Thinking Ahead: Anyone around 5'4" around 115-135 how many calories do you eat to maintain?
Verity1111
Posts: 3,309 Member
If you would share your weight, activity level and maintenance with me it would really be helpful. I am planning ahead trying to decide what my ultimate goal might be. I want to make sure I start early eating somewhat near where I will end up.
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Replies
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I can answer this, but it probably wouldn't work for you. It's likely to work better to just set your MFP goal to "maintain" and see what it says. Any individuals who respond to you will be scattered across the normal population, with differing results. The calculators, like the one built into MFP, are based on larger-scale studies of groups, so the odds of a good answer are better. But they still can be wrong.
Your best estimate comes from looking at how much you've lost in the last few weeks of your weight loss (always ignore the first week or two of loss), using the last weeks as you you're getting close to goal weight. Multiply the pounds lost by 3500, add it to the total number of calories you ate during that whole time, divide by the number of days in the time period. That's a good estimate of your daily maintenance calories, customized just for you.
I'm 5'5", maintaining somewhere in the low 120s, sedentary outside of intentional exercise, and can eat somewhere in the vicinity of 1900-2000 before exercise (which I also eat back), but I'm 61 years old. I know people here of a similar age & weight who maintain on 1400 or less - occasionally much less. Though most people cluster around a similar amount (at the same age/weight/daily-life activity level), there's a lot of individual variation possible between any two random people.11 -
I can answer this, but it probably wouldn't work for you. It's likely to work better to just set your MFP goal to "maintain" and see what it says. Any individuals who respond to you will be scattered across the normal population, with differing results. The calculators, like the one built into MFP, are based on larger-scale studies of groups, so the odds of a good answer are better. But they still can be wrong.
Your best estimate comes from looking at how much you've lost in the last few weeks of your weight loss (always ignore the first week or two of loss), using the last weeks as you you're getting close to goal weight. Multiply the pounds lost by 3500, add it to the total number of calories you ate during that whole time, divide by the number of days in the time period. That's a good estimate of your daily maintenance calories, customized just for you.
I'm 5'5", maintaining somewhere in the low 120s, sedentary outside of intentional exercise, and can eat somewhere in the vicinity of 1900-2000 before exercise (which I also eat back), but I'm 61 years old. I know people here of a similar age & weight who maintain on 1400 or less - occasionally much less. Though most people cluster around a similar amount (at the same age/weight/daily-life activity level), there's a lot of individual variation possible between any two random people.
wow thats high I mean for your age and weight. I assume you exercise frequently though, which would boost your metabolism continuously0 -
I have my activity level set to sedentary because I work an office job but I work out in between thirty to fourty-five mins most days. I'm 27, 5'3", I currently weigh 123 lbs and I maintain at 1580.
That seems more like what I would maintain at.. I wish I could eat 2000 calories at that weight lol Im jealous of AnnPT77 Lol. Im also 26 so where you are is very similar to my goal. Actually Ill be 27 by then and Im 5'4" so very close. My goal is 127. Thanks for the input
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Verity1111 wrote: »I can answer this, but it probably wouldn't work for you. It's likely to work better to just set your MFP goal to "maintain" and see what it says. Any individuals who respond to you will be scattered across the normal population, with differing results. The calculators, like the one built into MFP, are based on larger-scale studies of groups, so the odds of a good answer are better. But they still can be wrong.
Your best estimate comes from looking at how much you've lost in the last few weeks of your weight loss (always ignore the first week or two of loss), using the last weeks as you you're getting close to goal weight. Multiply the pounds lost by 3500, add it to the total number of calories you ate during that whole time, divide by the number of days in the time period. That's a good estimate of your daily maintenance calories, customized just for you.
I'm 5'5", maintaining somewhere in the low 120s, sedentary outside of intentional exercise, and can eat somewhere in the vicinity of 1900-2000 before exercise (which I also eat back), but I'm 61 years old. I know people here of a similar age & weight who maintain on 1400 or less - occasionally much less. Though most people cluster around a similar amount (at the same age/weight/daily-life activity level), there's a lot of individual variation possible between any two random people.
wow thats high I mean for your age and weight. I assume you exercise frequently though, which would boost your metabolism continuously
Yes. It's high. The calculators say it should be about 1500. I don't know why it's so high, but I'm not asking too many questions!
I exercise somewhere between 250-350 calories worth, most days, but occasionally none, or occasionally more. I'm fairly muscular for my age, but I don't think that fully accounts for it. Whatever it is, I hope it continues. 4 -
Verity1111 wrote: »I can answer this, but it probably wouldn't work for you. It's likely to work better to just set your MFP goal to "maintain" and see what it says. Any individuals who respond to you will be scattered across the normal population, with differing results. The calculators, like the one built into MFP, are based on larger-scale studies of groups, so the odds of a good answer are better. But they still can be wrong.
