Are your maintanance calories enough for you?

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  • tigerblue
    tigerblue Posts: 1,525 Member
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    Maintenance at 120 lbs or less is tough! I am just under 5'3" also, and I got down to 112, which was not too bad for my frame, although when I look at pictures, I would say that is the lowest I need to go.

    The sad story is that I was not able to maintain at 112 for longer than a year. I am now back up to 130 and fighting to get it back off. It is harder this time around.

    I should maintain where I would like (about 120) on about 1500-1600 calories, with exercise. So that means that on days I don't exercise I need to eat around 1300-1400. Honestly speaking, no that is not always enough to feel full, unless I eat only healthy foods. There just isn't much room for treats on non exercise days. Basically, I "save" calories for my evening meal by eating a really small breakfast and lunch. Then I can have a normal dinner, and sometimes even a bit of dessert or a glass of wine. Sometimes this really sucks!!

    I know plenty of people will say, "just exercise more" or even "you need to eat more that is too little", but if you run the numbers through most calculators, that is what you get. And for my life right now, I can't add more than the 45 minutes per day of exercise that I am doing without either my family or my job suffering.

    So I feel your pain. The truth is, short gals have to weigh less to be slim. And if you weigh less it takes less to maintain your bodyweight. So we have to eat less.

    One thing that can help is weight training. You will be able to weigh a bit more and still look slim, and muscle burns a few more calories than other tissue. So definitely add some weight training if you haven't already. There are plenty of threads on here that will help you get started.

    So sorry, and best of luck!
    I'm also under 5'3" (actually 5'2") and trying to maintain 115-117 but at the MFP TDEE, I found I was gaining weight so I am trying to maintain at 1200 PLUS exercise calories. So true - shorter gals need less calories!

    Actually ladies it easy to maintain 120 @ 5 ft 3...at high calories...my sister does it on 2500 calories a day...she is a size 2. She does Karate 2x a week, cardio x2 and a video once or twice...she works 40 hours a week and has lots of fun on the weekend...

    I might be taller and heavier but in May my TDEE was 2137...it is now 2260...so I gained 130 calories in 4 months all due to exercise, losing fat and keeping muscle. The key is exercise and having the muscle mass required, hence the reason it is mentioned to do resistence training or weight lifting at the start of this...

    You and your sister probably have good muscular bodies and low bodyfat percentage!

    The lesson here for very young (teens and twenties) women that we should be getting out is "build muscle now while you are young"!

    I sooo wish I had done that. But I was a naturally slim (good genes) young woman and so at the time I saw very little need to exercise (plus 30 years ago women were not told to lift anything heavier than about 5 lbs). So all I did was a few aerobic dance classes and walk my dog.

    Fast forward 30 years and I am wishing I had built some muscle! It would make weight management sooo much easier! And I would look hotter, be stronger, have stronger bones, etc, etc!

    So now at 47 I am trying to make up for lost time and build a bit of muscle so maintenance (and health) will be better. It is biologically much harder now. Not impossible, by any means, but harder.

    If I knew then what I know now. . .

    Sorry try again...my BF% is probably currently at 25-26%...my sisters about 22%...

    Wasn't much of an exerciser in my teens, have been overweight for 20 years..I am 42 and my sister is 44...

    I have just started really exercising in the last 2 years...since I joined here actually...and my sister only did cardio up until she saw what resistence training did for me...

    If anything we screwed ourselves in our 20's and 30's from fad diets...dropping weight too fast....and yo yoing a lot of weight...

    If you want to eat more food exercise...do resistence training...start lifting some heavy stuff repeatedly...doesn't matter what age you are...

    Who knows, then why our metabolisms are so different! We are not that different in weight and body composition. And I did not yo yo diet. I was naturally small most of my life. And I work out most days. Try to lift heavy things at least 3 times a week. I don't love lifting but I do it because I know it is important.

    And of course we can build muscle no matter the age. Biologically, though, the tendency is to lose muscle as we age. Yet another reason to make sure we strength train!
  • alereck
    alereck Posts: 343 Member
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    I haven't stopped exercising for longs periods of time but I am having a blast at maintenance. I slowly went up in calories and right now I’m about 1900 and eating it up, haven’t gained anything in four months (four months ago I was at 1700).

    I am 5’7” 123.5 and exercise 2-3 times a week for 1 hour. For the last 2 month’s it’s been mostly 2 days only so it’s not much. I do try to stay active by sometimes walking the girls to school, swimming, mowing the lawn and things like that but that varies a lot.

    If you are hungry at your calorie level try eating foods that are low in calories such as veggies, they fill you up with almost no calories/sugar/fat. If that is not enough, add a 30 minute walk to allow you an extra snack for the day.

