Eating exercise calories vs eating BMR- help and advice, ple

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pepperedmoth
pepperedmoth Posts: 37 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I DID look at the newbie threads, I promise, but didn't really find something that looked like my situation.

I'm a runner and I'm training for a half-marathon in the fall, then a full marathon in May. Right now I'm running six miles (around an hour for me) 4-5 days a week, and the mileage is only going up from here. By the end of all this I expect I'll be running 8 miles or so 3-4 days a week plus a long run on weekends of up to 20 miles. I have about 20 pounds to lose, and I'd like to lose between 1-2 pounds a week.

Here's my problem. Given the MASSIVE numbers of calories I burn in one day of running, MFP's recommended intake for me varies HUGELY on my exercise days versus my non-exercise days and it's frankly making me miserable. On the days I don't exercise (and I need those rest days to rebuild my muscles and keep up with my training), MFP says I should eat 1340 calories/day to lose 1 pound a week (I'm 'lightly active' other than running, as a nurse). I'm hungry, cranky, and fatigued eating that little since in general I'm hungrier on my rest days than on my exercise days. Then on days when I'm running, MFP wants me to eat so much that I sometimes have trouble hitting my intake- honestly, most days that I HAVE hit intake on a running day, it's because I had friends over or went out to eat and I had wine with dinner, a cocktail, whatever. Alcohol packs quite the caloric wallop.

I know everyone says, "eat your exercise calories, eat your exercise calories," etc, etc., but I'm thinking of just changing my activity level to "very active" and skip tracking my exercise. It just doesn't feel healthy to fluctuate my intake quite that much. I mean, imagine a 20-mile run day. I'd eat myself sick trying to cram in an extra 2000 calories . . . but the next day I'd be resting, and awfully hungry.

What do people think? Please advise. Thanks in advance!

Replies

  • sharonuk10
    sharonuk10 Posts: 277
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    Well I am not an avid runner as you are. But I do walk/jog 4 days a week and found I was absolutely starving on my rest days. Lacked energy and was rather grouchy. A couple of weeks ago I changed my calories to 2000 a day so that way on rest days I can have extra without going over. On days I do walk/jog I do track what I burn but do not eat them back. Though do sometimes go over on 2000 on those days depending on how hungry I am. Hope this helps.. OH and I dropped 2 pounds in one week when I changed my cals. So go figure on that.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,404 MFP Moderator
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    Here is what I do. I don't track exercise calories or anything but rather use the BMR and activity level approach. I constantly eat 2600 calories a day, give or take a hundred or so. For someone like you, worry more about your weekly calorie intake. If you should eat 2000 a day, it means 12000 a week and then back goof 2100 calories in a week and there should be your weight loss formula.

    Also, i would suggest throwing in some weight training. If you don't, you will lose muscle mass which will decrease your BMR over time. Keep in mind the below quote is about eating your exercise calories back so it might be off a little but most of it should help.


    Here is my perception on the matter. I actually use this site just to track my calories. I use a different method to determine how many calories I should be eating and suggest it to many. According to this website, if you use their calculations, if you workout and burn 300 calories, than you should eat an extra 300 calories that day because the site has already built in a deficit for you. The more you have to lose the bigger an acceptable deficit is but the closer your goal is, the smaller your deficit should be. This is because the more muscle you have, the lower the body fat, the more fuel you body needs to sustains it's functions. Also, a deficit is should never been more than 1000 calories a day (which would allow for 2 lbs per week loss) but it more acceptable to do 1 lb a week or 500 calorie deficit. Additionally, a woman should eat not less than 1200 net calories. This is the amount of calories after you workout. So if you burn 500 calories, you need at least 1700 calories; men should be no less than 1500-1700 after workout calories from my research. Also, a large part of these calories should be driven by protein based sources. The ammino acids in the protein is what stimulates muscle growth. The more muscle your body has, the more calories you burn at rest.

