Eat More, Lose Weight?

It’s counterintuitive, I know. I’m still struggling with the concept and my brain fights me daily. But my brain is losing because it can’t argue with results.

Twelve days ago, I posted that despite severely restricting calories and exercising, I was gaining weight left and right. I had to pull out my fat pants. I was ready to throw in the towel.

Instead, I decided I had nothing to lose and decided to up my calorie intake. Nothing drastic. I was gaining weight at 1,200 net calories and I was gaining weight at 1,000 net calories, so I decided to try 1,500.

I can’t say I hit that every day. I usually eat about 1,800 to 1,900 in a day (sometimes more, sometimes less) and I work off about 2,500 to 3,000 calories (that I count) each week. Sometimes more, sometimes less. I think somewhere in the week it all evens out.

And since I started that two weeks ago? I’ve lost 2.6 pounds. I’ve had losses two weeks in a row. I was 152.8 the day I wrote that post. Last Sunday, I was 152.4. It was small, but it was a loss. Yesterday morning — after a Friday night of fried lasagna and bread sticks with alfredo sauce at Olive Garden and fried dough at the fair (where we also walked around for more than two hours) — I weighed 150.2. That’s 2.2 pounds this week. And that’s pretty awesome.

Don’t get me wrong. Most days I’m eating eggs, vegetables, fruit, whole grains — the healthy stuff. I’m just eating more of it. And it’s working. And I’m thrilled.

And now I’ve written all about it and I wonder if I’m going to gain this week. Because, of course, that’s how it works.

The fat pants? Friday night, I fit into a pair of my smaller jeans. They were a bit snug, but looked good and were comfortable.