Maintaining or weight loss?

Hi guys,

I am trying to maintain, but I was wondering how many calories I should eat. I've checked all the calculators, some say 1500, others 1800, so I don't really know.

I am 5'4" 116-118 lbs. I work out at least 3x a week (weights and cardio) and live a somewhat active life if I don't work out. I am a student so a lot of sitting is done :( Also my body fat percentage is 26% according to some calculators, but that seems kind of high to me. I did a lot of weight training over the summer and am continuing it now, so I don't know if that's an accurate reflection.

And I have been trouble maintaining in general. I dropped all the down to 112.8 lbs but have recently jumped up to 118lbs. I can't really see a difference figure wise, but I am afraid that its going to keep going. I noticed that I am falling into my old habits of binge eating again, and I don't know how to stop it! Its like now that I've lost the weight I think I can eat anything, and thats not really the case...should I try to lose again?

Thanks for the input.

First congrats on having the motivation and working hard towards your goals., and ditch the scale it’s just going to get you up set and depressed. Spend 15-20.00 and get yourself some body fat calipers and start to monitor your body fat more than your actual scale weight.

If you are working out a lot like it reads from above that cal count actually sounds low! You do not want your body to go into “Starvation” mode and save every last little calorie it can. You want your body to use your fat and food as fuel and build lean muscle. Keep working out and up your cal intake a little and see if that helps.

Also you can stop the bad binge eating come on you are stronger than that, plus you know you can’t eat whatever you want, just eat more good lean foods don’t starve yourself

You need to find what works, recognizing that a few more pounds, like 120 maybe the "ideal" weight at which you can eat comfortably in a realistic way, still exercise, and not bounce around. Trying to maintain at too low a number while building muscle is just an unhealthy situation; you need to eat enough to build muscle, which weighs more and burns more cals while sedentary. So go with those calipers, find clothes that fit comfortable within a range of about 5 pounds, and aim to stay somewhere in the middle of that range. Then toss the scale, eat enough so you aren't binging, and enjoy your life! Best of luck.

If you're 5'4" & 118lbs your BMI is 20 which is at the lowest end of a normal healthy weight. So you don't need to lose weight.   If you're reasonably active you need about 2000 cals average a day to maintain your weight.... 1900 when you're not working out and 2200 when you are.  If you're less than 20 years old, you can potentially add another 100 or 200 to those figures quite easily.

I'd suggest that if you want to avoid falling back into binge eating you should switch your focus to getting as good a diet as possible within those parameters.  Eat regularly throughout the day so that you get a steady stream of energy since 'lack of energy' is a big trigger for binge eating.   And choose a good variety of foods... some for nutrition, some for fun.... so that you're satisfied with what you eat and not feeling deprived.

I think body-fat % calculations can be very misleading.  But a better diet and sufficient energy will make it possible for you to tone up.   Undereating only serves to waste muscle.