5’2 females, how are you maintaining?
Options
Replies
-
Noreenmarie1234 wrote: »WinoGelato wrote: »For the women in here maintaining at 1500 or below - is that before exercise? Because many of you seem pretty active and that seems kind of low. How accurate is your logging? Have you tried reverse dieting to slowly add calories to see if maintenance is actually a little higher? Most people that assume because they are petite they must eat low cals to lose and then maintain are often surprised to find that if they increase 50-100 cals at a time slowly, that their maintenance number is higher than they would have previously thought, and for those who are active, that's certainly the case, and even without strenuous exercise, just having a higher NEAT from walking and ancillary movement can have an impact on how much you can eat.
This was true for me. I maintained at around 1700 for a year with exercise but then slowly added and found I could maintain at 2100-2600. Been maintaining same weight for 2 years now.
Can someone PLEASE tell me how this is possible? I’m 5 feet tall, 95 lbs and my maintenance is about 1350. This is according to MFP and it seems pretty accurate to me. How can you maintain at 1700 then all of a sudden also maintain at almost thousand calories more?
My calories are frustrating low.
3 -
I’m 107lbs right and doing a mini bulk, but my maintainence calories is usually around 2300 calories. You have to slowly reverse diet out of cutting phase. I don’t know how long you’ve been eating 1350 calories for and your activity levels, but you pretty much need to reverse diet to slowly increase your calories to further increase your metabolism.Noreenmarie1234 wrote: »WinoGelato wrote: »For the women in here maintaining at 1500 or below - is that before exercise? Because many of you seem pretty active and that seems kind of low. How accurate is your logging? Have you tried reverse dieting to slowly add calories to see if maintenance is actually a little higher? Most people that assume because they are petite they must eat low cals to lose and then maintain are often surprised to find that if they increase 50-100 cals at a time slowly, that their maintenance number is higher than they would have previously thought, and for those who are active, that's certainly the case, and even without strenuous exercise, just having a higher NEAT from walking and ancillary movement can have an impact on how much you can eat.
This was true for me. I maintained at around 1700 for a year with exercise but then slowly added and found I could maintain at 2100-2600. Been maintaining same weight for 2 years now.
Can someone PLEASE tell me how this is possible? I’m 5 feet tall, 95 lbs and my maintenance is about 1350. This is according to MFP and it seems pretty accurate to me. How can you maintain at 1700 then all of a sudden also maintain at almost thousand calories more?
My calories are frustrating low.
3 -
Noreenmarie1234 wrote: »WinoGelato wrote: »For the women in here maintaining at 1500 or below - is that before exercise? Because many of you seem pretty active and that seems kind of low. How accurate is your logging? Have you tried reverse dieting to slowly add calories to see if maintenance is actually a little higher? Most people that assume because they are petite they must eat low cals to lose and then maintain are often surprised to find that if they increase 50-100 cals at a time slowly, that their maintenance number is higher than they would have previously thought, and for those who are active, that's certainly the case, and even without strenuous exercise, just having a higher NEAT from walking and ancillary movement can have an impact on how much you can eat.
This was true for me. I maintained at around 1700 for a year with exercise but then slowly added and found I could maintain at 2100-2600. Been maintaining same weight for 2 years now.
Can someone PLEASE tell me how this is possible? I’m 5 feet tall, 95 lbs and my maintenance is about 1350. This is according to MFP and it seems pretty accurate to me. How can you maintain at 1700 then all of a sudden also maintain at almost thousand calories more?
My calories are frustrating low.
Those of us who can eat alot more than the norm just move more in general. According to TDEE calculators I should only be maintaining on 1600 cals being lightly active but the reality is I maintain on nearer 2000 despite being only 5ft 2. (I do have quite a lot of muscle).1 -
Can someone PLEASE tell me how this is possible? I’m 5 feet tall, 95 lbs and my maintenance is about 1350. This is according to MFP and it seems pretty accurate to me. How can you maintain at 1700 then all of a sudden also maintain at almost thousand calories more?
My calories are frustrating low.
There's a reason why so many of us are cardio queens.
