Massively under daily calorie intake, a problem?

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chunkytfg
chunkytfg Posts: 339 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I appreciate that eating virtually nothing is not good for weight loss as you body doesn't react well to it but is there any problem with not eating all the exercise calories earned each day?

For example today due to a 2500m swim session and a 5 mile run i have an extra 2200 calories(i'm big so burn a lot!) onto of my 2060 daily allowance.

I had a really light brekkie as I didn't have a lot in the house and a 1000 cal lunch but even with my planned curry dinner i'll be well over 1500 calls short of the 4200 I am supposed to consume!

This is turning into a bit of a regular occurrence as my training is ramping up quite significantly and it is very normal to burn 2k cals a day extra.
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Replies

  • thickerella
    thickerella Posts: 154 Member
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    How are you calculating your burns? MFP or a HRM or some other method?
  • mumblemagic
    mumblemagic Posts: 1,090 Member
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    I'm no expert in terms of high performance athlete training, but I would say you need to up your calories if you want to avoid losing muscle. Try drinking them - apparently protein shakes are good.
  • chunkytfg
    chunkytfg Posts: 339 Member
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    Both. My HRM's are not a million miles away from the MFP prediction and if they are low/high i cage the intensity of the activity to account for it.
  • JJJJ25
    JJJJ25 Posts: 37
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    It's not necessarily a problem. I suggest you monitor your performance and adjust accordingly. If you're training and you notice your speed decreasing or stamina not improving, then you have empirical evidence suggesting you need to eat more. How much more? That's something you'll have to experiment with. I trained for a powerlifting competition for 8 months and learned that I did need to eat more than I originally thought, and it had to come from more complex carbs. Sugars made me feel awful, I already had enough protein, and my fats were fine. Good luck!
  • cyclistRob
    cyclistRob Posts: 3 Member
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    I have the same problem, Fast Day today and done a spin session earlier and burned 2500 calories, had my tea and don't feel hungry yet it tells me i have a lot of calories left to eat. Very interested to see what others say about this???
  • cuinboston2014
    cuinboston2014 Posts: 848 Member
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    I only have this problem one or two days a week when I do longer runs or speed work. I don't eat all my calories back. I do make sure to refuel properly after a long run or hard workout with a high protein meal/drink. After that, I typically eat a normal day and maybe a little bit more as a treat. Nothing drastic, though.

    I do find, as maybe you do as well, the next day I am typically hungrier than I was the day of the workout. That day I may go a little over. Do what works for you but make sure you are refueling with carbs and protein after a hard workout!
  • chunkytfg
    chunkytfg Posts: 339 Member
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    I'm no expert in terms of high performance athlete training, but I would say you need to up your calories if you want to avoid losing muscle. Try drinking them - apparently protein shakes are good.

    TBH I dont fancy the protein shakes as I love my food so would rather a decent snack over a drink. And thats despite my love of costa coffee at 150 cals a time!
  • heatbreakerr
    heatbreakerr Posts: 18
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    I appreciate that eating virtually nothing is not good for weight loss as you body doesn't react well to it but is there any problem with not eating all the exercise calories earned each day?

    For example today due to a 2500m swim session and a 5 mile run i have an extra 2200 calories(i'm big so burn a lot!) onto of my 2060 daily allowance.

    I had a really light brekkie as I didn't have a lot in the house and a 1000 cal lunch but even with my planned curry dinner i'll be well over 1500 calls short of the 4200 I am supposed to consume!

    This is turning into a bit of a regular occurrence as my training is ramping up quite significantly and it is very normal to burn 2k cals a day extra.

    I have always heard that having a great calorie deficit is not a good thing.
    Granted, make sure you drink plenty of water and if you feel light headed you might be low on your sugar levels.
    Keep us posted.
    Good Luck.
  • mssierra2u
    mssierra2u Posts: 86 Member
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    A couple hundred calories are ok, IMHO, as a ward against forgotten sauces, etc. A nice big chunk of cheese will put a dent in that deficit.
  • chunkytfg
    chunkytfg Posts: 339 Member
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    high performance athlete

    Just had to quote this! haha.

    Don't think I have ever been called that before!!!
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
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    I'd say it depends how often it happens, if it's a regular thing, I'd either cut down the workouts or eat way more, because it kinda defeats the purpose to do so much exercise if you're going to lose muscle because of it.
  • chunkytfg
    chunkytfg Posts: 339 Member
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    I have always heard that having a great calorie deficit is not a good thing.
    Granted, make sure you drink plenty of water and if you feel light headed you might be low on your sugar levels.
    Keep us posted.
    Good Luck.

