Maintenance vs weight loss cal intake

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lightandflight
lightandflight Posts: 28
in Getting Started
Has anyone calculated the maintenance calories at their goal weight, and just eaten that amount instead of eating the weight loss amount? (For example, I'm eating ~1200-1400 cals+ ~half of my exercise cals, but if I ate at maintenance for my goal weight I should just be eating about 1700 cals daily and ignoring exercise calories)

Since I want to be at my goal weight forever, shouldn't I be eating like its forever?

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  • The_Raspberry
    The_Raspberry Posts: 84 Member
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    I had an idea of trying this a few years back. Eating at maintenance at goal weight, there will still be a built in deficit. I never tried it long enough to see if it worked tho.

    I can imagine that, depending on what your maintenance is now, the deficit might be very small and it would be a VERY slow process to loose this way...
  • skiextrm
    skiextrm Posts: 144 Member
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    I think you would still lose. Probably not as quickly, but that's okay. You could slowly increase by 50 or 100 cals per day, for a week or two at a time, until you are where you want to be. It is about what feels right and good for you.
  • ljk3
    ljk3 Posts: 9
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    don't forget that as you lose weight, your caloric needs will diminish proportionally, thus if you eat the same calories as your previous weight/calorie ratio, you are eating too much... make sense???

    Has anyone calculated the maintenance calories at their goal weight, and just eaten that amount instead of eating the weight loss amount? (For example, I'm eating ~1200-1400 cals+ ~half of my exercise cals, but if I ate at maintenance for my goal weight I should just be eating about 1700 cals daily and ignoring exercise calories)

    Since I want to be at my goal weight forever, shouldn't I be eating like its forever?
  • Springfield1970
    Springfield1970 Posts: 1,945 Member
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    Makes sense to me.

    But if you wanted to bulk and cut or truly eat at maintenance, it may be a good idea to keep records of what you are burning at your weight at each downward level.

    You'd want to eat at sedentary of your goal weight and eat all your true burns back( worked out properly with a heart rate monitor)

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