Eat More to Lose Weight? Yes, It Can Be a Successful Strategy

Weight Loss Tips: Eat more!

Weight loss is simple, right? Eat less, exercise more, and voilà: The pounds melt away. Unfortunately it’s not always that easy. While a low 1200- to 1500-calorie diet works for many people, the number of calories you need depends on your weight, height, age, gender, and activity level. If exercise drains a big chunk of the calories you’re eating and there aren’t enough left to fuel your body’s day-to-day processes—a condition known as low energy availability—your body may think it’s starving and go into conservation mode.

“You don’t want to restrict your diet to the extent you’re left with too few calories to fuel your body to work properly,” says Bronwen Lundy, Ph.D., senior sports dietitian at the Australian Institute of Sport. “You’ll just end up damaging your metabolism, which can mean you’re unable to lose weight, and possibly causing other wide-reaching effects on your body and health.”

What are those effects and how can you tell whether eating too few calories is causing your weight-loss plateau? Read on to find out.

Signs Your Healthy Eating Habits May Have Messed With Your Metabolism

Low energy availability is prevalent among female athletes—you’ve probably heard of the female athlete triad, a medical condition marked by an energy deficiency, irregular periods, and low bone density—but recent research shows the problem may be more widespread.

In 2014, experts writing on behalf of the International Olympic Committee recommended that the term “female athlete triad” be replaced by “relative energy deficiency in sport” to better capture the complexity of the condition and the fact that men are also at risk. And in 2016, researchers from the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand found that many everyday exercisers may be at risk of undereating and can be affected by the condition, too. In fact, low energy availability can begin to negatively impact the body after just five days of calorie restriction, with more serious complications cropping up long term.

Identifying whether or not you have low energy availability can be tricky. Thanks to the belly-filling effect of many healthy, low-calorie and high-fiber foods—like fruits and vegetables— and the hunger-blunting effects of intense workouts, you can be energy deficient without actually feeling hungry. Which means you’ll need to look further than your appetite.  

To figure out if you’re at risk, first consider the signs and symptoms of low energy availability. They include:

  • Dizziness
  • Anemia
  • Chronic fatigue
  • Tummy troubles, like cramping, bloating, or constipation
  • Cold sensitivity, due to low thyroid hormone
  • Mood changes, like irritability or depression
  • Recurring infections and illnesses
  • Poor athletic performance
  • Inability to gain or build muscle
  • Raised cholesterol
  • Frequent injuries, like stress fractures
  • Absent or irregular menstrual cycles
  • Low sex drive in men

If you’ve been experiencing any of those symptoms, it’s a good idea to work with a doctor or certified sports dietitian to crunch some numbers and gauge how many calories your body typically runs on each day. Together, you can use your Fitbit app to get a rough estimate. Here’s how:

  1. From the Fitbit app dashboard, tap Calories Burned (the flame icon). Tap the double arrow in the top right corner to expand the screen. Tap 1wk and then swipe left to see more results. Note the average number of daily calories burned on last week.
  2. Navigate back to the Fitbit app dashboard, and tap the Calories In vs. Out tile (the knife and fork icon). Scroll down to see your average daily calories consumed last week. (If you’re not a food logger, consider doing it diligently for at least 3 days to get a daily average and to ensure your stalled weight loss is due to energy deficiency and not sneaky calories in your diet.)
  3. Next, subtract the number you got in step 1 from the number you got in step 2, like this:

 [Average Calories Consumed (food) per day] minus [Average Calories Burned per day] = Energy Deficit

First, the calories you’re consuming (the number identified in step 2) should never go below your basal metabolic rate (the calories your body burns at rest). And second, if the gap between what you’re eating and the total amount of calories you’re burning—to simply be alive and through exercise (your “energy deficit,” calculated in step 3)—is too big, you risk losing vital muscle tissue and slowing your metabolism.

