Maintenance calories and techniques

miratps
miratps Posts: 141 Member
edited November 15 in Goal: Maintaining Weight
Hi all,

So I am quite intregued by people's maintannce calories and techniques (how do you split the day, how often do you exercise, what exercise etc.) And think we can all learn off each other and positively help one another (I really need the help to get off my exercise then binge cycle, its taken the joy out of losing the weight I have). So I'll start:

Age: 26
Gender: Male
Weight: 54kg
Height: 5 feet 6
BMR: 1500
TDEE: over 3k (too much daily exercise I want to stop/reduce)
How many calories do you consume on average per day: 2700
Exercise: Daily morning and afternoon jogs/walks totalling at least 25-30k steps
Food consumption pattern: Save all my calories for 3 hours before bed and eat like someone who has never seen food before (do this because i fear I have lost the art of moderation and won't be able to control myself if I eat earlier in day and same reason I exercise like a mad man)
Tips and tricks: Currently have none!

Replies

  • kanerz14
    kanerz14 Posts: 85 Member
    Similar boat to you.
    Age 38.
    Weight: 58KG.
    Height: 5,7.
    BMR 1460.
    TDEE Varies. averages out around 2300-2400.
    Exercise: Not as much as OP around 7000 steps daily and run 5-7 days a week.

    Have found recently been leaving eating till later on and enjoying a binge; i know this is not great and have been making attempts to reduce exercise.
    I have been experimenting with eating a larger lunch though, and it is helping a bit. I think If you maybe try and eat a larger lunch, the control and Discipline in your exercise will translate to eating in moderation.

  • codename_steve
    codename_steve Posts: 255 Member
    Age 26
    Female
    Weight 130
    Height 5'4"
    Exercise; run 5 days a week, lift 3 days a week

    Eating pattern: lunch, snack, dinner. I've been following an 18:6 IF protocol, so I'm able to eat larger meals and feel full when I do, but don't feel like I'm binging.
  • miratps
    miratps Posts: 141 Member
    kanerz14 wrote: »
    Similar boat to you.
    Age 38.
    Weight: 58KG.
    Height: 5,7.
    BMR 1460.
    TDEE Varies. averages out around 2300-2400.
    Exercise: Not as much as OP around 7000 steps daily and run 5-7 days a week.

    Have found recently been leaving eating till later on and enjoying a binge; i know this is not great and have been making attempts to reduce exercise.
    I have been experimenting with eating a larger lunch though, and it is helping a bit. I think If you maybe try and eat a larger lunch, the control and Discipline in your exercise will translate to eating in moderation.

    I think reducing exercise for us is kind of key, as it becomes a cycle and something needs to give. We want to go into normal moderation meals/stop being constantly hungry but then (at least for me) when I do I feel like I would need to have 'earnt' it so I exercise in the morning and make sure I have enough in the bank for if I get peckish or someone brings in food at the office I didn't anticipate and can't help myself
  • hellobaconplease
    hellobaconplease Posts: 108 Member
    miratps wrote: »
    Hi all,

    So I am quite intregued by people's maintannce calories and techniques (how do you split the day, how often do you exercise, what exercise etc.) And think we can all learn off each other and positively help one another (I really need the help to get off my exercise then binge cycle, its taken the joy out of losing the weight I have). So I'll start:

    Age: 26
    Gender: Male
    Weight: 54kg
    Height: 5 feet 6
    BMR: 1500
    TDEE: over 3k (too much daily exercise I want to stop/reduce)
    How many calories do you consume on average per day: 2700
    Exercise: Daily morning and afternoon jogs/walks totalling at least 25-30k steps
    Food consumption pattern: Save all my calories for 3 hours before bed and eat like someone who has never seen food before (do this because i fear I have lost the art of moderation and won't be able to control myself if I eat earlier in day and same reason I exercise like a mad man)
    Tips and tricks: Currently have none!

