Increasing calories for training?

[Lady Marmalade]

Has anyone ever done any training building up for a big run or bike ride and if so did you increase your calorie intake to give yourself extra energy on training days? I’m hoping to do a 56 mile charity bike ride in July, so far I have done a 30 mile circuit on my bike at weekends and have added maybe a couple of hundred to my calorie allowance on those days, but I dunno if I need it to be more than that so that I build muscle and increase stamina? I’ve never trained for anything. Tbh I find the idea of increasing my calorie allowance completely scary, I’m not happy with it at all because I don’t really know what I’m doing or feel like I’m in control of it. Y’know, if I had a formula to work out exactly what extra cals I should be taking in to still lose weight, I’d feel more inclined to do it. I’m often tempted to just keep to 1200 cals to maximise my weight loss during training and then just increase my energy intake on the Big Day but is that a bad idea? I would be really thankful for any advice or tips on this.

 

[stef2009]

I absoloutly dont have a clue on that, i wouldnt want to guess and it be wrong, why not try and get advice from a professional, just to make sure u do it right, i'm sure you could get advice free from somehwhere...
and well done u for doing the bike ride! x x

 

[Loveheart]

Im not sure either but I would just say listen to your body, if you are finding that your hungry then eat! good luck with the bike ride xx

 

[Lady Marmalade]

Thanks for the encouragement ladies! I will let you know how I get on.

Might try asking this over on the fitness forum...

 

[stef2009]

yeah thats a good idea x x

 

[landie_sparkly]

I use the Foodfocus website, which lists all the calories burnt in different fitness/exercise activities. I would think you need to give your body something to work with, or you may have no energy left at all. If you are aiming for, say, 1200 calories per day, but on your marathon cycling sessions burn an additional 1000 calories, you have only had 200 calories that day (does that make sense?). Good luck with the bike ride!

 

[Charlll]

I think foodfocus is a wee bit generous with the calories burnt from exercise; my two hour martial arts sessions are definitely not burning 2000 calories, tragically! I do know from cycling, jogging etc. that I perform much much better when I have a little low gi 100 calorie-ish sugary snack prior to exercise, and I know after a workout carbs are calling me, so I usually have another 100 calorie carby snack. It's best to eat protein too surrounding exercise, it helps repair (and build) muscles. This means that on days I'm exercising I'm eating 1400 calories (ish), which is what many dieters do anyway, with the added bonus of the metabolic raises and calorie burn of exercise. I know I lost weight quicker when eating 1000 calories a day with little exercise, but I'm so much happier now with the exercise, and I really notice the difference in stamina and speed with the extra nosh. Building fitness is a good way to keep the weight off once you've reached goal, anyway, so it's kinda a delicious investment

 

[Lady Marmalade]

Hey thanks for the replies guys. I use this calories burned calculator but yeah they all seem to give different results! I guess as long as you stick to using just one, and then monitor your weight loss results, it all works out in the end.

I'm going to do 22 miles on Saturday and will probably just get some bananas to take with me and have one before I set off, I don't really like bananas all that much but they're supposed to give good energy and after a breakfast of porridge that should be a good combination of slow and quick release energy. And will hopefully stop me grabbing a chocolate bar when I'm too knackered to resist!

 

[Loveheart]

Goooood Luck!!!! xxxx

 

[Charlll]

god, if I cycled 22 miles I'd grab a chocolate bar! strong woman!