How much is too much exercise?

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kimialibby
kimialibby Posts: 5 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I do 5 strength training workouts & 4 cardio sessions a week and cannot get the scale to BUDGE!
I normally consume around 1500 calories a day. I feel like I am always hungry. I often justify my eating with the mentality that I need the energy to work out..... Does a faster metabolism require more calories???

Replies

  • mycrazyturtles
    mycrazyturtles Posts: 96
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    YES
  • elliecolorado
    elliecolorado Posts: 1,040
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    If you're always starving, that is your body telling you that you need more calories. Do you eat back your exercise calories?
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    If you are exercising that much you need to eat more. MFP does all the calculations for you enter your goals, when you exercise enter it, then eat all the calories MFP tells you.
  • dean0721
    dean0721 Posts: 143
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    Any reason in particular why the 5 strength training days and the 4 cardio? if its only for fitness or weight, try changing it to 5 cardio and 4 strength, the cardio will increase the heart rate and therefore the metabolism and following that, in a healthy diet, it eats the fat, strength training can be done in 2 ways, if you a increasing the muscle size then its quite possible that the the weight will stay the same or similar, as the level of fat is dissappearing, the increase in muscle mass is increasing, if you dropped the weights a little but did more repetitions, the muscle wont be increasing, it will be more so toning up, which again will decrease the levels of fat, but not increase (as much) in muscle mass..............

    I am by far no expert in this, this is my take on it, which may be correct or slightly outdated, but it has worked for me, now i run twice a week, elliptical train twice a week, and do the weights twice on there own individual days, but also following a cardio session on a weekend when i have more time. This regime has helped me lose 42lbs already in just over a year........

    Hope it helps........and good luck
  • thrsubcon3
    thrsubcon3 Posts: 7
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    There is no such thing is too much exercise. You body will tell you when it's done. If you get dizzy at all or stop sweating that means you are doing too much and need to drink water and consume calories.

    My suggestion is instead of simply concentrating on just calorie counting, since you are always hungry, concentrate on eating smaller meals constantly throughout the day while maintaining your 1500. That will boost up your metabolism a bit. If you don't constantly eat and you are hungry, your body will go into "shock" and start storing fat because it will think something is off. And it is right.

    My other suggestion is to buy foods that promote healthy eating. Sure you could eat McDonalds in moderation and still meet your calorie requirements, but you would be consuming much less food as well as pushing the limits of the other nutrition aspects aside from calories than if you went the veggie and lean proteins route. You should be able to find things you like to eat, that taste good, and have healthy nutrition as well. The issue is that eating healthier generally costs more money in the long run.
  • erin78d
    erin78d Posts: 1 Member
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    I'm no nutrition expert but from what I have been learning here are a few things to consider:
    1) Make sure you eat a high protein meal/snack (around 15g) within in hour of working out. This is important for muscle development. More muscle= more calories burned.
    2)Check out your body fat% and Muscle%. You could be gaining muscle and not losing fat right now. From what I understand, this is good thing.
    3) Try alternating the intensity of your workouts. I've been working with a great guy from Atlantic Beach Performance and he is constantly changing the exercise we do. This is helps keep the muscles guessing and having to work harder.
    4) Make sure you are getting enough rest in between workouts. Your body needs to recovery.

    Hope this help! Keep up the good work. ;)
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    There is no such thing is too much exercise. You body will tell you when it's done. If you get dizzy at all or stop sweating that means you are doing too much and need to drink water and consume calories.

    My suggestion is instead of simply concentrating on just calorie counting, since you are always hungry, concentrate on eating smaller meals constantly throughout the day while maintaining your 1500. That will boost up your metabolism a bit. If you don't constantly eat and you are hungry, your body will go into "shock" and start storing fat because it will think something is off. And it is right.

    My other suggestion is to buy foods that promote healthy eating. Sure you could eat McDonalds in moderation and still meet your calorie requirements, but you would be consuming much less food as well as pushing the limits of the other nutrition aspects aside from calories than if you went the veggie and lean proteins route. You should be able to find things you like to eat, that taste good, and have healthy nutrition as well. The issue is that eating healthier generally costs more money in the long run.

    Yes there is such a thing as too much exercise. Over-training can actually cause muscle deterioration, most of these effects can be countered by an increase in caloric intake, but your muscles still need rest to repair themselves. Rest is just as if not more important for muscle growth and strength, then the actual exercise.
  • kellybelly113
    kellybelly113 Posts: 60 Member
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    I was also wondering how much is too much. This week I've gone over my goal exercise minutes per week and calories per week, so does that mean I'll loose more? I do eat the calories, but I just noticed it this week, so I"m not sure of the effect quite yet.
  • allie_00
    allie_00 Posts: 73
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    It's my understanding that there's no such thing as too much cardio. You can go overboard with strength training which means that your muscles are fatigued. My advice would be if you want to hit the gym that much, do more cardio than weights and make sure that you're switching up your workouts so that you're giving other muscle groups time to repair (i.e. legs on Monday, arms on Tuesday, etc)
  • TamDTam
    TamDTam Posts: 115
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    There is no such thing is too much exercise.

    yes there is
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
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    As one of the previous posters mentioned, it might be the quality of the food you're eating that's the problem. Are you getting a good mix of carbs and proteins and eating mostly whole foods or are you using your calories up with processed junk and lots of simple carbs that are burning away too quickly to keep you full? I'm a big fan of eating as much protein as possible because it keeps me full overall - just about every meal has a fair portion and I very rarely have that "so hungry I could eat a horse" feeling even with an hour of fairly vigorous exercise daily.
    Maybe talk to a nutritionist?

    Also, keep in mind that if you're doing that much strength training, you may be retaining a bit of water as the muscles repair. Make sure you're getting plenty of water, especially after a hard workout. And watch your sodium...

    Good luck!!!
  • Mayor_West
    Mayor_West Posts: 246 Member
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    It's my understanding that there's no such thing as too much cardio. You can go overboard with strength training which means that your muscles are fatigued. My advice would be if you want to hit the gym that much, do more cardio than weights and make sure that you're switching up your workouts so that you're giving other muscle groups time to repair (i.e. legs on Monday, arms on Tuesday, etc)

    Nope, too much cardio can be harmful as well.

    http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/food_coach&id=6977663

    http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/betteru23.htm
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    It's my understanding that there's no such thing as too much cardio. You can go overboard with strength training which means that your muscles are fatigued. My advice would be if you want to hit the gym that much, do more cardio than weights and make sure that you're switching up your workouts so that you're giving other muscle groups time to repair (i.e. legs on Monday, arms on Tuesday, etc)

    FYI: Too much cardio in long durations can cause you to lose muscle. Ever see a marathon runner with large muscles? I know I have not, usually they are very skinny.
  • allie_00
    allie_00 Posts: 73
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    Perhaps I should have rephrased my comment. Obviously we need rest days but I'm just talking from personal experience here. You know your own body.
  • scottb81
    scottb81 Posts: 2,538 Member
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    Too much is any amount you cannot recover from before the next workout. For an unfit person, this is very little. For a fit person it is a whole lot more. Nobody can answer this for you. You have to monitor yourself for the symptoms of inadequate recovery.
  • rockabyesarojane
    rockabyesarojane Posts: 471
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    yes there is. try giving yourself a rest day twice a week. like sunday and thursday or something. and perhaps mix up the calories or really make sure that on your workout days you are very careful to eat back those exercise calories. it is SO important. especially if you're body is saying "HEY. feed me please." you should listen. just make sure its healthy stuff.

    GOOD LUCK TO YOU!

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