    See thats what i'm getting at because over the years of various diets you hear figures around 1200 calls a day minimum or your body goes into 'starvation mode' but i will still hit 2400 calories for the day so a decent amount but obviously well short of where MFP suggests i need to be.
  • watsdd
    watsdd Posts: 21
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    I had this same discussion with my doctor because i am training for a marathon and do not want to mindlessly eat back calories for no reason. He told me that they was no need to eat back the calories as long as the calories you are eating are good ones (high protein, filling, etc). So what i have done for logging purposes is just track exercise and set everything to 1 calorie. that way i am not eating them back because i can easily burn 1000 or more extra running calories on a slow day and it doesn't make it look so out of whack. now I do find that i allow myself more calories if i need them or want them but by no means eating them all back. For example if I have a long run i will drink an extra protein shake, eat more pasta and have a treat after and going over my set daily doesnt bother me.

    but that is just what i do and the MD said it would not negatively effect me in any way.
  • chunkytfg
    chunkytfg Posts: 339 Member
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    I had this same discussion with my doctor because i am training for a marathon and do not want to mindlessly eat back calories for no reason. He told me that they was no need to eat back the calories as long as the calories you are eating are good ones (high protein, filling, etc). So what i have done for logging purposes is just track exercise and set everything to 1 calorie. that way i am not eating them back because i can easily burn 1000 or more extra running calories on a slow day and it doesn't make it look so out of whack. now I do find that i allow myself more calories if i need them or want them but by no means eating them all back. For example if I have a long run i will drink an extra protein shake, eat more pasta and have a treat after and going over my set daily doesnt bother me.

    but that is just what i do and the MD said it would not negatively effect me in any way.

    Okay cool that answers the question then. I'm happy to leave the calorie numbers correct on mine and then I can eat into them if I want. i'm in the early stages of a competitive Ironman training schedule so in about 10 weeks or so I will easily be hitting 15 hours a week pure cardio so my numbers will be all over the place with some huge deficits but hopefully it will see me get down to what I am calling 'race weight'
  • watsdd
    watsdd Posts: 21
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    it is funny because I was thinking about this today as well. I do not think I had really heard of anyone eating back the calories until i joined this site. If I am getting everything in that i need with my regular diet what additional calories do i need unless I am trying to bulk up and not lose weight. but like I said it is only my opinion. you will find that you will eat back more calories on your long training days but just make sure they aren't bad calories (trust me you will try to talk your self into anything tempting after a long run/ swim). Enjoy your training-
  • Love4fitnesslove4food2
    Love4fitnesslove4food2 Posts: 711 Member
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    I'm no expert in terms of high performance athlete training, but I would say you need to up your calories if you want to avoid losing muscle. Try drinking them - apparently protein shakes are good.

    TBH I dont fancy the protein shakes as I love my food so would rather a decent snack over a drink. And thats despite my love of costa coffee at 150 cals a time!

    If you'd prefer to eat your calories than drink them then start accounting for your caloric expenditure by having a heftier breakfast and more calorie dense meals in general.
  • beachlover317
    beachlover317 Posts: 2,848 Member
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    it is funny because I was thinking about this today as well. I do not think I had really heard of anyone eating back the calories until i joined this site. If I am getting everything in that i need with my regular diet what additional calories do i need unless I am trying to bulk up and not lose weight. but like I said it is only my opinion. you will find that you will eat back more calories on your long training days but just make sure they aren't bad calories (trust me you will try to talk your self into anything tempting after a long run/ swim). Enjoy your training-

    Not telling you what you should do, but MFP is set up for a person to eat back their exercise calories. MFP creates a deficit into your daily calorie allotment. IF you then, neglect to eat back your exercise calories, it could cause too big a deficit for some people. That's the difference in this website and in other programs.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    better yet calculate your TDEE

    To do this take calories consumed+(lbs lost*3500)/# of days (3 weeks is what I used)

    This gives you your TDEE and then subtract a %...that way you don't have to worry about eating exercise calories back..it's just that easy.
  • chunkytfg
    chunkytfg Posts: 339 Member
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    better yet calculate your TDEE

    To do this take calories consumed+(lbs lost*3500)/# of days (3 weeks is what I used)

    This gives you your TDEE and then subtract a %...that way you don't have to worry about eating exercise calories back..it's just that easy.

    Didn't really understand any of that sorry!

    Whats TDEE? I assume it stands for something?
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    TDEE=Total Daily Energy Expenditure which is number of calories you burn in a day, from exercise, regular movement and just living.

    Right now I have to think you are using the MFP NEAT Method, which doesn't take exercise into account when doing the calculation just regular life movements, Hence the reason you eat the exercise calories back.

    So what you do it find a time period of accurate logging, longer than 1 week (I used 21days)

    Add intake of calories+(lbs lost*3500 ***each pound is appx 3500 calories)=total calories in that time period

    Divide that number by the number of days you chose=TDEE the amount of calories you need to maintain.

    Now if you want to lose weight you take off a percentage.

    Now for an example with numbers.

    I logged and measured for 21 days and here are my numbers

    29,642 (Total calories consumed over 21 days)
    12,250 (I lost 3.5lbs in those 21 days so this is 3.5x3500)

    41,892 (Total)

    41982/21(number of days)=1995 calories to maintain my weight but I still want to lose

    1995x20%=399
    1995-399=1600(give or take) so this will give me on average 1lb of weight loss a week and I don't worry about exercise calories.

    You can lessen the amount say take off 10% of you want 1/2 lb a week.

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