Setting myself up for failure?

Vorenus85

Hi everyone. I haven't quite reached my goal yet, but since it's become so damn hard and I don't want to lose any more muscle than I already have, I've decided to maintain. The problem is, I like food, a lot. So in light of this likeness I decided I'd try an experiment and raise my maintenance calories by a bit to see if could maintain at a higher TDEE. Scooby calculator says my TDEE is around 2038. MFP says 2060. I'm a 28 year old male at 5'9 male and 152 pounds. Activity wise I'm pretty sedentary. The only exercise I get is about an hours walk a day. And I eat the exercise calories back. I'm looking to eat around 2200 a day plus exercise calories. Am I setting myself up for disaster? I know very well that calculators are just estimations, but what are the odds that my TDEE is generally higher than I think it is?

SherryTeach

The only way to know is to experiment with various calorie levels until you find the one that maintains your weight. Give each change a few weeks. I know it is scary to increase calories, but see what happens. You can always reduce it a bit. Good luck.

Vorenus85

The only way to know is to experiment with various calorie levels until you find the one that maintains your weight. Give each change a few weeks. I know it is scary to increase calories, but see what happens. You can always reduce it a bit. Good luck.

You're right. It's a pretty individual thing. I'm not really sure what I was expecting to be honest. It's not like the pounds are going to creep up on me if I did eat at 2200 a day. If I did gain it would take 4 weeks or so. I guess I'm just terrified to gain even a single pound doing this.

Ian_Stuart

i think that this article will REALLY help you with the place you are in right now!
http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero/

TavistockToad

do more exercise than just a walk, and then you could eat more...

sijomial

Firstly remember that MFP isn't a TDEE calculator so numbers will always be different (hence why you eat back exercise calories with MFP method).

But in the end you have to pick a number, log everything religiously and track your actual results. BTW - you already seem fairly light for a 5'9" male!
For guidance I would definitely gain on 2200 + exercise calories and I'm 20lbs heavier and same height.

If you are worried about muscle loss then just walking isn't going to help you. You need to work your muscles if you want to maintain them. As TavistockToad says - if you want to eat more you need to earn it.

CJ_Holmes

Just make sure you actually honestly log everything. I love food, too, and when I decided to maintain I went into a bit of denial and gained. The only way to figure out your maintenance calories is to experiment and gather real data. Knowledge=power.

Is there any reason you don't do strength training of some sort? Even though the lifters here are awesome you don't have to lift barbells to work your muscles. I love to be outside and so I mostly do bodyweight exercises at the park. Even on your walk, you could do walking lunges, pushups, handstands, planks, squats, burpees, etc. Find a good tree branch and do pull-ups. Being strong feels awesome and you can eat more.

Vorenus85

Just make sure you actually honestly log everything. I love food, too, and when I decided to maintain I went into a bit of denial and gained. The only way to figure out your maintenance calories is to experiment and gather real data. Knowledge=power.

Is there any reason you don't do strength training of some sort? Even though the lifters here are awesome you don't have to lift barbells to work your muscles. I love to be outside and so I mostly do bodyweight exercises at the park. Even on your walk, you could do walking lunges, pushups, handstands, planks, squats, burpees, etc. Find a good tree branch and do pull-ups. Being strong feels awesome and you can eat more.

I'm a pretty strict logger so there's no issue there. Honestly, It's too cold to do anything outside at the moment (Canada etc). But the real issue is that I suffer from depression and several anxiety disorders that make actually wanting to do and committing to strength training difficult. I guess It seems like I'm looking for a cheap way out. I never liked the idea of lifting weights, so I never did. I guess I could start by doing some of the exercises you mentioned, indoors. I've never totally hated pushups, so I may start there. Thank you.

CJ_Holmes

Just make sure you actually honestly log everything. I love food, too, and when I decided to maintain I went into a bit of denial and gained. The only way to figure out your maintenance calories is to experiment and gather real data. Knowledge=power.

Is there any reason you don't do strength training of some sort? Even though the lifters here are awesome you don't have to lift barbells to work your muscles. I love to be outside and so I mostly do bodyweight exercises at the park. Even on your walk, you could do walking lunges, pushups, handstands, planks, squats, burpees, etc. Find a good tree branch and do pull-ups. Being strong feels awesome and you can eat more.

I'm a pretty strict logger so there's no issue there. Honestly, It's too cold to do anything outside at the moment (Canada etc). But the real issue is that I suffer from depression and several anxiety disorders that make actually wanting to do and committing to strength training difficult. I guess It seems like I'm looking for a cheap way out. I never liked the idea of lifting weights, so I never did. I guess I could start by doing some of the exercises you mentioned, indoors. I've never totally hated pushups, so I may start there. Thank you.

