What are your stats and maintenance calories?
purple4sure05
Posts: 287 Member
Hello! Just curious from successful maintainers what you've landed on for maintenance calories? Especially women. I'm a month or two away from maintenance and am starting to worry a bit about figuring out my maintenance calories.
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Replies
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There's some discussion about that here, including multiple possible ways to estimate your maintenance calories.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10638211/how-to-find-your-maintenance-calorie-level
No one else's results are relevant to you: No one is exactly the same height, weight, age, daily life activity level, body fat percent, sex, and exercise level, right? (Let alone less quantifiable variables that might apply. . . .).
I tend to be a little out of the norm, statistically. I'm 63, 5'5", mid-130s pounds, neither super muscular nor devoid of muscles (don't know BF%), and usually maintain somewhere in the lower 2000s plus exercise, based on almost 4 years of logging.
I suspect I'd maintain a bit below that right now because it's Winter, the weather has been pretty awful so I'm hibernating (retired, BTW), and I'm less active due to some painful knee problems. I'm thinking I'm probably in the 1800-2000 zone somewhere, with limited exercise right now, but this situation hasn't gone on long enough yet to be sure.6 -
There's some discussion about that here, including multiple possible ways to estimate your maintenance calories.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10638211/how-to-find-your-maintenance-calorie-level
No one else's results are relevant to you: No one is exactly the same height, weight, age, daily life activity level, body fat percent, sex, and exercise level, right? (Let alone less quantifiable variables that might apply. . . .).
I tend to be a little out of the norm, statistically. I'm 63, 5'5", mid-130s pounds, neither super muscular nor devoid of muscles (don't know BF%), and usually maintain somewhere in the lower 2000s plus exercise, based on almost 4 years of logging.
I suspect I'd maintain a bit below that right now because it's Winter, the weather has been pretty awful so I'm hibernating (retired, BTW), and I'm less active due to some painful knee problems. I'm thinking I'm probably in the 1800-2000 zone somewhere, with limited exercise right now, but this situation hasn't gone on long enough yet to be sure.
Cool, thanks for the info! I've used plenty of calculators but I was just curious about peoples actual experiences with it 😊 My maintenance should be about 2000 with my exercise level but in the past I've found that over time, I end up needing to eat significantly less than that to not gain.1 -
Stats: Age 59, 5'9" and weight range of 168-175lbs my calorie maintenance range varies a lot due to my exercise.
Mostly in range of c. 2750 - 3500cals/day depending on exercise choice and duration. Quite a bit more than before I lost my excess weight due to changes in activity and exercise volume.
As the very wise AnnPT77 says, it's very individual. There's also a very high chance that people's logging accuracy/inaccuracy is significantly different to yours which makes comparison difficult.3 -
Everyone will have differing stats but saying you asked....
I'm 5ft 2", 49yrs, maintenance range 124-129lbs, average calories to maintain is 1950. I'm lightly active.0 -
If you've been losing weight and logging food you'll have some idea already. At the end of my weight loss I was set at a 250 per day calorie deficit, which I calculated with my past weight loss and food logging data. When I went to maintenance I just ate that 250 more. You'll have to dial it in, and your past data is your best tool.
I am like Ann in that the calculators underestimate for me by quite a lot. I weigh myself at least twice a week and watch the trend.1 -
As others have said, the stats will vary by individual. I’m petite, 5’2, and have a desk job but still maintain at around 1900 calories when I’m lightly active. My current weight range is 122-126 but that’s slightly higher than where I was maintaining for the last few years, my activity level has dropped and weight has crept up a little due to job changes and more business travel and winter...
If you can, I think an activity tracker like a FitBit is a great tool to help people successfully maintain. I know my average calorie burn and can track trends when I’m more or less active so I can adjust my intake accordingly, as often as I need, rather than just picking a number from a calculator and going with that as a static indicator.
