Weight Loss
Moderators: duke3522, devilish_patsy, topanga1485, nycgirl, spoiled_candy, cmillington, coach_k having a hard time upping cals
so i'm 5'2'' 137lbs and i've been doing 1200-1300 a day for a while, but this week school starts and i'm starting to run everyday, as opposed to every other day and i'm worried that i might not get enough calories. Does it sound reasonable to up to 1400-1500 a day or should i try to stick to what i've been doing? I'm so used to eating that little that I am not hungry for extra meals and i don't want to use worthless calories by adding high calorie snack treats...any suggestions?
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In my experience, if you significantly increase the amount of exercise you are doing, you will need more food and that will make you hungry. Let your appetite be your guide. As long as you don't feel the need for more food, keep doing what you are doing. When hunger starts to bother you and interfere with your daily activities gradually increase your meals to compensate for the extra calories that you are burning.
Well, knowing that 1200 is the minimum that is medically recommended by doctors for all women, you should not go under this amount.
Are you eating 1200 and THEN running? As in, you eat 1200, then run and burn off say 500, giving you a net of 700 calories? If so, then that in itself is not healthy. You need to hit your recommended daily calories as a NET at the end of the day, after exercise is factored in.
I would highly recommend upping your calories.
As for high calories snacks, I agree that you should not aim to fill the extra calories with chips and crap. But making some small changes with healthy higher calorie foods will often make a nice difference.
What comes to mind is olive oil and nuts. Adding 1 tbsp of olive oil to a sandwhich or salad gives you 100 extra calories, and they are almost all healthy calories. Your body needs good fats and olive oil is full of it. Same goes for nuts. Not the ultra salted ones, but regular nuts.
Are you eating 1200 and THEN running? As in, you eat 1200, then run and burn off say 500, giving you a net of 700 calories? If so, then that in itself is not healthy. You need to hit your recommended daily calories as a NET at the end of the day, after exercise is factored in.
I would highly recommend upping your calories.
As for high calories snacks, I agree that you should not aim to fill the extra calories with chips and crap. But making some small changes with healthy higher calorie foods will often make a nice difference.
What comes to mind is olive oil and nuts. Adding 1 tbsp of olive oil to a sandwhich or salad gives you 100 extra calories, and they are almost all healthy calories. Your body needs good fats and olive oil is full of it. Same goes for nuts. Not the ultra salted ones, but regular nuts.
I second Bigtwinky regarding eating nuts as a snack. One ounce of nuts (roughly equal to 1/4 cup or a moderate handful) has anywhere from 160 - 200 calories. So it's a great way to up your calories without having to eat a bunch of food. Nuts do have fat, but it's mostly the "good," healthy, unsaturated fat, so as long as you don't overdo it that shouldn't be a problem...and not to mention they're also high in protein and fiber. Try to eat unsalted or lightly salted nuts; regular salted nuts might give you too much sodium (though if you are regularly running and sweating, the extra salt may not hurt.)
Another good snack is a serving of a whole grain cereal with 1/2 cup of fat-free milk. That'll have anywhere from 150 - 300 calories but again, it's not much food, and as long as it's whole grain it'll give you good carbs and fiber.
But no matter what, if you're going to be running or doing a similar level of activity each day, you probably should eat a little more to make sure your net calories stay around (at least) 1200.
Another good snack is a serving of a whole grain cereal with 1/2 cup of fat-free milk. That'll have anywhere from 150 - 300 calories but again, it's not much food, and as long as it's whole grain it'll give you good carbs and fiber.
But no matter what, if you're going to be running or doing a similar level of activity each day, you probably should eat a little more to make sure your net calories stay around (at least) 1200.
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