eating at maintenance - too much?
daydream_believer
Posts: 332
hi all.
i have recently decided that i am happy with my current weight, and instead of losing, maintain.
after typing my stats into countless TDEE calculators, i have come up with a rough guess of approximatly 1753-1800 calories to maintain.
i have stuck by this for the week, however feel incredibly full and am eating mountains of food in comparison to everyone else around me.
has anybody else found that eating at maintenance is somewhat a struggle, with the feeling that they are going to regain the weight they lost? is this the 'mental challenge' that people often reference, or is it likely that i miscalculated my stats?
i am 5'4 female, 18yo and 111 lbs. i run for 30 mins 3-4 times a week and circuit/weights 3 times a week for approx 20 mins.
thankyou for any feedback you might share
i have recently decided that i am happy with my current weight, and instead of losing, maintain.
after typing my stats into countless TDEE calculators, i have come up with a rough guess of approximatly 1753-1800 calories to maintain.
i have stuck by this for the week, however feel incredibly full and am eating mountains of food in comparison to everyone else around me.
has anybody else found that eating at maintenance is somewhat a struggle, with the feeling that they are going to regain the weight they lost? is this the 'mental challenge' that people often reference, or is it likely that i miscalculated my stats?
i am 5'4 female, 18yo and 111 lbs. i run for 30 mins 3-4 times a week and circuit/weights 3 times a week for approx 20 mins.
thankyou for any feedback you might share
0
Replies
-
I am so worried about the maintaining phase. I am almost there but terrified of it. If you are full all the time, I would lower them.0
-
I understand your concern. Simply monitor it and adjust accordingly. You'll know soon enough where you need to be. It's not like everything is going to blow up on you in a week or two.0
-
hi all.
i have recently decided that i am happy with my current weight, and instead of losing, maintain.
after typing my stats into countless TDEE calculators, i have come up with a rough guess of approximatly 1753-1800 calories to maintain.
i have stuck by this for the week, however feel incredibly full and am eating mountains of food in comparison to everyone else around me.
has anybody else found that eating at maintenance is somewhat a struggle, with the feeling that they are going to regain the weight they lost? is this the 'mental challenge' that people often reference, or is it likely that i miscalculated my stats?
i am 5'4 female, 18yo and 111 lbs. i run for 30 mins 3-4 times a week and circuit/weights 3 times a week for approx 20 mins.
thankyou for any feedback you might share
I stuck your stats in this calculator: http://thefitgirls.com/tdee-calculator.aspx
I got a BMR of 1347, and a modest TDEE of 2088. I say modest because I said 'moderate' for exercise, and you exercise a lot. You could potentially still be eating too little, but everyone is different. Try 1800 for a week, see if you lose/maintain/gain, and tweak it next week accordingly. You'll get to the level that feels right you you. Good luck!
Edited to add: Avocado, wholegrains, olive oil and nut butters are your friends! If I'm struggling to eat enough, I look to healthy higher calorie foods like those.0 -
I have no issue eating at maintenance, body-wise, which is 2000-2200 a day for me. However, I do get really freaked out a lot. I eat more than pretty much everyone I know. My body is still actually losing fat at maintenance, albeit slowly, but a big part of me is continually terrified.
If you're feeling overly full though, don't overfeed yourself. I have days where I eat less and days where I go over - perhaps that'd suit you better? Just a thought, anyway.0 -
thankyou all for your responces! i trully appreciate the feedback. maybe it is my mind playing games hehe.0
-
Yup I've been in maintenance for around 2 months.
My experience at first was that I "couldn't" eat that much food. It was mainly a mental block I think, based on fear. I didn't really trust that I could eat more. So I did the math to figure out my true TDEE. The method is here:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets
You need 10 weeks straight of accurate logging to do it.
