If the av person should eat 2000, then why can I only eat 1650 to maintain? Bummer!!

1235

Replies

  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
    This is just an opinion....

    I'm going to say because they also assume the average person doesn't sit around all day and do nothing. Don't they also assume atleast 30 minutes of activity 3 times minimum per week as well?

    I'm just sayin. Plus i think the average female is 5'6.

    I'm also a 5'4 female and require roughly 17-1800 calories a day to maintain (WITH working out) so i feel ya. It sucks. The only thing we can do to change that is put on muscle mass which requires more energy at rest OR increase our NEAT (Non-exercise activity thermogenesis).
  • Delilahhhhhh
    Delilahhhhhh Posts: 477 Member
    edited February 2015
    PearlAng wrote: »
    MrM27 wrote: »
    auddii wrote: »
    1890dawn wrote: »
    what no one will say is that the reason the numbers don't make sense is that the science is obviously flawed. I have to stay under 1,600 to maintain, under 1,400 to lose, and it has been that way since I was a young active teen. We all accept that there are skinny people that eat as much as they want and never gain (one is my mother-in-law, I've seen her do it), so it is intellectually dishonest to say that the same cannot be true in reverse for heavy people. The BMI charts are also very flawed. At the weight at which I look amazing in a bathing suit, I am still considered "obese" on the charts.

    Most people here don't really accept that. Or rather, they would argue that a person who appears to do this is still eating around their maintenance and is either very active (thus having a higher TDEE) or isn't eating as much as it seems they are. Some may eat one huge meal and then not have an appetite for a next couple of days, or similar. There is a range of metabolism, of course, but I don't think it's as large as people think it is. Most differences in TDEE can be explained by differences in size and activity level.
    I would consider myself to be one of those people that 1890dawn is talking about. Based on my activity level and what my TDEE should be based off that, I have reason to believe my BMR is at least 50 calories over what most calculators would suggest for my stats. I think over time the implications of this can become significant. In theory, an extra 50 calories a day for a couple years would translate to a 10 pound weight gain. I realize that I am simply eating at maintenance, but my overall TDEE is high enough (without a very active lifestyle) that I simply can eat whatever I want (in accordance with my appetite) and not gain weight.

    That just means that your hunger signals are in line with your caloric needs. This is also greatly helped by the fact that you focus on nutrient dense foods. If you ate more calorie dense foods (many of which would not be as satiating) until you were full, chances are you would exceed your calorie goal.
    True, but then others were just telling me a couple days ago in another thread that they piled on weight from eating a lot of the same foods I eat (lots of home cooked meals).
    Do not derail this thread into another thread about you and why you don't gain weight. You already know why you dont, because you don't eat enough. And you don't exercise properly. Please dont turn this thread into another debate about Jason.
    No I'm not, just giving my experience from the other end of the spectrum on why the OP doesn't understand how she needs less than the average person to maintain.

    Yes you do, and yes you are.
    I'm quoting this because I agree with you, but also to ask this question: is your username a reference to a radio station, by any chance?

    No, unfortunately my Mom and Dad liked Tom Jones, why anyone would want to name their daughter after a two timing *#ore baffled me. I'm ok with it now though.

    edited Bacon and eggs on warm buttered bap for me this morning.
  • Cc215
    Cc215 Posts: 228 Member
    Aviva92 wrote: »
    for dinner I had bacon and eggs fried in bacon grease with spinach, mushrooms, onions and cheese because of this thread.

    I had bacon fried in it's own fat, poached egg, mushrooms, tomato and spinach. It was lovely - and I still didn't go over my calories. I cooked the rest of the bacon up too - and have brought to work today for lunch. Will make scrambled egg and veggies to go with it.

    Your onion and cheese addition sounds wonderful too - will try that out next time.

