Amount below maintenance for short women

aserranzana16

I'm about 3 lbs above my goal weight and trying to think ahead to maintenance. I've read a few well-written and seemingly well-thought out posts that say that because the body wants to immediately replenish its water and glycogen stores, you should actually shoot for a weight below maintenance before bringing your calories in line so that your body settles in around your goal weight. Most of the posts say it's about 5 lbs, but I'm not sure that's actually realistic or necessary for me.

My stats: 5'1"
CW: 113
GW: 110

According to the posts referenced above, I should wait until I hit 105 before bringing my calories all the way back up to maintenance. Does anyone with similar stats have any experience with this? Thanks in advance!!!

AJ_G

It's called reverse dieting. There's no need to go past your goal weight, you just need to slowly transition to maintenance once you hit your goal weight. Basically instead of just shooting calories back up to maintenance from your deficit, you add 25 to 50 calories (5 to 10g of carbs) to your daily calorie goal every week until you're back up to maintenance. This allows your metabolism to adjust along with your calorie intake and prevents the fat gain that you would see from the energy gap between calorie intake and metabolism if you were just to jump straight back up to maintenance.

sfbaumgarten

My weight initially shot up when I started eating at maintenance and exercising. Came down after about 6 weeks and I think I've stayed under goal ever since. But even when my weight was up, I dropped another pant size. It's all trial and error... I wouldn't worry about losing extra weight just yet. Maybe just slowly transition into maintenance and see how things go.

SezxyStef

I am in the process of upping to maintenance 1lb from goal...

I am upping 100 a day each week.

Last week I was at 1700....this week 1800...I may stay at 1800 next week depending on how it goes this week...I was 200 below yesterday cause I forgot to eat something that was prelogged...and it was ice cream....:sad:

So with any luck when I hit 155...I will be at 1900 appx 100-300 from maintenance and then I will up to 2000...stick that for a while and see what happens.

I don't expect to see that 5lb gain by doing this...

aserranzana16

Thanks for the quick replies, everyone!

I guess it won't kill me to try out the gradual increase thing. Especially because I just don't know if I can reasonably get to 105 without falling into some unhealthy behaviors.

I'll take my foot off the gas a little this week (go from 2 lbs per week to 1 lb) and next week I'll take it to .5 per week, and then hopefully I'll just glide right into maintenance?

I do know that I need to prepare myself to have my weight shoot up a bit, like you said, sfbaumgarten, and not panic.

aubyshortcake

While I know it's different for everyone, I'm 5' 3" and around 107ish, when I up my calories to maintenance or a surplus the immediate gain I get is roughly 3-3.5 lbs. I can't say for sure that yours would be similar but considering you're small as well it's not unlikely that yours would also be less than 5 lbs.

aserranzana16

While I know it's different for everyone, I'm 5' 3" and around 107ish, when I up my calories to maintenance or a surplus the immediate gain I get is roughly 3-3.5 lbs. I can't say for sure that yours would be similar but considering you're small as well it's not unlikely that yours would also be less than 5 lbs.

Thanks, that's helpful! Once you gain that initial 3-3.5 and continue at maintenance, do you find that it settles at that new (higher) weight? Or does it go back down after the initial gain?

HMVOL7409

It's called reverse dieting. There's no need to go past your goal weight, you just need to slowly transition to maintenance once you hit your goal weight. Basically instead of just shooting calories back up to maintenance from your deficit, you add 25 to 50 calories (5 to 10g of carbs) to your daily calorie goal every week until you're back up to maintenance. This allows your metabolism to adjust along with your calorie intake and prevents the fat gain that you would see from the energy gap between calorie intake and metabolism if you were just to jump straight back up to maintenance.

This. If you gradually add in you won't experience huge fluctuations.

With that said, maintence needs to be aimed at a weight range and don't focus on a particular number as you'll never maintain a exact weight.

lporter229

I am 5'0 and I can tell you from experience that my glycogen stores are about 2.5-3 lbs, so, yes, you may be correct in thinking that 5 lbs below goal weight may be too much for you. I would second the advice to gradually switch to maintenance when you hit your goal weight or are close to it.

