Calories...

Just met with my nutritionist and she chided me... apparently I am not getting enough calories. Or carbs. meh. As a diabetic (2) who also gets hypoglycemic I really need to get that bit worked out!

I really do understand how this works, and my calorie intake isn't THAT low (around 1500) - but have never been sure how many of my exercise calories I should replace. At least this time she gave me a rule of thumb to use - to strive for a NET calorie intake of 1,200.

She did give me a lot of information specific to athletes and training, and she is going to send me different calorie ranges to strive for depending on my activity level. This will be helpful to me.

Not eating enough....grumble mumble grumble - if'en I am not hungry how can I not be eating enough? :confused: :o

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Originally Posted by Catrin

J

Not eating enough....grumble mumble grumble - if'en I am not hungry how can I not be eating enough? :confused: :o

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Maybe she is overestimating how many calories you're burning through activity.

Veronica

If you're not hungry, then don't eat especially if you know total no. of calories already.

And if you are already eating several hrs. before you go to bed..that's pretty good already.

Over and over the rule of thumb has been eat to feel only 80% full.

I think you should try what she's saying. Give it a month and see what happens.

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Originally Posted by Veronica

Maybe she is overestimating how many calories you're burning through activity.

Veronica

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That's what I was thinking.

Do you have a HRM to monitor your calorie burn? Are you losing a great deal of weight? Are your blood sugar readings coming up too high/low?

I do keep track of my calories expenditure via my HRM, and I keep track of everything via "Lose It". That app really makes it easy. My blood sugar is always variable, but given my lack of cardio work over the winter due to my recovery period - my blood sugar control has been slipping. Time to tighten it back up! I have gotten in trouble in the past from gaining weight through not eating enough - and our bodies get used to it so it becomes more difficult to recognize when we are hungry.

She did give me quite a lot of information - she said my diet is fine for days I don't work out & she also strongly recommended Nancy Clark's books. My diet is not bad, not by any means, but it needs tweaking. I just didn't think my calories intake was all that low...

We discussed my activity level and the kind of riding I plan on doing this summer. I do not have her calorie recommendations yet, but she is going to send me a couple of calorie guidelines to follow based on where I am in the season - for ride and non-ride days.

She also changed my carb/protein/fat percentages - not much - but a little - and I am going to do more carb counting to make certain I get enough. The diabetes has made me carb-shy - but of course we really do need a certain level of complex carbs off the bike!

I will see what calorie range suggestions she sends me, and will try them unless she doubles them - but I will certainly adopt her advice to at least maintain a NET calorie intake of at least 1,200. She knows her stuff where sports nutrition is concerned, it is just hard to change things :o

I'm not perfect at all about high glycemic (and I still eat desserts) carbs but it does help that I heard it from 2 physicians.

One of them was my sister who is a doctor. She lost 50 lbs. herself when she got a blood sugar reading edging her close to diabetes 2. So she did adopt a different diet that was lower in glycemic index. She also took up jogging several times per week.

It does mean cutting out alot of bread and white rice from diet.

Of course things became more challenging, weight control wise, when she had 2 children, which included watching her diet closely so that she didn't get gestational diabetes while pregnant.

so the vigilance never goes away even if you think you have conquered it.

No, that vigilance never goes away with blood sugar issues. I cut off high-glycemic carbs long ago...but we also still have to get enough carbs of the appropriate kind. My problem is I don't get enough... I am supposed to get 50% carbs in my diet and it is challenging to get that much... (50/30/20 carb/protein/fat split)

What I get on the bike just doesn't count - and I get a LOT on the bike. I learned the hard way last summer about how important that is - but of course I do enjoy very long rides and I am also prone to true hypoglycemia as well.

Intense exercise is the other part of my anti-diabetes campaign, and the length recovery period this winter meant that I couldn't really do ANY real cardio work for almost 3 month. I think my current blood-sugar issues are actually more related to that - and as I ramp my exercise back up that should change :)

It isn't diet or exercise, it is both/and :)

I'm not convinced that the 50% carbs recommendation is founded in anything at all. As far as I can tell it's just a random number with no evidence to back it up. Anyone know of actual research on this?

I would give it a try for awhile too. You may be surprised. Give it a go for 30 days, see how it goes. You can always cut back to 1500 calories a day if it doesn't work out.

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Originally Posted by shootingstar

Over and over the rule of thumb has been eat to feel only 80% full.

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Shootingstar, I've never heard that rule of thumb -- is it to lose weight?

Catrin, good luck. I admire your diligence. No expertise here, but my common sense says "try it for a while."

It's a Japanese proverb (maxim?) - the way I understand it, it's meant for everyone, to eat the correct amount for good health.

I guess my main question for Catrin would also be the accuracy of your calorie expenditure calculations. Have you used a power meter to calibrate your HRM results, or done a calorimetry where they collect your breath on a treadmill or stationary bike? Calories can be converted to watt-hours, but without measuring something, whether it's your power output or your O₂/CO₂ exchange, estimates are about as accurate as estimating your maximum HR based on your age - that is, not very accurate at all.

I am unsure how accurate my Polar HRM is where calories are concerned, but I do know that it shows I burn far less than, say, a year ago. I know it isn't exact, I use it as a rule of thumb. I use that in combination with how my body feels and what my blood sugar says. It has been a combination that works well.

