Scared of eating at maintenance

nykismile

Good day, hope you all are having a nice Tuesday.

I've been posting on the General Diet forum on occasion because my mindset lately has been to lose more weight. I don't have that much farther to go, and weight loss is so slow near the end. But today I was having a discussion with my brother about it and he said, "You're merely five lbs or whatever away from your goal, and you're underweight now. It's not going to make a difference that you'll like."

Currently I'm 5'5.5" and I weigh 112-113 lbs. For the past two weeks, despite eating around 1,300 to 1,800 calories with exercise every day, I still bounce around those two numbers.

There are things about my body that will not change even if I lose an extra 5 lbs. Losing 5 more lbs won't make my wide ribcage smaller. I'll never have the body I want. It's too unrealistic. It's a reality I'm sure many of us have faced.

When I weighed 167 lbs, I never even fantasized myself weighing 112-113 lbs. This should be a dream for me but all I can focus on are the things I can't change. It's sad.

But people on here have advised me to eat at maintenance. Lift more heavy objects and then put them back down again. But I'm afraid of upping my intake and I'm afraid of fat gain, which can and probably will happen.

It's hard that I can hardly tolerate myself now, let alone if I ended up gaining more. I have no doubt that many responses here will tell me to seek therapy, which I am involved in now, though it's been months with almost no improvement. It's not an overnight fix.

Another reason I'm afraid to eat at maintenance is because there are many weight calculators online and they all seem to tell me a different number for maintenance eating. One told me 2,100, another said 1,900, one other said 2,300. It's inconsistent and I don't know which is accurate. When I return to my dorm this year, my level of activity might change too, so what if I get used to eating more but I end up moving around less?

Since I'm probably plateauing around 112-113 lbs, should I just keep doing what I'm doing so I remain at this weight? Or should I switch to one form of maintenance, even though I'm not quite sure how to go about doing that? All advice is appreciated, and thank you.

SezxyStef

maitenance is interesting...I am there now well I am at goal weight. I have been eating what I thought was maitenance 2k calories and I am still losing a bit...so I have to tweak my intake a bit if I want to stop losing...

that is what maitenance is...eating at a certian level for a while and seeing what happens.

I didn't rely on calculators (although IIFYM.com seems to be most accurate in my case)

I used this calculation from the ETP group Total calories consumed +(pounds lost x 3500)/#days (usually 2 or 3 weeks worth of data) and that gave me 2137 calories...I admit it seemed high to me as well so I settled on 2k...

If you are underweight atm tho you could maybe go a bit above maitenance...but 1300-1800 is too wide of a range for maitenance really..esp at your height etc.

Take the online calculations (or do the one above) and average the online ones and slowly raise it up to that...(50-100 calories a day for a week) then repeat until you hit that number and stay there for 4-6 weeks and adjust as necessary.

If when you go back to school your activity drops, drop your calories accordingly...if your activity increases..increase calories.

oedipa_maas

I wish I knew the answers to your questions, but I'm just not well versed enough to give you good advice. But I will say this. You are amazingly articulate and insightful about your situation. I know it's hard not to fall back into old patterns and I know it's scary to accept your maintenance weight. I hope others will come by and give you good advice, but from me, just know you have all my warm thoughts.

BombshellPhoenix

If you've been at the same weight range for several weeks. You're likely at your maintenance. Calculators are merely guesses. I can, in the least, sympathize with your fear of weight gain. That was me when I started my bulk. I was taught all my life that weight gain was bad and losing weight was good.

You're under weight or at least close, at your height so you're only bet is to maintain and lift heavy and then, when you're ready, slowly increase calories by 100 or so each week until you gain very slowly. This will ensure any fat gains you get in a bulk are minimal at best.

Find a weightlifting routine like All Pro, strong lifts 5x5, etc and stick to it. I truly wish you the best.

Gaining weight was the best thing I've invested in while lifting. I've gained 6 lbs So far and very minimal visual fat gain (I honestly can't tell, small inch increases but clothes fit the same). It's worth it!

JosieRawr

Here's the thing... a wide rib cage looks a lot better with muscles peeking out between them.. Removing fat is only half of the equation now it's time to find your maintenance and build the body you want

47Jacqueline

I used MPFs calculator to set my maintenance calories. I set my activity level at "very active" and got a calories level based on my hieight - 5'$', weight 125lb, and activity level. It I exercise I have to eat back the calories burned. It works well and I don't have to guess or decide amongst all the myriad of calculations available. Ehy make your like compliclated? The developers here have already done the work for you and they are constantly updating their data as new research comes out.

I'm not susre why people make it so complicllated.



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