Hi Everyone!

I am new to the forum and I thought this would be the best place to ask my question. When you hit goal, did you immediately increase your calories to the number needed to maintain, or did you add them in slowly? What were your experiences during this transition?

Also, has anyone here had their BMR tested with BodyGem? Did you find it useful in determining the number of calories you need to maintain/lose?

Thanks!

I didn't track my calories until I was at goal, but I think I was starving myself to get there. Based on what I'm eating now, I probably ate around 800 cals/day while I was losing. There were a few blowout occaisions, but on average, I was starving. I was also exercising like a demon, and hungry all the time. Once I started tracking calories in an effort to maintain and maybe lose a bit more, I found that I could maintain at around 1400 calories, still exercising quite a bit. I did have my BMR tested and it came in at 1385, which makes no sense to me. Based on that and my activity level, I should be able to maintain on about 1800-2000 cal/day. I've proven that I gain at that level, even if the food is squeaky clean.

If you've been tracking and don't want to lose any more, I'd suggest slowly raising your calorie levels and keeping your activity level the same until you find your maintenance point.

Hi Atlantis! Welcome and we're glad you found us.

My experiences have been a lot like Mel's, though I ate more while I was losing. I started out at 1600 calories/day and ended up at about 1200/day. I also exercised a lot (hour of cardio/day, weights 5X/week).

When I reached goal, I added in about 200 calories/day and my weight pretty much settled into where it is now (I didn't alter my exercise routine or anything else that I was doing). My body shape and body fat % continued to change, however, due to lifting weights and building muscle, though the scale stayed the same. I'd say my maintenance level currently is 1500-1600 calories/day -- as long as it's clean food. Any sugar-y cheats make my weight go sky high!

I've done the BodyGem test twice: the first time it said that my RMR was 1485 and the second was 1600. Based on these numbers, I should theoretically be able to eat well over 2000 calories/day and maintain, but it doesn't work that way in real life. So my BodyGem experience is almost identical to Mel's -- interesting info, but not very useful.

In my opinion, as long as you're accurately tracking your calories, you've got some room to play around with the numbers and see how your body responds. But like Mel says, take it s-l-o-w-l-y. Any sudden big influx of calories is going to show up on the scales!

welcome aboard atlantis... but please don't look to me for any wisdom about maintenance calories.. i'm still having enough ISSUES with eating every 4 hours!!!!!

but as for the medgem... my BMR was measured at more than 1600 calories. so in theory, i should be able to go up to around 2000 calories and still lose. no way... i'm probably at about 1200 or so... and i should be disappeared by now.

Wow, thanks for all the replies! Sounds like the bottom line is you just have to try and see what work for you, right?

I am not maintaining yet, but I find the topic more interesting than anything else when it comes to weight loss because, well, it's the most important! So many people lose weight, but very few people keep it off. I’ve regained a couple of times, and I think I am ready to make real changes this time, rather than relying on a quick fix. There's so much focus on losing weight but so little on how to stay there, so I am very glad I found this forum.

You all are such an encouragement! Congrats on how far you've come and for keeping it up

I've been losing weight by changing my diet - basically to a healthy balanced diet for a change. i started with slimming world but then found my weight was coming off too quick I only wanted to lose 2 stone and so I've been modifying it a bit having extras etc. anyway I now hit my weight loss target but dont seem to be able to stop losing weight I'm still losing 1 or 2lbs a week and although I'm still in a healthy range bmi I'm starting to feel like I#ve lost too much. Any tips on how I can slow down my weight loss whilst still keeping my diet healthy? I dont want to slip back into my bad ways but I still want my clothes to fit, I cant afford a new wardrobe. Also i've gone down two bra sizes which is a bit depressing. Any tips?

Aside from being insanely jealous, I'd say increase your portions a bit of the healthy foods. Don't add the junk back. Maybe add a healthy snack meal until you stabilize.

This wasn't a problem I ever had- I never decided to stop losing, my body did.

