Cardio? is 1 hr in morning and 1 hr at night OK?

cwils35 · March 2013

I seem to read some conflicting things online, some saying minimum is an hour a day (3-6 days a week) and others claim after an hour you can cause thyroid or other problems. I have been exercising (usually cardio/running) around an hour in the morning (Jog 4-5 miles) and then go to the gym at night (raquetball, elliptical, or weights) and I feel better than I have in years. I am making sure to at least get a minimum of 1200 cals a day and usually around 1500-1700 of higher protien and some but low carbs.

In case it matters:
I am 6'3 and almost 240 pounds, my BMI is technically still obese (30.1 this morning)

I am just looking for some advise from you all to make sure I am staying healthy while I loose weight and not hurting myself.

Thanks!

Greenrun99 · March 2013

Your spending 2 hours in the gym a day and eating like someone that sits around watching tv all day. If your goal is to lose weight you may want to eat appropriately for your workouts, do more weight lifting instead of constant cardio.. Looking to keep lean muscle while losing weight and huge deficits don't help that cause.

MeeshyBW · March 2013

If it feels good and you are making sure you eat enough then there is absolutely nothing wrong with it.

Just make sure you are taking in enough nutrition for your body to grow.

My PT eats about 3500 calories a day and he is in the gym all day long. He is the fittest person I know. There is nothing wrong with staying active, you just gotta eat!

lizziebeth1028 · March 2013

I seem to read some conflicting things online, some saying minimum is an hour a day (3-6 days a week) and others claim after an hour you can cause thyroid or other problems. I have been exercising (usually cardio/running) around an hour in the morning (Jog 4-5 miles) and then go to the gym at night (raquetball, elliptical, or weights) and I feel better than I have in years. I am making sure to at least get a minimum of 1200 cals a day and usually around 1500-1700 of higher protien and some but low carbs.

In case it matters:
I am 6'3 and almost 240 pounds, my BMI is technically still obese (30.1 this morning)

I am just looking for some advise from you all to make sure I am staying healthy while I loose weight and not hurting myself.

Thanks!

You're not eating enough for your height and weight, you may feel great now but at some point down the road you may crash and burn. As far as 2 hours of exercise a day. If you have the time and you truly love doing that much...go for it. But for general all around fitness 2 hours is not necessary. A good efficient hour will do the trick.

moustache_flavored_lube · March 2013

It depends on your body, your goals, and your level of fitness. If you want to be a cardio endurance machine then 2 hours a day isn't crazy. For some people that will cause them to become overtrained.

You certainly can be very fit, and lose weight with much less time than that spend in the gym.

Do strength, up your intensity some days, and you will have big fitness gains without 120 minutes of cardio.

IRollC30 · March 2013

Up until very recently I was doing at least 1 hour of cardio every single day and only eating 1500 calories. I did this for about 2 years. At first I felt great, especially as the weight fell off, but then my weight loss slowed. Then, my energy level went down to nothing. No matter how much I slept and rested I was completely exhausted all of the time. I was beginning to get depressed and became very lazy (except for my exercising).

Then, about a month ago I decided I need to change. I decided to bump my calories up to 1800 and only exercise 30 minutes a day. Plus, now I'm making sure I eat all of my exercise calories. I haven't felt this good in a long time AND I've lost two pounds to boot.

I'll probably do this for another 6 months, just to be sure I don't gain any weight. Then I plan to increase my calories to 2000/day. But, I can't give up my exercise - it helps me sleep and keeps my knees from hurting (for some strange reason).

paxbfl · March 2013

I would encourage the lifting. If you're going to do that much cardio, you're going to lose weight. By lifting, you'll help avoid muscle-loss.

Listen to your body. If you're tired or sore, it's ok to skip the 2nd workout of the day. You don't want to burn out or get hurt, stop working out and gain the weight back.

I couldn't open your diary but make sure you're getting plenty of protein. After exercise, try to net out between your BMR and TDEE to safely lose weight. That's going to be quite a bit of food - (your BMR is probably 2150, your TDEE around 3500 or so), so you could probably eat 3,000 calories on days where you work out twice. Maybe 2500 on days you work out once. Eat quality carbs to fuel your workouts - whole grains, not sugary crap.