PJPrimrose

I did the reverse dieting thing. My weight is fluctuating about 2lbs give or take so far.

minky_r

just wanted to peek at your diary for I really need some inspiration from a another shorty ...noticed your goal at 500 calories??? This was so depressing ... this is how you lost the weight?

aserranzana16

just wanted to peek at your diary for I really need some inspiration from a another shorty ...noticed your goal at 500 calories??? This was so depressing ... this is how you lost the weight?

By no means! It's kind of short-hand for the way I calculate calories - I've got some interesting math skills. If you look at my individual diary entries (not this week, because I haven't been doing great at hitting my calorie goals due to work), I eat quite a lot.

minky_r

just wanted to peek at your diary for I really need some inspiration from a another shorty ...noticed your goal at 500 calories??? This was so depressing ... this is how you lost the weight?

By no means! It's kind of short-hand for the way I calculate calories - I've got some interesting math skills. If you look at my individual diary entries (not this week, because I haven't been doing great at hitting my calorie goals due to work), I eat quite a lot.

funny, your diary is all of a sudden private. I am glad it is...for its so sad for people to get inspired with your weight loss at 500 calories goal plus exercise......a lot of exercise..the kind that needs way more food!

jeicorsair

5'2" here. I did a gradual increase. Scales went up by a couple pounds and stayed there a few weeks, but I was confident it would drop again. My body consistently took a month or two to adjust to changes throughout my weight loss, so this wasn't anything new. Eventually, I dropped 4 pounds (over a couple more months) without really changing what or how much I was eating and have been maintaining since.

sfbaumgarten

Deleted... just because.

WinoGelato

Thanks for the quick replies, everyone!

I guess it won't kill me to try out the gradual increase thing. Especially because I just don't know if I can reasonably get to 105 without falling into some unhealthy behaviors.

I'll take my foot off the gas a little this week (go from 2 lbs per week to 1 lb) and next week I'll take it to .5 per week, and then hopefully I'll just glide right into maintenance?

I do know that I need to prepare myself to have my weight shoot up a bit, like you said, sfbaumgarten, and not panic.

If you are that close to goal weight then you shouldn't have your deficit set to lose 2 lb/week, you should already be at 0.5 lb/week. I'm not advocating jumping up by 750 cal/day, I do think you should do it gradually, but just wanted to say that I think you may already have things set a little too aggressively, so definitely start making some adjustments now.

aserranzana16

Thanks for the quick replies, everyone!

I guess it won't kill me to try out the gradual increase thing. Especially because I just don't know if I can reasonably get to 105 without falling into some unhealthy behaviors.

I'll take my foot off the gas a little this week (go from 2 lbs per week to 1 lb) and next week I'll take it to .5 per week, and then hopefully I'll just glide right into maintenance?

I do know that I need to prepare myself to have my weight shoot up a bit, like you said, sfbaumgarten, and not panic.

If you are that close to goal weight then you shouldn't have your deficit set to lose 2 lb/week, you should already be at 0.5 lb/week. I'm not advocating jumping up by 750 cal/day, I do think you should do it gradually, but just wanted to say that I think you may already have things set a little too aggressively, so definitely start making some adjustments now.

Yeah, that's kind of why I started this topic - I've been nervous to change my goals even a little. But I'll try it out.

skinnybythanksgiving

Nope. I started maintenance 4.5 pounds above my final goal weight by adding in 100 a day per week. I continued to lose nicely and never gained glycogen stores. When I reached my goal weight I only had to up my calories about 50 a day. I lost a full size after reaching my goal weight without trying. Getting below goal weight is disordered eating in my book.

minky_r

just wanted to peek at your diary for I really need some inspiration from a another shorty ...noticed your goal at 500 calories??? This was so depressing ... this is how you lost the weight?

By no means! It's kind of short-hand for the way I calculate calories - I've got some interesting math skills. If you look at my individual diary entries (not this week, because I haven't been doing great at hitting my calorie goals due to work), I eat quite a lot.

funny, your diary is all of a sudden private. I am glad it is...for its so sad for people to get inspired with your weight loss at 500 calories goal plus exercise......a lot of exercise..the kind that needs way more food!

The 500 makes sense to me if that's the deficit she's been eating at.

Why don't you open your diary up for inspiration?