I found out that my TDEE is higher than MFP calculated for me. That was the boost I needed to start eating more. I didn't have any more problems feeling like it was a ton of food. I haven't gained any weight since I started maintenance, and actually I lost a good 3 lbs when I upped my calories.0 -
Maintenance while it is a wonderful achievement reaching it, is still just as hard if not harder than losing. It is a struggle at first but you'll adjust. Give yourself a weight range instead of an exact weight number while you try to figure your true TDEE bc no matter what there will be fluctuations. I've been maintaining since June and my range is 112-115. I've dropped below and I've been above this after vacation but by knowing my real TDEE based on accurate logging its easy to follow and always get on track.0
-
I'm at maintenance and eat an average of 1800-2100 calories per day. Similar activity level too. I workout 5 days a week.... Running aerobics and barbell classes. I also eat more than my coworkers and get all kinds of comments on how I'm the "smallest in the office and I eat the most"...... Eye roll0
-
hi all.
i have recently decided that i am happy with my current weight, and instead of losing, maintain.
after typing my stats into countless TDEE calculators, i have come up with a rough guess of approximatly 1753-1800 calories to maintain.
i have stuck by this for the week, however feel incredibly full and am eating mountains of food in comparison to everyone else around me.
has anybody else found that eating at maintenance is somewhat a struggle, with the feeling that they are going to regain the weight they lost? is this the 'mental challenge' that people often reference, or is it likely that i miscalculated my stats?
i am 5'4 female, 18yo and 111 lbs. i run for 30 mins 3-4 times a week and circuit/weights 3 times a week for approx 20 mins.
thankyou for any feedback you might share
The initial big water loss weight you lost originally - you should gain that back, so don't worry about that.
For heavy cardio like running and circuit training, 165 min a week.
You don't mention what rest of the day is though. You might imagine, there's a difference between a mailman, a nurse, a school teacher, and a deskjob.
But if you have desk job and no kids keeping you running around all night, then I'd say BMR multiplier of 1.44.
And MFP's BMR calc will be just fine there. Should be around 1821.
So you could set MFP to Active, weight loss to maintain, and eat the goal given, as long as your workout schedule doesn't change. Should be 1838.
And yes, Active on MFP is 1.45, because normally it would be without exercise included. Compared to other TDEE calcs where that would be between Lightly and Moderately Active with exercise included.0 -
You don't mention what rest of the day is though. You might imagine, there's a difference between a mailman, a nurse, a school teacher, and a deskjob.
But if you have desk job and no kids keeping you running around all night, then I'd say BMR multiplier of 1.44.
And MFP's BMR calc will be just fine there. Should be around 1821.
thanks heybales, very helpful. forgot to mention that the rest of my day is a desk job. this works perfectly with what you calculated. 0 -
hi all.
i have recently decided that i am happy with my current weight, and instead of losing, maintain.
after typing my stats into countless TDEE calculators, i have come up with a rough guess of approximatly 1753-1800 calories to maintain.
i have stuck by this for the week, however feel incredibly full and am eating mountains of food in comparison to everyone else around me.
has anybody else found that eating at maintenance is somewhat a struggle, with the feeling that they are going to regain the weight they lost? is this the 'mental challenge' that people often reference, or is it likely that i miscalculated my stats?
i am 5'4 female, 18yo and 111 lbs. i run for 30 mins 3-4 times a week and circuit/weights 3 times a week for approx 20 mins.
thankyou for any feedback you might share
The initial big water loss weight you lost originally - you should gain that back, so don't worry about that.
For heavy cardio like running and circuit training, 165 min a week.
You don't mention what rest of the day is though. You might imagine, there's a difference between a mailman, a nurse, a school teacher, and a deskjob.
But if you have desk job and no kids keeping you running around all night, then I'd say BMR multiplier of 1.44.
And MFP's BMR calc will be just fine there. Should be around 1821.
So you could set MFP to Active, weight loss to maintain, and eat the goal given, as long as your workout schedule doesn't change. Should be 1838.
And yes, Active on MFP is 1.45, because normally it would be without exercise included. Compared to other TDEE calcs where that would be between Lightly and Moderately Active with exercise included.
Sorry if I'm dense and didn't understand if you already said this, but by setting to Active and Maintain, would you still eat back your exercise calories then?
I've used the TDEE calculators so I know about what my goal should be, but I don't want to change the setting in MFP manually because I like the idea of eating my exercise calories back because I do different things throughout the week.