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WinoGelato wrote: »As others have said, the stats will vary by individual. I’m petite, 5’2, and have a desk job but still maintain at around 1900 calories when I’m lightly active. My current weight range is 122-126 but that’s slightly higher than where I was maintaining for the last few years, my activity level has dropped and weight has crept up a little due to job changes and more business travel and winter...
If you can, I think an activity tracker like a FitBit is a great tool to help people successfully maintain. I know my average calorie burn and can track trends when I’m more or less active so I can adjust my intake accordingly, as often as I need, rather than just picking a number from a calculator and going with that as a static indicator.
I've thought about that but also have heard that they're generally unreliable? Im not sure what to expect for my maintenance calories because I eat the same thing every week and weigh every single thing down to the gram but I can lose anywhere from half a pound to 3 pounds per week. It's generally slowed over time, but much more than what the calculators predict for the natural decrease due to lower body weight. If I eat 1200 calories and lose 2 pounds, youd assume that my maintenance total is 2200, but if I lose less than a pound the next week on the exact same diet and exercise it's hard to figure out.
Obviously everyone is different, I just thought it would be interesting to hear from others.2 -
purple4sure05 wrote: »WinoGelato wrote: »As others have said, the stats will vary by individual. I’m petite, 5’2, and have a desk job but still maintain at around 1900 calories when I’m lightly active. My current weight range is 122-126 but that’s slightly higher than where I was maintaining for the last few years, my activity level has dropped and weight has crept up a little due to job changes and more business travel and winter...
If you can, I think an activity tracker like a FitBit is a great tool to help people successfully maintain. I know my average calorie burn and can track trends when I’m more or less active so I can adjust my intake accordingly, as often as I need, rather than just picking a number from a calculator and going with that as a static indicator.
I've thought about that but also have heard that they're generally unreliable? Im not sure what to expect for my maintenance calories because I eat the same thing every week and weigh every single thing down to the gram but I can lose anywhere from half a pound to 3 pounds per week. It's generally slowed over time, but much more than what the calculators predict for the natural decrease due to lower body weight. If I eat 1200 calories and lose 2 pounds, youd assume that my maintenance total is 2200, but if I lose less than a pound the next week on the exact same diet and exercise it's hard to figure out.
Obviously everyone is different, I just thought it would be interesting to hear from others.
Average it over at least a month to 6 weeks, especially if you're premenopausal or have greatly varying activity day to do. A week is seriously insufficient.3 -
purple4sure05 wrote: »WinoGelato wrote: »As others have said, the stats will vary by individual. I’m petite, 5’2, and have a desk job but still maintain at around 1900 calories when I’m lightly active. My current weight range is 122-126 but that’s slightly higher than where I was maintaining for the last few years, my activity level has dropped and weight has crept up a little due to job changes and more business travel and winter...
If you can, I think an activity tracker like a FitBit is a great tool to help people successfully maintain. I know my average calorie burn and can track trends when I’m more or less active so I can adjust my intake accordingly, as often as I need, rather than just picking a number from a calculator and going with that as a static indicator.
I've thought about that but also have heard that they're generally unreliable? Im not sure what to expect for my maintenance calories because I eat the same thing every week and weigh every single thing down to the gram but I can lose anywhere from half a pound to 3 pounds per week. It's generally slowed over time, but much more than what the calculators predict for the natural decrease due to lower body weight. If I eat 1200 calories and lose 2 pounds, youd assume that my maintenance total is 2200, but if I lose less than a pound the next week on the exact same diet and exercise it's hard to figure out.
Obviously everyone is different, I just thought it would be interesting to hear from others.
My FitBit is accurate for me and I know countless others on this site who use and trust activity trackers synced with MFP to determine how many exercise calories to eat and to estimate their total daily burn.1 -
Mine is ~2000. i'm 168cm and 61kg.
I tend to start to pack weight on after a while though because I get complacent and do the whole "intuitive eating" thing which ends up being "yes, i can eyeball 100g rice but hey, let's add another spoon to that!" and next thing you know the weight creeps up.