    My approach looks at Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR); BMR is the amount of calories you would burn if you slept 24 hours, for me, my BMR is 2000 calories. I then mutliply it by my Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE); how many calories I should eat to make up for daily activities (walking, working out, etc) to get a total number of calories. Because I do a program like p90x, I multiply my 2000 calories by 1.725 which equals 3400 calories. This amount of calories is the amount I need to eat to maintain weight. I back off 500 caloires as my deficit and eat 3000 calories in a day. This is the website I use.


    http://www.cordianet.com/calculator.htm

    I then go into a custom setup under my goals and set my daily intake for 3000 calories (well I will starting sunday, right now it's 2800 because I haven't officially started p90x until sunday). Additionally, to follow the p90x food guide, I set up custom ratio's. I do 45% of carbs, 35% of protein and 20% for fats. As I progress, I will lower protein and increase carbs. This method has worked for me and others I have worked with on the site. MFP just makes it simple for anyone to come on and lose weight. I take more of a scientific approach to weight loss. When I started I was 210 & 18% body fat. Now I am 189 and 12% body fat and hoping to break single digits within 3 months.

    Cliff notes: if you go by the sites calculations, you absolutely should eat back your workout calories as they preload the deficit. If you go by the more scientific method, you don't have to worry about it, it's already figured in your number.

    Good luck everyone.
  • AlsDonkBoxSquat
    AlsDonkBoxSquat Posts: 6,128 Member
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    i don't know what you're eating on your off days, but can you really push the veggies on those days to increase your volume without really impacting your calorie count? I agree with adding some weight training on your off days, which will increase your goal calories on those days accordingly.
  • ChantalGG
    ChantalGG Posts: 2,404 Member
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    Wooh! 3000 calories??? I want to eat that much. Another reason i need to start running more. lol
  • emily859
    emily859 Posts: 38
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    Hi! This is a thread from yesterday about calorie "zig zagging" to get over plateaus. While that's not your problem, necesarily, you may find it helpful in that our bodies are tremendously adaptive to varying amounts of caloric intake. Perhaps you can utilize this information to make the most out of your situation. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/280208-how-i-broke-my-month-long-plateau

    Additionally, the really cool thing about this concept is that it is the bottom line numbers for the week that matters (weekly calories in versus daily calories in) So, through the duration of your training, you can actually manage your intake more flexibly and still come out on top, possibly avoiding a plateau situation.

    From what I read online, I gather that body builders and figure competitors do this all the time.

    Also, just a side note of unsolicited advice, I ran a marathon back in 2009 and I actually gained weight (5 days after running it, with no running in between then, I lost 7 lbs). I wasn't on MFP back then, but I thought I would lose weight just because of the fact I was running 20-40 mpw. I tried to stick to a straight 1800 calories diet except for my long run days and on those days, I definitely didn't eat very clean (recovery meal: hot wings and beer... I know. haha).

    I know the old adage, a calorie is a calorie, but I don't agree with that. Especially for athletes; quality matters. I know every body is different, but for me, I think the harsh calorie restriction combined with inadequate nutrition in the first place, plus the crazy stress I put on my body kept me holding onto every lb and drop of water I could. So, for you, especially with your job, I would definitely consider erring on the side of more calories rather than less-- honoring your hunger when you are really hungry. Good luck!! :)
  • pepperedmoth
    pepperedmoth Posts: 37 Member
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    Wow, that was fast- thanks, everyone.

    Cordianet.com thinks that given my exercise level, I should eat 1620 calories a day to lose weight (my TDEE - 500). MFP set as "very active" gives me 1610. Sounds good to me- I find it reassuring that they give me the same number.

    Runner's World thinks I should eat a little more, around 1700 for their TDEE - 500, but whatever. If I eat a little over the MFP limit, I won't feel guilty.
  • pepperedmoth
    pepperedmoth Posts: 37 Member
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    Also, just a side note of unsolicited advice, I ran a marathon back in 2009 and I actually gained weight (5 days after running it, with no running in between then, I lost 7 lbs). I wasn't on MFP back then, but I thought I would lose weight just because of the fact I was running 20-40 mpw. I tried to stick to a straight 1800 calories diet except for my long run days and on those days, I definitely didn't eat very clean (recovery meal: hot wings and beer... I know. haha).

    It's apparently shockingly common to marathon without losing any weight. I live in fear of it! (Well, not really- I love being able to run more than I love losing weight, so if I had to pick . . . )

    My personal foible is using carbo-loading as an all too convenient excuse. ;-) ("Oh no, I HAVE to eat this enormous dish of spaghetti before my race tomorrow . . . I'm CARBO-LOADING!")

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