It's very hard to gain extra motivation in the freezing cold, especially with the additonal darkeness, etc. contributing to dark moods. I have to say that the more strenuous bodyweight exercise boosts my moods and calms me even more than walking or running. I hope it helps you as well. There are some ideas online- Nerd Fitness, You Are Your Own Gym that you could try. No need to do workouts that aren't fun for you. You have made so much progress already- good luck mixing it up!

gregpack

Eat 2200. I promise, you won't wake up tomorrow back at your old weight.

You're gonna have to experiment. Set a "line in the sand" on the scale of about 8-10 lbs higher than your current weight. and start increasing your caloric intake about 200-300 calories/day. Then next week go up some more. Warning-you will gain five or so pounds when you start to fill up your glycogen stores. That will clue you that you're getting closer to maintenance. Don't freak out. It may level off when the stores are full. You will likely be able to eat more than you think.

If you want to retain muscle mass you're going to have to tell your body you need the muscle for tasks, or it will view it as unnecessary baggage and get rid of it. A minimal workout routine can accomplish this. Google or youtube "body by science" for the shortest time commitment routine I've ever used. Do that routine once a week and run sprints once a week, Walk, bike, or play another three days if you like. But those two days will get you the most results with the least time commitment.

piratebear1

Ive only been with MFP since June - but dieted in the past and have always managed to shift a few stone.

Ive always been adamant that I dont want to strength train as i dont like muscles on women. But ive always had larger arns and back that ive liked - so this time round i decided to do a little strength traning - whilst at work! (I work in an office on my own) . So for the past 6 weeks, every day I do 3 sets of 15 wall push ups, and 3 set of 15 arm dips - thats it! but my GOSH has this made a difference!

I have lost weight from my arms, I must have gained muscle as i can eat more ad the weight is shifting faster - all this from these tiny sets each day??!! - worth a go?

RunBrew

We have close to the same stats. I'm 5'8", 145 lbs,
I'm a Graduate student so I'm fairly sedentary as well. A few days I might be 'lightly active'.
I don't walk everyday, but I do run about 6 hours a week (4-5 runs)
When I moved to maintenance about 6 weeks ago I set MFP at maintain weight (1970 kcal) then took 150 calories off. I ate at 1800-ish for like 3 weeks and lost an additional lb, so I bumped it up to 1900. after 3 weeks I'm back up that 1 lb, but I've been running less due to end of semester stuff and clinicals, so I think it's glycogen and water recovery and not fat. I still feel l'm maybe a little under, so I'll try 1950-2000 this next 3 weeks.

You're at least 5 lbs heavier than I am, and likely have more LBM as I am a pretty skinny runner-type. I don't think 2200 is going to cause you to gain weight back.
If it were me, I'd do 2100-2200 for 2-3 weeks and see how it goes. One week is really too short of a time to track. Let it ride for a while and keep a good track of your weight.

Vorenus85

We have close to the same stats. I'm 5'8", 145 lbs,
I'm a Graduate student so I'm fairly sedentary as well. A few days I might be 'lightly active'.
I don't walk everyday, but I do run about 6 hours a week (4-5 runs)
When I moved to maintenance about 6 weeks ago I set MFP at maintain weight (1970 kcal) then took 150 calories off. I ate at 1800-ish for like 3 weeks and lost an additional lb, so I bumped it up to 1900. after 3 weeks I'm back up that 1 lb, but I've been running less due to end of semester stuff and clinicals, so I think it's glycogen and water recovery and not fat. I still feel l'm maybe a little under, so I'll try 1950-2000 this next 3 weeks.

You're at least 5 lbs heavier than I am, and likely have more LBM as I am a pretty skinny runner-type. I don't think 2200 is going to cause you to gain weight back.
If it were me, I'd do 2100-2200 for 2-3 weeks and see how it goes. One week is really too short of a time to track. Let it ride for a while and keep a good track of your weight.

Thanks for sharing your experience. And I think you're right, I might have more LBM. My belly is still loaded with fat but my lower body is still rather muscular. I was going to decide against it but your comment pushed me to raise it. I also believe that I take enough extra steps through the day to justify eating a bit higher. So maybe I'll do that and track it a couple weeks.

Vorenus85

Thanks to everyone for their advice and opinions.

nxd10

I love food too. The way I've dealt with that is to look at my log really carefully, figure out what food I love and keep that. Drop the food I don't care about. Stay within my calories.

While losing, I cut way back on milk, cheese, bread, and anything that looked like cake, rice, or potatoes. No juice and I rarely drank soda anyway. I ate really flavorful foods. I stuck with smaller portions if it had lots of calories.

I spent time chewing more and paying attention to what I was eating. And I learned that just because some is good, more doesn't usually make me feel better.