“If you’ve been eating too little and exercising a lot and not losing weight, then it’s a sign your efforts are not working and something needs to change,” says Lundy. “The good news is, the impact on your metabolism is unlikely to be permanent. The solution could be that you simply need to slowly start eating more.”

The Healthy Way to Jumpstart Your Metabolism And Lose Weight

Increasing your calorie intake to lose weight may seem counterintuitive—scary even—but in order to get leaner and stronger, you’ll want to decrease your body fat while maintaining or building lean muscle. To do this, aim for a calorie target that’s around 500 calories less than the calories you need to maintain your current weight.

“If someone has been following a strict diet for years, it can take longer to restore their metabolism to its full potential,” says Lundy, “but it is possible.” She suggests slowly increasing your food intake by 100 calories a day for two to four weeks—that’s a piece of fruit, a small tub of non-fat plain Greek yogurt, or a small handful of nuts (again, food logging can help). Remember, moderation is key:

  • Avoid skipping meals
  • Eat enough protein throughout the day
  • Eat plenty of whole fruits, vegetables, and grains
  • Include low-fat dairy (or soy milk), legumes, and lean meats
  • Refuel and rehydrate properly after hard training sessions
  • Limit sweetened beverages, like sports drinks

When you step on a scale and can see that your weight isn’t increasing, slowly add more calories (in 100-calorie increments) until your body starts losing fat and maintaining or even gaining muscle. (The Aria 2 smart scale can help you measure this.) This is your sweet spot—the new calorie goal you should aim for each day.

It can seem terrifying to eat more, but rest assured, not only will your metabolism get the kick it needs to jumpstart your weight loss again, your body could also end up shedding more fat and hanging onto precious muscle, which in the long run will help keep you strong and help encourage the weight to stay away.

107 Comments   Join the Conversation

107 CommentsLeave a comment

    • Has anyone tried the keto diet ? I have losed 10lbs so far. I been on it for 2 months now . some say its bad some say its great . so far its working for me .check it out it cant hurt.

  • I EAT MAINLY LETTUCE SALADS FOR LUNCH ALONG WITH A BOWL OF FRUIT. THEN I HAVE PROTEIN FOR DINNER. CANNOT LOOSE. WHAT DO I NEED TO DO

    • You mentioned mainly salads for lunch, & protein for dinner, but what about breakfast? snacking in between meals is so important, snacks can be anything from cheese string, crackers, nuts, yogurt, pb/banana sandwich etc…how about your physical activity? It looks like you are definitely on the right path, all you need to do now is tweak your diet a tiny bit to reach your weight goal. Remember that feeding your body (nutritious foods) everyday at the same helps speed your metabolism for a healthy weight loss result. Hope this helps & the best of luck to you!

      • Hi
        I’m a professor of diabetes and obesity. I run an obesity clinic in Manchester. I worry about the recommendation of eating more to help speed up your metabolism. I recommend a calorie controlled diet, with the majority of calories coming from hot protein sources. Both protein, and food being hot, keep you fuller for longer. Ideally I recommend a 500 to 1000 calorie per day deficit. As each pound of fat contains 3500 calories this strict diet will only lose 1 to 2 pounds per week. Exercise helps, but check out how much energy you burn off. As a rule of thumb if you weigh 100 kg and walk 1 km you burn off 100 calories. If your 70 kg then you burn 70 call per km. as you can see you have to do a lot of exercise to burn off a pound of fat.
        Just my thoughts
        John

    • It mentions not skipping meals and to have protein throughout the day. Maybe that will help you? That’s what I’m trying.

    • You need protein to lose weight and keep your metabolism going. I am eating a big salad right now for dinner with mackeral mixed into it.

    • Eat more of the right foods! You’re body thinks it’s starving and is hanging on to the weight.

  • Not sure my Fitbit has s set right to gauge steps I take! Also it never resets back to 0 calories each day!