1 -
Noreenmarie1234 wrote: »WinoGelato wrote: »For the women in here maintaining at 1500 or below - is that before exercise? Because many of you seem pretty active and that seems kind of low. How accurate is your logging? Have you tried reverse dieting to slowly add calories to see if maintenance is actually a little higher? Most people that assume because they are petite they must eat low cals to lose and then maintain are often surprised to find that if they increase 50-100 cals at a time slowly, that their maintenance number is higher than they would have previously thought, and for those who are active, that's certainly the case, and even without strenuous exercise, just having a higher NEAT from walking and ancillary movement can have an impact on how much you can eat.
This was true for me. I maintained at around 1700 for a year with exercise but then slowly added and found I could maintain at 2100-2600. Been maintaining same weight for 2 years now.
Can someone PLEASE tell me how this is possible? I’m 5 feet tall, 95 lbs and my maintenance is about 1350. This is according to MFP and it seems pretty accurate to me. How can you maintain at 1700 then all of a sudden also maintain at almost thousand calories more?
My calories are frustrating low.
How active are you? How long have you been eating at that level? Did you lose weight to reach your current weight and are now in maintenance? Do you have a maintenance range? Have you dieted often, and have you cut calories very low when you do? How accurate is your logging?
As others have said it's a trial and error process. Start by adding 50 or 100 extra calories and stick with that for several weeks. Aside from any temporary water weight gains, if no additional impact is seen then increase again in a few weeks. The other key is keeping activity high - you don't have to go balls to the walls with exercise but many of us who have higher than average TDEE for our height get a lot of steps or are otherwise active - I average 12-15k steps and that's not just from exercise.
You are also 2 inches shorter and about 15 lbs lighter than me so I would expect a little lower maintenance level but I would imagine you could increase from 1350, especially if you're active.4 -
I'm 50 y.o. & 5'3 & I do walk daily as an exercise. I typically don't do cardio but I'm physically active. My maintenance is no where near 2000 and I'm fine with that. I think I would get sick of eating if I had to down that much food a day. Age also probably should be considered as a factor, maybe not a huge one.. but somewhat.0
-
I think between the vagueness of what constitutes each activity level for MFP and other calculators and the wide range of TDEEs due just to genetics, it's no wonder some people are frustrated by seeing other people's numbers. (I am always a bit bummed to see hubby's numbers after we hiked the exact same freaking trail! LOL)
I like Sailrabbit's calculator. MFP seems to be a slightly more generous Mifflin St. Jeor algorithm. For myself, I _think_ MFP's activity levels roughly correlate to my steps as follows:
Sedentary: 6.5K (Hard to say. I'm never sitting for a whole day!)
Lightly active: 11K
Active: 16K
Very Active: 21K
I try to walk at least 20K steps per day, lift little weights and do bodyweight exercises 4-5 days a week, and hike at least a couple times a month if the weather cooperates. Some months this past year I logged no major hikes, others I put in 15-30 miles in major hikes. (I only count small hikes as contributing to my daily walking steps, so no eating out after a short, flat nature walk unless I have been banking.)
Anyway, this stuff is the reason I am a data nut. I just want to pin my numbers down better.
3 -
WinoGelato wrote: »Noreenmarie1234 wrote: »WinoGelato wrote: »For the women in here maintaining at 1500 or below - is that before exercise? Because many of you seem pretty active and that seems kind of low. How accurate is your logging? Have you tried reverse dieting to slowly add calories to see if maintenance is actually a little higher? Most people that assume because they are petite they must eat low cals to lose and then maintain are often surprised to find that if they increase 50-100 cals at a time slowly, that their maintenance number is higher than they would have previously thought, and for those who are active, that's certainly the case, and even without strenuous exercise, just having a higher NEAT from walking and ancillary movement can have an impact on how much you can eat.
This was true for me. I maintained at around 1700 for a year with exercise but then slowly added and found I could maintain at 2100-2600. Been maintaining same weight for 2 years now.
Can someone PLEASE tell me how this is possible? I’m 5 feet tall, 95 lbs and my maintenance is about 1350. This is according to MFP and it seems pretty accurate to me. How can you maintain at 1700 then all of a sudden also maintain at almost thousand calories more?
My calories are frustrating low.
How active are you? How long have you been eating at that level? Did you lose weight to reach your current weight and are now in maintenance? Do you have a maintenance range? Have you dieted often, and have you cut calories very low when you do? How accurate is your logging?
