Unsure how much to eat as injured runner?

Serena795

I am temporarily out of commission as a runner because I hurt my foot. I'm wondering how much I should eat, calorie-wise. I do at least an hour of exercise 6 days a week, with a rest day on the 7th. I try in my workouts to simulate running training plans so that I won't lose so much of my fitness. I've not been able to run for at least two weeks now; it's quite discouraging.

I bike 4-5 miles a day in my commute on top of taking public transport. I have a pretty sedentary job, but I do my best to drink a lot of water and go to the bathroom a lot.

My stats:
Female
5'1.25"
100 (?) lbs (one scale at one doctor said 100 lb; the next day, another scale at another doctor's showed 106 lb????)
MFP calorie setting: active (1,380 calories/day)

Here's my general workout routine:
M: 1 hour hill/interval workout on the elliptical + 1-2 extra miles biking
T: 1 hour easy elliptical + 1 hour weightlifting
W: 1 hour hill/interval workout on the elliptical
Th: 1 hour easy/moderate on the elliptical
F: 1 hour weightlifting
Sat: 1 hour spin (+1 hour moderate elliptical if I have the energy)
Sun: REST (try to hit 10,000 steps of walking)

My intake is usually around 1,200 calories a day. I didn't track my food intake when I was running, but I ate a lot of nut butters and nuts (1-2 Tbsp nut butter, 1-2 servings of nuts daily) and went out 2-4 times a month on dates/outings. I maintained a weight of 100-103 lbs when I was running.

MKEgal

This calculator from the Baylor College of Medicine will tell you how many calories & how many servings of the
food groups you should have to maintain any particular weight, at whatever age, height, & activity level.

https://www.bcm.edu/cnrc-apps/healthyeatingcalculator/eatingCal.html

Just from looking at what you've outlined there, I'd be surprised if 1200/day is enough, even with being short.
But go with empirical evidence: if you're maintaining your weight, you don't need to adjust calories.
If you're gaining, and don't want to, cut 50-100.

Capt_Apollo

it's going to take a lot of trial and error. log everything, including your calorie burns. weigh in often, but do not get discouraged over a couple of pounds up or down

Serena795

Thanks, MKEgal. The Baylor College of Medicine told me that I need around 2,000 calories. That seems like quite a lot of food. Then again, since I've been eating 1,200 calories a day, I noticed that my strength workouts have really been in the crapper.

RodaRose

Serena795 wrote: »

Thanks, MKEgal. The Baylor College of Medicine told me that I need around 2,000 calories. That seems like quite a lot of food. Then again, since I've been eating 1,200 calories a day, I noticed that my strength workouts have really been in the crapper.

If you are not comfortable at 2,000, do 1800 for one or two weeks. For the third week, you might feel comfortable going to 2,000.

Serena795

Does anyone know how to adjust for the settings in MFP? I've put myself down as sedentary since my job pretty literally keeps me tethered to the desk by a pair of earphones. I do work out at a moderate to high intensity unless I'm exhausted and need a rest day.
So I would have 1,200 calories as BMR/RMR and add on whatever exercise calories I have?
Also, the amount of calories I burn on the elliptical is pretty depressing for the time I need to spend on it. I really have to watch my diet.