Eating the bulk of your calories after a workout?

brooshie

Is it bad if I only eat about 450 calories throughout the day, then workout around 800 calories, and eat 1000 throughout the rest of the night?

Should I switch it up to my big meals are BEFORE my workout? or does it not matter?

dlwyatt82

It's probably going to affect your workout performance if you're already running on empty, but overall, you should be fine. On a side note, though, consuming 1450 calories total seems quite low if you're burning 800 in a single workout.

brooshie

i'm not running on empty, i'm lacking in energy or anything like that. it just seems to be how it ends up (with my schedule). i should say it's around 1450 calories without the addition of milk & juice. however, that probably only adds an extra 200 or so.

dlwyatt82

Have you set up your fitness profile on MFP? What does it give you as a daily calorie target?

brooshie

1550

dr3wman

Meal timing/ frequency doesnt matter, just make sure you get the correct amount of calories each day. I love saving my big meals for post-workout because thats when my body craves food the most

dlwyatt82

1550

OK, and that's 1550 before exercise calories are logged. 1450 would be a reasonable amount to eat before you factored in the workout, but if you're burning 800 calories in the day on top of that, you're probably going to see better results if you eat more (somewhere between 1550 and 2350). I don't fully understand why (and the explanations people give aren't really scientific), but many people find that their weight loss slows way down or stops completely when they're eating at too much of a calorie deficit. When they increase their food intake up to a normal level for a while (give it at least 4 weeks or so for your body to adjust), things start to progress again.

Anyhow, I'll stop derailing the topic from your original question now. Just an observation.

brooshie

1550

OK, and that's 1550 before exercise calories are logged. 1450 would be a reasonable amount to eat before you factored in the workout, but if you're burning 800 calories in the day on top of that, you're probably going to see better results if you eat more (somewhere between 1550 and 2350). I don't fully understand why (and the explanations people give aren't really scientific), but many people find that their weight loss slows way down or stops completely when they're eating at too much of a calorie deficit. When they increase their food intake up to a normal level for a while (give it at least 4 weeks or so for your body to adjust), things start to progress again.

Anyhow, I'll stop derailing the topic from your original question now. Just an observation.

It's okay, I know what you mean I thought about it, but I'm content here for now. I was originally eating 1000 calories a day (now that was a bad decision), and the past two weeks I upped it to around 1500 and lost 6 pounds. So, I'm going to see how 1500 goes and then if I plateau i'll raise it for sure.

wewon

Is it bad if I only eat about 450 calories throughout the day, then workout around 800 calories, and eat 1000 throughout the rest of the night?

Should I switch it up to my big meals are BEFORE my workout? or does it not matter?

I would guess that from a health/weight loss perspective that you will be fine.

However, if doing that is a having an effect on your workouts or makes you feel groggy afterwards than you might want to reconsider.