Has anyone tried finding maintenance calories before goal?

olivia3263
olivia3263 Posts: 263 Member
edited October 3 in Health and Weight Loss
Hey everyone, (my stats fyi: female, 5'8" 157, goal 143)

So I have my very first half marathon next sunday and I'm super psyched for it. I've been running regularly since may, and have completely fallen in love with it. Also, since may, I have lost about 30 pounds. I still have 10 or 15 more pounds to go, and as most people who are close to their goal, it is going very slowly. I've been playing around with my goals (probably maybe a little too quickly) but I realized about 2 weeks ago that I wasn't eating enough. I was around 1500 calories after exercise (input exercise with HRM) and I could feel the signs of my body slowing down pretty quickly at that level - running slower, more aches and pains, cold, dry skin, dizziness. I then changed my goal to lose .5 pounds a week at sedentary level. I did that for one week, but honestly I didn't really do it because each day I had a couple hundred calories left over - upping calories is scary - especially when you get above 2000 (last week I stayed around 1800ish total calories). I felt better overall but didn't see any change in the scale. This week I decided to change my activity to what it really is - lightly active (before exercise). I'm a teacher and also walk around a lot after school. That brought me to net 1740.

So I've been eating over 2000 calories for the past week and I can't tell you how much better my body feels. I'm running so much faster, it's ridiculous. I love how I feel. I'm still not losing anything, but somehow I don't care because my body has never felt this good - and hey, I'm not gaining, right? I've NEVER eaten this much - even when I was overweight. I have always been on a diet, this is just the first time I'm monitoring actual calories. I think I either had periods where I would under eat (healthy foods) and over exercise, or have periods where I would overeat bad foods. I've never tried eating a normal level of healthy foods - and right now my diet is 95% clean healthy foods and i eat all the time.

So, I'm thinking of trying out my maintenance level next week for optimum performance in my half marathon. I'm thinking this is a good idea, but I'm wondering if anyone else has tried finding their maintenance level before they reached their goal so you knew the right number to cut down to with the right deficit. I've read that I might need to try out my maintenance level for about 3 weeks to really make sure that's what it is. If I were eating too much, 3 weeks would be about the right time to see a valid gain (not water) on the scale, no? So have you done this? Is it a worthwhile experiment? I'm not in any rush to lose the last pounds - but I am certain, from this point on, I want to do it the RIGHT way - no more 1200 calories for this girl!

Replies

  • BeautyFromPain
    BeautyFromPain Posts: 4,952 Member
    bump
  • MelissaGraham7
    MelissaGraham7 Posts: 406 Member
    Like you I have been having a ton of trouble losing my last 12 pounds. I'm running about 20-30 miles a week and staying at 1200 calories a day. I wonder if I need to try your method. I've seen a lot of posters talking about bumping the calories UP when hitting a plateau and being really active. I have been experiencing more tiredness....

    I'd be interested to hear how it goes. and good luck on your race!!!!!!!!!
  • avaloneternal
    avaloneternal Posts: 216
    I am a marathon runner. Good luck in your race, you will have so much fun. I tried the whole 1200 calories thing and it only led me to huge binges because my body needed more to recover and store up for my 3+ hour runs. I think that you are doing a worthwhile experiment, just don`t be afraid to up the calories before your race. The last thing you want to do is run out of fuel for your race. You never know, you may just lose some weight during this time. Give it the three weeks and see what happens :) Feel free to add me if you want a new friend.
  • jenfactor
    jenfactor Posts: 124
    I don't know if this will help, but I'm starting at 200 pounds and can't deal with eating 1200 cals/day. It just makes me binge and feel like it's not enough and it's not sustainable... I know that from 15 years of dieting. SOO... I've been eating my maintenence cals for my goal, 132 pounds, or about 1800 cals/day. I don't usually eat my exercise calories, but sometimes I do. AND... I've been losing almost 2 pounds a week still. I'll be curious to see how long that continues. So far, so good... and ideally I'll never have to adjust my eating again for the rest of my life.
  • olivia3263
    olivia3263 Posts: 263 Member
    Like you I have been having a ton of trouble losing my last 12 pounds. I'm running about 20-30 miles a week and staying at 1200 calories a day. I wonder if I need to try your method. I've seen a lot of posters talking about bumping the calories UP when hitting a plateau and being really active. I have been experiencing more tiredness....

    I'd be interested to hear how it goes. and good luck on your race!!!!!!!!!

