How do you know maintenance calories

kk_140

How do I know how many calories to eat to maintain my weight loss? It is just eating your BMR or less? My BMR is only about 1,500 which is sort of a bummer lol. Any advice or tips? I'm nervous about keeping weight off after I'm done!

Danilynn1975

remember that really long plateau you might have experienced? one that maybe lasted 4 months or so?

Or was that only me that had those? Anyway if you had that, and then had to reconfigure what you were doing or not doing. That was unintentional maintenance.

Do that again and you have got the hang of it.

All of that to say it is trial and error. If you are steadily gaining, that's too high.

If you continue to lose that is too low.

Good luck.

nxd10

Go to My Home and click Settings. Chose your goals. Put in your weight, sex, height, etc. and say you want to lose 0 pounds per week. It will give you your maintenance calories.

twixlepennie

I had to do the TDEE method, to finally find my maintenance calories (kept losing with the one that MFP gave me). Transitioning into maintenance is about experimenting with different calorie numbers and it may take you a while to find the right range (took me months :grumble: ).

WinoGelato

How do I know how many calories to eat to maintain my weight loss? It is just eating your BMR or less? My BMR is only about 1,500 which is sort of a bummer lol. Any advice or tips? I'm nervous about keeping weight off after I'm done!

You wouldn't eat your BMR, Maintenance would be eating at your TDEE. BMR should be lower than your TDEE, TDEE includes all your normal daily activity as well as exercise. So if your BMR is 1500, your TDEE is likely at least a few hundred calories more than that. Yeah - more food!

kk_140

How do I know how many calories to eat to maintain my weight loss? It is just eating your BMR or less? My BMR is only about 1,500 which is sort of a bummer lol. Any advice or tips? I'm nervous about keeping weight off after I'm done!

You wouldn't eat your BMR, Maintenance would be eating at your TDEE. BMR should be lower than your TDEE, TDEE includes all your normal daily activity as well as exercise. So if your BMR is 1500, your TDEE is likely at least a few hundred calories more than that. Yeah - more food!

THANK GOODNESS! I was going to be so sad if I was only allowed to eat my BMR!

takumaku

It's trial and error. IIFYM is my suggestion.

0) Body weight * 10 ... try out for a week or two. Dropping weight, then it's too low. Goto 1. Gaining weight, then it's too high.

1) Body weight * 11 ... try out for a week or two. Dropping weight, then it's too low. Goto 2. Gaining weight, then it's too high. Goto 0.

2) Body weight * 12 ... try out for a week or two. Dropping weight, then it's too low. Goto 3. Gaining weight, then it's too high. Goto 1.

3) Body weight * 13 ... try out for a week or two. Dropping weight, then it's too low. Goto 4. Gaining weight, then it's too high. Goto 2.
...

MoreBean13

1. It's primarily trial and error

2. If you've been logging and weighing in for a while, you should have enough data to calculate your true TDEE pretty accurately.
here's an exerpt from a blog I wrote on how to do it:

I figured out my maintenance caloric needs (minus exercise calories) using the following method: I took the last 30 days worth of my net calorie data, and summed the net calories. Then I took the weight lost during that period in lbs, multiplied by 3500, and added that to the net calorie sum. Divide by 30, and BOOM- net TDEE for the previous 30 days. This number became my calorie goal.
(implied is the assumption that you've lost 100% fat, which is not accurate, obviously, but it's good enough)
Sidenote: this is also how I set my calories month-to-month, use the net TDEE and subtract 500, usually.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/MoreBean13/view/reflections-on-maintenance-diet-break-427880

cwolfman13

I assume that you do more than just sleep...you BMR is what you'd "burn" doing nothing but sleeping. Your day to day stuff is going to be at least a few hundred calories more than that. With MFP you take the cut from your NEAT...your BMR + you daily general stuff but exercise is extra and logged separately after the fact which is why you get those calories to eat back. With TDEE, the cut is taken from your BMR + NEAT + Exercise = TDEE so exercise is already factored into the equation up front.

BinaryPulsar

For me I just used the TDEE calculators on Scooby's workshop and Fat2Fit. Then my husband did his own analysis of my activity level and all the different formulas. He said that I can eat up to 2300 calories a day and not gain weight. I started off at 1800, and learned that is a cut for me (that was why my husband wanted to get a good number for me). I learned that I need to eat at least more than 1900 or I will continue to lose weight. I generally eat within the range of 1900 to around 2400. So, I don't know my exact maintenance, just a range that seems to work. I know my numbers don't help you. I'm just explaining how I did it, and the range. If I have been eating a lot and put on a few pounds I will go down to the lower end of the range for a little while. If I notice that I'm dropping weight, I will go back up to the higher end of the range. And I vary it based on my activity level and different factors. I don't do the exercise calorie thing. I just vary it on my own. I find that I have a weight and I can fluctuate a few pounds above and below that (so basically a 5 pound range, but I consider the middle of that to be my weight). I've been maintaining like this for over a year. Also supposedly my BMR is around 1200. I don't exercise a ton. But, I do exercise regularly and lead an active lifestyle, and always have.

WinoGelato

I agree with the trial and error comments. Someone else suggested setting MFP up with zero weight loss and see what number they give you. For me, that number is ~1930 with active activity level. My FitBit average calories burned in a day is around 2100-2200 which is about right because I usually burn about 200 calories with exercise each day. So when I go to maintenance I will probably set my goal at 1900 in MFP. Right now I'm at about 1700 and losing about 0.5 lb/week so I think the numbers are pretty accurate for me.

I would do a couple of different data points from the suggestions you've gotten here, pick one to try or average them out if they are widely varied, track it for a few weeks and see what happens to your weight. I think most people have a maintenance range, not a set number! Good luck!

mjglantz

For me's kind of been trial and error. I reached my goal weight last April and gradually added calories back in. However I also upped my exercise and as a result kept losing weight. I have kept the exercise pretty steady and have added calories back and seem to have stabilized at about 15 pounds below my initial goal weight.

stuffinmuffin

Keep logging the exercise and make sure that you eat your exercise calories back.

I use a Fitbit for maintenance, which works really well and shows you just how much you can eat (especially if you also do exercise).

Maintenance is a learning curve, but you'll get the hang of it after a while. Well done and good luck!

SLLRunner

Trial and error.

I am in month two of maintenance. Using my maintenance calories from MFP, and doing my normal exercise, I kept an excel spreadsheet for the first month of total calories and weight each day. Aside from normal fluctuations, I lost three pounds during my maintenance. I don't need to lose anymore weight, so I need to up my calorie intake, which I have done. Weight normally fluctuates, but I don't need to go any lower.

dunnodunno

If you follow the TDEE method & are using the maintenance calories provided by the website, do you then eat your calories back so you're still in maintenance?