How Many Calories to Maintain Weight?

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Nysportsred
Nysportsred Posts: 222 Member
in Goal: Maintaining Weight
I am 5'10 and I started out at 235lbs and a 42 inch waist. I am currently at 183lbs and a 35 inch waist. I am trying to find out if my calorie goal per day is 2080 how many calories per day can I go over that without gaining weight?

I don't go over everyday, but I'd like to know for those days that I do.I have seen online calculators, but they vary so much and I never get even close to the same answer on them when I do it.

Replies

  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
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    Are you set to lose or maintain? If lose, take your chosen rate of loss per week and add 250 calories for every half pound you chose to your goal.
  • Nysportsred
    Nysportsred Posts: 222 Member
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    set to lose, but I am ok maintaining for now
  • nowine4me
    nowine4me Posts: 3,985 Member
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    How about using the weekly total under the nutrition tab rather than tracking daily?
  • Nysportsred
    Nysportsred Posts: 222 Member
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    You know I never even noticed that?
  • daves05
    daves05 Posts: 23 Member
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    I'm the same height and weight as you and I'm eating about 2400 to 2500 calories a day and maintaining my weight. I'm also working out 3 times a week lifting and sometimes i go kayaking on the weekend. I'm 44 years old.
  • Nysportsred
    Nysportsred Posts: 222 Member
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    daves05 wrote: »
    I'm the same height and weight as you and I'm eating about 2400 to 2500 calories a day and maintaining my weight. I'm also working out 3 times a week lifting and sometimes i go kayaking on the weekend. I'm 44 years old.

    awesome. thanks. I always feel like if I go above the 2080 by 3-400 then I am going to gain weight, but if the worst I am doing is maintaining that is a huge relief to me. Eases my mind quite a bit so thank you!

    How has your weight loss been since you joined MFP?
  • Myselvein2012
    Myselvein2012 Posts: 37 Member
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    Congrats on your loss. I recently lost about 65 lbs and am now maintaining. I used a calculator to set my Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) and then added that goal daily to MFP. As long as I stay within this and do eat back at least half of my workout calories, I have been able to maintain.
  • Nysportsred
    Nysportsred Posts: 222 Member
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    Myselvein2012 wrote: »
    Congrats on your loss. I recently lost about 65 lbs and am now maintaining. I used a calculator to set my Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) and then added that goal daily to MFP. As long as I stay within this and do eat back at least half of my workout calories, I have been able to maintain.

    Thank you and congratulations to you too. 65 pounds is awesome! How long did it take you?

    I want to lose maybe 10 more, but with my waist at 35 I don't want to look "sick" skinny. I see pictures of when I was 21 and 168 pounds and at the time I thought I was thin, but in the photos I look like I was sick.
  • daves05
    daves05 Posts: 23 Member
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    Nysportsred wrote: »

    awesome. thanks. I always feel like if I go above the 2080 by 3-400 then I am going to gain weight, but if the worst I am doing is maintaining that is a huge relief to me. Eases my mind quite a bit so thank you!

    How has your weight loss been since you joined MFP?

    I've lost around 45 pounds ,230 pounds down to 185.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,442 Member
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    Calorie range is very individual. How tall you are, how much you weigh, how active you are, and any medical issues must be considered. You cannot compare your calorie range to anyone else's. You have to figure out yours. How? By weighing your food (preferably in grams) and logging everything. Determine if that amount of calories makes you lose, maintain or gain.

    With that said, I'm a 41-year-old female, 5'9, 177 pounds. I maintain on ~2200 calories. As long as I eat fewer calories than that, I will lose. I prefer to shoot for about 1960 calories per day, because if I make my deficit too big, I feel hungry. If I feel hungry, I eventually crash and burn and binge.
  • MKEgal
    MKEgal Posts: 3,250 Member
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    This calculator from the Baylor College of Medicine will show you how many calories, as well as food group servings, you need to maintain any weight for any combination of height / age / activity level.
    https://www.bcm.edu/cnrc-apps/healthyeatingcalculator/eatingCal.cfm

    I'd start with their recommendation for "inactive", then cautiously add in calories until you're maintaining at +/- 5 pounds a month.
  • MKEgal
    MKEgal Posts: 3,250 Member
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    BTW:
    "if my calorie goal per day is 2080 how many calories per day can I go over that without gaining weight?"

    If you have MFP set to "maintain weight" and it's telling you 2080 cal/day, then sticking within +/- 100 of that more days than not should keep you near your desired weight.
    If you start to gain, pay more attention to both CI & CO for a while.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    And when following the excellent advice to just set MFP to maintain - remember that your selected activity level in your settings is for your day with NO exercise included or expected.

    That's why that number won't be the same as these external sites where you pick an activity level that INCLUDES exercise you hope/plan to do, but then they don't ask about your daily activity level.

    As some of said - add exercise when done and change the calories given to about 1/2 the amount.

    Except weight lifting - it's so small anyway, and actually about right.
    Or any other workouts that have a specific intensity to it - like walking or jogging if you did that pace the whole time.

    But "Spinning" has no description of intensity - so 1/2 suggested.

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