Maintaining yet eating MORE calories than ever :)

2456

Replies

  • VanderTuig1976
    VanderTuig1976 Posts: 145 Member
    RunRutheeRun wrote: »
    Am I among the seemingly few who want to eat as MANY calories as possible yet maintain my weight?

    I was thinking about a post I made on my newsfeed last night about eating 2200 calories that day, yet still being hungry (it was a high cardio day). I realised to some that I really must sound like a greedy gorb (and maybe I am! lol)

    I have become very active since I started my journey with MFP in May 2012, its been a huge factor in me being able to stay trim.

    I know for everyone its different, but do people like restricting themselves so much IF they don't actually need to?

    For me its fabulous to be able to eat more calories and maintain :smile:

    (ps I have been reverse dieting for the past 5 months and having incredible success - btw I'm 5ft 2", 45 yrs old, active and maintain currently on 2100-2300 calories.)

    Penny for your thoughts? :smiley:

    I'm so glad you posted this! I've been experiencing the exact same thing and have been feeling a bit guilty about it. I am a 38 y/o female, 5'8, and weigh between 145-147. I've been in maintenance for the last 7 months.

    In January I cut way back on my cardio (consisted of one 12 mile and one 4 mile run per week) and started lifting heavy (for me) 4x a week (45 minute sessions). Since I've started lifting, I can eat so much food and I don't seem to gain - crazy! If I really overdo it calorie-wise, like say 2000 calories over my maintenance (yes, I've done that:), I notice a "gain" on the scale when I weigh the next morning but I'll go back to normal within a few days.

    I keep expecting to wake up 10 lbs. heavier one day, lol! As a foodie, I wish I had started lifting a long time ago - It's the only thing I can contribute this strange phenomena to!
  • VanderTuig1976
    VanderTuig1976 Posts: 145 Member
    RunRutheeRun wrote: »
    Am I among the seemingly few who want to eat as MANY calories as possible yet maintain my weight?

    I was thinking about a post I made on my newsfeed last night about eating 2200 calories that day, yet still being hungry (it was a high cardio day). I realised to some that I really must sound like a greedy gorb (and maybe I am! lol)

    I have become very active since I started my journey with MFP in May 2012, its been a huge factor in me being able to stay trim.

    I know for everyone its different, but do people like restricting themselves so much IF they don't actually need to?

    For me its fabulous to be able to eat more calories and maintain :smile:

    (ps I have been reverse dieting for the past 5 months and having incredible success - btw I'm 5ft 2", 45 yrs old, active and maintain currently on 2100-2300 calories.)

    Penny for your thoughts? :smiley:

    I'm so glad you posted this! I've been experiencing the exact same thing and have been feeling a bit guilty about it. I am a 38 y/o female, 5'8, and weigh between 145-147. I've been in maintenance for the last 7 months.

    In January I cut way back on my cardio (consisted of one 12 mile and one 4 mile run per week) and started lifting heavy (for me) 4x a week (45 minute sessions). Since I've started lifting, I can eat so much food and I don't seem to gain - crazy! If I really overdo it calorie-wise, like say 2000 calories over my maintenance (yes, I've done that:), I notice a "gain" on the scale when I weigh the next morning but I'll go back to normal within a few days.

    I keep expecting to wake up 10 lbs. heavier one day, lol! As a foodie, I wish I had started lifting a long time ago - It's the only thing I can contribute this strange phenomena to!
  • nellyett
    nellyett Posts: 436 Member
    I've been able to deduce that my summer maintenance cals are around 2300 per day, 2100 in the winter.....have been trying to maintain a consistent 'cut' for the last little while, but I REALLY like all of those calories!! :)

  • gothchiq
    gothchiq Posts: 4,598 Member
    No dude I hate restricting, it's no fun at all. But if I go over, I gain.
  • Aviva92
    Aviva92 Posts: 2,333 Member
    robbackatya wrote: »
    Exactly....some athletes eat 8,000 calories. I know phelps when he was training for the Olympics said he ate 10,000 calories a day....(of course he wa buring 10,000. How much you can eat is all relative to who you are, what you do and what you eat.
    In that equation there are people that can eat more all being equal and people that can eat less.

    this doesn't sound desirable to me at all. it would be a chore to have to eat 10,000 calories a day and also expensive.
  • gothchiq
    gothchiq Posts: 4,598 Member
    At one point I was told what the sumo wrestler diet was, but I forgot. I want to say it was 5K calories?

    I am hoping that at some point in my weight lifting I, too, will be able to burn more calories. I would be ecstatic if I could eat just 1600! Because lifting makes me SO hungry. Currently though, if I eat 1400 I maintain; if I eat more, here come the pounds with a quickness. I do lifting and cardio on the same days, every other day. 30 min lifting and 60 min cardio. Then the off days I rest so I don't build up injuries and stuff, let my crappy joints recover and all.

    Yesterday though I ran short on time and did lifting only, so today I will do cardio only, but that's uncharacteristic.
  • jane837
    jane837 Posts: 68 Member
    I really prefer being very active and eating more! Last year, I averaged about a half-pound loss per week at 2500 average daily calories, and I can maintain my weight at around 2700 now.

