Calorie intake qs

JuliaH728

I consume between 1200 and 1700 cals per day. I also run about 45-60 miles per week (marathon training). My food diary says I should be eating back all of these burned calories, but whenever I eat more than usual I see an instant weight gain. I was maintaining 125 (I'm 5'7") but now I'm almost 129. I'm feeling frustrated and not sure why I am gaining weight when I exercise so much and eat so few calories (healthy calories, also). I'm also not usually hungry for more calories, so I'm in no way eager to eat more, just wondering why it would be suggested to eat back burned calories if I'm not losing weight.
I know 129 is not heavy at all, but I really preferred my body at 125.

Anaris2014

Could it be an issue with over estimating the calories burned in your marathon training (which is awesome by the way - I wish I had that kind of drive).

VintageFeline

When you say an instant gain you meant the day after a higher day? That's not true weight gain. You need an excess of 3500 calories to gain 1lb of fat.

When increasing intake it is natural for it to look like you have gained but it's in reality just glycogen store replenishment, water, more food in the digestive tract etc. It's not fat. Is there really that huge a difference physically with those 4lbs or is it purely psychological and how long are you giving eating a higher intake before assessing true impact?

How is your login also, do you weigh solids and measure liquids? How are you calculating your run burns? You are putting in a lot of miles, you really should be able to eat a good amount with no issues.

Finally, if all the above is in order then it may be worth looking into reverse dieting. Do a search and lots of good info will come up.

lseed87

You shouldn't eat all the burned calories. Atleast do half and see how that goes. There are lots of forums saying to eat half, none or all of them. Just got to figure out what works.

Christine_72

If you're going to eat back exercise calories then you need to be as accurate as possible with your food logging.
This means weighing and logging everything you eat and drink honestly and accurately.

JuliaH728

My Garmin forerunner calculates calories burned based on a number of factors I input into the device during setup.
4lbs is visible to me in the mirror and it feels different in my clothes. It also happens after about a week of increased intake. I only increased my calories to about 1900 though (since on average I consume about 1350).
I feel like I should be able to consume more though without gaining any weight. I ran 20 miles on saturday, and according to my watch burned 1970 calories (I also consumed 300 during the run) so I really feel like I should have been able to eat an entire cow with no weight increase.

terbusha

When you spike up your carb and/or salt intake, it'll make your weight jump up. This is usually due to water retention or carb loading your muscles. When you're in a calorie deficit, your muscles are depleted in carbs. When you jump your carbs up, your muscles will fill out and bing water with it. It's not body fat weight, so don't fret about it. You're in fantastic shape, so keep on doing what you're doing...especially if your body measurements are not going up.

If you'd like to get your calories up from ~1200 cal/day, then do it by a reverse diet. This is SLOWLY adding calories into your diet over time to limit weight gain. It works great.

Owlfan88

Wow! Yes, I think you really should be able to eat more. I'm also 5'7" and trying to maintain at 135. I'm eating 2000-2200 most days (and if I have too many days closer to 2000, I start slowly losing again). I also don't do near the amount of exercise you do and am probably older (50). I do strength training 2x week and walk 30 minutes most every day. Usually 11-12k steps on my Fitbit. I find Trendweight to be a big help in seeing where my weight is really headed.

Sarah_Shapes_Up

Your body can adapt to all the exercise and become more efficient which means less calories burned. It's sad. Try slowly increasing calories every week until you reach a point you're comfortable at. Yes, the scale might go up a little bit, but I bet extra food will make the exercise feel better on the joints and cardiovascularly. Also, after a couple weeks, your "look" will return. Again, your body adapts to new environments while trying to maintain homeostasis, but it takes time.

mitch16

Something seems off... Speaking from experience, you should never try to run a marathon while on an active cut (1200 calories per day). I did this for a half marathon and survived, but I was a much stronger, faster runner when I was eating closer to maintenance.

Your diary isn't open to tell where the disconnect is, but your running itself (assuming 60 miles) should be burning in the neighborhood of ~5600 calories (.75 calories per pound of body weight per mile). If you are not weighing/logging your food I think there is a good chance that you are eating more than you think you are if you are gaining weight.

capaul42

If you're not hungry, I wouldn't bother eating back your exercise calories. I'm sure there are days with your training that you actually need a snack, but if you're truly not hungry, I wouldn't force yourself to eat.

I eat back some of my exercise calories if I've had a hard workout and feel like I need to, but most of the time I don't bother.

TeaBea

JuliaHujar wrote: »

My Garmin forerunner calculates calories burned based on a number of factors I input into the device during setup.
4lbs is visible to me in the mirror and it feels different in my clothes. It also happens after about a week of increased intake. I only increased my calories to about 1900 though (since on average I consume about 1350).
I feel like I should be able to consume more though without gaining any weight. I ran 20 miles on saturday, and according to my watch burned 1970 calories (I also consumed 300 during the run) so I really feel like I should have been able to eat an entire cow with no weight increase.

Do I have this right......4 pounds in one week?

1900 - 1350 = 550. 550 x 7 = 3,850. This calorie difference is just over 1 pound.

Maybe you aren't logging food accurately. Double check your entries.....lots of junk in the database
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1234699/logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide/p1

VintageFeline

You did not gain 4lbs of fat in 1 week eating 1950 calories per day. Scientific impossibility. You're not giving the increase and your body long enough to adjust. As someone above said, it's just your muscles filling out with glycogen and the associated water. This is what I suspected, you see a jump on the scale, panic and reduce your intake again.

Nobody should be running 60 miles a week on 1350 calories per day, even a teeny tiny person.

I'm going to reiterate reverse dieting and making sure your logging is as tight as you say it is.

RoxieDawn

OP, you can eat more than you think. You are only eating 1200 to 1700 calories before a 20 miles run. Nope. I am surprised you can run that long on this few calories. The carbs during the run I am sure helps but I wonder if you are weighing your food for starters.

The weight gain is not real fat. That is no way you are in fat gaining mode at this time. Keep in mind for every 1 gram of carb you consume you will hold 2.7 grams of water. Plus you are refeeding your body the water you lost through the running, so you re just holding on to water. Also us women forget that our hormones are huge factors in weight. I know just a little bit, and unless you no longe have a period, your hormones are always trying to handle the stress you are putting on your body.

My body liked to play tricks on me during my training. It expected me to fuel it properly and kicked back when I ate a deficit through the training. I had to up calories for each moderate and long runs.

I would need to understand more about your diet, running routine, eating at a deficit or not, how long your have dieting, etc.. Before I can even begin to try and understand your situation.