To my 5’3 girls, what’s your maintenance calories?

@timothy1212 You can use any TDEE calculator to get an estimate. You go from there, and if you gain, decrease intake. If you lose, increase your intake. If you're weight stable, then you've hit maintenance.

There's a TDEE spreadsheet floating around that you can use, and also stuff like MacroFactor that takes weigh-ins and calories against each other to trend your TDEE.
 
@mj_1969 its hard bcuz if i eat over like 1700 cals ill gain weight but i think its cuz ive been in a deficit for so long. Like if i eat more than i am now ill gain weight but when does that balance out idk its confusing
 
@timothy1212 The key is to not focus on fluctuations. I only consider adjusting calories once per week, and my food selection is largely the same, so my weight only fluctuates within about half a pound (except for during my period, where it can flux between three pounds.) Glycogen is also definitely a thing post-diet, so expect that your weight will go up 3-5 pounds in water after a dieting phase. I focus on physique, so weight change doesn't really bother me.

Definitely do a reverse if you feel you need it! There's a lot of good resources from folks like Mike Israetel, Layne Norton, and Paul Revelia on how to reverse.
 
@timothy1212 Yeah, the spreadsheet took a bit to figure out.

How to copy a Google spreadsheet.

Once you make your own copy, you then start with the highlighted 'Start Date', and put in a date. I had my historical information, so I did a past date. Once you do, other fields pop up that allow you to fill in your local measurement data (lbs or kg, cal or kcal) and info like starting and goal weight.

From there, you'll see spaces for each day to put in your daily actual calories and your weight. It tracks your progress and it will calculate your TDEE based on how your body reacts to how much you've eaten.

I'm a spreadsheet nerd, so tracking this type of information works for me, but I can understand if the process of tracking is too much for some.
 
@childofgod222 1400 is steep for a 2150 maintenance, especially if you’re keeping up with your activity levels. As someone that’s done steep deficits and regretted it later, I wanted to throw in that caution there.

(I’m 5’4 with maintenance sitting between 2000-2200. I cut no lower than 1700.)
 
@childofgod222 I’m quite active (at minimum, 10K steps a day plus ~2 strength sessions per week plus 2 5-10K runs per week). Around 120lb right now and I believe my maintenance is about 2,000.
 
@childofgod222 165lbs. Around 2000 according to MacroFactor. I run 5 days a week (20-35 miles a week) and do some strength 2ish times a week but I’m pretty sedentary the rest of the day.

I’ve been losing for almost two years now solidly without any intentional breaks. I keep a small deficit these days—aiming to lose maybe .5lb a week at the most.
 
@childofgod222 5’3” 102-105 lbs. I maintain at 2500 cal and have been doing so for two years, but I run 40+ miles a week and also walk several miles a day beyond the running (no car, live in a city so I walk everywhere for everything).
 
@francis_mcc Several years ago, I was completely sedentary and had pinched nerve issues and other problems. The running has fixed all of that. If I am feeling fatigued, I add in another rest day and lower the mileage a bit for that week to avoid injury or burnout. I also taper a bit in the week leading up to a race so as to not overextend myself.
 
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