Maintaining at 1400

jeandinco

Before you all say that I am doing it wrong, please read my post.

I came from the 1200 calorie diet and increased it slowly to reach maintenance. (MFP said that my maintenance calories is 1600. I tried to reach it slowly, but I gained weight when I reached 1600--so I had to cut back)

I have been on the 1400-1450 diet for 3 weeks and the scale is no longer moving. Isn't 1400 still too low though? Well, I can now eat 500 grams of vegetables everyday, two pieces of Bakpia (Asian Pastry), milk, nuts and all the things I could eat before I even started my diet (except meat; I am a pescatarian now).

Thanks.

Stats:

Activity: Lightly Active: Sedentary Job and 1-2 exercise/week (15 mins cardio, 15 mins weight-lifting)
Eating Habits/Food Choice: Pescatarian, fasting 12-hr period
Height: 5'6
Weight: 55 kg
Body Fat: 18.8%

RoxieDawn

I ran your stats using an online calculator and did sedentary and lightly active and came up with:

TDEE - sedentary 1657 (desk job little exercise)
TDEE - light active 1825 (1-3 hrs exercise a week)

What are you using to measure body fat and coming up with 18.8% body fat percentage? The katch-mcardle calculator uses body fat percentage, and I ran your TDEE using this and it came to 1600 calories.

Something seems off in your numbers to me. Do you weigh and log the the food you eat? The exercise you do is not very much to warrant and activity level of lightly active, so do you have a active job?

What are you using to measure body fat and coming up with 18.8% body fat percentage? The katch-mcardle calculator uses body fat, and I ran your TDEE using this and it came to 1600 calories.

Secondly what is your question to the forum?

jeandinco

Sorry! Wrong forum! I should have posted it on the maintaining.

LivingtheLeanDream

how long did you eat at 1600 to know if it was real gain or not? at your height even sedentary your maintenance will be more than 1600...
You have to give upping the calories 3 or 4 weeks at the higher amount to really know for sure.

JDixon852019

Maybe slowly increase to 1600 over the next 4-6 weeks.

billglitch

everybody is different, that might just be where you are

gothchiq

1400 is my maintenance. If I exceed that, I gain weight again. Yes, it sucketh mightily.

kimny72

Do you use a food scale?

KareninLux

I just switched to maintenance and am and trying out 1400 cals to see how it goes. Just want to stabilize and see how it goes... in September I might regroup and try to lose another 10lbs.

elisa123gal

Id do two things.. i'd exercise more to eat more and I'd allow yourself to gain some weight 121 pounds is low for five eight.

Noreenmarie1234

I am around 105lbs and I maintain on 2100-2500, this does not seem right... (I exercise about an hour 4 times a week though but still). I would be so miserable if I had to maintain on 1400. Are you sure you gained on 1600? Sometimes when increasing back to maintenance you gain initial water weight/glycogen stores but it stabilizes after the initial increase.

LivingtheLeanDream

OP hasn't been back to this thread in 3 days so it looks like she doesn't need our input.....

maxit

For folks still looking at this thread, even if the OP has moved on, if a person is keeping data, then they have their answer. Maybe their CICO measurements are faulty, but as long as their methods of measuring are consistent they will know what they need to do to maintain.