How to Find Your Maintenance Calorie Level

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Replies

  • bacpath
    bacpath Posts: 326 Member
    Curvybaja55 wrote: »
    With say 10 pounds to go, if you'd been losing sort of fast (1 pound a week or more), you could - if you wanted to - start tapering your loss rate by increasing calories gradually. For example, just making up data, if you'd been averaging losing 1.2 pounds a week, that's about 4200 calories per week of deficit, so about 600 calories deficit daily. If you wanted to go to maintenance gradually, you could add back 300 or so calories daily, wait a couple weeks, add another 100, wait a few weeks then add 100, etc., continuing to look at your average weekly weight loss, and timing things so you end up at your goal weight and your estimated maintenance calories at about the same time.

    @AnnPT77 thanks again so may options, I decide to go with this one. I now know where you reach you and I can post my progress and seek your opinion from time to time. I forget to mention I am on a gluten free, low sugar and diary diet and this is going to be a challenge.

    Good Day to you my friend and be safe.
    Any idea how to bookmark this thread or stickie it. I will be going into maintenance in September hopefully.
    Thanks
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,125 Member
    bacpath wrote: »
    Curvybaja55 wrote: »
    With say 10 pounds to go, if you'd been losing sort of fast (1 pound a week or more), you could - if you wanted to - start tapering your loss rate by increasing calories gradually. For example, just making up data, if you'd been averaging losing 1.2 pounds a week, that's about 4200 calories per week of deficit, so about 600 calories deficit daily. If you wanted to go to maintenance gradually, you could add back 300 or so calories daily, wait a couple weeks, add another 100, wait a few weeks then add 100, etc., continuing to look at your average weekly weight loss, and timing things so you end up at your goal weight and your estimated maintenance calories at about the same time.

    @AnnPT77 thanks again so may options, I decide to go with this one. I now know where you reach you and I can post my progress and seek your opinion from time to time. I forget to mention I am on a gluten free, low sugar and diary diet and this is going to be a challenge.

    Good Day to you my friend and be safe.
    Any idea how to bookmark this thread or stickie it. I will be going into maintenance in September hopefully.
    Thanks

    Up near the top right corner of this page, across from the thread title, look for a hollow (outline) star. Click it, and it should turn yellow. That's bookmarking.

    From that point on, any updates to the thread will show up in your notifications (which you may or may not want ;) ). Also, you can click on the solid gray/white/black star (shows up various places in web MFP or phone/tablet app, color varies) and see a list of threads you've bookmarked.

    For this specific thread, another alternative: When you get close to maintenance, read the "Most Helpful Posts" section (a.k.a. the "stickies") in the "Maintaining Weight" part of the forum. This thread is in linked in that section. So is some other good stuff.
  • saumyajainjan6
    saumyajainjan6 Posts: 1 Member
    I basically want to mentain my weight but have kind of sendatory level of activity but do record my calorie intake which seems to be fine like around 1100-1200 calories but feel anxious because I don't exercise or I am not very active
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,125 Member
    saumyajainjan6 wrote: »
    I basically want to mentain my weight but have kind of sendatory level of activity but do record my calorie intake which seems to be fine like around 1100-1200 calories but feel anxious because I don't exercise or I am not very active

    Exercise is optional for weight management (loss, maintenance or gain), though it does affect the number of calories a person will need to reach any particular weight management goal. But regular exercise is important for best odds of long-term good health, so it's worth working at doing some. :)
  • sargemarcori
    sargemarcori Posts: 301 Member
    bumping a super-useful thread.
  • rosiekin
    rosiekin Posts: 80 Member
    dralicephd wrote: »
    Ok, I think I'm ready for maintenance....

    Wish me luck!

    Good luck! Let us know how it goes... I try to have faith in the maths too, so it will be interesting to see how you get on. Thanks.
  • rosiekin
    rosiekin Posts: 80 Member
    edited June 2022
    dralicephd wrote: »

    Thanks for the reminder!

    It is now a month later and the math works! I've been sitting at about 144 (+/- 1 pound) the entire time. :smile:

    Yay data and numbers! :wink:

    That's brilliant news. I've been doing a wee maths 'test' myself for the past couple of months, but I haven't stepped on the scales yet so I don't know if I'm being successful or not. Hopefully like you, the data and numbers will work for me too!
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,125 Member
    rosiekin wrote: »
    dralicephd wrote: »

    Thanks for the reminder!

