Calorie Intake

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healthyfitgirl24
healthyfitgirl24 Posts: 31
edited December 2014 in Goal: Maintaining Weight
Okay so everyone on here is telling me that 1,800 calories on track days is too low (for maintaining). So how many calories should I be eating then??? 2,000? We do track from 2:30-4:30 Monday's through Friday's. I've been eating 1,800 calories on the days I have been doing track and 1,600 on the days I don't but my wieght hasn't changed(got lower) it actually went up from water retention...but it went back down to 118. So if you're all telling me 1,800 is too low then how many shou

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  • melimomTARDIS
    melimomTARDIS Posts: 1,941 Member
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    Depends on your height and weight, age and activity level. I'm 5'4, in my late 20's, weigh 117lbs. I maintain on 1800 per day.
  • PrettyPearl88
    PrettyPearl88 Posts: 368 Member
    edited December 2014
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    Like melimom said, it depends on various factors. To get a ballpark idea of how many calories you should be eating to maintain, you can calculate your TDEE, which is basically an approximation of how many calories your body burns daily. To maintain, you would want to eat close to your TDEE.

    This website I posted below can give you an idea of what your TDEE would be. Just plug in your stats!

    http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html
  • missiontofitness
    missiontofitness Posts: 4,074 Member
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    Are you in high school?
  • healthyfitgirl24
    healthyfitgirl24 Posts: 31
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    missiontofitness wrote: »
    Are you in high school?
    Yes but I am 18
  • missiontofitness
    missiontofitness Posts: 4,074 Member
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    healthyfitgirl24 wrote: »
    missiontofitness wrote: »
    Are you in high school?
    Yes but I am 18

    Ok. I can ethically give you advice then.
    If you are going lower on 1,800, try upping it around 100 calories at a time until you find your maintenance intake.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    Give it a few weeks and then you will know and can adjust from there. All the calculators in the world can only give you an estimate and can't take your logging accuracy into account.
  • michellemybelll
    michellemybelll Posts: 2,228 Member
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    missiontofitness wrote: »
    healthyfitgirl24 wrote: »
    missiontofitness wrote: »
    Are you in high school?
    Yes but I am 18

    Ok. I can ethically give you advice then.

    LOL
  • MacCroc
    MacCroc Posts: 50 Member
    edited December 2014
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    You can only establish your maintanance intake by slowly adding calories (about 200 in 2 weeks) and seeing whether you are putting on weight on that amount. Real weight, not water.

    If you are maintaining on a certain intake, it doesn't mean it's your actual TDEE, it might just be your body adapting to a long-term undereating. I used to "maintain" on 1400, in the last few month I went up to 2700 without putting on a pound (I'm 5'5, 120Ibs, do weights 3 times a week and very little cardio).

    To give you an idea of your TDEE, that's a good calculator:
    http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/
  • hannahrichins
    hannahrichins Posts: 26
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    I agree with the TDEE calculators. How much you should be eating to maintain is totally dependent on your size and activity level. I'm 5'3 and 122 pounds and very active. My TDEE is around 1800-1900 calories per day to maintain my weight, but your TDEE could be much higher than mine which explains why you still lose weight eating 1800 :) Good luck!

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