Am I really suppose to eat all that!?

Lift_hard_eat_big

Eat 4 large pizzas

californiagirl2012

Hi MFP community. This is my very first new topic post.

I am totally down with eating back most of my exercise calories but I have just now ran into a bit of a dilemma. This past weekend I went hiking and burnt over 3500 calories in just a few hours.

I have my eye set on this big hike that is located not too far from here and if my math is correct (based on my weight, age, HRM) I may burn around 10,000 calories in this all day hike. I weigh a bit over 370 and am a 33yo male. Obviously there is a chance I might not make it for the full 20 miles. All I know is that the more I hike the more I want to hike. Both days this past weekend I only came out of the woods because the sun was going down.

Anyhow the point is I can't reasonably eat over 12,000 (10,000 plus my normal daily) calories, can I? I couldn't imagine eating the equivalent of 5 pizzas on top of my normal intake for a day.

So I know that I will probably get many different opinions but I still want to hear all of them.

Your body is the end game, not the calculator. If you gain weight, eat less. If you need to lose and are not, eat less. If you are under 12% body fat and risk starvation mode (fat people don't go into starvation mode) then don't eat too low. Other than that it's trial and error until you find what works for YOU. Everyone is different. There is no one size fits all.

You just need to find the correct calories for YOU to be healthy and sustainable and still lose weight. It might require some experimentation and tremendous patience. You can always notch up and down by 100 until you find what is sustainable and still allows you to lose weight.

If you have emotional eating issues than you are not going to be able to handle such a deep deficit and if you eat to low it will backfire. A better strategy is to eat at a shallower deficit, and sometimes give yourself a break from the deficit and eat at maintenance. This is not going backwards, but eating to low and then binging because you can't sustain it is going backwards. It's better to stay forwards even if it is slower. The tortoise wins this race in the end.

Too many changes at once can be hard on some people. I've always eaten healthy so it easy for me to simply eat less. Eating at a calorie deficit is hard on people; even a small deficit puts your body in a state of flux with hormones and such. Everyone is different. Some people can handle a deeper calorie deficit than others, this is not right or wrong, it just is. Stress in your life affects your hunger hormones; lack of sleep, fatigue, job stress, family stress, financial stress, etc. Add in emotional eating issues and it gets even more complicated. Most people can only handle so much change/stress at once, they try to do too much and fail. Sometimes it might be a better strategy to eat at maintenance and make some small changes first, it really depends on how much stress you are taking in at the moment.

But keep in mind...

Your body loses weight in chunks, not linear. I have found that you can do everything right and your weight loss seems to plateau but if you are patient and keep exercising and eating at a deficit (however slight) you will lose it, it will suddenly "whoosh". There are so many variables for the scale; water retention, digestion, hormones, allergies, sodium, carbs, water intake, DOMS, inflammation, the list goes on. People mistakenly think they lose or gain weight when they eat more or less because of these fluctuations.

Losing weight requires tremendous patience. You will not lose it when you want it or where you want it. The body does its thing. Some apparent plateaus can last a month or so. You cannot make it happen faster. You must focus on two things; calories and exercise. Nothing else matters. Scales and metrics don't matter. The day in and day out grind of exercise and calories are all that matters. It is not very exciting until things fall into place. You get your victories and you ride one victory to the next.

The scale is a trend tool. The scale is good but put it away and only check once a week and only use it as a trend tool. It will fluctuate, it does not matter. Take front side and back progress pictures at least once a month. You will see differences that the metrics won't tell you and it's that little bit of NSV that will keep you going until the next victory.

jeleclekat

yes he could have... 270 minutes of hiking with hills and less than 10 backpack = 3852 calories If it was just cross counrty hiking in five hr it would burn 3617.

Why are you so doubtful????

chubbygirl253

I routinely burn 3000-4000 calories in my workouts. On a rest day my calorie limit is 1700. On a day I workout I don't really have a "limit," I just eat what I need to replenish my body from such a huge burn. Yesterday I ate 2500, but burned over 4000.

drmerc

I routinely burn 3000-4000 calories in my workouts. On a rest day my calorie limit is 1700. On a day I workout I don't really have a "limit," I just eat what I need to replenish my body from such a huge burn. Yesterday I ate 2500, but burned over 4000.

I should start doing your workouts

Chief_Rocka

I routinely burn 3000-4000 calories in my workouts.

No you don't

Katbody10

Michael Phelps .. the Olympic Athlete swimmer had to eat 14,000 calories a day during his hey day .. so .. yes .. it's quite possible to eat that much. However .. he's a pro athlete and trained and knew what would pack on the calories, etc.. so as not to lose weight while training and competing.

Now .. I'm taking a stab here .. that you are trying to lose weight! :drinker: Many people prefer to NOT eat back their exercise calories .. and some eat back no more than half of those calories in order to lose weight a little faster

You will NOT have to eat back those calories .. but here's a suggestion on calorie punching foods that will do the trick if need be..

1 lb of Pecans have nearly 3,000 calories !! Talk about a great snack food if you're hiking and need to nibble along the way..

Nuts/seeds will do great for snacking if you need to feel full and try to catch up on calories :-) you may also opt for almonds or walnuts .. peanuts, cashews .. you can google the calories/nutritional value online and go to a health food/grocery store and buy the nuts in bulk by the pound or half pound, which ever serves you best :-)

120weeks

I don't eat back calories because I have them built in but I have wondered this.....what is the max cal/minute burn possible? I realize some has to do with actual body weight. I don't have a HRM and don't care to start checking my burns but I am a "little" curious what I might be burning doing a strenous activity.

Any links? Any threads for those of us wanting to learn more about this?

