Quote: I agree with what everyone has said. I am a firm believer in eating as much as you can and still lose weight. The less you eat while losing, the less you will be able to eat while maintaining.
My question: Since I have been doing roughly 1000-1300 calories per day and am losing, can I go higher per everyones recommendation and then try to work slowly down again? Since I have already been doing this for 3 wks, will it matter if I go up in calories for now? Do you think I would still lose?
i have wondered this also.... i think.... mind you ... i think.... you can
once you know what it takes to maintain... like for me it is 2500, so eat 1000 less you loose 2 lbs a week... so eat 1500. when drop pounds you redo the math and keep going down till you hit your goal.
i have found thou... as many do... you can eat less then that.... even 1000 cals a day and feel fine... so you eat 1000 calls for a month... pounds fall off but you platue... and you know dropping lower than 1000 and you can get sick....
so my suggestion: go back to the 1500 ( or what ever you should be eating to loose 2lbs aweek) you may actually find you loose the weight then... your body sees you are not in a famine and lets the fat go...somes more then 2 lbs.... sometimes it will take a couple of weeks for that to happen, but as long as you dont go back to 2500 cals or more ( or what ever it takes to maintain your weight) you will not gain.
Now with that being said ( i hope it made sense) i could be wrong.! But that is the way it did me in the past ( years ago)
My question: Since I have been doing roughly 1000-1300 calories per day and am losing, can I go higher per everyones recommendation and then try to work slowly down again? Since I have already been doing this for 3 wks, will it matter if I go up in calories for now? Do you think I would still lose?
You and are about the same weight, and my daily calories are about 2300 to lose 2 pounds a week (according to The Daily Plate). I rarely eat that many calories, and I have been losing steadily. I would say you are probably not eating enough.
At 350 I started at around 2000. I lost well on that until recently, and now I have dropped down between 1700-1800.
I would suggest giving it a try for a few weeks. You will probably need to give your body a little time to adjust, so trying just a couple of days probably won't really tell you if it will work. If it doesn't you can always drop lower, but if you are so low to begin with, where will you go when the scale stops moving?
Another factor to consider in the equation is how much exercise you are getting. That will also factor into your daily total.
I really think at your current weight you are probably eating too little. I am another one who started calorie counting and, without a lot of exercise, lost just over 2 pounds a week (on average) eating 2000 calories a day.
It's difficult to get enough nutrients for your body at that level! People who weigh more need more calories and nutrients than smaller people.
I personally think it's important to set yourself up for success as much as possible. And you have to set yourself up for success in a marathon, not a sprint... I guess you have to ask yourself if you really can maintain what you are doing now week in and week out for weeks and weeks and weeks and WEEKS on end. Or, at some point will you give into some temptation, go off plan, feel like you failed, etc...
Now, whether your body might react a bit negatively at first, I really don't know... sorry!!
I doubt (but of course I'm no expert) that three weeks would be long enough to change your metabolism. If you up your calories, your weight loss will probably slow down, so I guess one question is whether you've been losing faster than a pound or two a week. And the next question is whether you'll be frustrated going down to losing a pound or two a week.
And I second what Heather says: This is a marathon! We have to think about what we can stand to do for months and months while we're losing, and then for the rest of our lives while we maintain.
If you increase your body might hold a few weeks don't let it scare you. I'm not sure if 3 weeks of very low calorie eating was enough to confuse it or not... but just make sure you give it a few weeks.
I eat about 1700 on the days I exercise, but I also work from home so don't move around a lot during the day. Mine is aso aimed at a 1000 calorie deficit a week. I've been losing just a tad more then that probably because I move around more then I estimated.
Calories question
