Have you found your maintenance calorie goal to be higher than the calculators?
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My data seems to suggest that my maintenance calories are around 2000 - 2300 or so. I switched my goal to active so it shows 1930, but I am going to try to hit at least 2000 everyday even if that says I am over my goal. And I will eat back all of my adjustment. I just think I might be getting negative adjustments. But even if I do I will try to hit 2000. I knew maintenance would be a range, not just a specific weight. I just didn't expect to still be losing after 4 months of trying to maintain.
It's not the worst problem to have... especially going into the Holidays... you just have to work with the data to figure it out.
When I first got my FitBit I was set at sedentary on MFP because I thought thats what you're supposed to be set at when you have an office job. At the time I was averaging 10k steps/day and getting big exercise adjustments on MFP. I got good advice on these forums that no matter what your job is, 10ksteps/day isn't sedentary, and so I changed it to lightly active and got a bump in my base cals and lower exercise adjustments. I liked that because I felt it was more representative of my true purposeful "exercise" vs just the steps I get in daily activity. Now I average 14k steps/ day and am set at active. My base maintenance cals from MFP are 1830 (NEAT) and my FitBit estimates I burn 2200, so I tend to get 300 or so from exercise every day.
If you just changed the activity setting, I would probably give it a few weeks for the two systems to work together properly. I would increase your cals as you've suggested above and I bet the weight loss slows and levels off.
Transitioning to maintenance is an adjustment in mindset and calories and may require ongoing calibration of both.1 -
My maintenance was apparently 2800 and I lost 2lbs a week over two weeks. I put activity up to very active and got 3200kcal which seems to be about right now, but have yet to weigh after a week at this so may go up in calories again. I do have an active job, carpenter, and powerlifting training heavy four times a week which helps burn calories. So fitness pal can be way off.3
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My data seems to suggest that my maintenance calories are around 2000 - 2300 or so. I switched my goal to active so it shows 1930, but I am going to try to hit at least 2000 everyday even if that says I am over my goal. And I will eat back all of my adjustment. I just think I might be getting negative adjustments. But even if I do I will try to hit 2000. I knew maintenance would be a range, not just a specific weight. I just didn't expect to still be losing after 4 months of trying to maintain.
Things could be worse...
I don't know what your stats are, but my wife is 5'2" on a good day...she runs 3-5 miles 3-4 days per week and lifts once per week and pretty easily maintains on 2200 - 2300 calories...so it wouldn't be crazy.2 -
WinoGelato wrote: »My data seems to suggest that my maintenance calories are around 2000 - 2300 or so. I switched my goal to active so it shows 1930, but I am going to try to hit at least 2000 everyday even if that says I am over my goal. And I will eat back all of my adjustment. I just think I might be getting negative adjustments. But even if I do I will try to hit 2000. I knew maintenance would be a range, not just a specific weight. I just didn't expect to still be losing after 4 months of trying to maintain.
It's not the worst problem to have... especially going into the Holidays... you just have to work with the data to figure it out.
When I first got my FitBit I was set at sedentary on MFP because I thought thats what you're supposed to be set at when you have an office job. At the time I was averaging 10k steps/day and getting big exercise adjustments on MFP. I got good advice on these forums that no matter what your job is, 10ksteps/day isn't sedentary, and so I changed it to lightly active and got a bump in my base cals and lower exercise adjustments. I liked that because I felt it was more representative of my true purposeful "exercise" vs just the steps I get in daily activity. Now I average 14k steps/ day and am set at active. My base maintenance cals from MFP are 1830 (NEAT) and my FitBit estimates I burn 2200, so I tend to get 300 or so from exercise every day.
If you just changed the activity setting, I would probably give it a few weeks for the two systems to work together properly. I would increase your cals as you've suggested above and I bet the weight loss slows and levels off.
Transitioning to maintenance is an adjustment in mindset and calories and may require ongoing calibration of both.
