Should I up to maintenance calories MFP set for me?

Wingg_
Wingg_ Posts: 395 Member
in Goal: Maintaining Weight
I'm trying to find my maintenance calories and I've been eating 1550 calories for the past 22 days and haven't lose weight. Should I continue to up to 1640calories that MFP has set for me? Or should I just continue eating 1550calories?? Help please!

Replies

  • sissysassysara
    sissysassysara Posts: 2
    1550 is getting to the low spectrum of a healthy caloric intake. You never want to go below 1200. If your body does not respond to the low calories, your metabolism is very slow. The best way to boost it is to slowly add in about 50 calories per week.
    I'd suggest finding out your BMR (basal metabolic rate) and entering your calories manually into Myfitnesspal. I've found that the automatic generated calories are way too low for me. I'm at about 2300 a day, maintaining my weight, and Myfitnesspal wants me at 1700.

    http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/bmr_calculator.htm

    Once you know this number, you NEVER want to go below it. Otherwise, you risk metabolic damage and it'll be even harder for you to lose weight.

    Also, check out the Macro calculator:

    http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/macronutrients_calculator.htm
  • Wingg_
    Wingg_ Posts: 395 Member
    1550 is getting to the low spectrum of a healthy caloric intake. You never want to go below 1200. If your body does not respond to the low calories, your metabolism is very slow. The best way to boost it is to slowly add in about 50 calories per week.
    I'd suggest finding out your BMR (basal metabolic rate) and entering your calories manually into Myfitnesspal. I've found that the automatic generated calories are way too low for me. I'm at about 2300 a day, maintaining my weight, and Myfitnesspal wants me at 1700.

    http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/bmr_calculator.htm

    Once you know this number, you NEVER want to go below it. Otherwise, you risk metabolic damage and it'll be even harder for you to lose weight.

    Also, check out the Macro calculator:

    http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/macronutrients_calculator.htm

    I'm trying to maintain my weight not lose weight. So I should slowly add 50cal to my BMR?...
  • PaytraB
    PaytraB Posts: 2,360 Member
    Go to what MFP calculated, weigh yourself monthly and see how it goes. I found MFP set maintenance calories low but each person is different and you will need to find your own balance by trial and error.
    In the first month, you may gain 3-5 lbs. This is normal and not weight gain. It's your body restoring its glycogen levels and it is not weight that you will see. Everyone is different and some people don't gain that much back. Just don't panic if you gain some weight.
    After that, your weight should level off. You don't want to eat too little for a lifetime. You want to find your higher maintenance intake requirements.
    Check out a couple of calorie calculators and see the range of calories they give you. They'll all be a little bit different. Experiment a little to find what works for you, concentrating on eating the higher level of food without gaining. There will be a range that works.

    Maintenance is hard at first because it requires a bit of experimentation and it's scary if the scale moves upward (which it might at first). Have faith in your new skills and patience. It will take a few months to find that sweet spot.
  • Wingg_
    Wingg_ Posts: 395 Member
    Go to what MFP calculated, weigh yourself monthly and see how it goes. I found MFP set maintenance calories low but each person is different and you will need to find your own balance by trial and error.
    In the first month, you may gain 3-5 lbs. This is normal and not weight gain. It's your body restoring its glycogen levels and it is not weight that you will see. Everyone is different and some people don't gain that much back. Just don't panic if you gain some weight.
    After that, your weight should level off. You don't want to eat too little for a lifetime. You want to find your higher maintenance intake requirements.
    Check out a couple of calorie calculators and see the range of calories they give you. They'll all be a little bit different. Experiment a little to find what works for you, concentrating on eating the higher level of food without gaining. There will be a range that works.

    Maintenance is hard at first because it requires a bit of experimentation and it's scary if the scale moves upward (which it might at first). Have faith in your new skills and patience. It will take a few months to find that sweet spot.