So I keep weighing to not let things get too out of hand - as soon as I am up 2 kgs I rein things in and lose them again. What can I say - i like food a LOT.
Now, re the fitbit thing, I think for me personally now that i am the owner of a new Charge 3 - it does make me walk more - i will take the stairs or get off the bus one stop before my stop. I think this will help me in maintaining, even if overall the thing is not that terribly accurate, it kind of gives you a little nudge to not get too complacent.
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Cahgetsfit wrote: »Mine is ~2000. i'm 168cm and 61kg.
I tend to start to pack weight on after a while though because I get complacent and do the whole "intuitive eating" thing which ends up being "yes, i can eyeball 100g rice but hey, let's add another spoon to that!" and next thing you know the weight creeps up.
So I keep weighing to not let things get too out of hand - as soon as I am up 2 kgs I rein things in and lose them again. What can I say - i like food a LOT.
Now, re the fitbit thing, I think for me personally now that i am the owner of a new Charge 3 - it does make me walk more - i will take the stairs or get off the bus one stop before my stop. I think this will help me in maintaining, even if overall the thing is not that terribly accurate, it kind of gives you a little nudge to not get too complacent.
You're my height and roughly my goal weight. I'm about 3kg above you now. In theory my maintenance calculates to about 2000 a day too (I spend 30 minutes on heavy strength training, 30 minutes running 5k, and then another 20 minutes walking on an incline each day 6 days a week. My job is sedentary.) It just seems so high! I have a hard time believing I'll actually be able to maintain on that but itd be nice if it does turn out that way 😊 good to know theres someone out there who is successfully doing it.0 -
purple4sure05 wrote: »Cahgetsfit wrote: »Mine is ~2000. i'm 168cm and 61kg.
I tend to start to pack weight on after a while though because I get complacent and do the whole "intuitive eating" thing which ends up being "yes, i can eyeball 100g rice but hey, let's add another spoon to that!" and next thing you know the weight creeps up.
So I keep weighing to not let things get too out of hand - as soon as I am up 2 kgs I rein things in and lose them again. What can I say - i like food a LOT.
Now, re the fitbit thing, I think for me personally now that i am the owner of a new Charge 3 - it does make me walk more - i will take the stairs or get off the bus one stop before my stop. I think this will help me in maintaining, even if overall the thing is not that terribly accurate, it kind of gives you a little nudge to not get too complacent.
You're my height and roughly my goal weight. I'm about 3kg above you now. In theory my maintenance calculates to about 2000 a day too (I spend 30 minutes on heavy strength training, 30 minutes running 5k, and then another 20 minutes walking on an incline each day 6 days a week. My job is sedentary.) It just seems so high! I have a hard time believing I'll actually be able to maintain on that but itd be nice if it does turn out that way 😊 good to know theres someone out there who is successfully doing it.
OP, did you take a look at the thread I linked earlier? I think you might like the "gradual increase" method.
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OP, did you take a look at the thread I linked earlier? I think you might like the "gradual increase" method.[/quote]purple4sure05 wrote: »Cahgetsfit wrote: »Mine is ~2000. i'm 168cm and 61kg.
I tend to start to pack weight on after a while though because I get complacent and do the whole "intuitive eating" thing which ends up being "yes, i can eyeball 100g rice but hey, let's add another spoon to that!" and next thing you know the weight creeps up.
So I keep weighing to not let things get too out of hand - as soon as I am up 2 kgs I rein things in and lose them again. What can I say - i like food a LOT.
Now, re the fitbit thing, I think for me personally now that i am the owner of a new Charge 3 - it does make me walk more - i will take the stairs or get off the bus one stop before my stop. I think this will help me in maintaining, even if overall the thing is not that terribly accurate, it kind of gives you a little nudge to not get too complacent.
