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2015-11-24 4:54 PM

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Subject: Need more calories
Hey everyone

I need more calories. Based on whatever science I read I need at least 2,700 (3,000 ideally). I barely make it to 2,000. Barely! Yesterday I had a little over 1K, today so far I am at 1,400 (I use myfitnesspal to track it approximately).

Any good tips on foods/meals rich in calories that I can add or have as snack at work?
Ask me any diet-specific questions. i was not sure what to include with this post, so am open for questions.

(I read Michael Phelps gets around 8,000 daily. Even though I am not into that much, I am sooooo wondering what he is eating to make up the 8K!!!)

Thanks a lot!
Mary

Edited by marysia83 2015-11-24 4:55 PM


2015-11-24 5:03 PM
in reply to: marysia83

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Subject: RE: Need more calories


are you losing weight ?

2015-11-24 6:25 PM
in reply to: marysia83

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Subject: RE: Need more calories
Whole-milk yogurt with fruit and homemade granola with almonds is my go-to quick, calorie-dense meal.
2015-11-24 9:50 PM
in reply to: 0

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Subject: RE: Need more calories
Originally posted by marcag



are you losing weight ?




Nope, same level for months. Actually, I think I gained around 4 pounds in the last month. Does it matter?
Mary

Edited by marysia83 2015-11-24 9:52 PM
2015-11-24 9:53 PM
in reply to: martymo

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1731
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Subject: RE: Need more calories
Originally posted by martymo

Whole-milk yogurt with fruit and homemade granola with almonds is my go-to quick, calorie-dense meal.


I used to have it for breakfast and it actually was a great start for the day. I need to go back to that habit. Thanks!
Mary
2015-11-24 10:32 PM
in reply to: marysia83

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Subject: RE: Need more calories

Why do you think you need to add calories?  If you are not losing weight, do you feel like you lack energy?  If not,I wouldn't worry to much about it.  When you take in 1,000 calories, what kind of food makes that up?  Must be a lot of fruits and veggies.



2015-11-24 11:57 PM
in reply to: popsracer

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Subject: RE: Need more calories

Originally posted by popsracer

Why do you think you need to add calories?  If you are not losing weight, do you feel like you lack energy?  If not,I wouldn't worry to much about it.  When you take in 1,000 calories, what kind of food makes that up?  Must be a lot of fruits and veggies.

Had the same thoughts.

2015-11-25 4:41 AM
in reply to: marysia83

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Subject: RE: Need more calories
Originally posted by marysia83

Originally posted by marcag



are you losing weight ?




Nope, same level for months. Actually, I think I gained around 4 pounds in the last month. Does it matter?
Mary


If you were really 1300 calories short (2700-1400) you would be losing about 2lbs per week.

There is something wrong with your numbers. You either don't need 2700 or you are consuming more than 1400.

How talll are you, how much do you weigh and how old are you ?
2015-11-25 5:52 AM
in reply to: marysia83

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Subject: RE: Need more calories
Something doesn't compute--either your calculation of calories in or out is wrong. I guess it is possible that you could be chronically taking in too few calories and your metabolism has slowed down to deal with that--supposedly that happens with women who under-eat. But I'd think you would notice things like lack of energy, having trouble completing workouts, irregular periods, frequent illnesses and injury, etc.

If you are feeling tired or losing weight, then definitely you do need more calories. To me, 1400 sounds really low for a healthy women exercising regularly, even if she's very petite. I have never counted calories, but some of the workout logging I've done gives me an estimate--with 1-2 hours a day of fairly intense training, it usually says I need something in the range of 2500-3000 calories, more if it's a really long day like HIM bricks. I'm 115-120 pounds, so it's not like there's a whole lot of me to maintain, but I would probably die at 1400 calories! If that is for real, you need to eat more, even without considering your activity level.

