Am I not eating enough?

jamieparadis20
jamieparadis20 Posts: 129 Member
edited November 15 in Goal: Maintaining Weight
I thought I had all my calories and macros figured out perfectly for my recomp, but the other day I posted something and a few people commented that my maintenance calories seemed low. I eat 1600 on days I do strength training and 1400 on days I don't. I'm 5 foot 4 and weigh 125. I just did a tdee calculator online (different from last time I guess) and got about 2000. 1600 has actually felt like a lot and pretty good, I'm pretty full most days. I could definitely eat more though. My weight has basically stayed the same and actually increased a tiny bit.

Replies

  • griffinca2
    griffinca2 Posts: 672 Member
    As long as you're not gaining or losing and are comfortable with the cals you're eating, I wouldn't worry about what some folks think/say. You have to do what works for you, not what others think you should be eating. B)
  • jamieparadis20
    jamieparadis20 Posts: 129 Member
    I workout 5 days a week usually also*
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    edited January 2017
    Real world data...

    when you eat more is normal for the scale to go up some...you're ingesting more food thus there is more inherent waste plus glycogen...the scale only tells you a small piece of a bigger picture

    Also, maintenance is a range, not a specific number. Body weight isn't static.
  • lseed87
    lseed87 Posts: 1,105 Member
    My sister is around that height and weight (sometimes a bit smaller) and she eats around 1600 on a normal day. Not sure on when she works out. But I'd up both a little bit. I do think 2000 is a little much. . 1700-1800 would be better.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,242 Member
    edited January 2017
    jamieparadis20 wrote: »
    I thought I had all my calories and macros figured out perfectly for my recomp, but the other day I posted something and a few people commented that my maintenance calories seemed low. I eat 1600 on days I do strength training and 1400 on days I don't. I'm 5 foot 4 and weigh 125. I just did a tdee calculator online (different from last time I guess) and got about 2000. 1600 has actually felt like a lot and pretty good, I'm pretty full most days. I could definitely eat more though. My weight has basically stayed the same and actually increased a tiny bit.

    On the face of it? Low.
    http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/suggested-calorie-counts-women-6399.html

    Potential issues:
    How calories in are calculated.
    How you weight yourself and whether you're using a trending weight calculation or whether you take your daily weight fluctuations to be your actual weight.
    Being an outlier in terms of calories you can consume
    Or:
    Some degree of adaptive thermogenesis after weight loss

    The last might make you a good candidate for an experiment of increasing your calories in an attempt to establish your "true" maintenance range calories.
    Do not attempt unless you can set a realistic weight gain budget.
    Do attempt only if being able to eat a bit more is worthwhile to you and may enhance future satisfaction and compliance.
    If interested, kook into reverse dieting and eat more 2 lose groups for ideas if you decide to go that route.
    Many people do not believe such adaptation exists, or that if it does that it is minimal. "one candy bar a day' is the favourite quote of someone on MFP.
    Well... I personally want ALL the candy bars I can afford to have.... but your mileage may vary :smiley:
  • emilysusana
    emilysusana Posts: 416 Member
    Sounds right to me. I'm about the same weight and I maintain at net 1500.
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