Lost The Weight - How to maintain without weight gain - suggestions needed!

llauraannee
llauraannee Posts: 7 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Overall I've lost about 50lbs since November.
The last time I stepped on the scales at the doctors in January I weighed 136lbs but from taking progress photos and measuring myself I have slendered down considerably from then. (I don't own scales at home as I feel I start to obsess over the number!)

In January my measurements were:
Hips = 36
Waist = 28
Thigh = 22
Bicep = 11

Now in March they are:
Hips = 33
Waist = 26
Thigh = 20.5
Bicep = 10

I have been eating with a goal to lose weight by 1.5lbs a week with a total of 1450 calorie target. I'm pretty active in my fitness but I sit at a desk all day for my job. I just recently started a new workout regime - I do HIIT twice a week, strength training 3 times a week, Pilates twice a week and a long run (6 miles usually) once on the weekend.

I no longer want to lose weight but instead tone up and look a little leaner without gaining any of the fat I've worked so hard to lose! I'm concerned I'm not eating enough, I usually feel tired most afternoons but I think that may be due to sitting at a desk for my job? I'm trying to be very mindful of my macros and try to get a good dose of protein in each meal and snack on high protein foods.

If anyone has any suggestions or has been through a similar situation your advice would be truly welcomed!!

Thanks!

Replies

  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,486 Member
    edited March 2016
    If you are at your goal weight enter your stats, as sedentary, into MFP with a new goal- maintain.

    Eat those calories plus the calories you burn and log through exercise.
    B If you are using MFP or cardio machines for your burn eat back 50-75% of the calories back ( the burn is overestimated) and adjust until you are maintaining.

    This is the way MFP is designed to work. If some of your exercise calories are not eaten back you are under fueling your exercise and daily activity.

    You are probably tired because your nutrition is low.

    If you don't want to use MFP's NEAT method of calorie counting, adding your exercise calories, and your exercise is consistent, you could use the TDEE method, calculator below, which includes your exercise in your calorie goal.

    Cheers, h.

    http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html
  • rosebarnalice
    rosebarnalice Posts: 3,488 Member
    You might start by adding about 200 calories per day to your target, and see how that feels for two weeks. If you're still losing, add another 100 for another two weeks and so on, until you find your true "maintenance" calorie goal. You might also experiment a bit with your protein/ carb/ fiber/ fat mix to see what combination makes you feel better. I find I really need extra protein when I'm very active, and I've also added a bit more fat to my diet and that seems to help me.

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