Woman who can maintain on 2000+ calories...how?!

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  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,345 Member
    edited April 2018
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    I'm 5ft 2 /48yrs and maintain on 2000 cals. I'm lightly active but have a fair bit of muscle which helps. In summer when I am out and about more I can maintain on 2100-2200.
  • AudreyJDuke
    AudreyJDuke Posts: 1,092 Member
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    This is so interesting to know and compare!
  • deputy_randolph
    deputy_randolph Posts: 940 Member
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    I'm 5'3 140lbs and maintain around 2100. I'm hovering around 20% bf. I have a pretty active job (special ed. teacher) and compete in powerlifting.

    At 5'7, is 120lbs really a realistic goal? That might be why you are having difficulty with your calorie intake.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    i am 5ft5, 140lbs (with holiday bloat hanging around! - usually 136-138lbs) and i maintain on net 1900 cals, but that is a rather inaccurate 1900 as i tend to slip in the odd spoonful of PB and glass or 2 of prosecco per week, so its probably around 2000-2100.

    i walk 8000 - 10000 steps per day.

    i never thought i maintained on a high number, but with exercise as well, i suppose i do! :drinker:
  • moonshine_betty
    moonshine_betty Posts: 169 Member
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    I think it depends on how much muscle you have. I'm 37, currently overweight (5'8", 195 lbs) and losing on 2400-2500 cals, with maintenance being around ~3000. This is with working out 5x a week...if I work out less, I lose on ~2300.

    Obviously, the fact that I'm taller and weigh more helps but I've lost/regained weight multiple times over the years and have found that when I'm smaller (155-160 lbs), I maintain at ~2600 cals. This is when I'm working out 4-6x a week -- 3x lifting very heavy plus 4-5x cardio, which is a mix of HIIT and longer, steady state workouts. Otherwise, I'm pretty sedentary most days (desk job), though I try to hit 10,000 steps a day during the week and usually average 15-20,000 on weekends, depending on the season.

    I've been lifting heavy on and off since I was 18 though and have a fair amount of muscle.
  • DamienAngelica
    DamienAngelica Posts: 281 Member
    edited April 2018
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    I'm 5' 6.5" and weigh about 130 pounds. While I've only been in maintenance for a few weeks and am currently eating at about 1950 a day, I've lost a pound since the switch, so next week I'll be bumping my calories up to 2000 to see what happens then. (We're going out to dinner this weekend, so I'm not worried if I'm eating at a deficit this week.)

    I do strength training three times a week and Vinyasa yoga 4 times. I average about 12-13k steps a day.
  • cheryldumais
    cheryldumais Posts: 1,907 Member
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    Wow you guys are all so lucky. I'm 61 5'5" tall and 145 - 147 pounds and I maintain on 1400. I'm getting ready to start strength training so hoping to build some muscle and increase that number a bit.
  • VioletRojo
    VioletRojo Posts: 596 Member
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    I'm 5' 4", 120, 52 years old and maintain on 2100-2300 calories. More when I'm training for a race.
  • nettiklive
    nettiklive Posts: 206 Member
    edited April 2018
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    It's crazy me for to read this :'( I'm 5'4 115 lbs and maintain on 1400-1500 :( I did start some lifting again so hoping it'll help but I hate cardio and I'm not an active or fidgety person at all, though I'm a sahm with a toddler so I don't have a choice often lol. I do love walking but it's pouring rain and wind here half the year so I don't get as much in as when I lived in a sunnier state.
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,967 Member
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    I’m 5’10”
  • nowine4me
    nowine4me Posts: 3,985 Member
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    OP - have you tried maintaining on 2,000 for 30 days or so? You don’t really know until you try. I’m 5-7 and 122, maintain at 1900.
  • comptonelizabeth
    comptonelizabeth Posts: 1,701 Member
    edited April 2018
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    I'm 5'3, 128 lbs and maintain on around 2200 even though most calculators (including mfp) put me at far less than that. I workout 3 - 4 times a week. I thought I was lightly active until I started using a fitbit and realised I'm more active than I thought so that might explain it. Basically I am on the go most of the time and rarely sit still!
    I also sometimes wonder if I am not logging accurately enough and could be eating less than I think. I prepare most meals from scratch but can't be bothered to do the whole weighing the pot thing, so I tend to just guess my portion size. I'm not a big eater so I could be overestimating
  • ChelzFit
    ChelzFit Posts: 292 Member
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    I'm 5'7 135 and maintain on 2,300-2,500 calories a day. I workout for an hour 4 days a week and the other three do light walking for 45 minutes. On top of that I try to hit at least 10,000-12,000 steps a day. I know for me I could not maintain 120, my body just doesn't have it and I feel like crap. 135 seems to be my happy weight :)
  • Davidsdottir
    Davidsdottir Posts: 1,285 Member
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    36 years old, 5'5", and when i was 125 I maintained at 2200 (lifting and running). I'm currently bulking at 2700 cals and have slowly gained about 10-12 lbs over the last six months.
  • _piaffe
    _piaffe Posts: 163 Member
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    I have a desk job but aim for about 10k steps a day (some days are better than others).

    Dedicated and focused physical activity is my secret. At 5'11 - much taller than you - I maintain at 2300-2500, but I do intense indoor cycling 7x week and 1.5 hours of strength training 3x week.
  • bbell1985
    bbell1985 Posts: 4,572 Member
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    _piaffe wrote: »
    I have a desk job but aim for about 10k steps a day (some days are better than others).

    Dedicated and focused physical activity is my secret. At 5'11 - much taller than you - I maintain at 2300-2500, but I do intense indoor cycling 7x week and 1.5 hours of strength training 3x week.

    I didn't know you were 5'11"! That makes more sense now.
  • rainbow198
    rainbow198 Posts: 2,245 Member
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    I maintain around 2500 calories. I'm tall, early 40's with a very sedentary job, but I'm active and do small spurts of activity during the workday.
  • LJay89
    LJay89 Posts: 91 Member
    edited April 2018
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    OP - Google Paul Nobles. Here is a link to his Eat to Perform website:

    http://www.eattoperform.com/2015/01/19/the-calorie-wave-method-by-paul-nobles/

    I think you might find what he has to say quite interesting. His method and research leans towards the encouragment of eating at maximum calories level in order to sustain progressive training such as weighttraining and crossfit type stuff.

    The idea that you at maintenance for so long while you increase your ability in your chosen area (for me its powerlifting) and then for fat loss you would do a an 8 week cycle where you cut by so many.. I have a copy of his PDF book that i can email you if you are interested.

    At the moment I am eating at 1800 calories, I am losing fat at this point but i am aiming to increase to maintenance as my fitness levels picks up. I swim 2x a week and Weight train 3x per week, plus I am trying to increase my walking to 5 miles a day (3 miles at the moment)

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