Try intermittent fasting; I’ve lost 21 lbs so far just by skipping breakfast and eating my meals within an 8-hr window between 12:30-8:30pm. This allows me to have somewhat larger meals and still stay in the 1,300 cal/day range. Also: Accept the weight gain; only then will you really be able to do something about it. Lunch 2 fillets of Alaskan Pollock coated in breadcrumbs (730 Cal) Baked beans (324 Cal) TOTAL: 1054 Cal. Snack 2 1.25 UK pints of whole milk (462 Cal) 1 tablespoon sugar (48 Cal) 15g Cocoa (53 Cal) Caramel waffle biscuit (133 Cal) TOTAL: 968 Cal. Calories Depending on sex, body size, and activity level, most adults need to consume between 2,000 and 3,000 calories a day. Women, and smaller and less active people, need fewer calories; men and bigger and more active people, need more. Here are average daily calorie needs, according to the United States Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion: Adult women: 1,600 to 2,400 calories. Adult men: 2,000 to 3,000 calories. Young children: 1,000 to 2,000 calories. Older children and adolescents: 1,400 to 3,200 calories (with boys generally at the higher end of the scale) Check out GoKaleo's blog. She touts the idea that 2500-3000 calories absolutely isn't abnormal for active ladies. I'm 5'7", and I've eaten around 3000 calories for about a couple months and have only gained a couple pounds. Do that's a tad over my TDEE, but apparently not by much. Eating 3,000 calories a day for weight loss is highly unlikely unless you have incredibly high energy needs. Generally, consuming more calories than your body burns will result in weight gain ( 8 ). However, there are certain situations where eating 3,000 calories a day may not result in weight gain: When you wake up in the morning, make yourself a big fat protein shake. Milk, ice, protein powder, frozen fruit. If you do it right, that's about 800-1000 calories right off the bat. Stay consistent throughout the rest of the day by having big meals. Chicken, fish, rice, eggs should all be staples. If you maintain your weight on 2,000 calories per day, you will gain weight much quicker on a 3,000-calorie diet than someone who maintains their weight on 2,500 calories per day. For example, one 8-week study showed that when 25 healthy people ate an additional 950 calories over their weight-maintenance calorie needs, they gained an average of InOFHP.