    It is now a month later and the math works! I've been sitting at about 144 (+/- 1 pound) the entire time. :smile:

    Yay data and numbers! :wink:

    That's brilliant news. I've been doing a wee maths 'test' myself for the past couple of months, but I haven't stepped on the scales yet so I don't know if I'm being successful or not. Hopefully like you, the data and numbers will work for me too!

    In a sense, some of us think the definition of maintenance is "cyclically gaining then losing the same 2 (3) (5) pounds". It's a little bit of a range, and managing it is very possible. IMO, it's possible to overstress oneself, trying to narrow it tooooo much.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,404 Member
    dralicephd wrote: »
    rosiekin wrote: »
    dralicephd wrote: »
    Ok, I think I'm ready for maintenance....

    Wish me luck!

    Good luck! Let us know how it goes... I try to have faith in the maths too, so it will be interesting to see how you get on. Thanks.

    Thanks for the reminder!

    It is now a month later and the math works! I've been sitting at about 144 (+/- 1 pound) the entire time. :smile:

    Yay data and numbers! :wink:

    Yay! Well done. :)

    Like Ann said above, I think of Maintenance as a range of a few pounds. For me it takes a whole lot of over-eating for quite a long period of time to really gain more than a couple pounds, BUT when I first came off weight-loss I could gain fairly easily.

    That first year after I lost 80 pounds was not an indication of how the rest of my life would be. I've made many adjustments (up) in my food intake since 2008 when I first lost the weight. That first year was a real balancing act for me.
  • rosiekin
    rosiekin Posts: 80 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    In a sense, some of us think the definition of maintenance is "cyclically gaining then losing the same 2 (3) (5) pounds". It's a little bit of a range, and managing it is very possible. IMO, it's possible to overstress oneself, trying to narrow it tooooo much.

    In theory, I agree with everything above. I had successfully maintained for over 5 years, rarely weighing myself, but accepting that my weight was probably fluctuating up and down a bit. I was fine with that, it didn't stress me out, and I didn't feel I needed a number on the scales to reassure me I was doing OK.

    However, these last few months or so, I have really started to struggle but I know it is mainly in my head. During lockdown, which coincided with a change in lifestyle/daily routine because I retired, I became aware that I was losing weight (through slightly undereating, but mainly through increased exercise), and this 'problem' has become a bit of an obsession with me, and I am REALLY annoyed with myself that I have allowed it to become such.

    I know my weight shouldn't get any lower, so I am increasing my calories... hence my 'maths test' comment. I will weigh myself again soon, purely to reassure myself that I am doing OK, and possibly to give me the courage to increase a bit more.

    Having a weight range during maintenance is definitely something I agree with. Since I started maintenance at the end of 2014, and while I don't have a lot of actual data to back it up, I knew my weight would be fluctuating, but that didn't stress me out. I was quite happy just knowing all my clothes fitted and I looked OK!

    The over stressing has just been in the past 6 months or so, as I accepted that my weight had dropped. Physically, eating more isn't a problem because I can always eat more, the battle is more a mental one. Hopefully once my weight stabilises again at a higher number, give or take normal fluctuations, I can relax again.

  • GloriaBJN
    GloriaBJN Posts: 78 Member
    WinoGelato wrote: »
    Stickie! Stickie! Stickie!

    Seriously great post. I think the only other thing that I add is that just like being comfortable with a maintenance range of weight (mine is about a 5 lb range and I count the midpoint as my actual weight) , I view my maintenance cals as a range as well. Because of variable activity, and my approach of eating lighter during the week and more on weekends I usually say my maintenance calorie range is 2100-2300. I think it's helpful for me - but I've been maintaining for a few years now and use a FitBit so I feel pretty confident in the upper limit of that range.

    Can I ask please what your maintenance weight is? I thought to maintain my 165 I should be eating 1700-1800 calories per the Mayo Clinic calculator.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,404 Member
    edited March 2023
    GloriaBJN wrote: »
    WinoGelato wrote: »
    Stickie! Stickie! Stickie!

    Seriously great post. I think the only other thing that I add is that just like being comfortable with a maintenance range of weight (mine is about a 5 lb range and I count the midpoint as my actual weight) , I view my maintenance cals as a range as well. Because of variable activity, and my approach of eating lighter during the week and more on weekends I usually say my maintenance calorie range is 2100-2300. I think it's helpful for me - but I've been maintaining for a few years now and use a FitBit so I feel pretty confident in the upper limit of that range.

    Can I ask please what your maintenance weight is? I thought to maintain my 165 I should be eating 1700-1800 calories per the Mayo Clinic calculator.

    Gloria, she posted that in 2018. I haven't seen WinoGelato in the forums for a while.

