maintaining weight

zfitgal

Hi, is it possible that what used to be my .5 a week weight loss is now my maintenance? I have been eating between 1640-1700 since September, these numbers were given to me by MFP to lose .5 a pound a week. I am finally where I physically want to be. MFP says in order to maintain my weight i should increase my calories to 1830 a day. I haven't lost any weight in the past couple of months, maybe an oz or 2. Does this mean MFP calculation is wrong and what used to be my .5 a pound a week is now my maintnance? Or have I been in a defecit for so long I have plateaued? I'm so confused! I'm about 16% body fat, I'm pretty lean and a sufficient amount of muscle mass...Can someone please make sense of this for me.

seska422

Smaller bodies require fewer calories to run. It's a good idea to recalculate every 10 pounds or so.

MFP's numbers are estimates and a starting point. Your personal calorie needs (and how accurately you count your calories in and calories out and the daily variations of those) are something you need to figure out through experimentation.

Jrodasff

Are you happy at keeping the number at 1640-1700? Or would you like to increase the number up a bit? I’d say if it’s tough for you to keep it under 1700, go ahead and increase it by 100 calories. It’s not enough to cause you to put on a considerable amount of weight if any at all. Play with it for a month and see how your body responds, but more importantly how your mind responds as having a better and happier outlook on it will determine your longevity. Hope this makes sense.

zfitgal

8

zfitgal

eating between 1640-1700 has been great for me. Just lately, I'd say the past 2 weeks I've been getting hungrier. I am pretty lean with a decent amount of muscle mass that's why I thought I might need to increase my calories. I don't want to jeopardize the way I look. I'm not a scale watcher in general. I use a tape measure to measure my progress, I just got on the scale to see my weight before I increased calories. Based on my tape measure I've stayed the same for the past 2 months eating 1640-1700, which was my original .5 a week weight loss. Im not looking to lose any more weight, I want to stay exactly where I am...would you increase calories a bit or stay the same where I am now?

ps MFP says my maintenance calories should be 1830 that's 130 calories more a day? but how can I increase if I'm no longer losing according to my tape measure? but then again, I might be losing in different areas..I don't know lol...someone help

TavistockToad

I would go up to MFP maintenance and then see what happens after 4 - 6 weeks

Billbegood

^ what TavistockToad said