Question about calories

[westonboege]

I have tried searching all over the internet for a good recommended calorie intake for me, but i cannot find one.

I am relatively new to cycling. I started about 3 months ago. I am currently riding around 125 miles per week at an average pace of 15mph. I am 22 years old and weigh about 170lbs. my question is how much should i be eating? It seems as though i eat all day everyday( i like to eat about 5-6 smaller meals a day) But i feel like i am dead tired all the time. And it seems like i am gaining fat. I have been trying to eat about 2500 calories per day. Is this too low? I would like to lose some fat and i know its best to create an energy deficit of about 500 calories per day. But i cant tell if i am creating a larger deficit than that... and thats why im feeling tired alot, and gaining fat... my body must think its starving and storing all food as fat. Am i correct or no?

Also how many calories could i expect to burn during a 25 mile (about 75min) ride?

sorry for all the questions... ive been very concerned about these questions and just found this message board...

thanks

 

[jimbooffa]

What you eat is just as important as the amount of calories.
It took me 20 years to figure out what works for me.

1) Eliminate refined carbohydrate from diet. ie, pasta, potatos,rice,cakes, cookies,etc. Ok to have a bowl of cerial in the moring (fiber).

2) eat small frequent meals every 3 hours and eat imeadately after waking.

3) Watch saturated fat intake. No butter.

4) Red meat two times a week ok.

5) Protein sources mainly chicken breast, turkey breast, egg whites.

6) Bring food with you to work in an ice chest

7) eat a couple pieces of fruit a day, eat a lot vegi, salads, a hand ful of almonds.

8) have some mono saturated fats-olive oil, avacado

9) An occassional beer or two on a weekend is ok , more than that will be hard to burn off.

10) it is ok to blow it for a day every once imn a while. Just get back on track the next day.

This has worked for me. I am fitting in to 34 pants for the first time since I was in my twenties.

Good luck

 

[corenfa]

you are probably (and I stress this because it is a web source) burning 1200-1600 calories depending on terrain and speed.

 

[graf zeppelin]

All of the food choices above are good, and are basically what I eat too. Tunafish is also good grilled over salad or put in a low carb wrap. Avoid salad dressings like the plague. Use balsamic vinegar or something as a base and make your own. Mostly avoid beer too, at least in the weight loss period. Its ok to bring it back in when you have a routine down and you know how much you can have and still burn off. Yogurt and bananas I like also.

One thing I did was track food counts and other data in Excel. I'm about to go back to it just to check things. I did it for a while to learn effects of various things in my diet, what to add, what to remove. You may wish to do that. Becomes second nature after a while after you learn your eating habits and preferred foods etc, and you then dont have to track it unless you make large changes in diet or exertion.

On top of this, track your daily weight in the am and your ride data. If your weight isnt going down a little over the course of each week, or the speed at which you wish to drop, then you know you need to ride more and/or look at the diet again.

Its very hard in the early going to both begin a diet and bike, but stick to it. For the early goings I felt a little drained, but it very much improves after a month or so and there on out as you tweak things and the body gets used to the idea. Dont fret and dont push too too hard to start. See if you cant get the pace a little higher and distance maybe on one ride a week a little longer after this initial period.

Best of luck.

 

[sheppard]

One of the things you might try, depending on how much effort you want to put into this, is just to write down everything you ingest. Everything. And how much. Then figure out how many calories you've taken in for the day. Track this for a several weeks (the longer you track, the more accurate your measurement will be) and also track your weight, trying not to eat late at night before you go to sleep. Drink plenty of water. You're right about the -500 kcal/day, because this should let you burn 1 lb of fat/week. (3500 kcal/lbof fat burned). If your weight isn't changing, then your daily intake correlates to the calories burned. At least this will give you a feel for how much you consume, and you will quickly notice what you are happy and not happy about with respect to your diet. Best of luck!

 

[g8000]

Sorry to piggyback on westonboege's post, but I was wondering why are carbohydrates so bad? I used to lose weight (2.2lbs per week) just by watching what I eat. Now I have gained some weight and having a hard time losing it. I eat pasta every other day, and 2 bowls of cereal (special K no fiber) every day. The only change on my diet is that I drink more beer. (2 six packs per week vs 1 before). Can someone advice me on diet changes and why they are important? ( I cant decrease the beer intake) Thanks

 

[westonboege]

Ok... im not really looking to lose weight... just fat... i wouldnt mind if i gained a few pounds and shed some fat. Im about 6'2" at 170.