    Just use the 1700-1800 calories level for a month and see how you do. That's the only way you will find out...no one is going to be able to tell you the "right" number, because we all have varying routines, exercise levels, logging accuracies (or mistakes,) sleep, stress levels, hydration/salt intake, heat or cold, travel, hormones, etc.

    Just for the record, I maintain my 140-145 pound weight on 2000-2300 calories a day, but I'm 15 years post-weight loss and I've logged food AND exercise for most of that time. That's how I did it. Trial and error and Time. :)

    This is from your other thread:
    GloriaBJN wrote: »
    I reached my 60 lb weight loss goal and added an extra 130 calories to my daily intake, in hopes of just maintaining the goal instead of continued weight loss. I gained an instant weight gain, not sinificant, but not sure what my intake should be now. I had a super fast weight loss, losing 60 lbs from Aug 17th, 2022. Where do I go from here? I was at 1430 calories and tried 1600 right after I reached my goal, but decided to cut back to 1500.
    Your current weight uptick is likely just due to one or many different things, it's not fat. Here, read this:

    "The weird and highly annoying world of scale weight and fluctuations"
    https://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations/
  • Pdc654
    Pdc654 Posts: 317 Member
    This is an excellent thread. I have not been reading any of the maintenance posts yet, until now, because my focus has been on losing weight. Now that I have lost 110 lbs and weigh under 130, I have started thinking about it. I still have 4 or 5 more pounds to lose, but I am bookmarking this for later. I must admit, the idea of maintenance makes me nervous. As an habitual yo-yo dieter, never before have I approached maintenance with an intentional plan. This makes so much sense and, for me, will be so important to avoid regaining.
  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 14,191 Member
    @Pdc654

    Congratulations of your success so far and for sticking to it. Those last five pounds are notoriously difficult to lose, but it sounds like you've got the right attitude to succeed.

    Two things you might consider as you approach your final goal are setting a goal weight RANGE and going ahead to figure out what your maintenance calories will look like at the one goal weight number.

    Just like you've experienced with weight loss, you almost certainly won't weigh exactly the same every day. I have had swings up to six pounds from one day to the next. Usually that's an up-swing, and it does seem to take a few days to moderate back (salt, inflammation, post-workout kind of thing), but it's usually not more than just a few. Some might say if you are four pounds from your goal you are already in your maintenance range/goal range. My range is +/- five pounds.

    It might be interesting to see what your calorie budget would be in maintenance today versus at five pounds lighter. If you eat at maintenance for your five-pound-lighter weight, you will slowly get to that weight. You could consider slowly moving towards that from whatever your current deficit is. Or just wait another month or so until you get to goal and then start experimenting.

    Yes, it's still just the same mindset as losing weight, but you just increase the budget a little bit.
  • Pdc654
    Pdc654 Posts: 317 Member
    Thanks @AnnPT77. Your advice is on point as usual. I will start reading the maintenance threads and also determine my calories for goal and strategy. Very helpful.
  • Pdc654
    Pdc654 Posts: 317 Member
    edited March 2023
    @AnnPT77 Because I'm short
    (5' 3.5"), old (70 yr), female, and sedentary outside of intentional exercise, my maintenance calories per MFP are low. At weight of 130, it gives me 1348 cal. At a goal weight of 125, it gives me 1320. So a 28 cal differential for 5 less pounds.

    Using Sailrabbit's Mifflin St Jeor scale, I am given 1304 at 130 lb, and only 1277 at 125 lb.

    Using my actual logging, I found a 4 week period in Feb- Mar that I lost exactly 2 pounds, or .5 pound per week. Even though MFP gave me 1200 calories, I cannot eat that low and get enough protein so I basically have been using most of my activity for my deficit. During this 4 wk period of time my calories consumed averaged 1343 per day, which makes my TDEE 1593. At that time I weighed 133.6 -131.6 and my sedentary maintenance was about 1370.

    I have not kept a close track of exercise up until now but I realize this will be more important to track as I go into maintenance.

    One question I have as I start to hone in on my exercise calories. Do I figure the net calorie adjustment for exercise using the 1200 MFP gives me, or my maintenance calories. For example do I decrease a one hour of exercise gross calories by 1200/24 or by 1320/24 (maintenance at 125 lb)
  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 14,191 Member
    @Pdc654

    It sounds like you've got a pretty good dataset to start from. Eating 1343 per day with an estimated TDEE of 1593 with a 250 calorie per day estimate and losing a half pound a week would suggest that these numbers were correct at that weight. So why not use those numbers as a starting goal for maintenance, but first subtracting those 28 calories that would be maintenance at your goal weight? That would be a starting budget of 1565. Now if it were me, I'd probably set my goal at 1551 because it's a palindrome and it's all an estimate to start from.

