Maintenance Calories!

benharper9120 · September 2016

Hi all,

So I've just finished my weight loss goal.
Went from 245lbs in April to my current weight of 178lbs.

I've gained some loose skin as a result of that rapid rate which I'm planning on fixing by letting time take its course, whilst eating more to reach maintenance calories, or even a surplus if its necessary.

My rapid weightloss was largely attributed to working out and eating very very little.
I was consuming around 1000-1200 calories a day, whilst burning a minimum of 750 in the gym. All in all I had around a 2k or 2.5k daily deficit with a cheat meal once a week, but that cheat meal was like fried chicken and other unhealthy goodies.

I've stopped having such a insane deficit for two days now but I've struggled to be able to eat at a maintenance level.
From the fitnesspal app and its daily caloric burn prediction, I supposedly burn 2278 calories a day if I'm sedentary and I'm still working out, though not nearly as vigorous as before. I end at around 2800-3000 calories burnt by the end of the day.

But the problem is that I'm only managing to eat up to 2000 calories a day. That is for relatively healthy stuff.
I mean I can easily reach 3000 if I ate ice cream and all.

I wanted to ask if this is natural after a extended cut period and should I just slowly work my way back up to eating at a maintenance level?

foen_i · September 2016

Same Problem. Especially on long run days I often end up with 2000cal to spare.
I fix it by making a fruit/joghurt smoothy with 50g of peanut butter and toss in 200g of cereals. That's about 1300cal.

But I am getting gradually better at adjusting my meals to get close to maintenance. I also found upping goal calories helped me to eat more cause I seem to subconsciously aim towards a specific deficit.

Just try diffrent things to find the strategy that works best for you.

AnnPT77 · September 2016

Many people find it easier to increase their calorie goal slowly, adding perhaps 100 per day, waiting a week or so, then adding another 100. When you think you're getting pretty close to the right maintenance calories, wait longer, maybe 2-4 weeks, so you can get a reading on whether your weight has stabilized (other than routine daily fluctuations) or is still decreasing, or has begun increasing.

For some, when they reach actual maintenance calories, there's a sudden jump of 2 pounds or more in scale weight from water weight, presumably due to glycogen replenishment. Don't let that freak you out if it happens to you. Adding a small number of daily calories will not cause that big a jump in weight from actual fat that quickly (100 calories over maintenance daily for 35 days = 3500 calories = roughly a pound of weight gain).

It takes time (weeks to months, potentially) to fine tune maintenance calories. Set yourself a goal weight range that's big enough to accommodate your typical daily weight fluctuations, and use that as a guide, too. (I use 120lbs plus or minus 3, for example).

Jezreel12 · September 2016

The above advices are right.

WinoGelato · September 2016

Where did you get that maintenance calorie amount from? How tall are you?

I'm 5'2 , 120 and my maintenance cals with walking about 15k steps/day are 2100. Yours seems low.

In general it is best to slowly increase cals to get to maintenance, as others have said. Going from such a big deficit is going to be a huge adjustment for your body and for your eating habits. But also, nothing wrong with ice cream to help close the gap if you are eating a balanced diet with other nutrient dense foods.

sijomial · September 2016

But the problem is that I'm only managing to eat up to 2000 calories a day. That is for relatively healthy stuff.
I mean I can easily reach 3000 if I ate ice cream and all.

Question for you - which is better for your general health:

1/ Eating a diet composed of a selection of "healthy foods" and failing to be able to maintain a suitable weight. Losing weight that you don't want to.

2/ Eating the same diet composed of a selection of "healthy foods" and topping up with ice cream (or anything else you enjoy) that you deem less healthy and being able to maintain your weight.

Maintenance Calories!

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