Is 1700 too many calories?

mariesofi4108

I'm 18, 5'6 and weigh 130 lbs. I've been eating 1700 calories on average daily, and run daily or go to the gym for a spin class, 5 days a week. Is this too many calories? Some days I eat 1300 and other days I got crazy and eat like 2400... I'm worried cause last time I exercised and ate 1700 on average over the holidays I gained almost a pound... what do you guys think? Not used to maintaining after working to loose 20 pounds forever lol!

007Aggie

No, probably not, but we have no idea how many calories you burn. The way to figure this out is to log your calories consistently over time and see where you weight falls. Also, stop stressing over a lb gain. The number on the scale is a combination of true weight, water rentention, food in your digestive system, etc.

I'm 5'6", 125 lbs, and much older than you. The last time I plugged my stats into a calculator, I got around 1590 calories at sedentary. I'm not sedentary, and maintain on around 1900 calories, running 3x a week.

estherdragonbat

I'm not ready to maintain yet. I can tell you that when I started MFP at 254 lbs, 5'3", I was put on 1710 to lose weight. I'm now on 1630 and still losing, 30 lbs later. Try it for a week or two. If you're still losing, you should be eating more. If you're gaining, you should eat less. (And you probably don't need anyone pointing out that you might want to eat less on days where you're not getting as much exercise.)

CafeRacer808

Gaining one pound while maintaining is completely normal. Our weight isn't static and we don't have a "true weight". Our actual weight fluctuates +/- a couple of pounds due to any number of reasons (water retention, TOM, etc). This is why most people set a 3-5 lb weight range or a "do not exceed" weight when they're maintaining.

If you'd gained several pounds, that'd probably be cause for concern. But a 1 lb gain seems well within the realm of normal weight fluctuation to me.

mariesofi4108

Thank you! I guess my question now is how do I weight myself each day while monitoring it so that the weight doesn't creep back on?... I don't want to trick myself into thinking it's water weight and then gaining 5 pounds

jjpptt2

Understand that fluctuations in scale weight is normal and to be expected, and focus more on long term trends/averages in weight instead.

There are apps that can show you your trend weight and help smooth out those fluctuations.

vwbug86

If you are not trying to lose weight I suggest weighing yourself once a month. You don't have to start working unless you are gaining or losing about 5lbs.

kgirlhart

You can weigh yourself daily. Lots of people do. Set a maintenance range and as long as your weight is in that range you know you are good. A trending app like Libra or happy scale or trendweight.com is good too. That will even out the fluctuations and give you your average weight. I am older and a little shorter than you and I maintain on more than 1700 calories. I would think that your maintenance is at least 1700 and probably higher.

lorrpb

I understand about not wanting to let the weight creep back on while rationalizing it. We also need to be realistic. Most of need to set a 5 lb range for maintenance to accommodate normal weight fluctuations. If I get to the top of the 5 lb range, then it's back to deficit eating til I get to the middle of the range. I've tracked daily weight for 1.5 years and am used to seeing fluctuations.

fiddletime

I set a 3 pound maintenance range as I'm 62 and 5'2". My weight is extremely predictable, unless I go out to eat. The food is almost always high in salt and I gain a pound or two, but not 5. You'll get the hang of what your body, versus other peoples' bodies, is doing in time. I weigh daily so I can learn what my body does. I record my weight once a week.

CharlieBeansmomTracey

mariesofi4108 wrote: »

I'm 18, 5'6 and weigh 130 lbs. I've been eating 1700 calories on average daily, and run daily or go to the gym for a spin class, 5 days a week. Is this too many calories? Some days I eat 1300 and other days I got crazy and eat like 2400... I'm worried cause last time I exercised and ate 1700 on average over the holidays I gained almost a pound... what do you guys think? Not used to maintaining after working to loose 20 pounds forever lol!

Im 5'6 1/2 and Im eating 1700 calories(I weight 167). if you gained a lb or are worried about gaining weigh all your food on a digital food scale.and pick correct entries.that lb could have been water weight or it could have been actual weight gain or a fluctuation. there is no way to tell really.so its not too many calories,but Im willing to bet your maintenance is probably actually higher than 1700 calories and the reason you gained(if true weight gain) was you were eating more than you thought. you dont say whether you weighed everything while in a deficit or not.

victoria_1024

I maintain on 1700 a day. I weigh a little less than you and am a little shorter. I think technically I would lose on 1700 a day slowly over time if I actually stuck to it but I often splurge on the weekends so I probably average a bit higher.

TimothyFish

I maintain on about 3000 calories per day, but I'm at 205 pounds and I ride a bicycle most days. Given that you are exercising daily, I wouldn't expect 1700 calories to be enough. I would expect 2000 calories to be closer to right, but it could be that your "crazy" days are pushing your average up higher.

Owlfan88

1700 is likely not enough. I'm 5'7" and 50 years old. I log about 10-12,000 steps a day and I maintain on 2000-2100 calories a day. I try to maintain 135 +/- 3 lbs, so 132-138. I do weigh daily and use a weight trending app, so that I can see that one high or low day is not really indicative. It helps my peace of mind a lot!

CharlieBeansmomTracey

Owlfan88 wrote: »

1700 is likely not enough. I'm 5'7" and 50 years old. I log about 10-12,000 steps a day and I maintain on 2000-2100 calories a day. I try to maintain 135 +/- 3 lbs, so 132-138. I do weigh daily and use a weight trending app, so that I can see that one high or low day is not really indicative. It helps my peace of mind a lot!

