Does 1800-2000 calories a day sound about right for me?

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lydslaura
lydslaura Posts: 8 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Basically, I am a 20-year-old female and I weigh around 8.6-8.9 stone, depending on when I weigh myself, etc) and I want to maintain my weight. I have a history of disordered eating and I've never really known what a good amount for me to maintain a healthy weight is. I am a uni student so spend a lot of time sitting in lectures and revising in the library but I walk to and from uni and try to go to an exercise class at the gym about 5 times a week. MFP gave me an estimate of around 1800 calories but I was wondering what others think and if that sounds about right. I have been eating 1500 for a while now but this lead to me being constantly hungry and struggling with binges so I think it was too few calories for me.

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  • apullum
    apullum Posts: 4,838 Member
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    (reference for those who don't want to do the conversion: OP's weight range is about 120-125 lb.)

    Sounds pretty close to me, depending on your height and exactly what you're doing/at what intensity/for how long during your workouts. However, the only way to know for sure is to eat that number of calories, give it at least a month, and see what your weight does.

    Your maintenance weight is not one number; it's a range that takes into account normal weight fluctuations. Most people have a maintenance range of 5 pounds or so, like you do. As long as your weight stays in your range, your maintenance plan is working. If it starts creeping out of that range, you need to adjust accordingly.

    For reference, I am slightly under 5 feet tall and I maintain at 110-115 lb. on 1400 plus my exercise calories. I burn about 400 calories in exercise per day, so I wind up eating in the range you're considering.
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
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    Honestly you might even need more than that. I personally eat around 2000 for weight loss.
    The only way to know for sure though is going to be upping your intake and seeing what happens after 4-6 weeks.
  • lydslaura
    lydslaura Posts: 8 Member
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    Sorry, forgot to say I'm about 5'6.5
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
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    lydslaura wrote: »
    Sorry, forgot to say I'm about 5'6.5

    I’m shorter than you (5’4.5”). So I can definitely see you maintaining on 2000 or possibly even more.

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