How do I maintain my weight and muscle?

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nads1012
nads1012 Posts: 55
in Goal: Maintaining Weight
Sorry all a bit new, so very basic question.

Ok so I have reached my goal. I've been eating at deficit (1500 cals) for a while and been working out hard.

I still want to exercise a lot (because I enjoy it), but I don't want to lose any more weight.

I will keep watching my protein and carbs.

But shall I just eat my regular 2000 cals (recommended for women), or do I need to eat 2000 + the calories I burn in the gym?

Once I'm at my goal I don't want build any more muscles, just a bit loooks good. Shall I reduce the intesity of my weights.

Or can I keep lifting heavy and maintain if I eat right? But how?

Replies

  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    How quickly have you been losing? I'd take that, multiply it by 3500 and eat that many more calories over the same period of time.

    For example, if you've been losing .5 lbs per week. 3500 * .5 = 1750. So, assuming you continue to burn the same caloires, eating 1750 more calories per week (or 250 more per day) should put you at maintenance because you will have eliminated your deficit.

    At the least, it should give you a good starting point. If you continue to lose, add a bit more. If you start to gain, drop it a little.
  • tazhinshaw
    tazhinshaw Posts: 297 Member
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    bumping for future use*
  • kkress92
    kkress92 Posts: 118 Member
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    Bump
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 13,867 Member
    edited January 2017
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    What is everyone bumping here? Maintenance means maintenance!

    If you don't eat what you burn you won't maintain! Regardless of whether you burned it from daily activity or from exercise or what have you.

    So yes, you eat all your calories and you monitor your long term weight trend using your trending weight web site or application.

    if your weight trend tends to get out of your comfort zone... it is time to act to correct the trend!
  • xizziz
    xizziz Posts: 172 Member
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    Yes, what is the word 'Bump' - kinda useless, I don't like it when people do that in my facebook group LOL
  • DancingMoosie
    DancingMoosie Posts: 8,619 Member
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    Its going to be some trial and error, as everyone's body is a little bit different. You can look at maintenance as purely maintaining what you have now, or you can still try to progress on your weights, its up to you. If you lower the intensity or weights, you won't really be maintaining because you would be doing less. You might be maintaining your weight, but not necessarily your fitness level or strength.
  • kkress92
    kkress92 Posts: 118 Member
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    I bumped because, while I understand maintenance eating, I was wondering about maintenance training. Once one reaches a level of musculature that one is satisfied with, what is the strategy for maintaining? (Assuming a progressive lifting program)
  • DancingMoosie
    DancingMoosie Posts: 8,619 Member
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    I basically just stuck with the same weight routine and rarely increased weight or reps.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,868 Member
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    kkress92 wrote: »
    I bumped because, while I understand maintenance eating, I was wondering about maintenance training. Once one reaches a level of musculature that one is satisfied with, what is the strategy for maintaining? (Assuming a progressive lifting program)

    You stop progressively overloading...
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
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    kkress92 wrote: »
    I bumped because, while I understand maintenance eating, I was wondering about maintenance training. Once one reaches a level of musculature that one is satisfied with, what is the strategy for maintaining? (Assuming a progressive lifting program)

    It would probably help you get more specific and targeted responses by starting your own thread. Provide some details about what you have done, and what you are doing. Most people will answer the OP, and those responses may or may not be appropriate in your specific situation.
  • kkress92
    kkress92 Posts: 118 Member
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    xizziz wrote: »
    Yes, what is the word 'Bump' - kinda useless, I don't like it when people do that in my facebook group LOL

    It brings the thread back to the top of the list. People do it because they feel the thread contains important information that others could benefit from. I did it because it was a few pages deep and I was interested in what others had to say - it's a topic that isn't often addressed and wasn't found when I did a search.
    It's a comment without actually commenting.
  • kkress92
    kkress92 Posts: 118 Member
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    nutmegoreo wrote: »
    kkress92 wrote: »
    I bumped because, while I understand maintenance eating, I was wondering about maintenance training. Once one reaches a level of musculature that one is satisfied with, what is the strategy for maintaining? (Assuming a progressive lifting program)

    It would probably help you get more specific and targeted responses by starting your own thread. Provide some details about what you have done, and what you are doing. Most people will answer the OP, and those responses may or may not be appropriate in your specific situation.

    Just asking for general knowledge, not for me specifically yet. Here to learn! :)
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,868 Member
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    xizziz wrote: »
    Yes, what is the word 'Bump' - kinda useless, I don't like it when people do that in my facebook group LOL

    It's not useless...it "bumps" the thread so it shows up in "most recent"...many people just look at the first page of 'most recent" so if a thread gets buried, one would "bump" it back to the top to un-bury the thread.
  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,988 Member
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    Interesting topic that I'm dealing with currently.

    The following article says there:s research to that suggests that if you are "younger" (20-30) you can eat at maintenance and exercise at prior levels only 1x a week to maintain your strength gains. Older folks (60+) can do the same but have to work out at least 2x's a week to maintain their strength gains.

    See: http://www.organicauthority.com/how-much-exercise-do-you-need-to-maintain-muscle-and-strength-gains-the-answer-may-surprise-you/

    I'm eating at maintenance and am still lifting progressively heavier wts 4 days a week doing the Big 4. So, I expect to maintain my weight and recomp by reducing fat and increasing LBM (including some muscle) and strength.

    Will be getting another DXA scan or Hydrostatic test done in a month or 2 to see if I was able to do that or not. We'll see . . .
  • kkress92
    kkress92 Posts: 118 Member
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    @sgt1732 Thanks! That's more what I was looking for, something a bit more scientific than just to *stop progressively overloading* ;) and a weee bit of science to back it up. Bonus points because the article seemed targeted at women! :)
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
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    kkress92 wrote: »
    nutmegoreo wrote: »
    kkress92 wrote: »
    I bumped because, while I understand maintenance eating, I was wondering about maintenance training. Once one reaches a level of musculature that one is satisfied with, what is the strategy for maintaining? (Assuming a progressive lifting program)

    It would probably help you get more specific and targeted responses by starting your own thread. Provide some details about what you have done, and what you are doing. Most people will answer the OP, and those responses may or may not be appropriate in your specific situation.

    Just asking for general knowledge, not for me specifically yet. Here to learn! :)

    Fair enough!

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