Thanks!

Chief_Rocka

Michael Phelps .. the Olympic Athlete swimmer had to eat 14,000 calories a day during his hey day

No he didn't

Katbody10

Michael Phelps .. the Olympic Athlete swimmer had to eat 14,000 calories a day during his hey day

No he didn't

Oh .. my bad .. he needed to eat 12,000 calories a day ..

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2177613/Michael-Phelps-12-000-calories-day-dont-doing-harm.html
article title: Michael Phelps reveals details of his 12,000 calories a day diet... and he doesn't look bad on it either girls!

Melo1966

Michael Phelps .. the Olympic Athlete swimmer had to eat 14,000 calories a day during his hey day

No he didn't

Oh .. my bad .. he needed to eat 12,000 calories a day ..

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2177613/Michael-Phelps-12-000-calories-day-dont-doing-harm.html
article title: Michael Phelps reveals details of his 12,000 calories a day diet... and he doesn't look bad on it either girls!

I just found an article I was going to post.

To OP Enjoy your hike.
When I went on a 3 day backpacking trip 2 years ago I was told not to even think about weight-loss because there was no way I would even be able to consume what I would be burning. I was being told to eat and drink the whole time.

Chief_Rocka

Michael Phelps .. the Olympic Athlete swimmer had to eat 14,000 calories a day during his hey day

No he didn't

Oh .. my bad .. he needed to eat 12,000 calories a day ..

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2177613/Michael-Phelps-12-000-calories-day-dont-doing-harm.html
article title: Michael Phelps reveals details of his 12,000 calories a day diet... and he doesn't look bad on it either girls!

The Daily Mail? Seriously?? How about an actual quote from the man himself:

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/gameon/post/2012/05/michael-phelps-12000-calorie-diet-just-a-myth/1#.UKQftWe5US4

Wednesday, Phelps told Ryan Seacrest in an interview that it was a myth.

"I never ate that much," Phelps said. "It's all a myth. I've never eaten that many calories."

Seacrest replied: "Good because I was starting to loathe you, that you could really eat all this."

Said Phelps: "I wish. It's too much though. It's pretty much impossible."

chubbygirl253

I routinely burn 3000-4000 calories in my workouts.

No you don't

you don't know me or what I do. I work my @s$ off 4+ hrs a day/ 6 days a week working out. And at 285 lbs that does mean a big calorie burn. Some things I do like yoga is only gonna burn a few hundred calories whereas some things I do burns over a 1000 calories in one hour like the stair stepper machine. You do realize that when a heavier person does the same exercise they burn more calories, right? Its ridiculous to think that someone my weight would burn the same as someone 150 lbs. Lemme tell ya. Exercise is hard enough at my weight. I sure as hell don't need to take any *kitten* off you. Half the thin/fit people I see at the gym don't have the endurance and determination that I have. Yesterday I worked out for 5 hours and burned over 4000 calories. (Was there for almost 7 hours but I take breaks between the hard stuff.) I've come a really long way and I don't need your approval so you think what you want. It doesn't matter what you think I burned. 45 mins weight training, 45 mins cross trainer machine, 45 mins elliptical w/arms, 45 mins stair treadmill, 60 mins R.I.P.P.E.D. class, 60 mins yoga. At my weight that stuff can really add up.

alpine1994

Don't worry so much about the numbers and listen to what your body is telling you. If you're hungry, eat, if not, don't. I typically don't eat exercise calories back for two reasons: 1. I'm usually just not hungry 2. I don't lose weight that way.

drmerc

Obese people tend to overestimate burn and underestimate calories consumed

EatClean_WashUrNuts

It's OK to spit.

MoreBean13

I don't eat back calories because I have them built in but I have wondered this.....what is the max cal/minute burn possible? I realize some has to do with actual body weight. I don't have a HRM and don't care to start checking my burns but I am a "little" curious what I might be burning doing a strenous activity.

Any links? Any threads for those of us wanting to learn more about this?

Thanks!

Try this:
http://www.shapesense.com/fitness-exercise/calculators/heart-rate-based-calorie-burn-calculator.aspx

it's generally in the 12-20 range. The higher you get per minute, the less sustainable it is for people of any size. People who can burn 20 cals/min are generally bigger people. So fitter people who have the endurance to sustain high-level activity for a while generally have smaller body mass, and burn less calories. For me, max sustainable for 60 mins is about 13 cals/min, and that would be running about 6.5 miles in an hour.

*note that I'm talking specifically about endurance type activities. I'm sure there are more sprint-level stuff that can burn more calories faster.

gddrdld

I routinely burn 3000-4000 calories in my workouts.

No you don't

I Concur. Misconceptions like this is why many people never reach their goals. You are NOT burning 4000 cals during your workouts. i don't know what method you are using to determine that "burn" but it's not correct. I'm sorry, It's not.

UpEarly

I'm a hiker/backpacker. On multi-day trips, we may cover 15-20 miles with lots of climbing, with a 30-40 pound pack. I usually try to eat about 4,000-5,000 calories on those days. When I get back, I've usually lost a few pounds.

I weigh 136 pounds, so I imagine your calorie demands would be quite a bit greater.

TrailNurse

I hike too and I carry GORP with me in my backpack (in a large freezer bag). I only eat this when I am hiking because it is a lot of calories. Here is what I put in mine. It is very portable and when you start feeling hungry or weak, just grab a handful and keep walking.

Chex mix
Walnuts
Almonds
Dried Canberries
Dark chocolate M&M's
Yogurt covered raisins
Granola
Dried bananas
Pretzels
Flaked coconut

What ever you do, don't add chocolate chips because they will melt and make your GORP really messy.