Maintaining after great loss

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caioincau
caioincau Posts: 8 Member
in Goal: Maintaining Weight
Hi I have lost 40kg in the past six months, but now, I am eating 1500-1600 calories/day and after one month I have fattened one kilogram.

I am 21 years old, 1,89m tall and I weigh 68kg, I am very concerned, because if I have to eat less than 1500 calories to maintain weight, I'll need to go hungry.

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  • GyroMotorboat
    GyroMotorboat Posts: 1
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    If you expend more energy (Calories - or more correctly Kilocaolories [kCal]) than you take in you WILL lose weight and vice versa. I would be very surprised if you did not lose weight on 1500 Cals per day; the average woman needs around 2000 and the average man 2500 - give or take. So if you are a woman and are consuming 1500 Cals a day this should lose about 1lbs per week and if a man, 2lbs.

    The trick is knowing what you take in and expend. Perhaps you are not measuring the intake accurately- do weight things carefully. I find MFP has tranformed my ability to loose weight owing to its ease of use and large food database. But you need to be very disciplined. Do NOT cheat yourself... what's the point?

    I would recommend that you get an activity tracker and measure what your approximate expenditure is per day and adjust this accordingly by walking briskly for around 40 mins or so. Polar's Loop can link to a heart monitor and make output measurment more accurate.

    I am losing 2lb per week on about 2000 calories intake per day but I do about 600 Cals worth of exercise - just over an hour split between morning and evening - so that I can enjoy a treat (cake or pie) when I feel like it.

    P.S. I have a brunch and an early evening meal and even when on 1500 Cals I don't ever feel hungry.
  • caioincau
    caioincau Posts: 8 Member
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    I am a man and I am not cheating to myself :(

    I am sedentary, so maybe my basal rate is lower.
  • mymodernbabylon
    mymodernbabylon Posts: 1,038 Member
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    When you start eating a bit more it's normal to gain up to 5 lbs as your glycogen stores are being refilled. That and everyone goes up and down regularly just by nature of being - if you eat a touch more salt, a bit less water, etc. You shouldn't have a specific weight you want to stay but a range and you should look at it over a month or more as a trend versus week by week. Give it some time and see if things even out (which most likely they will).
  • 20yearsyounger
    20yearsyounger Posts: 1,643 Member
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    You are taller than I am so sedentary and your age means over 1600 calories for maintenance. Ensure that you are measuring accurately and give you body some time to adjust.
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
    edited December 2014
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    One important thing to remember is that MFP calorie recommendations don't take exercise into account and you need to add it in. In addition, exercise is absolutely critical in maintenance. And for health!

    Also, a calorie is not a calorie in terms of HUNGER because food that is digested quickly and spikes your insulin then causes you to overshoot and be really hungry. And yes, because you were so overweight, this will almost definitely be true for you.

    Make sure you always have protein in your meals. Fat is also very satisfying. It is calorie dense, but a small amount will satisfy your hunger much more than the same amount of calories in carbs. So an ounce of cheese. A handful of nuts. A spoonful of ice cream.

    For myself, I find if I keep my carbs under 40% (that is not low carb, it is high protein), I am much more satisfied and don't get hungry and don't gain weight.

    You can do it. You obviously had the willpower to lose weight. Now you need to find the discipline and good strategies to keep it off. You're so young - you want to do this for your life and your health. You need to find a good healthy pattern that will work for you.

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