Advice on exercise calories and eating enough or not

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Insomnia__
Insomnia__ Posts: 2
in Fitness and Exercise
I would like everyone's opinions. Okay, so about 2 weeks ago, I met my goal weight. I decided to switch over to maintenance calories. I get 1590 a day without exercise Lately (even a little before I met my goal) I've been having a really hard time not eating like a lot. I exercise everyday for 120-180 minutes on the elliptical. Yes, that might be excessive but I'm terrified to gain weight. I've been SO hungry. I never go over 1900 calories. Usually I meet about 1600-1700. My question is, am I freaking out for no reason? Am I eating too much or enough? MFP says I burn about 1000 calories after exercising for 2 and a half hours. Not sure I quite believe that... I'm pretty confused on how much I should eat and what is accurate for calories burned. One other thing, I missed my period. There is no possible way that I am pregnant. I stopped getting my period once before when I was 14 and wasn't eating much. I have never missed a period from stress or any other reason since that whole issue. Does this mean I exercise too much or not having enough calories? Yes, I have bad body image so I am obsessive about not wanting to gain weight. I do have a problem but I don't know what is normal.

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  • froeschli
    froeschli Posts: 1,292 Member
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    EAT!
    seriously, i am still losing weight at 2300 calories (when i actually count), and i don't exercise near as much as you do. i may run 30-60 minutes most days, and started lifting again, 3x a week, which makes me eat even more.

    anyhow. i can't make a claim to know how much you should be eating - i don't know your stats. try finding a TDEE calculator and use that, instead of counting exercise calories. if your activity level is about the same each week, then TDEE should be great for you to stick to, you just eat a certain amount of calories every day, no matter the amount of exercise you do that day.
    Then, after a few weeks, you look at whether your weight has changed, and adjust the calorie number to where it ought to be.

    if you have body image issues, and are at your goal weight, maybe look into strength training - that should help "shape" your body in a way losing weight alone never could. I'd recommend ditching the scale for a month or so when you start strength training, because you will retain some water initially, which might freak you out if you're the type to check the scale every day....
  • CaliopeCupcake
    CaliopeCupcake Posts: 19
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    Menses can stop with too much exercise. One hour is enough. Many marathon runners experience this cessation. The body is in survival mode. Not healthy! Take it easy on yourself! Stressing about all of this causes more harm than good. Please do not make yourself vomit. Once on that merry-go-round it's nearly impossible to get off. You have done well, but it sounds like you need more rest. When you crave energy because you are tired, you might misinterpret it as hunger. If you can squeeze in a nap during the day or afternoon, you won't be so stressed or hungry. Do less elliptical time, and cross train doing something else, like spinning, or swimming--just think, you're only 10% of your body weight in the water! Get a kick board, if you don't want to get your hair wet, and do what distance you can in flutter kick or frog kick. Break up your meals to 4 a day and stay away from those energy drinks; they cause a crash later.

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