Hey guys..I’m new here.. and I have a quick question,
I’m going on a month vacation in two weeks, and I really don’t wanna gain back what I recently lost (bout 20 pounds) but I also don’t wanna stress all the time.I wanna have fun and me and my family tend to overeat in vacations ..
so the best plan I could come up with is eating 1600 cals aday and burning off around 400 at the gym, and my question is would that keep me from gaining? I mean.. I’m not sure bout this deficit thing I dunno how it works but is that a good food plan to maintain for a month?
ps:I'm a female 5'5" and 125lbs
Um...how old are you? You would burn probably around 1700 calories a day if you were just sitting--all day. So with 1600 calories you wouldn't maintain, you'd definitely lose...no matter what. and with another 400 burned at the gym, you'd only be taking in 1200 calories for the day, which is the bare minimum you should have just to have your organs function.
How many calories did you eat to lose the 20 pounds? For maintenance, if you're burning off 400 at the gym, I'd say eat no less than 2000 a day, but if you were eating a smaller amount than 1300 while you were losing weight, then you may have messed up your metabolism and your body may now hold onto any extra you eat (starvation mode). Honestly though, that'll be okay...you'll see a slight increase in weight for a week or two of that month trip, but it'll taper off and go back down after a long enough time of eating the right amount of food.
Have fun on your vacation!
well I didnt count calories before.I just ate all healthy food and cut out the junk..but I did also start eating less..and judging from the calorie logs I checked now it does seem like I've been eating less than 1300. I think there was a while I ate less than 1000 too. does that mean my metabolism is screwed? and what can I do to improve it? I didn't exercise at all though... and I read that it helps so I dunno..
also,am I gonna gain alot? I mean, just to know ahead .. is it like a couple pounds or more like 10 or sth?
btw I'm 20 years old . .. thnx for ur advice :)
If you're 20 years old 125lbs and reasonably active you can maintain your weight on something like 2000 cals a day. If you're doing 400 cals of exercise on top you need 2400 cals a day to maintain your weight. If you need 2000, eat 1600 and burn off an extra 400 in exercise you are short by 800 cals a day and you would lose weight and probably feel quite rough in the process.
Energy in = energy out = maintain your weight
Unfortunately, because you've lost weight with a crash diet, you're very likely to see a small gain short-term as your body recovers. But if you go with a sensible intake both on holiday and when you get back, you should maintain your new weight.
Hey December,
Congratulations on the 20 pounds. Good job!
You did not say where you are going, but if you stay active on your holiday...it should burn up some calories. Its true, to maintain: calories in must equal calories out.
Walking around sightseeing and shopping, swimming, hiking and anything that gets your body moving will help.
While eating is a social and fun part of vacationing, ask yourself if you really want whats being served and make the healthiest choices you can.
I lost 10 pounds last year and went on vacation for 3 weeks and was surprised to see that I did not gain an ounce! I did a lot of walking/hiking and tried only to eat when I was hungry, drank a lot of water and did not buy any high calorie snacks for the hotel room.
Your history sounds like you know whats healthy to eat, so just keep it up on the holiday.
Have fun and don't stress!
well, if you were eating that low amount of calories, your metabolism is probably unhappy...but if you gradually up them (100 added on every couple days) until you get up to the point where you're eating what you should (like gi-jane said, probably around 2400 or whatever, depending on how much you exercise, there are tools on this site you can use to find this out...eat whatever number it says you burn without trying to lose weight) you probably will only gain a little and then it'll eventually go away again. Seriously though, you're going to want to start eating more no matter what kind of gain you see...if you don't, you're going to have a lot more trouble than just unwanted pounds.
Where are you going?
I have been able to maintain over vacations. I maintained over, of all things a cruise. I did it by exercise an hour or two every morning early, before my husband got up. Keep in mind we were on vacation so that meant getting up at 9:00 AM while he slept until 11 lol.
HOWEVER, we are going away to north carolina for our anniversary in 3 months, and we are planning on renting bikes, and biking every morning for exercise.
M.
