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Answered in 5 episodes

How do I eat more without gaining weight?

Answered by Nikkiey Stott and her guests · Updated

The short answer

Raise your calories slowly instead of all at once. Nikkiey's approach is to track what you actually eat for a week to find your baseline, then add roughly 50 to 150 calories at a time, mostly from carbs and fats. Keep protein steady and watch sleep, mood, energy and hunger before each next increase.

Hear it from the show

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  1. Nikkiey on adding 50-150 calories at a time instead of jumping all at once

    Plays from 25:21 · Ep. 315: Why Am I Gaining Weight Eating Clean and Working Out?

  2. Nikkiey walks through a step-by-step calorie ladder up from 1,100

    Plays from 19:22 · Ep. 272: Why Eating More Helps You Lose Fat After 40

  3. Paige on adding 100 calories at a time and choosing when to bump

    Plays from 30:58 · Ep. 243: Eating More to Lose Weight After Years of Under-Eating

  4. Nikkiey's steps: track a week, find your baseline, increase slowly, be patient

    Plays from 25:08 · Ep. 308: Signs You're Not Eating Enough as a Woman Over 40

  5. Megan on starting lower, protein first, then building up carbs

    Plays from 16:51 · Ep. 280: How to Get Lean After 40 by Eating More: Megan's Story

The full answer

On Ep. 308, Nikkiey explains that when you under-eat for a long time, your metabolism adapts and burns fewer calories at rest. That is why the fix is not one big jump. On Ep. 315 she says you don't go from 1,200 to 1,900 calories in one sitting. You get there strategically over weeks, and she recommends working with a coach rather than going in blind with a macro calculator.

Here is what a gradual increase looked like on the show:

  • Ep. 272: Nikkiey describes a sample ladder for someone who has eaten 1,100 calories for years: 1,200 one week, then 1,300, 1,450, 1,550 and 1,700, while watching how the body handles each step.
  • Ep. 243: Paige's coach added about 100 calories at a time. Paige chose whether to bump again or hold another week, and her coach said she could drop back down if anything felt off. Paige went from about 1,088 calories to 2,360.
  • Ep. 280: After years of keto and intermittent fasting, Megan's coach started her lower with five meals a day. She worked on protein first, then built up carbs, and her hunger cues came back.

Nikkiey says many women don't gain any alarming weight during this process. Her client Cheryl built up to 3,300 calories over many months and built muscle. She is also clear that it isn't instant. On Ep. 308 she says repairing years of under-eating can take months, so patience is part of the plan. On Ep. 315, the coaches add that eating clean can still overshoot calories, especially from fats. Tracking is how you eat more on purpose instead of by accident.

If eating more scares you, that fear makes sense after years of being told to eat less. The problem was the plan, not you.

From The WarriorBabe Show with Nikkiey Stott. For education, not medical advice: talk to your doctor about your own health.

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