Have you eaten the calories required to maintain your weight

Ckonner
Ckonner Posts: 101 Member
edited September 22 in Food and Nutrition
Has anyone tried to eat their calories to "maintain" and check to see if they actually maintained? I have tried so many calorie/exercise combinations and I haven't found my "sweet spot" yet. I want to try this and see if I am actually at the calorie amount I should be, but I'm also scared that it might cause me to gain. But logically if you don't know where you should start, then how do you know where you will loose?? Please help if you have any suggestions or if you have done this... MFP recommends that I eat 1700 to loose 2 pounds a week. That hasn't worked. I exercise regularly at least 5 days a week for about an hour each time and use a HRM to keep my heart rate at an optimum level. What else am I doing wrong?? Thanks for any help you can give me!

Replies

  • sarah_bid
    sarah_bid Posts: 16 Member
    Hi I used to have 1300 calories a day and when I exercise I don't eat my exercise calories.
    I have just put my calorie intake up to 1500 a day for the time being as I am at the stage were I feel hungry and constantly thinking of foooooooood haha xx
    But if you are exercising 5 times a week, then thats probably why it has given you that many calories to eat. try still having your 1700 cals but maybe not eat your exercise cals.
  • bkmuush
    bkmuush Posts: 10
    I accidentally tested this :) I went about a week with no p.c. access and I'd just write down everything i ate but not look up calories. I still weighed in each day (I know, I know, should weigh daily) but the weird thing was my weight has never been so stable - I was up or down no more then 1 lb the whole two weeks. Not really good news since I have a lot of weight to lose...but still very interesting. Anyway I was just eating to fill full and not being smart about it but I wrote every bite in my notebook and measured. Then when my p.c. was back up and running I went to fitday (that was before I discovered this great website!) and logged it all which took forever and it was CRAZY -- my average intake was 3591. And I mean it was really close to that number everyday. Somedays I'd ate low all day and too much at night, somedays I'd ate bad all day - but everyday I was around 3500-3600. And I'd stayed the exact same weight?

    So it was really eye opening to me. First off it showed me that my metabolism isn't my excuse - I must have one crazy good metabolism (and this was before I started regular exercise). For years I complained that I had a slow one - but no way. I mean I am 5'9'' and about 100 lbs overweight but to think I can eat that much and maintain!

    It also explained why I kept failing at all these 1500 calorie diets. I always felt like I was so hungry all the time no matter how clean I ate - and now I know why! I was hungry all the time!!

    MFP put me at 1800 for my activity level but I adjusted it to 2000 - that is still a huge cut and over the past 5 days I've gone over by quite a bit 2x (about 3500 again) and I've still lost 8 lbs this week.

    So....obviously I can eat quite a bit.

    Anyway, we all vary so much. Someone else could be more active then me and weigh the same, be the same height and age and only be able to eat 1/2 that (or so).

    My advice: for 1 week just eat based on your hunger and log every single bite and see what happens. It's scary - you fear you will gain like crazy and heck you might even gain a pound or so but it will be very educational! Or just try a few days if you are too scared. Now, I'm not saying stuff yourself - but just eat till you are full and eat when you are hungry and see what happens?

    Of course I say this and if someone told me to do it right now I'd still be too scared lol.

    Good luck finding your sweet spot!
  • DanOhh
    DanOhh Posts: 1,806 Member
    After reaching my goal I went on 'maintain' and my weight would weekly go up and down a little. I've gone back on 'lose' for now to prepare for the holidays. Maintaining works.
  • catcrazy
    catcrazy Posts: 1,740 Member
    It puts me at 2150 to maintain....I was still gaining 3lb a month on 1800. I am very very sedentary due to ill health and I really don't think it takes that into consideration. A person with a desk job is sedentary but theyre moving around far more than me. It is only a guide of course but its so far off for me I've had to make my own rules but I am an exceptional case I think
  • eillamarie
    eillamarie Posts: 862 Member
    Every BODY is different. I've noticed that if I eat more than what MFP says is my basal metabolic rate (BMR-it puts me@ 2,500 and I'm eating 1,500/day) that I start to gain weight very quickly. So regardless of if I exercise or not I try really hard to never go over 2,500. This will of course change when I lose more weight, but for now that's what I've found.
  • owengem
    owengem Posts: 131 Member
    I haven't calories set to 1200/day to lose 2lbs/wk. There was a period I'd approx 4wks when I completely stopped loosing weight and I then discovered that the juice I was drinking wasn't low cal and in the quantity I was drinking it was equal to 1000 cals/day. That took my up to maintenance level of 2200/day and I did exactly that-maintain!
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