    • Your Fitbit takes into consideration your age weight etc and the fact your body is always burning calories, by the time you get up in the morning your body has been working hard even while you sleep.

  • hi ….i am 70 years old and i have blood clots,,,so that limits me from eating the dark green veggies,.,,,and salads,,,,and blueberries,,,,,so i have been moving more but i know at this age it takes longer to loose,,,,i try to stay away from carbs,,,,i do eat zuchinni and carrots,,,,some chicken but no other protein,,,,so is there any suggestions

    • Yes, I joined WW and have learned a great deal, plus lost weight! Try it, you won’t be disappointed. The thing is Weight Watchers App will sync with your Fitbit!

  • I know that when I am doing the Keto thing, I never seem to be hungry. Is that normal? The past 12 days I have had a weight gain of 8lbs. That concerns me, but I have added a lot a breads etc, in the past week.

    Time to head back to Keto.

  • How does the Smoothies work for you, do they all need to be with fruits or can you mix some veggie in with the fruit, whats the best Yogurt, plain or Fruit.

    • For my smoothies, I put blueberries, strawberries and either 1/2 an avocado or 1/2 banana. I also put cucumbers and at times, kale. Additionally, I add protein powder, 1/2 tsp ground tumeric, 1/2 tsp ground ginger, powdered peanut butter and my equate fiber. I make mine with water and ice. But to answer your question, yes you can put veggies and, as for me, I prefer plain yogurt instead of fruit yogurt. Greek yogurt is a great option as well.

  • Great suggestions! I recently started a boot-camp with some diet advice. I wasn’t getting enough protein. I added to shakes at 10:30 and 3:30 and eat sensibly at the other meals (lots of veggies – staying away from carrots, corn and squash)… 15 lbs gone!

  • I walk about 10,000 steps a day in the winter but in the summer I walk 5,000 and jog in the pool for at least a half hour to make up for the other 5,00 steps. I watch what I eat, drink lots of unsweetened liquids and have trouble loosing weight. I am on thyroid meds. I have heard that that could be the problem. How can I overcome my lack of thyroid function and lose weight?

  • It works, I was in cardio therapy 7 years ago and I was not losing weight, they said to eat more. I ate 200 more calories a day and began to lose weight again.

  • I suspect I may be doing this. I exercise 5 days a week with weights and strength training, as well as running usually 3 days a week. Typical calorie intake is around 2000 and there is a usual calorie to burn deficit of around 800 to 1200 a day. I can’t lose the fat. I’m 5 foot 8 180 pounds age 49. Have I harmed my metabolism? Should I eat within 500 of my calorie burn for the day or of my Basel metabolic rate? Great article. Thanks.

    • You might want to cut back on the strength training. You may be adding muscle mass and losing fat at the same time.

      • Not worried about the amount of workouts or the fact it is strength/weight training, honestly. Just trying to lose the last 10 pounds of flab on my abs! 🙂 I suspect I have been “under-eating” and causing this problem. Wasn’t sure if I should gauge my calorie intake against the basal or calories burned amounts.

  • Just finished a book “The Obesity Code” by Jason Fung M.D. a Canadian Physician, that seems to completely refute this article’s recommendations.
    Makes me really wonder why we seem to have so many well intentioned contradictory research.

    • I just read his other book, Guide to Fasting, makes a lot of sense to me — I’ve tried traditional “diets” in the past with little success — I’m giving Dr. Fung’s method a shot with the 16:8 approach — good luck to you!!

    • $$$$

      That’s why. If they gave you advice that worked, you wouldn’t need to buy their fancy trackers, scales, diet apps and programs, etc.

      It’s no coincidence that diet advice had led to the worst obesity in history.

    • I trust a doctor over a “nutritionist” 8 days out of the week. This is super terrible advice to lose weight and has been proven to be completely ineffective in study after study. Why are you regurgitating this terrible advice Fitbit? You are contributing to killing people. I highly recommend The Obesity Code and I recommend the blog author to really invest in some evidence based research. She couldn’t be further from the truth if she tried.

