Female maintenance calories

rolacola12

Hi,

All I see is females eating between 1100 and 1800 calories per day, 6 months ago I start on 1950 and found that a struggle and weekends generally were 5-6000 I am happy with my shape and stay fairly lean which I like. I am not hugely active I walk 5 miles per day and weight train 4x45 min sessions. Age 25 5'8 65kg. I have now changed to around 2,500 -2700calories per day to which will generally hit the same average, does anyone do it this way and still stay fairly lean? I feel as though I'm going to wake up and have ballooned it's a lot more food but finally keeps my constant hunger at bay. Also are there any women out there that eAt higher calories and stay lean?

BikeTourer

Age matters on how much you can eat. If I ate what I was able to eat what I did in my 20s I would be enormous. I was active then and active now. I was able to at least what you are eating in my 20s much more in the summer when I was adding cycling. Enjoy being young your body is much more forgiving than it will be in 30 yrs.

hazleyes81

I agree. I never believed what they say about your metabolism changing as you age. Until I hit 31. Previously I was like you and could eat loads of food with little significant change to my weight. Although, theoretically, if I were in maintenance with my current activity level, my daily calorie allowance would be about 2300.

caitsophdan

Yeah I ate what I wanted drank alcohol all the time partied always 8st 4. Now 2 kids later 10st 12 and can't shift it and hit 31

rosebette

I'm 5'1.5", 120 lbs., and 57. I maintain on around 1200 if I'm sedentary, between 1500-1700 if I exercise. It's a rare day when I can eat 2000. Just to illustrate what a huge difference size and age play in caloric needs.

PoisonDartFrog

I was 122-127# in my 20s, up to 135 in my 30s, and up to 200 in my 40s (and coming back down). I eat less now than I did in my 20s....Definitely metabolism plays a part, but also activity (much less active now). I'm 5'8".

BurnWithBarn2015

rosebette wrote: »

I'm 5'1.5", 120 lbs., and 57. I maintain on around 1200 if I'm sedentary, between 1500-1700 if I exercise. It's a rare day when I can eat 2000. Just to illustrate what a huge difference size and age play in caloric needs.

But again @rosebette your logging is not accurate
medium sized eggs
1/2 cups of yogurt
cup of cerial
1 slice of ham
etc etc

So you get more than you think

**************************

For me

50 years young
5.5"
143 lbs atm

Eat atm 2000-2100 calories a day ( and lose about 0.25 lbs a week on that)
And exercise for 300 calories daily.

Was maintaining but want to see how far it will go down ( 139 lbs is the goal)

williams969

OP, I am similarly sized, 5'7", 67kg (147kbs). At your age, I easily stayed slim eating probably around 2500-3000 back then (quite active, plus retail job). But I'm 39 now, and exercise a bit less, plus I'm sedentary outside of workouts. I now maintain on 2100-2200. I'm losing weight on 1800.

Age is somewhat a factor, as is lifestyle and exercise levels. Also, accuracy of logging is a factor. I do see a fair amount of 1100-1200 calorie diaries that are guesstimated and not precise.

vivmom2014

5'8", 50's and I never ate less than 1700 calories a day to lose + all exercise calories. In maintenance I guess I'm averaging around 2000-2300. I am in a non-logging phase and a non-weighing phase. Just going by clothes. So far so good, but I really need to knock off the Nestle crunch bars.

arditarose

I'm 5'4", and anywhere between 128-140lbs I maintain on about 1800-1900. More like 1800 though. I'm in the process of bulking and I'm just over 140lbs now. I think my TDEE may have just increased a little. I started gaining on only 2000 calories Wish my maintenance was higher but I lift 4x per week, and lightly active, and made the decision not to do cardio.

mirrim52

5'0" 110 lbs, 38 years old. Maintain on nearly 2100 calories. I am pretty active.

maxit

5'6" age 64 - I walk 2.5 - 3 miles mostly outdoors over the course of the day in the winter, and 4-6 outdoors in the summer - winter maintenance is around 1600c to weigh 153 (absolute top of "normal" weight range).

simlovgin960831

PoisonDartFrog wrote: »

I was 122-127# in my 20s, up to 135 in my 30s, and up to 200 in my 40s (and coming back down). I eat less now than I did in my 20s....Definitely metabolism plays a part, but also activity (much less active now). I'm 5'8".