    Then and now, I do a ton of walking in my everyday life, plus cardio at the gym 5x/week, and body weight strength training about 3x/week. It makes a big difference that I ENJOY exercising now.... which is not at all how I felt about excercise four years and 100+ lbs ago. :smile:
  • gothchiq
    gothchiq Posts: 4,598 Member
    edited February 2015
    How long did it take after you guys finished losing extra fat, before you were able to step up the calories *and* weights and maintain, not gain back any fat? I'd rather learn from others' experiences than reinvent the wheel and gain a bunch of fat through failed experimentation lol. I think it was around the end of November that I got to my healthy level of 22 BMI and 25% fat, and I have been pretty consistent in weight since then, eating much less than I would prefer to.
  • agratzy
    agratzy Posts: 114 Member
    This is like the nicest thread I've ever read. I mean, no mockery. And it's about eating more and exercising and not starving yourself to lose weight. Awesome. Bravo everyone! Can't wait to get to this point!
  • Jolinia
    Jolinia Posts: 846 Member
    Until I read this thread, I thought I was doing good upping my calories to 1300 and eating back exercise calories. I would love to be able to eat two thousand calories a day and lose or even just maintain at a weight I want to be at. I don't know if it will ever happen, but I can sure try!
  • BrownyPoints54
    BrownyPoints54 Posts: 11 Member
    Are you folks eating a bigger meal before or after youre exercising?
  • Kim55555
    Kim55555 Posts: 987 Member
    edited February 2015
    mymodernbabylon wrote: »
    Come join us at Eat More 2 Weigh Less - we're all about eating as much as you can while either maintaining or losing weight. I'm losing on 1925 and maintain on 2350. I'm in my 40s as well.
    - http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/3817-eat-more-2-weigh-less

    That's cool! :)

    I only have a couple more kg's to go and I have been losing eating around mid 2100 gross calories. I lost just over 3/4 of a kg (1.7 lbs) in the past 6 weeks eating mid 2100 gross calories! I'm guessing I can maintain on an average of somewhere between 2300-2500.

    Goal is to be able to maintain on 2500 gross calories.

    I'm 5 foot 2, 57.6 kg, (127 pounds) 42 years old female

    Last week I tried to lower my calories to 1950 gross calories but have found it too difficult. Body seems to need around 2100 so I'll try to stick to as close to 2000 as I can.

    I'm thrilled I am able to lose nearly a kg every 6 weeks eating so much!!!

    Best thing is I don't go hungry!


    What's your story. How much do you weigh and how much more do you want to lose? :smile:
  • Kim55555
    Kim55555 Posts: 987 Member
    RunRutheeRun wrote: »
    Am I among the seemingly few who want to eat as MANY calories as possible yet maintain my weight?

    I was thinking about a post I made on my newsfeed last night about eating 2200 calories that day, yet still being hungry (it was a high cardio day). I realised to some that I really must sound like a greedy gorb (and maybe I am! lol)

    I have become very active since I started my journey with MFP in May 2012, its been a huge factor in me being able to stay trim.

    I know for everyone its different, but do people like restricting themselves so much IF they don't actually need to?

    For me its fabulous to be able to eat more calories and maintain :smile:

    (ps I have been reverse dieting for the past 5 months and having incredible success - btw I'm 5ft 2", 45 yrs old, active and maintain currently on 2100-2300 calories.)

    Penny for your thoughts? :smiley:

    Another great thread Ruthee! Thanks :)
  • bioklutz
    bioklutz Posts: 1,365 Member
    I am trying to figure out what my maintenance calories and while I am not done figuring it out, I am eating a lot more than I thought I could.

    I am 5 feet no inches, 102ish lbs., 40 years old. I just raised my calories by 100 yesterday:
    cardio days: 1,800 - 1900
    strength days: 1,700-1,800
    no workout: 1.600 - 1,700
  • Springfield1970
    Springfield1970 Posts: 1,945 Member
    edited February 2015
    BrownyPoints54 wrote: »
    Are you folks eating a bigger meal before or after youre exercising?

    I tend to eat about 7-800 calories 3 hours before a workout, but bear in mind I'm usually running, swimming or cycling at race pace (5-600 cals burned per hour) or lifting to failure. Jan-july is my build time for triathlon so it's all out! The fuel helps me perform to my best. Sometimes I take a glucose water mix if I know I'm doing more than 90 minutes of cardio.(the body runs out of glycogen at this point and needs replacing immediately).

    I also eat a big meal when I get back from training, to aid recovery in time for the next days training and build the muscle if I'm bulking.

    I know my calorie burns and try to stick to them. I just tend to eat a big percentage of them around the four hour training window around the workout.

    The meal before usually has oats, bananas, almond milk, honey, berries, and greek yoghurt, maybe toast butter and eggs. Different releasing carbs, as many as possible.

    The one after has a good amount of carbs and protein.

    Even after all my training my maintenance without exercise is 1750ish. That's a reality I have to accept and work with, even though I have athletic level body fat and am very fidgety and busy. I'm 5'7" fine boned 127lb. I have an appetite like a horse and I love wine. It's a constant battle.
  • FitPhillygirl
    FitPhillygirl Posts: 7,124 Member
    BrownyPoints54 wrote: »
    Are you folks eating a bigger meal before or after youre exercising?

    Sometimes before and other times, after. It really depends on how hungry I am.
  • angelorodriguez_b1
    angelorodriguez_b1 Posts: 11
    Hi guys!i am in my maintaining stage right now. After netting less than 1400 calories for one week, MFP gives me 2100+ calories to maintain my weight. I'm 27 yrs old, 5'5" and weigh 138 lbs. Is this just right? I just thought that 2100 calories is too many for me and afraid of wasting my effort in losing weight..

Categories