Maintenance # off

jhellwig828

So I have been in maintenance mode for almost 3 months and I find I am still losing weight. I have uped my calories by 75 per day over what MFP told me I needed for maintenance. I know it's still a learning process but I'm just curious - if you are settled in to maintenance, how off was the number MFP gave you? I never thought I would say this but I really don't want to lose any more weight and I'm interested to see how different your actual maintenance # is from what MFP said.

Supertact

It's an estimate...

ponycyndi

I've used a few different calculators, and gotten numbers anywhere from 1900-2400. At 1900 I'm losing slowly, at 2400 I'm gaining. So I know if I stay in that range (eating differently depending on the day) I'll be ok.

If I know I'm going to have an indulgent meal (holiday, buffet) then I stay close to 1900 for a few days. Eating the exact same calories each day is too much work when I'm not trying to lose, and not how I want to live my life.

SLLRunner

So I have been in maintenance mode for almost 3 months and I find I am still losing weight. I have uped my calories by 75 per day over what MFP told me I needed for maintenance. I know it's still a learning process but I'm just curious - if you are settled in to maintenance, how off was the number MFP gave you? I never thought I would say this but I really don't want to lose any more weight and I'm interested to see how different your actual maintenance # is from what MFP said.

I started maintenance at 150 in about December/January. Now I am 139, which I've been maintaining for about the last month or so (time will tell). For me, I think the number has been off about 100 calories a day.

jhellwig828

I think mine has been off about 100 calories a day too. I am looking to get a fitbit to get a better idea of my steps. I think I am more active than I give myself credit for!

cwolfman13

so long as I was using this tool as intended and eating back my exercise calories, it was pretty accurate. most people have issues here because they just put sedentary and call it a day when they are in no way sedentary...garbage in, garbage out.

I found it much easier to just use TDEE and include that estimate of my required exercise calories in the equation and just eat 2600 - 2800 calories per day, but either way it comes out about 6 of 1...with MFP I was grossing 2600 - 2800 calories and with TDEE I do the same.

You're ultimately going to find that you have a maintenance range...nobody has a calorie requirement of exactly XXXX calories....you have a range. Give yourself the appropriate credit for your real world activity and I've found most of these calculators to be fairly accurate...making an adjustment of 100 calories or so is well within any kind of reasonable margin of error that would be expected with using a calculator like MFP. 100 calories either way is nothing.

einzweidrei

Yes, MFP and FitBit both had me at a lower number than I could maintain at so I upped it myself. I think most people are scared to up it a little bit but I find most people could probably tack on another hundred or two calories if they aren't just sitting around all day long.

piratesluver

Well, it seems that you are not completely over that eating disorder since you still don't feel good about yourself and feel guilty after eating. My best advice is that you find yourself profesional help first before start any diet plan.

Well that came out of nowhere...

also, *professional
(sorry, couldn't help myself!)

Linnaea27

I have been maintaining in a 3 pound range since late May. When I reached the top of my maintenance range, I began following MFP's maintenance # estimate, while being very active and probably not logging all the activity (I was gardening a huge amount and would forget how long I'd spent at it sometimes). I lost 3 pounds in 3-4 weeks, which was a shock. I then tried to calculate my actual maintenance calories, after gaining some of those 3 pounds back. I came out with a number 150 calories higher than the MFP estimate, ate around that level for a while, and I think it's a bit too high because I've been slowly gaining weight. I'm back to the MFP estimate for the time being since I'm often over my calorie goal, and it seems like a safe base number to go with while I'm still trying to figure out my real maintenance calories. . . plus now I wouldn't mind losing a pound or so since I seemingly gained all of the 3 pounds back!

nxd10

Either my estimate of my calories or MFP's estimate is off by 250 calories a day.

melimomTARDIS

I am still losing, but I have been " in maintenance" for a month or so. I am scared to eat more.

stuffinmuffin

I eat about 600 calories over the number that MFP gives me for maintenance. Including all my exercise and daily activity.

I ended up getting a fitbit because I kept losing weight in maintenance.

SezxyStef

MFP has my maitenance at 1940....Scooby 2233...IIFYM 2200 (on average), my calculations 2100.

Everything is an estimate but I eat 2k a day, workout 5-7x a week and am quite active with other stuff...I haven't weighed myself in a bit but I was losing slowly so we will see once I get on the scale on Friday what is going on.

Just watch your intake and eat at needed so you don't lose and lower calories if you gain over your limit

my_2_cents

I think mine has been off about 100 calories a day too. I am looking to get a fitbit to get a better idea of my steps. I think I am more active than I give myself credit for!

I can't speak highly enough of fitbit. It has been an awesome tool for me so far, although I still have 47 lbs to go. It allows me to measure all the little bits of exercise I get, not just the runs and other exercise. One caution I have though is that it only measures steps, not any weight carried, or other activities. As an example, I did 10 hours of hay for my father's farm (miserable hard work). At the end of the day, I had 22k steps and 3400 calories available to eat, which is huge, but if I entered the haying as exercise which is in the database, it came out far higher for calories burned because I was carrying and throwing 40-50 lb bales for 10 hours.

My point is that if you're walking or running, a fitbit will work great to keep track of calories. If you're lifting, bending etc, then fitbit is of slightly less value and you should consider other solutions. I know I had plateaued briefly in my weight loss and did some research, and the most common reason by far for inaccuracies in expected weight loss (or maintenance) and actual is lack of accuracy in logging foods or exercise. In my case I had an inaccurate scale that has been replaced, along with more strictly logging measurements instead of estimating. In your case the same may apply, but you may be under eating, and not accurately logging exercise. Maybe try investigating those causes and then compare your results in a few weeks.

jhellwig828

I know that I am not completely sedentary. Yes, I have a desk job so I spend most of the day sitting but my office is also the only one on this level and the only option is stairs so I do two flights up and down at least 8 times a day. I just don't have a real grasp on how many steps I am taking. Does that qualify as lightly active? I don't know. That's why I think the fitbit will help for general day to day activity.

I'm definitely not afraid to up the calories - yeah for more food! I am just surprised that I continue to lose, albeit slowly, with 500 more calories than where I started. Had I known that, I probably wouldn't have gone as low as 1200 in the beginning! So I'm just trying to figure out the right place. I just upped my calories again so I am now 100 more than what MFP gave me to maintain and we'll see where that takes me!

jhellwig828

Well, it seems that you are not completely over that eating disorder since you still don't feel good about yourself and feel guilty after eating. My best advice is that you find yourself profesional help first before start any diet plan.

Well that came out of nowhere...

also, *professional
(sorry, couldn't help myself!)

Right? Totally out of nowhere! I actually feel pretty awesome about myself

piratesluver

Well, it seems that you are not completely over that eating disorder since you still don't feel good about yourself and feel guilty after eating. My best advice is that you find yourself profesional help first before start any diet plan.

Well that came out of nowhere...

also, *professional
(sorry, couldn't help myself!)

Right? Totally out of nowhere! I actually feel pretty awesome about myself

As well you should!!!