Maintenance calories

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nafiyanoor
nafiyanoor Posts: 1 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi
I m new here.my maintenance calories are shown here as 1620 calories.Should i eat 500calories less or 1620 calories exact?

Replies

  • tomcustombuilder
    tomcustombuilder Posts: 1,738 Member
    edited July 2023
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    is that with or without exercise calories?

    What is your height, weight and gender?
  • Rockmama1111
    Rockmama1111 Posts: 262 Member
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    If you are trying to maintain your current weight, eat at the maintenance calorie level. If you want to lose, eat less than your maintenance calorie level.
  • Retroguy2000
    Retroguy2000 Posts: 1,531 Member
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    Bear in mind, maintenance is a guess taken by estimating your BMR (which is a guess based on population stats) and multiplying that by a number which estimates your general daily activity. In short, it can be wildly off. It's a starting point, not an exact number.

    Note also that MFP doesn't include intentional exercise. You can add that as and when you do it. So if you burn an additional 380 one day and add that to MFP, it will suggest you can take in 1620 + 380 that day.

    You could enter your recent calorie intake as best you can. That plus your recent weight change (if any) will help inform you what your actual maintenance is. If you typically consumer 2,000 calories and your weight has been constant, that's your TDEE.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,429 Member
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    I want to be sure we're talking about the same thing: Is that the calories you get if you put your personal data in your MFP profile, then select "Maintain weight" as your goal? Or maybe the goal you get by putting your data in a TDEE calculator outside MFP, not asking for weight gain or loss?
  • zebasschick
    zebasschick Posts: 910 Member
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    it can't be exact. different people at the same height and weight have different levels of daily activity that they don't count as exercise for starters.

    even when it's the same person, life changes can make a difference. when i used to lift heavy and do lots of cardio, i ate around 2000 calories per day (including lots of protein) to fuel my workouts and build muscle. these days, i am less muscular, my cardio is less strenuous, and i can only eat 1400 to 1500 calories per day to maintain.

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