Did I eat enough for my workout?

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9/22/12 11:20 A

Always such helpful information from Spark members!

I think my range is 1200-1550 still because I am trying to reach my original goal set at the beginning of 2012 to reach my goal weight by the end of 2012. This may or may not happen, but I am going to work toward it until it becomes unrealistic then I will update my goal date to be further out again and move forward with a new goal if need be.

I have been losing weight without much exercise until now (sporadic at best) and I wanted to be sure that with the addition of regular exercise that I am still following the Sparkpeople recommendations and that I understand and enter my information correctly. Since it takes a calorie burn of 2000-3000 calories per week to trigger an increase in Sparkpeople recommendations then that is why mine did not change... my exercise plan of 5 days 20 min cardio + 2 days 20 min strength training only amounts to around 750 calories burned for the week.

Thanks!

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9/21/12 11:40 P

In coming up with an intake recommendation, Spark takes into account your Exercise Goals (averaged over the entire week). As long as your goals are reasonably in line with what you actually burn, no further adjustment should be necessary. If you do need to update your Exercise Goals, they are accessible from the LH side of the Start page.

For most people aiming at 2 lb per week rate of weight loss, it takes a calorie burn of 2000-3000 calories per week to trigger an increase in their recommended intake.

M@L

current weight: 178.0

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9/21/12 11:13 P

I just finished up with nearly two weeks of very heavy grunt work that if the calculations were right, I was burning an extra 1000-4000 calories per day. So for a few days I actually realized I needed more energy(fuel) and ate around 500 extra calories for those days. By all calculations, even the most conservative of them, I should have lost weight last week, but instead, I gained a couple lbs. I think mostly due to extra water and sodium, but still, I was surprised how my deficit was so high, yet no weight loss.

So this week I went back to eating at my high range and trying to keep my sodium near the high range, but not too far over it. I am now back to losing weight and will probably even lose those 2 lbs I gained last week too. So I'm not a big fan of eating more for workouts. If anything at all, I will eat at my high range, but still NOT over. It is just too easy for us to over estimate how hard we workout and under estimate our intake. And if you are learning anything here, you should learn that a simple cookie takes at least 10 minutes of high impact cardio to get rid of.

So make sure your plan is correct, but be careful of playing with extra food on workout dates.

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9/21/12 10:07 P

Hmm, normally I wouldn't be concerned about "fueling" for a 170 calorie workout (I'm guessing that's about a 1.5 mile walk?). However, you're exactly the same height as me, with a similar goal weight, and your calorie range seems REALLY low. Is this was SP calculated for you? I've never had a recommendation below about 1,650 as a minimum. Anyway, since your calorie range already seems very low for your frame size, I would proceed with caution, if I were you. One day of increased activity with a low intake won't be a problem, because the body is able to store about 2,000 calories of glycogen for energy at any given time, but could become a problem if it is chronic pattern. Make sure that your calorie burn for the week is accounted for in your profile settings, and don't eat too little.

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9/21/12 12:53 P

Thank you both for your feedback. I did need to update my fitness settings. They were still set to a lower activity level than I had been this week (but even after doing so it did not affect my nutrition settings). I had not been following an exercise schedule, but now I think if I can maintain this schedule and incorporate a little strength training 2 days a week then I will be doing great! As far the reading.. I am sure there are spark people articles. I will look to see or someone else reading this thread may find something and post. Thanks to all.

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9/21/12 12:10 P

If you've set your exercise goals with the number of times per week that you're working out, the extra calories required to eat are already taken into account there. Be HONEST about how many times you're planning to work out and don't update an extra workout in the week until you do it consistently instead of just an extra one.

I personally find that this is working for me, however if I have an extra workout, I do find that I need a bit more food. Listen to your body. Make sure you're not just thirsty. And if you are hungry, reach for something healthy, preferably protein/fat not carbs since it will last longer.

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9/21/12 9:48 A

I have just started my weight loss journey. I haven't started a workout regimen yet. I am trying different things to see how I like them and see how it works. How does the eat enough to work out thing work? I am supposed to eat between 1600-1900 calories, and that is even hard for me without going back to my bad habits. I want to do this right, and I don't want to hurt myself because I'm uneducated...is there any reading about this?

And thanks, you are a great motivator for me. And really woke me up on my next goal of working out.

current weight: 260.0

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9/21/12 9:34 A

I got back into my routine of walking on the treadmill this entire week! Hooray!
Keeping in mind that my range for calories is still 1200-1550 calories:

If my workout yesterday was approximately 170 calories burned & it also estimated 57 fat grams burned...
...then did my daily consumption of 1360 calories/191g carbs/38g fat/67g protein properly fuel my workout?

I felt good. I wasn't hungry or anything.. until I woke up this morning. ;-)
I just want to make sure that I do not compromise my weight loss by not eating enough for the amount burned.

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