You sound exactly like me. I'm 56 years old now and I followed your exact same pattern. I weighed 124lbs in my 20's, 154 lbs in my 30's, 186 lbs in my 40's, and by the time I was 50 years old, I weighed 200 lbs. I lost 51 lbs around the time I was, I don't remember how old. But, I am 56 years old and I weigh 149.2 lbs. now.

middlehaitch

I was 5'0, 105lbs at 22.
I am 5'1, 102lbs at 62.

There is a 250 cal difference in what I should have eaten then, and what I should eat now.

Then, I was a single parent with a full time retail job going out dancing a couple of nights a week, and walking everywhere. ( qualifies as sedentary)

Now, I am a professional artist, and gardener, go out dancing once every blue moon, and drive most places. (qualifies as sedentary)

I have substituted purposeful exercise to make up for some lifestyle changes and to retain muscle mass, but still I move nowhere near as much now as I did then, hence the 250cals less.

I eat between 1400 & 1550 a day.

Cheers, h.

Our metabolism can slow between 50-100 cals per decade, depending on size and gender. Activity and muscle retention can counteract this to a certain degree.

Ericaj573

Wow. Just reading some of those calorie intakes that peak at 1200 makes me feel hungry! But I guess that you just have to appreciate that everyone is different, and you can't compare what's good for you to what's good for others. Being strong enough to be a woman (or man!) in this world where image is everything and thin is beautiful can mean that it's hard to be the one who delights in every last calorie, who runs their finger around the inside of the yoghurt pot to scrape it clean.... Oh to be one of those dainty ladies who get too full to finish a sandwich in one sitting, or 'forgets' to eat (alien concept to me; I punctuate my life around my meals). It's like saying how many times a week should you have sex to have a happy relationship? There's no right answer, it's the beauty of individuality.

Ieyen

Hi, I'm glad you asked this question. I'm 36 years old, 5'1" and hover around 119 lbs.

I back-calculated my TDEE after 12 weeks of faithful calorie and exercise tracking, and was really surprised to find that it falls between 1900-2000 before exercise. During that 12 weeks I ate an average of 1600 net calories, (1820 with exercise) and was losing just over 0.5 lb per week.

By MFP activity descriptions I thought I was only 'lightly active'. I sit a lot at my job, and I spend a lot of time in front of a computer at home, but I dance salsa and do yoga regularly.

yesimpson

I'm 26, 122lbs and 5'6 and I maintain on around 2100-2300 a day currently because I'm training. Otherwise it'd be more like 1800-1900.

LivingtheLeanDream

I didn't know calorie values in my 20's so don't know how much I was eating back then....

Now in my 40s I maintain easily on 2200 cals - I'm very active so despite being petite I can eat quite a bit and remain same weight.

starwhisperer6

My fitbit says I should maintain on between 1700 and 2300 depending on the day of the week and who much I move. Im 37 5'9 and 145 pounds. I am going to aim for 2000 for a month or so and see what happens. I simply don't have the time or desire to work out enough to eat more. It is easier for me to say no to extra candy than to spend an hour on the elliptical.

PegMoffat

I'm 66, 5'9" and, after losing 23.5 lb, have been maintaining at 153.5-155lb on 1900-2100 cal/day less exercise, for a year. I walk 5000-10000 steps/day (average around 7,000/day in any given week). I do 45 minutes is Aqua fit, twice a week and an hour long gentle fit exercise class once a week. I weigh about 20lb more than I did in my 20s but I'm fine with that and think I look pretty good for a senior citizen. Lol

pineygirl

I'm 5'1, 34 years old and weigh 107lbs.

According to fitbit I maintain between 2100 and 2400 per day depending on my activity. On a totally lazy day I'd say around 1500 to 1600. But I don't usually get days like that. I work on my feet and move around a lot at work and I'm a mom of a very active 18 month old boy. Plus cooking, cleaning, laundry and other housework....

I'm still trying to figure out maintenence. I don't usually eat all my calories....and I'm still losing....but very slowly. Like 0.25lbs per week

basesteel

rolacola12 wrote: »

Hi,

All I see is females eating between 1100 and 1800 calories per day, 6 months ago I start on 1950 and found that a struggle and weekends generally were 5-6000 I am happy with my shape and stay fairly lean which I like. I am not hugely active I walk 5 miles per day and weight train 4x45 min sessions. Age 25 5'8 65kg. I have now changed to around 2,500 -2700calories per day to which will generally hit the same average, does anyone do it this way and still stay fairly lean? I feel as though I'm going to wake up and have ballooned it's a lot more food but finally keeps my constant hunger at bay. Also are there any women out there that eAt higher calories and stay lean?

