Big exercise and big calories

conway3
conway3 Posts: 8
edited September 29 in Fitness and Exercise
Do the calorie computations work when you have significant amounts of exercise?

It seems that when I am in the mode of exercising moderately (few hundred calories burned) and add this to my daily total, all is good. But when I do a significant amount of exercise like the 60+ mile bike ride I have planned for today, not only can I not eat all of the calories I will burn, but to do so seems unhealthy and I would gain weight.

60 miles / 18mph = 3.34 hours (200 min) = 3878 calories burned. Add this to my daily intake of 1400 calories = 5278 calories for the day. This means after my ride, I can eat two Dominoes peperoni pizzas and still have room for beer. I'm using this food for illustration, I would not eat this but my point is that it seems that even when I exercise at this level, I still need to carefully watch what I eat.

It there more to consider besides calories in vs calories consumed?

Replies

  • karleen
    karleen Posts: 260
    well, considering you probably dont bike 60 miles every single day i dont think you have to eat back all those calories! thats more for general use. just my thoughts!
  • Rae6503
    Rae6503 Posts: 6,294 Member
    Yeah, I wouldn't eat ALL the calories, but certainly might have one slice of pizza and a one beer....
  • CaseyDiane
    CaseyDiane Posts: 22
    I talked to my trainer about this and she said to eat only the amount of calories allotted per day and NOT to eat the exercise calories. However she did say that if you are doing huge amount of exercise that you will need to eat more (but don't eat all your exercise calories) that day so that your body gets what it needs to function. She also said as I am sure you are aware...Everybody's body is different and you need to find what works for you...lots of trial and error will happen but ultimately if you stick with it you will figure out what is "right" for you. Good Luck!!
  • Chiqui74
    Chiqui74 Posts: 72 Member
    How are those calories calculated? Sounds like an awful lot for a 60 mile ride, even at 18+ mph.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    Once in a while, it's not going to hurt you to not eat them back. If you were doing that EVERY DAY, you'd need to eat a LOT of food every day.

    Dean Karnazes who did the Regis & Kelly Run Across America, reports that he ate 5000-7000 calories a day when he was running that.
  • juliapurpletoes
    juliapurpletoes Posts: 951 Member
    for a ride like that (I'm no expert here) wouldn't you need to carbo load before hand and then drink those carb drinks/goo while on the ride...?

    So if you did then you'd consume calories during the ride....
  • stormieweather
    stormieweather Posts: 2,549 Member
    My suggestion is to eat what your body signals it needs. If you find that you are starving, then you need to eat. If you have eaten adequately, and are no longer hungry, I wouldn't force it. I say this ONLY as it applies to the occasional, extreme burn due to major exercise. Learning to listen to our bodies is important to our ability to be fit and maintain a reasonable weight.

    Note: People who have mistreated their bodies by over or under eating are going to have confused signals for a significant period of time. They need to retrain their bodies to emit the proper signals (by eating adequately). Once you've done so, then it's perfectly ok to "listen to your body".
  • Chiqui74
    Chiqui74 Posts: 72 Member
    for a ride like that (I'm no expert here) wouldn't you need to carbo load before hand and then drink those carb drinks/goo while on the ride...?

    So if you did then you'd consume calories during the ride....

    Not necessarily. In the greater scheme of (cycling) things, 60 miles is not like say the equivalent of a marathon. If the OP is fuels throughout the ride, he'd be OK. No need to carbo load (which I don't believe does anything at any rate). He will need to eat during the ride but I'm sure he knows that :)

    OP, good luck on your ride!
  • Chiqui74
    Chiqui74 Posts: 72 Member
    Once in a while, it's not going to hurt you to not eat them back. If you were doing that EVERY DAY, you'd need to eat a LOT of food every day.

    Dean Karnazes who did the Regis & Kelly Run Across America, reports that he ate 5000-7000 calories a day when he was running that.

    Holy cow! I'd be hard-pressed to eat that much in a day. Yikes.
  • funkyspunky871
    funkyspunky871 Posts: 1,675 Member
    A lot of people have this problem. No, I don't think you should try and shove 5000 calories worth of food down your throat. :) But, I'd say you need to try your best to get 2500-3500 in. You could this by eating a few protein/builder bars. They can be around 300-400 calories. Also, you can try higher calorie foods like bananas, peanut butter, avocado, etc. Another tip is to cook your meals in olive oil or use olive oil as a dressing... And, of course, after a 60 mile ride like that, if you want some pizza or french fries or something you don't normally have, go for it!!
  • Kirsty_UK
    Kirsty_UK Posts: 964 Member
    TO add to everyone else's comments here, the mfp database isn't accurate. If you got a heart rate monitor and went with that it would be more accurate.

    But I'd agree with everyone else - it wont do you harm if you dont eat them all back, but if you were doing that every day, I think you're body would start to struggle. For example Eddie Izzard ate 5-600 cals a day when he was running 43 marathons in 51 days - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1213682/Eddie-Izzard-completes-mega-seven-week-marathon-blisters-blisters.html
  • MizzDoc
    MizzDoc Posts: 493 Member
    I struggle with this also as I usually play tennis twice a week and usually have calorie burns over 1200. It is hard for me to not only eat back all the calories on those days, but I feel like I "crash" on the other days when my calorie burns are around 300.

    My body wants more food even those on "low" burn days and I think it throws me (and my eating) out of whack. It is so frustrating! :mad:
  • conway3
    conway3 Posts: 8
    Yes. Exercise is not my issue. I trained for a 1/2 Ironman without losing weight. Now that I have set weight loss as my goal (and not the race training) I am struggling with eating the right amount of food. During the week, I will burn about 1,000 calories/day in exercise, but on the weekend easily double or triple that number.

    The calorie data comes from MFP exercise calculator for the cycling estimation. When I run, I use a Garmin forerunner with a HRM.
  • Chiqui74
    Chiqui74 Posts: 72 Member
    You can use the Garmin for cycling too. I do not have a cycling specific computer but use either the Garmin 405cx or the 310xt. Even if you don't use it as a GPS, you can still use it as a heart rate monitor.
  • Schwiggity
    Schwiggity Posts: 1,449 Member
    I'd say the estimations are just that, an estimation. So eat some of them. HRM is pretty accurate however. I'm not sure how you could not be hungry after a 60 mile bike ride, but I'm guessing since you've done so much training, you know the importance of post-race and post-training nutrition.
  • conway3
    conway3 Posts: 8
    You can use the Garmin for cycling too. I do not have a cycling specific computer but use either the Garmin 405cx or the 310xt. Even if you don't use it as a GPS, you can still use it as a heart rate monitor.

    It's supposed to work for swimming as well.
    My cycling computer just computes speed and averages. I think when I start seriously training for the fall races, I'll switch to the Garmin for cycling too just for the HRM feature.
  • conway3
    conway3 Posts: 8
    I'm not sure how you could not be hungry after a 60 mile bike ride, but I'm guessing since you've done so much training, you know the importance of post-race and post-training nutrition.

    I over-simplified this for the sake of discussion. I cannot go 3 hours at that pace without nutrition. I usually have a Clif bar and I also was not counting the calories in the Gatorade. (I do for my own purposes, but I didn't want to create a post that was so long, people would not read it :tongue: )
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