    Two days in bacon and egg heaven thanks to this thread :)
  • PearlAng
    PearlAng Posts: 681 Member
    PearlAng wrote: »
    MrM27 wrote: »
    auddii wrote: »
    1890dawn wrote: »
    what no one will say is that the reason the numbers don't make sense is that the science is obviously flawed. I have to stay under 1,600 to maintain, under 1,400 to lose, and it has been that way since I was a young active teen. We all accept that there are skinny people that eat as much as they want and never gain (one is my mother-in-law, I've seen her do it), so it is intellectually dishonest to say that the same cannot be true in reverse for heavy people. The BMI charts are also very flawed. At the weight at which I look amazing in a bathing suit, I am still considered "obese" on the charts.

    Most people here don't really accept that. Or rather, they would argue that a person who appears to do this is still eating around their maintenance and is either very active (thus having a higher TDEE) or isn't eating as much as it seems they are. Some may eat one huge meal and then not have an appetite for a next couple of days, or similar. There is a range of metabolism, of course, but I don't think it's as large as people think it is. Most differences in TDEE can be explained by differences in size and activity level.
    I would consider myself to be one of those people that 1890dawn is talking about. Based on my activity level and what my TDEE should be based off that, I have reason to believe my BMR is at least 50 calories over what most calculators would suggest for my stats. I think over time the implications of this can become significant. In theory, an extra 50 calories a day for a couple years would translate to a 10 pound weight gain. I realize that I am simply eating at maintenance, but my overall TDEE is high enough (without a very active lifestyle) that I simply can eat whatever I want (in accordance with my appetite) and not gain weight.

    That just means that your hunger signals are in line with your caloric needs. This is also greatly helped by the fact that you focus on nutrient dense foods. If you ate more calorie dense foods (many of which would not be as satiating) until you were full, chances are you would exceed your calorie goal.
    True, but then others were just telling me a couple days ago in another thread that they piled on weight from eating a lot of the same foods I eat (lots of home cooked meals).
    Do not derail this thread into another thread about you and why you don't gain weight. You already know why you dont, because you don't eat enough. And you don't exercise properly. Please dont turn this thread into another debate about Jason.
    No I'm not, just giving my experience from the other end of the spectrum on why the OP doesn't understand how she needs less than the average person to maintain.

    Yes you do, and yes you are.
    I'm quoting this because I agree with you, but also to ask this question: is your username a reference to a radio station, by any chance?

    No, unfortunately my Mom and Dad liked Tom Jones, why anyone would want to name their daughter after a two timing *#ore baffled me. I'm ok with it now though.

    edited Bacon and eggs on warm buttered bap for me this morning.
    Ah okay, now I see. There's this radio show host I've heard that does all love songs during her nightly shift. She also takes calls from people who are all like "I just love her so much! I have to dedicate the song X to hear right now!" and "I just miss him sooo much, I'm sad". It's all a little sappy, but she's a good natured woman, I'm sure. Her tag line-thingy is like "Delilahhhhhh" sung by some really soulful, airy voices.
  • kmash32
    kmash32 Posts: 275 Member
    I know I am most of the day inactive as I have a desk job, but i exercise 3 to 4 times a week which I will be adding to the 1650 cals I have been given.

    Just seems cray to me that we are alway told that 2000 cals a day are the amount an average person should eat per day. I would put on weight at that level.

    Maybe the average person runs 5km per day too?!
    It depends what you eat. Carbs burn faster then fat so try to concentrate on simple carbs like fruits and veggies for protein : you can make chickpease, lentils,beans.

    Since when are fruits and veggies simple carbs, and since when do they have a lot of protien? Basically you are telling her to be a vegetarian. Why?

    To the OP I agree it sucks, I have looked what my maintenance will be and it is about the same as you.
  • cheshirecatastrophe
    cheshirecatastrophe Posts: 1,395 Member
    kmash32 wrote: »
    To the OP I agree it sucks, I have looked what my maintenance will be and it is about the same as you.

