Question:
help! How many calories to maintain weight?

I was looking at the Weight Loss Calculator to see how long it would take me to reach my goal. It says that I need to reduce my calories a certain amount... my question is... where can I go to see how many calories I need to maintain my current weight, to know how many calories would need to be reduced to, to get to my goal? PLEASE HELP!    — Kay W. (posted on October 22, 2002)

October 22, 2002
Hi, i just recently got an account on fitday.com It's really helpful and does mention how many calories are needed to maintain wait! Good luck on your WL Journey!
   — Iris B.

October 22, 2002
My psychologist is also the nutritionist for UCLA's bariatric program. What she told me is that you take your weight and multiply it by 10 ("the weight times 10 rule"). That would be the number of calories you need to maintain your weight. Eat more than that many calories and you should gain weight. Eat less calories and you should lose weight. So basically right now, I am eating approximately 800 calories per day which means I am only eating the equivalent of an 80 pound person. Yikes! I try to eat a bit more but some days I'm not just not that hungry.
   — Jennifer A.

October 22, 2002
I don't thing the rule of 10 sounds right. I weigh 130 pounds and eating 1300 calories would not sustain me. I looked on www.fitday.com and it calculates that I USE about 2200 calories a day. I consume around 1500-1800 (I am 18 months out). Given a combination of error on my keeping track and their estimation, it is not surprising to me that I am easily maintaining my weight with this intake level. I don't necessarily "count calories" but I do make sure I stay at a reasonable level and use fitday to identify any overall calorie boosters I have snuck into my diet (like nuts and half & half). I say eat sensibly (protein first, of course) and take the rest of it with a grain of salt.
   — ctyst

October 22, 2002
Hi there-I found this website which I think makes some sense:http://www.healthkeeper.com/HealthKeeperFinding_Your_Ideal_Caloric_Intak.htm. Basically it lets you put it your weight, your activity level, and then you can calculate how many calories you need to take in in order to gain/lose or maintain weight. According to this for me I need to eat 1250 a day (I weigh 150 lbs) to lose 2 pounds a week (using the Moderately Active ratio of 15).(weight 150 times 15=2250 calories for maintenance-times 7 for weekly maintenance calories=15750, minus 7000 for 2 pounds a week-3500 calories per pound=8750 weekly calories, divided by 7 days=1250 calories per day).Good luck!
   — Alli B.

October 22, 2002
i know everyone's dr. says something different, so here's mine... she said that my body would get used to a smaller amount of calories and i would probably be at 1000-1200 calories as maintainance. something about my body adjusting to more effiently using those calories and that if i ate 1600 i could gain. any how this is just another bit of info. i don't think i'll ever figure this all out : )
   — Jessica O.

October 23, 2002
I dont recall the exact rule for determing calories for weight maintenance, but I believe it is ideal weight x 18 is you are under 20, then it is reduced in increments for age. At 40, I believe my calculation was ideal weight x 14, but it is reduced by two if you are not physically active. You also have to keep in mind as formerly obese people our bone density, and stored fat cells are somewhat different, and may impact what our ideal caloric intake should be.
   — Nene B.