The Magic Number?

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padams2359
padams2359 Posts: 1,093 Member
in Goal: Maintaining Weight
In my opinion, weight loss is the easy part. Burn more calories than you take in, weight loss. My question is, how long did it take to find your magic Maintanance number, and what is it? I just reached my goal weight this week. My weight fluctuates between 155 & 158 at any given point. I know, "It's not all about the number on a scale, it's about how your clothes fit and how you feel.". My 1 lb per week daily calorie goal was 1460. My Maintanance number is 1960. Is this on parr with others?

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  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
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    MFP gives you a 500 calorie a day deficit to lose a pound a week.

    When I went to maintenance, I bought a fitbit, upped by calories by 250, and started there. I have always eaten back my maintenance calories.

    I've been fairly stable for the last 5 months - I've lost a few more pounds, but I'm fine with that, though I'm not trying to. If I didn't want to lose at all, I'd add in a few more calories. My maintenance calories are lower than yours - 1450 net. But that must be a good number for me because if I eat that I am never hungry and I often go slightly under it. I'm tall, but in my 50's, and my metabolism has slowed down.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    If you were losing 1 Lb per week on average with a 500 calorie deficit, then your maintenance calories would be roughly 500 calories more. Nobody has an exact XXXX calories to maintain. The human body goes to great lengths to maintain weight and it takes sustained undereating to lose weight and overeating to gain weight. If your TDEE is 1960 and you eat like 2000 or something, you're not going to really gain...your body is going to absorb that energy difference. It's just not that precise.

    Just go with a number and keep an eye on things. If you're losing then bump your calories up...if your gaining then drop them a little. Keep in mind that 2-5 Lb fluctuations are natural and have nothing to do with fat. I've been maintaining for almost 7 months now and I fluctuate between 180 - 184...on average I'm about 182...it has nothing to do with fat, it's all water and waste fluctuations.
  • retiree2006
    retiree2006 Posts: 951 Member
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    I'm 5'4" and was given a maintenance of 1650. I decided to ease into that 100 calories at a time and now eat about 1400/day plus add in my exercise calories. So far I keep between 138-141 lbs. which is where I'd like to be. I've held that for about 2 months and will up my calories another 100 soon. It's a matter of fine tuning and if I have a day where I feel hungry, I can "exercise for food"! At the age of almost 64 my numbers are probably lower than someone younger! Just relax and adjust as you go.
  • padams2359
    padams2359 Posts: 1,093 Member
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    Thanks guys.
  • soniams
    soniams Posts: 95 Member
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    I have found that finding the right number to be learning process. I have been the same weight for the past year and a half. Over that time my calorie intake has varied from 1400 to 1800 per day. What has really helped me is having a Fitbit. I burn about 1800-1900 calories per day. For the past couple weeks, I am eating at that level and not gaining or losing. I have 15 more pounds to lose. My plan is to eat 1800 for the rest of this year and then take a 15% deficit for a couple months to see if the last few pounds come off.

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