HELLLPPPPP!

ash15nicole
ash15nicole Posts: 131
edited September 25 in Health and Weight Loss
Ok, need your guys' help!!! I've plateaued for sure. well that and gotten off track.
I am starting my training for a half marathon this week, and someone recently told me i should up my cals to fuel my body more. Right now it's set at 1200, should I increase it?? I will be running 3-4x per week plus weight training. I'm 130lbs and would like to hit 115-120. I'm only 5' 3" and fairly small build i guess? lol

If someone wouldn't mind explaining to me why i should increase cals and if i should? I don't know if I'm giving you enough info or if that is a personal choice or something. I guess i'm just really lost and confused and I haven't been losing weight!!! I am getting my diet under control. I have hit 123lbs but i was working out a ton and eating next to nothing..I cannot do that, I KNOW darn well its so bad for me and i just gain the weight right back.

HELP PLEASE!

Replies

  • legend1973
    legend1973 Posts: 83
    Yes definately increase your intake. An hour run can burn 600 calories so you need to make up those calories by the end of the day which means you need to take in at leat 1800, and it isn't that hard to do. Your body will feel sluggish if you don't take in the extra fuel needed. A peanut butter banana sandwich is 500 calories, add a glass of low fat chocolate milk and there you have 660 calories total and that is packed with protien and good carbs. Trust me that when running bananas are your friend!

    Good luck!
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    Ok, need your guys' help!!! I've plateaued for sure. well that and gotten off track.
    I am starting my training for a half marathon this week, and someone recently told me i should up my cals to fuel my body more. Right now it's set at 1200, should I increase it?? I will be running 3-4x per week plus weight training. I'm 130lbs and would like to hit 115-120. I'm only 5' 3" and fairly small build i guess? lol

    If someone wouldn't mind explaining to me why i should increase cals and if i should? I don't know if I'm giving you enough info or if that is a personal choice or something. I guess i'm just really lost and confused and I haven't been losing weight!!! I am getting my diet under control. I have hit 123lbs but i was working out a ton and eating next to nothing..I cannot do that, I KNOW darn well its so bad for me and i just gain the weight right back.

    HELP PLEASE!

    If you eat 1200 (which is low) and don't eat more you will be running on emply. If you burn 400 cals during a run that would only leave your body 800 (1200-400) calories for everyday functioning, which is no where near enough. I'm not sure what you weekly loss goal is set to but I would suggest no more than 1 lb/week ( I recommend 0.5lbs/week) and to eat your exercise calories back. Food if fuel and without it you cannot perform to the best of your ability. Not to mention with not eating enough and training from a half marathon, you will most likely burn more muscle than fat, as you body will hold on the fat as long as it can. Burning muscle will slow your metabolism down, and you can suffer from other health effects from not eating enough.
  • Missjenn98
    Missjenn98 Posts: 27
    I am also training for a half marathon and have found that if I don't increase my calories, I plateau. I can keep it around 1500-1600 on the days that I run but I'm also only running 3 days per week. I do weights, yoga, pilates and spinning on the other days. Legend has it right, buy a lot of bananas, the potassium helps with recovery for your leg muscles. I usually will eat peanut butter with a banana at the end of the day and I also drink milk (usually in my cereal).

    Play around with it, I'm supposed to eat 1270 (when I don't exercise) according to MFP but I don't lose that way, I need to eat to lose. On days I don't run I eat 1400 cals. I feel like I'm constantly eating but I eat small amounts all day long.

    Good luck and enjoy the training as much as the run itself! It's a very rewarding accomplishment when you finish!
  • lesliefoste
    lesliefoste Posts: 137 Member
    Are you sure that 120 is a healthy weight for you? Your body will automatically slow down (or stop) the weight loss when you get to where you should be. Maybe you should ask your doctor for a not-biased-by-the-bikini-you-want-to-buy-for-your-honeymoon opinion? :)

    And yes, if you up your exercise, you should also up your calories, like legend1973 said. If your body thinks it's starving (your calories are already really low) it will go into survival mode, and hold on to every calorie that it possibly can.
  • jrlitt76
    jrlitt76 Posts: 52
    the way I understand it is that this calorie tracker is set at 1200 and is the bare minimum you need to function and still lose weight, when you add exercise to that, you 'earn' calories to make sure you still consume the 1200 as to not end up in starvation mode, for example, a day with no exercise you would consume your straight 1200, say day 2 you burn 500 calories in a workout, you would add those cals to your 1200 (1200 + 500 = 1700) because you still burned the 500 to reach 1200. if you dont you would have only given your body 500 cals to function on for the day and will result in starvation mode... meanign no weight loss. does that make sense? I have heard some people cut the difference, eat half of their exercise cals to lose more, I am not sure how safe that is though. I know you have to have at least the 1200 cals to get through a day without feeling fatiqued or sluggish, plus you want to have enough energy to get through your next work out.
  • ash15nicole
    ash15nicole Posts: 131
    Wow everyone is SOO helpful!!! THANK YOU for all that info. I understand now. I will be increasing my cals and probably set my weight loss for 0.5-1lb/week since I don't have too much to lose. As far as if I think 120 is a healthy weight...I know my BMI at 120 is in healthy weight range for me, and I am carrying fat around my mid section which I know is not good for my health so that's where I need to lose. Like I said, I'm short and fairly small build so for myself 130lbs is too much. I will ask a doc though!

    Thanks again everyone! Now I just need to get accustomed to eating more cals but healthy cals!!
  • Mollydolly10
    Mollydolly10 Posts: 431 Member
    I'm an inch taller and I'm 115, 120 is NOT unhealthy, definitely a reasonable goal :):)
  • ash15nicole
    ash15nicole Posts: 131
    I'm an inch taller and I'm 115, 120 is NOT unhealthy, definitely a reasonable goal :):)

    thank you for confirming!!! ideally I want to be 110-115 but I think 120 is a good goal for now :) You are so inspiring!!! :D
  • craek
    craek Posts: 201 Member
    120 is NOT unhealthy for you at all! I am also 5'3...I am 125 right now and my goal is 115 but would be happy with 120. When I was 110 a few years ago, my doctors told me that was a healthy weight for me. Not to mention NOW I am more about muscle gain. You are all good:)
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