Need help with running vs Calorie intake

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andyblackfrst
andyblackfrst Posts: 7
in Fitness and Exercise
Morning all,

I've started running and using the calorie calc on here I burn nearly as many calories as I consume.

I'm currently running approx 7.2 miles a day on and off but worried I should be consuming a lot more calories.

If so, would/should I be eating loads of pasta etc?

Thanks

Andy

Replies

  • BerryH
    BerryH Posts: 4,698 Member
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    MFP does not include exercise in your "activity level" you first enter, so you should be eating back your exercise calories, or at least a good proportion of them, and you will still lose at your target rate.

    It doesn't matter where those calories come from, but complex carbs are a good way to ensure you have energy for your next run - not just pasta but rice, potatoes, bread, oats etc. Balance that with a good amount of protein (MFP gives you a minimum target rather than a maximum for protein, so don't panic if you go over) plus fruit and veg, and you'll do fine.

    If you struggle to reach anything like your target calories, top up your diet with high energy source healthy foods, like nuts and avocados.

    Hope that helps.
  • Aperture_Science
    Aperture_Science Posts: 840 Member
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    Agree with BerryH's answer completely but would add....

    Be careful wit MFPs calories values for running. I personally find them a little on the high side. Personally at my 8.5 min miles pace a 7mile run would take me 1 hour and MFP would give me (I'm 11st = 154lb = 70kg) 800 cals. But I've found in the past that if I log and eat all of these I fail to lose at the rate I would expect.
  • andyblackfrst
    andyblackfrst Posts: 7
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    Thank you to you both..

    I currently have yoghurt and banana for breakfast.. sometimes porridge, lunch is normally rice and chicken and dinner is generally healthy usually involving pasta or jacket potato etc.

    Think I need to consume more, as I don't want my body to go into this 'starvation mode' but also want to lost some fat stored on my belly before I go away in 2 months.
  • rblakeman
    rblakeman Posts: 25
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    If you are burning all of your calories in 7.2 miles, you are under-eating. Are you using a HR monitor or going by the calorie count on a treadmill or MFP? Treadmills give me 120 per mile (so that would be 864 for you...not enough calories for a typical day). My HR monitor gives me closer to 90 to 100 per mile, depending on speed and HR ...typically keep heart rate around 185, running between 6.5 and 7.2 mph (that would be 720 for you...not enough calories for a typical day). I don't use MFP calculations, but I'm guessing you would have the problem (i.e, overestimating calories burned). So, my guess is you are either overestimating calories burned, eating too little to begin with, underestimating how much you are eating, or a bit of all of these.

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