one scoop of whey(mine is about 140 cals per scoop)..but I believe she said she was at 1200? She needs more calories anyways? ;) its all relative..I struggle to get calories in...as per why I started this thread hehe..525 is too high when I spec mine out though..really depends on yogurt type too!
  • dare2love81
    dare2love81 Posts: 928 Member
    I started out by eating way too low. Upped my calories and it took a few weeks for my body to adjust to the *right* amount of calories, but by about week 3, the weight the started to fall off - and has been consistent at about 2 pounds per week.

    My suggestion: Go to fat2fitradio.com and use their calculators. First figure out what your body fat is by using the military body fat calculator. Then, when you have your body fat %, go to the BMR calculator. It'll give you a chart that lays out how many calories you should be eating based on your activity level. I've been following what they recommend for me and like I said, the weight has been consistently falling off.

    **Note: if you choose to follow what fat2fitradio suggests DO NOT also eat back your exercise calories - those are already figured into their numbers.
  • sunshinesquared
    sunshinesquared Posts: 2,733 Member
    Bump for later!
  • thoeting
    thoeting Posts: 89 Member
    I added about 800 calories a day after being stalled and started losing weight.

    Note -- I also work out A LOT, so I think I needed those extra calories pretty badly
  • mcarter99
    mcarter99 Posts: 1,666 Member
    525 is too high when I spec mine out though..really depends on yogurt type too!

    I got the 525 from your diary. Oh, I see now it had 1.3T of PB today. Gotta give you props for the accurate measuring! :drinker:
  • Feisty_Red
    Feisty_Red Posts: 982 Member
    525 is too high when I spec mine out though..really depends on yogurt type too!

    I got the 525 from your diary. Oh, I see now it had 1.3T of PB today. Gotta give you props for the accurate measuring! :drinker:

    creeper ;) LOL But I agree with you...its all about what you need for the day..and she wanted protein...maybe not so many calories..just measure and work out what works for you....and now that I am thinking about it..I only did 1/2 cup on the yogurt...hahaha..that was measured at a cup per serving..damn it..now I gotta edit it :D I shall blame that on one of the five children that are constantly talking to me when I am trying to input my food! No..never my fault!
  • STACYINOC
    STACYINOC Posts: 75 Member
    This has been a very interesting topic...thanks for sharing everyone!
  • wattssal000
    wattssal000 Posts: 62 Member
    I don't like to use the scale because I put too much of my self worth into the number and it is hard for me to count calories because I am preprogrammed to want to eat less calories (because that is what we have always been told is better)

    I feel like during the week when I have my routine and everything i eat too little and then on the weekends I eat too much as a lot of us do. Will this just balance itself out? I feel like I should up my calories during the week but that is kind of hard when I don't want to log stuff and and I don't want to watch the scale to see weight go up and down to judge.

    I have had a history of eating issues from anorexia years ago to binge eating now. This just sucks. Do I just suck it up and make sure I eat my 1200 for a week and see how things go and then see what my weight does if I increase like a 100 calories every couple weeks? I know that often my muscles are sore and I feel tired so maybe like some of you have mentioned I am just not eating enough. Such a tricky game this is.
  • Feisty_Red
    Feisty_Red Posts: 982 Member
    I don't like to use the scale because I put too much of my self worth into the number and it is hard for me to count calories because I am preprogrammed to want to eat less calories (because that is what we have always been told is better)

    I feel like during the week when I have my routine and everything i eat too little and then on the weekends I eat too much as a lot of us do. Will this just balance itself out? I feel like I should up my calories during the week but that is kind of hard when I don't want to log stuff and and I don't want to watch the scale to see weight go up and down to judge.

    I have had a history of eating issues from anorexia years ago to binge eating now. This just sucks. Do I just suck it up and make sure I eat my 1200 for a week and see how things go and then see what my weight does if I increase like a 100 calories every couple weeks? I know that often my muscles are sore and I feel tired so maybe like some of you have mentioned I am just not eating enough. Such a tricky game this is.

    agreed..I'm tired of this game lately...frankly!!! .its finding the right balance...but as many have stated..1200 is just barely enough to run your body correctly...being tired is sure a sign your body is struggling!
  • lizziebeth1028
    lizziebeth1028 Posts: 3,602 Member
    I don't like to use the scale because I put too much of my self worth into the number and it is hard for me to count calories because I am preprogrammed to want to eat less calories (because that is what we have always been told is better)

    I feel like during the week when I have my routine and everything i eat too little and then on the weekends I eat too much as a lot of us do. Will this just balance itself out? I feel like I should up my calories during the week but that is kind of hard when I don't want to log stuff and and I don't want to watch the scale to see weight go up and down to judge.