(Sorry, not trying to hijack your post OP)0 -
Eat at the recommended level and don't worry about it. Weigh about once per week and if you see the scale going back up, adjust what you are eating. Remember, many times we are inaccurate with our portion estimates so it is possible that you are eating more than you think... However, it may just be that you are now able to eat more and just are having to adjust to it; the only real way to know though is to weigh periodically and adjust to what YOUR body needs. (Remember all these TDEEs and such are ESTIMATES based on averages)... Perhaps a more accure way to tell how you are maintaining is watching how your clothes fit... If they start get tighter, you may want to adjust even if the scale don't move .. Also, it is possible for them to get looser even if your weight does not change if your body fat percentage drops and muscle definition increases. That being said, maintenance is a great time to set NEW goals... Strength goals, running goals, flexibility goals... It is all about a healthy lifestyle. Stay active for life. Always seek to improve something about yourself. Best wishes in this most important time of your journey.0
-
Been there done that! I too was so scared of getting back into old patterns!!! In fact, once I hit my goal I wound up 10 lbs below it. I SLOWLY increased my calories until the weight loss ultimately stopped. It took about six months to actually find my TDEE. Many online calculators tell me it's lower than it really is. I can safely eat 2100 calories or more a day and not gain weight. Any less and I lose.0
-
You're such a beautiful young lady, you can definitely eat a lot and keep the weight off at your age if you are active and not eating all junk. Good luck to you in your weight maintenance and enjoy!0
-
I'm at maintenance and eat an average of 1800-2100 calories per day. Similar activity level too. I workout 5 days a week.... Running aerobics and barbell classes. I also eat more than my coworkers and get all kinds of comments on how I'm the "smallest in the office and I eat the most"...... Eye roll
I get that too. Often people will remark why am i eating lunch at 10.30 am. I do eat the same amounts as them probably or a little less but it just always looks like im stuffing my face. Its probably because it takes longer to eat the kinds of snacks i eat.
What i do is replace the biscuits or cake that they eat for morning tea for real food aka chicken and salad or a tuna salad sandwich. We just eat more of the real whole foods rather than the junk. In the afternoon I'll also have a healthy snack that takes time to eat. I need a good 10 minutes break at my desk whilst they sit their scoffing their cheezels in 2 seconds flat haha. lol i dont think they like the prep time and time it takes to eat.0 -
Sorry if I'm dense and didn't understand if you already said this, but by setting to Active and Maintain, would you still eat back your exercise calories then?
I've used the TDEE calculators so I know about what my goal should be, but I don't want to change the setting in MFP manually because I like the idea of eating my exercise calories back because I do different things throughout the week.
(Sorry, not trying to hijack your post OP)
Not in this case, because the MFP level though it's only supposed to be for non-exercise, can reach her more likely TDEE that does include exercise.
Since it includes exercise in this case, you would not eat it back.
You can still do TDEE Deficit method with eat back method though.
Select MFP activity level that is correct for non-exercise time. desk job, sedentary, kids all day, Lightly Active, ect.
Set goal to maintain.
MFP will give you a goal, which is actually non-exercise TDEE. Take your 15-20% off that figure and manually set your eating goal.
Now log your workout calories, but subtract the same 15-20% off those too for the amount to actually eat back.0 -
I'd never be able to eat that much, i struggle to eat 1200 as it is0
-
I'm at maintenance. You won't gain if you eat the right amount. Don't worry so much. As to how you feel stuffed on 1800 calories a day... My maintenance (with workouts) averages 1750 or so a day. And I'm still starving. So jealous.0
-
Maybe you're full because you're still eating the same kinds of foods you ate while reducing - foods that have a lot of fiber and bulk to fill you up. That's a good thing, but maybe you could introduce some nutritious calorie dense foods into your diet now, like avocado and nuts.0
-
Not in this case, because the MFP level though it's only supposed to be for non-exercise, can reach her more likely TDEE that does include exercise.
Since it includes exercise in this case, you would not eat it back.
You can still do TDEE Deficit method with eat back method though.
Select MFP activity level that is correct for non-exercise time. desk job, sedentary, kids all day, Lightly Active, ect.
Set goal to maintain.
MFP will give you a goal, which is actually non-exercise TDEE. Take your 15-20% off that figure and manually set your eating goal.
