Trying to enter maintenance but keep losing

kevinosity
kevinosity Posts: 9
in Food and Nutrition
Hi all!

I'm experiencing a very perplexing issue and wonder if any of you can shed some light on what I may be doing wrong or offer some advice.

Since February 2012 I've lost 95lbs going from around 271 down to 176. 175lbs was my goal weight but I've realized that 175-180 is my ideal range.

About two weeks ago, when I made the decision to enter maintenance, I decided I wanted to get a correct understanding of my overall metabolic picture to ensure that when I increased my calories I wouldn't eat too many. First, I had my body fat analyzed via DEXA radiography and it was 20.8% which is within the average ranger for a guy my age (36). Then, I had my VO2 analyzed to determine my RMR; it came back at 1110!

Here's where I'm confused. I used MFP to lose weight by eating around 1750 calories a day (which turned out of be a lot); to enter maintenance I need to eat around 2200 kcal or so a day. Based on my body fat, height (6') and weight the nutritionist came up to roughly the same calorie requirements. However, when the VO2 is used my daily calorie needs are around 1500-1700 based on my lifestyle which is sedentary (work in a lab) for about 10 hours+ a day; I typically get active only on the weekends (trial hiking, walking, running errands, etc.). I bought a BodyMedia armband last week and entered all my data into its system and I suggested I eat about 1850 to maintain but it shows my daily burn to be around 2400 a day based on activity it measures.

Right now I'm eating my 1720 calorie goal plus about 200 extra I'm not tracking just to mentally make myself OK with being above that initial goal. I'm eating healthy calories; not sugars, extra starches, processed foods, etc. But I'm still losing weight! I bought a whole bunch of new shorts and pants last week in my new size (32) and they're all lose on me as of this morning.

My dietician says the VO2 calculation is the "gold standard" but if it says I should be eating only about 1500 kcal a day and I'm eating around 1700-1900 a day and STILL losing somethings not adding up.

Can someone please shed some light? I really do not want to lose weight (nor gain it back either) and want to do things properly. Honestly, I saw a photo of myself taken just this past Friday and I even thought I looked too thin. I definitely don't need to lose any more and just want to maintain and be healthy.

Thanks!

Replies

  • cburky911
    cburky911 Posts: 89 Member
    Eat whatever works for you.
  • tachyon_master
    tachyon_master Posts: 226 Member
    Bump for curiosity. Having a similar problem myself.
  • Cassea7
    Cassea7 Posts: 181 Member
    If your arm band registers that you are burning 2400 a day and you are eating 1700 plus 200 for exercise..then you have a deficit of 500 per day. Is this right? I think you should track calories precisely to 2200 a day or 2400 a day? I am not an expert..just a person with an opinion. :):smile:
  • Flixie00
    Flixie00 Posts: 1,195 Member
    I am female, shorter than you, and my base maintenance level is higher than what you are eating. I suspect you need to eat more, i.e. 2200 - 2400 as Cassea7 suggested.
  • vjohn04
    vjohn04 Posts: 2,276 Member
    up your calories until the scale stops moving. simple as that... log everything to find out what your maintenance number is. your number is obviously higher than you think it is because of your activity.
  • links_slayer
    links_slayer Posts: 1,151 Member
    eat moar
  • FredDoyle
    FredDoyle Posts: 2,272 Member
    What formula did you use to calculate RMR with VO2max? Maybe for one of the variables you are not average.
    The test could have been inaccurate as well.
    Like the poster said above, eat until you maintain. It's the only way to be sure.
  • treenuh_x
    treenuh_x Posts: 94 Member
    I agree with everyone else in the thread. If you are eating purely for maintenance, just eat enough calories that the scale stops moving (or just does the daily fluctuations that come with water retention). You are probably not eating enough.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    If you are losing weight eating 1700 cals then regardless of what super calculation was used to come up with that figure, it's not enough!

    I am 5ft5 130ish lbs and. Maintain on net 2000 cals....

    Eat more!
  • katevarner
    katevarner Posts: 884 Member
    I have found the BodyMedia info to be very accurate. I am in maintenance and try to eat within about 100 calories (some days a little over, some under, but average for the week under 100) of my daily burn.

    I used the BMF to lose the last 20 lbs. but also kept losing for a few months because I had a hard time convincing myself that I could eat as much as it said I could. I can. It currently says that I burn on average between 2200 and 2300 per day and I eat about that and have been maintaining since fall 2012.

    I think your RMR is wrong.
  • pkw58
    pkw58 Posts: 2,038 Member
    Maintenance , in my experience and opinion, is why I have to log daily and monitor weekly on the scale, measurements, etc. congrats on getting to maintenance, I actually ended up 10-11 pounds below my goal weight first set. I adjust my calories about once every three months or so. I don't even try to eat back all my calories anymore. The formulas that science and medicine extol would be great in a lab, but we live in the real world. I am 5'8" and 128 pounds and female. I eat between 1200 and 2000 Gross Calories a day before deducting exercise calories. It's working for me. I don't even get how you could maintain 176 pounds on 1500 a day, but I am not you.
  • kevinosity
    kevinosity Posts: 9
    Thanks for the replies. The message is loud and clear: up my calories. I'm going to increase my calories each weekly and try to find that point where I don't lose or gain.
  • hamasehfallah
    hamasehfallah Posts: 32
    isn't it kind of funny how people are faster to listen to whatever a computer tells them to do (in this case a BMD machine) instead of listening to what their bodies are clearly telling them? welcome to the 21st century :huh:

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