1700 may be enough for the op I get about 13-15,000 steps and eat 1700 calories and then I eat some of what I earn back which is how MFP is set up. you are supposed to net what your calorie goals are. so if you eat 1700 and burn 500 you are supposed to eat that 500 calories back,but many only eat 25-50% because exercise calorie burns are estimates.my maintenance is around 2500 calories according to calculators/my fitbit but I have a metabolic issue so my BMR is lower than MFP gives me..sure according to my fitbit I burn between 2300 -2500 on a slow day and on a good active day 3000.I was eating at this level for months and was maintaining my weight for awhile,now Im starting to lose a little but thats because Im netting a little lower(not much).It all depends on their TDEE. its possible too that the OP may be eating more especially if he/she doesnt weigh food.I was gaining on 1700 calories before too and I weighed everything(been doing so almost 3 years).This time around I maintained on it.

cwolfman13

mariesofi4108 wrote: »

I'm 18, 5'6 and weigh 130 lbs. I've been eating 1700 calories on average daily, and run daily or go to the gym for a spin class, 5 days a week. Is this too many calories? Some days I eat 1300 and other days I got crazy and eat like 2400... I'm worried cause last time I exercised and ate 1700 on average over the holidays I gained almost a pound... what do you guys think? Not used to maintaining after working to loose 20 pounds forever lol!

IDK...my wife is 5'2" and 42 years old and 125...she maintains on about 2,300 calories per day as she's pretty active.

Your body weight is going to fluctuate...body weight isn't static. Also, when you truly go to maintenance it isn't unusual to put on some scale weight due to glycogen replenishment as well as more inherent waste in your system.

laceyslabaugh

I am 41, 5'2" and started at 161. I eat between 1200-1250/day. I haven't started working out yet, until I get my eating under control. I also sit at a desk 5 days a week. I am beginning to see and feel a difference.

deannalfisher

I'm 5'3", 150lbs and maintain on between 19-2300 a day (I have a cycle that I work though) with a fairly high exercise level

WinoGelato

I think that 1700 is probably low for your true maintenance, ie, TDEE. I'm 5'2 and 120 lbs over 20 years older than you, and my TDEE is 2200.

You mentioned recently losing 20 lbs - congratulations! Did you follow the MFP method for doing that, ie setting a calorie goal from stats you entered and a reasonable rate of loss, then logging your foods accurately and eating back your exercise calories? If so - what calorie goal were you following during your weight loss phase? Were you eating back those exercise calories? What rate of loss did you have - were you losing steadily at around 0.5lb or 1 lb/week?

If you were using this approach for losing, you can do the same for maintenance. You can set up MFP with your current stats and select "maintain my weight" for your goal. MFP will calculate a calorie target for you that excludes exercise, which is a NEAT goal. When you exercise, you should eat at least a portion of that exercise burn back, to take you up to your Total Daily Energy Expenditure or your TDEE - which is the amount you burn in a day given all your activity and your exercise.

As others have mentioned, it is important to note that weight fluctuates, especially for women. Things like your menstrual cycle, hormones, stress, eating out of the norm sodium heavy or carb heavy meals (like what happens around the holidays) cause water retention which is temporary and gone within a few days usually. For me, weighing daily helps me understand that these things are natural - whereas weighing less often would mean that I might always hit one of those high numbers and never see the eventual lower number when the water weight subsides.

It is also normal in maintenance to have a weight range to accommodate these fluctuations - I'm in maintenance and my weight averages between 118-122 so I just say that 120 is my weight and I don't stress about fluctuations within the 4 lb range.

mariesofi4108

Thanks everyone! I lost the 20 pounds by running cross country 5 days a week (4-6 miles) and eating around 1300 calories. I know that sounds low, but my basic resting metabolic rate is 1330 calories and I had been trying for so long to loose that I finally put me mind to it and dropped 2 pounds a week! it'd be nice to loose another 5 pounds but the cold weather is in motivating

CharlieBeansmomTracey

mariesofi4108 wrote: »

Thanks everyone! I lost the 20 pounds by running cross country 5 days a week (4-6 miles) and eating around 1300 calories. I know that sounds low, but my basic resting metabolic rate is 1330 calories and I had been trying for so long to loose that I finally put me mind to it and dropped 2 pounds a week! it'd be nice to loose another 5 pounds but the cold weather is in motivating

if you arent obese you should never eat below your BMR.and 2 lbs a week with less than 20lbs to lose is too aggressive

WinoGelato

mariesofi4108 wrote: »

Thanks everyone! I lost the 20 pounds by running cross country 5 days a week (4-6 miles) and eating around 1300 calories. I know that sounds low, but my basic resting metabolic rate is 1330 calories and I had been trying for so long to loose that I finally put me mind to it and dropped 2 pounds a week! it'd be nice to loose another 5 pounds but the cold weather is in motivating

That's actually not a healthy approach at all, to try to lose weight as fast as possible and to eat below the amount of calories that are needed just to sustain your bodily functions...

mariesofi4108

It was the only way I was able to loose weight plus I had so much to loose they it came right off

WinoGelato

mariesofi4108 wrote: »

It was the only way I was able to loose weight plus I had so much to loose they it came right off

20 lbs is not "so much to lose" and if they came right off then you didn't need to be eating that low and aiming for that aggressive of a timeframe.

You are young, potentially still growing, certainly your body is still changing. Some of the comments you are making about being afraid to eat too much are concerning.

Set up a MFP profile to "maintain my weight". How many calories does it recommend? Eat at least that many, and when you exercise, eat some of those as well. My guess is that your TDEE is 2300 or higher.