How many calories do you eat?
- By Lora
- 29 January, 2013
- 18 Comments
Yesterday I finished reading Hansons Marathon Method. Despite already starting the training plan, I knew there were some other good tidbits in the book that would be really helpful as I kick start my training into the next gear.
Speaking of kick starting my training into the next gear, this happened this morning:
Yep, the original Garmin from the Dark Ages.
Just kidding.
I used to run with this regularly but after moving to NYC, I ditched it to the side as a) it was harder to find the GPS signal in the city and park and b) impatience set in (as well as limited time) so I figured running without was just as good.
So happy to be reunited. But more on that later.
I was merrily reading along when I had to do a doubletake to this information:
WAIT, what? I usually aim to eat around 1,500 calories a day and this is telling me I need to eat 2,100 calories a day. Could this be why I’ve been gaining weight instead of losing? If you’re not familiar with nutrition, you probably think that statement is the craziest thing you’ve ever heard.
Long story short: if you aren’t eating enough calories, basically your body goes into starvation mode to build up fat… hence why you gain weight even though you are eating less.
I feel like I was in much better shape when we lived in Florida. I trained slightly harder but didn’t walk as much as I do in NYC so I guess you could say it evens itself out. At the same time, I was obsessed with eating (and had the time to be). I had a very strict eating schedule and made sure to eat snacks at specified times throughout the day. I loved my snacks.
Now I’m lucky to eat lunch before 2 p.m. And well, snacks just don’t exist.
Maybe this is my problem? I seriously want to look into a trip to the nutritionist to see what a professional has to say.
Anyways, today kicked off day 2 of my fancy-schmancy new training plan.
Since I don’t have easy access to a track (let’s not talk about it), C said running along the outside of the park would be good… and it really was! No traffic lights, and while there is a little bit of a slope, it’s mostly flat. Of course, today is the one day of the winter (so far) that it’s been slippery out and one section was super bad because it had some sort of fancy brick.
I did 3 x mile (1600m) repeats + 600m rest in between. My times for the repeats:
7:25
7:43
7:32
According to the book this is a little slower than I should be at. However, considering this is my first official speed workout in TWO years, I’ll take it. It felt really good to be pushing myself. Can’t wait til next Tuesday!
How many calories do you eat a day, on average?
City dwellers, any recommendations for a good Garmin/GPS for running? Mine takes for-ev-er to find the GPS satellite (it found it ~25 minutes into my workout this morning).
Copyright © 2013
Great post! I’m still trying to find my “happy number” as far as calorie intake. Based on that snapshot I should be eating at least 2,000 calories a day, which I NEVER do. I usually eat around 1,800 calories on days when I work out. Maybe I should try eating more…
I for one blame all those weight loss articles that say “you have to create a deficit to lose weight.” That’s why you have people in a rush to lose weight who go, “if cutting 500 calories is good, cutting more must be better!” It’s so weird for me to associate EATING with WEIGHT LOSS but I guess it will have to be.
Great job on the repeats! I hate doing intervals because all I can think about is how much time/distance I have left. I dream of running speeds like that!
2100 calories is a lot! I bet that I would eat close to that on a long run day though if I were to track everything I eat. Normally I am in the 1300-1600 range too.
Ha, that’s the same Garmin I have! Maybe you recommended it long ago..? Someone did, so I’m not sure. Anyway, it worked alright in S. Korea, but it struggles even more for a signal in Austin.. strange. I still use it for the time, and sometimes will pair it with mapmyrun.com if I want more specific times.
So.. body weight x 16-20? If so, it calculates to 2250 calories which sounds like a lot. However, if you should be eating 2100 calories then it would make sense since you are much more petite than I am
I used to be WAY more obsessed with what I ate and it got to be so time consuming and stressful. I am mindful now with the obvious splurges. It helps my mind to have given up the calorie counting.
With that said, I also want to visit a nutritionist to see if I am getting ample nutrients and to see if I am missing anything in my diet. Most insurances cover it as a “specialist” because they are promoting healthy living!!