You're my height and roughly my goal weight. I'm about 3kg above you now. In theory my maintenance calculates to about 2000 a day too (I spend 30 minutes on heavy strength training, 30 minutes running 5k, and then another 20 minutes walking on an incline each day 6 days a week. My job is sedentary.) It just seems so high! I have a hard time believing I'll actually be able to maintain on that but itd be nice if it does turn out that way 😊 good to know theres someone out there who is successfully doing it.
OP, did you take a look at the thread I linked earlier? I think you might like the "gradual increase" method.
Sorry cant figure out how to quote this properly on mobile. But yes I did! And I do plan to do the gradual increase method. I'm just afraid that I'll be at a low calorie number and technically not lose weight on the scale for a long time. Not sure whether I should gradually increase week-to-week to a reasonable number and then maintain from there to see if I start gaining or losing.0 -
purple4sure05 wrote: »OP, did you take a look at the thread I linked earlier? I think you might like the "gradual increase" method.purple4sure05 wrote: »Cahgetsfit wrote: »Mine is ~2000. i'm 168cm and 61kg.
I tend to start to pack weight on after a while though because I get complacent and do the whole "intuitive eating" thing which ends up being "yes, i can eyeball 100g rice but hey, let's add another spoon to that!" and next thing you know the weight creeps up.
So I keep weighing to not let things get too out of hand - as soon as I am up 2 kgs I rein things in and lose them again. What can I say - i like food a LOT.
Now, re the fitbit thing, I think for me personally now that i am the owner of a new Charge 3 - it does make me walk more - i will take the stairs or get off the bus one stop before my stop. I think this will help me in maintaining, even if overall the thing is not that terribly accurate, it kind of gives you a little nudge to not get too complacent.
You're my height and roughly my goal weight. I'm about 3kg above you now. In theory my maintenance calculates to about 2000 a day too (I spend 30 minutes on heavy strength training, 30 minutes running 5k, and then another 20 minutes walking on an incline each day 6 days a week. My job is sedentary.) It just seems so high! I have a hard time believing I'll actually be able to maintain on that but itd be nice if it does turn out that way 😊 good to know theres someone out there who is successfully doing it.
OP, did you take a look at the thread I linked earlier? I think you might like the "gradual increase" method.
Sorry cant figure out how to quote this properly on mobile. But yes I did! And I do plan to do the gradual increase method. I'm just afraid that I'll be at a low calorie number and technically not lose weight on the scale for a long time. Not sure whether I should gradually increase week-to-week to a reasonable number and then maintain from there to see if I start gaining or losing. [/quote]
You can do either one. It depends on your risk tolerance.
If you add faster, you risk (very slow) weight gain if you accidentally overshoot maintenance calories by not seeing the stable weight through daily fluctuations, and maybe need to lose again. If you add slower, you'll probably lose a little more along the way, it will take longer to reach the stability point, but there's lowe risk of over-shooting it by much.
Really not a big deal either way, but it'll be up to your preferences which is more satisfying/reassuring. It'll be fine, really! 1 -
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40 yrs old, 5ft, 6in, BMI 21.6, sedentary, maintenance intake is around 1,600 calories.1
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purple4sure05 wrote: »Cahgetsfit wrote: »Mine is ~2000. i'm 168cm and 61kg.
I tend to start to pack weight on after a while though because I get complacent and do the whole "intuitive eating" thing which ends up being "yes, i can eyeball 100g rice but hey, let's add another spoon to that!" and next thing you know the weight creeps up.
So I keep weighing to not let things get too out of hand - as soon as I am up 2 kgs I rein things in and lose them again. What can I say - i like food a LOT.
Now, re the fitbit thing, I think for me personally now that i am the owner of a new Charge 3 - it does make me walk more - i will take the stairs or get off the bus one stop before my stop. I think this will help me in maintaining, even if overall the thing is not that terribly accurate, it kind of gives you a little nudge to not get too complacent.
