Enough Calories to Work Out?

[JamieLogical 8,727]

Right after my surgery, I was supposed to be doing 60 minutes a day of "brisk walking" for two months before ramping up to any more intensive cardio or strength training. I stuck with that for about a month and a half and then hurt my hip, so I stopped altogether. Then vacation came... then the Holidays... then the flu... and I just had a whole bunch of excuses about not exercising.

Well, I got my butt in gear a few weeks ago and started trying to work out again. I just started with 45 minutes of brisk walking. However, I very quickly realized that I was getting super tired from the increased activity. Not like cardiovascularly tired from the workout, I mean sleepy tired all the time. Plus, I started feeling actual hunger for the first time since my surgery. I was getting hungry during the time between Breakfast and lunch.

I figured I simply must not be eating enough calories to afford to be spending 400+ on exercise every day. I decided to add a morning snack to my eating schedule and cut my cardio down to 25 minutes a day and add in strength training instead. So now, I'm doing 25 minutes of cardio and 20 minutes of ST instead of 45 minutes of pure cardio.

This seems to be working. I'm not as tired as I was and I'm losing weight at a happy pace. However, looking down the line, I really would like to get back into more intense cardio, specifically running. I've done Couch to 5k a couple of times over the years when I've been in "weight loss" mode and ran in several 5k races. I would like to be able to run in races again starting this spring/summer, which means I should be starting C25k again soon in order to make it through the 9 week program before racing season starts.

The problem is, my 25 minutes of cardio per day isn't really going to cut it if I want to start training for racing again and I really don't know how to get enough calories in to sustain that level of activity.

For those of you who run or work out intensely, what do you do to get enough calories? What is your energy level like?

[Bufflehead 6,358]

How many calories are you eating now? I generally keep under 1,000 calories per day (I'm over a year out). I'm training for a 5K -- I ran 35 minutes this morning -- and find that I don't need any extra calories -- in fact the exercise makes me feel more energized. I usually exercise in the morning after fasting for 8 - 9 hours (I stop eating at 8 PM, and usually exercise around 5 or 6 AM) and then don't eat until between 10 AM and noon. I don't eat more on days that I exercise, or days that I exercise particularly hard. It's fine.

If you really feel like you need more calories for exercise, maybe try an ounce of chicken breast before exercising and another ounce after? I guess one thing I would caution is if you are going to add in extra food for exercising, try to make it something you really don't like to eat very much. Make sure that you are eating it purely for nutrition and not for entertainment or as a reward. Not saying that is your plan at all, but I have seen a fair number of people who will exercise and then tell themselves that they "need" a brownie or a Protein bar or some other slider food because that's the only way they can get in the calories they must have.

[JamieLogical 8,727]

I don't track calories, but I would say at best, I'm getting 1000 a day. Of the things I know the calorie count for off the top of my head, they total about 500-600. Lunches and dinners are the only things that vary from day to day for me and I doubt the few ounces of meat I have for those two meals totals up to more than 400 calories a day. Probably more like 300.

I want to avoid a situation where I'm basically anorexic (Hypergymnasia), burning nearly as many calories from exercise as I consume and therefor not taking in enough calories to sustain my basic bodily functions.

I know that back when I was doing C25k as part of losing weight on my own, I could easily burn 600 or so calories (according to my heart-rate monitor and BodyBugg). But back then I was eating probably 1400 calories a day minimum. I worry that if I try to work out that hard with so many fewer calories to sustain me, that I will wreck my metabolism and potentially damage my health.

I want to exercise to be healthy, not do more harm than good!

Edited February 3, 2015 by JamieLogical

[*Lexie* 1,486]

Hi Jamie - I just started 5K training and right now I'm only running for 30 minutes but on off days I do Zumba for 60 minutes. I haven't had any issues with fatigue like you are having. I am usually around 1000 calories per day. Maybe you just need an extra 100 calories or so in your day.

And just a side note. Don't eat before running. I had dinner one evening about an hour before going to the gym and it felt like my food was in my throat for the whole run. Ugh, guess that tiny sleeve needs more time between eating and intense exercise than our old, bigger stomachs.

I signed up for my first post surgery 5K for this May. Excited to get back to running! Good luck with your running program.

[Laydee_G 78]

Hi Jamie,

Have you had a blood test recently? Maybe you could just check with your docor that your Iron levels are where they should be.

