So many calories...!

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Replies

  • oocdc2
    oocdc2 Posts: 1,361 Member
    WinoGelato wrote: »
    OP, how much were you eating when you were losing? How much did you lose, how long did it take you, was your rate of loss steady?

    Making the jump to maintenance can be a little scary, but 1500 is likely only 300 cals above what you were eating when losing, is that right? A lot of people add cals back in slowly, 100 or 150/week for a few weeks. This helps get your body used to additional food (although really 300 cals is not much, that's a bowl of cereal!) and it helps avoid a big spike in water retention from glycogen stores being replenished (similar to the quick weight loss that people see when they initially cut their calories, losing water weight). Things usually level off, but it can be a shock if the scale goes back up.

    Another thing to keep in mind is that maintenance is a range, both in the weight you'll see on the scale, and the calories you can eat to maintain that range. My maintenance weight is 120 +/- 2 lbs, and my calories are anywhere from 2100-2300 usually based on how active I am that week. So while it is good to figure out a target number, it is also helpful to do some trial and error and make sure your maintenance level is actually what the calculators suggest.

    I started out at 1420 cal./day (at over 200 lbs) and that got whittled down by MFP as I whittled down to 1220/day. It took me around 18 months to lose around 75 lbs. It actually went fairly steady until three months ago, when I began to hover around 130. At that point, I decided to do the Couch to 5K program and lift. So, while I'm glad I'm working out regularly (now at 3 mi., 4x/week and lifting 3x/week), this muddles the math a bit. Maintenance at my current weight of around 128 is 1500/day, so I'm trying to just eat that with the exercise and see how that goes for a few weeks; I can always adjust.

    I'm using Trendweight to keep the data (https://trendweight.com/), which is helpful because it measures the general...well, trend...of my weight over time.

    Thanks for the advice!
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    No. I don't feel that way. I feel my maintenance calories are not enough. I have the appetite for at least 2500 calories per day.
  • Falcon
    Falcon Posts: 853 Member
    edited June 2016
    that just made me cringe. 3 miles four times a week? You should be eating more then 1500 cals a day. increase your uptake on the days you walk 3 miles a day. Calories in and calories out basically. You're most like burning off half of what you eat leaving you at a negative deficient.
  • oocdc2
    oocdc2 Posts: 1,361 Member
    Falcon wrote: »
    that just made me cringe. 3 miles four times a week? You should be eating more then 1500 cals a day. increase your uptake on the days you walk 3 miles a day. Calories in and calories out basically. You're most like burning off half of what you eat leaving you at a negative deficient.

    I'm just going by the numbers:

    1h3eog9hf5so.jpg

    Half of that is 150 calories, which isn't very much at all. I'm just not comfortable eating much more than maintenance with such a small deficit, especially considering I was holding steady for weeks before this with 1270/day. I *am* actually increasing my calorie count by more than a little by switching to maintenance, which is why I feel nervous about the situation, is all.


    run.jpg 19.8K
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
    I never eat all my calories after exercise comes in. But I maintain. I find logging useful because it tells me when I haven't eaten enough and just should and when I'm hungry and should definitely give in and eat. I trust my body, and logging confirms it's right.
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
    Noreenmarie1234 wrote: »
    1500 with exercise 3x a week sounds like still weight loss to me. I maintain on 2100-2600 and i exercise a few times a week and am only a tiny girl.

    How nice for you. I can't. Now I EAT more than that, but I NET less than that. And I'm 5'10" Different people's bodies work really differently.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,261 Member
    vicky1947mfp wrote: »
    Noreenmarie1234 wrote: »
    1500 with exercise 3x a week sounds like still weight loss to me. I maintain on 2100-2600 and i exercise a few times a week and am only a tiny girl.

    Depends on age and other factors. I am 69-5'2"-and only get 1420/day to maintain 115 lbs. plus any added exercise. We old and petite ladies don't get many cals.

    I have just learned I have to leave off the empty calorie foods in my diet. Like not drinking my cals and non-nutritious junk food.

    I think it must be "other factors". Granted, I'm 'only' 60, but I seem to be maintaining on around 2100 net, 2300-2400 or so gross, at 120 pounds (5'5"). I would loseLoseLOSE on 1500 (and did).

    OP, I agree that adding calories gradually is a helpful strategy (that's what I did when heading into maintenance a few months back). If you're having trouble doing it, thinking in terms of higher-calorie but low-volume healthy foods may also be a good plan - nuts, avocado, dark chocolate, or something else you really, really enjoy. Set a maintenance weight range (say, plus or minus 3 pounds), and plan to go to a slight deficit if you stay at the top end for a few days. There's no way you're going to pack on a bunch of weight suddenly without noticing. You'd see it in time to adjust. And you've proven you know how to lose weight, right?