You're my height and roughly my goal weight. I'm about 3kg above you now. In theory my maintenance calculates to about 2000 a day too (I spend 30 minutes on heavy strength training, 30 minutes running 5k, and then another 20 minutes walking on an incline each day 6 days a week. My job is sedentary.) It just seems so high! I have a hard time believing I'll actually be able to maintain on that but itd be nice if it does turn out that way 😊 good to know theres someone out there who is successfully doing it.
If you're spending 80 minutes exercising 6 days per week, 2,000 calories isn't particularly a lot. The average woman will maintain in the neighborhood of 1,800 - 2,000 calories with less activity.2 -
47, 5'6, 125 lbs, medium active (perimeno) 2000 calories when not lifting. I now follow a lifting program and won't gain on 2400 calories.....
Just shows there are lots of factors to consider.2 -
Thanks for the input guys. This has helped me get a better general idea of maintenance, especially for people with general stats and differing activity levels. I think when the time comes I'll work my way up to 1600 a little quicker as it seems like a pretty safe estimate to not go over maintenance. Then I'll slowly try to take it up from there.3
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I basically maintained at 158-162 (66 inches, age 67) from Thanksgiving to the end of January averaging 1500-1600 calories/day being "lightly active." I'm now on a small deficit to lose ~2# a month. This will be a LOT easier once the endless winter is over and I can get outside more.3
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Stats: 30+YOM, 6'0'' 165lbs maintenance ~2,500-3,000kcal/day (I average activity over several weeks to determine TDEE; it's a moving target - harder dieting leads to less activity). Lanky & lean AF
Capable of getting down to around 155lbs but it's never worth the effort & generally look deflated, less muscular (esp chest & shoulders) in trade off for some measly extra/minor lower abd definition (not worth it)7 -
My maintenance is 3000-3200. 5'11, 160 lbs (lean)-170 lbs (bulked up), lifting weights 4 times a week, little cardio. You will probably need much less depending on your height, frame, muscularity, activity level, etc.1
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5, 10 and just got to 150lb. Right now 1900 calories a day but doing 30-60 minute workouts 5-6 times a week so the calories will most likely increase. Looking for friends for motivation as I have just gotten back into this and new to this app. 😃0
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WinoGelato wrote: »As others have said, the stats will vary by individual. I’m petite, 5’2, and have a desk job but still maintain at around 1900 calories when I’m lightly active. My current weight range is 122-126 but that’s slightly higher than where I was maintaining for the last few years, my activity level has dropped and weight has crept up a little due to job changes and more business travel and winter...
If you can, I think an activity tracker like a FitBit is a great tool to help people successfully maintain. I know my average calorie burn and can track trends when I’m more or less active so I can adjust my intake accordingly, as often as I need, rather than just picking a number from a calculator and going with that as a static indicator.
Do you find Fitbit's calories burned accurate? I own a Zip. I average 12-14,000 steps/day. It says I burn 1900-2000. Should I trust that number?0 -
Tolstolobik wrote: »WinoGelato wrote: »As others have said, the stats will vary by individual. I’m petite, 5’2, and have a desk job but still maintain at around 1900 calories when I’m lightly active. My current weight range is 122-126 but that’s slightly higher than where I was maintaining for the last few years, my activity level has dropped and weight has crept up a little due to job changes and more business travel and winter...
If you can, I think an activity tracker like a FitBit is a great tool to help people successfully maintain. I know my average calorie burn and can track trends when I’m more or less active so I can adjust my intake accordingly, as often as I need, rather than just picking a number from a calculator and going with that as a static indicator.
Do you find Fitbit's calories burned accurate? I own a Zip. I average 12-14,000 steps/day. It says I burn 1900-2000. Should I trust that number?