    Oh my gosh, you are teeny tiny! My husband is the same height and is 78kg.
  • spiriteagle99
    spiriteagle99 Posts: 3,748 Member
    60 yr old female
    5' 6" 128 pounds
    Runner, currently training for a marathon, so 5 days a week, plus 2-3 miles a day walking
    BMR 1470 per MFP
    Meals - breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks. I eat back most of my exercise calories. Fairly healthy eating. I eat what I want, but have learned to limit 'treats' like beer, ice cream, etc. to days when I exercise more. It's not a treat if you eat it every day.
    I've been able to maintain my weight within 5 pounds for several years. My problem comes when we travel and I'm eating out a more and exercising less. Joined MFP 3 months ago to lose the 7 pounds I had gained after two long trips (4 months on the road).
    Tips - Learn to recognize real hunger from bored or stress eating. If I'm hungry, I eat. If I'm bored or stressed, I go for a walk.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    42 y.o. male
    5'10"
    193 Lbs (currently...I had a bad run of a couple bad injuries in the fall through early winter so I'm in a cut now)
    Maintenance weight is usually around 180 give or take...I usually range between 178-183...with this cut I'm shooting for 175.
    BMR....don't know really...probably around 1800-1900 calories.

    I've been maintaining more or less for going on four years in a couple of months. I don't log. My TDEE is variable depending on time of year and what's going on. My NEAT is around 2400 calories or so...my TDEE is around 2,700 - 2,800 calories when I'm not actively training for any events and just maintaining a base line of fitness. It can be well over 3,000 when I'm actively training.

    I usually eat three squares...breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I usually also have a snack around 2:30/3 and another around 5PM or so...I eat dinner around 8:30 PM.

    Exercise...when not actively training I cycle four days per week...at the moment I'm mostly indoors on my trainer, usually a 30-45 minute spin on Tuesday, 45-60 minute interval ride on Friday...90 minute spin on Saturday (sometimes it's 60 depending on what's going on), and a 45-60 minute interval ride on Sunday. I lift on Monday and Wednesday evenings. I walk three miles on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday...Thursday is also my rest day...so just a walk and some yoga in the evening if I have time. This all changes when I'm training, and it just depends on what I'm training for...if it's endurance stuff, I have to start knocking out more miles and more time in the saddle...time trials, I just work at getting really fast for a 25K, etc...just depends...I usually do a couple of events annually...my rides will also change once the weather gets a bit nicer and I can be outdoors.

    As nutrition goes, I eat pretty well for the most part and I'm a very good cook...food provides for both pleasure as well as nourishment for my fitness. I am able to recognize the difference between hunger and boredom...if I'm bored, I find something to do...and I pretty well try to keep to my eating schedule. I don't log, but I am aware...having logged for quite some time during my initial weight loss pretty much taught me how much I need of what, and what that looks like on a plate. I don't eat out too often...we usually go out for pizza on Saturdays after the boys' soccer and football games because it's a nice family fun thing to do...other than that, really it comes down to a couple of date nights per month (if we're lucky). As a family, we're pretty active (at least outside of my wife and I's desk job) and don't spend a lot of time in front of the t.v....we'd rather be at the park playing catch or something with the boys...or spending an afternoon at the zoo, etc.

    The only real trouble I have run into over the last four years is when I'm injured and or otherwise hindered in my exercise for an extended period of time namely because I tend to eat the same as if I were able to exercise on the regular...thus my recent 10ish Lb gain. It will come off pretty easily though.


  • miratps
    miratps Posts: 141 Member
    miratps wrote: »
    Hi all,

    So I am quite intregued by people's maintannce calories and techniques (how do you split the day, how often do you exercise, what exercise etc.) And think we can all learn off each other and positively help one another (I really need the help to get off my exercise then binge cycle, its taken the joy out of losing the weight I have). So I'll start:

    Age: 26
    Gender: Male
    Weight: 54kg
    Height: 5 feet 6
    BMR: 1500
    TDEE: over 3k (too much daily exercise I want to stop/reduce)
    How many calories do you consume on average per day: 2700
    Exercise: Daily morning and afternoon jogs/walks totalling at least 25-30k steps
    Food consumption pattern: Save all my calories for 3 hours before bed and eat like someone who has never seen food before (do this because i fear I have lost the art of moderation and won't be able to control myself if I eat earlier in day and same reason I exercise like a mad man)
    Tips and tricks: Currently have none!

    Oh my gosh, you are teeny tiny! My husband is the same height and is 78kg.