    Thanks for the great advice! I shall try upping my calories intake!
  • richardheath
    richardheath Posts: 1,276 Member
    I'm trying to find my maintenance calories and I've been eating 1550 calories for the past 22 days and haven't lose weight. Should I continue to up to 1640calories that MFP has set for me? Or should I just continue eating 1550calories?? Help please!

    Well - if you are eating 1550 now and your weight isn't changing, then you are at maintenance. If you were in a deficit, you would still be losing. There is probably a small window though where you'll be able to eat a bit more and keep at about the same weight, so try upping a bit if you want to and reassess after a few more weeks. If you put on weight, then you'll have to come back down. If you stay the same and are still hungry, add a few more.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    ^^^^ diitto to above.

    That's the definition of maintenance - what you eat that causes no gain or loss. You are eating what you burn.

    Now, that may be less than desired, but many find they screwed themselves up that way by losing muscle mass in their weight loss, and so it is less than would have been possible. Others have suppressed their metabolism, and couple studies show that can persist for a very long time, over a year at least, so again less than would have been possible.

    Just stick to where you are at, or if you want to eat more, need to do more cardio to increase maintenance.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    1550 is getting to the low spectrum of a healthy caloric intake. You never want to go below 1200. If your body does not respond to the low calories, your metabolism is very slow. The best way to boost it is to slowly add in about 50 calories per week.
    I'd suggest finding out your BMR (basal metabolic rate) and entering your calories manually into Myfitnesspal. I've found that the automatic generated calories are way too low for me. I'm at about 2300 a day, maintaining my weight, and Myfitnesspal wants me at 1700.

    http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/bmr_calculator.htm

    Once you know this number, you NEVER want to go below it. Otherwise, you risk metabolic damage and it'll be even harder for you to lose weight.

    Also, check out the Macro calculator:

    http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/macronutrients_calculator.htm

    I'm trying to maintain my weight not lose weight. So I should slowly add 50cal to my BMR?...

    If your estimated BMR is really higher than your current eating level, than you have a much lower BMR, likely because of the 2 things I mentioned above.

    Because BMR is base calories if you did nothing but slept all day, no eating, no waking up. You would burn considerably more than BMR by living and exercising.

    So if 1550 is where that's at now, your BMR is probably 300-400 less.

    There is one possibility, other studies have shown if you undereat for what the body would really want as intake, it'll slow down your daily activity, less fidgeting, less spontaneous movement, call Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis.
    You could indeed eat more, unstress the body, and that NEAT level will pick back up to a normal level, meaning you'll burn more daily, and get to eat more.
  • MACnificence
    MACnificence Posts: 419 Member
    I'm trying to find my maintenance calories and I've been eating 1550 calories for the past 22 days and haven't lose weight. Should I continue to up to 1640calories that MFP has set for me? Or should I just continue eating 1550calories?? Help please!

    Well - if you are eating 1550 now and your weight isn't changing, then you are at maintenance. If you were in a deficit, you would still be losing. There is probably a small window though where you'll be able to eat a bit more and keep at about the same weight, so try upping a bit if you want to and reassess after a few more weeks. If you put on weight, then you'll have to come back down. If you stay the same and are still hungry, add a few more.



    From what I have read you can increase metabolic capacity and even though your weight loss has stalled doesn't always mean you have reached maintaince calories, dr layne discussed this in metabolic adaption I suggest watching his videos on it ,
    Again from what I understand you reverse diet up UNTIL you start gaining actual fat , some people find they maintain on much higher than what they had initially thought
    Of course water weight screws with things abit aswell so your weight may fluctuate up and down

    I recommend reading up on metabolic adaption it might clear some things up for you


    ETA: you say your weight hasn't budged in 22 days but look at what it was doing before that , how much we're you losing and on what intake ? That should help you determine what your calories should be like
    For example if you were losing 1Ib a week on 1200 calories , then your maintaince should be in around 1700 calories
    Again weight loss is not linear so look at trends and it should give you a good idea

