Is 1520 too low for Maintenance?

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Smiles_And_Pizza
Smiles_And_Pizza Posts: 23
in Goal: Maintaining Weight
Hey!
So I've been in maintenance for awhile and have been maintaining eating about 1520 a day.
I'm 5'2.5 and weigh around 103 pounds and am 18 years old.

I was just wondering if eating 1520 is too low? I've been maintaining on it fine but should I be eating more?
MFP calculated 1520 as my maintenance on sedentary and to be honest besides the days I do tennis, all I do is go to school then go back home so is it right to have it on sedentary?
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Replies

  • sfbaumgarten
    sfbaumgarten Posts: 912 Member
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    One way to find out. Increase your calories for a few weeks and see if you're still maintaining.
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
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    I agree. It really depends on you and your body. I'm much older, but also much taller, and my net calories are less to maintain. I do eat a few hundred calories every day from exercise.
  • AllOutof_Bubblegum
    AllOutof_Bubblegum Posts: 3,646 Member
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    Almost definitely.
  • arlenem1974
    arlenem1974 Posts: 437 Member
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    sedentary means you don't do anything. You said yourself you play tennis and go to school you are not sedentary. your body mass is 18.9. Healthy bmi for your height is 19.5 - 24.9 107-136 lbs.
  • susannamarie
    susannamarie Posts: 2,148 Member
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    sedentary means you don't do anything. You said yourself you play tennis and go to school you are not sedentary. your body mass is 18.9. Healthy bmi for your height is 19.5 - 24.9 107-136 lbs.

    what? Healthy bmi is considered to be 18.5-24.9
    http://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/assessing/bmi/adult_bmi/index.html
  • susannamarie
    susannamarie Posts: 2,148 Member
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    OP: You asked in February about bulking, did you give up that idea? I think putting on some muscle with a very slow bulk might be a good idea.

    Regardless, you can tell whether you can maintain on more by increasing calories by about 100 and seeing whether you start gaining or not. I'd recommend, though, lifting while you do it so that more of the weight you put on will be muscle.
  • Beckilovespizza
    Beckilovespizza Posts: 334 Member
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    I've just hit goal weight today (freakin happy and smug!!) I think I will try adding 50cals each week to see what the best maintenance plan is for me. Happy, happy, happy!!!
  • Annie83uk
    Annie83uk Posts: 128
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    I eat more calories than that and Lose weight, aren't the recommended amount of calories for a woman 2000 calories so surely that's what you need to maintain.
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
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    Why don't you at least add in your exercise calories? I always assume people who report calories are reporting their net, but I should know after all this time on the forum that they're not.

    If you're playing tennis, etc. then you should eat more those days. Log your exercise and eat that in addition to maintenance.

    BTW - sedentary is NOT sitting around all day. Most people in the US - especially those in school or who work in offices - get less than 4000 steps a day. That is who MFP defines sedentary.
  • allbarrett
    allbarrett Posts: 159 Member
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    I eat more calories than that and Lose weight, aren't the recommended amount of calories for a woman 2000 calories so surely that's what you need to maintain.

    2000 calories as maintenance is going to depend on gender, height, weight, activity level and age. I'm only a little taller than the OP, older, slightly heavier, quite physically active, and maintain on between 1800 and 1900 calories per day (based on long-term tracking, not a calculator). As with all nice round numbers, this is an average across populations and isn't suitable advice for a particular individual.
  • KariOrtiz2014
    KariOrtiz2014 Posts: 343 Member
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    Why don't you at least add in your exercise calories? I always assume people who report calories are reporting their net, but I should know after all this time on the forum that they're not.

    If you're playing tennis, etc. then you should eat more those days. Log your exercise and eat that in addition to maintenance.

    BTW - sedentary is NOT sitting around all day. Most people in the US - especially those in school or who work in offices - get less than 4000 steps a day. That is who MFP defines sedentary.

    THIS!! Eat more on the days you workout or play tennis!
  • jlahorn
    jlahorn Posts: 377 Member
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    I eat more calories than that and Lose weight, aren't the recommended amount of calories for a woman 2000 calories so surely that's what you need to maintain.

    2000 calories as maintenance is going to depend on gender, height, weight, activity level and age. I'm only a little taller than the OP, older, slightly heavier, quite physically active, and maintain on between 1800 and 1900 calories per day (based on long-term tracking, not a calculator). As with all nice round numbers, this is an average across populations and isn't suitable advice for a particular individual.

    Yeah, that 2000 calories a day myth caused me a lot of trouble and confusion once upon a time.

    I am female, 5'6" and 40 years old, and 1450-1500 is my maintenance limit. if I go above that, I start gaining.
  • dopeysmelly
    dopeysmelly Posts: 1,390 Member
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    I'm about your height and also sedentary, but older. I'm losing 1.5-2lbs/week at 1300 calories/day, so I would say that it's not unreasonable at all to be maintaining on about 1500/day.
  • susannamarie
    susannamarie Posts: 2,148 Member
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    I'm about your height and also sedentary, but older. I'm losing 1.5-2lbs/week at 1300 calories/day, so I would say that it's not unreasonable at all to be maintaining on about 1500/day.

    Huh? If you're losing 1.5-2 lbs/week at 1300 that means your maintenance is over 2000.
  • FoodFitnessTravel
    FoodFitnessTravel Posts: 294 Member
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    no. my rest day maintenance is 1380. i am 5'8" 112 lbs
  • peleroja
    peleroja Posts: 3,979 Member
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    If you're maintaining on it, then it's obviously not too low or you'd still be losing weight, even if it were slow.

    However, for someone who maintains that low (I do too, and I'm 5'4" and about 118 with an office job) you do need to be extra careful that you're getting appropriate nutrition because you don't have a lot of extra calories to play with. I have to watch my macro and micro nutrients every day to make sure I'm not missing out on stuff that my body needs to be at its best.
  • PJPrimrose
    PJPrimrose Posts: 916 Member
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    My maintenance is at 1600 right now. I'm 5'9" and weigh 144, up from 143, as of this morning. My goal is 145. If 1600 proves to be too little I will eat more. If the new, higher amt puts me over 145 I will eat less. Good luck!
  • sarafischbach9
    sarafischbach9 Posts: 466 Member
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    1520 does seem a little low, even for your small size. I would except a low active person at your size to be around 1700. I guess the only thing to do is increase and see what happens.
  • Helen71017
    Helen71017 Posts: 30 Member
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    I am 5'4" and 112 to 114 pounds. I started maintenance 3-4 months ago, and I am also trying to figure out maintenance calorie intake. I have been losing very slowly (1 pound per month) at around 1450 net calories per day for 3 months. I typically burn about 500 calories per day working out and eat around 2000 calories per day to compensate. I recently increased my daily intake goal to 1500/day. I suspect that my exercise calories are overestimated by MFP.
  • AllOutof_Bubblegum
    AllOutof_Bubblegum Posts: 3,646 Member
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    Probably.

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