    I'm not sure about your exercise question. I'm also not sure what you mean by using most of your activity for your deficit. I think you mean you added exercise to increase your allowed calories. I'm not sure if you logged those activities. If so, you're well on your way. If you have NOT been tracking your activity, you might go ahead and start so you have some idea of what calories it's estimated to use. You can adjust that starting target based on that. If you've already been tracking activity, you are positioned nicely with the 1551 goal for maintenance. My maintenance calories as a slightly taller man with a few extra pounds is 1771 before exercise. It would be a little less (or more), but I went with the palindrome because I'm dorky.

    If you log your intentional exercise, MFP will adjust your daily goal from the base, so you don't actually have to do anything. Over time you can get an idea of what that net goal tends to be over time, and that might be helpful if you like to pre-plan what you eat to get close to the target. I ~almost~ always can eat ~something~ if I am far below goal. That happened a few times when I was doing a lot of hiking, but the last week or two, I haven't needed to.
  • Pdc654
    Pdc654 Posts: 317 Member
    By the way, I do not have a fitness watch.
  • Pdc654
    Pdc654 Posts: 317 Member
    @mtaratoot. Thank you. Yes, that may well work. I have not been logging exercise but since I was eating at almost my sedentary maintenance and losing a half pound a week, that deficit came mostly from my exercise. I am going to start logging it now so I can get to know what that is more exactly. My question was on figuring the adjustment needed to record net exercise calories vs gross.
  • Pdc654
    Pdc654 Posts: 317 Member
    @mtaratoot . Just re-read your reply. So what your saying is that MFP will automatically adjust my gross exercise calories to net if I manually enter them?
  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 14,191 Member
    @Pdc654

    Sure will. Try it out. Go ahead and check what your current up-to-the-moment diary says you have left for the day, then tell MFP you just went on a walk for an hour. Check your food diary or main page again, and the amount of calories left should have gone up between 200 and 250 calories depending on what weight you told MFP you're at. Then go back to the exercise diary and delete the entry.... or go walk for an hour!
  • Pdc654
    Pdc654 Posts: 317 Member
    Thank you, @mtaratoot!
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,125 Member
    Pdc654 wrote: »
    @mtaratoot . Just re-read your reply. So what your saying is that MFP will automatically adjust my gross exercise calories to net if I manually enter them?

    MFP doesn't do the gross-to-net conversion automatically for manually-logged exercise. (It sort of does the equivalent of that for synched fitness trackers from tracker manufacturers who implemented the synch interface correctly as it was designed to work).

    Honestly, the difference of using 1200 as the base or 1320 as the base is 5 calories per hour, right? This is just my opinion, but that's not a difference I'd worry about, personally. Even if you exercise 5 hours per day, that's a whopping 25 calories difference, which is not even 2% of your 1320 base calories, and is probably in the realm of expected theoretical accuracy variation from stuff like "one apple is sweeter than the next" let alone day to day variation in daily life activity level.

    And I'm guessing you're not likely exercising 5 hours a day, probably? I just threw that in there as an extreme case.

    I don't exercise 5 hours a day (usually), and I really only personally bother adjusting for gross vs. net with long, very low calorie burn exercise, like a long, slow walk. (In those cases, I use https://exrx.net/Calculators/WalkRunMETs with the energy box set to "net", and override the MFP exercise database calories with what ExRX says. For more intense exercise of normal length (half an hour to an hour or so), I try to pick a rational estimating method, and ignore gross to net entirely. It just doesn't seem arithmetically large enough in context to worry about, to me. YMMV.

  • Pdc654
    Pdc654 Posts: 317 Member
    @AnnPT77 . Lol. When you put it like that, no, it's really not even worth worrying about for 5 calories. But I did want to make sure I had the concept right. No, definitely don't exercise 5 hours a day. Normally do 4-5 hours a week of cardio then also trying to get back to 3 weight training sessions a week. Plus a 30 minute walk on Saturday. That's in the winter. In summer I do twice as much cardio, because I take back to back aqua aerobics classes. I just love the variety and intensity of the outdoor classes in the summer so I do more.
  • ddsb1111
    ddsb1111 Posts: 865 Member
    Bump. I’ll be needing to read and re-read this as I move into maintenance in October. I had no idea how nervous I would be about this.

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