This makes a lot of sense to me. I guess I just had not realized that I am not sedentary even though I do have a desk job. It is hard to change how you perceive yourself. I never thought of myself as active, but I guess I am. I think it has also been frustrating to me because I am getting a lot of people telling me lately that I don't need to lose any more weight. I haven't actually been trying to lose any weight since the end of July. I guess they mean well, but it makes me more frustrated.0 -
Others peoples "helpful"suggestions that you don't need to lose more weight can sometimes be a subconscious desire for you to stop so they don't feel as bad about not achieving there goals. I've seen a lot of meat eaters try to sabotage someone who's become vegetarian or drinkers trying to persuade someone who's stopped drinking for this reason. Don't be disheartened by others comments that you should stop. It's ok to have a break for a bit if you want but it's up to you. So long as you stay healthy. Good luck1
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pathawes6881 wrote: »Others peoples "helpful"suggestions that you don't need to lose more weight can sometimes be a subconscious desire for you to stop so they don't feel as bad about not achieving there goals. I've seen a lot of meat eaters try to sabotage someone who's become vegetarian or drinkers trying to persuade someone who's stopped drinking for this reason. Don't be disheartened by others comments that you should stop. It's ok to have a break for a bit if you want but it's up to you. So long as you stay healthy. Good luck
OP said she was ready to move to maintenance... she's actively trying to stop losing.1 -
WinoGelato wrote: »My data seems to suggest that my maintenance calories are around 2000 - 2300 or so. I switched my goal to active so it shows 1930, but I am going to try to hit at least 2000 everyday even if that says I am over my goal. And I will eat back all of my adjustment. I just think I might be getting negative adjustments. But even if I do I will try to hit 2000. I knew maintenance would be a range, not just a specific weight. I just didn't expect to still be losing after 4 months of trying to maintain.
It's not the worst problem to have... especially going into the Holidays... you just have to work with the data to figure it out.
When I first got my FitBit I was set at sedentary on MFP because I thought thats what you're supposed to be set at when you have an office job. At the time I was averaging 10k steps/day and getting big exercise adjustments on MFP. I got good advice on these forums that no matter what your job is, 10ksteps/day isn't sedentary, and so I changed it to lightly active and got a bump in my base cals and lower exercise adjustments. I liked that because I felt it was more representative of my true purposeful "exercise" vs just the steps I get in daily activity. Now I average 14k steps/ day and am set at active. My base maintenance cals from MFP are 1830 (NEAT) and my FitBit estimates I burn 2200, so I tend to get 300 or so from exercise every day.
If you just changed the activity setting, I would probably give it a few weeks for the two systems to work together properly. I would increase your cals as you've suggested above and I bet the weight loss slows and levels off.
Transitioning to maintenance is an adjustment in mindset and calories and may require ongoing calibration of both.
This makes a lot of sense to me. I guess I just had not realized that I am not sedentary even though I do have a desk job. It is hard to change how you perceive yourself. I never thought of myself as active, but I guess I am. I think it has also been frustrating to me because I am getting a lot of people telling me lately that I don't need to lose any more weight. I haven't actually been trying to lose any weight since the end of July. I guess they mean well, but it makes me more frustrated.
Well and for me, at one point, I was sedentary, and those calculators were probably right. I've worked over the last 3.5 years to become more active every day, so that I now have a much higher NEAT and a higher TDEE than I did even before I lost >30 lbs. I eat more calories and more food now than I did before I lost the weight.... which is why I always try to inform people who feel that being a petite female over a certain age with a desk job is a guarantee of having to eat 1200 to lose and maintaining at 1600 or less... activity level makes a huge difference.
I've also had those comments, even though I haven't actively lost weight in over a year. Part of it is that I now am finally getting new clothes that fit me better, so that people can really see how different my body is. It hasn't changed in the last year, but the baggy clothes masked it so people now are like "whoa, you aren't still trying to lose, are you?". I am not even at the low end of my BMI, but I've hit a very comfortable range of calories and scale weight and don't really want to eat at a deficit anymore. Maybe after the first of the year, it might be fun to be the weight I was going into college, not the weight I came out of college...2 -
WinoGelato wrote: »pathawes6881 wrote: »Others peoples "helpful"suggestions that you don't need to lose more weight can sometimes be a subconscious desire for you to stop so they don't feel as bad about not achieving there goals. I've seen a lot of meat eaters try to sabotage someone who's become vegetarian or drinkers trying to persuade someone who's stopped drinking for this reason. Don't be disheartened by others comments that you should stop. It's ok to have a break for a bit if you want but it's up to you. So long as you stay healthy. Good luck
OP said she was ready to move to maintenance... she's actively trying to stop losing.