I have been avoiding processed foods quite a bit. I eat some trail mix bars, apples, bananas, tuna fish, fish or chicken and brown rice for dinner... But I also have been eating pasta often... I didnt know that i should be avoiding pasta.
Normally for lunch i will have a turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread... with some fruits etc... I am eating way healthier than i used to... but it just seems like i am not shedding any fat...

I kind of feel like i am not eating enough...and my body thinks its starving or something... then whatever i eat gets stored as fat... When i first started cycling it seemed like i was losing fat fine... then i started to get fatigue... after a ride i would drink a gatorade and eat a little be... then i would get super tired an hour after riding or so... i would be sitting or laying on the couch and i would just fall asleep..


Also i usually take my ride around noon or in the early afternoon, depending on when i work... then later i will usually run errands on my bike etc at a leisurly pace. Is it better to eat most of my calories in the morning then cut back a bit towards the afternoon and into the evening?

thanks for the help so far guys/girls... its helping alot...

 

[corenfa]

Originally posted by g8000
Sorry to piggyback on westonboege's post, but I was wondering why are carbohydrates so bad

All carbohydrates aren't bad, but some, such as refined sugar, are. Whenever you decide to cut back carbohydrate consumption, remember that carbs don't just fuel your muscles, more importantly, they are the fuel for your brain. Removing them entirely is very bad. As with all things, balance is very important.

 

[westonboege]

One of the things you might try, depending on how much effort you want to put into this, is just to write down everything you ingest. Everything. And how much. Then figure out how many calories you've taken in for the day.

I have tried this... at first when i started i was eating 2000 cal per day. I felt the worst during this time.. I have read up quite a bit on alot of nutritional info... i was aware of the 3500 cal is equal to one pound of fat etc...

I guess my main question is how many calories should I aim for in a day? I have read that the metabolic rate is around 1800 cal per day.... then the then the energy i expend doing normal activity during the day.... work, walking etc... then excercise... I am fairly active during the day... I work in a restaurant.. running up and down stairs etc...

I know how many calories I am eating but im not sure of how many i am burning.

 

[corenfa]

Originally posted by westonboege


I know how many calories I am eating but im not sure of how many i am burning.

Try this website, it may help give you a rough idea about how many calories you burn during the day.

http://www.stevenscreek.com/goodies/calories.shtml

 

[westonboege]

i have actually seen that site before but i thought that the calories burned seemed way too high... but i guess they are about right...

i guess i burn about 3500 calories perday.... so i should be eating 3000 in order to lose the weight i want to lose...

thanks for the help guys.... ill give it a try and see what happens...

 

[sooray02]

Originally posted by westonboege


Also how many calories could i expect to burn during a 25 mile (about 75min) ride?

thanks

http://www.primusweb.com/cgi-bin/fpc/actcalc.pl

Hope this helps!

 

[jimbooffa]

Originally posted by westonboege
Ok... im not really looking to lose weight... just fat... i wouldnt mind if i gained a few pounds and shed some fat. Im about 6'2" at 170.

I have been avoiding processed foods quite a bit. I eat some trail mix bars, apples, bananas, tuna fish, fish or chicken and brown rice for dinner... But I also have been eating pasta often... I didnt know that i should be avoiding pasta.
Normally for lunch i will have a turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread... with some fruits etc... I am eating way healthier than i used to... but it just seems like i am not shedding any fat...

I kind of feel like i am not eating enough...and my body thinks its starving or something... then whatever i eat gets stored as fat... When i first started cycling it seemed like i was losing fat fine... then i started to get fatigue... after a ride i would drink a gatorade and eat a little be... then i would get super tired an hour after riding or so... i would be sitting or laying on the couch and i would just fall asleep..


Also i usually take my ride around noon or in the early afternoon, depending on when i work... then later i will usually run errands on my bike etc at a leisurly pace. Is it better to eat most of my calories in the morning then cut back a bit towards the afternoon and into the evening?

thanks for the help so far guys/girls... its helping alot...

I guess we are approaching the problem from different ends of the spectrum. Me with a lot of muscle but over fat (not now!). I still think for your long term health the quality of food you intake is important.