    It's maybe not quite as bad as you think. Maintenance for me will be around 1500-1600 without exercise, but let me tell you, after 1200-1300 for a deficit, 1500 is gonna feel like a party all day every day.

    I mean, it's not fair for the little people, but it's not as bad as it could be.
  • rosebette
    rosebette Posts: 1,660 Member
    One thing to note, at 5'9" and 131 lbs., OP is on the low end of the BMI scale, around 19, so she doesn't need to lose weight. I plugged in her numbers and to maintain, she needs to eat around 1725 calories a day, that's at "light activity level" if you figure she's sedentary, but exercises 3 X a week. She is lighter than average, but certainly not shorter! At 2000 calories, if she did some weight training, she would probably get some good muscle and toning going.

    On the bacon and eggs theme, bacon and eggs really don't have that many calories. I occasionally have 2 eggs and two strips of bacon; it comes to around 240 calories, add a piece of toast and it's 340. If I have oatmeal or cereal and fruit, it's nearly the same. I have high cholesterol, so I can't eat bacon and eggs very often; however, they have much more protein than other breakfasts that are considered "healthier." If you need protein, it's the way to go.
  • AbbieBeckett
    AbbieBeckett Posts: 70 Member
    I'm skipping the eggs and just having bacon and cheese on burgers for dinner, am I allowed to tell myself that I'm doing a good job too? :blush:
  • auddii
    auddii Posts: 15,357 Member
    chouflour wrote: »
    I had to read this thread tonight. I gave my husband a hard time this morning for eating bacon smeared with peanut butter, and now I really want bacon and eggs. But it's 9pm, and I'm way too lazy to cook more bacon now.

    Your husband is a genius...
  • Cc215
    Cc215 Posts: 228 Member
    I'm skipping the eggs and just having bacon and cheese on burgers for dinner, am I allowed to tell myself that I'm doing a good job too? :blush:

    That sounds like an outstanding job to me :) yay you!
  • chouflour
    chouflour Posts: 193 Member
    auddii wrote: »
    chouflour wrote: »
    I had to read this thread tonight. I gave my husband a hard time this morning for eating bacon smeared with peanut butter, and now I really want bacon and eggs. But it's 9pm, and I'm way too lazy to cook more bacon now.

    Your husband is a genius...

    "low carb Elvis" says he. I ended up with egg fried/basted in bacon grease on top of buttered toast. Totally not as good. I need to cook some bacon tonight.
  • tulips_and_tea
    tulips_and_tea Posts: 5,744 Member
    PearlAng wrote: »
    MrM27 wrote: »
    auddii wrote: »
    1890dawn wrote: »
    what no one will say is that the reason the numbers don't make sense is that the science is obviously flawed. I have to stay under 1,600 to maintain, under 1,400 to lose, and it has been that way since I was a young active teen. We all accept that there are skinny people that eat as much as they want and never gain (one is my mother-in-law, I've seen her do it), so it is intellectually dishonest to say that the same cannot be true in reverse for heavy people. The BMI charts are also very flawed. At the weight at which I look amazing in a bathing suit, I am still considered "obese" on the charts.

    Most people here don't really accept that. Or rather, they would argue that a person who appears to do this is still eating around their maintenance and is either very active (thus having a higher TDEE) or isn't eating as much as it seems they are. Some may eat one huge meal and then not have an appetite for a next couple of days, or similar. There is a range of metabolism, of course, but I don't think it's as large as people think it is. Most differences in TDEE can be explained by differences in size and activity level.
    I would consider myself to be one of those people that 1890dawn is talking about. Based on my activity level and what my TDEE should be based off that, I have reason to believe my BMR is at least 50 calories over what most calculators would suggest for my stats. I think over time the implications of this can become significant. In theory, an extra 50 calories a day for a couple years would translate to a 10 pound weight gain. I realize that I am simply eating at maintenance, but my overall TDEE is high enough (without a very active lifestyle) that I simply can eat whatever I want (in accordance with my appetite) and not gain weight.