As others have said it's a trial and error process. Start by adding 50 or 100 extra calories and stick with that for several weeks. Aside from any temporary water weight gains, if no additional impact is seen then increase again in a few weeks. The other key is keeping activity high - you don't have to go balls to the walls with exercise but many of us who have higher than average TDEE for our height get a lot of steps or are otherwise active - I average 12-15k steps and that's not just from exercise.
You are also 2 inches shorter and about 15 lbs lighter than me so I would expect a little lower maintenance level but I would imagine you could increase from 1350, especially if you're active.
I am not very active, I have two jobs, work 7 days a week and also go to graduate school. Both jobs and school are sedentary. I do jog at the park a few times a week when the weather is okay, but according to my research my 3 mile jog/walk is only counting for 180ish calories burned.
I have only been in maintenance for about a month, and I was on a 1000 calorie diet to lose about a pound a week
I haven't gained anything on 1350 but haven't lost anything either.
I don't understand the concept of 'reverse dieting', if I'm maintaining at 1350 with little exercise, how can I just add calories and maintain without increasing activity? I understand I have not been in maintenance for a long time, but I can't just imagine eating more calories, not burning them off, and staying the same weight.
3 -
I'm 5ft1 and maintained within a few pounds a weight of 121 until recently. I hand my master thesis in in 10 days and then i plan to take these extra few pounds off and make my new goal 119 which is 8st7. Oh and I am 45 in June1
-
WinoGelato wrote: »Noreenmarie1234 wrote: »WinoGelato wrote: »For the women in here maintaining at 1500 or below - is that before exercise? Because many of you seem pretty active and that seems kind of low. How accurate is your logging? Have you tried reverse dieting to slowly add calories to see if maintenance is actually a little higher? Most people that assume because they are petite they must eat low cals to lose and then maintain are often surprised to find that if they increase 50-100 cals at a time slowly, that their maintenance number is higher than they would have previously thought, and for those who are active, that's certainly the case, and even without strenuous exercise, just having a higher NEAT from walking and ancillary movement can have an impact on how much you can eat.
This was true for me. I maintained at around 1700 for a year with exercise but then slowly added and found I could maintain at 2100-2600. Been maintaining same weight for 2 years now.
Can someone PLEASE tell me how this is possible? I’m 5 feet tall, 95 lbs and my maintenance is about 1350. This is according to MFP and it seems pretty accurate to me. How can you maintain at 1700 then all of a sudden also maintain at almost thousand calories more?
My calories are frustrating low.
How active are you? How long have you been eating at that level? Did you lose weight to reach your current weight and are now in maintenance? Do you have a maintenance range? Have you dieted often, and have you cut calories very low when you do? How accurate is your logging?
As others have said it's a trial and error process. Start by adding 50 or 100 extra calories and stick with that for several weeks. Aside from any temporary water weight gains, if no additional impact is seen then increase again in a few weeks. The other key is keeping activity high - you don't have to go balls to the walls with exercise but many of us who have higher than average TDEE for our height get a lot of steps or are otherwise active - I average 12-15k steps and that's not just from exercise.
You are also 2 inches shorter and about 15 lbs lighter than me so I would expect a little lower maintenance level but I would imagine you could increase from 1350, especially if you're active.
I am not very active, I have two jobs, work 7 days a week and also go to graduate school. Both jobs and school are sedentary. I do jog at the park a few times a week when the weather is okay, but according to my research my 3 mile jog/walk is only counting for 180ish calories burned.
I have only been in maintenance for about a month, and I was on a 1000 calorie diet to lose about a pound a week I haven't gained anything on 1350 but haven't lost anything either.
I don't understand the concept of 'reverse dieting', if I'm maintaining at 1350 with little exercise, how can I just add calories and maintain without increasing activity? I understand I have not been in maintenance for a long time, but I can't just imagine eating more calories, not burning them off, and staying the same weight.
First - losing a pound a week if you didn't have a lot to lose is pretty aggressive. How long were you eating at 1000 calories? Most people reduce their rate of loss to 0.5 lb/week as they get closer to goal, to help ease that transition into maintenance.
Second, if you were losing a pound per week, then your maintenance is presumably 1500, not 1350. If you've been steady for about a month at that level, add another 50-100 and see what happens. You may see a short blip from water weight but may level off.
Most people have a maintenance range of 3-5 lbs that they naturally fluctuate within. Are you comfortable with your weight going back up slightly as part of the process of finding your true maintenance numbers?
