Activity level?...

KatiePapaya
KatiePapaya Posts: 30
in Goal: Maintaining Weight
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...

Replies

  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    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
    sarafischbach9 Posts: 466 Member
    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
    PetulantOne Posts: 2,131 Member
    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.

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