My bad. Sorry
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Most TDEE's recommend ~2000 cal but I maintain at 1700. Sad panda.0
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WinoGelato wrote: »WinoGelato wrote: »My data seems to suggest that my maintenance calories are around 2000 - 2300 or so. I switched my goal to active so it shows 1930, but I am going to try to hit at least 2000 everyday even if that says I am over my goal. And I will eat back all of my adjustment. I just think I might be getting negative adjustments. But even if I do I will try to hit 2000. I knew maintenance would be a range, not just a specific weight. I just didn't expect to still be losing after 4 months of trying to maintain.
It's not the worst problem to have... especially going into the Holidays... you just have to work with the data to figure it out.
When I first got my FitBit I was set at sedentary on MFP because I thought thats what you're supposed to be set at when you have an office job. At the time I was averaging 10k steps/day and getting big exercise adjustments on MFP. I got good advice on these forums that no matter what your job is, 10ksteps/day isn't sedentary, and so I changed it to lightly active and got a bump in my base cals and lower exercise adjustments. I liked that because I felt it was more representative of my true purposeful "exercise" vs just the steps I get in daily activity. Now I average 14k steps/ day and am set at active. My base maintenance cals from MFP are 1830 (NEAT) and my FitBit estimates I burn 2200, so I tend to get 300 or so from exercise every day.
If you just changed the activity setting, I would probably give it a few weeks for the two systems to work together properly. I would increase your cals as you've suggested above and I bet the weight loss slows and levels off.
Transitioning to maintenance is an adjustment in mindset and calories and may require ongoing calibration of both.
This makes a lot of sense to me. I guess I just had not realized that I am not sedentary even though I do have a desk job. It is hard to change how you perceive yourself. I never thought of myself as active, but I guess I am. I think it has also been frustrating to me because I am getting a lot of people telling me lately that I don't need to lose any more weight. I haven't actually been trying to lose any weight since the end of July. I guess they mean well, but it makes me more frustrated.
Well and for me, at one point, I was sedentary, and those calculators were probably right. I've worked over the last 3.5 years to become more active every day, so that I now have a much higher NEAT and a higher TDEE than I did even before I lost >30 lbs. I eat more calories and more food now than I did before I lost the weight.... which is why I always try to inform people who feel that being a petite female over a certain age with a desk job is a guarantee of having to eat 1200 to lose and maintaining at 1600 or less... activity level makes a huge difference.
I've also had those comments, even though I haven't actively lost weight in over a year. Part of it is that I now am finally getting new clothes that fit me better, so that people can really see how different my body is. It hasn't changed in the last year, but the baggy clothes masked it so people now are like "whoa, you aren't still trying to lose, are you?". I am not even at the low end of my BMI, but I've hit a very comfortable range of calories and scale weight and don't really want to eat at a deficit anymore. Maybe after the first of the year, it might be fun to be the weight I was going into college, not the weight I came out of college...
I really am a lot more active now. I guess I didn't realize it would make such a difference. And I had not thought of the clothes angle. I did recently get some new clothes that actually fit.0 -
WinoGelato wrote: »WinoGelato wrote: »My data seems to suggest that my maintenance calories are around 2000 - 2300 or so. I switched my goal to active so it shows 1930, but I am going to try to hit at least 2000 everyday even if that says I am over my goal. And I will eat back all of my adjustment. I just think I might be getting negative adjustments. But even if I do I will try to hit 2000. I knew maintenance would be a range, not just a specific weight. I just didn't expect to still be losing after 4 months of trying to maintain.
It's not the worst problem to have... especially going into the Holidays... you just have to work with the data to figure it out.
When I first got my FitBit I was set at sedentary on MFP because I thought thats what you're supposed to be set at when you have an office job. At the time I was averaging 10k steps/day and getting big exercise adjustments on MFP. I got good advice on these forums that no matter what your job is, 10ksteps/day isn't sedentary, and so I changed it to lightly active and got a bump in my base cals and lower exercise adjustments. I liked that because I felt it was more representative of my true purposeful "exercise" vs just the steps I get in daily activity. Now I average 14k steps/ day and am set at active. My base maintenance cals from MFP are 1830 (NEAT) and my FitBit estimates I burn 2200, so I tend to get 300 or so from exercise every day.
If you just changed the activity setting, I would probably give it a few weeks for the two systems to work together properly. I would increase your cals as you've suggested above and I bet the weight loss slows and levels off.
