Over exercising and undereating

If you're using the MFP guidelines to gauge the amount of Calories gained through exercise be aware that they are a rough approximation. I generally only apply about half to 2/3 the Calories that MFP recommends for a given exercise - depending on how hard the exercise felt to me.

Really, though, let your body guide you. If you really have a 2500 Cal deficit, you'll be STARVING. If you keep it up, you'll start to feel listless the next day. You may have insomnia. (Personally, anything over about an 800 Cal deficit keeps me up all night until I eat.) If you're not experiencing these symptoms, you're probably overestimating your exercise calories burned.

However, if you find that you DO need those calories and are having trouble eating enough to get them raise the Calorie density of the foods your eating. Look at supplements like protein bars and drinks. Eat nuts and fats. (Notice that your macros go up as well when you add exercise, so you can eat more fat and still stay within guidelines.)

Could you give an example of how you've gotten to a deficit of 6000 calories in one day? That sounds like a lot of exercise.

I don't understand how you can burn that many calories... Es-plain, Lucy.

I don't understand how you can burn that many calories... Es-plain, Lucy.

LMBO ... exactly ... i guess not impossible ... but highly unlikely!

Could you give an example of how you've gotten to a deficit of 6000 calories in one day? That sounds like a lot of exercise.

^I'm curious about this too. 6000 seems insanely high. I would assume that you would be blacking out from lack of nutrition. I think you're calculations must be wrong somewhere along the line

So my recommended calorie intake for the day is 1500 but because I am so active I usually gain around 2500-4000 calories through exercise. Am I seriously supposed to eat that much? I've been losing weight steadily but I don't want to crash. I'm having problems some days just eating the 1500 especially since I forget to eat meals some days because I'm so busy. Is it bad to have a deficit of over 2500?

Unless you have a fitness-related job, I don't see how you can be too busy to eat, but not to work out that much :-\ One solution is to cut down on exercise time to make more time for eating.

There are also things you can add to meals to bulk up cals such as flaxseed, or nuts. Or even a few tablespoons of peanut butter should help.

I'd love to know what workouts you're doing though! I totally wouldn't mind having your problem :P

i was going to suggest opening your diary ... but i didnt want to be rude or snarky

...not to be the 'glass is half empty' type, but i highly doubt you burn over 2500 in any given workout session (unless it's marathon day, etc...).

ditto this ^^^

I tilled a eight foot by eight foot patch of garden (hoeing, shoveling, and watering) for 3 hours, mowed my lawn using an old fashioned hand mower for 2 hours, then edged it, and swept the walk. I then went to the gym and did 2 hours on the elliptical and 1 hour 15 mins doing water jogging with resistance weights.

Is that a regular day of activity for you? If so, I'd up my activity level on here to the maximum amount (if you haven't already) and just log the gym activities (ensuring you net at least 1,200 calories for the day, too). If this a one-off occurrence and you're 100 per cent sure you burned all 6,000 calories (by using an accurate heart rate monitor and not just the MFP database), then log it in and eat all the ice cream, peanut butter and cheese you can muster! Or send them to me... I'll eat them.

I tilled a eight foot by eight foot patch of garden (hoeing, shoveling, and watering) for 3 hours, mowed my lawn using an old fashioned hand mower for 2 hours, then edged it, and swept the walk. I then went to the gym and did 2 hours on the elliptical and 1 hour 15 mins doing water jogging with resistance weights.

Is that a regular day of activity for you? If so, I'd up my activity level on here to the maximum amount (if you haven't already) and just log the gym activities (ensuring you net at least 1,200 calories for the day, too). If this a one-off occurrence and you're 100 per cent sure you burned all 6,000 calories (by using an accurate heart rate monitor and not just the MFP database), then log it in and eat all the ice cream, peanut butter and cheese you can muster! Or send them to me... I'll eat them.

Jinx