Low maintenance calories?
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GetThatRunnersHigh
Posts: 112 Member
Hey guys, I keep seeing posts about how people are happily maintaining on a surprisingly high number of calories. Once in a while I'll even stumble upon posts where the OP is losing on 1600 a day. While I'm really happy for those who can, I'm a bit bummed out by my maintenance of ~1350. Anyone else out there feeling the same?
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Replies
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Yes, I am! My allowance is also 1350 and I've been wondering how people lose or maintain on 2000+ cals. I want to know their method. I am still new to this. I was fiddling with my goals yesterday and it looks like maintenance for me will only be around 1500 cals.0
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I guess our bodies are just built differently. I blame my height.0
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did you get these numbers by calculating your TDEE?0
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No, TDEE gives me 1551 when not taking exercise into account. I found this when I came off of 1200/day and raised it to 1350. My weight went up 3 pounds then stayed stagnant, so I assume that's my maintenance since I was able to gain some on that amount. On the days I run I'm able to eat back 1/2 of what MFP tells me.0
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activity level plays a part too0
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Over what amount of time?GetLessFatYay wrote: »No, TDEE gives me 1551 when not taking exercise into account. I found this when I came off of 1200/day and raised it to 1350. My weight went up 3 pounds then stayed stagnant, so I assume that's my maintenance since I was able to gain some on that amount. On the days I run I'm able to eat back 1/2 of what MFP tells me.
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Accurately calculating your energy expended is important. You need to add exercise/activity cause that increases the calories your body is burning.
MFP uses BMR but I recommended using TDEE to figure out the calories you should be consuming.
BMR (basal metabolic rate) calculates the amount of calories your body is burning just to function properly during resting periods, i.e. how many calories your body uses to pump blood, for organ function, etc.
TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) includes all the calories your body are burning for organ function PLUS all the calories you are burning during your activities: BMR + activity.
TDEE will be your maintenance and it is recommended to subtraction no more than 15-20% off to get your calorie intake for weight loss.
For example:
Right now I am: 27, female, 5'6", 120lbs
My BMR is 1297 calories/day
MY TDEE is 1784 calories/day
If I wanted to lose weight I would eat 1450-1500 calories a day.
(I'm not here to lose weight, nobody freak out on me lol)0 -
Mine is similar when I calculate my TDEE. In fact my TDEE -15% is actually less than the 1350 I am eating. That number only gives me 1280! I am short and not too far from my goal. I also don't exercise which I know would help me have more calories to work with. I guess I have to earn my food!0
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StaciMarie1974 wrote: »Over what amount of time?
6 weeks. Every time I've tried to raise it my scale went up, so I freak out and drop back down again. I run 5k every other day, and I eat about 1500 on those days.
Stats:
23, female, 5'2", 128 lbs.0 -
I'm 5'2, 45 years old, my maintenance is around 2450 calories, my workout is lifting and walking.
OP do you weigh your solid food??.....measure liquids? If not, then that might be the reason. More then likely you are eating more then you think.0 -
GetLessFatYay wrote: »StaciMarie1974 wrote: »Over what amount of time?
6 weeks. Every time I've tried to raise it my scale went up, so I freak out and drop back down again. I run 5k every other day, and I eat about 1500 on those days.
Stats:
23, female, 5'2", 128 lbs.
Your young, your maintenance should be 2000 or even higher, depending on exercise.0 -
GetLessFatYay wrote: »StaciMarie1974 wrote: »Over what amount of time?
6 weeks. Every time I've tried to raise it my scale went up, so I freak out and drop back down again. I run 5k every other day, and I eat about 1500 on those days.
Stats:
23, female, 5'2", 128 lbs.
When I calculated yours w/ exercise 3x a week (you're doing 3-4) I got:
Your BMR is:
1290
Calories/Day
Your TDEE is:
1774
Calories/Day
15% off: 1507.9
20% off: 1419.2
If you gained weight when you were trying 1500 calories you were eating more than 1500 calories and weren't measuring correctly. Do you weigh your food?
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GetLessFatYay wrote: »StaciMarie1974 wrote: »Over what amount of time?
6 weeks. Every time I've tried to raise it my scale went up, so I freak out and drop back down again. I run 5k every other day, and I eat about 1500 on those days.
Stats:
23, female, 5'2", 128 lbs.
