At 32, 5'9" and 170 lbs with 22% body fat, I maintain in the range of 1650 calories. Which is stupidly low given my weight/age/muscle. But it is 100% accurate - I lost over 150 lbs through calorie counting + low carb (low carb doesn't make you lose weight on its own, but it does suppress some of the appetite, inflammation, and insulin response that can make it hard to lower calories). So I definitely know how to calorie count and weigh/measure accurately.

My metabolism is just a POS. Some of it is from chronic dieting, but the mechanisms of metabolism and genetics are poorly understood. 50 years from now we'll look back on nutritional science today the way people look back on lobotomies for mental health issues.

I will say, exercise is very proven to be vital for maintaining weight. It has very little impact on losing weight, oddly, but it's really key for maintenance. I know that's hard for some people to grasp because they think it's a simple calorie calculation and you should be able to adjust those factors, but the science is still unclear on why exercise impacts maintenance more than weight loss. I suspect something to do with the hormones exercise releases and muscle maintenance.

I'm 38, 5'3", 125-130lbs, and a size 4-6. I eat 2000-2500 calories a day to maintain, but I'm also very active. And it's not genetic, as I lost about 60lbs a few years ago. But my exercise is more intense than walking (which burns no calories for me) - running, weights, higher intensity cardio, etc.

OP, I think you must be eating/drinking more calories than you think. Are you eating out a couple nights a week? That can add up. Eating samples in the grocery store? Grazing a little bit here and there? Drinking milk, juice, wine, a beer, some seltzer? It all counts. I highly, highly doubt you're a scientific anomaly.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think that your body will, to an extent, adjust to calorie limitations. I do not, however, believe that if you ate 1500 calories, you would "get fatter" and suspect that it very much depends on WHAT you are eating, rather than the bare numbers.

For example, if I eat 1500 calories of shitty junk food, I'm going to feel hungry and I'm also likely to gain weight because of what is in the food. The fat, salt, and sugar would kill me. However, if I eat 1500 calories of steamed or roasted vegetables, brown rice, and lean protein, I lose weight without exercising.

You need to be more specific about what you are eating. What did you eat yesterday, for example?

Yesterdays meals (I enter everything into my fitness pal and have done for a while):

Brk: coffee with 2% milk (80 calories) and Garden Lites Egg white Frittata (70 Calories) = 150 calories
Lunch: Vanilla Chocolate and Cream Chobani Yogurt = 170 calories
Dinner: Orange Roughy with Cajun butter (506 cals) + broccoli w butter (152 cals) + coleslaw (62 cals) = 719 calories

Total for day = 1039 calories

This is a very typical day for me. I always have the same breakfast and lunch and then mix it up for dinner. Dinner is always the big meal of the day.

Can you maintain your weight with that diet? I would starve myself if I only ate 1039 calories a day. I'm 5'4'' and 126 lbs and I need around 1300 calories to feel comfortable at the end of the day and not super hungry.

Anonymous wrote:I sit at a desk for 9 hours per day (minimal walking), and I'm only 5'0, so my metabolic rate is low. Still I would lose weight at 1000 calories. 1400 I can maintain.

You are tiny and walk less than I am and yet you can still eat more calories to maintain. Is life really this unfair?

Anonymous wrote:I think that your body will, to an extent, adjust to calorie limitations. I do not, however, believe that if you ate 1500 calories, you would "get fatter" and suspect that it very much depends on WHAT you are eating, rather than the bare numbers.

For example, if I eat 1500 calories of shitty junk food, I'm going to feel hungry and I'm also likely to gain weight because of what is in the food. The fat, salt, and sugar would kill me. However, if I eat 1500 calories of steamed or roasted vegetables, brown rice, and lean protein, I lose weight without exercising.

You need to be more specific about what you are eating. What did you eat yesterday, for example?

Yesterdays meals (I enter everything into my fitness pal and have done for a while):

Brk: coffee with 2% milk (80 calories) and Garden Lites Egg white Frittata (70 Calories) = 150 calories
Lunch: Vanilla Chocolate and Cream Chobani Yogurt = 170 calories
Dinner: Orange Roughy with Cajun butter (506 cals) + broccoli w butter (152 cals) + coleslaw (62 cals) = 719 calories

Total for day = 1039 calories

This is a very typical day for me. I always have the same breakfast and lunch and then mix it up for dinner. Dinner is always the big meal of the day.

