Maintenance?

mslack01
mslack01 Posts: 823 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I am 1 lb away from my ideal weight. However, I did not use the MFP recommended calories to lose. I used the helloitsdan calcs. I definitely do not want to lose more but I don't want to gain either. I have never been in this place where I was trying to maintain a weight. Not sure what to do. Do I go by the recommended maintenance calories that MFP sets? Also, I am more active than when I started. I run at least twice a week now. And I walk or do something else the other days.

And btw, for those of you who think you can't do it without strength training, almost all of my exercise is always cardio. Nothing against strength training at all, and I might actually get more involved with it now. But it can be done with cardio.

Replies

  • Helloitsdan
    Helloitsdan Posts: 5,564 Member
    So now you can decide to build on what you have, or maintain what you have.

    To build youll want to take the numbers from Fat 2 Fit and recalculate.

    Instead of putting in how much you want to lose, put in how much you would like to gain.

    So for instance:

    Activity Level Daily Calories
    Sedentary (little or no exercise, desk job) 1852
    Lightly Active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk) 2122 <
    This is my TDEE according to my personal calculator!
    Moderately Active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk) 2392
    Very Active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk) 2662
    Extremely Active (hard daily exercise/sports & physical job or 2X day training, i.e marathon, contest etc.) 2932

    Since I lift 3 times a week and do no other activities i'll choose Light activity.
    If I eat anything above this i'll gain weight.

    On lifting days i'll eat 20% higher on this day and on rest days i'll eat this number or maybe 10% lower.
    This keeps fat gains to a minimum while stimulating growth in lean tissue.
    Its a slow road but it works!
  • mslack01
    mslack01 Posts: 823 Member
    THANK YOU HELLOITSDAN!!! Your method sure worked for me. :)
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,427 MFP Moderator
    You also have the ability to add a few hundred calories at a time until you stop losing. So add 200 calories and watch for a week. If it doesnt change you are good. If you still lose, then add another 200 calories.
  • picassoadagio
    picassoadagio Posts: 407 Member
    I'm going to have to give this a whirl. I was thinking about it, don't know why I didn't do it in the first place.
  • victoria4321
    victoria4321 Posts: 1,719 Member
    If your calories were low (around 1200ish) try adding 100 more calories a week until you stop losing. You'd probably be surprised at how much you can actually eat. I stop gaining or losing at around 2200 calories before exercise.
  • mslack01
    mslack01 Posts: 823 Member
    100 cals huh? That sounds like a nice easy way to transition. I know right now I have a hard time eating the recommended calories. So that sounds like a good way.
  • kazj17
    kazj17 Posts: 22 Member
    At reaching 116lbs I went to maintenance last week & MFP increased my cals from 1200 to 1410. I stuck to this all week & I do very little exercise really. Weighed myself this morning & had lost 1lb. Am going to try it for 1 more week & if I still lose will probably do as suggested on here & increase by 100cals a week & see what happens.
    Let me know how you get on!

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