Now log your workout calories, but subtract the same 15-20% off those too for the amount to actually eat back.
Okay, I think I understand. I was just a little confused because I used a different website for my loss and came over to MFP to maintain and I ate more there to lose than what MFP gives me as a goal to maintain, even with eating back my exercise calories.0 -
People at work have noticed how much more I eat now days and the weight loss too lol. I have just switched to maintaining from today. It is kind of a weird mental thing.0
-
I'm glad I found this thread! I lost 4 and half stone with Slimming World, reaching that target 18 months ago. I stayed within that target, well a couple of lbs above, so was about 9 stone 11 most weeks, felt quite comfortable. I continued to go to Slimming World weekly, went to gym couple of times a week (usually on a treadmill and trying not to talk to anyone!). I am only 5ft, and to be a 'normal BMI' would need to get to 9 stone. I always said I'd have a go eventually, next time...... So, long story short, I injured my shoulder in October, ended up talking to a couple of the staff at the gym as I was really nervous about what I could do in the gym (I've had issues with anxiety in the past, and the gym has been an issue, as well as talking to people I don't know). They recommended a trainer to help, who was great, and talking to him made me think if not now, when am I ever going to try for that final loss. So I joined on here, cut down the food and worked with the trainer (who made me realise that when I thought I had been working our hard before, it wasn't even coming close!) Made the new target 5 weeks ago, and since then have stayed below 9 stones, and still losing slowly (8st 11 this week). I have to decide now if to lower the target again, or to expect that it will level out again. I have had some negative comments this last couple of weeks about losing too much, and being obsessed. I've never been this light before! I feel I am eating more again, and more variety, but don't just want to add more junk in! I'm really enjoying my gym time, but feel I have got a reasonable balance with it not taking over everything. I don't stress about everything I eat, but I am mindful as I don't want to be 14 stone again. I still think with scales are wrong everytime I see a 9 at the beginning, never mind an 8! Do you ever get used to it?0
-
Bump0
-
I'm glad I found this thread! I lost 4 and half stone with Slimming World, reaching that target 18 months ago. I stayed within that target, well a couple of lbs above, so was about 9 stone 11 most weeks, felt quite comfortable. I continued to go to Slimming World weekly, went to gym couple of times a week (usually on a treadmill and trying not to talk to anyone!). I am only 5ft, and to be a 'normal BMI' would need to get to 9 stone. I always said I'd have a go eventually, next time...... So, long story short, I injured my shoulder in October, ended up talking to a couple of the staff at the gym as I was really nervous about what I could do in the gym (I've had issues with anxiety in the past, and the gym has been an issue, as well as talking to people I don't know). They recommended a trainer to help, who was great, and talking to him made me think if not now, when am I ever going to try for that final loss. So I joined on here, cut down the food and worked with the trainer (who made me realise that when I thought I had been working our hard before, it wasn't even coming close!) Made the new target 5 weeks ago, and since then have stayed below 9 stones, and still losing slowly (8st 11 this week). I have to decide now if to lower the target again, or to expect that it will level out again. I have had some negative comments this last couple of weeks about losing too much, and being obsessed. I've never been this light before! I feel I am eating more again, and more variety, but don't just want to add more junk in! I'm really enjoying my gym time, but feel I have got a reasonable balance with it not taking over everything. I don't stress about everything I eat, but I am mindful as I don't want to be 14 stone again. I still think with scales are wrong everytime I see a 9 at the beginning, never mind an 8! Do you ever get used to it?
this makes sense to me on so many levels! people also think i am too obsessed (which i probably am) because i need to know exactly what goes into my meals and what quantity so i can correctly log. i hope for both our sakes that it gets easier and our minds get used to our new bodies so we can stop the constant worry about it!0 -
save for later0
-
Me too!0
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 393.6K Introduce Yourself
- 43.8K Getting Started
- 260.3K Health and Weight Loss
- 176K Food and Nutrition
- 47.5K Recipes
- 232.6K Fitness and Exercise
- 431 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.5K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.6K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 153K Motivation and Support
- 8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.8K MyFitnessPal Information
- 24 News and Announcements
- 1.1K Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.6K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions