Eating 1700-1800 for maintanence and gaining? :(

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Replies

  • Amberh82
    Amberh82 Posts: 468 Member
    My suggestion is get a fitbit and a HRM. See how many calories you burn in a typical day you exercise and when you don't exercise. That may help you to get a better picture of how much you burn therefore, you can adjust your calories accordingly to stay in maintenance. and give yourself a little wiggle room...depending on what you eat, not just how much can make you gain/lose weight...some of it is probably water weight. I wouldn't worry too much about a 2 pound fluctuation. Should work itself out...

    I am 4'10 and weigh 130 and have a desk job...on days I do nothing but go to work...I burn around 1700-1800 calories. On days I work out, I can burn up to 2100...so I at least know what number to stay under if I don't want to gain.
  • Achrya
    Achrya Posts: 16,913 Member
    All these replies from people telling the OP that either she's eating too many calories or not enough are HILARIOUS. Did anyone bother asking the OP her height?? That will play a big role...At 5 feet tall and 110 pounds, my maintenance calories are 1420.... that's not a lot, so I also workout daily.

    OP, as others have said, a 2 pound gain isn't a big deal. If it keeps happening, then either eat less or increase your exercise. It could just be your body leveling out.

    I'm not sure anyone told her she's not eating enough. I think you've confused '1700 is not a lot of food' with 'you need to eat more'.

    I think it's implied. But that really wasn't my point... which you obviously missed. Not my problem.

    Oddly enough I'm also of the opinion that you've missed a point or two.

    Fancy that. :ohwell:

    Well, you're the one who first started picking on my post. Grow up.

    Oh. I started picking on people's posts first.

    I see.
  • pjb58
    pjb58 Posts: 100 Member
    What is TDEE?
  • bowlerae
    bowlerae Posts: 555 Member
    What is TDEE?

    ^^^ this coming from the person who also said this...
    1700-1800 seems like a lot of calories unless you are excercising every day.
    On those days that I do not exercise I am only allowed 1350.
    This is only after I got to maintenance mode when I hit my desired weight. Before that it was 1200.
    Now, on the days I exercise, I still am only allowed 1500-1700 depending on what exercises I am doing that day.
    It might be a good idea to look/set your goals on MFP if you haven't already.

    Best to you on the journey.

    TDEE stands for Total Daily Energy Expenditure...It's the amount of calories you burn in a day given your height, age, weight, gender and activity level. Perhaps that is why you thought 1,700-1.800 calories is a lot when it is actually not very much for maintaining weight. Without knowing the OP's full stats, OP could have a maintenance of 1,800-2,100 making 1,700-1,800 low.
  • pjb58
    pjb58 Posts: 100 Member
    Thanks for the explanation.
    I am pretty new at all the "fitness" jargon. Which explains not understanding everything behind the differences in how weight maintenance is calculated.
  • newyorkmo
    newyorkmo Posts: 32 Member
    I think people's advice to wait it out a bit and see what happens is sound. could be glycogen.

    on the other hand, if you're panicking, experiment with lowering the calories by 250-500 per day. See what happens for next two weeks. By trial and error you can zero in on what YOUR maintenance levels will be. The guidelines give you an idea, but you'll have to fine tune it to your body and what works for you.

    hang in there - you can do this!
  • sshintaku
    sshintaku Posts: 228 Member
    I'm 5'5", 128, 26yo and maintain between 1600-2000. I'll have about 3-4 days at 1600, a few days where I go eat out and end up around 2000. I guess the average would be around 1800. I work out 6 days a week. I've been maintaining for about 4 months. Your numbers sound reasonable to me. I know there are plenty of people who maintain on higher calories. I've noticed I can maintain about 133 or so on 2000 cal, but if I want to stay below 130, my calories need to be closer to 1700-1800. I don't know e scientific diet BS behind this, but I'm guessing it has something to do with the glycogen that people have mentioned previously.
  • nancysmith0011
    nancysmith0011 Posts: 1
    Hi,

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  • Natalie14612
    Natalie14612 Posts: 3 Member
    Weigh yourself once a week around the same time. See how your weight trends over a month and then see if you need to make adjustments to your diet. Keep a food diary including how much you eat, what you eat, and when you eat. Do you eat only when you're hungry and stop when you've had "enough" (not full but enough)?

    Sometimes weighing too often can give you a false gain- or loss- due to water weight.

    You've done great. Try not to worry!
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
    In some ways I think it's silly to compare people's calorie inputs and wonder why YOU are gaining.

    Your body is different from other people's - you're a different height, a different age or sex, and have different activity levels.

