Women, what are "maintenance calories" for you?

macchiatto
macchiatto Posts: 2,890 Member
in Goal: Maintaining Weight
I just recently moved to maintenance (planning to do a recomp) and am working on figuring out what I need to eat to maintain. I am currently at 1600 calories, wanting to move up by 50-100 per week and see where I end up. I do also eat back 1/2-all of my exercise calories.
I'm 5'7", 38 years old and have PCOS. I do HIIT 2x/wk, run 2-3x/wk and am starting NROLFW.
I know we're all different; just curious to hear a range from women of different ages, activity levels, etc.
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Replies

  • kk_140
    kk_140 Posts: 518 Member
    5'4" and 21 years old. I maintain at around 1800 calories a day.
  • Faye_Anderson
    Faye_Anderson Posts: 1,495 Member
    Every woman will be different. Start here: scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ and see what that gives, my maintenance is 2300 so 1600 sounds really low to me, but like I said we're all different :flowerforyou:
  • KarenJanine
    KarenJanine Posts: 3,497 Member
    I'm 5'8, around 160 lbs, cycle 50 miles per week and lift 3 x per week. I maintain at around 2400-2600 cals (total, not net).
  • Janlo26
    Janlo26 Posts: 30 Member
    Sounds like you have a good plan to find out your personal maintenance calorie level. Everyone is different so your method is likely to give you the info you want.
    All the best in your quest!
  • stuffinmuffin
    stuffinmuffin Posts: 985 Member
    We're all different. I use a Fitbit and HRM to get my daily calories (though I tend to work to being under my weekly cals rather than daily).

    I'm 5'3" and 108lb and I eat about 1900 calls a day if not more (this all depends on exercise and general activity though). If I was to sit on my butt all day I could only eat about 1450 calories!
  • QueenBishOTUniverse
    QueenBishOTUniverse Posts: 14,121 Member
    I'm not quite to goal yet, but I have been eating *around* what my maintenance should be (according to scooby's workshop) once I hit goal. I'm 5'8" 166lbs aiming for 160lbs. I lift on a 4 day split routine and occasionally go for a run if I feel like it. I aim for between 2300 and 2500 calories a day but go up to 2800 or so about once a week. When I hit 160lbs I'll just spend the next few months watching to see what my weight does, if it stabilizes great, if it keeps going down, YAY! More food for me!
  • macchiatto
    macchiatto Posts: 2,890 Member
    Every woman will be different. Start here: scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ and see what that gives, my maintenance is 2300 so 1600 sounds really low to me, but like I said we're all different :flowerforyou:

    I know we're all different. :) I was just curious to hear a range from other women of varying heights/weights/ages etc.

    With exercise I eat closer to 1800 most days. Women with PCOS do tend to have significantly lower BMR than other women so I may end up having to stay lower than I'd like (or just having to exercise more to maintain at the level I'd like).
  • Samby_v1
    Samby_v1 Posts: 202 Member
    5' 4", seem to be maintaining within 1600-1800. Long story.
  • amy_lynn007
    amy_lynn007 Posts: 48 Member
    I am 5'3", 124 lbs and maintain on MFP's recommendation of 2060 cals per day (before exercise). I do eat back exercise calories, so end up maintaining on 2300 or so. I've been maintaining a couple of months now, and it seems to be working! Only fluctuated up/down a few pounds, I'm guessing just water weight. I do have mine set to active as I'm constantly walking at my job and average around 16-17k steps by the end of the day.
  • aleggett321
    aleggett321 Posts: 186 Member
    5'4", 150 lbs, age 55

    Cardio 4x/week
    NROLFW 2x/wk
    Gentle yoga 2x/wk
    Goal 10,000 steps/day on my fitbit every day

