Sometimes you have to eat more to lose more

Posted on December 5, 2014

Honestly, sometimes you really do need more food. I have been a strict dieter all the times I have tried to lose weight. I used to really try to stick to 1300 or less calories a day and lost a lot of weight in 2010. A few days a week, I would stick to around 800 to 1000 too.

I went off that and maintained for a long time while eating things in moderation and sticking to serving size portions.I had surgery a couple of times for endometriosis in 2013 and my weight has been creeping back up ever since.

Well this time around (I just started tracking my food and trying to hit my calorie deficit required or less and have been eating around 800-1100 Sunday through Tuesday. I lost about 1/2 a pound a day doing that but from Tuesday to Wednesday I only lost .2 lb. Wednesday I was legitimately hungry after midnight (I am a night owl and go to bed in the morning a lot). So I had a 270 calorie protein bar. I hate eating after midnight and adding food to my new day's tracker before I wake up. However, about 1/2 my waking hours are after midnight, so I guess it's fine to eat when I'm up most often. I woke up hungry Wednesday and ended up eating 1400 calories Wednesday. I did my weigh in for this 3rd diet bet Thursday morning around 7:30 AM before I went to bed (because that's when someone was here to take my pictures for me) and was the same as what I weighed when I woke up Wednesday afternoon. Well I went to bed and when I woke up Thursday afternoon... boom, I had lost 1.3 pounds.

I will say I got the most exercise Wednesday too. My biggest loss in one day since I started diet bets and tracking food again. For the first week I was in dietbet, I wasn't doing well at tracking my food, and didn't have a scale to check in since I was at my boyfriends house. I actually gained weight every day until I started tracking my food. I have my calorie deficit goal on my fitbit set to 1,000 a day so that I can lose about 2 pounds per week and have been going over that deficit every day too.

The day I ate the most this week I lost the most. To be fair, I had more exercise too. But still, you have to listen to your body and determine if you are really legitimately hungry, or if you are just feeling like you want to have a pointless snack. If you are getting more exercise, or your body is in fat burning mode and your metabolism has been boosted, you may really actually need more food. Sometimes, varying the amount of calories consumed instead of consuming exactly the same every day is good too.

I never believed before the stories about sometimes you have to eat more to lose more, but now I do to an extent. I know I can't eat 1400 calories every day, but once in awhile can't hurt. I possibly could if I am burning 2400 or more in a day though, but that is kind of rare. I was very active on Wednesday too with my highest steps ever since I got fitbit in April, plus a 30 min workout on my Sit 'n Cycle while watching TV. But sometimes it's ok to eat more.

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Deady Bear

12/05/2014 9:18AM

I'm glad you hit a scale whoosh!

However, a few things you wrote are a bit of a red flag. For someone is 180 lbs., your BMR is about 1500 Calories a day. Eating less than that means that your body cells are not receiving the energy they need to support your body, and that your body's metabolism will eventually slow down to meet your caloric intake. Another importance of eating the 1500 Calories is to meet nutritional needs in an organic way.

That said, I'm nearly twice your weight and I eat the same Calorie count due to the nature of my diet and lack of desire to eat more.

So, as a small token of advice, be sure you're taking your multi-vitamins, and pick nutrient dense foods if you're going low Calorie. The nature of restriction diets have adverse effects in the long term, the big one for me being hair loss. Taking your vitamins will help prevent such things. : )

S S., Genevieve and GeminiWitch83 Amanda like this comment.

GeminiWitch83 Amanda

Thanks for your comments. Dietbet says my calorie goal is 1200-1350. This is what Livestrong has said in the past when I have dieted as well. I don't really restrict anything. I eat a few times a day. I eat veggies, fruits, greek yogurt, and as much protein as I can. I also eat more when I know I am hungry and not just craving something. I know if I ate more calories every day I would never lose any weight. I also allow myself to have some of the snacks I like here and there so that I do not ever feel deprived of anything. My fitbit is set to 1,000 calorie deficit per day to lose 2 pounds per week to meet my goals on diet bets. I like that it uses metabolic rate plus any activities including my steps. This way I try to stay around my 1,000 calorie deficit. I generally do not have more than 200 calories left over. It's usually less than 200 left over if I am not in my target range.

Genevieve

Loving the post ????
Until they work out the difference between calories, for instance 100cal of crisps/chips and 100cal of nuts (which are less digestible which is why eating lots of whole almonds can actually help weight loss) then calorie counting is never going to be an exact science.
Definitely agree you need to eat enough to power your bodies basic needs any less and it's going to hang on to whatever fat/sugar it can.