      • Reality is, every human body is different. What works for some, will not work for others. Undoubtedly this blogs advice will work for some, and will be completely wrong for others. People have to experiment to learn their own body type and what will work for them.

  • Or consider getting your metabolism to switch over to preferentially burning fat for fuel. If your body is accustomed to getting its current energy from carbs, you’re less likely to be accessing fat storage for fuel. Stop worrying about fat — lean meats and fat-free yogurt?? No. You’ll always be hungry, no matter how much low-calorie “filling” food you consume. A breakfast of steak and eggs (or bunless burger and eggs) can satisfy a person until late afternoon.

    Stay hydrated? Absolutely! Limit sweetened drinks? How about eliminate them entirely! I make “poor man’s gatorade” by putting about 1/4 tsp of salt and a squirt of lemon juice in a half-liter Nalgene of water.

    Dump the sugar and starches (yeah, including those “healthywholegrains”), eat meat, eggs, full-fat dairy, and yummy low-starch veggies, and you will soon find that you just don’t WANT to consume more calories than you need to maintain current weight. (The Holy Grail of Moderation becomes much more achievable.) You will also improve your ability to access your body’s fat storage for fuel, and that’s a wonderful thing!

    (The same disclaimer as this article carries is applicable to this comment.)

    • Other than the fact that a diet full of meat and dairy is irrefutably linked to pretty much every chronic illness we have… But there are veggie-based alternatives with much higher protein content than meat anyway (making your own seitan is super easy and very cheap, not to mention all the soy-based alternatives). But otherwise I completely agree: mix high-protein food with lots of low-starch veggies!

    • Hi, Im a 54 female , I am moving the whole time in a kitchen at a nursing home I average of 11,000 to 14,000 plus steps a day at work…I try to eat healthy …I am constantly hungry…I weigh 180 and cant seem to lose weight and when i do it comes right back plus more…what can I do

  • Does that also apply for men to kick start their metabolism ?
    I understand that information is for the women , but how would a man get his started ?

  • Thank you. Really help inf. I can’t loose weight I’ll take some ideas from this statement

  • Started losing weight recently and here’s why.
    Exercise: I learned from my experience at fitness class that if I am not sweating after I have showered following a workout then I didn’t work out hard enough.
    Diet: low carb- I have an Atkins shake for breakfast – in carton and less than $2. Easy to drink on the road. Try to avoid low grade carbs the rest of the day, low carb bread has 8 g of carbs compared to 28 g in regular bread as an example. It all adds up. People will notice after a month, then you will look and feel better. Good luck. Make it livable, not too strict.

  • Ya know, with all of the baby boomers around and who wear Fitbits, you’d think that some of your articles would be geared to us. Just saying. Thx.

  • This article has really helped me out a lot. Time to stop eating like a bird and enjoy my food more….healthy food that is

  • I think this article is just what I needed to hear, I keep a pretty strict food and exercise log and try my best to keep my fat and carb macros a little under and protein over however I am usually under my BMR then after I add in my exercise I have a pretty big deficit but haven’t lost a pound in over a month. I’ve been searching for a reason and have stumbled across this idea a couple times, could this really be my problem? It is very scary to think about increasing my caloric intake, I’m the type of person if I give myself an inch I’ll take a mile. Anyways thanks for this article it was very informative.

  • Need to lose 50 pounds . Tried to do many times , looks like there
    is something which I am not doing rite ! Need help with how much
    and what ? Need complete guidance ! Help !

  • Hi Traci,

    It is possible that I can be your case study and you guide me with me diet (my lifelong eating habits)? My body is stiff and I think stress has caused me to gain 40lbs. I need help fats. I am a borderline diabetic and a borderline high blood pressure.

  • I had problems following your directions on my Iconic fitbit. When you said double arrows, you lost me. There were no double arrows.