Your best estimate comes from looking at how much you've lost in the last few weeks of your weight loss (always ignore the first week or two of loss), using the last weeks as you you're getting close to goal weight. Multiply the pounds lost by 3500, add it to the total number of calories you ate during that whole time, divide by the number of days in the time period. That's a good estimate of your daily maintenance calories, customized just for you.
I'm 5'5", maintaining somewhere in the low 120s, sedentary outside of intentional exercise, and can eat somewhere in the vicinity of 1900-2000 before exercise (which I also eat back), but I'm 61 years old. I know people here of a similar age & weight who maintain on 1400 or less - occasionally much less. Though most people cluster around a similar amount (at the same age/weight/daily-life activity level), there's a lot of individual variation possible between any two random people.
wow thats high I mean for your age and weight. I assume you exercise frequently though, which would boost your metabolism continuously
Yes. It's high. The calculators say it should be about 1500. I don't know why it's so high, but I'm not asking too many questions! I exercise somewhere between 250-350 calories worth, most days, but occasionally none, or occasionally more. I'm fairly muscular for my age, but I don't think that fully accounts for it. Whatever it is, I hope it continues.
Id say you are very muscular compared to most your age lol based on your photos. I think that makes it the way it is. I know that the more you exercise the more you burn even at rest so that probably accounts for a lot of it too since you are active daily. Thanks for the info It seems a little can go a long way. Also if you dont mind letting me know what kind of lifting you did? even if in PM because I want to eventually bulk up some and it would be nice to have some abs that might actually show lol this will be months from now that Ill be small enough for that to happen but no harm in planning ahead 0 -
I'm 2 inches shorter but maintain easily on 2000-2100 calories a day... I am pretty active (15k steps daily average/47yrs/128lbs).
MFP will tell you your maintenance calories when you change your settings to maintain weight.
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I am 6'3, 225lbs, lightly active and maintain somewhere between 2900-3100 calories. This is actually pretty low but think it is due to being sedentary for 9 hours a day, thanks to an office job.
As @AnnPT77 said, you can calculate your TDEE from weight lost and calories consumed, which is my preferred mehtod rather than the MFP maths.
However a figure somewhere between 14-15 x bodyweight is normally a good indicator.3 -
I'm 5'2, 47 years old, and am at 130 today (gained a few, was 122 a month ago!!! Thanx Life)
My maintenance calories without exercise is just over 1500...with exercise, I can eat anywhere up to 1800.0 -
I'm (36yos) 5'3 around 135lbs right now. I'm moderately active and am training for a powerlifting competition. I generally eat around 2500 calories on training days and 2200 on non-training days (also tend to have a "cheat day" once a week...nothing crazy, but usually a serving or 3 of ice cream).
Before I started powerlifting (2-3 years ago). I was maintaining under 130lbs on about 1800-1900 calories. I was about a size 6. Fast forward to now, I'm close to 10lbs heavier, eating 400-600 calories more...and am still a size a size 6. I heart deadlifts.8 -
I'm 29 5'4" and maintaining around 124. I have my level set to sedentary because I also have an office job but I use my fitbit to adjust that for me. MFP gives me 1600 to maintain but functionally with activity and exercise I eat around 2000+0
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Verity1111 wrote: »Verity1111 wrote: »I can answer this, but it probably wouldn't work for you. It's likely to work better to just set your MFP goal to "maintain" and see what it says. Any individuals who respond to you will be scattered across the normal population, with differing results. The calculators, like the one built into MFP, are based on larger-scale studies of groups, so the odds of a good answer are better. But they still can be wrong.
Your best estimate comes from looking at how much you've lost in the last few weeks of your weight loss (always ignore the first week or two of loss), using the last weeks as you you're getting close to goal weight. Multiply the pounds lost by 3500, add it to the total number of calories you ate during that whole time, divide by the number of days in the time period. That's a good estimate of your daily maintenance calories, customized just for you.
I'm 5'5", maintaining somewhere in the low 120s, sedentary outside of intentional exercise, and can eat somewhere in the vicinity of 1900-2000 before exercise (which I also eat back), but I'm 61 years old. I know people here of a similar age & weight who maintain on 1400 or less - occasionally much less. Though most people cluster around a similar amount (at the same age/weight/daily-life activity level), there's a lot of individual variation possible between any two random people.
wow thats high I mean for your age and weight. I assume you exercise frequently though, which would boost your metabolism continuously
Yes. It's high. The calculators say it should be about 1500. I don't know why it's so high, but I'm not asking too many questions! I exercise somewhere between 250-350 calories worth, most days, but occasionally none, or occasionally more. I'm fairly muscular for my age, but I don't think that fully accounts for it. Whatever it is, I hope it continues.
