Upping my calories to maintain

ReaGaladriel

I've lost 21 pounds in 6 months, nice and slow with calorie deficit. Now I would like to up my calories to maintain. Also I plan on exercising 5-6 times a week for about an hour (mostly anaerobic, with dumbbells, nothing too hard,, I've started with Jillian Michaels - No more trouble zones).

I will have a lot more calories in a day than before (upping calories to maintenance + exercise calories). What is the healthiest things to add to my current diet? I need something to build muscle, I know that protein is good for it but I can not just add that. I'm afraid if I eat too much, or eat the wrong things that I will gain pounds back.

I eat everything in moderation, mostly whole grains instead of processed grains, plenty of vegetables, meats (mainly chicken and turkey),a lot of light cottage cheese,eggs in the morning ect. I've never used the protein powder , I'm not sure whether I should or not because I don't work out quite so intensely.

Any advice is welcome: D

jzammetti

I will have a lot more calories in a day than before (upping calories to maintenance + exercise calories).

One question...are you using MFP's guidelines or TDEE? If it is TDEE, then do not eat back exercise calories. Maintenance wold be easier with TDEE, I think.

ShannonMpls

Congrats on your weight loss!

I would add calories back gradually - 100 a week until you find that the scale is no longer moving up or down. This will take trial and error, and I'd expect that you'll bounce up a bit before settling.

As for *what* to eat, I follow this:

Minimum amount of protein of .8-1g/pound of lean body mass. For me that's around 130g on the high end, so I hit that on any day I lift.

Minimum fat of .3-.4g per pound of body weight. For me, that's 68g at the upper range (but I basically always exceed this, which is fine since it's my minimum goal).

Once I hit those, the rest is carbs up to my calorie goal. I try for healthy carbs but I have treats too.

I'm not sure you'd need protein powder. I use it, but only right after lifting. You can certainly use it to meet protein goals though.

cwolfman13

I will have a lot more calories in a day than before (upping calories to maintenance + exercise calories).

One question...are you using MFP's guidelines or TDEE? If it is TDEE, then do not eat back exercise calories. Maintenance wold be easier with TDEE, I think.

Agreed that maintenance is a lot easier using the TDEE method. Also, I'd guess you've gotten into a pretty good fitness routine by now. NEAT method (MFP method) is great for people who are new to fitness and exercise as it doesn't require exercise...so people can miss workouts, etc without any other consequence other than they can't eat as much that day.

TDEE method is great if you have a pretty consistent routine and you don't skip/miss a lot of workouts,etc.

Also, I'd add calories back gradually. When I went to maintenance I added back about 100-150 calories per week over the course of a month or so. This allows your metabolism to catch on to what you're doing...also, easier to add in a little at a time to figure out what you should eat, etc.

RonandDi

I have been asking myself the same question as you. I hope to be moving to maintenance levels in another 2 or 3 weeks. I really never changed what I ate, just how much, and I'm happy with the portion sizes I'm eating now. Like was mentioned, I plan on adding slowly, and adding some of the higher calorie foods...milk...peanut butter...breads. I am looking forward to it, but don't want to get back into the habit of eating large meals.

ReaGaladriel

I will have a lot more calories in a day than before (upping calories to maintenance + exercise calories).

One question...are you using MFP's guidelines or TDEE? If it is TDEE, then do not eat back exercise calories. Maintenance wold be easier with TDEE, I think.

I've used MFP from the beginning and I always ate my exercise calories back,,and it worked for me so I never changed it!

Congrats on your weight loss!

I would add calories back gradually - 100 a week until you find that the scale is no longer moving up or down. This will take trial and error, and I'd expect that you'll bounce up a bit before settling.

As for *what* to eat, I follow this:

Minimum amount of protein of .8-1g/pound of lean body mass. For me that's around 130g on the high end, so I hit that on any day I lift.

Minimum fat of .3-.4g per pound of body weight. For me, that's 68g at the upper range (but I basically always exceed this, which is fine since it's my minimum goal).

Once I hit those, the rest is carbs up to my calorie goal. I try for healthy carbs but I have treats too.

I'm not sure you'd need protein powder. I use it, but only right after lifting. You can certainly use it to meet protein goals though.

@cwolfman13

Thank you for your advice. I love the idea of upping little by little,, I think that will help the transition.

@RonandDi
I also now eat a little bit of everything. So increasing my portions little by little should do the trick.

How much calories should I add daily?