It’s been accurate for me but you can test it for yourself if you log accurately, you should know how much you’re burning, and therefore how much of a deficit you’re in. Does your weight pattern match the deficit you believe you are creating over a period of 4-6 weeks or more?1 -
WinoGelato wrote: »Tolstolobik wrote: »WinoGelato wrote: »As others have said, the stats will vary by individual. I’m petite, 5’2, and have a desk job but still maintain at around 1900 calories when I’m lightly active. My current weight range is 122-126 but that’s slightly higher than where I was maintaining for the last few years, my activity level has dropped and weight has crept up a little due to job changes and more business travel and winter...
If you can, I think an activity tracker like a FitBit is a great tool to help people successfully maintain. I know my average calorie burn and can track trends when I’m more or less active so I can adjust my intake accordingly, as often as I need, rather than just picking a number from a calculator and going with that as a static indicator.
Do you find Fitbit's calories burned accurate? I own a Zip. I average 12-14,000 steps/day. It says I burn 1900-2000. Should I trust that number?
It’s been accurate for me but you can test it for yourself if you log accurately, you should know how much you’re burning, and therefore how much of a deficit you’re in. Does your weight pattern match the deficit you believe you are creating over a period of 4-6 weeks or more?
Thank you for sharing your experience. I need to do a fair test (keeping calories eaten more or less the same) to see my weight trend over the span of several weeks and not just a week or two. Do you find it beneficial to link your Fitbit with MFP or do you just use Fitbit's numbers?0 -
Tolstolobik wrote: »WinoGelato wrote: »Tolstolobik wrote: »WinoGelato wrote: »As others have said, the stats will vary by individual. I’m petite, 5’2, and have a desk job but still maintain at around 1900 calories when I’m lightly active. My current weight range is 122-126 but that’s slightly higher than where I was maintaining for the last few years, my activity level has dropped and weight has crept up a little due to job changes and more business travel and winter...
If you can, I think an activity tracker like a FitBit is a great tool to help people successfully maintain. I know my average calorie burn and can track trends when I’m more or less active so I can adjust my intake accordingly, as often as I need, rather than just picking a number from a calculator and going with that as a static indicator.
Do you find Fitbit's calories burned accurate? I own a Zip. I average 12-14,000 steps/day. It says I burn 1900-2000. Should I trust that number?
It’s been accurate for me but you can test it for yourself if you log accurately, you should know how much you’re burning, and therefore how much of a deficit you’re in. Does your weight pattern match the deficit you believe you are creating over a period of 4-6 weeks or more?
Thank you for sharing your experience. I need to do a fair test (keeping calories eaten more or less the same) to see my weight trend over the span of several weeks and not just a week or two. Do you find it beneficial to link your Fitbit with MFP or do you just use Fitbit's numbers?
Tracking carefully over a month or so and calculating in weight gain/loss (pounds x 3500 = approximate cals) ought to be close enough for a decent evaluation, without eating the same daily.1 -
Tracking carefully over a month or so and calculating in weight gain/loss (pounds x 3500 = approximate cals) ought to be close enough for a decent evaluation, without eating the same daily.[/quote]
Excellent advice! Thank you!0 -
A question- If I mostly do walking/jogging based exercise(I do occasional bodyweight exercises as well), do I set my activity level to "Not Very Active", enable negative calorie adjustments and let Fitbit feed the step count into MFP? Will this give me a good general idea of my TDEE?0
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I am 60, female, 5'7" and have been in maintenance for well over 3 years. I stay within 3 or so pounds in the mid to upper 110s. I have always kept my activity set to sedentary for no other reason than I know what MFP is going to do. MFP thinks I should only eat 1540 calories/day. Going with TDEE and all that jazz, I set myself to 1800. In real life, I probably eat 2000-3000 most days.
I do run for an hour most days, weather permitting. I walk a lot with my husband and dog every day. When the weather is bad, I work out on my elliptical or "bounce" to cardio and/or strength videos on youtube.
It did take me several months to find my happy place in maintenance so don't give up! Some of us overshoot and keep losing, others bounce back up and find themselves having to lose again. One of the not so great things about MFP is once you get to maintenance, it is tough to find the encouragement you need.
Good luck!2
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