Id say you are very muscular compared to most your age lol based on your photos. I think that makes it the way it is. I know that the more you exercise the more you burn even at rest so that probably accounts for a lot of it too since you are active daily. Thanks for the info It seems a little can go a long way. Also if you dont mind letting me know what kind of lifting you did? even if in PM because I want to eventually bulk up some and it would be nice to have some abs that might actually show lol this will be months from now that Ill be small enough for that to happen but no harm in planning ahead
Weight lifting is a great, great thing, and everyone should do some . . . but I don't lift much, and what little I do do these days is eccentric, so wouldn't be suitable for you.
I'm a rower, on water in spring/summer/fall usually 4x a week, on machines in the winter but doing less volume. Since it's a progressive resistance exercise, it builds some muscle, just more slowly than weight lifting does. I've been rowing about 13-14 years, even while obese.
It's mostly leg powered, but also uses core, back & arms: You push with the legs, then pull with back/arms (oversimplifying). When I lift weights, which i do only desultorily in the off-season, a good bit of what I do is focused on balancing out the rowing (strengthening other muscles around the rotator cuff, upper body pushing exercises, that sort of thing). So it wouldn't be suitable for a non-rower.
There's a great thread over in the exercise forum about picking the right weight training program for you, full of solid info. It may even be stickied. I'll try to remember to post a link to it later when I have more time to go find it.
P.S. My degree of muscularity is not enough to account for the full number of extra calories i can eat. There are formulas for estimating that sort of thing. I'm sure it helps.0 -
Height: 5' 5.75"
Weight: 116 lbs
TDEE: 1854
Average daily calories: 2200, but I zig zag a lot
average daily steps: 11,500
other factors: weight lifting twice a week, breastfeeding a toddler (doesn't burn that much now, but does account for some of it).0 -
Height: 5'4
Weight: 108
TDEE: 1,900-2,200 (depending on what specific race I'm training for at the time)
Activity level: Probably sedentary/lightly active based on non-exercise. I also run 25-40 miles a week.
Instead of going on what other people do and eat, I highly recommend you begin with MFP's recommendation and adjust from there. When I began maintaining, I just went with MFP's goal for me and it turns out I never had to adjust it at all. I've been maintaining on it for over a year now with no problem.2 -
My maintenance calories are variable depending on the time of year and what I'm up to...there are certain times of year that I'm very active and certain times of year that I'm less active.
It's winter now so I'm basically in my "off-season" where cycling is concerned...I still ride, but it's more spinning on my indoor trainer and getting out on a road ride if/when a really nice day rolls around...I'm also less generally active in the winter...in the warmer months, you're likely to find me out with my boys walking around to zoo or playing in the park or at the pool or whatever...during the winter you're more likely to find us at the movies or watching football on Sunday, etc. This time of year, my maintenance tends to be around 2800ish calories per day.
In Spring, I'll start getting more miles in as weather improves and I start looking forward to the cycling season...in the run up to a 1/2 century or something I can be up around 3,200 - 3,500 calories for maintenance...when I'm not actively prepping for an event or I'm prepping for time trials, I'm around 3,000.
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Thanks everyone for sharing. I find this thread interesting.3
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I'm pretty much exactly what you asked for...30, 5'4", 118 lbs. I run about 30-35 miles per week but don't do much other exercise (office job, short walking commute), and I maintain around 2000-2200 on running days, or 1600 if I'm not running. On long run days (10 miles +) I might burn up to 2600.0
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I am 45 years old and 5'5" and currently 122 pounds. I keep MFP set on sedentary and losing half a pound a week even though I am maintaining. I just exercise 5x a week and eat back all my exercise calories. I can maintain on about 1800 calories but I exercise so I can eat more delicious food!
I will say that I should be around 120 pounds instead of 122. However, after achieving remission from ulcerative colitis, my body still likes to retain around 1-2 pounds of water inflammation weight. After having an inflammatory disease, it is hard for anyone's body to go totally back to normal. And since I feel better exercising, I will always carry those 1-2 pounds of inflammation. (I do cardio 5x a week and for 2 of those days add weight lifting too).2 -
I'm set at lightly active though I'm probably more active than that. I get 1710 calories without added exercise. Typically my workouts add another 300 calories to that. I'm currently 122, 5'3". As others have said though, it'll be better for you to see what MFP says for you specifically.0
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Verity1111 wrote: »
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Also if you dont mind letting me know what kind of lifting you did? even if in PM because I want to eventually bulk up some and it would be nice to have some abs that might actually show lol this will be months from now that Ill be small enough for that to happen but no harm in planning ahead
There's a great thread over in the exercise forum about picking the right weight training program for you, full of solid info. It may even be stickied. I'll try to remember to post a link to it later when I have more time to go find it.
