Activity level?...

KatiePapaya

So I'm on maintenance now and have started to slowly increase my calories up from 1200. So far so good as far as maintenance goes--I've stuck around the 125lbs mark-- but I really have no clue what to aim for! I tend to work out four or five days a week, at least half an hour at a time (my exams start next week so I really can't do much more that that!) Due to the fact that I'm an idiot, I was trying to strength and body weight train everyday, which (while it certainly helped me drop the last few pounds) wasn't exactly fun in terms of muscle and joint pain :L
Nowadays, my plan is:
Day 1: Strength train (weights) 15 minutes, body weight train 30 minutes
Day 2: Cardio 30 minutes (anything from circuits to cycling to a very brisk walk)
I do these alternate days with 2-3 rest days depending on how much work I have etc. (I don't tend to just sit around, though, since I walk pretty much everywhere.)
How would you classify my activity level, please? People I know seem to think I'm "active," but 2200 calories (I'm only 5'4!) seems like a lot, and that's what MFP thinks I should be eating...

SezxyStef

you TDEE (or maintenance) is a moving target depending on your exercise.

2200 seems reasonable if you exercise a lot.

If you are using MFP method I would put lightly active, log my exercise and eat back at least 50-75% of those calories.

If you continue to lose eat more of your exercise calories back...rinse repeat until you are maintaining.

sarafischbach9

We are the same height just about but I'm 108 lbs and I consider myself "active". I'd say 2000 is reasonable for me to maintain on. I'm currently at 1600-1800 and still slowly losing. I'm talking super slow weight loss of 2 lbs a month, if even that. I'm working my way up to a maintenance range of 1800-2200 depending on the exercise I do. Although I do exercises everyday, they do vary from intensity, of whether I'm running 7 or 8 miles, or going to the gym, or just simply walking. I also have a job 4-5 days a week in which I'm lightly active to active there.

So I'd say that because 1900-2000 is reasonable for me, 2200 does not sound too far fetched for you. Especially with your activity level. If you do more exercises than normal, or decide to do a bit of distance running, your needs may be higher than 2200 for that day. Or if you take a rest day you may only need around 1900 or so. If I take a rest day 1600-1700 seems to be the magic number to maintain.

the other user is right about TDEE. It does vary from day to day, so I think it's good if you have a range to stick with. Especially because normal living we do eat more calories on holidays and special events.

PetulantOne

Just for reference, I maintain on 2,300-2,500 calories a day depending on how much I'm running at the time. I'm 5' 3"

Like someone else said, it's not a static number. I evaluate how much I'm eating once a month. If I lost, I up calories. If I gained, I lower them. I'm in school as well so my TDEE tends to drop the last few months of the semester.