I am comfortable eating more then 1400 calories. I think that anything less then 1300, I get all sorts of cranky. 2100 is just too much unless I am drinking my calories
I hear you on the getting cranky part… I get SO crabby if I don't have enough calories in me!
Hi Lora! I live in Brooklyn (Brooklyn Heights) and run through all the neighboring hoods and up to the Park. My Garmin 210 never has a problem getting & keeping a signal. It does take a little longer to locate the satellite (up to a minute) than if I am out of the city, but it does find it. That calorie formula seems high for me too – over 2400 cals and that’s @ 16 cal/lb. I don’t keep track of my calories, but I do pay attention to macronutrients and try to make sure I’m eating the right carb/protein/fat ratio (for me) and try to avoid empty calories as much as possible, so I would be surprised if I am eating that many each day…. Now I’m really curios to hear what other feedback you get on this so please keep us posted. Thanks!!
I wasn’t really sure how many calories I was eating, but noticed that my body hit a plateau after losing about 40 lbs. I tracked my calories and realized that without meaning too, I was only eating around 1000-1100 calories every day and burning 300-400 calories, no wonder I wasn’t losing weight!!!! I’ve bumped up my food intake quite a bit and the scale is moving again
Hmm that’s a really interesting article. While the weight loss rule ‘calories in vs calories out’ is pretty much legit in my opinion, its hard to know exactly how much your body burns on its own. When I was trying to lose weight I was eating 1500 calories a day, but a little more if I had a hard workout. Now I stick around 1700-1800, and more when I get in a good workout. I use My Fitness Pal, and it has calculated that I need 1760 calories to maintain my weight with a lightly active daily activity lifestyle set. 2100 sounds a bit high as a base caloric intake…. but i’m no nutritionist so take it for what it is, haha! I’d like to visit a nutritionist sometime too, I think it’d be interesting
I love My Fitness Pal — it's so helpful!! Thanks for sharing your calorie numbers, that really is helpful.
I eat around 2000 calories a day easily and am the smallest and most muscular I have been since HS.
Back story … after I had my daughter just over a year ago I realized I wasn’t dropping weight even though I was exclusively breastfeeding and working out. I counted my calories and realized I was only eating 1700-1800 and I should have been eating 2300-2500 to fuel my workouts and breastfeeding. The second I upped the calories the weight came off. Since weaning 3 months ago I have cut down to around 2000ish calories (or more on long run days) and have dropped an extra 5 pounds and gained muscle.
Long story short … if you’re trying to lose weight there’s a fine balance between eating too much and too little.
Wow! That's incredible. Great work on the weight loss! And so against intuition that more calories = more weight loss!
you’re definitely right! eating too few calories CAN lead to weight gain or cause problems losing weight. a lot of people don’t realize that!
It's so crazy! But then again, some people who are overeating their daily calories would misconstrue this information and think that they should be eating more. Nutrition is such a crazy science!
Man, I have always been so curious about how many calories I eat in a day because I eat HUGE dinners, HUGE, but they’re only full of veggies and protein like fish… I eat small meals (breakfast and/or lunch) during the day though so I am not entirely sure if I do eat 3,000 or 1,200. I’d calculate it myself on a web site BUT… I don’t really trust those things and how can I be for sure with my portion sizes. Meh, I think I should just leave it as is. I am completely content with my lifestyle, why obsess over calories? LOL
That is such a good point about obsessing over calories… if you found something that works, still with it! Plus I've found that once I start calorie counting, I get a little obsessed because I want to fit into those parameters… which it sounds like might not even be right!
Sometimes I do keep a food log, and when I do I find I usually eat between 2100 and 2400 calories a day and that maintains my weight. I figure skate and I’m reasonably lean. I’ve done the Bod Pod (lean mass measurement by air displacement) and that gives you some really good estimates of how many calories you would burn at different activity levels. For me it estimated 2200 something for a low active day (light exercise and leisure activities) and 2500 something for an active day (moderate activities, an example was 90 minutes of tennis or cycling moderately for 75 minutes).
I've never heard of the Bod Pod but that sounds really cool!!