  • Helpful article. Been doing a medically supervised diet since mid April with goal to lose 75 lbs within 6 months (to date lost 22). It’s the Beck Diet with Medtrim food (1500 calories p/day) & vitamin supplements though reintroduced green veggies since I can’t live without them. Increased exercise months 1-2 to 4-5 miles walking per day and month 3 cardio and swimming. I’m now losing 1 lb weekly and stopped getting my period. Was like a clock beforehand. Nurse said I might be going through menopause, however believe it’s diet related. Suggestions?

  • Oh wow. Thanks for a well written article. It speaks to me. I’ll implement the changes today. I’ve stalled.

  • Sorry, but this is a “see my research” article. It shows off irrelevant material collected to prove the author’s erudition.
    Just lay out the cogent points in six to eight bullets and deliver the work product of concise information.

  • Small issue with your suggestions for healthy eating- please reconsider suggestions soy milk as an alternative for healthy options for dairy. Mostly because soy is more likely to build inflammation in people, keeping them from being active and soy is a top 8 allergen, which is actually more common than dairy sensitivities. When a health site mentions adding in food that is highly modified it makes me wonder about their qualifications.

    But thank you for the calorie calculators as those are very helpful and honestly tracking calories consumed is essential.

  • The problem with all these studies is the next one will say something different. Remember when eggs were bad for you all the cholesterol now they are good for you. Beef was bad for you as well as pork. Now pork is the other white meat and beef is ok too. Then there were the fats and all fats were bad for you then they discovered that there are good fats and bad fats. This is why the diet industry is making billions of dollars because people just keep believing the next big thing or doctor or study or system or piece of exercise equipment.

  • MY NAME IS PEACHZ AND I NEED TO LOOSE ABOUT 40 POUNDS. I HAVE PLANTAR FASCITISS AND I FEEEL LIKE ITS ALL BCZ OF MY EWEIGHT GAIN. SO IM HOPING THIS FITBIT APP HELPS ME CONTROL MY CALORIES COMING IN AND OUT.

  • Great article, thank you!
    I am 5′, 0″ in height, 57 years old, small boned. Because of my height I have been told to eat 1200 cal. per day. I have gained 15-20 Lbs. My clothes don’t fit. 1200 is not very much, I think I eat 1300-1400. Sometimes I get so hungry it’s hard to loose the weight. You mentioned a certified sports dietitian might help. I am thinking that is what I might need.

  • i need to lose 20 lb and need help.
    i try to eat healthy fruits and Veg low fat protein like fish and chicken
    i am still not loosing any weight.

  • Thanks for this article. I’m 70 and I have diabetes. I know I can’t have to many fruits and I have to watch the carbs. I excise 1 hour 5 days a week. I really don’t know what to eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I need help.

  • This comment is for FitBit Editors, not Tracy. Please give consideration to the message(s) that you are sending before you push out an article. The e-mail that I received says, “Not Losing Weight? Try This!” and the photo that accompanies the link is a woman who is size 2 (maybe). I look at the photo and say, “Really? You need to loose weight?” Did you consider a photo of a man or woman who more resembles a stereotypical “average” person, or a person who is clinically obese?

  • I have a problem with belly fat and consistency. If I eat no meat and no sugar then the belly fat disappear. I walk 4 miles at least two-three days a week with cardio. My breakfast consist of two boiled eggs and coffee, lunch varies dinner also and sometimes I eat sweets after dinner. Signed HELP

  • How do I know what “too big” of a deficit is, my BMR is 1461, my calories burned average 2566 and my average intake is 1476. Which leaves me at 1080. Not sure if that gap is too much or not.???

  • For all who would like an eye opening experience regarding “healthy” foods I highly recommend reading “The Plant Paradox” by Dr. Steven Gundry. Also check out the documentary titled “What The Health?” You need to do more research in order to truly grasp the issues.

