Thoughts and opinions needed please...

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BoxerBrawler
BoxerBrawler Posts: 2,032 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have been in weight loss mode for so long I am not sure I know how to do anything else. I am at my goal and wish to move into more of a maintenance plan, but slowly. I can't just up my calories and everything drastically overnight so. I used calculator.net which I have had luck with in the past and here is what I adjusted too today:

1300 calories per day
20% Carbs (low)
50% protein
30% fat

I set my activity level to moderately active and the system mentioned above gives you a range of numbers based on your goal with a deficit built in.

My stats are:
Female, 110-115, 45 years young, 5'5"
I work out six days per week with one rest (light cardio) per day.
Workouts include boxing, dance, running, various machines and weight lifting (squats/upper body), calisthenics.

I need to take baby steps here so while the calorie range may seem low, I have done 1000 to 1100 for almost a year so the extra few hundred is huge for me :)

Am I way off here?
Please no joke/nasty/rude/snyde remarks here I am looking for some honest guidance.

Thank you!

Replies

  • terbusha
    terbusha Posts: 1,483 Member
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    First of all, congratulations on reaching your goal and making it to maintenance mode! These are great questions. A lot of people have a hard time making this transition. The goal here is to transition slowly. Like you said, you don't just want to up your calories a big jump. If you've been on a restrictive diet for a long time, your metabolism may be repressed to some degree. If you up your calories too quickly, you'll put some weight back on.

    The best way to up your intake is by reverse dieting. This entails making small additions to your intake every week (5-10g carb and 1-2g fat). This is slow enough for your body to recognize it and adapt your metabolism to handle the added energy. Check out this video by Layne Norton. He has a PhD in protein metabolism, is a natural body builder/powerlifter, and is a fitness competitor coach. He explains all about it (better than I can).

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3gTGLulLnI

    If you have any questions, please let me know.

    Allan
  • Nireedk
    Nireedk Posts: 36 Member
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    See this web site: http://www.acsm.org/about-acsm/media-room/acsm-in-the-news/2011/08/01/metabolism-is-modifiable-with-the-right-lifestyle-changes

    What I think this says is that for woman at resting/normal state, you figure 10 cals per pound of body. Then if you exercise, you would eat back those calories.

    Additionally, as you age your metabolism slows down, so for most women, it might be lower than 10 cals per pound, but you've been so active, your metabolism is probably very youthful right now.

    So, if I am reading this article correctly, 1300 cals would be for a 130 pound woman. So maybe if your goal is a steady state of 120, you should be at 1200 calories, but eat back all your exercising to maintain.

    What do you think?
  • BoxerBrawler
    BoxerBrawler Posts: 2,032 Member
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    Thanks both...

    I am just not sure. I have been eating at 1200 for a little while and continue to lose weight but that's because I never eat back my exercise calories. I maintain either a deficit net or a net that is far under the already calculated 500 calorie deficit.

    My metabolism is crazy ramped up... it really burns up all day and even all night. I have eaten the worst foods right before bed and actually sweat during the night and wake up full of energy several times because it's so fired up. That's a good thing if you ask me!

    After plugging in a few numbers here and there, 1300 calories which still has a built in 500 calorie deficit still indicates that I would lose .8 pounds per week, and that is at a moderately active level. I am slightly more than moderately active... I mean today is my rest day so my light cardio was 700 calories burned.

    I am going to have a hard time eating up to my net. Right now I am at a negative 40 something deficit and I'm not hungry. I plan to have a really good dinner tonight but even if I were to consume a thousand calories that puts me at 960 for the day. So yeah, that's more than half of my exercise calories eaten back but it's 340 under my calorie target of 1300. If I did that every day that's about a pound a day lost.
  • waltcote
    waltcote Posts: 372 Member
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    i slowly upped my calories by changing the amount of weight I want to lose a week on the calculator. I had thought about going to just maintenance settings but still am leery and am kind of in a wait and see mode. I am pretty much maintaining on the scale each morning. I also am allowing a few more extra calorie days partly to refuel and not be so strict. It's a nice break even though I am still tracking. As much as I watch calories I like the factthat I can see my fat, carb, and protein intake and keep it somewhat balanced. I currently have my calorie level at .5 lbs loss a week but I am using it that way so if I grab a handful of m&ms or something I don't log it. Kind of a built in cheat like setting your alarm clock ahead to fool yourself into getting up on time. I think it's all still a learning process to see what our bodies do. For me the biggest thing I watch besides calories is sugar. I started this weight loss because my blood sugar was too high and didn't want to be on medication for a long time if I didn't do something about it. Needless to say my closet looks alot different since last year. Thrift stores and Kohl's have become my friends! :bigsmile:
  • BoxerBrawler
    BoxerBrawler Posts: 2,032 Member
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    Thanks again.

    Okay well I just calculated my TDEE and it gave me a number of 1926... Ya right! No way am I going there, not yet anyway. Although if I deduct 500 for a continued deficit that gives me 1426 which is closer to my 1300 so... I did adjust my macro's and am happy with where they are for now.

    I am just not going to worry about it for now, will eat up to the 1300 without exercise and will TRY to eat up to my net with exercise and will see what happens over a few weeks.

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