Transitioning to maintenance is an adjustment in mindset and calories and may require ongoing calibration of both.
This makes a lot of sense to me. I guess I just had not realized that I am not sedentary even though I do have a desk job. It is hard to change how you perceive yourself. I never thought of myself as active, but I guess I am. I think it has also been frustrating to me because I am getting a lot of people telling me lately that I don't need to lose any more weight. I haven't actually been trying to lose any weight since the end of July. I guess they mean well, but it makes me more frustrated.
Well and for me, at one point, I was sedentary, and those calculators were probably right. I've worked over the last 3.5 years to become more active every day, so that I now have a much higher NEAT and a higher TDEE than I did even before I lost >30 lbs. I eat more calories and more food now than I did before I lost the weight.... which is why I always try to inform people who feel that being a petite female over a certain age with a desk job is a guarantee of having to eat 1200 to lose and maintaining at 1600 or less... activity level makes a huge difference.
I've also had those comments, even though I haven't actively lost weight in over a year. Part of it is that I now am finally getting new clothes that fit me better, so that people can really see how different my body is. It hasn't changed in the last year, but the baggy clothes masked it so people now are like "whoa, you aren't still trying to lose, are you?". I am not even at the low end of my BMI, but I've hit a very comfortable range of calories and scale weight and don't really want to eat at a deficit anymore. Maybe after the first of the year, it might be fun to be the weight I was going into college, not the weight I came out of college...
I really am a lot more active now. I guess I didn't realize it would make such a difference. And I had not thought of the clothes angle. I did recently get some new clothes that actually fit.
There you go! Eat a little extra yummy food, keep doing what you're doing activity wise, and monitor the results for a couple more months. Good job on the weight loss and it's so fun getting new clothes, isn't it?1 -
Mine is lower.
Estimates vary from 2100 to as high as 2600 for the same level of activity - - lightly active based on exercise (mainly lifting 2-3 hrs/day, 5 days/wk).
I'm maintaining at 1800-1900 which I believe is due to adaptive thermogenesis.0 -
I'm kind of on the other side of the equation. When I plug my numbers into the online calculators (345 lbs, 33% BF), they always tell me that I should be eating 3300 cals per day. I feel like if I did this, I would only gain more weight.0
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Also, it might sound obvious, but I'm pretty sure that everyone eats more than they think, so even if they think that they are maintaining on 1500 calories, they're probably really eating 1600-1800 calories. I weigh everything, but even then, there's always a margin of error in packaged products etc.3
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Yes. Calculators calculate mine at ~1450 sedetary and ~1700-1900 (factoring in the exercise I do), but I maintain on 2100-2600.
I also can maintain if I drop my calories to ~1700 but I am lethargic, naturally move less, am colder, don't think as clearly, etc. All of the extra calories go towards my bodily functions working to the peak of their ability lol. I did an experiment where I maintained months at 1700 average and now I've been maintaining same weight on a much higher calorie amount. I have not deliberately changed my exercise, but have definitely self-monitored and found I naturally walk more, have more energy to do more, and get "more" out of my workouts than when I'm eating less. It is cool how the body can adapt.6 -
Flapjack_Mollases wrote: »I'm kind of on the other side of the equation. When I plug my numbers into the online calculators (345 lbs, 33% BF), they always tell me that I should be eating 3300 cals per day. I feel like if I did this, I would only gain more weight.
Feeling you would gain is not actually gaining. Having said that, at 345 pounds, the data to support that calorie level is probably very slim. It is probably more of an extrapolation from data of lower weight people. Also, you could eat say 2500 and be just fine because you have a lot of fat to lose.0 -
. . . I'm pretty sure that everyone eats more than they think, so even if they think that they are maintaining on 1500 calories, they're probably really eating 1600-1800 calories.
I disagree. Perhaps some but not "everyone" fails to calculate their cals accurately.
There are a lot of people on MFP who are very anal/compulsive about weighing and measuring EVERYTHING they eat down to the gram. I am not so extreme but I also weigh and measure "almost" everything I eat and I record the amount daily in an Excel sheet. When I work out, I also under report the cals burned so that I do not eat in excess.