When you do exercise, do you eat back those calories?
Certainly increasing activity would help you push that maintenance cals up but again, it doesn't have to be a strenuous activity. I have a desk job but get up and move as often as possible - it's sometimes not possible but any chance you get to walk on breaks could help.
Read the thread linked above, called "of refeeds and diet breaks" it has a lot of great info about the science behind working to up calories and the impact long term aggressive dieting has on our bodies.1 -
I’m 5’2 119lbs. Been on maintenance since August. I went down to 113 in October but that was bc I moved and was dealing with a lot of stress and not eating enough. I eat 1500-1800 calories and work out 6 days a week2
-
WinoGelato wrote: »WinoGelato wrote: »Noreenmarie1234 wrote: »WinoGelato wrote: »For the women in here maintaining at 1500 or below - is that before exercise? Because many of you seem pretty active and that seems kind of low. How accurate is your logging? Have you tried reverse dieting to slowly add calories to see if maintenance is actually a little higher? Most people that assume because they are petite they must eat low cals to lose and then maintain are often surprised to find that if they increase 50-100 cals at a time slowly, that their maintenance number is higher than they would have previously thought, and for those who are active, that's certainly the case, and even without strenuous exercise, just having a higher NEAT from walking and ancillary movement can have an impact on how much you can eat.
This was true for me. I maintained at around 1700 for a year with exercise but then slowly added and found I could maintain at 2100-2600. Been maintaining same weight for 2 years now.
Can someone PLEASE tell me how this is possible? I’m 5 feet tall, 95 lbs and my maintenance is about 1350. This is according to MFP and it seems pretty accurate to me. How can you maintain at 1700 then all of a sudden also maintain at almost thousand calories more?
My calories are frustrating low.
How active are you? How long have you been eating at that level? Did you lose weight to reach your current weight and are now in maintenance? Do you have a maintenance range? Have you dieted often, and have you cut calories very low when you do? How accurate is your logging?
As others have said it's a trial and error process. Start by adding 50 or 100 extra calories and stick with that for several weeks. Aside from any temporary water weight gains, if no additional impact is seen then increase again in a few weeks. The other key is keeping activity high - you don't have to go balls to the walls with exercise but many of us who have higher than average TDEE for our height get a lot of steps or are otherwise active - I average 12-15k steps and that's not just from exercise.
You are also 2 inches shorter and about 15 lbs lighter than me so I would expect a little lower maintenance level but I would imagine you could increase from 1350, especially if you're active.
I am not very active, I have two jobs, work 7 days a week and also go to graduate school. Both jobs and school are sedentary. I do jog at the park a few times a week when the weather is okay, but according to my research my 3 mile jog/walk is only counting for 180ish calories burned.
I have only been in maintenance for about a month, and I was on a 1000 calorie diet to lose about a pound a week I haven't gained anything on 1350 but haven't lost anything either.
I don't understand the concept of 'reverse dieting', if I'm maintaining at 1350 with little exercise, how can I just add calories and maintain without increasing activity? I understand I have not been in maintenance for a long time, but I can't just imagine eating more calories, not burning them off, and staying the same weight.
First - losing a pound a week if you didn't have a lot to lose is pretty aggressive. How long were you eating at 1000 calories? Most people reduce their rate of loss to 0.5 lb/week as they get closer to goal, to help ease that transition into maintenance.
Second, if you were losing a pound per week, then your maintenance is presumably 1500, not 1350. If you've been steady for about a month at that level, add another 50-100 and see what happens. You may see a short blip from water weight but may level off.
Most people have a maintenance range of 3-5 lbs that they naturally fluctuate within. Are you comfortable with your weight going back up slightly as part of the process of finding your true maintenance numbers?
When you do exercise, do you eat back those calories?
Certainly increasing activity would help you push that maintenance cals up but again, it doesn't have to be a strenuous activity. I have a desk job but get up and move as often as possible - it's sometimes not possible but any chance you get to walk on breaks could help.
Read the thread linked above, called "of refeeds and diet breaks" it has a lot of great info about the science behind working to up calories and the impact long term aggressive dieting has on our bodies.
