going up after 900 calories

Ok so now i know that you definetly need ATLEAST 1200 calories aday to survive, but i didnt know that before and was eating around 700-900 for around 4 months.
I went to get my metabolism back up and going and so i understand that adding 100/week is a good thing to do.
My question is..... do i start with 1000 for a week (assuming ive been eating 900 regularly) or do i start with 1200, then the next week 1300??
Beucase today i ran for 35 minutes and mowed the lawn for about a half an hour, and i have eaten around 980 calories (give or take) today, including dinner. So how many more do i need for the day? 220.. ?

Hiya-
I was in the same boat as you, except I knew better.  I planned my "recovery phase" for a week when I was on vacation.  I ate whatever I wanted for a week and then after 7 days started eating my correct number of calories.  I gained like 5 lbs during that week, but they were mostly water because they were gone by the end of the next week, and I started losing 1-2 lbs again right away.

Good luck!

Hi Liosa

I'm glad you are here trying to change your ways with your eating habits. We both know what you were doing before was un-healthy. In fact, I was in your same shoes about a year ago. However, during the time I raised my calories I was lookin to lose more weight.

What I suggest you do is eat your alloted calories. And if you exercise, eat back the calories burned during that as well.  Your body needs at the very least 1200 NET calories.

When I started upping my calories, I took about 4 days eating 1000, then 4 days eating 1100, and went from there to reach my goal of 1200.  I gained 5 pounds the first week, and lost it the next.

So if you do gain weight, it's okay. You need to give your body at least 3 weeks to level itself out again.

Please keep us posted. If you are scared, I understand. This can be frustrating and mentally draining. But just know that I totally know how you feel right now.

So lets say on my sedentary days i need 1500 calories (i think thats right) and then running a mowing i burned approx 300(?) thats 1800..... but since i havent been eating even 1200, are u saying that i should just be eating.. 1200 for a couple days, or 1500, or 1800?? or 1000 (so i would just got up 100) ???

I would do the hard jump and just get to 1200 ASAP.

However, something tells me you need more than 1,200 given how active you are, and in that case, you should probably up it to that amount instead.

I know it's hard. I had to go from 1400 to 2300 in one day. It is possible.

Since your metabolism is slow right now, you need to move up the ladder. If you can get up to 1200 instantly, than do it. If you can eat your 1200 calories + your burned calories, then do it.

Either way you are going to gain temporary weight. The sooner you reach your goal calories, the better. The faster your gained weight will drop back off.

When you begin eating food properly, your body is going to hold onto everything it gets. Make sure to eat lean meats, veggies, fruits, and whole grains. This way your body will receive optimum nutrition from food.

How much did you lose before you started maintaining? Your metabolism could be hurt due to a lower metabolism.

Like for example: I lost 127 pounds. I am on a 1200 calorie diet. My "allowance" that CC gives me is 1700 calories. However, to maintain my weight I eat 1400. Anything more than that I gain. In my case, I dont exercise much, so I dont have anything to add back in.

If you have any more questions, just let me know. Thanks.

x17star17x-     &nbs p; See the thing is is I have no idea if my body can go right up to 1200 or if it can do 1200 + my burned calories...??
Do u have any suggestions on what i could eat? So far today i have had 1 cup cheerios with 1/2 bannana and 1/2 cup skim milk and a couple dashes of cinnamon and for lunch i had a south beach diet lunch wrap (the southwestern style chicken one) and only used about half of the chicken that came along with it and didnt eat the jello (not a fan) and then i had an apple. For dinner i think i am either having subway or one of my moms sloppy joes (which one?) And i dont think im going to work out today, maybe just got for a half hour walk or something.
I was around 118-122 ish pounds all school year until about april when i started watching everything i ate, and its only getting worse.
Im not even sure if i am maintaining or what i am doing, but now im around 98 (last time i checked, i only weigh myself wheni go to my grandparents house- cz i dont have a scale, and i dont want one! :) )..
So do u have an idea of how many calories i should eat today, and what some ideas are? like dinner, should i eat the sloppy joe or subway...... and snacks? thank you so much, ill take any advice

Just eat whatever you can stick with. Don't go too overboard on the exercise, and eat your 1200 cals. Let's start with eating back half of the calories you burned. Again, don't go too crazy with exercise.

Your food for today sounds great and maintenance worthy. Anything you can prepare yourself where you know what's in it is better than something pre-packaged.

If you fear the scale (I know I do) you can always use a tape measure to make sure you are maintaining. I just started using the tape measure today. They're easier to read and dont make you flip over a few fluctuations.

Hope that helps! Again, any questions are encouraged.

I also want to let you know that I wont be around the boards until Monday. I am going to California for my first sky dive. I'm scared!

The supporters of Maintenance should be able to help you. If you need to seek attention from a higher up, you can always PM one of the other mods.  Happy Friday!

Wow, sky diving!! have fun! :)...... i wish i had enough courage to do that!:)
Thank you so much for the advice, you really have helped me.
BUt i have a little worried right now... i have been having severe headaches for about 2 1/2 days.. and so ive been going to the chiropractor (my uncle and his brother own it) for the past 2 days, and usually after one treatment my headaches go away. but this time ive done 2 treatments and i have a very bad headache right now. they reccomend that i go to a doctor to get tested for meningitis or to see what is wrong with me, becuase they should not be this bad after i have been treated.
i also havent had my period for about 4 months, and i havent told myparents yet becuase i am way to scared.
and i also dont want to go to the doctor becuase i am around 98, maybeless, pounds right now and last time i was weighed at the doctor i was around 122.... yeah that wont look good, and i KNOW my doctor will ask about my period cz he always does, and ill have to tell him.. and my mom would be in there with me... and i would rather do this on my own. BUT i dont want something bad to happen becuase of these headaches. i am torn:(

It's called mal-nutrition hun. Your body needs the food to feel better. As I mentioned before: fruits, veggies, lean meats, and whole grains.

Dont fear your doc. I mean you only need to tell him once. Just let him know that you were under stress, lost your appatite, but are now trying to turn that around.

And your period often times becomes irregular when you diet in general.  Don't stress about it tho. He's just a guy that is paid to care :)

Let's get you all fixed up. No more starvin! And if you can, buy a good multi vitamin to try and get your body back up to par. The headaches should go away in time.