    I know yet I am too scared to go up to the actual weight I really should be in fear of getting huge again (lack of self control hence the crazy exercise I did which I now think has burned me out)

  • miratps
    miratps Posts: 141 Member
    60 yr old female
    5' 6" 128 pounds
    Runner, currently training for a marathon, so 5 days a week, plus 2-3 miles a day walking
    BMR 1470 per MFP
    Meals - breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks. I eat back most of my exercise calories. Fairly healthy eating. I eat what I want, but have learned to limit 'treats' like beer, ice cream, etc. to days when I exercise more. It's not a treat if you eat it every day.
    I've been able to maintain my weight within 5 pounds for several years. My problem comes when we travel and I'm eating out a more and exercising less. Joined MFP 3 months ago to lose the 7 pounds I had gained after two long trips (4 months on the road).
    Tips - Learn to recognize real hunger from bored or stress eating. If I'm hungry, I eat. If I'm bored or stressed, I go for a walk.

    Think your tip is key for me, because I currently am not able to recognise real hunger I either save all my calories till the end of the day to allow myself to binge and/or lock myself away from the kitchen which is stupid as I can't keep running away forever
  • miratps
    miratps Posts: 141 Member
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    42 y.o. male
    5'10"
    193 Lbs (currently...I had a bad run of a couple bad injuries in the fall through early winter so I'm in a cut now)
    Maintenance weight is usually around 180 give or take...I usually range between 178-183...with this cut I'm shooting for 175.
    BMR....don't know really...probably around 1800-1900 calories.

    I've been maintaining more or less for going on four years in a couple of months. I don't log. My TDEE is variable depending on time of year and what's going on. My NEAT is around 2400 calories or so...my TDEE is around 2,700 - 2,800 calories when I'm not actively training for any events and just maintaining a base line of fitness. It can be well over 3,000 when I'm actively training.

    I usually eat three squares...breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I usually also have a snack around 2:30/3 and another around 5PM or so...I eat dinner around 8:30 PM.

    Exercise...when not actively training I cycle four days per week...at the moment I'm mostly indoors on my trainer, usually a 30-45 minute spin on Tuesday, 45-60 minute interval ride on Friday...90 minute spin on Saturday (sometimes it's 60 depending on what's going on), and a 45-60 minute interval ride on Sunday. I lift on Monday and Wednesday evenings. I walk three miles on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday...Thursday is also my rest day...so just a walk and some yoga in the evening if I have time. This all changes when I'm training, and it just depends on what I'm training for...if it's endurance stuff, I have to start knocking out more miles and more time in the saddle...time trials, I just work at getting really fast for a 25K, etc...just depends...I usually do a couple of events annually...my rides will also change once the weather gets a bit nicer and I can be outdoors.

    As nutrition goes, I eat pretty well for the most part and I'm a very good cook...food provides for both pleasure as well as nourishment for my fitness. I am able to recognize the difference between hunger and boredom...if I'm bored, I find something to do...and I pretty well try to keep to my eating schedule. I don't log, but I am aware...having logged for quite some time during my initial weight loss pretty much taught me how much I need of what, and what that looks like on a plate. I don't eat out too often...we usually go out for pizza on Saturdays after the boys' soccer and football games because it's a nice family fun thing to do...other than that, really it comes down to a couple of date nights per month (if we're lucky). As a family, we're pretty active (at least outside of my wife and I's desk job) and don't spend a lot of time in front of the t.v....we'd rather be at the park playing catch or something with the boys...or spending an afternoon at the zoo, etc.

    The only real trouble I have run into over the last four years is when I'm injured and or otherwise hindered in my exercise for an extended period of time namely because I tend to eat the same as if I were able to exercise on the regular...thus my recent 10ish Lb gain. It will come off pretty easily though.


    Thanks for the detailed post, fantastic to see you are so confident/happy I imagine in the way your are maintaining. How often do you weigh yourself? Also daft question, how did you determine your TDEE?
  • Unknown
    edited January 2017
    This content has been removed.
  • lporter229
    lporter229 Posts: 4,907 Member
    Age: 44
    Gender: Female
    Weight: 100 lbs
    Height: 5'0"
    BMR: not sure
    TDEE: 1850-1950

    I have a TDEE of around 1850 based on running 35 miles per week. I am currently in marathon training, so I am averaging closer to 45 miles per week, so I have upped my TDEE by about 700 calories per week. I do not count my exercise calories. I do not even acknowledge them other than to know I have to eat more as my mileage increases. This really had helped me to separate myself from the idea that I can eat more because I exercise. Exercise is for fitness. My diet is where my weight is controlled.