    That just means that your hunger signals are in line with your caloric needs. This is also greatly helped by the fact that you focus on nutrient dense foods. If you ate more calorie dense foods (many of which would not be as satiating) until you were full, chances are you would exceed your calorie goal.
    True, but then others were just telling me a couple days ago in another thread that they piled on weight from eating a lot of the same foods I eat (lots of home cooked meals).
    Do not derail this thread into another thread about you and why you don't gain weight. You already know why you dont, because you don't eat enough. And you don't exercise properly. Please dont turn this thread into another debate about Jason.
    No I'm not, just giving my experience from the other end of the spectrum on why the OP doesn't understand how she needs less than the average person to maintain.

    Yes you do, and yes you are.
    I'm quoting this because I agree with you, but also to ask this question: is your username a reference to a radio station, by any chance?

    No, unfortunately my Mom and Dad liked Tom Jones, why anyone would want to name their daughter after a two timing *#ore baffled me. I'm ok with it now though.

    edited Bacon and eggs on warm buttered bap for me this morning.

    Sorry, this made me laugh! I know that's what a lot of people associate with your name, but I think it's a really pretty name. Wish it didn't have that negative association with it, but I'm sure all of our names in some way do. (totally off topic, too, sorry)
  • Kim55555
    Kim55555 Posts: 987 Member
    I'm a 52 yr old female 5' 1", 114 lbs. If I go over 1200 calories I gain weight.

    How sad! :(

    I'm 42, female 5'2, 129 pounds. If I go over 2400 I gain weight
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    You guys are fantastic, I posted this late last night and thought tonight I would just have a look to see if I had any responses and OMG!!!

    There is no way I can reply to everyone. But here is a couple.

    1) I want eggs and bacon now too!
    2) I am 5ft 9 and weight 131 lbs, and a uk size 8. So I am smaller than the average person and therefore of course = less then the average person's calories to maintain. And yes I have seen a bell curve before :0)
    3) yes I eat back exercise on top of this.
    4) yes this is researched as I have been more or less the same weight for 2.5 years now.
    5) I do a mixture a bodypump, circuits, and running 3 times per week and despite having a desk job i make sure that I park my car away from my kids school so we have at least a moderate walk back to the car to get our steps up for the day.

    My only intention was to moan about my own current desire to eat more as I LOVE food, but I love being slim even more.

    Keep up being so entertaining everyone :0)

    It sounds like you ARE eating 2000 is to maintain though, or just a hair less. The 2000 figure isn't supposed to be 2000 plus exercise calories. It's just supposed to be 2000 gross.
  • williams969
    williams969 Posts: 2,528 Member
    I LOVE food, too (who doesn't?), and I like to be/stay slim and fit, too. So I exercise (brisk 1 hour walks 5-6 days/wk plus 3x week strength training).

    I can eat 2,000+ to maintain my slimmer and active self, vs. maintaining the "fatter" me on the same because I was a total couch potato (like, less than sedentary for real, lol). My appetite likes 2,000+ calories, so I have found activities I enjoy that "bump" up my calorie output into that range.

    OP, sounds like you really are doing a similar maintenance thing (staying active, gross intake close to 2,000). And as far as the "average" person's needs--meh, I don't wanna be average, nor compare myself and neither should you :D .
  • DeWoSa
    DeWoSa Posts: 496 Member
    PearlAng wrote: »
    Ah okay, now I see. There's this radio show host I've heard that does all love songs during her nightly shift. She also takes calls from people who are all like "I just love her so much! I have to dedicate the song X to hear right now!" and "I just miss him sooo much, I'm sad". It's all a little sappy, but she's a good natured woman, I'm sure. Her tag line-thingy is like "Delilahhhhhh" sung by some really soulful, airy voices.

