Maintenance

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maintenance number lower than you expected??

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FluffyDogsRule
FluffyDogsRule Posts: 366 Member
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this is a piggyback off of the calculator post and some other older post i know i've read on here, but wondering who else is in the same boat...

i'm just getting used to eating around 1500 to maintain at 114. i've been maintaining for 3 weeks now. honestly, i thought 1500 would end up not being enough calories and i expected to continue to lose very slowly, but i've stayed at 114-115.

which makes me sad because i was planning to be able to go up to 1700!! it took me a week to get used to eating more again but, now that i'm used to it, i must admit that i still feel like i'm dieting at 1500. i don't always eat back my exercise calories, but i don't ever exercise for more than 30-40 minutes a day, so it's not like i'm burning tons of calories. i've come in under for my weekly net totals for all of the 3 weeks i've been maintaining.

i feel sort of like "this is what i have to do my entire life to stay at this weight???? is it worth it???". since i'm usually under for the day, i don't sweat it if i go out to dinner with friends or have drinks sometimes...it allows me to enjoy myself on special occasions. but i just thought it would be more "relaxed" in maintanence.

Replies

  • themommie
    themommie Posts: 5,000 Member
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    I just made it to maintenance so i really dont know yet. but I know while losing i have been eating 1250 cals a day so i am expecting maintenance to be around 1500-1600 cals a day. But i guess i will figure it out. but overall worth it. Maybe you can eat 1400 cals during the week and save the extra 100 cals a day to add the extra cals to the weekend or one day a week to give you a bit of cushion to be able to be a bit more relaxed
  • CoryIda
    CoryIda Posts: 7,887 Member
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    My maintenance number is higher than expected. I was figuring it would be somewhere around the 1800 calorie range.
    Way off.

    It took me a few months to get it figured out, but I maintain at around 2300 calories/day.

    I'm trying to gain a little bit right now - the right way - so I eat about 2500 most days, although I haven't weighed myself in a couple of weeks, so I'm not sure how that's going.
  • Yanicka1
    Yanicka1 Posts: 4,564 Member
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    MFP has my maintenance at 1440 calories while other calculators has me at 1680 before exercise. You should try upping your calories slowly and you will see that your body will adapt to the new normal.
  • driaxx
    driaxx Posts: 314 Member
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    I agree. MFP told me 1440 is what I should be at, but if I eat that much I actually gain. I think it's more like 1300! I work out so I can eat more, it sucks but it's reality for me unfortunately!
  • Yanicka1
    Yanicka1 Posts: 4,564 Member
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    I agree. MFP told me 1440 is what I should be at, but if I eat that much I actually gain. I think it's more like 1300! I work out so I can eat more, it sucks but it's reality for me unfortunately!

    Woa....this is not a life. You should really repair your metabolism instead of accepting to live like that
  • keiraev
    keiraev Posts: 695 Member
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    I know exactly what you mean. I weigh around 120 lb (it goes up and down by 2/3lb either way!) and I just couldn't survive on the 1660 MFP allocated me to maintain.

    I have been playing around with this since I started maintaining in December and like you I totall still felt like I was dieting.

    I have actually upped it to the "active" setting now which gives me 1780 NET and I really don't care if this means gaining a few lbs as I am SO much happier and can eat pretty much what I like within reason. I also feel so much stronger in the gym when I am lifting and have loads more energy. Even when I eat 2000 calories I make sure I try and fill my day with healthy food and plenty of protein. So far I am still within my "range" so going to at least stay with this plan for a while and see how it works.

    I may go back and try and cut a few lbs more for the summer..if I can be arsed haha!
  • capperboy
    capperboy Posts: 99 Member
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    I set MFP to maintain with activities set to very active this gives me 2420 calories per day.
    Like everybody else I had doubts about this number in an attempt to verify the number I downloaded http://home.everestkc.net/mbales/ kindly provided by heybales.
    This returned the following numbers:
    Mifflin 2385
    Katch-McArdle 2659

    Using my HRM
    I exercise 3 hours per day other than that I am reasonable sedentary
    BRM (Mifflin) 1556
    Exercise (HRM) 1250
    Total 2806
    I started to maintain beginning of March 2012 and my numbers have been steady since then. Fingers crossed this continues to work.
  • CoderGal
    CoderGal Posts: 6,800 Member
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    maintenance for me was suppose to be 1650. I upped and added exercise.

