Hi,

Is it unusual to need a calorie range of 1150-1280 to stay in maintenance? Looking at other people's fitdays, it seems that there are a lot of people in maintenance eating more than that, but it seems that I am maintaining at this rate. I do high impact aerobic activity 3-4 days/week for about an hour (kickboxing, step, spinning). Right now I spend most of the rest of the day studying so I'm not moving around a whole lot unless I have errands to do. I just wonder if I could get away with higher calories/day. My weight is stable, and I'm not losing at this calorie range. I'm not feeling hungry, so maybe I'm just being a little greedy...still I just wondered if I could nudge it up safely.

Everyone's body is different, so no one can tell you exactly. Try nudging it up 100 calories per day and see how that works over 2 weeks. Then nudge it up 100 more. You will soon be able to tell what your maintenance level is.

A mathematical calculation would be your resting metabolic rate, + 300 calories for ordinary activities, + XX calories to cover your exercise calories for maintenance. But the numbers don't always work.

I agree with Belle I would add a little more each week and if you see the scale going up one week then you know to back down to were you were the week before.

that seems very low for maintainance, especially give the exercise you do. have you had you thyroid checked? low thyroid function could contribute to weight gain or to needing fewer calories to maintain.

Thanks for the suggestion...I had my thyroid checked about a year ago, and it was fine.

I think it's Meg who maintains at about 1400 cals.
My basal is 1300 but with lifestyle I need about 1700 or 1800.

According to fitday, my basal is 1361. I've entered myself as bedridden (since I heard about fitday overestimating necessary calories) and they say that I then need 1631 just to lie in bed. So, it seems unusual that I wouldn't lose anything with eating less than basal and exercising quite a bit. I'm not trying to lose, my goal is maintenance, but I guess just think that with a significant calorie deficit (at least 400 to 700 calories/day), I'd actually be losing, not maintaining. Strange.

Tara? How long has your weight been stable?

A little bit of a complicated question...I'm not entirely sure, but I think I've been pretty stable (123-128) for 6 months or a little more. I recently made a radical change in my diet a little over 2 weeks ago, so that's why this issue has kind of come up for me.

Prior to a little over 2 weeks ago I was eating frozen Lean Cuisine and Healthy Choice meals for lunch and dinner almost every day except weekends. I've now been preparing all my meals at home, so I've suddenly had to become more conscious about whether this change is going to affect my weight. I am eating about 200-300 calories per weekday more than I was previously. My schedule also allows for more exercise now.

Before my change in regimen, I ate the frozen meals Mon-Fri and then ate liberally on weekends. This led to being about 3 pounds heavier on Monday AM, and I would lose those 3 pounds +/- a little more over Mon-Fri. I did that cycle for quite a long time (probably over a year and a half) and lost weight very slowly. To go from 157 to 125 actually happened over about 2 1/2 years.

Now I'm eating pretty evenly no matter what day of the week it is. So, I may be eating the same amount of calories per week as I was before when I just ate more on weekends. So, I guess calorie-wise things haven't changed all that much.

I hope I don't jinx myself. But, I've been maintaining between 140-145 on an average of 1800-2000 cals/a day and I've been lazy and not exercising. So everybody is different. I don't think I could live on much less than this because I'd be starving. I have a VERY strong appetite and if my blood sugar drops, I get crazy. I'm fine with this amount because I've been grazing. Honestly, I don't know how people do it who have to live on so few calories and so much exercise. I really give you credit. I really hope I don't jinx myself here. Maybe it's just my metabolism and I have a lot of natural muscle. ???? Also, is it true about "ruining your metabolism"? I was never a yo yo dieter. Maybe that helped?

Now that I think about it, I think it may be that I am a little below my "natural set-point" weight. (If there is such a thing.) For most of my life, I never gave a second thought to food or weight, and I think I stayed relatively stable. I have no idea exactly what I weighed in high school or college because I never really focused on it. I think I could probably eat whatever (without eating to excess) and stay pretty stable at about 15-20 pounds heavier), but out of vanity, I kind of like being a size 6 instead. I am naturally muscular and toned, I actually avoid doing any weights with my cardio b/c I don't want to gain any more bulk or tone.

So...I guess fewer calories and being more conscious of what I'm eating is the price I have to pay if I decide that this is what I want. I hadn't really thought of this until I started writing this post. Interesting. Right now I think its worth it to me, and I feel like I am eating healthier in general (which is a plus to add to my shameful vanity).

To see if you can up your maintenance level...you really DO need to do it slowly. I would nudge it by 100, as mentioned...and stay there for a week-maybe even longer-a few weeks-and make sure there are no changes. You want to give your metabolism time to adjust to eating that 100 extra a day before you add any more.

Even if it takes 4-5 months for you to be able to add in 200-400 calories a day to what you are eating now-it would be worth it, IMO.