  • Just an improvement suggestion – It would be great for fit bit accessories to calculate the deficit automatically and give warnings when enough logged data

  • Is this a mistake or is it that i am not getting it? ” …around 500 calories less than the calories you need to maintain your current weight” wasn’t the article about eating more? The word less confuses me.

  • “slowly increasing your food intake by 100 calories a day for two to four weeks” means that, at the end of four weeks, you’re consuming 2800 more calories per day than when you started. That sounds like a real lot!

  • Certainly, this works. have tried myself. The problem is that it does not last forever. Now I have found something that works better. Google on LCHF, low carb high fat. I lose weight. feel better physically and mentally.

  • I seemed to plateau with my weight lost but reading the above article, I think I might try doing the sums (math) I’m not eating right!

  • Tracy: I am so happy and impressed that Fitbit has a dietitian doing their nutrition articles and advice. Good on you!

  • It’s shameful to see a company that I frankly have a lot of respect for posting this unfounded garbage and complete lies. You will ALWAYS loose weight at a caloric deficit. If you are not seeing loss for a short period of time, it is likely water weight or normal body weight fluctuations. If you are not seeing loss over a long period of time, you are not eating at a deficit. Period, end of story.

    There are a hundred ways to track incorrectly and as someone who frequently helps individuals new to weightloss troubleshoot their diets, I have seen them all. Failure to track liquid calories, people who aren’t weighing their food, individuals who don’t track snacks, and people who are just flat out lying to themselves about what they eat.

    But I promise you, anyone reading this comment, that you are not going to “damage” you metabolism by eating too little. If you are eating too little, your gall bladder will begin to produce gall stones and you may experience heart murmurs or other more serious symptoms. Trust me when I say you will NOT stop losing weight, however. Have you ever seen someone starving to death who is overweight? No, you haven’t, because a failure to eat results in a skeletal body, not an obese one.

    I have lost 137lbs since July 5th, 2017 by eating 1200-1800 calories a day. 1200 calories a day isn’t right for everyone: you may need to eat more or eat different foods that I might to feel satiated and that is okay. It’s also okay — and often completely normal — if you lose weight slowly.

    The 500cal deficit listed in this article will equate to 1lb/week. I suggest calculating your TDEE (google “TDEE calculator”) using a “sedentary” lifestyle EVEN if you exercise. Subtract 500cal from your TDEE and eat that number daily to lose 1lb/week. You can safely subtract up to 1000cal from your TDEE and eat that amount as long as it is in the 1000-1500 calorie range. A good minimum for women is 1200cal/day and for men it is 1500cal/day but those numbers are for men and women of average height. If you are short, you can safely eat a bit less and if you are tall, you should eat a bit more as a minimum.

    If you are losing MORE than 1lb per week at a 500cal deficit or 2lb per week at a 1000cal deficit, THEN you can start adding 100cal to 200cal back into your daily diet in order to account for your exercise. However, you cannot trust the estimates given by your fitbit or exercise equipment. They have a vested interest in making you feel good and will always show huge numbers so you feel like your fitbit is “helping you” and making you burn lots of calories. The reality is even burning 200cal takes a lot of effort, so it is better to err on the side of caution if you want to see results.