    On that note, I loosely log my calories because I have been in maintenance for several years so i don't need to be exact. I plan my dinners for the week and I try to plan my whole day of eating at the beginning of each day ( a little looser on the weekends). Like @sarahbums, I try to hold myself to a weekly calorie total rather than trying to hit it every day. I also cook most of my meals and rarely eat out. I try to eat foods with a high nutritional content and I am gluten free due to having an inflammatory bowel disease. Other than that, I do not follow any type of "diet". I eat what I want, but I also pay attention to what I eat. All of these things have worked for me.
  • nowine4me
    nowine4me Posts: 3,985 Member
    Note: I've been in maintenance since Sept, but now would really like to lose 10 more pounds, even if it takes all year.

    Age: 50
    Gender: F
    Weight: 150#
    Height: 5-7'
    TDEE: 2200 (calculated as moderate activity).
    How many calories do you consume on average per day: 1800-2500
    Exercise: 10k steps daily; 3x weekly 5 mile runs; 3x weekly SL5x5
    Food consumption pattern: I do really well for 3-4 days (1800-2000), then fall apart and hit 2,500-3500. Eat mostly healthy stuff.

    Tips and tricks:

    I've not tried this yet, but I'm starting now:

    Rather than focus on a weekly total calorie goal, I'm literally taking it meal-by-meal. I know it sounds tedious, but I'm hoping it will work. Right now, I'm in a frame of mind that if I go over at breakfast (which I always do), I'll make up for it at lunch. Or if I go over today, I'll make it up tomorrow. It's not working.

    Instead, I'm going to say I have 500 for breakfast, that I can't go over. I have 600 at lunch, that I can't exceed. I have 800 for dinner -- and stop. Going over isn't an option. If I'm under for the day, I will NOT eat more to make up for it tomorrow.

    Theoretically, this will put me in a tiny deficit (like -150) and allow for a very slow loss.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    Age: 47
    Gender: female
    Weight: 57kg /128lbs
    Height: 5 feet 2.25"
    BMR: 1350?
    TDEE: 2000
    How many calories do you consume on average per day: 2000
    Exercise: average 14k steps (cut back in last 6 months from 21K) strength training x 3 and steps made up of mix of running and walking.
    Food consumption pattern: 3 main meals and 2 snacks per day. I eat at slight deficit during the week to bank cals for the weekend (so that's 5 days at around 1800 cals and then 2 days at 2300 approx).
    Tips and tricks: regular weigh ins / have a goal range of +/-5lbs / keep active.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    Age: 56
    Gender: Male
    Weight: 76kg / 168lbs
    Height: 5 feet 9
    BMR: No idea - irrelevant to me.
    TDEE: Between 2000 on a rare inactive day to 6500 on an equally rare extreme cycling event day.
    How many calories do you consume on average per day: 2500 - 3000 I guess (not logging)
    Exercise: x3 strength training with heavy weights, x3 or 4 mostly cycling or cycle related cardio (much longer duration in summer),
    Food consumption pattern: Mostly 3 meals a day plus probably 3 snacks. Breakfast is somewhat optional and dinner is commonly my main meal of the day.
    Tips and tricks:
    Exercise for fun, fitness and health.
    Food for enjoyment as well as nutrition.
    Skipping breakfast is an easy way for me to drop a few hundred cals if I need to.
    Build activity into your day and make it normal.
    Watch less TV.
    Weigh daily but treat the number as data not emotion.
    Challenge yourself.

  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
    Age: 41
    Gender: Male
    Weight: 205lbs
    Height: 6 feet 5
    BMR: 1,956
    TDEE: 3,000 - 3,500
    How many calories do you consume on average per day: 3,000 - 3,500
    Exercise: Bicycle
    Food consumption pattern:
    Start light, substantial dinner, light supper, snack the rest of the day
    Tips and tricks:
    • Weigh weekly.
    • Don't get too hung up on how much you eat.
    • Pay more attention to exercise than to food.
    • Assume you ate more than you think you did and leave some calories over at the end of the day.
    • If your weight is three pounds over or three pounds under what it should be, then spend a month bringing it back in line.
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