    I love Delilah -- the caller is all "my boyfriend lives with me when he's not with his wife, and we have two kids together but because he doesn't have a job I help him with coke money, and I LOVE HIM SO MUCH!" and Delilah's all "You are a *kitten*."

    We need a Delilah app on MFP.

    ***

    OP, thank you for posting this thread. I'm at 1390 and finding it pretty hard to not be hungry. I think I have to add exercise in, but I'm worried that exercise will make me MORE hungry and the extra calories won't be enough.


  • Aviva92
    Aviva92 Posts: 2,333 Member
    Kim55555 wrote: »
    I'm a 52 yr old female 5' 1", 114 lbs. If I go over 1200 calories I gain weight.

    How sad! :(

    I'm 42, female 5'2, 129 pounds. If I go over 2400 I gain weight

    Wow, rude post
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    Aviva92 wrote: »
    Kim55555 wrote: »
    I'm a 52 yr old female 5' 1", 114 lbs. If I go over 1200 calories I gain weight.

    How sad! :(

    I'm 42, female 5'2, 129 pounds. If I go over 2400 I gain weight

    Wow, rude post

    ^ how is this rude? some people are active and their TDEE's reflect that, I also am 5ft 2, 45 yrs old, 134lbs and I gain if I go over 2300. Everyone is different. If your sedentary your TDEE is low, if your active its not,..so not a rude reply at all, just a different opinion.
  • PearlAng
    PearlAng Posts: 681 Member
    DeWoSa wrote: »
    PearlAng wrote: »
    Ah okay, now I see. There's this radio show host I've heard that does all love songs during her nightly shift. She also takes calls from people who are all like "I just love her so much! I have to dedicate the song X to hear right now!" and "I just miss him sooo much, I'm sad". It's all a little sappy, but she's a good natured woman, I'm sure. Her tag line-thingy is like "Delilahhhhhh" sung by some really soulful, airy voices.

    I love Delilah -- the caller is all "my boyfriend lives with me when he's not with his wife, and we have two kids together but because he doesn't have a job I help him with coke money, and I LOVE HIM SO MUCH!" and Delilah's all "You are a *kitten*."

    We need a Delilah app on MFP.

    ***

    OP, thank you for posting this thread. I'm at 1390 and finding it pretty hard to not be hungry. I think I have to add exercise in, but I'm worried that exercise will make me MORE hungry and the extra calories won't be enough.


    Ahhh, you got the reference! I'm not crazy :smiley:
  • Kim55555
    Kim55555 Posts: 987 Member
    Aviva92 wrote: »
    Kim55555 wrote: »
    I'm a 52 yr old female 5' 1", 114 lbs. If I go over 1200 calories I gain weight.

    How sad! :(

    I'm 42, female 5'2, 129 pounds. If I go over 2400 I gain weight

    Wow, rude post

    Also, I'm losing on 2100 Gross average weekly calories.

    What are you losing on? What do you gain on? Everyone is different. It all depends on activity levels and the amount of muscle mass you have. There was nothing rude in what I said.

    :smile:
  • auddii
    auddii Posts: 15,357 Member
    Aviva92 wrote: »
    Kim55555 wrote: »
    I'm a 52 yr old female 5' 1", 114 lbs. If I go over 1200 calories I gain weight.

    How sad! :(

    I'm 42, female 5'2, 129 pounds. If I go over 2400 I gain weight

    Wow, rude post

    ^ how is this rude? some people are active and their TDEE's reflect that, I also am 5ft 2, 45 yrs old, 134lbs and I gain if I go over 2300. Everyone is different. If your sedentary your TDEE is low, if your active its not,..so not a rude reply at all, just a different opinion.

    It's MFP, the land of playing the victim...
  • snarlingcoyote
    snarlingcoyote Posts: 399 Member
    Also, haven't seen this mentioned, but there's evidence that what your grandparents and other ancestors went through helps predetermine how your body uses calories. Me? My ancestors survived genocide, pograms, famine and Indian removals, and if I go just one generation back, they were all rooting around for about 10 years in the Dust Bowl doing things like eating pencil erasers so the hunger wasn't so bad. So, this research suggests that I'm sort of pre-set for not using very many calories. (There was even a Nova special on this a few years ago - really fascinating stuff!)