  • Great article. Last July I started with a personal trainer, I wanted to lose a stone, I have lost 16lbs slowly and feel great, more alert, more energy, sleep better. I’m 56 5’4 and now weigh 9 stone. I get on the scales every morning which enables me to monitor weight daily. I no longer use my PT but this is what she taught me. CUT the carbs, i have sugar in my tea a couple of times a day. I eat poached salmon 4 times a week with salad, and sometimes half a baked sweet potato for dinner, the other days I have boiled eggs or simple omelette. I do have salad dressing,small amount. I have salad with boiled egg, nuts, raisins, chia seeds pumpkin seeds for lunch. I make this and take to work. I allow myself one biscuit treat in the afternoon if been busy. My main change was breakfast, i never used to eat breakfast. Now i have blueberries, greek yog, tsp honey, porridge oats EVERY morning, i take it in a tub ready made for work. I don’t get hunger pangs anymore since doing this. My fitbit has helped me hugely to monitor by exercise and diet. I do 3-4 sessions in the gym which include 20 mins cardio then free weights. I do a fitness class once a week and do gardening etc at home on the weekends and the odd jog up the road on a work day if i’ve been desk bound. This routine keeps my metab rolling on and burning calories. I actually feel like i eat more now but its GOOD food not sugar and carbs which leave you empty and hungry. I’m pescatarian so no meat. My ave step count last week was 19000 a day. I always try to ensure my steps outway my food input. I feel i fuel my body well with fibre, fruits, and protein, probably not enough protein but I do have protein shake if i’ve had an extra hard workout. I know its hard guys, but believe me if you can get your head on board with you, the will to do it, you will, and once you start to see the results it gives you the confidence to continue. You HAVE to be honest with yourself, no sneaky treats….good luck every ☝️

  • I really liked the article. Very helpful information. However, I didnt like the photo of a very thin person intimating that they are having trouble losing weight. With the entertainment industry sending us messages that we have to be stick thin, we dont need the fitness industry doing the same.

  • Hi. The article in interesting. I think I may have done for a while what they say you shouldn’t: eating less than needed. So I think I lowered my metabolism a bit and right now I’m struggling to get it back up. Any suggestions? I’m eating 3 meals a day, not skipping any meal, snacks between meals: fruits and sometimes ice cream or crackers or biscuits or cereal. My intention is not to lose weight. I want to mantain right now and maybe build muscle (I usually go to the gym but I have a flu so I’m resting home these days. Though I walk everyday at least 4 km – buying groceries and everything). Doing everything I said here I burn in average about…. 1600-1900 kcal. And I think it’s to little. When I come home I cook, I clean…it’s not like I don’t do anything. I drink green or black tea in the morning. I honestly don’t know…. is it normal? My resting heart rate right now is 51 but in the last weeks, when I went almost every day to the gym was aroung 47. I usually am a pretty active person.

  • I’m in a program that follows this strategy pretty closely and offers a wide range of workout programs to choose from that are available with an internet connection which can be done at home or when traveling. We have Facebook accountability groups that help people along their fitness journey so there is always someone there to encourage and help get you where you want to be.

  • Do you mean gradually add 500 calories MORE than your body needs to maintain current weight?
    Eating 500 calories less doesn’t seem to make sense in the context of previous and subsequent text.
    Thanks.

  • Hello, my name is Yolanda and im from IL and I need to lose weight for hlth reasons and increase my self esteem. I’d love to hear what others are doing to get and stay motivated to lose weight.

  • I have lost 57 pounds in the last year through walking and tracking food intake but I have hit a plateau. According to my fitbit I am walking 10,000 to 15,000 steps a day with a daily average of about 3,400 calories out. My food intake daily average is about 1,500 calories making the deficit 1,900 calories a day and I am unable to lose weight for the past six months. It seems counter intuitive to eat more to lose weight. However, I am wondering if my metabolism has slowed down like this article says? It defies logic to eat more to lose weight but I will try it for a week and see if the results are positive.

  • I’m training for a marathon (3rd year in a row) and over the last 2 years, I was able to drop about 15 pounds over the course of my training time (18 weeks). Unfortunately, this year, I haven’t done much different in diet when compared to the prior 2 years; however, I’ve only dropped 4 pounds in 9 weeks of training. Any suggestions as to what may be going on?

  • how do you work out how much calories you need in a day and how do you track how much calories your eating and burning so precisely

  • Besides healthy meal, its important to have a daily workout routine in terms of exercise, jogging, walking etc. When you do physical practices , it makes you more worry about what food is more healthier to eat instead of unhealthy diet. Shortcut never helps in long term weight loss and health.

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