    Hope this was of some help
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    I'm trying to find my maintenance calories and I've been eating 1550 calories for the past 22 days and haven't lose weight. Should I continue to up to 1640calories that MFP has set for me? Or should I just continue eating 1550calories?? Help please!

    if you are not gaming on 1550 then this is most likely your maintenance level..I think you answered your own question...
  • Wingg_
    Wingg_ Posts: 395 Member
    Maybe I should try upping 50calories for several weeks and see if I gain any weight...
  • MACnificence
    MACnificence Posts: 419 Member
    Well it's possibly worth a shot anyway , remember it takes 3500 calories over maintaince to gain a 1Ib so you add 50 extra calories a day for a week then that's 350 calories more a week it would take 10 weeks of that extra amount of calories to gain a pound of fat
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    Maybe I should try upping 50calories for several weeks and see if I gain any weight...

    I goes you could…but i really do not understand. if you are eating a certain number and not gaining and not losing then you are in maintenance…which is where you want to be, right? If yes, then why change anything?
  • Wingg_
    Wingg_ Posts: 395 Member
    Maybe I should try upping 50calories for several weeks and see if I gain any weight...

    I goes you could…but i really do not understand. if you are eating a certain number and not gaining and not losing then you are in maintenance…which is where you want to be, right? If yes, then why change anything?

    Because I have been eating I'm eating 1550calories without eating back my exercise calories, and the difference between 1550 and 1640 is only 90calories so I want to see if I could eat more and maintain my weight.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    Well it's possibly worth a shot anyway , remember it takes 3500 calories over maintaince to gain a 1Ib so you add 50 extra calories a day for a week then that's 350 calories more a week it would take 10 weeks of that extra amount of calories to gain a pound of fat

    To add to this very realistic view, if you are doing some good weight lifting - it won't even be fat.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    Maybe I should try upping 50calories for several weeks and see if I gain any weight...

    I goes you could…but i really do not understand. if you are eating a certain number and not gaining and not losing then you are in maintenance…which is where you want to be, right? If yes, then why change anything?

    Because I have been eating I'm eating 1550calories without eating back my exercise calories, and the difference between 1550 and 1640 is only 90calories so I want to see if I could eat more and maintain my weight.

    Well, it will take over a month to see if it worked out well.

    I'd suggest better start and end with a valid weigh in, because for only a 1 lb difference in a month, you could cause that by eating slightly more sodium the day prior to weigh-in.
    Or do a weigh-in now the day after a big cardio workout, and be slightly water weight depleted.

    Valid weigh-in time for meaningful stat.
    Morning after rest day eating normal sodium levels (normal, not high or low), not sore from last workout.
    That's the only way to minimize false gain/loss from water weight.

    And suggest you do mainly weight lifting, as any excess calories then will be used for body improvement, not extra that must be stored as fat.
  • Wingg_
    Wingg_ Posts: 395 Member
    Maybe I should try upping 50calories for several weeks and see if I gain any weight...

    I goes you could…but i really do not understand. if you are eating a certain number and not gaining and not losing then you are in maintenance…which is where you want to be, right? If yes, then why change anything?

    Because I have been eating I'm eating 1550calories without eating back my exercise calories, and the difference between 1550 and 1640 is only 90calories so I want to see if I could eat more and maintain my weight.

    Well, it will take over a month to see if it worked out well.

    I'd suggest better start and end with a valid weigh in, because for only a 1 lb difference in a month, you could cause that by eating slightly more sodium the day prior to weigh-in.
    Or do a weigh-in now the day after a big cardio workout, and be slightly water weight depleted.

    Valid weigh-in time for meaningful stat.
    Morning after rest day eating normal sodium levels (normal, not high or low), not sore from last workout.
    That's the only way to minimize false gain/loss from water weight.

    And suggest you do mainly weight lifting, as any excess calories then will be used for body improvement, not extra that must be stored as fat.

    I'm preparing for a major exam this year so my schedule is all packed so I can't go to the gym to do weight lifting but I will try doing that after my exam! Thanks for the suggestion!

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