My diary is not in question...do you want to see it for inspiration?...message me if you'd like to see how I lost 10 lbs in 6 months!!! lol that is why I was looking to see how she lost her weight. Seems like your post was sarcastic and defensive. It was just depressing for me to see that the only way to lose this weight is to have my goal set to 500 calories...and then eat exercise calories. Maybe I read it wrong, are you able to explain how it makes sense.
thanks so much

sfbaumgarten

just wanted to peek at your diary for I really need some inspiration from a another shorty ...noticed your goal at 500 calories??? This was so depressing ... this is how you lost the weight?

By no means! It's kind of short-hand for the way I calculate calories - I've got some interesting math skills. If you look at my individual diary entries (not this week, because I haven't been doing great at hitting my calorie goals due to work), I eat quite a lot.

funny, your diary is all of a sudden private. I am glad it is...for its so sad for people to get inspired with your weight loss at 500 calories goal plus exercise......a lot of exercise..the kind that needs way more food!

The 500 makes sense to me if that's the deficit she's been eating at.

Why don't you open your diary up for inspiration?

My diary is not in question...do you want to see it for inspiration?...message me if you'd like to see how I lost 10 lbs in 6 months!!! lol that is why I was looking to see how she lost her weight. Seems like your post was sarcastic and defensive. It was just depressing for me to see that the only way to lose this weight is to have my goal set to 500 calories...and then eat exercise calories. Maybe I read it wrong, are you able to explain how it makes sense.
thanks so much

Maybe she logs what her activity tracker gives her for exercise and has a 500 calorie deficit. I can spin data all day long to make it tell one story or another... That's just a guess.

All that matters is that it makes sense to her, especially now that your remarks seems to have caused her to change her privacy settings. She was clearly logging more than 500 calories a day. No reason for you to be so depressed about it or whatnot.

gail1961

Thanks for all the posts regarding "shorties". I am 1 pound from goal and already stressing about gaining during maintenance. I am 5'2" and eating 1200 calories a day. Lost 9 pounds in 14 weeks working out 4+ times a week. THANKS for the tips on adding calories in slowly instead of going straight to the maintenance recommendation. That was going to add 150 calories a day for me. I don't want to go below my goal weight (not healthy or realistic), so adding 50 a day for a week or 2 then adding 50 more makes so much sense.

WinoGelato

Thanks for all the posts regarding "shorties". I am 1 pound from goal and already stressing about gaining during maintenance. I am 5'2" and eating 1200 calories a day. Lost 9 pounds in 14 weeks working out 4+ times a week. THANKS for the tips on adding calories in slowly instead of going straight to the maintenance recommendation. That was going to add 150 calories a day for me. I don't want to go below my goal weight (not healthy or realistic), so adding 50 a day for a week or 2 then adding 50 more makes so much sense.

Your maintenance is 1350? That seems awfully low, especially if you are working out 4 times a week. Have you calculated your TDEE?

gail1961

Thanks for the feedback. When I change my goal to 0 pounds per week (maintenance) it gave me 1450 NOT 1350. I typed it in wrong. Maintenance is for 5'2 105 pounds. Weight loss was slow at 1200/per day with a minimum of 4 one hour workouts per week.

minky_r

just wanted to peek at your diary for I really need some inspiration from a another shorty ...noticed your goal at 500 calories??? This was so depressing ... this is how you lost the weight?

By no means! It's kind of short-hand for the way I calculate calories - I've got some interesting math skills. If you look at my individual diary entries (not this week, because I haven't been doing great at hitting my calorie goals due to work), I eat quite a lot.

funny, your diary is all of a sudden private. I am glad it is...for its so sad for people to get inspired with your weight loss at 500 calories goal plus exercise......a lot of exercise..the kind that needs way more food!

The 500 makes sense to me if that's the deficit she's been eating at.

Why don't you open your diary up for inspiration?

My diary is not in question...do you want to see it for inspiration?...message me if you'd like to see how I lost 10 lbs in 6 months!!! lol that is why I was looking to see how she lost her weight. Seems like your post was sarcastic and defensive. It was just depressing for me to see that the only way to lose this weight is to have my goal set to 500 calories...and then eat exercise calories. Maybe I read it wrong, are you able to explain how it makes sense.
thanks so much

Maybe she logs what her activity tracker gives her for exercise and has a 500 calorie deficit. I can spin data all day long to make it tell one story or another... That's just a guess.