My issue is simply having enough time to eat to replace the calories I need, when I need them.... At times my work schedule leaves me 15 minutes or less to eat. Then one just has to get strategic about what goes in. Basically the opposite of someone on a diet. Forget anything that takes too much time to chew. I'm going for the most calorie-dense food I can get into myself quickly that's still healthy. In my case that means an intake of healthy fats that's higher than many people's--nuts, nut butter, coconut, a generous dose of olive oil in my salads, stir-fries, and pastas, avocado. Also, if time is limited, I avoid "empty" calories that take a lot of time to eat, don't fill me up, and/or have little nutritional value (distressingly, Vietnamese food has a lot of these, probably one reason people eating the traditional diet tend to be thin) like lettuce, cucumber, rice noodles, celery. Go for whole grains, meat, fish, eggs, or veggie protein sources (beans, tofu, etc.), veggies with some more nutritional oomph like carrots, broccoli, or zucchini. If still hungry, snack on nuts--very portable, not too conspicuous in an office or at meetings, and full of protein and healthy fat.
2015-11-25 6:43 AM
in reply to: marcag

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Subject: RE: Need more calories
Originally posted by marcag

Originally posted by marysia83

Originally posted by marcag



are you losing weight ?




Nope, same level for months. Actually, I think I gained around 4 pounds in the last month. Does it matter?
Mary


If you were really 1300 calories short (2700-1400) you would be losing about 2lbs per week.

There is something wrong with your numbers. You either don't need 2700 or you are consuming more than 1400.

How talll are you, how much do you weigh and how old are you ?



Bingo!!! ^^

Counting calories is fuzzy science at best, ignore it. use the scale and the mirror instead. If your not losing weight your not short on calories.
2015-11-25 6:43 AM
in reply to: marcag

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Exton, PA
Subject: RE: Need more calories
Originally posted by marcag

Originally posted by marysia83

Originally posted by marcag



are you losing weight ?




Nope, same level for months. Actually, I think I gained around 4 pounds in the last month. Does it matter?
Mary


If you were really 1300 calories short (2700-1400) you would be losing about 2lbs per week.

There is something wrong with your numbers. You either don't need 2700 or you are consuming more than 1400.

How talll are you, how much do you weigh and how old are you ?



Bingo!!! ^^

Counting calories is fuzzy science at best, ignore it. use the scale and the mirror instead. If your not losing weight your not short on calories.


2015-11-25 7:16 AM
in reply to: mike761

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Subject: RE: Need more calories
Actually I think it is possible....don't have the source but my understanding is there is a metabolic slowdown that happens, especially in women, when they are chronically short on calories, and some women may be seriously under-fueling without losing weight. But that would cause other health issues and interfere with effective training and recovery, particularly if we are talking about a very active woman actually eating only 1400 calories a day. There is probably an article about this on the BT site--just have too much to do right now to go find it.
2015-11-25 8:17 AM
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Subject: RE: Need more calories
Originally posted by Hot Runner

Actually I think it is possible....don't have the source but my understanding is there is a metabolic slowdown that happens, especially in women, when they are chronically short on calories, and some women may be seriously under-fueling without losing weight. But that would cause other health issues and interfere with effective training and recovery, particularly if we are talking about a very active woman actually eating only 1400 calories a day. There is probably an article about this on the BT site--just have too much to do right now to go find it.



yes, you can starve yourself, bring your metabolic rate to a crawl and be hurting yourself and not losing weight.

BUT, if you are using an app to tell you how much to eat or not eat without knowing the proper underlying numbers you are heading for trouble. 3000 calories is a lot of calories for some women. You have to be using proper parameters if you want to following these apps.




Edited by marcag 2015-11-25 8:18 AM
2015-11-25 8:51 AM
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Subject: RE: Need more calories
Weight is more complex than calories in/out. You look young, but I think you need less calories as you age.

I'm also wondering why you think you need more calories. The best thing to do is listen to your body, if you are satisfied on less calories, good for you. Less calories is supposed to be good for longer life.

Unless you have an eating disorder, or as I've overeaten for so long I can't always trust hunger as a guide, just don't stuff food in because you are shooting for a number. If you're gaining weight you are eating enough, again unless you have food issues. Do you have a history of over-restricting calories?
You look fit and its' all about a healthy body and kick race times.