Maybe those women who eat more are more physically active, probably doing resistance and cardio exercises everyday, which may be why they can eat on avg 2000+ Cal. per day and still stay lean. Hmmm... we need tob interview those women to know for sure (-:

AnnPT77

rolacola12 wrote: »

Hi,

All I see is females eating between 1100 and 1800 calories per day, 6 months ago I start on 1950 and found that a struggle and weekends generally were 5-6000 I am happy with my shape and stay fairly lean which I like. I am not hugely active I walk 5 miles per day and weight train 4x45 min sessions. Age 25 5'8 65kg. I have now changed to around 2,500 -2700calories per day to which will generally hit the same average, does anyone do it this way and still stay fairly lean? I feel as though I'm going to wake up and have ballooned it's a lot more food but finally keeps my constant hunger at bay. Also are there any women out there that eAt higher calories and stay lean?

Nah, not going to "balloon" suddenly. It'll creep up, at worst.

Set an acceptable weight range plus and minus a few pounds from your target weight, weigh regularly, and cut back if you start seeing weights at the higher end of the range for a minimum of a few days. Remember, you need around 3500 calories in excess of maintenance calories to gain a real pound (not just water weight). You'll be fine.

FWIW, I seem to be still losing a tiny bit at 1700 (net, eating back all conservatively-estimated exercise), at 5'5", 60 y/o, weight in the low 120s (lbs - so 54-56kg kind of range). It seems improbable, but I'm tracking meticulously. Not quite maintaining yet - still searching for the right calorie level, but it's close. To turn the net cals consumed into gross consumption, assume I burn 200-300 exercise cal/day average, between regular rowing, spin class, weight training, core exercises, and occasional walks or bike rides) - so I'm eating close to 2000 most days.

becca5446

I feel the same way! I'm 30, 5'5", have lost about 50 pounds, and I starve on anything less than 2000 calories per day. I have been maintaining at about 150 pounds for 6 months now but I feel like I am going to gain weight. I work out 5 days a week for 30 minutes. I'm scared I wont be able to stop eating so much if I start gaining! My Fitness Pal says I can maintain on 1900 calories on days without exercise so hopefully I wont but I've worked so hard to get here and I don't want to mess it up now.

macchiatto

OP, I think for your age, stats and activity level, that sounds very reasonable for maintenance.
I've been losing weight at 1350/day but I also eat back 1/2-2/3 of my exercise calories. As I move toward maintenance I'm guessing that will be more like 1700-1800 cals/day (total, including exercise calories) but I have PCOS and I think that slows my metabolism a bit, I'm turning 40 in a few months, and I don't have a lot of muscle. (Moving into a recomp now.)

nxd10

I could do that at 25 too. I'm 58. I put all my weight on after 40. My maintenance is lower. I'll also say that my NET calories are low (1700), but I eat more because I get at least 300-500 calories a day by measuring my exercise.

dlmciver

I am 5' 5", 135 pounds and 60 years old. I've lost more than I weigh ! I swim a mile 3X per week, and shoot for 5,000-7,000 steps a day average. I'm maintaining at 1400 calories.

Noreenmarie1234

dlmciver wrote: »

I am 5' 5", 135 pounds and 60 years old. I've lost more than I weigh ! I swim a mile 3X per week, and shoot for 5,000-7,000 steps a day average. I'm maintaining at 1400 calories.

Wow, I would hate having to live rest of my life eating so few calories with so much exercise. Congratulations on the loss but I wish you could eat more to maintain it.

Noreenmarie1234

I weigh 105-110lbs 5'5, maintain on 1900-2500 depending on exercise for the day and how hungry I am.

robininfl

48, 5'9", 135lb, in a normal week I run for an hour or two and do yoga 5 hours, but have a desk job and have to commute to work. My TDEE calculates as 2,200 or so.

Your 2.500 sounds about right, you have a few pounds more to maintain and a few years less.

But I have had people telling me since i was 20 that "metabolism will slow as you age" and haven't experienced it yet. Maybe it happens at the menopause. But for now it seems to just have everything to do with activity level. When I had to park a mile from work, I had to eat more, my weight dropped too low and it was a noticeable difference. When I started working here, with the garage, I gained some and had to eat less because i don't have those automatic 10 miles walked each week.

middlehaitch

@robininfl, out metabolism does drop as we age. It starts in our twenties and continues by about 50-100 cals, depending on size, weight, and gender, a decade. The major cause is the decrease in daily activity, which leads to a decrease in muscle. Keep up you activity level and you will keep a higher than average metabolism for your age.

Cheers, h.