Hi everyone,

I've lost a little weight, not a significant amount like some members here (was already pretty thin, but got REALLY sick and lost 10 pounds that I want to keep off) and am tired of sticking strictly to 1200-1400 calories a day.

I tried to switch to maintenance calories before, but got scared of gaining back and went back to 1200-1400.

I weigh my food religiously, and eat mostly healthy, LOTS of fruits and veggies.

Current Stats:
5' 4"
124 pounds
And I'm young (under 20)

I LOVE to exercise, and get really antsy and irritable when I don't do some form of exercise (usually 5-6 days of cardio a week), switching from going to the gym and usually doing abs/an hour of intense elliptical or 3-6 miles of running, sometimes both on the same day if I have time, and a 3-6 mile walk on days I don't, just because I feel the urge to move.

Any tips on switching my calories? I'm going to try to find my "sweet spot" for maintenance, but any fluctuations send me into an automatic panic reduction back to weight loss calories (I know, not good).

I know with the amount of exercise I do, I should be able to eat much more, and I can't wait to play around with more calories

How was your switch to maintenance? Did you experience any immediate weight gain? Should I focus on any food group to fill my extra calories with (like protein vs. carbs)?

Thanks, I think I'm going to post my daily weigh-ins here, just to keep track

You are not overweight at 124. I think 1400 - 1500 would be maintenance calories for you.

I appreciate the reply bargoo, and yes, I know I'm not overweight at all. In fact, I think I'm on the skinny side, I just have a irrational psychological fear of gaining weight that deters me from wanting to up my calories.

Oh really? That seems awfully low to me, wouldn't that just cause me to continue to lose weight? I guess I'll just have to experiment over the time period of a couple of weeks, I'm hoping that my maintenance calories will be higher.

Thanks for the words of comfort, Bright Angel

You're an inspiration to me, I've browsed through your website before and have used your recipe for egg pancakes, yum!

I also know from past posts that I've lurked on that you maintain on close to 1000 calories a day. I would never be able to that!

Todays weight: 125.5
Ate around 1500-1600 yesterday, but my calories were more concentrated around dinner and I weighed in around 4 hours earlier today, since the weekend is over. Maybe that has something to do with my higher weight?

I'm going to try to not let this bother me!

Have a nice day!

I would also say don't measure against yesterdays calories. Look at an average, over the course of a week. you would have had to have eaten 4750 calories at dinner to really gain that pound and a half. so look at averages, not just one day. I find that I will often see the results of 2-3 days ago on the scale. (or at least that's that I tell myself)

I say, if you want start low, at 1200, or in the middle at 1300, and just add 50 calories each week, for a week, and track your weight. Stop at the calorie level where you are happy with what happened. Even better, stick to that calorie range for 2 weeks. so instead of 1200-1400, go 1250-1450.

hth

Increasing your intake a bit at a time will avoid any shock to your body. If you eat more one day and weigh more the next day, it isn't that you gained fat, it's the weight of the added food in your belly- in other words, totally meaningless.

Personally, I find my weight always fluctuates in a 5 pound range that is very dependent upon my menstrual cycle. I agree with the other people who said to look at the average and trend rather than the day to day weights. Also, you can go by the way your clothes fit or your measurements to convince yourself you aren't really getting bigger- it's just a little (and completely normal) fluctuation.

It's hard to say how many calories you need to maintain, especially since you do a lot of exercise. Just rest assured, you will not gain fat eating 1500 calories a day. Try to get away from thinking the scale is all knowing- it really isn't a great way to measure short term progress.

I agree with the other posters that slowly raising your calories is the safest bet. I started out losing at 1400 calories and have slowly worked my way up to 1900 calories (exclusive of my weekly treat day) and my weight has been very consistent. You just have to tweak your plan to suit your lifestyle.