Can someone help me out, I cannot figure out where the calculation for "Net Calories" comes from. I've tried googling it, and the explanations I've read I do not understand. I am TERRIBLE at math. What is the basic calculation?

I see the "net calories" on my dailyplate page, but I don't get where it comes from.

It's the calories you end up with after you factor in the calories you burned through physical activity. I think. :p

It's not a number that I personally would want to use since I don't think any of the numbers you get from HRM or internet calculators are very accurate. Each human is SO different and we all respond differently to different activities.

But the important thing is to find what works for you.

Veronica

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Originally Posted by Veronica

It's the calories you end up with after you factor in the calories you burned through physical activity. I think. :p

It's not a number that I personally would want to use since I don't think any of the numbers you get from HRM or internet calculators are very accurate. Each human is SO different and we all respond differently to different activities.

But the important thing is to find what works for you.

Veronica

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This was how my nutritionist explained it the other day. I do pay attention to it. It isn't exact, but it gives me a ballpark figure. I have to use some kind of metric,'especially on those days when I exercise or ride for multiple hours.

Okay, so if I'm understanding this correctly:

RMR is approx 1650 calories.
80 min run + 40 min yoga = 1000 calories burned
TOTAL 2650
I ate 1800 worth of food
Net calories are: 2650-1800 = 850

So, to reach the recommended 1200 Net calorie mark I should have eaten 1450 calories instead?

That doesn't seem to make sense to me. I'm showing my poor math skills.

*I agree that HRM overestimate calories burned, so I go with approx 80% of what my garmin tells me for calories burned during a workout.

I don't think it takes RMR into account - that would affect what you want your net calorie goal to be (someone with a higher RMR would need a higher net calorie count, I think). Using your example, it would be

Eat 1800 calories
subract 1000 for yoga and running
___________
Net calories - 800

You would want to eat an addition 400 calories for the net to equal 1200.

That's how I understood it, too.

Jessmarimba described it the way my nutritionist did, and I like Limewave's approach of assuming 80% of the calories my HRM shows from any particular session. I wish I could afford a power meter, but that would be just another toy to obsess over... If I were younger and interested in racing then perhaps, but neither condition applies :)

Naw, I can't even justify a power meter for my gadget-w**** self. :rolleyes: I was just thinking that maybe your nutritionist put you on a power meter or had you do respiratory calorimetry at the office, to get a calibration that you could then apply to the numbers you get from your HRM.

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Originally Posted by OakLeaf

Naw, I can't even justify a power meter for my gadget-w**** self. :rolleyes: I was just thinking that maybe your nutritionist put you on a power meter or had you do respiratory calorimetry at the office, to get a calibration that you could then apply to the numbers you get from your HRM.

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Nah, that would be great to do though... we did have the respiratory calorimetry that a doctor had me do two years ago to look at - though I was 50 pounds heavier then. Even then I had a higher than average metabolic rate.

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Originally Posted by Catrin

I am unsure how accurate my Polar HRM is where calories are concerned, but I do know that it shows I burn far less than, say, a year ago. I know it isn't exact, I use it as a rule of thumb. I use that in combination with how my body feels and what my blood sugar says. It has been a combination that works well.

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Before I read this post, it was exactly what I was thinking in scanning your thread.

Have you re-set your HRM lately? :confused:

That's one of the things I check with my students in spin. If their weight has changed, re-set that. Plus, their fitness level. And diff types of exercise, impactive vs non-impactive, run diff heart rate efforts compared to perceived exersion.

The "stock numbers" in the HRM as usually set for 220 - ur age = Max HR... then the percentage of effort... which should match your perceived exersion... which from there gives you a total calories estimation burn.

As regular exercisers, we are generally fitter than the 220 - ur age theory. The fitter you become, the higher your threshold becomes.

Best way is to compare your perceived exersion with what that number should be for your HR percentage. You can take that number you see and work backwards to re-set Max HR.

For me, 220 - age42 = estimated Max HR 178. So, 75% max would be 178 x .75 = 133bpm. HOWEVER... say my Garmin stats when riding chatting w my partner outside... still working, but able to speak short sentence etc. (roughly endurance about 75% effort) is 155bpm. When I re-set my hrm, I took 155 divide by .75 = 206mhr.

Where my students get in trouble is that they leave the monitor settings, assume they are burning all these calories, keep eating them, and it's falsely high.

Sorry that's a long blab on:o... hope makes some sense, though:).

I reset the weight on my HRM periodically...I make certain that it is within 5 pounds of my current weight, and closer when I remember to check it. I remember when it told my I burned 700 calories for 80 minutes of spinning class, and now - for the same time period, I am lucky if it breaks 400...

Great example though, and a good illustration of why we need to be careful to reset it.

My dietitian sent her final calorie recommendations to me last night, and she actually didn't change them overly much. She raised my non-ride day calorie budget to 1,600 and to aim for 2,200 on days I ride. Outside of the really long ride days, of course, where I can burn that many calories or more on the bike. Not to concerned about that, but more importantly she helped me nail down how I need to divide my carbs throughout the day. I am going to ask her for references regarding the 50% carbss recommendation. I will post any references she provides here.

She did provide other information that will be helpful, I will give her suggestions a shot.