Caloric needs and burning during exercise for men and women

BuckeyeBlubber
BuckeyeBlubber Posts: 11
edited November 9 in Fitness and Exercise
My husband and I are both doing P90X (week 10). We noticed that during the same workouts, he burns roughly twice as much as me (I am not dogging it!). He is 6'4", 190 lbs with little fat. I am 5'7" and 159 lbs and am losing fat, but still have a few months to go. For example, we walked stairs at a dam this morning for 55 minutes. I burned 360 calories; he burned 760. This is according to our heart rate monitors we are wearing. Is this accurate?

MFP says that with eating calories back after exercise that I need around 1600 calories a day. After my husband enters his crazy calorie burning numbers, MFP says he needs to eat almost 3,000 calories a day! That seems high to us and my husband says there is no way he could put that much food in his body. He eats less than 2000 but it also seems like he is not gaining as much muscle, and I wonder if he needs to eat more calories.

Any insight? Thanks! We are baffled!

Replies

  • soccermom004
    soccermom004 Posts: 444 Member
    He probably does need the calories. Look for some healthy calorie dense foods. Chocolate mile, nut butters and nuts, or protein drinks or bars might be good.
  • LisaVAK
    LisaVAK Posts: 6
    Yes would say he needs to eat more calories as a 6ft 4" male! 2,500/3,000 is the minimum for an average lifestyle.
    My eldest son is 20 and an athlete, he has to consume 5/6,000 calories a day when training season starts. (He's 5ft 11 and weighs 13 stone!)
    Your husband will need more than he is eating especially if he is 'working out' and has an active lifestyle. More muscle mass means calories burn faster, so generally an average man has higher muscle mass than an average woman and therefore burn calories faster! Metabolic rate is different in men than women and also in people who are fit/unfit. The fitter you are, the faster calories burn basically!
  • scottb81
    scottb81 Posts: 2,538 Member
    If he is eating less than 2000 then he is not even eating enough to sustain his weight. I am 6' and 179 lbs and on days I work out eat 3000 calories and am still below what I burn. He needs to eat more. Peanuts or a peanut butter sandwich with honey tastes good, has lots of calories, and is a healthy food choice.
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