Confused
fitplundy
Posts: 47 Member
I’m a female 5’5 124-125 lbs and I was looking for some guidance on how to maintain my weight. I recently lost over 50 lbs and I’m terrified that it will all come creeping back on. I’m not sure if I should have high carbs, protein, and lower fat for maintenance ??? My Fitbit says my maintenance is ~ 2000 judging that I’m either at my practices for dance or at the gym running/ lifting. I’m a lousy eater and honestly don’t know how I would be able to eat that much and I know fat has the highest calorie count but I HATE fatty foods. Help?
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Well, if you have been losing weight, and you've been overweight, and you're afraid you'll regain, so clearly you know how to eat enough. 2000 calories sounds just about right for someone your size. You can eat whatever you want. MFP's default, 50C 20P 30F is a good, sound, average and suitable for most people's preferences kind of setup. You don't even have to track macros.
TLDR - Okay, so if you don't think you can get in 2000 calories (estimated calorie allowance to maintain weight), how come you're afraid you'll gain weight?4 -
Be sure and focus on the trend of your weight. Find the appropriate app for your phone and use it.0
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Ignore the MFP macro warnings and just watch the number. If you don’t like fatty things then don’t eat fatty things. You’ll just have to end your day with a bit of bread and cheese.1
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Calories for maintenance.
Macros are for health, but there is a wide variance. Eat some veggies, plenty of protein and fill in the rest with what your like.2 -
I’m a female 5’5 124-125 lbs and I was looking for some guidance on how to maintain my weight. I recently lost over 50 lbs and I’m terrified that it will all come creeping back on. I’m not sure if I should have high carbs, protein, and lower fat for maintenance ??? My Fitbit says my maintenance is ~ 2000 judging that I’m either at my practices for dance or at the gym running/ lifting. I’m a lousy eater and honestly don’t know how I would be able to eat that much and I know fat has the highest calorie count but I HATE fatty foods. Help?
Why not eat the same as you did when you were losing weight, just a bit more...?6 -
But MFP doesn't give warnings for eating under any of the macros?? It wouldn't make sense, as you can set macros as you please, you can even stop tracking macros, if it confuses you. MFP does give you a warning if you try to close your diary with less than 1200 calories, but that's not what you're doing, is it?kommodevaran wrote: »Well, if you have been losing weight, and you've been overweight, and you're afraid you'll regain, so clearly you know how to eat enough. 2000 calories sounds just about right for someone your size. You can eat whatever you want. MFP's default, 50C 20P 30F is a good, sound, average and suitable for most people's preferences kind of setup. You don't even have to track macros.
TLDR - Okay, so if you don't think you can get in 2000 calories (estimated calorie allowance to maintain weight), how come you're afraid you'll gain weight?
I don’t think it’s the calorie factor I think it’s the factor of when MFP tells me “you’re trying to eat under *enter macro here*” and then I’m confused as to if it’s calories that matter or the macros for maintenance
Calories is what matters for weight loss, weight gain and weight maintenance.1 -
TavistockToad wrote: »I’m a female 5’5 124-125 lbs and I was looking for some guidance on how to maintain my weight. I recently lost over 50 lbs and I’m terrified that it will all come creeping back on. I’m not sure if I should have high carbs, protein, and lower fat for maintenance ??? My Fitbit says my maintenance is ~ 2000 judging that I’m either at my practices for dance or at the gym running/ lifting. I’m a lousy eater and honestly don’t know how I would be able to eat that much and I know fat has the highest calorie count but I HATE fatty foods. Help?
Why not eat the same as you did when you were losing weight, just a bit more...?
