Maintenance Question!

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eating4balance
eating4balance Posts: 743 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Okay, so I have been on maintenance for the past three months eating my BMR of 1600 calories a day.

I don't exercise much, but now that school will be starting back up, I have been having athletic summer camp days where I am exercising 4 hours or more a day.

Should I eat back calories when I am on maintenance? I know that I should have eaten them back when I was losing weight (I was a strict 1200 calorie-a-day dieter, no exceptions), but now that I have lost the weight, what do I do?

P.S. I am never very hungry towards the end of the day and always have a few hundred calories to spare at the end. I do eat them in calorie dense foods like peanut butter, bananas, protein powder, etc. however. If that helps at all...

Replies

  • funkyspunky871
    funkyspunky871 Posts: 1,675 Member
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    First of all, I think 1600 is way too low for maintenance. If you're only eating your BMR, you're still creating a deficit! I'm sure you already know this, but BMR only accounts for the calories your body need to run daily functions like pumping blood and digesting food (AKA the amount of calories you burn laying in bed all day). Even if you have a mostly sedentary lifestyle, you're burning a few hundred more calories by walking, brushing your teeth, cleaning the dishes, etc. Soo.... Make sure you're following MFP's maintenance recommendations.

    And, yes, you should eat back your exercise calories. If you don't, you'll be creating that deficit again! Not what you want when you're maintaining, you know?
  • rebysue
    rebysue Posts: 136
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    I've been on maintenance for about a year and a half now. Personally, I would recommend eating your exercise calories back, especially if you exercising 4 hours per day. I have done it (eaten back ALL of my exercise calories) for the year and a half and still lost a little weight here and there.
  • eating4balance
    eating4balance Posts: 743 Member
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    I've been on maintenance for about a year and a half now. Personally, I would recommend eating your exercise calories back, especially if you exercising 4 hours per day. I have done it (eaten back ALL of my exercise calories) for the year and a half and still lost a little weight here and there.

    When you eat your exercise calories back, does it create a temporary weight gain? I have read where others have experienced this, but I just wanted to know if this is accurate or not.

    Thanks to those who have answered so far!
  • significance
    significance Posts: 436 Member
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    Calorie needs vary depending on your size and base activity level. MFP recommends about 1500 calories for me, for maintenance (I'm short and sedentary most of the day).

    Yes, if you don't want to keep losing weight, you still need to eat back your exercise calories. (If you find that you start to gain weight when you do this, it just means that you are overestimating your calories burnt).
  • eating4balance
    eating4balance Posts: 743 Member
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    First of all, I think 1600 is way too low for maintenance. If you're only eating your BMR, you're still creating a deficit! I'm sure you already know this, but BMR only accounts for the calories your body need to run daily functions like pumping blood and digesting food (AKA the amount of calories you burn laying in bed all day). Even if you have a mostly sedentary lifestyle, you're burning a few hundred more calories by walking, brushing your teeth, cleaning the dishes, etc. Soo.... Make sure you're following MFP's maintenance recommendations.

    And, yes, you should eat back your exercise calories. If you don't, you'll be creating that deficit again! Not what you want when you're maintaining, you know?

    Ah! And I see that I have used the wrong numbers to explain. My BMR is actually 1,378. Then, if you times that by 1.2 for sedentary calories needed, it comes to be about 1600 :smile: My bad...
  • somigliana
    somigliana Posts: 314 Member
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    I'd definitely recommend feeling your body according to what you demand from it :)

    I actually found that I had to "reset" my activity level to lightly active on my transition to maintenance because I was stil losing weight despite eating mainenance + exercise calories.
    Lately, I've built my exercise calories into my base calorie goal because I tend to undereat otherwise (my weekly exercise burn is just about the same, week to week).
  • Elle408
    Elle408 Posts: 500 Member
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    I'd definitely recommend feeling your body according to what you demand from it :)

    I actually found that I had to "reset" my activity level to lightly active on my transition to maintenance because I was stil losing weight despite eating mainenance + exercise calories.
    Lately, I've built my exercise calories into my base calorie goal because I tend to undereat otherwise (my weekly exercise burn is just about the same, week to week).