Mitzi

Edited by MuscleMomma 2015-11-25 8:54 AM
2015-11-25 9:06 AM
in reply to: marysia83

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Denver, Colorado
Subject: RE: Need more calories
Hi everyone,
thank you sooo much for your feedback, I am glad I started from posting it here. Some facts:
I am 32 years old, weight: 145 lbs, height: 5'9''

The 2,700-3,000 number I got from some calculations, the BMI formula, or something like that... I checked in few places and all of them showed the same number/range, therefore, I was confident this should be my goal.
I admit, I am not tracking my calories intake long enough to have accurate data, and after trying to remember my last couple of weeks, my breakfasts have been weaker, if that matters.
The reason I found it concerning was that I felt lack of energy, especially with swimming. It surprised me, because during spring I was swimming every day, Mon-Fri, similar distances/times, and it felt great. Last couple of weeks feels like it's my first day of swimming and I have to do marathon in water. It could be a combination of things, but calories was the first one that came to my mind.
I feel hungry when I go to bed. But I am usually to lazy to eat at that point, as all I want to do is just hug my pillow and fall asleep. I probably should listen to my body and if it feels hungry, go feed it.

I searched through older BT posts and found similar discussions. One with Phelps' one day sample (he eats 10,000 calories/day) and omg... it would take me all day to eat that (I just found it interesting, I have no interest in 10k calories. nor the budget...)

It's great to know how loosing/not loosing weight is an indication - thanks for pointing that out.
I will just continue tracking my calories - it costs me nothing. And add some nuts and stuff here and there.
Mary
2015-11-25 11:22 AM
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Subject: RE: Need more calories
If you are gaining weight, you don't need more calories. Full stop.
If you try to increase your calories you will gain more weight.

Your calculations of calories in/calories out must be off. How do you get 2700-3000? I mean, what numbers did you actually put into the calculator? I doubt you need more than about 2200 or so average.

p.s. Yes, there is such a thing as someone eating too little and still not losing weight, if you get into "starvation mode" and your metabolism slows down dramatically. However, you don't gain 4 pounds in a month if you are in starvation mode.

Edited by jennifer_runs 2015-11-25 11:24 AM


2015-11-25 11:43 AM
in reply to: jennifer_runs

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Subject: RE: Need more calories
By the way- the calculators I'm looking at (like this one http://www.calculator.net/calorie-calculator.html?ctype=standard&ca... give 1700 calories per day for you before you figure in exercise. You shouldn't use the activity levels in those calculators- it's better to add your exercise to MyFitnessPal and let it figure it in. But also keep in mind that many of these calculators over-estimate calories burned from activity (and you might also be mis-calculating your food calories).
2015-11-25 12:13 PM
in reply to: marysia83

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Subject: RE: Need more calories

Mary here is my experience (n=1), I am about your size, slightly shorter, slightly lighter.  After my marathon I was a bit... fluffier than I wanted to be so I used Livestrong's "MyPlate" app.  It had me set at 1653 calories per day, not including training calories, to lose one pound a week.  I usually tried to hit that number so I offset any training calories out by taking in the calories to compensate. The 1600ish was a good number and I did lose about a pound a week.  In order to determine my training calories  I averaged what strava, BT and Garmin said my training was worth, then I added that to the 1600 to come up with my calories to consume on a given day. Sometimes my "net" calories were in the 1100 to 1400 range if I had a long run and didn't eat as much but, generally, netting 1600 got me where I wanted to be.  That being said, I'm guessing that mainintaing would maybe only require 400 more per day, plus replenishing training calories.

As for calorie dense, healthy foods? Avocado is my fave!!!! 

2015-11-25 12:21 PM
in reply to: rrrunner

Subject: RE: Need more calories
If you are worn out all of sudden, maybe you should see a doctor. Your body might be telling you something
2015-11-25 10:45 PM
in reply to: Puppetmaster

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Subject: RE: Need more calories
Weird, I went on the calorie calculator and it gave me about 1400 cal. for sedentary days. That makes sense. Then it said 970 cals to lose a pound a week! Seems too low, might be because of my age? 56 yr old female.