Best of luck with your 5k training

[JamieLogical 8,727]

Hi Jamie,

Have you had a blood test recently? Maybe you could just check with your docor that your Iron levels are where they should be.

Best of luck with your 5k training

I had a blood test at the end of December and everything was right where it was supposed to be, but that was before I started trying to work out again.

[CowgirlJane 14,261]

I find that low carbs, more than low calories will tend to make me feel tired with heavy workouts. Like, I can barely move my body once I am "outta juice". Consider the timing of carb consumption to help give you a boost?

[JamieLogical 8,727]

I find that low carbs, more than low calories will tend to make me feel tired with heavy workouts. Like, I can barely move my body once I am "outta juice". Consider the timing of carb consumption to help give you a boost?

Thanks! I was thinking about it more this afternoon and I might try adding some granola to my afternoon greek yogurt. It's the last thing I eat before I work out after work, so maybe the extra carbs before my workout will help? Since the yogurt itself goes down really easy now, I think I could probably handle a little granola with it without feeling overfull.

[newbiesleever 57]

I just starting adding 45 minutes of intense cardio to my routine last week... I wasn't doing the walking that I was supposed to do after my surgery but I have been doing strength training 2-3 times a week for the past couple months. I feel much stronger so I finally got myself into the gym and hit the treadmill. Instead of starting out slow, I went full force 45 minutes of cardio. Sweating like crazy! I made it through and kept pushing myself. I did 3 days of cardio and 2 days of strength training and by the end of the week, I was dead. I was so exhausted. During and right after my workouts, I felt great though! A few days later, it caught up with me. I definitely should have just started with like 30 minutes and work my way up but I have that all or nothing mentality that the cardio doesn't count unless I do 45 minutes! Lol Definitely a habit I need to break... I thought since I workout this hard, the scale would go down. It didn't. I've only lost a pound in the past few weeks but I really haven't had a stall yet so maybe my body is just in reset mode. I'm wondering the same thing though, am I not eating enough? If I burn like 300-500 calories from working out and I'm only eating like 900 calories, my body is going to go into starvation mode. I definitely felt hungrier after doing cardio. I logged in all my food and I'm eating around 800-900 calories with like 85 grams of Protein. I do have some carbs in there and I've added a half a Protein Bar before and after my workout. I'm just not sure if this enough to sustain my body while working out. I'm only 21 pounds away from my doctors goal and like 40 from my personal goal. I know the last pounds are the hardest to come off which is why I want to have a good workout routine: 3 days cardio and 2 days of strength to get these pounds off but I want to make sure my body is getting the nutrition it needs.

[JamieLogical 8,727]

I've just decided that I'm not going to increase the intensity of my workouts until I can eat a little more. I added some granola to my afternoon greek yogurt (I work out after work), so hopefully that will be enough to let me keep up my current intensity level. I'd like to be able to add some carbs to dinner as well, maybe some veggies? But I don't have the room yet. I'm not willing to cut our any of my Protein to make room for carbs. So, until I can physically eat more food, I will just stick to 25 minutes of cardio and 20 minutes of strength training about 5 days a week.

[AngelaE 104]

Hi there, I work out for 60 minutes x 4 times week 40 minutes max is cardo and the rest weights/bells and stretches. It all depends on the intensity of your work out, I use a heart monitor and my heart beat per minute is between 160 -140 burning around 500 - 600 calories in an hour. My body can't function only on 1000 calories per day. So an hour before a workout I have hard egg or omelette with ham. Then after my workout I have a Protein shake. Then 1 hr that a banana.

I hope that helps.

[CowgirlJane 14,261]

Did you notice any improvements with adding the granola?

I've just decided that I'm not going to increase the intensity of my workouts until I can eat a little more. I added some granola to my afternoon greek yogurt (I work out after work), so hopefully that will be enough to let me keep up my current intensity level. I'd like to be able to add some carbs to dinner as well, maybe some veggies? But I don't have the room yet. I'm not willing to cut our any of my Protein to make room for carbs. So, until I can physically eat more food, I will just stick to 25 minutes of cardio and 20 minutes of strength training about 5 days a week.

[JamieLogical 8,727]

@@CowgirlJane I'm holding my own with the exercise routine I'd been doing. I added a TINY bit of running, but I want to ramp up very slowly, so I don't how things will go if/when I increase my intensity. So far, so good, though. I don't feel quite as run down as I was feeling before.