Astonishing realization about maintaining

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CaliforniaRower
CaliforniaRower Posts: 187 Member
edited March 2015 in Goal: Maintaining Weight
So I started here with a "goal" - a set number of pounds I want to drop. This morning, I was thinking about maintenance and I realized....this IS maintenance! Eating ~1400 cal per day, which is how I'm losing it, is also how I'll maintain this. Because my body will know its level when it gets there. It may want to lose more than I "think" it should.

While I was struggling to lose weight, I felt like I was arguing with my body. I thought I "knew" the perfect weight for me. Well, lo and behold. That's my body's job! My job is just to feed it about ~1400 nutritious calories for the rest of my life and it will take care of the maintenance all by itself.

Wow! There isn't an "end point"- this is a lifestyle commitment.
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  • CrabNebula
    CrabNebula Posts: 1,119 Member
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    I guess. According to math though, if I ate the 1200-1500 cals a day I use to cut with, within five years, I'd be dead, weighing around 78lbs at 5'5".
  • alfiedn
    alfiedn Posts: 425 Member
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    This is something my husband said to me when I expressed concern about maintenance. I'm not sure I see it the same way. I think it's my job to prevent my body from wasting away just as much as it's my job to keep it from becoming obese.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    edited March 2015
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    That's the approach fat2fit radio uses if memory serves. "Eating like the thinner you". It assumes a fairly small deficit I would guess.
    I didn't count calories when I was losing but one day it just stopped. I figured Id hit a sort of stasis point.

    I can't imagine that number being 1400. For most people.
  • blankiefinder
    blankiefinder Posts: 3,599 Member
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    CaliforniaRower wrote: »
    So I started here with a "goal" - a set number of pounds I want to drop. This morning, I was thinking about maintenance and I realized....this IS maintenance! Eating ~1400 cal per day, which is how I'm losing it, is also how I'll maintain this. Because my body will know its level when it gets there. It may want to lose more than I "think" it should.

    While I was struggling to lose weight, I felt like I was arguing with my body. I thought I "knew" the perfect weight for me. Well, lo and behold. That's my body's job! My job is just to feed it about ~1400 nutritious calories for the rest of my life and it will take care of the maintenance all by itself.

    Wow! There isn't an "end point"- this is a lifestyle commitment.

    If you're losing on 1400 calories a day, that probably won't be maintenance. I was losing on that, and am now maintaining on closer to 1700 calories per day.
  • kristen6350
    kristen6350 Posts: 1,094 Member
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    Like CrabNebula said, if you keep eating at 1400 calories forever you'll more than likely get much lower than you want to. This is only an educated guess.

    At 150 and 5'11 I eat 1590 to lose, 1850 to maintain. So, I'm assuming if I kept eating at or below 1590, I'd bottom out at 130ish and no one wants that. Trust me.

    How did you figure out at your goal weight you'd eat 1400 to maintain?

    I'm so glad you put a positive spin on maintaining, but you'll need to rethink your philosophy. Most people have to eat a little more to maintain.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    I would agree that there is no end point...but if you're cutting on 1400 calories, how is that going to be maintenance? I'm in a cut now and I eat between 2000-2300 calories per day...I maintain on like 2800 - 3000. 2000 - 2300 calories per day would never be my maintenance unless I stopped working out and became pretty much completely sedentary.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    So you think 1400 is both the number of calories you can lose weight on and also the number of calories you will maintain on?
    Seems highly unlikely, much more likely you will have to increase your calories once you get to maintenance.

    This is very true though - "There isn't an end point - this is a lifestyle commitment. "
  • UpEarly
    UpEarly Posts: 2,555 Member
    edited March 2015
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    I thought eating around 1770 calories (net) would be maintenance for me. But, I kept losing at about a .5 pound/week rate for several months. I thought I was fine and my body would soon settle where it was supposed to be weight-wise. Then, I went for my annual physical and my doctor told me 'Quit it - you're too thin. You need to eat more'.

    Turns out maintenance is more like 1900 (net) - which with exercise means I usually eat 2200-2400 calories a day and stay at 135 lbs (I'm 5'9" and 43). I've been successfully maintaining at this level for about 3 years now.

    I think 1400 might turn out to be too low for your maintenance plans. Just keep an eye on things!
  • gothchiq
    gothchiq Posts: 4,598 Member
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    1440 is maintenance for me. Depends how short/old/etc you are.
  • jennifershoo
    jennifershoo Posts: 3,198 Member
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    I wouldn't want to maintain at 1400 cals. That's too low for me. You can lift heavy and build muscles so you'll be able to maintain higher.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    jennifershoo wrote: »
    I wouldn't want to maintain at 1400 cals. That's too low for me. You can lift heavy and build muscles so you'll be able to maintain higher.

    Muscle burns very few calories in fact, activity has a far greater impact.
  • Shouliveshappy
    Shouliveshappy Posts: 161 Member
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    Muscle definitely revs up metabolism .lift more to eat more
  • futuremanda
    futuremanda Posts: 816 Member
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    1400 cals would apparently be my maintenance if I weighed about 97 lbs. (I'm about 5 foot 5. I input "sedentary" so that would assume I'd eat back my exercise cals on top.) If I use your age, but keep everything the same, 1400 cals would be maintenance for about 120. (Still would get to eat back my exercise cals!)

    So I agree that you will likely be able to eat more once you hit goal weight and switch to maintenance!
  • CaliforniaRower
    CaliforniaRower Posts: 187 Member
    edited March 2015
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    Well, thank you all for your perspectives. I was under the impression that at 1400, I'm eating what an active woman at 5'9" and age 50 would eat, and thus the loss is happening so smoothly. I guess I'll figure it out when I get there. But I am pleased that I finally figured out that this is not "I'll eat less until I lose the weight and then I can go back to unlimited cookies." Looks like there might be a few cookies in my future after all! :p
  • pmart611
    pmart611 Posts: 17 Member
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    You came to exactly the same conclusion that I did about maintenance. As I was coming in for landing on my ideal weight (for me), I was adjusting my net calories to get to a setpoint that I wanted to maintain. At first, I adjusted to 1500 calories net per day and found I could maintain a weight just above 150. I decided to try doing 1400 cal a day and my weight has adjusted to maintain at around 148 lbs. I like that number so I stick with the 1400 cals as best I can and have boosted my walking/exercise so I can still eat around 2200 cals. It works for me but I know I have to keep MFP tracking and stay honest with myself and I will be able to maintain. Go with the numbers that work for you!
  • ahoy_m8
    ahoy_m8 Posts: 3,053 Member
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    Without getting into specific numbers, I agree with you completely on the idea. When my weight exceeds my maintenance range, I eat at a really small deficit until I'm back in range. I've got to to spare LBM because my body fat % is pretty low. The deficit is so small, it is not radically unlike my maintenance pattern of eating. It works out to an extra snack or couple cookies. :)

    Now about specifics, I'm also 50 but a couple inches shorter and my maintenance >1400. Rowing is pretty intense exercise, I gather. Mine is steady and consistent but less intense than rowing.
  • UpEarly
    UpEarly Posts: 2,555 Member
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    CaliforniaRower wrote: »
    Well, thank you all for your perspectives. I was under the impression that at 1400, I'm eating what an active woman at 5'9" and age 50 would eat, and thus the loss is happening so smoothly. I guess I'll figure it out when I get there. But I am pleased that I finally figured out that this is not "I'll eat less until I lose the weight and then I can go back to unlimited cookies." Looks like there might be a few cookies in my future after all! :p

    Interesting - we're the same height, both active women, and you're just a little bit older than I. I'm surprised our perceived calorie needs are so different! Are you smaller/lighter than 135 lbs?

    I think you'll definitely have cookies in your future! :D

  • Artgirl1121
    Artgirl1121 Posts: 3 Member
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    For maintenance, I'd also recommend looking at reverse dieting, something I've had success with so far as a referral from my trainer after losing 83 lbs. Once you hit your goal weight, reverse dieting recommends strategically and slowing increasing your calories over a period of time until you find the right number of calories for you to support weight maintenance and energy for maintaining muscle/exercise. Instead of shocking your body with a quick caloric increase, it gives your body a chance to adapt to the higher calories over a period of weeks. There are probably other terms for it, but I used Google to search 'reverse dieting' and found plenty of info in fitness and weight loss communities that explained some of the science and mind set behind it.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
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    I guess it's sorta how it works... although my maintenance now is a bit higher than my first goal was, probably because I'm more active than I was.
  • williams969
    williams969 Posts: 2,528 Member
    edited March 2015
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    CaliforniaRower wrote: »
    Well, thank you all for your perspectives. I was under the impression that at 1400, I'm eating what an active woman at 5'9" and age 50 would eat, and thus the loss is happening so smoothly. I guess I'll figure it out when I get there. But I am pleased that I finally figured out that this is not "I'll eat less until I lose the weight and then I can go back to unlimited cookies." Looks like there might be a few cookies in my future after all! :p

    Oh, no! There WILL be (some) cookies in your future. If you maintain a moderately active lifestyle, maybe a few cookies EVERY day ;)

    I'm shorter, but a bit younger (sort of a "wash" as far as calorie intake goes), and staying active is key to an "acceptable" maintenance intake (meaning, a number which satisfies my appetite and food preferences).

    For me, it's the difference between maintaining a sedentary lifestyle at 1500-1550 or being active and eating 2100+ (these are gross intakes, not NET). And for you, it sounds like you'll be maintaining your active lifestyle as well. I believe you will be pleasantly surprised at how much your body will need to sustain it :)

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