I've been maintaining at 160# on 1800-1900 cals/day for a month. My min TDEE is 2100 and when I tried eating that much, based on how I measure my food, I immediately gained weight. Lost that weight back and have maintained at 1800-1900 cals ever since.
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. . . I'm pretty sure that everyone eats more than they think, so even if they think that they are maintaining on 1500 calories, they're probably really eating 1600-1800 calories.
I disagree. Perhaps some but not "everyone" fails to calculate their cals accurately.
There are a lot of people on MFP who are very anal/compulsive about weighing and measuring EVERYTHING they eat down to the gram. I am not so extreme but I also weigh and measure "almost" everything I eat and I record the amount daily in an Excel sheet. When I work out, I also under report the cals burned so that I do not eat in excess.
I've been maintaining at 160# on 1800-1900 cals/day for a month. My min TDEE is 2100 and when I tried eating that much, based on how I measure my food, I immediately gained weight. Lost that weight back and have maintained at 1800-1900 cals ever since.
You can weigh your food as much as you want, but if a package information is 20% off (which is totally legal), you're still eating more than you think (especially if it's something you eat regularly). Unless you don't eat packaged food, obviously, but even then, you can never really know exactly how many grams of fat your steak has compared to the USDA value...
Anyway, not sure why people get defensive when I mention this. I weigh 95% of what I eat (the 5% is when I don't eat home, and even then, I overestimate) and I'm sure I'm eating more calories than I think anyway...0 -
. . . I'm pretty sure that everyone eats more than they think, so even if they think that they are maintaining on 1500 calories, they're probably really eating 1600-1800 calories.
I disagree. Perhaps some but not "everyone" fails to calculate their cals accurately.
There are a lot of people on MFP who are very anal/compulsive about weighing and measuring EVERYTHING they eat down to the gram. I am not so extreme but I also weigh and measure "almost" everything I eat and I record the amount daily in an Excel sheet. When I work out, I also under report the cals burned so that I do not eat in excess.
I've been maintaining at 160# on 1800-1900 cals/day for a month. My min TDEE is 2100 and when I tried eating that much, based on how I measure my food, I immediately gained weight. Lost that weight back and have maintained at 1800-1900 cals ever since.
You can weigh your food as much as you want, but if a package information is 20% off (which is totally legal), you're still eating more than you think (especially if it's something you eat regularly). Unless you don't eat packaged food, obviously, but even then, you can never really know exactly how many grams of fat your steak has compared to the USDA value...
Anyway, not sure why people get defensive when I mention this. I weigh 95% of what I eat (the 5% is when I don't eat home, and even then, I overestimate) and I'm sure I'm eating more calories than I think anyway...
20% off could just as easily be lower, and many times is. In larger picture is averages out, and I have encountered enough people here whose weight loss is right in line with the changes they make in calorie consumption. They tend to be people who keep detailed long term records, and I would trust their results. I find that my weight loss when I am very careful about weighing and measuring is certainly closer than 20%.3 -
Sorry, OP. This is a bit off topic.
I've been maintaining at 160# on 1800-1900 cals/day for a month. My min TDEE is 2100 and when I tried eating that much, based on how I measure my food, I immediately gained weight. Lost that weight back and have maintained at 1800-1900 cals ever since.
Obviously I don't know anything about you specifically (height, activity level, etc) but i am suspicious in general when people say that they cannot possibly eat more because they tried it and "immediately" gained weight. The difference between 1800 (on the low end of what you say you can eat to maintain) and 2100 (what the calculators say) is 300 calories. Using the 3500 calories = 1 pound math, if you truly were overeating by 300 calories per day you would gain one pound of fat every 12 days. Considering that most of us experience fluctuations of 1 pound or more within the same week, it might take 24-36 days to actually see an upward trend. Is "immediately" three to five weeks? How many pounds did you "gain" "immediately"? Was it more than a normal fluctuation or more than 1 pound in 12 days? And did it take the normal amount of time at a deficit to lose it, or did it come back down within days?
It seems more likely that if you "immediately" gain weight by increasing calories by a few hundred it is a result of water, glycogen restoration, additional food in the colon, hormonal changes, etc rather than 200-300 calories in a day "immediately" causing noticeable fat gain.
If you didn't give it several weeks and watch the trend, you might be able to eat more than you think. Only you can decide if you want to try increasing a little bit for a couple weeks at a time to see if you can do so without gaining.5
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