When I went LC/HP I was maintaining about 110-1200/day and losing weight.
2015-11-26 5:11 AM
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Subject: RE: Need more calories
Originally posted by MuscleMomma

Weird, I went on the calorie calculator and it gave me about 1400 cal. for sedentary days. That makes sense. Then it said 970 cals to lose a pound a week! Seems too low, might be because of my age? 56 yr old female.

When I went LC/HP I was maintaining about 110-1200/day and losing weight.


Actually that does make some sense. That 1400 is probably what they call your basal metabolic rate. These are the calories to keep your body functioning. If you lied on the couch all day, you would still burn these 1400 calories. Reality is you probably also burn 200-300 by walking around, doing laundry....

The 970 also makes sense. You need to burn about 3500 calories in order to lose 1 pound. Doing that over 1 week is about 500calories per day. You don't want a bigger deficit than that or else your body things it's being started. So the 970 is close to 1400-500+calories just moving around

So this person not losing weight would be allowed 1400 calories
If they want to lose weight, it's now 970 if they are moving around minimally
If they ride their bike for an hour, say they burn another 400, so now they are allowed to about 1400 and will lose a lb per week.

Again these are very rough numbers. Two 45 year olds, same weight, same height may have different metabolic rates. MyFitnessPal allows you to try targets and see what happens. Once you've zero'd in on a 'deficit', you just follow it and soon enough you get used to it without the app.

You are right in a previous comment, it's not all about calories in, calories out. But for weight loss it's 99% that.

What you eat, when you eat it...will be a factor in your ability to preserve/build muscle. It will cause your blood sugar to spike/crash which will make you want to eat more and screw up your calories in. It will make you lethargic and unable to do your workouts and will tell you to eat more and screw up your calories in. Food composition and timing is very important. For example one of the key benefit of the LCHF and LCHP is your blood sugar is more stable and you feel less often hungry so you do actually consume less calories. But there are theoretical drawbacks as well and this is why you will never be able to get people to agree on diet.

I actually like myFitnessPal because it keeps me honest in how much I am really consuming.



Edited by marcag 2015-11-26 5:14 AM


2015-11-26 8:35 AM
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Subject: RE: Need more calories

The idea of "starvation mode" that most people reference is incorrect.  If you don't eat enough, and your body enters such a state, weight loss won't stop.  It'll continue, but at a slower rate, you'll likely be deficient in some essential nutrients, causing various dysfunctions, and you'll feel like garbage.  Plus, more of the weight lost will come from lean tissue, and less from adipose tissue (fat) than desired.

In other words, if you're not losing weight, and you've actually gained a little, you're not in "starvation mode".  The fatigue is likely the result of either a different deficiency (macro balance or micronutrient short fall), or inadequate recovery for the amount of training you're doing.  I'd first try to increase sleep and/or reduce training stress for a week or so to see if energy levels increase.  If that doesn't help, then dig deeper into nutrition.  If nothing is obvious there, then consider a visit to your doctor for a full blood workup of the usual suspects - mono, thyroid, B and D vitamins, iron, etc.

Nutrition is much more complicated than simple estimates of calories in versus calories out, in part because what we eat can affect the calories we burn, and it's difficult to know with any degree of confidence what we actually consume, so they're both moving targets.  However, at the end of the day, calories in versus calories out is what is going to determine changes in total body mass.  An excess is going to cause an increase, and a deficit is going to cause a decrease.  How those excesses and deficits are achieved combined with an individual's physiology is what is going to determine how we feel and what happens to body composition as weight is gained or lost.

 



Edited by TriMyBest 2015-11-26 8:51 AM
2015-11-26 3:43 PM
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Subject: RE: Need more calories

Mary - i would recommend getting your blood test to get your vitamin and mineral levels checked. For me, when I am training I seem to get low on B12 and my iron become borderline. You won't know unless you get a blood test. Highly recommend. 

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