    Maintenance about 2035 according to my fitbit. Slowly upping to 1950 and will evaluate from there. Want to leave some wiggle room.
  • sweetnlow30
    sweetnlow30 Posts: 497 Member
    I'm 5'3" and when I hit 125 I will be maintaining on about 1800 according to the rate I am losing at now. I plan to ease into maintenance after I lose about 3-5 more pounds.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    My wife is 5'3" and 39 y.o. and weighs around 125. She does a full body heavy strength routine 3x weekly and runs 3-5 miles about 3-4x weekly. She is a mother of two boys and husband to another but otherwise has a desk job...she maintains at around 2200 - 2300 calories.
  • brynnsmom
    brynnsmom Posts: 945 Member
    I average 1700-1800 calories per day. I'm 37, weigh about 108 pounds. I have an office job but it does involve some walking; I also have a small child to chase around. I exercise about 5 times per week, 30-45 minutes (usually brisk walking or biking).
  • Graelwyn75
    Graelwyn75 Posts: 4,404 Member
    It is really going to vary from person to person, depending on activity level, height, weight, lean mass and genetics possibly.
    For me, with my activity level, it averages around 2400.

    ETA - 5'10, 130/131, walk 5 miles a day plus cycle 2-3 times per week, do boxing and circuits twice a week, lift 1-2 x per week and sometimes throw in a martial arts class.
  • cavia
    cavia Posts: 457 Member
    5'7", 42, approximately 2500 calories.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,282 Member
    Maitenance for me - net calories of 1700.
    I am 50 years old and just under 5 ft 4 in, activity level set at lightly active.

    I did not work this amount out on scoobie or anywhere, I just eat it and it works - my weight has not varied more than 1 kg from my goal weight of 62 kg since last November.

    However you are younger than me and taller than me - I imagine your net calories for maintenance would be bit higher than mine.
  • RaspberryKeytoneBoondoggle
    RaspberryKeytoneBoondoggle Posts: 1,349 Member
    I'm 5'71/2 " . Maintenance is 1900-2000 depending on how active I am.
  • DebbieLyn63
    DebbieLyn63 Posts: 2,654 Member
    5'6", 50yo, 183. Fairly sedentary, but I do chase my 2 yo granddaughter around 4 days a week. I also have PCOS and Insulin resistance. I maintain around 1400 or so. I have been at maintenance for about the past year, not intentionally, just too much stuff going on right now to be able to concentrate fully on losing.
    If I ever reach my goal of 155, I am afraid my maintenance will be around 1000-1200. ugh.
  • PinkyPan1
    PinkyPan1 Posts: 3,018 Member
    I am 5'1" and 53 yrs old. I went on maintenance 2 weeks ago. My calories are 1540 without exercising. I power walk 5 miles daily and take care of my grandchildren during the day. I have still managed to lose 1.5 pounds. I am not looking to lose more weight and figure I will balance things out within the next few weeks.
  • brenn24179
    brenn24179 Posts: 2,144 Member
    I am 61 and 5'4 and 1400-1600 is about right for me.
  • SomeNights246
    SomeNights246 Posts: 807 Member
    On my days where I'm actually sedentary (as in don't move a muscle at all), 1,700 seems to fill me up.

    On days where I'm actually up and moving, I need around 1,900-2,200

    ETA: Oh, and I'm 23. About 5'5"ish or so.
  • SugaryLynx
    SugaryLynx Posts: 2,640 Member
    26 yo, 5'3.5" 118 lbs and maintain around 2250. I take care of my kids, clean buildings 3x a week for a few hours, and weightlifting 3x a week.
  • melimomTARDIS
    melimomTARDIS Posts: 1,941 Member
    I'm 5'5, 132 lbs, and 26 yrs old. I do light non-intense excersize 3 to 5 days per week. I am eating 1800 per day, and occasionally eating up to 2000.

    I also have pcos, and don't eat back any excersize calories.
  • harlanJEN
    harlanJEN Posts: 1,089 Member
    5'6", 50yo, 183. Fairly sedentary, but I do chase my 2 yo granddaughter around 4 days a week. I also have PCOS and Insulin resistance. I maintain around 1400 or so. I have been at maintenance for about the past year, not intentionally, just too much stuff going on right now to be able to concentrate fully on losing.
    If I ever reach my goal of 155, I am afraid my maintenance will be around 1000-1200. ugh.

    May I please say this makes me : (

    1400 should never have to be your maintenance cals - certainly nothing lower.

    I'm 50 . 5'4 . Around your weight, size 8 . Straight up size 8. I maintain with a very doable lifestyle activity level @ 2200 cals. I enjoy my food, my activity. Anyone can. PROMISE!!

