Can't maintain efficiently

Love4fitnesslove4food2

1200 calories is rather low. I've never eaten that low and I'm 25, 5' tall, and reasonably active. I think you should consider methodically increasing your calorie intake to an appropriate level and stay off the scale. It sounds like your metabolism is suppressed and it will likely stay that way if you don't work to change that.

jminette

What is an appropriate level for me is my question. Because mfp has apparently steered me in the wrong direction.

geekyjock76

Nobody will be able to give you a number. You'll just have to periodically increase calories every few weeks, and accept the initial weight gain, until your weight finally stabilizes. If you want to have an idea, use TDEE calculators and the estimate you get back can be viewed as the theoretical maximum you'd likely maintain at.

Love4fitnesslove4food2

What is an appropriate level for me is my question. Because mfp has apparently steered me in the wrong direction.

Exactly how active are you each week (in hours)?

Love4fitnesslove4food2

Well, here you go. Here's a website and your numbers... http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

1-3 hours of LIGHT exercise each week (i'm sure you most certainly at least get this much): 1851 calories

3-5 hours of moderate exercise each week: 2086

5-6 hours of strenuous exercise: 2322

So, at minimum you should get your calories up to 1850 calories. If you were TRULY sedentary you'd aim for 1615 calories a day but that is highly unlikely given your age and student status (at least it was for me).

jminette

My schedules always different and I work out different amounts each week. So I can't really tell ya.
I did notice that when I was the busiest with school, I completely disregarded logging calories and still lost weight (that I worked to gain back cause I didn't like it). But recently it doesn't feel that way.
It could simply be that now that I'm on break, I'm that much less active. Still seems like a low amount to maintain on even when doing nothing.

jminette

I guess I may be too inconsistent to really give a great answer. I'll have to work to find an acceptable maintenance level. Hoving above and below my ideal weight gets old. Thanks for the help.

michellekicks

I guess I may be too inconsistent to really give a great answer. I'll have to work to find an acceptable maintenance level. Hoving above and below my ideal weight gets old. Thanks for the help.

I'm not sure who you thought was being rude... I didn't see it.

Everyone's weight fluctuates from day to day. You're never going to live in a way that you're bang-on your target weight every day. In my experience, when you're in a caloric deficit, water fluctuations are far greater day to day than when you're eating at maintenance.

PaytraB

Do the stores of glycogen and water make you appear larger as well as weigh more?

Id like to know this too

When I started maintaining, I gained about 3 lbs and it did not show. I was actually smaller in the waist (measured & verified). There is a small weight gain when you go to maintenance but you will level off. Don't worry about the number on the scale but how you look and feel.

ETA: there is a natural weight fluctuation on maintenance. You won't always be the same number on the scale. You'll vary + or - a few pounds. That's normal and to be expected.

geekyjock76

You aren't going to remain at a static weight. We all fluctuate within a few lbs even if our calories remain consistent but consume varying amounts of carbs and/or sodium or engage in different amounts or types of activity.

elyelyse

I'm not fixated on the scale. I don't even weigh myself daily. I just asked if I'd also feel heavier.
People can't handle these questions without being rude.

Plus little snacks here and there meant I would take bites of food if offered. Take a piece of candy if out in a bowl. Handful of cereal if I felt hungry. So basically that just meant I'm not always at 1200 on the dot and there are frequently little things I don't count. But I rarely feel they are over 100 to 200 extra calories a day extra.

a "handful of cereal" can be 100 calories. a piece of candy can be 50. these "little snacks" that you don't really count can add up. You say you "feel" they are rarely over 100-200 calories, but if you aren't weighing/measuring and logging, you don't really know. For someone who is quite small, even 100-200 calories a day unaccounted for is significant.

jminette

I didn't mean anyone was being rude by that last comment. Sorry!
I just meant while trying to answer these questions, I've realized I do not eat the same way consistently from week to week or exercise the same amount week to week enough to give straightforward help.


