Weight goes down so does Maintenance amount

DavidRich83

Good morning. Iv been messing with my goal settings and something is confusing me. Wondering if someone could shed some light. As my weight has gone down so has the recommended maintenance calories in my fitness pall.
For example at 75kg it was suggesting 2500 calories to maintain but now at 64kg its down to 2100 calories.

Should it not be the same at all weights? Its pretty grim that the more you loose the less you can eat once the diet has finished. Thanks for the help everyone.

MadisonMolly2017

@DavidRich83
Yes, that’s correct, as your body has less to build & repair in a lighter body - and heat/cool etc, nor pump as much blood (I think.) Others on here know more than I do on this.

What I found with a 75 lb loss over 3 years is my appetite also decreased. It’s also why many of us walk, lift weights, dance, bike, etc. for Health as well as to maintain our weight loss.) The Nat’l Weight Registry found that most successful maintainers exercise about an hour a day.

I just Re-read your post. 11kg Loss should not result in 400 fewer calories...

My 75lb loss resulted in 400 fewer calories a day, but I upped exercise by at least that much as I lost weight.)

It’s also Much Easier to lose weight when lighter!

DavidRich83

@MadisonMolly2017

Thanks for the reply I'm a bit sketchy on the number I just have noticed whenever I check maintain on the way down it seems to have got fewer and now at 64kg its reccomending 2190.

Thanks for the info makes perfect sense. I do about 1.5 hours of exercise a day so eating that back helps but also noticed the fitter I get the less calories I burn according to my Apple Watch which again means less food. Probably should tweak a bit as my balance seems to be out as I'm still loosing and really need to switch to maintaining now

PAV8888

Calories Out are always a function of current size (height and weight, quite likely lean mass too though this is not captured by MFP's estimate) and total activity level.

While 400 Cal does sound a bit much for an 11kg drop, 200 Cal wouldn't.

Do note that everything is ESTIMATES, and your own results are much more important.

MadisonMolly2017

DavidRich83 wrote: »

@MadisonMolly2017

Thanks for the reply I'm a bit sketchy on the number I just have noticed whenever I check maintain on the way down it seems to have got fewer and now at 64kg its reccomending 2190.

Thanks for the info makes perfect sense. I do about 1.5 hours of exercise a day so eating that back helps but also noticed the fitter I get the less calories I burn according to my Apple Watch which again means less food. Probably should tweak a bit as my balance seems to be out as I'm still loosing and really need to switch to maintaining now

@DavidRich83
1.5 hrs of exercise is awesome!
My Apple Watch did the same. Bad watch! LOL I’ve been trimming some calories here & there, learning to leave food on plate. Even if I eat 5% less of each item, it will add up & be hardly noticeable!

I’ve read often on this Discussion Board it can take 3 months or longer to figure it all out. I am finding it’s taking some time until I have enough data to figure out my TDEE. I’m also putting on muscle, which is making it a bit confusing. I tell myself to eat prudently & to be patient, keep tracking all ...& eventually I’ll know how much I should be eating & what weight I should be with increased muscle.

All I know, is I have far more energy than 6 months ago! Nice not to be at a deficit. Body just feels happier.

sijomial

DavidRich83 wrote: »

@MadisonMolly2017

Thanks for the reply I'm a bit sketchy on the number I just have noticed whenever I check maintain on the way down it seems to have got fewer and now at 64kg its reccomending 2190.

Thanks for the info makes perfect sense. I do about 1.5 hours of exercise a day so eating that back helps but also noticed the fitter I get the less calories I burn according to my Apple Watch which again means less food. Probably should tweak a bit as my balance seems to be out as I'm still loosing and really need to switch to maintaining now

According is the key point!
Your watch cannot measure energy expenditure.
For an identical and weight bearing exercise yes - if you are lighter it takes less work (in the physics sense) to move your mass over distance.

But in reality as you get fitter you gain the ability to expend more energy. Maybe you ran 3k before and run 5k now?
Maybe your cycling power output, a true measure of energy, goes up (mine went up over 25% plus enormous increases in endurance and hence duration).
Maybe you get stronger and now lift a higher volume of weights during your workout?

If your watch is using heart beats to estimate calories always keep in mind heart beats do not equal energy expenditure. My resting HR dropped from 60 to 48bpm (20%) - that doesn't mean I burn less energy it just means my heart is better trained and pumps more blood per heartbeat. That also shows up during exercise, for the same power my HR is far lower but as I train for performance it really means my HR is the same but I'm burning more energy.

Exercise duration is a huge player in your eventual calorie needs, I'm eating far more at maintenance than I did when I maintained overweight because I simply exercise much more. My activity level is also higher - for me at least high fitness also translates to being more active in general life.

The future is not as gloomy as you beleive and to a large degree the outcome is in your hands.

DavidRich83

@sijmoial yeah I think it’s to do with the heart rate and that’s how it measures calorie expenditure. For example I used to burn say 600 calories in an hour on the cross trainer and now it’s down to about 500. So I can only think that it is now basing its calculations on lower heart rate etc