    It wouldn't be healthy to just keep losing, dropping below a sensible weight, would it? You can do this; just give yourself time to adjust, physically & mentally.
  • vicky1947mfp
    vicky1947mfp Posts: 1,523 Member
    oocdc2 wrote: »
    WinoGelato wrote: »
    OP, how much were you eating when you were losing? How much did you lose, how long did it take you, was your rate of loss steady?

    Making the jump to maintenance can be a little scary, but 1500 is likely only 300 cals above what you were eating when losing, is that right? A lot of people add cals back in slowly, 100 or 150/week for a few weeks. This helps get your body used to additional food (although really 300 cals is not much, that's a bowl of cereal!) and it helps avoid a big spike in water retention from glycogen stores being replenished (similar to the quick weight loss that people see when they initially cut their calories, losing water weight). Things usually level off, but it can be a shock if the scale goes back up.

    Another thing to keep in mind is that maintenance is a range, both in the weight you'll see on the scale, and the calories you can eat to maintain that range. My maintenance weight is 120 +/- 2 lbs, and my calories are anywhere from 2100-2300 usually based on how active I am that week. So while it is good to figure out a target number, it is also helpful to do some trial and error and make sure your maintenance level is actually what the calculators suggest.

    I started out at 1420 cal./day (at over 200 lbs) and that got whittled down by MFP as I whittled down to 1220/day. It took me around 18 months to lose around 75 lbs. It actually went fairly steady until three months ago, when I began to hover around 130. At that point, I decided to do the Couch to 5K program and lift. So, while I'm glad I'm working out regularly (now at 3 mi., 4x/week and lifting 3x/week), this muddles the math a bit. Maintenance at my current weight of around 128 is 1500/day, so I'm trying to just eat that with the exercise and see how that goes for a few weeks; I can always adjust.

    I'm using Trendweight to keep the data (https://trendweight.com/), which is helpful because it measures the general...well, trend...of my weight over time.

    Thanks for the advice!

    Great job!
  • oocdc2
    oocdc2 Posts: 1,361 Member
    vicky1947mfp wrote: »
    oocdc2 wrote: »
    WinoGelato wrote: »
    OP, how much were you eating when you were losing? How much did you lose, how long did it take you, was your rate of loss steady?

    Making the jump to maintenance can be a little scary, but 1500 is likely only 300 cals above what you were eating when losing, is that right? A lot of people add cals back in slowly, 100 or 150/week for a few weeks. This helps get your body used to additional food (although really 300 cals is not much, that's a bowl of cereal!) and it helps avoid a big spike in water retention from glycogen stores being replenished (similar to the quick weight loss that people see when they initially cut their calories, losing water weight). Things usually level off, but it can be a shock if the scale goes back up.

    Another thing to keep in mind is that maintenance is a range, both in the weight you'll see on the scale, and the calories you can eat to maintain that range. My maintenance weight is 120 +/- 2 lbs, and my calories are anywhere from 2100-2300 usually based on how active I am that week. So while it is good to figure out a target number, it is also helpful to do some trial and error and make sure your maintenance level is actually what the calculators suggest.

    I started out at 1420 cal./day (at over 200 lbs) and that got whittled down by MFP as I whittled down to 1220/day. It took me around 18 months to lose around 75 lbs. It actually went fairly steady until three months ago, when I began to hover around 130. At that point, I decided to do the Couch to 5K program and lift. So, while I'm glad I'm working out regularly (now at 3 mi., 4x/week and lifting 3x/week), this muddles the math a bit. Maintenance at my current weight of around 128 is 1500/day, so I'm trying to just eat that with the exercise and see how that goes for a few weeks; I can always adjust.

    I'm using Trendweight to keep the data (https://trendweight.com/), which is helpful because it measures the general...well, trend...of my weight over time.

    Thanks for the advice!

    Great job!

    Thanks! :smile:
  • kdiamond
    kdiamond Posts: 3,329 Member
    edited June 2016
    It's a mind f****, we are programmed to think we should eat a small amount, but once you get over it and eat more you'll find your body responds to it! It's pretty amazing actually.
  • oocdc2
    oocdc2 Posts: 1,361 Member
    kdiamond wrote: »
    It's a mind f****, we are programmed to think we should eat a small amount, but once you get over it and eat more you'll find your body responds to it! It's pretty amazing actually.

    Thanks! :smiley:

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