For those of us who exercise a lot-has anyone asked their Dr. or nutritionist about whether or not 800-1000 calorie per day is healthy with the amount of exercise you do? If so, what was the response? Are the dietary guidelines set up for those who will not be exercising as intensely?

I am just concerned about whether I am getting what my body needs to handle the intensity-I am doing a lot of muscle/strength work and the books I read have much to say about diet (make sure you eat and do not starve yourself). They tend to recommend not going below 1500-1700 calories per day.

Do you think that there is an expectation that many of us will not exercise and so the calorie count is based on that assumption? I know that Drs. recommend exercise but considering the amount of people who don't follow the other recommendations......:eek:

Anyhoo, I would appreciate any input....sorry if this is long and convoluted..I wanted to be clear on what I was asking.

Well.....no, not specifically.

My doctor has never even mentioned a calorie level to me. I just dont understand why US doctors do. I mean, everyone is different, HOW can they say you should eat this much or that much.

The only time you need to adjust your calories is if you stop losing weight. But I think people are nuts to restrict themselves to 800 when they could be losing on 1400 - not everyone can of course, but many people undereat way more than they need to. Of course, if you want to lose weight really fast, then that's one thing, but I was happy to go the slow and steady route, and I ate about 1500 calories a day all the way through - purely estimation as I virtually never actually count but I'd say most of us here know the calorie count of virtually everything after a lifetime of dieting.

I am 5ft 10 and 154lb, so not petite by any means, I run or powerwalk for about an hour every day - I usually cover 7 to 11 kms, and I'm a busy person. I would laugh if anyone told me to eat 900 calories a day - and ignore them totally. It is not enough for me and I've never had to drop that low to lose.

Go by what you know about YOUR body, rules are really pretty riduculous when you read here how different every single person is. We all need to listen to our docs, and take rules into consideration but we still have to listen to our own bodies because that's what's going to keep the weight off for life - knowing your own body and obeying its needs.

I also cant cope on low carb diets, I feel shite within a day or two, and higher levels of Protein like 70 grams a day or more make me bloated, horribly gassy and nauseous - its just way too much rich food for me, when my digestive system is used to lower fat items like wholegrain breads, fruit and vegetables, crackers as my staples. Works for me, and gives me energy to run. So I'd also ignore anyone who told me low carb is the only way to go, particularly since I've lost 120% of my excess weight eating bread (in moderation).

Depends on what you call intense. I've been told I have to go on how I feel.

Are you tired all the time? Muscles hurt or achy? Has the scale stopped moving down? If the answer is no to all then you are getting enough nutrition.

Muscles that don't get enough nutrition to recover get very achy. If your dragging at your workout and your performance is going down then it might be time to reevaluate your nutrition. It's not so much calories and it is about the nutrition gained from what you eat. Protein, Fiber, carbs.

I think I am just being silly...I had a fill about a week ago and have been eating a lot less than I was (from about 1 1/2 cups to about 3/4 cups). I tend to be very conservative with my fills, wanting to go the slow and steady route to weight loss, so it has been about 5 months since my last one. I guess I just forgot what it was like!

I am feeling pretty good about my diet....while I listen to my doctor, I also educate myself and like Jacqui I eat a lot of whole grains, etc. I want to make sure that I am eating enough of the right stuff to fuel my muscle building activities.

Jacqui, do you eat several small meals a day or do you stick to the 3 a day with maybe a snack or shake in between?

the only thing my doctor told me in this regard was to listen to my body. i self imposed a calorie "limit" per day in the beginning of 800-1000 & that did not bode well early weight loss. so i played around with calories & meals along with exercise and found the "number" that worked for me specifically, that resulted in weightloss. that was around 1100-1200 calories per day, and i'm very active.

i journal my food still, but don't count calories - i've gotten to the point i know what my meals add up to in a day & if i need to do an extra mile in my run that day....so be it.

My doctor never mentioned a number of calories, but during the seminar he said that a few of his patients have become avid marathon runners, and he has them supplement their diets with extra protein shakes and slightly more healthy carbs, according to their training levels and what they are able to eat.

I guess that's what I do kind of naturally, I supplement healthy carbs. I eat a typical bandster diet with the ADDITION of a fair few healthy carbs - 500 to 600 calories a day over and above that 1000 benchmark, made up of wholegrain breads, cereals and extra fruit and veges (on, and sometimes the odd mars bar!)

The 2nd PA I saw had a tough time realizing that I needed a little extra than normal patients due to the amount of working out I do. The first one realized that right off the bat, but had to explain a couple of times to the 2nd one. Since, she has come around and has no problem with my portion sizes being about 1 1/2 cups as opposed to 1 cup

I did discuss this with my doctor when I took up long distance cycling. I starving. I was worried that I was eating too much, but if I didn't eat as my body told me to I'd wake up chewing on my pillow.

My calories were around 2000...his perspective on it was so long as I was losing and I was, and the quality of my food was appropriate, not pure fat, then it was all good.

Listen to your body and check your calories if you stop losing. Other than that you're golden. Being an exerciser you'll lose well.

At my last check-up, my doctor told me to up my exercise and keep eating what I was eating. So indirectly he didn't tell me to up my calories. I do think their program and recommendations are based on assuming people follow their exercise recommendations and not based on people not doing it.

I agree with MacMadame, I do think they have based it all on assuming people will exercise. The difference is how much you are expected to exercise. I think originally, it was set up with the intention that people will do the recommended 30 minutes a day 3 or 4 times a week. Some people though, have gone far beyond that and then I think you do need to look at added more. If you are adding weights workouts, then I don't think you'd need to add more, but if you were weight training, then definitely I'd add more protein and carbs.

I am weight training. I got a new book about lifting for women called "the new rules of lifting for women" and have begun using that as my starting off point in my workouts. Prior to that I was doing 2 small group weight training classes, 3 times a week. I have changed gyms and so am on my own right now, but I am thinking of setting up an appointment at least once a month with a personal trainer. Just to make sure that my training is covering all that it needs to and to keep me accountable.

My nutritionist explained it this way. Our bodies need a certain amount of Protein and Vitamins and minerals every day to stay healthy and keep our muscle mass. This can be done on 800-1000 calories with nearly PERFECT food choices. Fat people have excess energy stored (as fat). So as long as we've covered what we need to stay healthy and keep our muscle mass (the 800-1000 calories of healthy food to get in the new vitamins, minerals, protein we need), no matter how much you exercise, you don't "need" extra food because you have stored energy for your body to burn.

That said, if you do very long workouts (high cardio workouts over 90 minutes -- i.e. distance biking, running, etc.), your body uses all the glycogen (readily available energy in the blood) it has and you can feel weak until your body has a chance to convert fat in storage into glycogen. Hence why endurance athletes, even ones with excess fat, sometimes need to eat/drink calories while exercising or just after exercising.

When I'm in heavy marathon training (weeks where I'm running more than 30 miles per week), I probably eat 400 calories more per day than other times. I wake up hungry at 2 a.m., something that was never a problem for me, even when dieting, before I was an endurance athlete.

I guess what it comes down to is, I don't believe you need excess calories overall TO BE HEALTHY in terms of your vitamins, minerals, and protein just because you're an endurance athlete, if you're still trying to lose weight, except possibly WHILE you're exercising. That's not to say that you won't be hungrier -- you might be -- and if you are and if it works for you to eat a little more, that's ok too. But you don't "need" it, if that makes sense.