    I challenge you to rethink your scale weight goal and focus on changing your body composition with some strength training in your life and some nutrition tweaks. Please please don't resign yourself to a life of 100O cals.

    What is NOT on my bucket list? aging and losing my functional strength and falling and can't get up. Oh! And I want to enjoy food all the way to the grave and looking pretty dang fantastic doing it.

    K. / passionate rant

    Peace out
  • SKME2013
    SKME2013 Posts: 704 Member
    It depends on how much exercise I do. Without any: 1660 cal, but I do tons of exercise every day, with the exception of one rest day per week.
    Stef.
  • apriltrainer
    apriltrainer Posts: 732 Member
    hmm..it depends..When I was training for kettlebell sport I would eat up to 2100. That's with three training sessions a week. When I am not training I tend to stay around 1600-1900 naturally. Like this week was an off /deload week for me with no activity. I tend to naturally stay around that 1600-1900.

    I'm 5'3 at 124 lbs
  • rosebette
    rosebette Posts: 1,660 Member
    I'm short 5'1.5" and older -- 55 -- and I'm beginning to wonder if my maintenance is around 1200-1300 (eating back exercise calories). I don't seem to be losing very much, and if I eat more -- go out to eat 2-3 times a week - I gain. My weight hovers around 120 right now.
  • wertgirlfor
    wertgirlfor Posts: 161 Member
    I'm 5'4", 20 years old, 137lbs and lightly active. I maintain around 1900/day
  • macchiatto
    macchiatto Posts: 2,890 Member
    5'6", 50yo, 183. Fairly sedentary, but I do chase my 2 yo granddaughter around 4 days a week. I also have PCOS and Insulin resistance. I maintain around 1400 or so. I have been at maintenance for about the past year, not intentionally, just too much stuff going on right now to be able to concentrate fully on losing.
    If I ever reach my goal of 155, I am afraid my maintenance will be around 1000-1200. ugh.

    May I please say this makes me : (

    1400 should never have to be your maintenance cals - certainly nothing lower.

    I'm 50 . 5'4 . Around your weight, size 8 . Straight up size 8. I maintain with a very doable lifestyle activity level @ 2200 cals. I enjoy my food, my activity. Anyone can. PROMISE!!

    I challenge you to rethink your scale weight goal and focus on changing your body composition with some strength training in your life and some nutrition tweaks. Please please don't resign yourself to a life of 100O cals.

    What is NOT on my bucket list? aging and losing my functional strength and falling and can't get up. Oh! And I want to enjoy food all the way to the grave and looking pretty dang fantastic doing it.

    K. / passionate rant

    Peace out

    Actually, I recently came across an article someone posted in the Eat. Train. Progress. group about women with PCOS, and women with insulin-resistant PCOS had BMRs around 700 calories/day lower than the average woman! It's very discouraging for those of us who have PCOS, but important to be aware of.

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18678372
    The study included 91 Greek women with PCOS and biochemical hyperandrogenemia, young and reasonable BMI (mean age 24.03 ± 0.55 years, mean BMI 26.67 ± 0.69 kg/m2) and 48 matched regularly menstruating women, with mean age 26.33 ± 0.93 years and mean BMI 23.35 ± 0.85 kg/m2, as control subjects.

    Study showed Reduced BMR in PCOS with or without IR. Adjusted BMR was 1,868 ± 41 kcal/day in the control group, 1,445.57 ± 76 in all PCOS women, 1,590 ± 130 in PCOS women without IR and 1,116 ± 106 in PCOS women with IR. Adjusted BMR showed a statistically significant difference between women with PCOS and control subjects, with lowest values in the group of PCOS women with IR, even after adjusting all groups for age and BMI.

    Women with PCOS, particularly those with IR, present a significantly decreased BMR.

    Though my personal approach is to lift weights and exercise/burn more calories so I don't have to set my calorie goal *so* low, but still, I think it's important to recognize that women with PCOS may indeed (to our frustration!) have to maintain at a lower calorie level than others.
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,329 Member
    5'5, 42, 218 pounds and at the moment maintenance calories with sedentary job and no exercise is around 2500 calories.

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