General Discussion Triathlon Talk » Calorie calculation Rss Feed  
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2014-03-11 10:36 AM

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Long Beach, NY
Subject: Calorie calculation
I'm really confused about calories and can't get a straight answer. I've gained a lot of weight and am trying to adjust my intake to lose weight and also fuel my training. I'm training for a half Ironman in September so I'll be burning a lot of calories in my workouts.

Here's my conundrum:

When I calculate losing 1 pound a week my daily caloric intake is roughly 1400. Fine, no problem. I can do that. But do I figure in burned calories to that number?

Example:

I eat 1300 calories in a day and burn 500. My net is 800 calories. Do I then eat another 500 calories to make up that deficit? I don't want to under-eat.

I once consulted with a body builder who said I should not bother calculating calories burned and just eat 1300 calories on days I work out and 1100 on days I don't. Of course for a triathlete that's absurd.

Any guidance is appreciated. My next step is a sport's nutritionist but that is a costly solution.


2014-03-11 11:00 AM
in reply to: tlynn721

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Subject: RE: Calorie calculation
I track on myfitnesspal. I eat 1300 on rest days (that's a 500 deficit for my weight, height, and activity level). On days I train, I add extra calories from my training. I'm conservative here bc online calculators overestimate. Training for HIM now so most days I am still in deficit eating 1900-2200 a day. I do not track on long bike days. I eat when I'm hungry and give myself a pass that day.
2014-03-11 11:15 AM
in reply to: jarvy01

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Subject: RE: Calorie calculation
I use MFP also. I've never really eaten poorly and the weight gain is just from being in hibernation mode over the winter. I've already cut out alcohol and now make my own lunch. Maybe I'm over thinking it but my biggest concern isn't overeating; it's under-eating. I actually have a hard time making it to 1400 on most days. Now I'm starting to think I should just continue eating as I always have, track calories and see how it goes.
2014-04-04 9:56 AM
in reply to: 0

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Subject: RE: Calorie calculation
the problem I find is that a lot of programs don't cater to atheletes - and if you go too low on calories, your body will go into essentially a starvation mode and stop burning fuel and try to store it - I find (personally) that I lose weight when I maintain my calories at about 1700 a day on once a day workouts and about 2300 on twice a day workouts - but I make sure to eat healthy food, rarely eat junk food etc

ETA - you may actually find when you really kick up your training workouts, that you will naturally slim down, because you may find it hard to keep up with the calories you are burning through workouts

Edited by austhokie 2014-04-04 9:57 AM
2014-04-04 10:02 AM
in reply to: austhokie

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Long Beach, NY
Subject: RE: Calorie calculation
You're right about the programs. I had a bodybuilder tell me that my max calories should be 1300. Nuts.

I've been eating regularly and not watching calories at all and feel great. I also lost 3 pounds last week. I actually eat all day and have fruit, veggies and nuts to chow on.
2014-04-04 12:27 PM
in reply to: tlynn721

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Subject: RE: Calorie calculation
Originally posted by tlynn721

You're right about the programs. I had a bodybuilder tell me that my max calories should be 1300. Nuts.

I've been eating regularly and not watching calories at all and feel great. I also lost 3 pounds last week. I actually eat all day and have fruit, veggies and nuts to chow on.


I actually found a good article a while back, and i'll have to find it again, about a female doing figure competing, who kept dropping her calories, working out more and trying to figure out why she wasn't losing weight...and it basically came down to, too few calories...

there is a whole calculation thing you can do, to figure out your base caloric amount - and then you can adjust from there


2014-04-17 1:16 PM
in reply to: 0

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Subject: RE: Calorie calculation
I have to say I just don't buy the body shutting down with too few calories. People do starve to death. At some point it will have to burn calories. If you are overweight I doubt your problem is under eating. Sure if you "diet" for a few weeks your body might hold out and then it you go back to overeating you might gain more back. It makes no sense to eat when you are not hungry.

As a menopausal woman I have had to go down to 1050/day to lose 1.5-2 lbs a week. At 5'1" I'm down 18 lbs in two months and 8 lbs shy of being in a normal weight range. I am able to keep cals. down without being too hungry or losing control to cravings by going very low carb (20-25 net grams) with rest divided between fat and protein. People try to discourage me by claiming I will not be able to maintain this diet. Of course I can't! It is a weight loss plan. When I hit my goal weight I will slowly add in carbs to find the amount at which I don't gain weight, but maintain.

When I work out, granted I don't go over an hour at any one time, I'm hungry and will add in up to 200 more cals, throwing in a clementine or bite of a Power bar for a few extra carbs. I'm fat, I want my body to burn it. I am in no danger of starvation.

You might not agree, but if you don't lose any weight you might want to reconsider. Many people here think they can eat more if they train, but you can replace what took you two hours to burn in minutes of snacking.

Just saying...
Mitzi

Edited by MuscleMomma 2014-04-17 1:18 PM
2014-04-23 5:51 PM
in reply to: MuscleMomma

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Subject: RE: Calorie calculation
While you have the right idea, you body doesn't "shutdown" if you don't eat enough, but it will canabalize muscle for food if you don't supply it properly. And doing this will cause you to burn fewer calories because less muscle means less calorie burn at rest. Your best best is to eat eat properly to fuel your recovery and muscle growth but obviously don't overeat. If you weigh 200lbs and eat 1800cals a day without working out you will slowly take off some of the weight but you will have to adjust your calories downward because the less you weigh the less you need to keep eating on rest days.
2014-04-24 6:44 AM
in reply to: cafenervosa

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Subject: RE: Calorie calculation
Cafe - do you know how the body turns to fat vs. muscle when you deplete carbs. I'm compensating with extra protein (always feel good on a high protein diet) to avoid losing muscle. Makes evolutionary sense that the body would turn to fat before important muscle. Never get an answer to this.
2014-04-25 10:28 AM
in reply to: tlynn721

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Subject: RE: Calorie calculation
There's a lot of different ways to do it, and I've used several of them.

I use MyFitnessPal - I have tried others, but for convenience and database size, nothing beats it. As of this morning, I'm at 176lbs, down from a high 5 years ago of 296, and from 196 at the start of the year, and from 179 at last year's racing weight. Goal is 160 to 165. Training for IMWI, and once July rolls around, the base calorie intake will have to go up to compensate for the wear and tear of 15 to 20+ hour training weeks.

Personally, my current method, which I have used for about five months now, is to set my daily calorie deficit (for me, -700 per day), and then eat around that. For someone in active training, this works well since it allows for proper feeding. On a hard training day, I will probably take in half or more of the calories I burn as pure sugar during the course of the workout. Add in a post-workout recovery fuel, and workout days don't allow for much flexibility.

The truly hard days are rest days - no spare calories and having to maximize protein and recovery gains. Those days are hard.

So, for me: Basal Metabolic Rate ~1,800 calories, and I have an extremely sedentary job, less 700 deficit, yields 1,100 calories per day base. Tomorrow's 3 hour ride will probably burn 1,800 calories, of which I will take in ~1,000 calories as workout fuel, so tomorrow's non-workout nutrition tally would be ~1,900 calories.

Stated another way, I eat back whatever I burn on the workout, with the idea being that my daily deficit is pretty much constant throughout the week. To eat the same every day would be silly, and I would kill my workouts. 2,500 calories a day would leave me with huge surpluses a few days a week, and completely drained the others.

Also, what works for me may or may not work for you - I'm currently training for a hilly IM and want to come in as light as possible, and to "make weight" as quickly as possible without compromising my training, so I'm sitting on the bleeding edge here. I wouldn't recommend 1,100 base calories for *anyone*.
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