Not sure about maintenance calories

laura9503

Hey guys, I weigh about 58 kg right now (170 cm tall), have an office job but have to travel abroad for this job. It involves a lot of eating out at unhealthy restaurants (which I have to join). I try to stay as healthy as possible and within about 2100 calories, but it almost always becomes more of a 2500 figure I believe (guesstimate). Also, I work out 4 times a week (bit more cardio lately) for 45 min - 1 hour. When I had a home office week (during which I could prepare my own food), I aimed for about 2100 calories and maintained/lost a bit (not sure if fluctuation). Based on this information, do you guys think that 2100 kcal sounds reasonable? I have been fluctuating a lot but don't want to gain as I feel happy at this weight.

WinoGelato

Have you been logging your calorie intake for a period of time? What was your weight doing during that time period?

Your post is filled with a lot of guesses so I’m not sure how you think anyone else is going to be able to confirm a number any better than you are.

Pick a number and stick with it, log everything you eat as accurately as possible and monitor your weight for a period of time. I know traveling for work can be challenging but I also travel abroad and within the US for work and continue to log my meals with my best estimates. It hasn’t hindered my ability to maintain. What kind of restaurants are you visiting that you think are so unhealthy?

TavistockToad

how many calories were you eating when you were losing weight?

laura9503

Sorry for the unclarity. I have been logging for a period of time. There was a while where I barely maintained 56 kg's on 2300 kcals with 4 workouts a week. Then my weight started to rise and after a vacation it went to 58, but overall, 58 has always been my set point weight. I tried to find a number to maintain now and think that 2100 might be it. With unhealthy restaurants I mean Bavarian restaurants in Germany, very very very fatty, hardly vegetarian options. I have tried to pick the more 'normal' portions and this has been okayish. I don't drink so that helps. So recap: I now still weigh 58 which is okay. However, I'm not sure if 2100 might be too much and my weight fluctuates a lot so I find it hard to tell. 2300 used to be almost too low for me, so I think my estimates right now might be off and I might be eating 2500 actually (because of the restaurant food which I find difficult to estimate)

lorrpb

How much are you losing weekly on 2100-2500 cal per day? If you're losing .5 lb per week, for example, add 250 to your current CI to target maintenance calories.