Hi guys,
So i'm pretty new here...i've been reading the posts around the site for a while but i finally decided to sign up. Anyways, i've lost 12.6lbs since january (when i started my weight loss journey) and at first, the pounds were dropping off pretty quickly!
Then it all slowed down and for about 6 weeks now i've only been losing .6lbs a week and .8 at the most. I've been eating at about 1275 calories a day, doing yoga twice a week, doing pretty intense cardio and some strength twice a week and walking at least 30 mins a day.
Recently, i've been reading up a bunch on eating more to lose more and so today, i decided to raise my calorie intake to 1550 a day. Do you guys think this will work/ have any experience with this? It seems like it's worked for a lot of people. I'm just so terrified that i'll gain weight, especially when the pounds have been dropping off so slowly!
Thanks for any input you may have

I find that its always cals in cals out for me-usually its water retention or something masking my weight loss when it slows down for me, or just me not taking into account that I am burning less as I weigh less, so while I am burning the cals-the weight loss is smaller.

But I also just ate more than usual just now-I'm OK with it because I am not doing it again. Its about to be my PMS week so my cravings have been insane-and I have been able to maintain my caloric plan, but ugh I just couldn't take it tonight and ate a few hundred more.

Don't be scared though-the 1550 should still give you a deficit and even if you eat more than what you burn its still 3500 cals/lb. Hey, it might work for you! I hear that eating close to maintenance may help you release water retention that your fat cells may be holding onto-due to such a high calorie deficit.

Over the last month, I increased my calories from 1200-1300 a day to about 1400-1500 a day. It works! I thought I'd gained weight but the key is to really give it a chance. Not just a week....give it a few weeks or even a month. I'm so grateful to eat more and still lose weight. I honestly never thought I could. The only other change I've made is that now, I'm drinking hot water with half a fresh lemon squeezed into it every morning on an empty stomach....and I don't eat anything for a few hours. I just wanted to disclose everything I've changed. Also, I do workout and keep very active but I was doing that before too.

I've been on a plateau since December. I was eating 1200-1300 calories a day, didn't lose a single thing. In fact, I gained, and then lost, then gain the same 2 pounds continuously.

I tried raising my calories to 1500 a little over a month ago (maintained), and then dropped down to 1300 under two weeks later. Did 1300 for a week and hated it. I was tired, hungry, obsessing over food and just in a rotten state. This whole state of yuckiness was amplified when it came around to getting period (sorry, this is a little TMI) last week, and it came, and then stopped. Then I realised that ever since I had been plateauing, my period had not be normal. it was late, light, went for 2 weeks, stopped and started for 2 weeks... Not normal, and not good.
So I did some research. Apparently, I have been eating under my BMR (basal metabolic rate, http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/) since August... by 200 calories, not including calories burnt through exercise (I never ate back my exercise calories).
So I bumped my calories up, and decided to eat back 75% of my exercise calories (I was eating at 1500 which was a deficit, and then if MFP said I burnt 400 calories, I ate 300-250 extra, so still netting around 1500).
I'm only a week (barely) into this, but my energy levels have improved, I'm not obsessing over food, my work outs are better, my period has started and continued (!) AND I'VE LOST A POUND... DURING TOM! That never has happened to me before.

Now, I know that the likelihood of this all being 100% connected is slim, but it's encouraging. I fully expect to see a slight gain in the scale tomorrow or next week, or at some point. I think you have to stick it out a month to see what the overall trend is. If it's down, I'll stick to it until it stops, if it's the same, I'll bump up another 100 to see what happens then, if it's up, I'll take this as a maintenance break and increase my deficit by a further 100 and see what happens.

I totally understand your fear of gaining weight. I've lost 30lbs by sticking to 1200-1300 calories. But that was when my body had more fat stored to dispose of. And really, I can't maintain for the rest of my life on 1200 calories. You do need to feed your body, especially when your exercising.

I hope some of that helped!

I think the only way you can lose more weight by upping your calories is if the higher figure gives you a lot more energy, so you move more and burn more calories that way. I don't believe in starvation mode in a literal sense. Think of anorexics and people who are literally starving -- they don't "hold on to" the few calories they consume. Everyone needs a minimum of calories just to stay alive, and if you eat less than that you'll lose weight. That said, you may lose at a slower rate than expected if you eat very little.

In your case, it sounds like you need the extra calories because you're working out so much that 1,200 calories wouldn't leave you with enough energy to be your best self.

Freelance

I recently increased my BMR by increasing my cardio and the weight is moving again. I eat around 1600-1800 a day but was fighting the same 5lbs for the last 3 months (although inches were moving downwards) So I belieev my BMR lowered as my body became accustom to my workout levels. I work out 5-6 times a week strength training Mon, Wed and Friday Cardio on Tues and Thurs and sometimes Sat now (actually I have to on Sat) and I've added 20mins on the stairs after my strength training days. Seems to have worked. I think your eating too little for being so active. So increasing should help you!

I'm a big believer in not eating below your BMR, so yes I think upping your calories is a great idea! (See here for BMR: http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/) Using the information from your profile and guessing that you are 30, your BMR would be around 1502. That's just to maintain your basic daily functions if you were lying in bed all day.

I look at BMR as the floor, with maintenance calories being the ceiling. I eat somewhere in between. For me, at my current weight and activity level, that means I aim to eat between 1800 and 2800 calories per day with a focus on getting enough protein to support the lifting that I do.

Because your body has adjusted to the lower caloric intake, it's likely that you'll stall out for a little while as you get adjusted to the new level. Give it time (way more than a week, as mentioned above) and don't stress. Focus on healthy choices and your body will thank you!

Also keep in mind that strength training, assuming you are lifting heavy, can cause a stall when you're getting started. Even though the numbers don't change much, your body will be reshaping in a big way! When I first started lifting heavy, I plateaued for 6 or 8 weeks before my losses picked back up. Sometimes it was mentally tough to see that and know that I was doing the right thing, but I kept on keeping on and eventually it started dropping again.

thanks guys for all the input! it's nice to hear what other people have to say about their own experiences with this! i'm gonna give it a real try and see what happens. if it doesn't work then i guess i'll just have to try something else! = )

My problem is my BMR is roughly 250 below maintenance. Ideally I would have to eat right at BMR every single time. Anything below would be eating below my BMR. Anything higher would eat into my ability to lose anything.

(I do eat my exercise calories and I wear a fitbit to judge my activity level).