Musing 10 - Steady State

Now that I have reached my body fat percent goal, I am struggling a little bit trying to figure out what my steady state caloric intake should be.  I really do not want anything to change to much at this point including muscle mass or fat.

The caloric needs calculator says that on days I work out I can consume about 3000 calories per day and not gain weight.  That sounds ridiculous.  I hover around 2000 calories right now and feel full most of the time.  I would have to gorge myself to go over 3000.  I do not want to loose muscle mass by eating too little though.

The site does offer this interesting plan.  It says to vary my caloric intake through the week to minimize plateaus.  Here is the plan it suggests something like:

Monday	2626
Tuesday	2392
Wednesday	3151
Thursday	2626
Friday	2392
Saturday	2888
Sunday	2626

Here is a really interesting article on calorie cycling.  I think I am going to try this and bump up my intake on resistance days and drop it on rest and cardio days.

Also, I am going to start adding 100 calories per day each week for the next 10 weeks and watch my weight.  Once It looks like I am starting to slip back up, I will drop back down 100 or so calories and stay put.

I guess this is all part of the journey toward lifelong fitness and health.