All that matters is that it makes sense to her, especially now that your remarks seems to have caused her to change her privacy settings. She was clearly logging more than 500 calories a day. No reason for you to be so depressed about it or whatnot.

lol..so you are going to decide whats depressing for me? k ...so I have caused her to change her privacy settings?...because I asked her a question?...She was clearly logging more yes..because of exercise. So its k to set your goal to 500 cal and then exercise like mad so you can have extra calories to eat? Please do not reply for it seems like you are not here to help. That's all i was asking for. Congratulations on your weight loss btw.

SezxyStef

just wanted to peek at your diary for I really need some inspiration from a another shorty ...noticed your goal at 500 calories??? This was so depressing ... this is how you lost the weight?

By no means! It's kind of short-hand for the way I calculate calories - I've got some interesting math skills. If you look at my individual diary entries (not this week, because I haven't been doing great at hitting my calorie goals due to work), I eat quite a lot.

funny, your diary is all of a sudden private. I am glad it is...for its so sad for people to get inspired with your weight loss at 500 calories goal plus exercise......a lot of exercise..the kind that needs way more food!

The 500 makes sense to me if that's the deficit she's been eating at.

Why don't you open your diary up for inspiration?

My diary is not in question...do you want to see it for inspiration?...message me if you'd like to see how I lost 10 lbs in 6 months!!! lol that is why I was looking to see how she lost her weight. Seems like your post was sarcastic and defensive. It was just depressing for me to see that the only way to lose this weight is to have my goal set to 500 calories...and then eat exercise calories. Maybe I read it wrong, are you able to explain how it makes sense.
thanks so much

Mine is open...inspire away...

currently at 1800 calories a day, last week 1700 a day, week before that 1600 a day...lost almost 50lbs in 14months...dropped from a size 16 to a 5/6.

If a diary has a "spin" it should be private as there are lots of people here with eating disorders and if they saw a diary at 500 they would start following it and that can lead to big issues if they are trying to recover or worse if they are in the throws of it.

SezxyStef

Thanks for the quick replies, everyone!

I guess it won't kill me to try out the gradual increase thing. Especially because I just don't know if I can reasonably get to 105 without falling into some unhealthy behaviors.

I'll take my foot off the gas a little this week (go from 2 lbs per week to 1 lb) and next week I'll take it to .5 per week, and then hopefully I'll just glide right into maintenance?

I do know that I need to prepare myself to have my weight shoot up a bit, like you said, sfbaumgarten, and not panic.

If you are that close to goal weight then you shouldn't have your deficit set to lose 2 lb/week, you should already be at 0.5 lb/week. I'm not advocating jumping up by 750 cal/day, I do think you should do it gradually, but just wanted to say that I think you may already have things set a little too aggressively, so definitely start making some adjustments now.

Yeah, that's kind of why I started this topic - I've been nervous to change my goals even a little. But I'll try it out.

and yes you should have started raising up a while ago...I have been doing it for about a month now...slowly upping and still losing 1/2-3/4lb a week...on average.

Beckilovespizza

It's called reverse dieting. There's no need to go past your goal weight, you just need to slowly transition to maintenance once you hit your goal weight. Basically instead of just shooting calories back up to maintenance from your deficit, you add 25 to 50 calories (5 to 10g of carbs) to your daily calorie goal every week until you're back up to maintenance. This allows your metabolism to adjust along with your calorie intake and prevents the fat gain that you would see from the energy gap between calorie intake and metabolism if you were just to jump straight back up to maintenance.

Thanks for this info,I hit goal and gained a bit after shooting up to maintenance calories, I have set my new goal weight for 'wiggle room' but I think I will follow this instead. Just upped 50 cals and will see what the scales say over the next week or so. It is difficult for us shorties as a couple of pounds often look more on us!

Whiskeytub

I'm around 5'1"/5'2" and when I hit my goal (110) the first time and went to maintenance I gained right away. So I read the glycogen thing and went under my goal and have been slowly increasing calories. However, I kept losing so I just adjusted my goal down because I liked how I looked. But now I feel I have lost a bit too much and desperately wish I hadn't followed the advice to go so far under my goal. I think that as a short person, if you hit your goal and then just start to increase calories very gradually per week you will probably continue to lose for a bit before you find a the amount that will keep you stable. That's what I wish I had done rather than purposely losing 5 extra pounds *then* starting a gradual increase.