Be careful what you wish for. Hauling my 216lb up hills is tough.

Recommended reading Protein Power by Michael and Mary Eades, m.D.

 

[Roadie_scum]

Originally posted by corenfa
All carbohydrates aren't bad, but some, such as refined sugar, are. Whenever you decide to cut back carbohydrate consumption, remember that carbs don't just fuel your muscles, more importantly, they are the fuel for your brain. Removing them entirely is very bad. As with all things, balance is very important.

No foods are bad. Moralising about food is one of the primary causes of eating disorders (including, I would argue, obesity caused by psychological dependence on food as comfort). You need all macro and micro nutrients to be healthy. Refined sugar should be fine when you are exercising and insulin is repressed, or in small quantities. Wanna lose weight? Eat less calories than you burn. Foods that sate better help with this, which is where not eating too much sugar comes in, but that doesn't make sugar 'bad'. Saddam Hussein is bad. Sugar is fine.

 

[keydates]

Pasta isn't bad...only refined/"white" pasta. Whole wheat pasta is fine...unless you're doing Atkins/trying to eliminate carbs.

 

[tatoo]

Originally posted by westonboege
I have tried searching all over the internet for a good recommended calorie intake for me, but i cannot find one.

I am relatively new to cycling. I started about 3 months ago. I am currently riding around 125 miles per week at an average pace of 15mph. I am 22 years old and weigh about 170lbs. my question is how much should i be eating? It seems as though i eat all day everyday( i like to eat about 5-6 smaller meals a day) But i feel like i am dead tired all the time. And it seems like i am gaining fat. I have been trying to eat about 2500 calories per day. Is this too low? I would like to lose some fat and i know its best to create an energy deficit of about 500 calories per day. But i cant tell if i am creating a larger deficit than that... and thats why im feeling tired alot, and gaining fat... my body must think its starving and storing all food as fat. Am i correct or no?

Also how many calories could i expect to burn during a 25 mile (about 75min) ride?

sorry for all the questions... ive been very concerned about these questions and just found this message board...

thanks

If you want to lose more fat while tranning, train slow (60% max HR) but longer. Go at 20km/h for more than 1h. You will burn as much fat as glycogen (energy in your muscles). If you ride too intense (+70% max HR) you will burn more glycogen than fat, Result: hungry because no more energy in muscles. That energy come from complex carbs (pasta, rice, etc)

The energy in fat is used when the exercices are not intense.
Advice: Buy a book on tranning, some gives you a complete picture of diet and trainning exercises to improve and lose fat. I could tell the one I have but it is in french.

 

[corenfa]

Originally posted by Roadie_scum
No foods are bad. Moralising about food is one of the primary causes of eating disorders (including, I would argue, obesity caused by psychological dependence on food as comfort). You need all macro and micro nutrients to be healthy. Refined sugar should be fine when you are exercising and insulin is repressed, or in small quantities. Wanna lose weight? Eat less calories than you burn. Foods that sate better help with this, which is where not eating too much sugar comes in, but that doesn't make sugar 'bad'. Saddam Hussein is bad. Sugar is fine.

Refined Sugars (sucrose) are empty calories, with no nutritional value to speak of. Sucrose is metabolized in the small intestine and requires insulin to be produced, and robs nutrients from other parts of the body. The average American eats about 120-150 pounds of it a year (1/3 of a pound a day). And because of the massive blood-sugar fluxuations that follow digestion, the human body feels the need for more sucrose to correct this. So you are right, this isn't as bad as Saddam Hussein, but it isn't very good either. There are other sugars that are better, such as fructose, maltose, date sugar, etc. They are metabolized in the liver more slowly than Sucrose. This allows for no spikes in blood-sugar levels.

 

[g8000]

When you want to lose weight, you are supposed to slightly decease the amount of daily calorie intake. Not too much because the body will go into starvation mode and you wont lose weight. But what about when you increase your training substantially? Do you have to eat a lot more to mantain the small calorie discrepancy?

 

[westonboege]

I think that is my main problem... I increased training substantially... and i think i was almost starving myself for a week or two... and my body felt it...

I guess i will have to get a good book on training and diet etc and read up on it more... cant really rely on information off of the internet sometimes....

Can anyone suggest a good one?