Yes this !! you should have accurate figures for the amount you needed to lose and now you add a little bit and keep checking the scales and monitor your weight. This is where most of us failed in the first place
it's normal to be worried about piling it back on and it will take the same will power to keep yourself on track as it did for you to lose what you did to get you to maintenance.2 -
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TavistockToad wrote: »I’m a female 5’5 124-125 lbs and I was looking for some guidance on how to maintain my weight. I recently lost over 50 lbs and I’m terrified that it will all come creeping back on. I’m not sure if I should have high carbs, protein, and lower fat for maintenance ??? My Fitbit says my maintenance is ~ 2000 judging that I’m either at my practices for dance or at the gym running/ lifting. I’m a lousy eater and honestly don’t know how I would be able to eat that much and I know fat has the highest calorie count but I HATE fatty foods. Help?
Why not eat the same as you did when you were losing weight, just a bit more...?
Yes this !! you should have accurate figures for the amount you needed to lose and now you add a little bit and keep checking the scales and monitor your weight. This is where most of us failed in the first place
it's normal to be worried about piling it back on and it will take the same will power to keep yourself on track as it did for you to lose what you did to get you to maintenance.
Honestly I would like to increase my carbs but not sure about it. I guess that would be another question? Idk if I should increase them but every time I work out/ practice I just feel so dragged and don’t know if that should be something I eat more calories in or not
That's easy to do. A glass of juice with breakfast, an extra slice of bread at lunch, more rice/potatoes/pasta with your evening meal...3 -
Why do you think you should eat more carbs? I saw that you started a whole separate thread about that.
Calories are what determine your energy balance - whether you lose, gain, or maintain your weight. Your FitBit says you burn about 2000 cals/day. You’ve been losing, that’s great, and you’ve hit or nearly hit your goal - even greater! Have you been accurately tracking your calories here while losing? How many were you taking in and how fast were you losing? That will determine if you can use the 2000 cal estimate for your maintenance goals.
Macros are a matter of personal preference - you can lose, gain or maintain eating various different “splits” or Macro percentages. Personally I don’t pay attention to them at all, other than to try to aim for a minimum of 80-100g of protein.
Good luck!1 -
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Watch your calories.
If you think it might be time for a formal diet break, take a look at Of refeeds and diet breaks. It's a huge thread, but there's a very good recap in the first post.2 -
WinoGelato wrote: »Why do you think you should eat more carbs? I saw that you started a whole separate thread about that.
Calories are what determine your energy balance - whether you lose, gain, or maintain your weight. Your FitBit says you burn about 2000 cals/day. You’ve been losing, that’s great, and you’ve hit or nearly hit your goal - even greater! Have you been accurately tracking your calories here while losing? How many were you taking in and how fast were you losing? That will determine if you can use the 2000 cal estimate for your maintenance goals.
Macros are a matter of personal preference - you can lose, gain or maintain eating various different “splits” or Macro percentages. Personally I don’t pay attention to them at all, other than to try to aim for a minimum of 80-100g of protein.
Good luck!
So basically I should focus on calories in vs out? I have been tracking macros and calories on MFP at a ratio of 40c/35p/25f and not sure if I should change that for maintenance. My Fitbit says I burn about 2000 a day with my exercise (5-6 times a week) and I was taking in between 1200/1400 depending on the day and was losing pretty steady then all of a sudden hit a stall which I feel like is due to the fact I’ve been dieting for months to get here. I just wasn’t sure that if I want to maintain if I should just ignore the macro warning and watch my calories. I also don’t want it to blow up in my face and it all come back
. I’m just confused lol 
As everyone else has said, macros are personal preference. If they're confusing you right now, ignore them. Whether you lose, gain, or maintain weight is all about calories.
Calories for weight
Macros for satiety and some health and fitness goals
Exercise for fitness
Calories calories calories
Once you're more comfortable in maintenance, revisit macros if you want. 3 -
My advice any changes in calories and macros, make them small and monitor whats happening with your body and weight.
EG, Say you were eating 1600 cals and losing weight. You are where you want to be now, add back 250 cals. Monitor it over a couple weeks, if you still losing then add another 250 cals and monitor again. Small incremental changes will ensure you find the right balance for you, without overshooting the mark and having to work it back down1
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