    Exercise is fun, find a way of fitting it into your daily life.
    Good luck!
  • _Waffle_
    _Waffle_ Posts: 13,049 Member
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    when I don't exercise I struggle since I find my calorie goal not enough. I am 5`3 and my goal is 120 so I am worried that my maintenance calories wont be enough and I will end up gaining some weight back. If that's the case then is it better to stay heavy so you get to eat more? I am currently at 135 but not satisfied with the way I look since my thighs are still thick

    I'm staying at 210 - 220 so I can eat a lot of food every day. That's my logic. :laugh:
  • ianthy
    ianthy Posts: 404 Member
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    Hi

    I am female and 5ft 8 ins tall and weigh 184 lbs. My maintenance cals can be as high as 2,400, and I originally planned to get to 2,000 cals a day but I seem to have settled around 1,800 cals and if I want more I earn it thru exercise. I eat back a max of 50% of my exercise cals. It seems to work - my weight is within range and I am not hungry. I have also changed my foods choices - more protein, which is def more filing than lots and lots of salad stuffs.
  • amkapustiak
    amkapustiak Posts: 1
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    The people who mentioned weight lifting are absolutely right! It will make a huge difference for you, I bet.
  • Arshfirru
    Arshfirru Posts: 4 Member
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    I think u should eat d only required calories fr ur weight
  • eclipse162
    eclipse162 Posts: 7 Member
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    I soak in the hot tub on the days I dont excercise so I could drop about 2 to 3 lbs. Alot of people claim its all water weight yet my heart monitor says that I burned 600 calories after sitting in for a while. It can help you a little if you drop a few pounds. Hope this helps...
  • forevermaryb
    forevermaryb Posts: 108 Member
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    Some days, my maintenance calories are enough; other days, I could gnaw on wood because I'm so hungry. When I have those days, I try to do a little more, like walk a little faster/further to allow for an extra snack. Sometimes, it turns out my hunger is really boredom or stress. Keeping my diet higher in fresh fruit, vegetables, low fat dairy, and lean proteins help keep me satiated most of the time, but not always. I never have understood people that I have known who have gone on fad or packaged diets and are eating around 1200 calories and say they can't eat that much food. Really??? How did they become overweight in the first place? I have always had an appetite that could put a teenage boy to shame. That's why I got fat in the first place. Even after careful dieting for almost 2 years, I can pack away a scary amount of food. I do find eating every couple of hours helps. I spread out my lunch over most of the early afternoon, then have a snack in the later afternoon a couple of hours before dinner. Late afternoon tends to be my "hungry time" (I think years of not eating lunch during high school-couldn't let anyone see the fat girl eat, then binging when I got home from school developed a pattern I can't seem to shake). I know, for me, I'm going to have to be as diligent during maintenance as I was while losing. I just get a few extra treats now and again.
  • Adpalangi
    Adpalangi Posts: 349 Member
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    I am showing wait loss in many places since loosing close to 30 lbs. I have a lot of loose skin which I can't decide looks worse me at 139, with rolls of fat. Of me at 112 with lots of loose skin. I didn't exercise like everyone on here has told me to do, but everytime I tried I just didn't follow up. If your not exercising you could end up like me ( I'm trying to replace those places with some toning). It would of been so much better to of done this while counting my calories at the beginning. Good wishes for you!
  • Adpalangi
    Adpalangi Posts: 349 Member
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    What foods did you turn to in order to bring your protien level up?
  • Chickaboo2014
    Chickaboo2014 Posts: 136 Member
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    I reached my goal about 8 weeks ago or so and keep losing weight; evidently not eating enough and haven't changed my exercise habits. Calories are set to around 1600 and I exercise about 5 days a week at home (no gym membership). At least 3 of those days I do a short strength training workout with two 5# and one 10# weight. It's a series of squats, presses, pushups and modified curl ups. It's called Metabata and it's fantastic! It lasts about 12 minutes with warm up and cool down. I follow it with 20-40 minutes of elliptical. I also walk for 30 minutes during my lunch break everyday, weather permitting.
    My point here, is that the short Metabata workout has made such a HUGE difference. My arms, abs and chest look fantastic. Legs and *kitten* are coming along nicely as well. I'm 5'4" and last Saturday's weigh-in was 126.4 pounds (my goal was 130); I am going to turn 52 next month. I am very happy with my results of my training/exercise routine and (mostly) clean eating. You must do some strength training on a regular basis! The difference it makes is almost unbelievable! Good luck!:drinker: :happy:
  • yogaveg
    yogaveg Posts: 68 Member
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    my maintenance goal on here is 2000, but I've been maintaining on 2000-2500 for the past month or so. It just really depends on the person and the metabolism. If you're worried about still being hungry, be sure to hydrate properly and eat nutrient dense foods. I've found that always having a veg/ fruit + protein/fat combo for meals and snacks helps keep me fuller longer. and fiber! lots of whole, plant foods. generally speaking though, listening to your body, eating mindfully (eating when hungry and stopping when full) has been the best thing for me

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