    Long term survival of the species, this is a very good thing. . .on a personal basis for me, it's not so hot! So I have friends who are my height, my weight, similar frames, who don't exercise and can eat far more than I can and not gain weight the way I do. It is what it is, and there's no point in dwelling on it, except that, heck yeah, my ancestors were the survivors that nobody could kill! :D
  • Kim55555
    Kim55555 Posts: 987 Member
    Aviva92 wrote: »
    Kim55555 wrote: »
    I'm a 52 yr old female 5' 1", 114 lbs. If I go over 1200 calories I gain weight.

    How sad! :(

    I'm 42, female 5'2, 129 pounds. If I go over 2400 I gain weight

    Wow, rude post

    ^ how is this rude? some people are active and their TDEE's reflect that, I also am 5ft 2, 45 yrs old, 134lbs and I gain if I go over 2300. Everyone is different. If your sedentary your TDEE is low, if your active its not,..so not a rude reply at all, just a different opinion.


    Well said!

    For instance today was my heavy weights training day. It was my cardio rest day but that didn't mean I wasn't active. I parked at the train station walked to work which took 30 mins. At lunch time I went for another walk, then when I left work to go home it was another 30 min walk back to my car. On top of that 90 mins of walking I did my weights.

    When I resume my usual job getting the front counter and emptying suitcases full of heavy mail and boxes I will be expending even more calories so I will be easily able to maintain on around 2700.
  • gothchiq
    gothchiq Posts: 4,590 Member
    Aviva, sorry I didn't answer sooner, I didn't see your comment. The way they test your metabolism is you go to the nutritionist's office before eating anything or doing any exercise, first thing in the AM, and they have you breathe into a tube for several minutes while sitting still. It collects things from your exhalations that allow it to compute your metabolism. Then it prints up a readout. So this will be your BMR. Then the nutritionist takes that and adds up your lifestyle factors to get your maintenance calories. In this method, exercise that is purposefully done isn't counted in; you add it in yourself separately and you can either eat more on the days you work out, or you can do a calculation to even it out to the same calories each day (provided you stick to your program and don't throw the numbers off.)
  • sinistras
    sinistras Posts: 244 Member
    AglaeaC wrote: »
    It depends what you eat. Carbs burn faster then fat so try to concentrate on simple carbs like fruits and veggies for protein : you can make chickpease, lentils,beans

    I must ask are you a troll or do you believe this?

    Could you please quote correctly. Now it seems like you posted the nonsense.

    It is not nonsence research for yourself :*


    Just love it how people get all in a bunch that the answer really is more fruits/veggies and plant proteins. Every. Time.

    Plants. Rule.

    :-D
  • sarahlifts
    sarahlifts Posts: 610 Member
    Because Gaussian Distribution, that's why.

    Are there really adults out there who do not know what "average" means?


    normal.jpg

    Dead lololol

    I think people just want to be able to eat 2000 calories without putting on weight. Myself included.

    When I discovered I could not have those 2000 cals at 5'7 and 141 lbs and 20% body fat some where abouts, I about died. I wanna freaking be avereage!!!! I want those calories! I too questioned it...then thought well its an avereage and I obviously fall below :(
  • xmarye
    xmarye Posts: 385 Member
    Aviva92 wrote: »
    I know I am most of the day inactive as I have a desk job, but i exercise 3 to 4 times a week which I will be adding to the 1650 cals I have been given.

    Just seems cray to me that we are alway told that 2000 cals a day are the amount an average person should eat per day. I would put on weight at that level.