Which lifting program is the best for you?
To my surprise, this was in the "Gaining" forum, not the "Exercise" forum.
Start progressive lifting now, or as soon as you can. It's a slow process, especially in women. You can gain strength benefits (useful in daily life) and appearance benefits even while in a calorie deficit, especially as a beginner. Some people who are quite overweight/obese can even gain a little muscle (bulk) while in a calorie deficit, or so I have read.1 -
I'm not sure atm. I know that it's definitely over 2000 calories, but not sure exactly were at anymore. When I was a stay-at-home mom I was fairly certian it was 2300-2500, but now that I work full time at a fast food restaurant I'm having trouble narrowing it down. As far as exercise goes, I lift 3 days a week for around an hour and do cardio 2 days a week for about 30-45 mins.
In the past 20 days my avg intake has been roughly 3100 calories and trendweight is estimating a 0.1 lb per week gain. That said I only recently started using my food scale again last week. I wasn't very honest with my food logging from about I want to say about May till late October/early Nov. I did gain a little weight during that time. When I first started logging my food accurately again, I was trying to lose and having trouble sticking to any calorie goals I came up with based off most calculators putting my maintenance at 2000 calories currently. As a stay-at-home mom that number would have had me losing weight, but I figured it might be right since my step count had decreased since I started working. I'm thinking the estimate might have been a tad low and that's why I was having trouble with calorie goals of 1500-1750. Now I'm trying to narrow down what my maintenance is, so I can figure out what to eat at to cut the fat I gained back (most of my pants are getting a little tight).
Stats:
5'4.5"
Current trend: 133.7 lbs
Lowest trend (before I messed up): 122
I know it's not much help, but that's just were I'm at with this whole figuring out maintenance thing.0 -
I'm 5'5 and 123-127 is my maintaince range, ive been this weight for year and the year before I maintained at 126-130. I eat around 1600 as a very rough average.0
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As I'm sure you figured out, everyone maintains at a varying amount of calories. But for what it's worth I'm currently 5'4'' 120lbs. ~1600 sedentary, ~2000 on sedentary training days, ~2200 on active training days.
When I was 5'4 110 lbs I maintained at under 1400... it sucked.3 -
MichelleLei1 wrote: »As I'm sure you figured out, everyone maintains at a varying amount of calories. But for what it's worth I'm currently 5'4'' 120lbs. ~1600 sedentary, ~2000 on sedentary training days, ~2200 on active training days.
When I was 5'4 110 lbs I maintained at under 1400... it sucked.
Yep note to self do not be 110lbs lol0 -
5'4" 125-130lbs maintaining at 1700 but I don't log my exercise or the 300'ish extra calories I eat back from it.1
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born_of_fire74 wrote: »5'4" 125-130lbs maintaining at 1700 but I don't log my exercise or the 300'ish extra calories I eat back from it.
Oh so more around 1400 technically (net) thank you for sharing!0 -
Verity1111 wrote: »born_of_fire74 wrote: »5'4" 125-130lbs maintaining at 1700 but I don't log my exercise or the 300'ish extra calories I eat back from it.
Oh so more around 1400 technically (net) thank you for sharing!
I believe it's net 1700 because I do not log the 300cal of exercise nor do I log the 300cal of food. I log 1700cal of eating a day to make sure I'm hitting my macros, especially protein, and then have a little extra to play around with because of my exercise. If I didn't exercise, I would still eat 1700cal, I'd just not have that extra 300cal for happy fun time eating. Hope that makes sense.
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born_of_fire74 wrote: »Verity1111 wrote: »born_of_fire74 wrote: »5'4" 125-130lbs maintaining at 1700 but I don't log my exercise or the 300'ish extra calories I eat back from it.
Oh so more around 1400 technically (net) thank you for sharing!
I believe it's net 1700 because I do not log the 300cal of exercise nor do I log the 300cal of food. I log 1700cal of eating a day to make sure I'm hitting my macros, especially protein, and then have a little extra to play around with because of my exercise. If I didn't exercise, I would still eat 1700cal, I'd just not have that extra 300cal for happy fun time eating. Hope that makes sense.
OHHH ok I didnt catch the part of the not logging the 300 calories of food lol but yeah that makes sense. Thank you for taking the time to elaborate.0 -
5'4 105 2100-2600 my weekly average is usually ~2400-2500 though. Only get about 4000 steps a day and exercise 4-5x a week for an hour1
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