I'm not sure of the exact number (because I do weight watchers points instead of counting calories), but yeah, the total calorie count for me to maintain is way lower than I would have expected.

Same but like a PP said I’m terrible at being consistent. I’m good during the weekdays and it goes sideways at least one day a weekend. I’m sure that I could lose weight on 1200 if I only ever had 1200, but I go to restaurants and parties and like wine like the rest of you. 5’7, same weight, very muscular.

what are you basing "weight gain" on? and how consistently and accurately are you REALLY tracking calories?

I ask this because for YEARS, seriously YEARS, i said the same things "I CAN'T lose unless I eat 1200 calories" I gain if I eat above 1400 calories. truth was, i was never really being consistent. I would track and eat low calorie a few days a week then give up or be less accurate over the weekend. I also made the mistake of only weighting myself once a week and thinking I gained weight because the number on the scale was up a pound. in reality this weight i thought I gained in a week on a low calorie diet was just some bloat because weight fluctuates every single day.

So what changed for me. hired a trainer who put me on a 1500-1600 calorie diet. Tracked calories very accurately and consistently (weight, measure and account for EVERYTHING I was eating 7 days a week). I also started to weigh myself daily and tracked this to see if over the course of the MONTH, my weight was going down. Weight fluctuated every single day for all sorts of reasons so day to day weights don't make much sense, until you look at the data over a longer period and watch the trend line. If you are 100% accurate in tracking for an entire month and maintain on a 1200 calorie/day then i would be very, very surprised if you don't lose a significant amt of weight. Honestly I think you can probably lose just fine closer to 1400.

I am 35, 115lbs and 5'1''. I eat around a 1000 cals a day. I basically only eat dinner but I sort of eat what I want (home cooked). I relax a bit at the weekend and sort of eat whatever I want. I have a desk job and don't exercise. Basically this is the only way I can stay at my weight.

I sit at a desk for 9 hours per day (minimal walking), and I'm only 5'0, so my metabolic rate is low. Still I would lose weight at 1000 calories. 1400 I can maintain.

I need 1000-1100 calories to sustain and not gain. I'm 50s, 5'1" and if I eat more than 1100, I gain, despite everything saying not to drop below 1200.

I would start lifting weights. More muscles allow more calories.

From where is the bulk of your calories coming?

I think that your body will, to an extent, adjust to calorie limitations. I do not, however, believe that if you ate 1500 calories, you would "get fatter" and suspect that it very much depends on WHAT you are eating, rather than the bare numbers.

For example, if I eat 1500 calories of shitty junk food, I'm going to feel hungry and I'm also likely to gain weight because of what is in the food. The fat, salt, and sugar would kill me. However, if I eat 1500 calories of steamed or roasted vegetables, brown rice, and lean protein, I lose weight without exercising.

You need to be more specific about what you are eating. What did you eat yesterday, for example?

Anonymous wrote:Anyone here have to sustain a low calorie diet as more of a lifestyle? Seems like the only way I can maintain or lose weight is if I eat 1000-1100 calories per day. I keep reading how this isn’t enough calories but when I eat “enough” calories I get fatter.

I am definitely not stuffed at the end of the day but I don’t feel starving either. Are some people’s bodies just meant to run on less fuel?

I am 35 years old, 5’5 and a size 8/10. I weigh 155. I walk 10k steps per day (I do daily hikes) but do not exercise other than that. Have had thyroid checked and no problems there.

Time to build those muscles!

Anyone here have to sustain a low calorie diet as more of a lifestyle? Seems like the only way I can maintain or lose weight is if I eat 1000-1100 calories per day. I keep reading how this isn’t enough calories but when I eat “enough” calories I get fatter.

I am definitely not stuffed at the end of the day but I don’t feel starving either. Are some people’s bodies just meant to run on less fuel?

I am 35 years old, 5’5 and a size 8/10. I weigh 155. I walk 10k steps per day (I do daily hikes) but do not exercise other than that. Have had thyroid checked and no problems there.