Maintenance!!

magsmichelle

I entered Maintenance! However I am confused. When it changed to "maintain" weight" it only added about 100 calories. I went from being able to eat 1350 calories to lose to only being able to eat 1530 to maintain. I went and looked at a few sites and it seems I do range between 1530-1778, if I add daily exercise I can get that number up. Which I plan to do..even if it is just a hour walk.
Anyone else have an extremely low maintenance number before exercise? I think I was most excited about getting to eat a little more.
I am 5'1 and 122.8lbs.

nxd10

Did you change to 0 weight gained or lost for your goal? What calorie deficit were you on before?

One reason MFP's numbers are lower than others is that you add in your exercise calories here. It is designed to do so, so make sure you either log exercise and eat those calories or set your activity level correctly.

RaspberryTickleChicken

Congrats!

MFP strictly calculates calories allotment based on height & current weight.

Since you are fun size like me, yea that's it. But for me (4'10") I have no difficulties maintaining at lower calories - I'm really comfortable & it has been an effortless maintaining for 18+ mos.

However, there are a few in maintaining on the smaller side who, like you struggled with the lower calories allotment & has been successful with upping their calories beyond the recommended.

So if you are struggling you may want to do some research on something called 'reverse dieting.'

Best of luck to you!

TavistockToad

1350 to 1550 is 200, which is about right if you were losing half a pound a week before?

start at 1550 and see how you get on, if you're still losing after 4-6 weeks (MFP maintenance is a little low for me) then you can add 100 cals till you get the right number.

dopeysmelly

My maintenance calories at sedentary are about the same as yours (MFP calcs as 1485, but I mentally round that up to 1500). I'm 5'2" and 42 years old and female. It can be a bit mentally jarring to come to terms with the fact that you can't eat 1700 calories a day if you're not particularly active and not put the weight back on, BUT you will get used to it pretty quickly. I find it's perfectly fine as long as I don't consume the extra calories outside my regular meals, except if I've burned it, which leads me to...

..Exercise is your friend. Your very best friend. Burn more calories and you can eat more without putting the weight on. Put a bit of weight on (I did after a business trip recently), and you can get it off my not eating back everything you burn. I've really learned to appreciate exercise much more in maintenance than I did while I was losing, and a one hour walk per day is exactly how I started too!! I just wish it was warm enough to actually be able to walk outside without wearing heavy snow boots..

StaciMarie1974

I have a sedentary/desk job-and before this journey I lived a very sedentary life. Sitting at a desk all day, sitting on the couch all night. I figured out that my lack of activity was a part of my problem all along. So now I choose to be more active. I'm 5' 5.5" but if I didn't make the effort to be active, I'd have a maintenance around 1500-1600 a day. For me its not just about how much I can eat - I know being active is good for my health & well-being in many ways. So I run 3x a week, walk other days and generally make sure to get at least 10k steps a day.

If you're not happy with the idea of maintaining at 1500/day then look for ways to increase activity. Every little bit helps!

higgins8283801

I am 5'2 and my MFP calorie goal is 1545, I think. I never eat that though..I almost always get a calorie goal of 1700-2100 by the end of the day. So as long as you exercise you should not be restricted to just the 1500.

higgins8283801

StaciMarie1974 wrote: »

I have a sedentary/desk job-and before this journey I lived a very sedentary life. Sitting at a desk all day, sitting on the couch all night. I figured out that my lack of activity was a part of my problem all along. So now I choose to be more active. I'm 5' 5.5" but if I didn't make the effort to be active, I'd have a maintenance around 1500-1600 a day. For me its not just about how much I can eat - I know being active is good for my health & well-being in many ways. So I run 3x a week, walk other days and generally make sure to get at least 10k steps a day.

If you're not happy with the idea of maintaining at 1500/day then look for ways to increase activity. Every little bit helps!

You do what I do. I run 3-4 days a week, I walk the opposite days I don't run and then on my rest days I am still moving around the house so I can get my little green smilies on my fitbit. lol. I have really increased my activity level, in all ways.

nxd10

I love my fitbit. It keeps me honest and tells me when I'm really sedentary (too often) and when I get to eat more.

I gained weight over the last 15 years, not because I ate more (I ate less) but because my job kept me less active, my metabolism slowed, and I didn't adjust my eating. Yep. Each of my two tall skinny sons eat more than my husband and I combined.

LivingtheLeanDream

higgins8283801 wrote: »

I am 5'2 and my MFP calorie goal is 1545, I think. I never eat that though..I almost always get a calorie goal of 1700-2100 by the end of the day. So as long as you exercise you should not be restricted to just the 1500.

^^ this (although mfp sets me at 1740 as I'm active)
Exercise is indeed your friend, I eat from 1900-2200 cals to maintain. (I average 17000 steps a day and strength train.)

My best friend who is 4ft 10" maintains eating around 1800 cals and her only exercise is walking, around 10k a day for her.

Reverse dieting works, I am proof of that, I started upping my cals 5 months ago, went from eating 1800 to now eating at 2100. I'm 5ft 2". It takes time to get the body used to higher calories but if you are active then the body needs the proper fuel and your weight will stabilise nicely eating more

All the best!