    This is helpful! Thank you! I was wondering if you could do something like that, have a base calorie goal and then NOT eat exercise calories back. I tend to get lost in the numbers (have some OCD issues) and find that if I start worrying about being in the red or green I tend to start leaving myself at a large deficit because I like seeing those green numbers! (iPhone'rs will understand this!)

    So, with a base calorie goal, if my maintenance cals were 1790 (lightly active) and I aimed to eat 2000 a day, but planned on doing 3 hours of exercise that burnt 1800 cals a week that should roughly even out? And I wouldn't have to worry about logging exercise and 'eating back' and some days getting to eat 2400 cals whilst others I eat 1790?
  • eating4balance
    eating4balance Posts: 743 Member
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    I'd definitely recommend feeling your body according to what you demand from it :)

    I actually found that I had to "reset" my activity level to lightly active on my transition to maintenance because I was stil losing weight despite eating mainenance + exercise calories.
    Lately, I've built my exercise calories into my base calorie goal because I tend to undereat otherwise (my weekly exercise burn is just about the same, week to week).

    This is helpful! Thank you! I was wondering if you could do something like that, have a base calorie goal and then NOT eat exercise calories back. I tend to get lost in the numbers (have some OCD issues) and find that if I start worrying about being in the red or green I tend to start leaving myself at a large deficit because I like seeing those green numbers! (iPhone'rs will understand this!)

    So, with a base calorie goal, if my maintenance cals were 1790 (lightly active) and I aimed to eat 2000 a day, but planned on doing 3 hours of exercise that burnt 1800 cals a week that should roughly even out? And I wouldn't have to worry about logging exercise and 'eating back' and some days getting to eat 2400 cals whilst others I eat 1790?

    I agree. This was a very helpful response. I set my calories to lightly active maintenance, and unless someone on here changes my mind, I won't eat my exercise calories unless I am hungry.
  • brown_eyed_girl_06
    brown_eyed_girl_06 Posts: 107
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    bump
  • rebysue
    rebysue Posts: 136
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    I'd definitely recommend feeling your body according to what you demand from it :)

    I actually found that I had to "reset" my activity level to lightly active on my transition to maintenance because I was stil losing weight despite eating mainenance + exercise calories.
    Lately, I've built my exercise calories into my base calorie goal because I tend to undereat otherwise (my weekly exercise burn is just about the same, week to week).

    This is helpful! Thank you! I was wondering if you could do something like that, have a base calorie goal and then NOT eat exercise calories back. I tend to get lost in the numbers (have some OCD issues) and find that if I start worrying about being in the red or green I tend to start leaving myself at a large deficit because I like seeing those green numbers! (iPhone'rs will understand this!)

    So, with a base calorie goal, if my maintenance cals were 1790 (lightly active) and I aimed to eat 2000 a day, but planned on doing 3 hours of exercise that burnt 1800 cals a week that should roughly even out? And I wouldn't have to worry about logging exercise and 'eating back' and some days getting to eat 2400 cals whilst others I eat 1790?

    I agree. This was a very helpful response. I set my calories to lightly active maintenance, and unless someone on here changes my mind, I won't eat my exercise calories unless I am hungry.

    I actually have mine set to lightly active and still eat my exercise calories back. I think it really depends on YOUR body. Experiment and do what works and feels right! :happy:
  • rebysue
    rebysue Posts: 136
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    I've been on maintenance for about a year and a half now. Personally, I would recommend eating your exercise calories back, especially if you exercising 4 hours per day. I have done it (eaten back ALL of my exercise calories) for the year and a half and still lost a little weight here and there.

    When you eat your exercise calories back, does it create a temporary weight gain? I have read where others have experienced this, but I just wanted to know if this is accurate or not.

    Thanks to those who have answered so far!

    I didn't have this happen. I actually lost a little when I added my exercise calories because it turns out I wasn't eating enough. But again, every person's body can react differently.

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