    Ah, that feels much better.
  • blonde71
    blonde71 Posts: 955 Member
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    Mine was a lot higher than I expected. It's between 1700 (maintenance days) and 2000-2100 on workout days. But the more I think about it, I'm like, 'of course, it would be higher because I'm exercising 4-5 days/week' - so I need to eat to maintain my bodyweight and support my level of activity.
  • odonogc
    odonogc Posts: 223 Member
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    I just increased to 1700 today, plus exercise calories. I always get a little stressed out about it, and usually don't eat all the calories right away, but it's nice to be able to add.
  • KahuNZ
    KahuNZ Posts: 401 Member
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    My figure is 1450 cals per day, up from 1200 so it was lower than expected. I thought I might get around 1600. As I do some exercise per day I gain a few more calories to eat/drink back.
  • findingmyhappyplace
    findingmyhappyplace Posts: 75 Member
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    I don't know how you all cope with such low numbers. I am 106 lbs but I maintain on about 2100 right now. I don't exercise excessively, which makes me wonder why so many of you ladies have significantly lower maintenance calories than me even though I expect you're maintaining a higher weight (because I am seriously damn short). Maybe weight loss really does screw up metabolism - I am maintaining off the back of losing 50lbs and then intentionally regaining 15lbs, so perhaps that gain gave my metabolism a boost which allows me to eat a 'normal' amount each day.
  • lunalulu2
    lunalulu2 Posts: 63 Member
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    Some of these numbers seem really low to me as well. I am 5'7" and 130lbs, I have been maintaining since November. I typically eat an average of 2300 calories per day, higher on the weekends and have stayed between 128-132 every week. I also wear a bodyfit which shows my daily burn to be between 2500-2700 but I leave a small buffer because I know I probably underestimate my food at times. I work as a nanny so that keeps me fairly active and I do exercise everyday but nothing really extreme.
  • blonde71
    blonde71 Posts: 955 Member
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    Does age have anything to do with the numbers seeming too low for some of the OP's? I'm middle-aged so my metabolism is not what it used to be, that's for sure. If I ate 2300+ calories daily, I would most definitely be steadily gaining weight, I would imagine. I must be doing something right with my calculation because I've been in maintenance mode for almost six months and haven't really gone below (or above, for that matter) my goal weight - I gave myself a five-lb. range to stay in. Also, body fat percentage has stayed consistent. So far, so good...
  • lunalulu2
    lunalulu2 Posts: 63 Member
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    Does age have anything to do with the numbers seeming too low for some of the OP's? I'm middle-aged so my metabolism is not what it used to be, that's for sure. If I ate 2300+ calories daily, I would most definitely be steadily gaining weight, I would imagine. I must be doing something right with my calculation because I've been in maintenance mode for almost six months and haven't really gone below (or above, for that matter) my goal weight - I gave myself a five-lb. range to stay in. Also, body fat percentage has stayed consistent. So far, so good...

    I am sure age may play a role. I think I may also just be an active person, I rarely sit down. I consistently burn more than 2500 calories per day and only 300-500 of that is from formal exercise the rest is just normal daily activity.

    BTW I think your intake seems completely reasonable. There was another poster who said they were only able to eat 1300 to maintain and that seems really low to me.
  • RaeN81
    RaeN81 Posts: 535 Member
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    This can and does happen. The physiological reason is complex but it comes down to this: your body has learned how to be more efficient from a significant amount of dieting and exercise. You may not need as many calories as someone who has always been your current weight. It's something you may need to accept and learn to work with.

    There are a few things that you can do (if you are not already):
    Gradually increase your calories (50-100 a week) until you reach an equilibrium.
    Zig zag your calories (this is also fun!)
    Add strength training and lifting. Increasing muscle mass will help you to burn more calories when you are resting.
    Increase/vary your workouts. Mix it up and challenge yourself
    Sleep more. Sounds weird, but sometimes our bodies are under so much stress that they do not process well and rest is a chance for your body to repair itself after those intense workouts! Also, less time to feel hungry, lol.
    Include one rest day a week (Your body may hold onto water from the workouts)
    Weigh yourself less frequently (this may help you with your anxiety)
    Take measurements and track them instead
  • greyhead
    greyhead Posts: 3 Member
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    I am 58, 5'4' and found I gradually lost weight, plateaued at my goal weight 132 and have maintained the same diet 1200 plus I eat my exercise calories and fortunately I am active. I am not hungry so this is the most important aspect (I guess!) but sometimes it is tricky to stay and social or travel and keep this amount of calories.

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