    I have had a history of eating issues from anorexia years ago to binge eating now. This just sucks. Do I just suck it up and make sure I eat my 1200 for a week and see how things go and then see what my weight does if I increase like a 100 calories every couple weeks? I know that often my muscles are sore and I feel tired so maybe like some of you have mentioned I am just not eating enough. Such a tricky game this is.

    I was very afraid of upping my calories!!..I knew that sometimes I was eating too much on the weekends...then eating too little during the week to play catch up. Plus going crazy with long cardio sessions to 'undo' the weekend. You get this endless seesaw effect and eventually wind up accomplishing nothing. I knew I would have to make a commitment to upping my calories during the week AND nose to the grindstone on the weekend too! I'm still more relaxed on Sundays (but stay in my calorie range). I feel so much better all around now!!!! Balancing everything out. You don't have to do cardio for an hour + if you keep your diet in check. You only have to do enough to maintain a healthy cardiovascular system. I now had more energy to put more effort into an effective strength training program. It's so worth upping the calories and hanging in there to see the results!!
  • zukkiz
    zukkiz Posts: 362 Member
    I eat 2445 daily. (300 added for breastfeeding) and I lift 3 days a week, walk once a week, and am a SAHM of 6 (5 of them boys 11 and under, and 1 16 year old girl) I've been losing weight slowly, losing inches and fitting into my clothes better. I'm not crabby at all. I get 161g of protein daily,

    I didn't join EM2LW for attention, I get plenty of that at home, I joined them because it made the most sense to me.
  • mcarter99
    mcarter99 Posts: 1,666 Member

    creeper ;) LOL But I agree with you...its all about what you need for the day..and she wanted protein...maybe not so many calories..just measure and work out what works for you....and now that I am thinking about it..I only did 1/2 cup on the yogurt...hahaha..that was measured at a cup per serving..damn it..now I gotta edit it :D I shall blame that on one of the five children that are constantly talking to me when I am trying to input my food! No..never my fault!

    I've been called a lot of things in the 2 months or so I've been here! Now 'creeper'! LOL

    Seriously, sweetie, I don't look at many diaries but I thought I might see something that would help you. I didn't but I pretty much just glance at totals. I hope you find something that works for you. There is evidence out there that the combo of deep caloric deficits with high levels of exercise doesn't work for a lot of people. If you don't want to work out less, I guess your next step is 'diet less'. Let us know how it goes. :smile:
  • Feisty_Red
    Feisty_Red Posts: 982 Member

    creeper ;) LOL But I agree with you...its all about what you need for the day..and she wanted protein...maybe not so many calories..just measure and work out what works for you....and now that I am thinking about it..I only did 1/2 cup on the yogurt...hahaha..that was measured at a cup per serving..damn it..now I gotta edit it :D I shall blame that on one of the five children that are constantly talking to me when I am trying to input my food! No..never my fault!

    I've been called a lot of things in the 2 months or so I've been here! Now 'creeper'! LOL

    Seriously, sweetie, I don't look at many diaries but I thought I might see something that would help you. I didn't but I pretty much just glance at totals. I hope you find something that works for you. There is evidence out there that the combo of deep caloric deficits with high levels of exercise doesn't work for a lot of people. If you don't want to work out less, I guess your next step is 'diet less'. Let us know how it goes. :smile:

    You know I'm just playing with ya.. ;) I hope I find something too..I'm getting tired and more angry each day! thank you for your help!!
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    Not me. When I added more I began maintaining, which was okay because I'd already met my goal. But I'm older and have a low TDEE at sedentary.
  • nienie21
    nienie21 Posts: 95 Member
    Great topic. Going to fully read it tonight and bump up my calories!
  • cindybickler
    cindybickler Posts: 113 Member
    I started lifting heavy weights about 6 weeks ago and found that I am so hungry on those days! I was trying to stay at 1300 but I was still so hungry. I had plateaued and was getting really frustrated. That is when i added the weight lifting and I started to see results. I think I am going to add some calories now too after reading this. Thanks for all your posts!
  • suziecue66
    suziecue66 Posts: 1,312 Member
    Your lean body mass is 172? What is your BMR, if you use one of those calculators that has body fat % as an input? It must be quite high. I wouldn't worry about eating under it.

    If I go by those blanket calculator online..my BMR ranges from 1500-1700,,which is even more confusing..which is it? Again..I'm not petite(hah)

    I dont know how accurate 172 is even? but that site I linked had a ton of measurement inputs. ;) So..even if I was more 150 range..thats about the protein I get..and its not fatty type either..whey protein I love and with some good greek yogurt...you can have a shake that puts out close to 70gm on it owns..thats what I drink after I lift...

    and I have a hard time with BMI...I am still considered OBESE...but I cant be...if you seen my legs and arms..you'd understand ;) So..its hard to target my numbers.. Im a mess..haha

    What is in this shake that contains 70g protein and what is the calorie count in it?
    Also, you don't seem to be eating 1200 but a lot more?
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