Should I lower my calories or up them?
 

I recently entered maintenance (in December) and secretly want to lose 3 more lbs for vanity. To be honest, it's not that important but I can't shake that nagging feeling to be below 160lbs.

I am currently eating around 1400 calories per day and am exercising for an average of 5-6hrs per week. Sometimes I am hungry but I am learning to live with it. For this year I am focusing more on weight training than cardio as last year I did too much cardio and hardly any weight training.

Of course as is normal with any change in an exercise program, the scale is resisting by bouncing up a few lbs. Right now I am at 163 - just a 1lb below my redline but 2 weeks ago (before I started this program) I was at 161lbs.

As I am technically in maintenance, do you think I should start increasing my calories slowly or should I lower them? I really want to see 158 or lower but this new program is not allowing that.

If you just started weight training, those 2 lbs could easily be from water your muscles are retaining as they try to heal and grow bigger. If it were me, I wouldn't change anything for a while and see what happens.

They were sore last week but they are not sore this week. I don't know if I am still holding on to water or not.

I agree. :hug:

If it were me, I go ahead and raise your cals to what you think your maintenance cals will be for your "dream weight". It will take time, but as long as you keep exercising you will lose more weight and eventually level out. I did this when I hit 148, I set my cals as if I weighed 138 and ate around that sometimes less, sometimes more, but with my exercise I was still at a deficit at least 5 days a week. I hit 138 after about 6 weeks of doing this. Before that I was eating less and exercising more and losing nothing. Now I'm bouncing around 138-143. I may lower a little to get my range to 135-140, but I'm not sure right now.

Thanks all

This never gets easier does it? It's like a job by itself, working out calories and exercise and scale effects! Sometimes it really gets tiring!