When I calculated yours w/ exercise 3x a week (you're doing 3-4) I got:
Your BMR is:
1290
Calories/Day
Your TDEE is:
1774
Calories/Day
15% off: 1507.9
20% off: 1419.2
If you gained weight when you were trying 1500 calories you were eating more than 1500 calories and weren't measuring correctly. Do you weigh your food?
this is a bit conservative, your TDEE is probably closer to 1830
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I'm 5'2, 45 years old, my maintenance is around 2450 calories, my workout is lifting and walking.
OP do you weigh your solid food??.....measure liquids? If not, then that might be the reason. More then likely you are eating more then you think.
Yep, use a food scale and record everything in grams/oz. I tend to stay around 800 - 1000 cals Mondays - Thursdays, then 1600 - 1800 Fridays - Sundays. My diet is pretty high in sodium and carbs. I also only do cardio. Could be genetic too, my dad's 5'7", 167 lbs, runs 6 miles a day, and maintains at 2200.0 -
Same issue here. I'm short and I'm 46 years old, hypothyroid, prediabetic. Maintenance is 1440, and if I eat more than that for even a few days, or if I get sick and can't exercise for like a week I start gaining again, then it takes forever to lose it back off. I work out regularly and hard, too! I weigh my food and blah blah blah all that stuff, very conscientiously. Lots of people here appear to lose weight on amounts that would have me being as big as a house. I just chalk it up to a medical whammy and try not to think about it too much.... and chew gum and drink tea like it's going out of style. People are all different and fairness has absolutely nothing to do with it so I try not to think about what other people can do because it just doesn't apply.0
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GetLessFatYay wrote: »I'm 5'2, 45 years old, my maintenance is around 2450 calories, my workout is lifting and walking.
OP do you weigh your solid food??.....measure liquids? If not, then that might be the reason. More then likely you are eating more then you think.
Yep, use a food scale and record everything in grams/oz. I tend to stay around 800 - 1000 cals Mondays - Thursdays, then 1600 - 1800 Fridays - Sundays. My diet is pretty high in sodium and carbs. I also only do cardio. Could be genetic too, my dad's 5'7", 167 lbs, runs 6 miles a day, and maintains at 2200.
Open up your diary, so that maybe we can pin point whats going on.
ETA: If you been doing very low calories for awhile, that also could be the reason too.0 -
GetLessFatYay wrote: »I'm 5'2, 45 years old, my maintenance is around 2450 calories, my workout is lifting and walking.
OP do you weigh your solid food??.....measure liquids? If not, then that might be the reason. More then likely you are eating more then you think.
Yep, use a food scale and record everything in grams/oz. I tend to stay around 800 - 1000 cals Mondays - Thursdays, then 1600 - 1800 Fridays - Sundays. My diet is pretty high in sodium and carbs. I also only do cardio. Could be genetic too, my dad's 5'7", 167 lbs, runs 6 miles a day, and maintains at 2200.
high sodium = water weight
that's probably what happened when you increased your intake, you increased your sodium, and your body held on to more water0 -
Same issue here. I'm short and I'm 46 years old, hypothyroid, prediabetic. Maintenance is 1440, and if I eat more than that for even a few days, or if I get sick and can't exercise for like a week I start gaining again, then it takes forever to lose it back off. I work out regularly and hard, too! I weigh my food and blah blah blah all that stuff, very conscientiously. Lots of people here appear to lose weight on amounts that would have me being as big as a house. I just chalk it up to a medical whammy and try not to think about it too much.... and chew gum and drink tea like it's going out of style. People are all different and fairness has absolutely nothing to do with it so I try not to think about what other people can do because it just doesn't apply.
You have a medical issues and much older, OP is young 1300 calories is not her maintenance calories, she is either not weighing her food correctly or her burns are not right and it's not genetic either, never heard of it.0 -
GetLessFatYay wrote: »I'm 5'2, 45 years old, my maintenance is around 2450 calories, my workout is lifting and walking.
OP do you weigh your solid food??.....measure liquids? If not, then that might be the reason. More then likely you are eating more then you think.
Yep, use a food scale and record everything in grams/oz. I tend to stay around 800 - 1000 cals Mondays - Thursdays, then 1600 - 1800 Fridays - Sundays. My diet is pretty high in sodium and carbs. I also only do cardio. Could be genetic too, my dad's 5'7", 167 lbs, runs 6 miles a day, and maintains at 2200.
high sodium = water weight
that's probably what happened when you increased your intake, you increased your sodium, and your body held on to more water
Agree, also.0
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