Calories in maintenance

Vets, how many calories do you eat to maintain your weight?  How come there seems to be such variation between people?  It seems like some need to eat 1200 while others can eat 2000 or more.  Do you adjust your calorie intake every day based on how active you are?  What are your maintenance secrets and tips...please share.  

Mine is based on two things: activity level that day/week And quality of food I choose. I can eat more calories of better quality food and maintain or even lose

No/low activity - 1400 max
Regular cardio/weights - no more than 1700
Running 4x weekly- app 2300

It's a very individual thing - if u find. Magic potion, please share

I am 51 years old and I weigh 130 and have not been terribly consistent with planned exercise (I am a nurse so I do walk a good deal at work and I always take the stairs so I try to move as much as I can) .    I would estimate about 1500 to not gain weight.  Folks that are larger or more active...or younger can eat more.

I am over 5 years out and have never counted calories since surgery.  I haven't tracked my food on a regular basis since I was about 6 months out.... I just track 2 or 3 days about twice a year to check hat my desired protein/carb/fat ratio is where I want it to be (the fact that it tells me how many calories is just an extra, since I don't really at much attention to calories)... But when I do track it, I am around 1400 calories to maintain my weight.  I try to walk and take the stairs when I can,  but have a knee that is being replaced in March so it has made exercise extremely difficult, so I am pretty sedentary overall.

The key to maintaining the weight loss for me is sticking to my surgeon's admonishment of "protein first ALWAYS" and having a 5 pound regain limit (if my weight hits 5 pounds up (which allows for some water retention), I cut out all the non-dairy carbs and increase my protein a hit until throw few pounds come back off).

Lora

When I reach goal, we are supposed to see the nut. She hooks us up to this machine with tiny electrodes. The machine tells her what our metabolism is and how many calories we can eat to maintain that weight.  

Just keep in mind that the machine she uses is only an estimate AND that not all calories are created equal, which is why just counting calories on a diet often fails... protein calories are utilized much differently by your body than carb or fat calories.

Lora

 

I am a Lacto-Ovo Vegetarian. I eat a variety of beans, peas, low-fat dairy, eggs, whole grains, fruits and vegetables. 

 

All carbs are not created equal. I would definitely refrain from eating refined carbs. Eat simple carbs (dairy, fruit) and complex carbs (beans, vegetables, whole grains). I do not count daily carb grams. 

 

I eat every 2 to 3 hours. Every meal or snack includes protein. I count calories and allow myself 2000 calories a day times 7 days a week (14,000). If I eat less calories one day, I can eat more the following day/days during the week. 

 

I also have never introduced a food into my mouth that I have not planned to eat. I always consider the protein and nutritional value of each morsel. 

 

I do not participate in a formal exercise program due to Rheumatoid Arthritis and Osteoarthritis. I do move around a lot more and do a lot more walking.

 

I have been able to maintain my 200 pound weight loss eating this way since November 2011.

I eat about 1500 calories a day.  I don't exercise that much, other than walking.

I haven't tracked my intake in a while but would guess my average is around 1500 calories a day. I don't exercise but I do move.

I can't physically eat a lot if I eat protein first. My pouch is pretty small for someone 8 years out. My surgeon was surprised how little dense protein I can actually eat.

Honestly if I did some strenuous exercise I'd probably have trouble keeping my weight up.

There are so many individual factors to consider.....age, metabolism, exercise. You have to play around with your intake to find what works best for you.

This is simple and easy to remember.  Multiply your goal weight by 10 and that is the number needed to maintain that weight.  The more you exercise the more calories you can add without gaining.  It is pretty easy to find your own sweet spot.  So if you are maintaining 140, eat about 1400 calories a day.  Maintaining 200, then eat 2000 calories a day.