What are your real maintenance calories?

bunnylion

Hello everyone.
I'm still a long way from reaching my goal weight but I am curious about a few things:

What are your real maintenance calories compared to what MFP calculates to be your maintenance calories? How long have you been maintaining?

Sometimes I hear stories from people needing to stay at 1200 cals forever in order to maintain. Sometimes you hear stories about eating several thousand cals to maintain. I am aware that by building muscle the maintenance calories can go up and by dieting in extreme ways you might ruin your metabolism. But I'm here to hear some real stories from some real people ;-) How do you manage to maintain? Is MFP's prediction about maintenance anywhere close to reality?

TavistockToad

MFPs maintenance cals are about 2-300 too low for me.

firebloom

A lot of people find this TDEE calculator more accurate for estimating maintenance calories.

http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

I'm not on maintenance yet but for me it estimates my maintenance calories to be 1800 before accounting for exercise and I currently eat between 1300 and 1400.

sijomial

I am aware that by building muscle the maintenance calories can go up.

The effect is tiny and totally dwarfed by your activity and exercise levels.
It's a great ambition but don't expect a few extra pounds of muscle to make an enormous difference to your calorie allowance.

MFPs maintenance cals are about 2-300 too high for me (the same way that MFP's predicted rate loss was optimistic for me) but by exercising a lot I get a perfectly sustainable number of calories. I've not found maintenance difficult at all but I'm very accepting of normal weight fluctuations which seem to give some people a lot of anxiety.

I lost weight slowly and had quite a few periods of maintenance so it feels "normal".

cwolfman13

What are your real maintenance calories compared to what MFP calculates to be your maintenance calories? How long have you been maintaining?

It's always going to change as per your activity level. There isn't a set number. In the spring when I'm training for endurance rides I eat and maintain at around 3500 calories per day. In the summer when I pull my training back it's more like 2800. It goes up slightly in the fall to about 3,000 when I'm racing cyclocross and then back down in the winter...I don't do much cardio work in the winter so I'm usually more like 2,500 calories to maintain but I eat around 2,800 and do a slow bulk in the winter before going into my spring endurance season.

I would add to that, you're not going to have a set number that if you go over by a little bit you're just going to start packing on weight. Your true TDEE is going to be a range, not a specific number. Also keep in mind that the number you get from any of these calculators is based on your perceived level of activity...a lot of people are more active than they think they are, particularly if they've been doing this awhile and really gotten into fitness.

rosebette

I'm one of those rare people whose maintenance is probably around 1200. I am older, small, and female --55 and 5'1.5". According to MFP, if I get to my goal weight of 114, my maintenance could be between 1320 and 1480, which really isn't much over 1200. I've been netting 1200 for a long time with one "Cheat day" a week, and I've been plateau'd at 120 for about 3 months, which tells me those maintenance numbers are about right.

kelly_e_montana

I'm maintaining on 2700-2800 calories per day and MFP is a couple hundred calories too low for me.

bunnylion

Thanks for sharing your experiences!
I't really interesting to hear how everyone differs... I must admit that I'm a bit scared of ever reaching my goal because quite a few people have told me that maintaining is even more difficult than losing...

Francl27

The reason a lot of people think their maintenance is lower than it is is because 1) they are afraid to increase calories, 2) they increase their calories and gain weight, which is normal because your muscles replenish their water reserves, and freak out, so they decrease their calories.

pkw58

MFP puts my maintenance calories at 1530 with my everyday activity. I have my goals set to lose 1/2 a pound a week. that puts my daily food calories at 1230. I generally eat between 1200 and 1600 every day, not taking into consideration any exercise. I do record my exercise burn from my nike fuel band.

Graelwyn75

Mfp would have me on about 1690 net to maintain, it is closer to 2000 for me, excluding exercise.

bunnylion

Thanks guys! It's great to hear that some of you can eat way more than MFP estimates :-)
I know activity is a big part of maintaining but with a busy office job there is only so much I can do... Hopefully I can figure something out once I get there.

Emmmmmmmmmmmmmmmie

i maintain at 2552 calories and lose weight on around 2000 calories a day...
mfp is way too low for me i follow my TDEE and work it all out from there.

jenilla1

I've got 1700 calories PLUS exercise. It has worked for me at that level now for over 3 years and counting. My weight loss calories are between 1300 and 1400 PLUS exercise.

ETA: In answer to your question: Yes, MFP's calculations have worked perfectly for me for both weight loss and maintenance. I don't use the TDEE method because my TDEE isn't consistent enough. Some weeks I'm totally sedentary, the next I'm hiking 20 miles in one day or running a half marathon. I'm too lazy to recalculate a new TDEE all the time. Just sticking to one stable calorie level and then adding calories burned when I DO work out works WAY better for me. My weight has not fluctuated more than 2 pounds up or down throughout my years of maintenance. It's like magic for me. :flowerforyou:

Laura3BB

MFP puts my maintenance at 1750, plus exercise; I eat around 1900-2000 and exercise rather little, and am maintaining ok

The_Enginerd

Thanks guys! It's great to hear that some of you can eat way more than MFP estimates :-)
I know activity is a big part of maintaining but with a busy office job there is only so much I can do... Hopefully I can figure something out once I get there.

MFP initially had me at 2150 to maintain, and I found I needed a minimum of 2200 to maintain. After a bulk/cut and losing more weight, MFP has me set to 2100 to maintain, but now I need about 2300 to maintain This works out to 2700-2800 a day with my exercise. I work in an office and spend all day sitting.

Mischievous_Rascal

MFP's calories are about 600 too low for me. I've been maintaining on 2500 since last December.

Anonycatgirl

I'm still trying to figure out my ultimate maintenance, but MFP is at least 200 calories too low, and probably more. I also lost faster than predicted, so I think I'm more active than what MFP considers moderately active, despite having the ultimate desk job. (I'm an author.)

bikrchk

I use the BMR caluclator in MFP to set my calorie level. I also wear a ViVo Fit that tracks steps for general activity and hooks to a HR monitor for deliberate exercise so I get a pretty clear pircure of actual burn for the day. The ViVo syncs its activity to MFP which adjusts my intake on a daily basis based on my activity level. I've been in maintenance for about 6 weeks now after a 92 pound loss and have not deviated more than .5 pounds week to week so I guess it's working!

FitPhillygirl

I maintain at 1800 to 1900 calories per day, which is what MFP recommends. So far it's been working great.

SnuggleSmacks

I have a Bodymedia band to help me determine the correct amount to eat according to my activity on a daily basis. It's pretty accurate. Lately I have not been very active, as I'm mourning the loss of a pet. According to Bodymedia, I'm burning around 1860 calories per day on average. It's usually closer to 2000. If you're concerned, a fitness tracker can be a huge help.