Too much exercise = too many calories to eat for me?

court428

I"m really at a loss here. I set a goal of 1600 calories per day. Today after breakfast I took a 2 hour and 15 minute hike, mostly up hill. MFP says I burned around 1200 calories on this hike....and that I now have 2400 cals to eat for the rest of the day! This is after breakfast , a light lunch, and a snack! How the heck am I going to eat anywhere near 2400 calories without eating crap food? I struggle to eat over 1200 each day as it is! Any suggestions for me? Does this seem like a great day for me to enjoy a nice meal without thinking about calories?

schnarfo

Hmmmm I would try to add a protein shake into your diet - thats 200 taken care of straight away

robin52077

MFP sometimes estimates exercise high too. Log it as 800 and eat at LEAST400 of it back, trying to land somewhere between 0-400 remaining for the day.

WolffEarl

I would say yes, as long as at least some of those are healthy choices. After my exercising today I am spuposed to eat over 3000 calories. I am up for the challenge. Whole nuts are rich in calories and still healthy. Easy to get 400 or more calories even from small amounts.

nokittyno

I always read the statement, "Drink your calories". As it's simple, quick and won't bloat you outta there. Also I am always sketchy on MFP burn ratio.. so I usually underestimate incase, unless I am wearing my Heart Rate Monitor.

Mando55

Hmmmm I would try to add a protein shake into your diet - thats 200 taken care of straight away

I agree, drink a protein shake.

How do you struggle eating 1200 calories? MFP is not always correct with its calories burned. Use a heart rate monitor to get a more accurate count.

Mindful_Trent

MFP sometimes estimates exercise high too. Log it as 800 and eat at LEAST400 of it back, trying to land somewhere between 0-400 remaining for the day.

^^This.

Higher-calorie, healthy foods: avocado, nuts, dairy (but be careful of the sodium), oatmeal, fruit, some breads, Lara bars (fruits/nuts), lots more. You could make a fruit/protein shake - easily adds up to 300-600 calories depending on what you put in it. I use milk as my base, add some fruit , uncooked oats (these go particularly well with banana), protein powder, and for extra flavoring either cinnamon, cocoa powder, or both. Could also add some peanut butter to your smoothie. Yumm... I find it's helpful to resort to healthy liquid calories when I have a bunch to use.

JillyCornwall

With respect looking at your diary you are just not eating enough at any meals. You lack the protein & complex carbs that would add the sort of nutrition and calories that you need to burn fat and to maintain a healthy weight loss. You are at least 200 calories light on your breakfast alone. Perhaps you should browse a few open diaries to see the different ways people approach nutrition so that you can form a menu that you like.

court428

I noticed too that MFP seems to over estimate calories burned, so I end up taking a few minutes off my exercise to take that into consideration. For instance my hike today was really 2 hours and 35 minutes, but I adjusted it to 2:15 to compensate for that.

kentlass

unfortunately i have this problem too...p90x has me set as needing 1650 a day...then i burn between 1000-1500cals a day!(was 1800 today but after taking away BMR it hit 1500) and i have no way of eating them without going over on sodium, carbs or fat...it's frustrating as hell...we're told to eat them back...but only eat healthy...which is generally low calorie stuff!?!

i have had 3protein shakes today, and 2full meals...and some snacks and still have only just gone over my starting 1650!

Mando55

MFP sometimes estimates exercise high too. Log it as 800 and eat at LEAST400 of it back, trying to land somewhere between 0-400 remaining for the day.

^^This.

I use milk as my base, add some fruit , uncooked oats (these go particularly well with banana), protein powder, and for extra flavoring either cinnamon, cocoa powder, or both. Could also add some peanut butter to your smoothie.

I do this all the time, except I use water and ice. I will on occasion use almond or rice milk but prefer water. If you like coffee you can also buy those little can of shots that they sell at the store (Starbucks) and add it in there as well.

court428

With respect looking at your diary you are just not eating enough at any meals. You lack the protein & complex carbs that would add the sort of nutrition and calories that you need to burn fat and to maintain a healthy weight loss. You are at least 200 calories light on your breakfast alone. Perhaps you should browse a few open diaries to see the different ways people approach nutrition so that you can form a menu that you like.

Thank you for the advice, I will look at some other diary's to see what I am doing wrong. I'm just to the point where I get full so easily and if I eat more I feel sluggish. Today's meals were not typical of me since I did not want to eat too much before hiking.

kerriBB37

With respect looking at your diary you are just not eating enough at any meals. You lack the protein & complex carbs that would add the sort of nutrition and calories that you need to burn fat and to maintain a healthy weight loss. You are at least 200 calories light on your breakfast alone. Perhaps you should browse a few open diaries to see the different ways people approach nutrition so that you can form a menu that you like.

100% agree.

court428

Another struggle for me is that I cannot afford to buy many extras like protein shakes or coffees. I have to buy things that the entire family eats, unfortunately

orangebella

Even if you have all of those extra calories you must at least keep 300-400 calories left over so you can actually lose weight. I was doing the same thing except the amount that my body will burn off without exercise is 1340 or something like that. I just looked at your diary. You MUST eat more! That is way too little of food. Try and aim for 300 calories for each meal and throw in a few snacks like Greek yogurt (chobani!!!!), almonds,oatmeal, applesauce, fruits and veggies. Don't forget some carbs too! Take it from someone who did not eat for a year. I was constantly getting light headed and my bones hurt all the time, it is just not the way to go. And you are a mom too right? You need to set a healthy example for them. My mom struggled with her weight and I can tell you that it definitely has affected me still to this day and I am 23. I am so hard on myself and don't want to be overweight like her. And seeing her go through all of these different diets it's just no fun. I wish when I was younger she would have taught me to eat healthier, smaller proportions, and to work out more & stay active. I wish you the best just eat more girl!

MyNameIsNotBob

I also have days when I'm thinking "how the heck will I eat all these calories?"

If you know you'll be burning a ton of calories, you could try to eat a bigger breakfast beforehand... which would help a little. And have some snacks while you're hiking... GORP, etc.

FFDuhvid522

I use another app on my Droid to keep track of my exercises. It's called "Endomondo" and its done through GPS. Its a free sign up and you can also keep track of it online. It tells you how far you travelled, time, and how many calories burned. It is really an amazing app to help with keeping track of your calories burned for exercise.

But as for the calorie issue, protein shakes are a good idea. but be careful on what you want out of the protein. Because some powder's give you more mass, while others just give you protein. So do you research and visit a few different shops to see what works best.

Also, if you hike like this once or twice a week. You can choose those days to "spoil" yourself a little bit more and eat a meal that you want so you don't have to worry so much about going over your limit.

Hope this helps
Dave

court428

Thank you everyone ,for the input! I am very grateful for this site and the advice that you guys have given me. I am always going to keep myself open to advice and criticism because I want to make this work for me so badly!