Endurance Excercise (long)

cloveraz
cloveraz Posts: 332 Member
edited October 5 in Fitness and Exercise
So, on my days when I'm doing cardio exercise, now that my endurance is picking up, I tend to do an hour of Zumba, along with lap swimming or working out on the treadmill. I'm not so much doing it for the calorie burn, its more of a guilty pleasure...the thing is, MFP set my daily calorie intake around 1320, which for the most part, I can do...But, I'm still having a huge calorie deficit, due to the high calorie burn. I, usually, work out in the evening and don't eat supper till around 8ish sometimes even 10pm...I'll stay up till around 4 am or 3 am, to let the food digest....*my sleep schedule is way out of whack*....Sometimes after logging off for the day, I'll go back and eat a snack if i'm hungry and log it into my diary for the day, which adds calories, especially if i am under my daily calorie count. But, I'm finding it difficult to eat more at this stage of the game....Do, i give up the endurance exercises? I'll eat nuts and have protein shakes, and a banana to add calories, but this all messing with my head...HELP!

Replies

  • Little_Ms_
    Little_Ms_ Posts: 69
    Why don't you eat dinner earlier and then go to bed an hour or 2 afterwards?

    I eat early (around 6pm) with my kids and then I'm in bed by 10pm. Sometimes I work out after dinner but mostly it's morning or during the day.

    I do go to bed hungry sometimes, but I get a better number on the scale like that so it doesn't bother me.

    I'd suggest you try getting to bed at a better time, and then meals and exercise can fit into that.
  • world2c
    world2c Posts: 175 Member
    How much are your huge deficits and how often are you having them? I go through this sometimes when I run really long distances (over 10) or when I was training for my tri.... A couple of days I'd have about an excess of 400-600, but I'd address that by going over on my rest days or if I went slightly over on a smaller workout day. However, if every day you are under by 600 or more, you might want to re-adjust your eating habits earlier in the day - have a bigger breakfast or lunch or a small "dinner: around 4... and maybe a light snack when you get home.

    Not sure how wise it is to stay up to 3-4 a.m. on a regular basis, unless of course you have a job that accomodates this - meaning you don't start until noon.... If you're getting up and going at 7 or 8, you're going to wreak havoc on your body.
  • ArroganceInStep
    ArroganceInStep Posts: 6,239 Member
    Couple questions just to start:
    1) How to you measure calories burned for the various activities (ie. do you use an HRM, MFP values?)
    2) How do you measure the calorie count on the foods you eat (ie. do you weigh everything, is there anything you leave out?)

    What I'm getting at with this is that people in general are notoriously bad at accurately assessing their daily caloric intake and expenditure. Also, regardless of the accuracy of your measurements, they revolve around an estimate of the amount of calories you need in a day. Everyone is different so no forumla is going to fit you perfectly. Additionally, the more overweight a person is, the larger the calorie deficit they can tolerate without ill results (this is a generalization, some people have medical conditions where such stress would cause a problem, so be wary of that and obviously talk to a doctor if you can). Also, the better the accuracy with which you measure calorie intake and expenditure, the easier it is to make adjustments.

    I am NOT saying that you should eat a ton less calories and hurt your body, I'm saying remember that the numbers given are a starting point for you to go by. If you find yourself stalling on your weight loss goals for an extended period of time (weeks, not days) or you find yourself feeling sluggish and unable to complete your workouts effectively (again over time, not just once or twice) you can and should make slight adjustments to see if there is any improvement.

    If you're staying up until 3 or 4 in the morning just to let food digest...try going to sleep earlier. I'm not going to touch on the argument that you need a certain amount of time after eating before sleep (I personally don't think it's that big of a deal, but that's just my opinion from my own personal experience, if you want proof one way or the other google case-studies on it). However, I will say that the benefits you'll derive from a full, rested night's sleep far outweigh any gains from having 2 or 3 hours to digest food instead of 1 or 2.

    Finally, without knowing specifics about you or your routine, I would say not to give up exercise. I know when I do that, I always regret it. You may come back to working out 6 months down the road and be rudely awakened to the fact that all that endurance and strength you built up might be gone. There's a lot more to exercise than just losing weight. It can help to keep you healthy, happy, and feeling strong.

    Good luck!
  • goldfinger88
    goldfinger88 Posts: 686 Member
    I'm probably too much of a person for a set daily routine. My mother used to tease me about it. But, in your case, a decent fairly normal set routine might be a good idea. Just pretend you're in the military and start doing things on some semblance of a schedule. Somehow you've gotten out of whack. It could be emotional problems or personal problems but in all likelihood, things are a bit screwed up for you.

    I doubt anyone on this board is qualified to help you much. I know I'm not. But it sounds like you're exercising obsessively and are afraid of food. Long bouts of exercise is not especially good for you. After a certain point all the benefits go away and bad things start to happen. The human body is not designed for long runs or long workout sessions. The human body is designed by nature to run and play and work in spurts, sprints and eat when hungry and sleep when tired.
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