Any tips for keeping maintenance while doing recomp?

Icy_Fox
Icy_Fox Posts: 90 Member
in Goal: Maintaining Weight
Hey guys, I have hit a weight I am comfortable at and would like to do a recomp to lose some BF and gain some muscle instead. People on the forum have suggested that I do weight + keep my calories at 0 (or maintenance). The thing is, this is extremely hard, especially if you don't cook yourself. For example, when cutting, I used to always log more calories if I wasn't sure how much calories certain food has (always better logging more than not enough). The same with bulking, it doesn't matter that much if you log less or more. What would you recommend for staying at maintenance? Thanks

Replies

  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
    Icy_Fox wrote: »
    Hey guys, I have hit a weight I am comfortable at and would like to do a recomp to lose some BF and gain some muscle instead. People on the forum have suggested that I do weight + keep my calories at 0 (or maintenance). The thing is, this is extremely hard, especially if you don't cook yourself. For example, when cutting, I used to always log more calories if I wasn't sure how much calories certain food has (always better logging more than not enough). The same with bulking, it doesn't matter that much if you log less or more. What would you recommend for staying at maintenance? Thanks

    what do you mean do weight and keep calories at 0? and a food scale will help you be more accurate. and no, logging more food than what you are actually eating isnt better,you could be eating too little to fuel your body that way,for a bulk of course you need a surplus but the more calories in the bulk the more fat you gain as well. to do a recomp you eat what you burn so if your TDEE is say 2500 you eat 2500 and that includes your exercise calories. if you want to maintain weight you will have to eat your maintenance calories and over time see if you are losing or gaining(aside from normal fluctuations) if gaining you are in a surplus, if losing you are in a deficit, if staying the same range then you are maintaining.

    the more accurate you are with your calories the better it will be to know how much you are really eating. as for staying at maintenance you can input that info into MFP like you did when you first joined and put you want to maintain weight and go from those calories. make sure you net the calories it gives you and give it a few weeks and gauge your progress
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    You just need to be more accurate.
  • Icy_Fox
    Icy_Fox Posts: 90 Member
    I understand that, and by "doing weight" i meant lifting weights xD should have said it different.

    And the problem I find is, since I am a student, we eat out a lot or my GF cooks for me, and it's really hard to estimate the calories in that food...
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
    Icy_Fox wrote: »
    I understand that, and by "doing weight" i meant lifting weights xD should have said it different.

    And the problem I find is, since I am a student, we eat out a lot or my GF cooks for me, and it's really hard to estimate the calories in that food...

    ask her if she can weigh things. as for eating out the only thing you can do is overestimate unless you bring it home and weigh all the ingredients which can be messy and a pain. but the only way you will know is if you are losing ,gaining or maintaining where your calories are.
  • kami3006
    kami3006 Posts: 4,979 Member
    Do what you can to be as accurate as possible. As long as you’re hovering around maintenance, little under some, little over some, you’ll be fine. Adjust as needed based on results.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    Icy_Fox wrote: »
    I understand that, and by "doing weight" i meant lifting weights xD should have said it different.

    And the problem I find is, since I am a student, we eat out a lot or my GF cooks for me, and it's really hard to estimate the calories in that food...

    Plenty of people (like me) successfully maintain their weight without food logging. Keep an eye on your weight, adjust intake if you see trends developing (not fluctuations).
    Adjust portion sizes based on your best estimates, make sensible choices when you have control over your food preparation and shopping.
  • Seffell
    Seffell Posts: 2,244 Member
    It doesn't have to be 0. You have to assume that if you're estimating some days you'll be a bit over and some a bit under so on average it will be close to zero. Try not to consciously under or overestimate.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    If you can guesstimate well enough to cut and bulk then i dont see why estimating for maintenance is any different?
  • hikinggal11
    hikinggal11 Posts: 59 Member
    Hi, tracking restaurant meals can be a real pain. If we are going out to eat I try to go to the restaurant's website and look at their menu ahead of time. Many times they will have the calories listed per dish. If not I try to choose the easiest meal to track and put in each ingredient in at a time. It is a pain, but it is worth it. I also use this site, https://www.nutritionix.com/brands/restaurant

    to help me figure out the calories. Just pick the restaurant and it will have a list of dishes and their calorie count. Good luck!
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,966 Member
    it's not any different when losing weight or gaining weight.. just log your food the same as you always have. Try being more accurate (instead of logging an number you know is too much, log a number you think is close enough)

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