    I was not losing at 1200, and now I'm still not losing at 2200 - if I had my choice, I'd much rather be not losing at 2200 :) But I would like to find the right range so I lose the right way eventually. Every other calculator I've done that factors your exercise in (and some that are for runners that calculates how many miles you run a week) says I could maintain at around 2500 - 3000 calories. I've never tried giving myself the benefit of a doubt to listen to that - I always thought I had a lower metabolism because there's no way I could eat that much and not gain. Well, I've averaged about 2200 calories this week and haven't gained, so I'm on my way, I guess. Still, it would be nice to lose... - but seriously, try eating more - you will feel AMAZING!

    Thanks for the well wishes. I can't wait for the race :)
  • avaloneternal
    avaloneternal Posts: 216
    Right before a race is a really dangerous time to try to lose weight anyways. At very least you will hurt your performance and at worst you will have issues during your race that could lead to injury, bonking or even passing out (trust me, I have come home from some runs undernourished and almost fainted in the shower). You can look at trying to lose weight after you PR :)
  • KeyMasterOfGozer
    KeyMasterOfGozer Posts: 229 Member
    If you are running that many miles per week, you are doing something right. I think your experiment sounds good, and you should do it. I mean, what is the worst that could happen? You will delay making your goal weight for a short while. That's no big deal. Just don't let it get in your head.
  • SmallerBecky
    SmallerBecky Posts: 177
    I think it's very good that you're doing this! I clicked on this post because that's exactly what I'm trying to figure out right now! I started MFP all over again on Sept. 19. I lost 6.6 lbs in about 10 days...at 1600 net calories (which means I would actually eat up to 2200 on days I exercised, which was just walking on the treadmill at that time) with some going over some days. Then I thought hey, I could do even better if I set the goal to 1500 and STUCK TO IT every day! Well, this past week, all I did was lose the extra I gained over last weekend and my weight is back UP to about 3 lbs from last Friday! I'm not all worried about the numbers this time around, but I did notice all week that I was STARVING every night (but just going to bed earlier, thinking I would see a great number on the scale the next morning if I was so dang hungry before bed) and I had very low energy by 5 p.m. I felt like I could barely carry myself around. SO...I just changed my calorie goal to 1700 this morning. I'm 5'7", 167 lbs. I want to lose about 35-30 lbs., but I don't care if it takes me until next summer to get there. I'm just working on eating much healthier and getting a decent amount of exercise, not overdoing it like I have before (P90X plus walking 3-6 miles a day). I say I'm giving myself until next summer but I'm thinking if I can find the right equation here, eating sensibly and exercising just the right amount, there's no reason why I shouldn't be at my goal weight of 135-140 by April.

    I read the Flat Belly Diet. It mostly tells you to cut out the bad fat and MAKE SURE YOU EAT good fats (MUFAs) with every meal, such as olives and olive oil, nuts and seeds, avocados, and dark chocolate. AND it says to make sure you eat four meals a day, each adding up to about 400 calories (1600 a day), exercise or no exercise. That would mean that on days you exercise, you would net much less than 1600.

    I also read Water With Lemon (a GREAT book that changed my way of thinking about food and ultimately inspired me to start over this time with a much more positive outlook on how this will go!). That book kind of had the same guidelines as Flat Belly Diet on WHAT to eat but there was no calorie counting; just eating the right foods and really paying attention to your body's cues that it was SATISFIED and not FULL, and stopping eating when you felt that. I put that to practice and WHOA, I sure do eat a lot less than I did when I was "off the wagon"! And drink lots and lots of water!

    Sorry for the book. And please add me, anyone! :) I've tried MFP a handful of times over the past two years and never added friends or talked on the boards much but this time around, I'm making friends and looking at posts so I can hold myself more accountable and encourage and be encouraged!
  • dawnmichelea
    dawnmichelea Posts: 112 Member
    Hi! 5'8 Started at 152, now at 133-135. I'm moving toward maint slowly, and have been shooting for 2000 calories each day. So far, so good! In another week our so, I'm moving towards 2200 I'm yearning almonds, and seeds, so that's the plan when I up my calories. ** I also ALWAYS have a MUFA every time I eat....and I have the flattest belly! Gonna buy some lemons today to add to my water! Have fun figuring out what works for you!
  • docHelen
    docHelen Posts: 198
    i'm getting close to my target and know i will soon be needing to eat a little bit more....but at the moment feel i could carry on at this level for ever!
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