    Maybe the average person runs 5km per day too?!
    It depends what you eat. Carbs burn faster then fat so try to concentrate on simple carbs like fruits and veggies for protein : you can make chickpease, lentils,beans.
    giphy.gif
    Mmm OK :D Continue to eat bacon and eggs for breakfast, spend 2 h in the gym and tell yourself that you are doing good job (y)

    what's wrong with bacon and eggs? i eat an egg fried in bacon grease with bacon almost every day on the weekends or days off from work and i'm thin.

    I have lost 20lbs already and I eat 2 eggs fried in the grease of 2-3 slices of bacon almost everyday for breakfast (averages 400-500cals, it's usually also my biggest meal of the day). Fat is great, I don't understand why people demonize it. It's all about CICO!

    Also, to get back to the subject of the thread... You have to keep in mind that after all that time maintaining a calorie deficit to lose the weight, your metabolism has probably dropped from what it could have been (let's say you were never overweight). So, somebody that is in a healthy weight, but has lost a bunch of weight will have a slower metabolism in comparison to someone who has never dieted. This is why it's harder to stay lean for someone that lost weight in comparison to someone who was lean their whole life. And there's a bunch more reasons too, but we'll keep it simple!

    The best tips to help you: build muscles, and maintain as much muscle as you can that you already have by eating enough protein.

    Hope this help! Good luck :)
  • ForecasterJason
    ForecasterJason Posts: 2,577 Member
    Also, haven't seen this mentioned, but there's evidence that what your grandparents and other ancestors went through helps predetermine how your body uses calories. Me? My ancestors survived genocide, pograms, famine and Indian removals, and if I go just one generation back, they were all rooting around for about 10 years in the Dust Bowl doing things like eating pencil erasers so the hunger wasn't so bad. So, this research suggests that I'm sort of pre-set for not using very many calories. (There was even a Nova special on this a few years ago - really fascinating stuff!)

    Long term survival of the species, this is a very good thing. . .on a personal basis for me, it's not so hot! So I have friends who are my height, my weight, similar frames, who don't exercise and can eat far more than I can and not gain weight the way I do. It is what it is, and there's no point in dwelling on it, except that, heck yeah, my ancestors were the survivors that nobody could kill! :D
    Hmm, I don't think I've heard that before, but it is interesting.
    xmarye wrote:
    Also, to get back to the subject of the thread... You have to keep in mind that after all that time maintaining a calorie deficit to lose the weight, your metabolism has probably dropped from what it could have been (let's say you were never overweight). So, somebody that is in a healthy weight, but has lost a bunch of weight will have a slower metabolism in comparison to someone who has never dieted. This is why it's harder to stay lean for someone that lost weight in comparison to someone who was lean their whole life. And there's a bunch more reasons too, but we'll keep it simple!
    That's a great point.
  • xmarye
    xmarye Posts: 385 Member
    OP, sounds like you really are doing a similar maintenance thing (staying active, gross intake close to 2,000). And as far as the "average" person's needs--meh, I don't wanna be average, nor compare myself and neither should you :D .

    Well said ;)
  • snarlingcoyote
    snarlingcoyote Posts: 399 Member
    edited February 2015
    gothchiq wrote: »
    Aviva, sorry I didn't answer sooner, I didn't see your comment. The way they test your metabolism is you go to the nutritionist's office before eating anything or doing any exercise, first thing in the AM, and they have you breathe into a tube for several minutes while sitting still. It collects things from your exhalations that allow it to compute your metabolism. Then it prints up a readout. So this will be your BMR. Then the nutritionist takes that and adds up your lifestyle factors to get your maintenance calories. In this method, exercise that is purposefully done isn't counted in; you add it in yourself separately and you can either eat more on the days you work out, or you can do a calculation to even it out to the same calories each day (provided you stick to your program and don't throw the numbers off.)

    Our local Women's hospital does this. It's always sounded fascinating to me, but I've never been willing to pony up the $$ for it. Ours includes getting a DEXA done as well, did yours include that? Did it really help you?
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