    In addition, people on this site count calories differently. I only worry about my net - so I'd say I use 1400 calories. But that's because I log my exercise and eat them back. I actually EAT several hundred more than my 1400 net. Other people use TDEE and they will always look like they 'use' my calories than me, even if we ate the same thing. Other people set an activity level and don't log their exercise. So we argue about apples and oranges.

    ---

    About you . . . many people gain a few pounds when they switch to maintenance. That's daily fluctuation. If you haven't gained any more in two weeks, decide if you like where you are and stick with your calories. If you want to go lower, go on deficit again until you're a few pounds under your goal and go back to maintenance. If you're still gaining, you're eating too much and need to put in a small deficit OR you're not measuring accurately.

    Good luck and congratulations!
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
    My suggestion is get a fitbit and a HRM. See how many calories you burn in a typical day you exercise and when you don't exercise. That may help you to get a better picture of how much you burn therefore, you can adjust your calories accordingly to stay in maintenance. and give yourself a little wiggle room...depending on what you eat, not just how much can make you gain/lose weight...some of it is probably water weight. I wouldn't worry too much about a 2 pound fluctuation. Should work itself out...

    I am 4'10 and weigh 130 and have a desk job...on days I do nothing but go to work...I burn around 1700-1800 calories. On days I work out, I can burn up to 2100...so I at least know what number to stay under if I don't want to gain.

    That was the first thing I did when I went to maintenance. I have a very variable exercise schedule and I find it invaluable.
  • 68berry67
    68berry67 Posts: 7 Member
    Everyone is different. My weight swings within 4 lbs every month. I'm 5'4 almost 5/'5 small boned 46 years old. Usually I weigh in between 113.6 and 115. I do however see times for some unknown reason where I sit at 117 for a week or so, It's not just water weight. It has some to do with water but also what I am eating. My body maintains where I want it to be on about a gram of protein per pound of body weight. My goal was/is to not lose past 113lbs and gain muscle so my protein/fat/carbs needs vary depending on what I am trying to do. Where ever I am in the process I don't want to fall below 113lbs and above 117lbs though this high end could go higher depending on my muscle growth goals. My maintenance calories for MY GOALS are 1650 and when I do cardio I take great care to EAT ALL OF THOSE CALORIES BACK in a day. Be careful of the "SCALE GAME" Do you track your measurements? At some point I think it becomes healthier for us who tend to obsess over calories (yes I have to watch that myself) to begin to track our measurements in addition to the number on the scale so that we understand that there is more to how we look and feel than just a number on the scale. I also created "fitness goals" for myself so I can have other rewards other than the number on the scale. 10 months ago I could barely do one pushup, now I can do 3 sets of 20 no problem. Not a big deal to some, but to me it WAS HUGE. I do the same thing with different ab exercise, I bought a bosu ball and challenged my self with different exercise on that. Built up more of my core and BALANCE! These are all things I can work on in front of the t.v. I work 10 hour days and have a commute on top of that so I get it. BEST OF LUCK and remember we all have our personal journey.
  • countscalories
    countscalories Posts: 418 Member
    All these replies from people telling the OP that either she's eating too many calories or not enough are HILARIOUS. Did anyone bother asking the OP her height?? That will play a big role...At 5 feet tall and 110 pounds, my maintenance calories are 1420.... that's not a lot, so I also workout daily.

    OP, as others have said, a 2 pound gain isn't a big deal. If it keeps happening, then either eat less or increase your exercise. It could just be your body leveling out.

    I'm not sure anyone told her she's not eating enough. I think you've confused '1700 is not a lot of food' with 'you need to eat more'.

    I think it's implied. But that really wasn't my point... which you obviously missed. Not my problem.

    Oddly enough I'm also of the opinion that you've missed a point or two.

    Fancy that. :ohwell:

    Well, you're the one who first started picking on my post. Grow up.

    Oh. I started picking on people's posts first.

    I see
    BWAAAHAA!!!!! This place is funnier than a Marx Brothers family reunion catered by The Three Stooges! Just to add fuel to the fire, I'm 5" tall, and the reason I need MFP is because I consumed more calories than my body could handle. I got fat. Right now, I'm losing weight very nicely at 1200 cals per day, and I've finally figured out the way I need to eat for the rest of my life. My doctor is thrilled, and so am I. I'm not quite ready for the maintenance thing, but I imagine that when the time comes, I'll be eating about 1400-1500 cals per day. For my (let me repeat, MY) height, activity level, and metabolism, 1700-1800 will probably be too high. What you do depends on your own body; what works for one person may not work for another. I don't think that's so hard to understand. Good luck to all of you, and to you folks on maintenance-- I'm jealous, and I hope to count myself among you soon (pardon the cheesy pun)!

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