Stop looking at BMI, it's a useless number. If you want to track your progress get your body fat measured.

cwils35 · March 2013

First of all thanks for all the great responses. It is really nice to hear experience so I can avoid similar pitfalls.

paxbfl: Thank you! I dont know how to open my diary but your welcome to see it if you tell me how. I am eating good proteins I think: example breakfast: 9tbls egg whites with turkey sausage, lunch: fish or chicken on george foreman, applesauce, low carb tortilla or wheat thins. Snacks are often cheese sticks or beef jerky. Glad to hear BMI is useless because it has been frustrating reading about it. My body fat is 42% currently, when I got the fitbit aria smart scale (no clue if a scale is accurate) a few months ago it said I was 47% I think.

It seems like the general consensus is that it is OK if I up my calories a little and swap some cardio for more weights. My weight is dropping though, should I wait for my plateau before changing calories significantly?

Lastly who would you realistically meet with to discuss a diet and excessive plan, I talked to my general Dr. about it and he just kind-of fumbled for his BMI chart. The trainers at the gym are a little more extreme then I would care to be.

Thank you all for the advise!

paxbfl · March 2013

The food sounds good. Send me a friend request and then I should be able to see your diary. But it sounds like you're on the right track. How many calories are you eating?

I'm not sure how accurate the body fat scales are either. I know it's important that you're well-hydrated when you use them. But it should give you a general idea of your progress. Going from 47% to 42% is great. Keep it going!

During my loss, I was frequently under my BMR. (I'm 6'2, 45 years old, went from 250 to 208). I ate around 1,800 calories most days and burned at least 500 calories at the gym. My BMR was a little over 2,000 so I was pretty significantly under. Everyone told me that was "not sustainable" but I felt good - had plenty of energy, wasn't starving, etc. so I continued until I was at my goal weight.

So I won't tell you not to do it, only that it's "not sustainable" which means you can't do it forever. Give yourself a break if you need to - if you work out twice in one day and you're hungry, get something to eat. Don't make yourself miserable or sick - either of which could derail your long-term goals.

I also did (and still do) a "Free Day" where I rest and eat whatever I want. I think this might have helped boost my metabolism a bit. It definitely helps me stay on track as I don't feel so deprived. I can have my ice cream sundae on my free day if I want.

Good luck - hope that helps!

jacksonpt · March 2013

You're fine. If you're happen and feeling good, keep doing what you're doing.

cwils35 · March 2013

Thanks all. And added you, youll notice fridays I dont record much because it is free night.

Thanks all!!!

jkozoblozo · January 2016

Old post but saw this... you are fine. I used to work out in the morning for an hour then have 2-3 hour practice in the evening. Most people going to the gym aren't necessarily "athletes"... I'd probably up the cals a tad to maintain weight loss...but the training is a non-issue. Many runners I know frequently do 2 runs a day. Many also do 80-100 miles a week, plus some biking/swimming thrown in. You have to ramp up to that of course, but it def keeps you in shape. I know people in their 50s/60s who are ripped.

harrybananas · January 2016

Sounds about right. Keep doing your exercise and forget about the numbers. What matters most is how you feel, and as you said you haven't felt as great in years. You're on the right track if you ask me.

kshama2001 · January 2016

cwils35 wrote: »

I seem to read some conflicting things online, some saying minimum is an hour a day (3-6 days a week) and others claim after an hour you can cause thyroid or other problems. I have been exercising (usually cardio/running) around an hour in the morning (Jog 4-5 miles) and then go to the gym at night (raquetball, elliptical, or weights) and I feel better than I have in years. I am making sure to at least get a minimum of 1200 cals a day and usually around 1500-1700 of higher protien and some but low carbs.

In case it matters:
I am 6'3 and almost 240 pounds, my BMI is technically still obese (30.1 this morning)

I am just looking for some advise from you all to make sure I am staying healthy while I loose weight and not hurting myself.

Thanks!

You're a 6'3" 29 yo old male and you eat 1200 - 1700 calories per day? I'm female, shorter, and 20 years older and I eat 1700 calories per day (with exercise.) The minimum for males before exercise is 1500, and I'm sure that's for shorter men.

How much weight are you losing per week? If not a significant amount, your free Fridays may be undoing the deficit you worked hard for all week.

Also, if you're not weighing your food on a digital food scale, you're likely eating more than you think. This is very common.

Oy, just noticed this was a necro thread. Leaving my comments in case others are undereating.

TavistockToad · January 2016

Regardless of the amount of exercise, why are you eating so little????

paulandrachelk · January 2016

No

Cardio? is 1 hr in morning and 1 hr at night OK?

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