It

jminette

Possibly. I may be eating more than I think.

honeysprinkles

Which in the grand scheme of things isn't much, but maybe it's more than I thought? Idk. I don't want to lose weight. I just want to know I can maintain at a reasonable amount. 115 at my height is nowhere near depleted and cut. That's a mid range bmi that I am happy with and want to maintain.

how long did you eat at 1500 before you noticed a gain? a small fluctuation is normal, I'd give it a month or so and then see where you're at, your weight will probably stabilize. you might go up a pound or two, I notice that I usually weigh less when I'm sticking to a lower calorie goal than on days/weeks where I'm not, I think some of it's just extra water/food weight. For example, after a few days eating at a deficit, my weight goes to 119, and after a few days not tracking/not eating at a deficit it's usually 121-122...most likely not a fat gain or loss either time, just fluctuation due to other factors.

SoFLpeg

One week is not a trend. If you only increased your calories one week and showed a gain you have exactly 1 data point and zero information.

My weight fluctuates as much as 2-4 lbs a day. I tend to stick between 148-150 but all last week I was 151+ and then this week 147ish, and I did not change a thing about the way I eat. I average 2,000- 2,200 calories a day and am moderately active. But I am also 58 years old. I lost averaging eating 1,600 - 1,800.

You are much younger, but also shorter. You are likely going to maintain at a calorie level somewhere below mine but I doubt all that far. Unlikely as low as 1200 and that seems to be reflected in your continuing to lose and then needing to gain again. In order to know for sure though, you are going to have to accurately try to record those small bites of things, even if it is to record a wild guess in a quick add. Pick a number, use it for a month, look at the trends, adjust accordingly. There is not a set formula, only approximations and each of us is different.

Sjenny5891

I am 5'3".. 115lb. If you change your goal to Maintain MFP gives you almost 1500 PLUS your exercise calories if you are sedentary. If you have an active job you need to choose a higher activity level.

I'm struggling with it myself. If I eat 1500 a day I'm still losing weight. Not a lot but still losing. I actually changed my goal to "Gain 1lb a week" for the holidays.

jminette

Yeah. That'll be my plan. Paying close attention to what I actually eat while upping my intake and sticking to it to see if it evens out.

jminette

I am 5'3".. 115lb. If you change your goal to Maintain MFP gives you almost 1500 PLUS your exercise calories if you are sedentary. If you have an active job you need to choose a higher activity level.

I'm struggling with it myself. If I eat 1500 a day I'm still losing weight. Not a lot but still losing. I actually changed my goal to "Gain 1lb a week" for the holidays.

If I could ask, what was your intake while losing?

Sjenny5891

When I started MFP set me at 1200 a day.
I was Breastfeeding = 20 Calories an Ounce / Avg 30-35 Oz a day (600-700 Calories)
I got a pedomoter to measure how much I walked = 300 or more each work day.
I ended up eating around 2,000 - 2,200 Calories a day

After I stopped I started walking with the baby or doing Zumba
I was still eating 1,800 to 2,000 a day after exercise.

Now I'm doing 1,900 a day to "Gain 1lb a week"

westendcurls

I'm not fixated on the scale. I don't even weigh myself daily. I just asked if I'd also feel heavier.
People can't handle these questions without being rude.

Plus little snacks here and there meant I would take bites of food if offered. Take a piece of candy if out in a bowl. Handful of cereal if I felt hungry. So basically that just meant I'm not always at 1200 on the dot and there are frequently little things I don't count. But I rarely feel they are over 100 to 200 extra calories a day extra.

Sorry it wasn't ment as rude. I myself weigh in daily. I had a longer response, basically saying that a measuring tape is a better tool than a scale to gauge successful maintenance. But being as I have yet to take my own advice I decided not to write it. I was talking to myself as much as to you.

You see I have mantained goal weight for almost a year but have done so with a 1200 calories to 1500 calorie yoyo so i know im not really mantaning yet.
I would slowly up my calories and slowly gain back at the same time. Id reach my scream weight then I'd cut back to 1200 until back down and then start all over again. Honestly its been exhausting and I just wanted to stop. Im currently back up over scream weight again and back to cutting calories. mostly because i dont like what the scale says but im also not happy with the measurements I see.

I began to write that a measuring tape was a better gauge for both you and I (once I was back at goal anyway) hoping that the glycerine stores wouldn't change our measurements but as a read more I decided not to write that because it sounded as if that may not be true.