maintianance calories

[bigboy0941]

can anybody tell me how to figure out ur maintainence calorie level. i remember back in the day when i used to read this board there was a method that people said to use, but i can't exactly remember...
im wanting to say that is was bodyweight x 12,13,14..depending on how fast your metabolism is...and mine is extremely slow....how do i figure it out.

 

[mcr]

IMO you have to experiment and see. Formulas may get you close, but they'll never be perfect. Take 13x, spend a week or two on that and see if your bodyweight changes. If it does, adjust calories by 250 whichever way and then see how you do on that.

There are some crazy long formulas out there, taking into account your mass, activity level, height, wrist size, how often you take a shit etc etc, but they all differ, so most (or all) must be wrong.

I used to think I had a horribly slow metabolism and maintained on 2000/day. I then upped to 8 smaller meals a day, ate cleaner, and maintain on closer to 3000/day now (and am at a lower mass). It's pretty easy to manipulate your metabolism depending on what you eat and when.

Personally though, I don't know why anyone would want to stay on maintenence calories. You're either cutting or bulking

 

[bigboy0941]

Personally though, I don't know why anyone would want to stay on maintenence calories. You're either cutting or bulking

im not looking to stay on them...just wondering what they are so i can make sure i stay below. thing is..now im 5'8 about 250...and im taking in anywhere from 1500-1800 a day. i know that's well below my maintence, but want to know if it's too low...b/c if i multiplied by 12 then that would be 3000.
if i remember right when 1500 cals less than maintence is 1 lb. lost (that right??) and that's about what i lose per day...only problem is that when the weekend rolls around i've been having trouble staying on the plan b/c i leave town to go to my parents alot and i gain it right back. well..if im right and my maintence is around 3000...is 1500 a day too low for me?

 

[trojan1444]

In general, 3500 calories is one pound. So if you went one week where each day you were 500 calories under maintenance, you'd theoretically lose a pound.

The "times 12" rule isn't exact science. I'd say for a 250 pound guy, 2000 calories a day would be a good number to lose weight. 1800 is probably ok. 1500 sounds really low.

 

[bigboy0941]

In general, 3500 calories is one pound. So if you went one week where each day you were 500 calories under maintenance, you'd theoretically lose a pound.

The "times 12" rule isn't exact science. I'd say for a 250 pound guy, 2000 calories a day would be a good number to lose weight. 1800 is probably ok. 1500 sounds really low.

alright thanks...i think it may be a little low too...it wouldnt hurt me to add a little more protein anyway.

 

[ashley2212]

---> Just a side note: If you cut your cals too much too fast, you're more likely to "fall off the wagon." If you want to do it right and get the best results, cut back gradually, even if that means not losing 8lbs in the first week... be patient

 

[bigboy0941]

yea i hear ya...im just ready to get rid of it

 

[ashley2212]

yea i hear ya...im just ready to get rid of it

Trust me, I know what you mean! We tend to want to rush things, but sometimes you just have to take a step back and look at your situation realistically...

95% of people who lose weight will gain it back within 5 years... That's due to all the crash dieting we do in America... Think of that when you're pacing yourself in terms of weight loss - "Do I want to be one of the 95% or do I want to beat the incredible odds and be part of the 5%?" Slow and steady wins the race

 

[mcr]

im not looking to stay on them...just wondering what they are so i can make sure i stay below. thing is..now im 5'8 about 250...and im taking in anywhere from 1500-1800 a day. i know that's well below my maintence, but want to know if it's too low...b/c if i multiplied by 12 then that would be 3000.
if i remember right when 1500 cals less than maintence is 1 lb. lost (that right??) and that's about what i lose per day...only problem is that when the weekend rolls around i've been having trouble staying on the plan b/c i leave town to go to my parents alot and i gain it right back. well..if im right and my maintence is around 3000...is 1500 a day too low for me?

If I were you I'd start on 3000 calories/day. But this would be 3000 VERY clean calories. If you lose 1-2lbs a week, keep at it. If you lose less than that, drop cals by 250 for the following week. If you lose more than 1-2lbs, up cals by 250 for the following week. And keep repeating this. This will help prevent stalling, as you're constantly adjusting calories to compensate for weight loss already achieved. You could also add more cardio if you're stuck at a calorie level and are very hungry and don't want to cut cals any more.

A cheat meal probably isn't going to be a problem, as long as you stay within maintenence or lower. But if you're spending all weekend eating whatever you want, you'll probably have a hard time cutting. For me, I find that a cheat meal makes it REALLY hard to go back to being clean so I really try (often unsuccessfully admittedly) to avoid.

The advice from ashley is really good.. I hope you listen to it. Good luck