Mel

When I got to goal I thought my weight loss would just stop, but I guess my body had some other ideas and I kept on losing too. I think your body will let you know when it's done, but if you're worried about losing too much I would up the calories a bit until you level off. I eventually stablized at 10-15 lbs. lower than my original goal and have pretty much stuck there ever since. As for adding calories to maintain, I didn't consciously decide to eat more, but I did relax on how strict I was with measuring and snacks and so on. Seems to work for me.

Beverly

I lost (and am still losing, albeit slowly) at around 1400-1500 calories a day (currently 5'4, 128 pounds, 18% BF or so) - I am now adding in a few more calories on alternate days, up to around 1800. I do a heck of a lot of exercise so that's why I can get away with eating so much I guess. I'll keep adding in calories slowly until I start gaining a bit, then drop em down again.

Hi everyone,
This topic was interesting to me as well as I have been able to lose in the past but never kept it off. I have been losing at 1600-1700 calories a day, only doing one exercise video/day (no insane cardio or anything). I don't eat healthy either. I don't quite understand why some people are maintaining on 1200 calories of clean food. Is it just because I am younger?? (I'm 18 btw). I'm worried because I plan on eating 2000 calories/day, maybe even 2200, when I get to my goal weight, and I don't want to pack pounds back on. I always gained weight back before because I would just stop doing whatever I did to lose it. I want this time to be different because I plan on continuing to count calories and accepting the fact that it is just something I need to do. Any advice is greatly appreciated!!

You're right -- age is a BIG part of the calorie equation! You're 18, you sweet young thing, and I'm 49 -- our metabolisms are like the tortoise and the hare.

Plus there's a lot of individual variation in calorie needs, which is why calorie calculators are a good place to start looking for answers. But in the end, you'll have to experiment in order to find out what your unique calorie needs are to lose and to maintain.

Everyone's different, so your calorie needs are going to be different than anyone else's, even if that person is your height, age, weight, and gender and does the same amount of activity as you. So you need to find out what works for YOU. You already have the important first piece of the puzzle -- you know that you're losing on 1600 - 1700 calories/day. If your weight loss ever stalls, you may need to lower that number -- again, you'll have to experiment to find the right number for YOU. Once you reach your goal and want to maintain, you'll need to keep experimenting to see how many calories per day you can add in without gaining. It may be that 2000 - 2200 that you're hoping for or it could be more or less -- only time will tell.

Regardless of what your maintenance calories turn out to be, I know you're going to do well because you understand the key to maintaining a weight loss -- keep on doing just what you did to lose the weight.

Age must be a big factor. Probably dieting history too. The only reason I'm able to eat 1600-1700 calories a day and lose weight (1-2lbs per week) is that I'm still nursing my 7 month old baby. And I'm 31. I'm not quite at maintenace yet, but I'm close to goal and I'm starting to plan for moving from dieting to maintaining. I'll probably have to increase my calories a bit, but as baby dd eats more and nurses less, I imagine my current calorie level will be close to accurate. Not too long ago that was pretty depressing to me. But I'm slowly getting used to eating this amount and better food.

Thank you so much for the informative posts. This is a rather depressing thought though. I guess it is just a fact of life that our metabolisms slow down... Hopefully my appetite slows down too!

I'm 36 and weigh 140 lbs. I'd like to lose another 5-10 lbs., and when I stick to about 1500 calories per day, I seem to be able to lose 1 lb. a week. I seem to be able to maintain on about 1900-2000 calories per day. I try to work out 6 days a week. In those 6 days, I usually do about 4 hours of cardio, 1 1/2 hours of strength and 1/2-1 hour of stretching (in a good week!).

UnCafeCvooPlay, I know what you mean! I have such a hearty appetite now that the thought of eating fewer calories makes me think I'll never maintain when I get older. However, I guess the other alternative is to settle for a weight slightly higher than what I'd ideally like to be at. Good luck!

Here's an even more depressing thought- your appetite doesn't slow down, just your ability to process those calories. That's why it's even more important for us older ladies to build muscle.

Hungry as usual,
Mel