How much over maintenance before weight gain?

typicallyjazzy

Know this has probably been asked before but I'll shoot anyway. Ok so my maintenance is currently 1600. I'm sedentary. I know MFP says that 1800 daily will make me gain half a pound a week, so basically to maintain I have to stay with the 1600-1700 range? It seems like it would be hard to keep this up as a lifetime thing.

TeaBea

Know this has probably been asked before but I'll shoot anyway. Ok so my maintenance is currently 1600. I'm sedentary. I know MFP says that 1800 daily will make me gain half a pound a week, so basically to maintain I have to stay with the 1600-1700 range? It seems like it would be hard to keep this up as a lifetime thing.

You have 3 choices......

1. Move more.....forever. This is why exercise has to be a lifestyle change for me, I can't imagine eating that low forever.

2. Eat your range....forever

3. Set your goal weight higher....and your maintenance will come up a bit.

This is a reason lots of people have step goals.....exercise doesn't have to be a major thing. Try wearing a pedometer & see if you can up your activity from sedentary to lightly or moderately active.

1 more choice.........zig-zag. What I mean is "diet" 1 or 2 days a week....so the weekends (or whenever) ....you have some wiglle room. You would still want to "average" your maintenance.

cwolfman13

Know this has probably been asked before but I'll shoot anyway. Ok so my maintenance is currently 1600. I'm sedentary. I know MFP says that 1800 daily will make me gain half a pound a week, so basically to maintain I have to stay with the 1600-1700 range? It seems like it would be hard to keep this up as a lifetime thing.

Perhaps you should exercise and be less sedentary...because I agree...that would suck. That's why a lot of people gain weight...if you're truly sedentary you just don't need that much energy (calories) to get you through but people like to eat. If you exercise then your energy expenditure goes up with requires additional calories thus you get to eat more and it's all groovy.

nxd10

Everything they said. BUT . . .

Part of it is learning to eat things you love that are satisfying in that range. My maintenance is 1440 a day. I love to eat. I eat great food. I don't eat a lot of things with a lot of calories. That's what I learned from MFP - the things with lots of calories that weren't worth eating and the ones with lots of calories that are worth every single one of them.

I do have a pedometer. I don't 'exercise' but I do walk the pedometer helps push me to walk more. (Yay! I forgot something at the copy machine and have to walk downstairs again.) If I walk more 4000 steps, I get more calories to eat. And I eat them.

All the best studies saying eating is what helps you lose weight and exercise is what keeps it off. I believe them.

SLLRunner

I would die if my maintenance was 1400 or 1600. My maintenance is close to 2000 calories (5 ft 4.5 tall and 141 pounds), plus exercise calories, and I work a desk job. However, I do admit I run three times a week and weight lift three times a week, but I make sure I eat those exercise calories back.