I started at 109lbs in October and ended at 95lbs last month in December. About 14-pound loss in 13 weeks. Looking back at the app, I often went over and under, but did consistently average about 1000 calories a day, and I did enter exercise calories and eat those back. I now realize that even at the end of last month I was losing weight, so my weight has only maintained for the past 3 weeks.
I am comfortable gaining a few lbs to find out exactly how much I need to be eating. 5lb weight gain is considerable to me though! I know 95 sounds tiny and often get heat from others about my weight loss; I have zero bones showing anywhere and still have some love handles and a small gut, but I have no desire to lose any more weight. I have a very small frame and weight gain is very noticeable to me.
Thank you so much, you have been very helpful. I have never been 95lbs, have only maintained for a few weeks and really have no idea about what maintenance entails. Heck, I could have lost a few ounces in the past few weeks and not even realized it. I will read the thread you recommended!3 -
RunRutheeRun wrote: »5ft 2 here and 48/ 125-128lbs, maintain on 1950-2000 calories - I'm lightly active.
@RunRutheeRun , what kind of steps and exercise are you doing these days?1 -
CoachJen71 wrote: »RunRutheeRun wrote: »5ft 2 here and 48/ 125-128lbs, maintain on 1950-2000 calories - I'm lightly active.
@RunRutheeRun , what kind of steps and exercise are you doing these days?
Jen, I don't wear a tracker any more which I find liberating (I possibly average 7k steps but really have no clue LOL). Now I cycle × 20-30 mins 5 times a week and strength train twice a week. I weigh 7lbs less than back when I was running which I think is fab
I can't believe I used to 'waste' so much time running when all it got me was a measly 200 more calories than now! (think biking must burn double!). My workouts are so time efficient now . Plus I have more time to do things I really enjoy like cook/ bake/ draw/sketch and spend time with my gorgeous grandson
Ruth3 -
ps @CoachJen71 just in case you're wondering, I've just changed my old username today to something more fitting imo (previously runrutheerun) 1
-
I think maintenance is trial and error. I'm 5'1 and have a desk job. I'm supposed to eat 1400 to maintain, but I'm always hungry so I've been eating 2000 everyday. Haven't seen any weight gain at all despite eating more than I'm supposed to.2
-
LivingtheLeanDream wrote: »ps @CoachJen71 just in case you're wondering, I've just changed my old username today to something more fitting imo (previously runrutheerun)
Ooh, Ruth, I like it. h1 -
I’m 5”2 weighing between 124-127 my goal weight is 110-115. Anyone in a similar boat? I do cardio about twice a week. And I’m doing the Kayla Itness BBG fitness book twice a week. I’m terrible at tracking calories, which is my main problem. Any suggestions?0
-
I’m 5”2 weighing between 124-127 my goal weight is 110-115. Anyone in a similar boat? I do cardio about twice a week. And I’m doing the Kayla Itness BBG fitness book twice a week. I’m terrible at tracking calories, which is my main problem. Any suggestions?
I mean you basically hit on the suggestion already - track your calories as accurately and consistently as possible, ideally using a food scale. When people aren't losing the way they want, this is almost always the culprit is that people need to dial in their calorie intake to ensure they are in a deficit.3 -
LivingtheLeanDream wrote: »CoachJen71 wrote: »RunRutheeRun wrote: »5ft 2 here and 48/ 125-128lbs, maintain on 1950-2000 calories - I'm lightly active.
@RunRutheeRun , what kind of steps and exercise are you doing these days?
Jen, I don't wear a tracker any more which I find liberating (I possibly average 7k steps but really have no clue LOL). Now I cycle × 20-30 mins 5 times a week and strength train twice a week. I weigh 7lbs less than back when I was running which I think is fab I can't believe I used to 'waste' so much time running when all it got me was a measly 200 more calories than now! (think biking must burn double!). My workouts are so time efficient now . Plus I have more time to do things I really enjoy like cook/ bake/ draw/sketch and spend time with my gorgeous grandson
Ruth
Ruthee, I'm trying to head in a similar direction, though I find it a bit tricky with the compulsive eating. Hoping I get there one day!!1
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 391.4K Introduce Yourself
- 43.5K Getting Started
- 259.7K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.6K Food and Nutrition
- 47.3K Recipes
- 232.3K Fitness and Exercise
- 389 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.7K Motivation and Support
- 7.8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.2K MyFitnessPal Information
- 22 News and Announcements
- 919 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.3K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions