What should my maintenance calories look like

lml852014

I'm just curious. MFP currently has me at 1350 to lose a lb a week. I am currently about 137ish lbs at 5"3. I would eventually like to be about 120-125 whichever I decide looks better. On Saturdays I tend to eat out for lunch and sometimes dinner but stay on track the rest of the week, I was thinking of trying to keep my calories at maintenance level on Saturdays. So can you help me figure out what that would be exactly?

erinc5

Change your goal in MFP to "maintain my current weight". Then change it back to your 1 lb per week goal once you've seen what your maintenance calories are. Then just keep a mental note of what your limit is. I do the same thing some days.

lml852014

Ok thanks!!!

arditarose

Add 500 calories to what MFP gives you to lose 1 lb per week. Plus exercise calories. Or you could use a TDEE calculator.

lml852014

do you think this will stall my weight loss by doing this once a week

arditarose

lml852014 wrote: »

do you think this will stall my weight loss by doing this once a week

Do the math. If you eat at maintenance once per week, you will not lose 1 pound per week...but you will still lose. I think it sounds sustainable. If I were you I would probably set MFP to lose .5 lbs per week, shave off 100 calories daily, and then eat those extra on Saturday. More food during the week AND the weekend. And you'll consistently lose .5 lbs per week if you're logging properly.

erinc5

You will likely lose at a slightly slower rate, but you shouldn't completely stall. You could also lower your goal by 100 M-F if you want to keep the same rate of loss.

Since you are so close to your goal, you might just want to change to .5 lbs per week loss and have more wiggle room anyways.

lml852014

arditarose wrote: »

lml852014 wrote: »

do you think this will stall my weight loss by doing this once a week

Do the math. If you eat at maintenance once per week, you will not lose 1 pound per week...but you will still lose. I think it sounds sustainable. If I were you I would probably set MFP to lose .5 lbs per week, shave off 100 calories daily, and then eat those extra on Saturday. More food during the week AND the weekend. And you'll consistently lose .5 lbs per week if you're logging properly.

Thanks thats a smart way to look at it. I have also only been eating back half my exercise calories just in case.

arditarose

lml852014 wrote: »

arditarose wrote: »

lml852014 wrote: »

do you think this will stall my weight loss by doing this once a week

Do the math. If you eat at maintenance once per week, you will not lose 1 pound per week...but you will still lose. I think it sounds sustainable. If I were you I would probably set MFP to lose .5 lbs per week, shave off 100 calories daily, and then eat those extra on Saturday. More food during the week AND the weekend. And you'll consistently lose .5 lbs per week if you're logging properly.

Thanks thats a smart way to look at it. I have also only been eating back half my exercise calories just in case.

I'm only an inch taller than you and about the same weight. I'm currently gaining on a bulk but have the same TDEE as you, when it's time to lose again I will set my calories to about 1400-1500 during the week and then eat a bit more on the weekend for a .5lb weekly loss. No reason to rush/lose muscle/create a deficit too difficult to adhere to. Plus I want cheeseburgers and burritos on the weekend.

lml852014

I would just LOVE to be like 125 by June, when its time for me be in my swimsuit most of my days hehe. My main focus is to tone up as well.

lml852014

Its pretty doable but I'm sure some weeks I may not lose which is fine. My main focus is on tightening and toning my body up and obviously losing along the way!

arditarose

Well, "toning up" means (no one knows what it really means) losing fat to reveal the muscle we have. This is best achieved with a moderate deficit, and resistance training with a progressive overload.