Calorie needs - I have a question

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MJA1970
MJA1970 Posts: 32
in Health and Weight Loss
I currently weigh 142 and would like to get down to 133. I have Googled several weight loss calculators and they all pretty much say the same thing...that to lose a pound a week, I should be consuming around 1500 cal/day. I then found a 'calories required for maintenance' calculator. I entered my current weight and was told to maintain this weight, I should take in around 2,000 calories per day (makes sense).

I then entered the weight '133' and got the same number. So, here's my question. Once I get to my goal weight, can I then consume 2,000 calories a day and not gain weight? I thought I read somewhere that the more weight you lose, the fewer calories you need. I am assuming that that is only true for weight loss and not maintenance (???)

I can get by on 1500 calories, but 2,000 sounds much better LOL (btw, I walk 40 minutes a day, 5x/week).

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  • MJA1970
    MJA1970 Posts: 32
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    I currently weigh 142 and would like to get down to 133. I have Googled several weight loss calculators and they all pretty much say the same thing...that to lose a pound a week, I should be consuming around 1500 cal/day. I then found a 'calories required for maintenance' calculator. I entered my current weight and was told to maintain this weight, I should take in around 2,000 calories per day (makes sense).

    I then entered the weight '133' and got the same number. So, here's my question. Once I get to my goal weight, can I then consume 2,000 calories a day and not gain weight? I thought I read somewhere that the more weight you lose, the fewer calories you need. I am assuming that that is only true for weight loss and not maintenance (???)

    I can get by on 1500 calories, but 2,000 sounds much better LOL (btw, I walk 40 minutes a day, 5x/week).
  • MTGirl
    MTGirl Posts: 1,490 Member
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    Yes, the less you weigh the less you need to eat - however your difference between your starting and goal is less than 10 lbs. That is not a significant enough difference to change your calorie needs. Enjoy!
  • Wolfena
    Wolfena Posts: 1,570 Member
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    2000 calories sounds very high to me for maintaining a 133 pound weight- or even 142.

    My maintenance calories are right at 1700 and I weigh 152 - when I was at 140 they were closer to 1600. Not including exercise calories, of course.
  • hiddensecant
    hiddensecant Posts: 2,446 Member
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    I think 2000 could be maintenance for 142, depending on your activity level. So once you get down to 133, you'll get a different maintenance allowance. But it will be more than your deficit allowance (what you're eating now).

    And as long as you don't go below a net of 1200 through exercise or whatnot, your metabolism should be good to eat all maintenance calories without gaining weight.

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