Ok, so I've been eating way too low calories, I want to maintain and increase without gaining..

Since Nov/December I've probably been eating about 600-1000 daily, I'm 6ft and 160lbs so yes I know that this has been far too low.

I'm wanting to knwo how I can gradually increase this and not gain weight. Lots of the foods on this website we don't have here exactly the same (I'm in NZ) so it's hard to plan my diet for the next day.

I don't think I've fully stuffed up my metabolism, because I went on holiday in January, didn't exercise and had probably maintenance weight calories and maintained the weight - this was over a 2 week course.

Atleast three days of the week, usually four (although weather dependant) I walk uphill mostly for 40 minutes, and then sometimes another 20-40 up/down hill + I do squats and sit ups for about 30 mins atleast 3 days a week. Weekends I try to go for walks etc, ofcourse weather dependant tho.

Also this is my first post so hello!

Realistically, if you've been crash-dieting any increase in calories is going to result in some weight-gain short-term.  What you have to do is understand that, accept it and rationalise it before you get started.  Otherwise all that happens is that you eat more, you step on the scales and you see a bigger number and you will freak out and go back to starvation.  You have to anticipate how you're going to work through that moment to get past it and back to health

Whatever you do, if you're female you've got to get past 1200 straight away and if you're male 1500.  If you're under 21 you need to add 300 cals to both those numbers.  That's the absolute bare minimum.

Use the CC calculator to work out your energy needs based on 'light' activity level and your age/size/gender.  If you're female and over 21 that's going to be about 2200.  If you're male it's more like 2600.  Best way to increase is to eat 'little and often'.... small meals of high-calorie foods several times a day.  Avoid eating too many bulky, low-cal foods like vegetables because they'll fill you up long before you get to your calorie target.

The quicker you start and the quicker you get up to the right level the quicker your metabolism will catch up so that your weight stabilises.  If you creep up yor intake in little steps you will gain more weight over a longer period of time.  Stay off the scales for at least two weeks while you do this and it will give things chance to settle down... eg. fluid retention.

Good luck

you have to accept a few pound gain because you have been starving yourself essentially, but it will level off rather  quickly. like you said...you were able to eat maintenance level and not exercise without gaining weight so you shouldn't expect any drastic weight gain but it's important to increase as soon as possible because the longer you wait the more time you give your body to adjust to the decreased intake and the harder it is to reverse. You should be eating no less than 1500 calories if you decide to become sedentary and NEVER work out...if you work out you need more and if you are under 21 you need more. I assume you're going to continue working out a moderately active, 20 year old male of your size needs about 2700 calories to maintain. If you're afraid of gaining maybe you should bump it up to 2000 and then see what happens and gradually increase to your maintenance level. You definitely need to be aware of your weight though because males have an ideal BMI of 22, which is 163 pounds for you. YOu don't want to compromise your health and you definitely don't want to exist on less than 1000 calories. i hope this helps...FYI i used the phord calorie recommendations, I did not make them up myself =)

Well, the site may not have all the accurate calorie information for the foods where you are, but you can read your labels and research a bit on say, google to find out how many calories generally in this or in that.

You won't always get to look it up for every food, but..that's probably something you can deal with as it comes.

Have you used CC's tools to figure out what your maintenance calorie level would be for the weight you are now?

I'm sure it's higher than the calories you're currently eating, but if you eat the maintenance number, you're not going to become a whale or anything.

As someone said, it's probably to be expected to gain a couple of pounds once you increase, but it's not necessarily going to hang around, either.

You sound fairly active, so make sure to add that into your calculations.

Weight gain and loss is really more or less about the math, so if you stay in the right general range, you should do more than fine, in maintaining without gaining more than the possible token pounds.

Original Post by chrissy1988:

you have to accept a few pound gain because you have been starving yourself essentially, but it will level off rather  quickly. like you said...you were able to eat maintenance level and not exercise without gaining weight so you shouldn't expect any drastic weight gain but it's important to increase as soon as possible because the longer you wait the more time you give your body to adjust to the decreased intake and the harder it is to reverse.

Exactly this.

I hope you don't mind me posting on here too but having read the above I am concerened that I may be verging on not eating enough. 

I am female, 5 ft 6 and now weigh 62.4kg and am desperatly trying to lose the last bit of fat and reach my goal weight of 57kg.  To achieve this i originally set a limit of 1500 cals a day.  My burn meter suggests I should be eating 2200 a day as I am moderatly active training capoeira 3 times a week and walking approx 3 miles every day.

Some evenings I feel really hungry but don't want to eat any more as this would take me way over my limit.  Is this hunger just a normal part of adjusting to a calorie deficit diet?

Am I eating enough to realistically be able to maintain this and not gain weight as soon as I slowly increase calories up to approx 2000 a day.  Any advice would be greatly appreciated

Kia ora! im from nz too and i know just how you feel lol its so hard to find the right diet foods aye and i live in wellington so its like impossible for me to go out and exercise so i just joined a gym its crazy weather here lol anyway right now im on weight gain diet but when i was on low cal diet i was eating pretty much fresh and unprocessed foods that kept me full and to be honest it wasnt the food that lead me to being underweight i was eating way too low calories so i advise you dont take the same path that i did just eat really healthy but dont restrict yourself have a lil treat every now and then its all about moderation. slowly increase your calories every week until you get to the point where you feel full and you know your able to maintain but dont freak if you gain a few lbs thats mainly water weight cos you metabolism is just adjusting itself try avoid weighing yourself during your calorie changes. good diet foods are weight watchers brands but can be pricey i know but i reccommend you just read the labels on products cos theres plenty good food out there u just gotta look around for them. good luck :)