Calorie Intake

walsht1105

Just wondering what people would recommend as a general guide for daily calorie intake with my training plan.

My details:-
Height: 5ft 8
Age: 23
Weight: 57-59kg (depending on day/time of daye etc)

Training Details:-
Monday
Rest Day

Tuesday
1hr Turbo session in the morning before work, Have 6mins level 1 warm up, 18mins level 2 - medium, 12mins level 3 - hard, 18mins level 2 - medium, 6mins level 1 warm down.

30 Press ups (this is going up 5 each week)

After work
10 Hill climb laps - Maintain a medium to hard pace, laps don't really get slower (maybe 20seconds slower over a 6.5min lap) through to the end.

15 Chin ups (goes up 2 or 3 each week).

Wednesday
1hr Turbo session in the morning before work, Have 6mins level 1 warm up, 18mins level 2 - medium, 12mins level 3 - hard, 18mins level 2 - medium, 6mins level 1 warm down.

30 Press ups (this is going up 5 each week)

After work
Gym session - 2minute sprint intervals on the running machine going up to 20kmph speed (total 22mins on running machine), 2.2mins Sprint intervals on the Stepping Machine (total 22mins on the step machine). 4 x 12 reps of Bicep Curls and 4 x 12 reps of Triceps

15 Chin ups (goes up 2 or 3 each week).

Thursday
1hr Turbo session in the morning before work, Have 6mins level 1 warm up, 18mins level 2 - medium, 12mins level 3 - hard, 18mins level 2 - medium, 6mins level 1 warm down.

30 Press ups (this is going up 5 each week)

After work
10 Hill climb laps - Maintain a medium to hard pace, laps don't really get slower (maybe 20seconds slower over a 6.5min lap) through to the end.

15 Chin ups (goes up 2 or 3 each week).

Friday
Rest Day

Saturday
50-80 miles - ride with a group for 30 miles then finish 30 - 50 miles on my own (medium)

30 press ups (going up 5 each week)

15 chin ups (going up 2 to 3 each week)

Sunday
50-80 miles - solo ride in the peak district, normally very hilly give it what I can on the hills and rest on descents, medium on the flats.

30 press ups (going up 5 each week)

15 chin ups (going up 2 to 3 each week)


I'm currently on a 5 day rest period after doing 5 weeks of the above regime. My weight has dropped during the 5week regime so I'm eating more calories now to put some back on to lose again. Just wondering what peoples thoughts are on the daily calorie intake for that regime are to see if what I eat is enough / too much

joeyhalloran

you haven't said what you eat? how is anyone gonna tell you if it is enough?

danowat

Your static BMR is 1570 cals a day.

Using the harris benedict equation

Based on moderately active BMR x 1.55 = 2433cals

Based on very active BMR x 1.725 = 2708cals

walsht1105

JoeyHalloran wrote:

you haven't said what you eat? how is anyone gonna tell you if it is enough?

I'm not asking you to tell me if i'm eating enough, I'd just like to know how many calories people would recommend eating.

Never knew about the Benedict Equation - that quite reliable then?

danowat

As reliable as any other equation, which can vary, wildly.

Personally, I'd take it all with a pinch of salt, its a good place to start, if you are putting on weight, eat less, if you aren't, eat more.

walsht1105

danowat wrote:

As reliable as any other equation, which can vary, wildly.

Personally, I'd take it all with a pinch of salt, its a good place to start, if you are putting on weight, eat less, if you aren't, eat more.

I do agree with you but how much to eat or how much less to eat. Would you start with calorie increases of say 200 (two extra pieces of fruit or two slices of bread) or 500 (two extra pieces of fruit and two toast).

I know they say one pound of fat can be lost with 3500calorie deficit a week, so does this work the other way round > eat 3500 more calories and you put a pound on.

I basically don't want to lose weight but don't want to put any on. Think it's going to be a case of monitoring over a longer period of time.

mclarent

Try keeping a food diary. I'd aim for around 2300 calories intake, adding 600 calories for an hours full on riding, 300 for steady paced. That's just my rule of thumb though. By keeping a diary you will be be able to work outmore easily how to adjust your diet. Better to smooth it out rather than starve / binge.

I would also recommend you get body fat % measured. Why is losing weight a problem? How much did you lose?

danowat

walsht1105 wrote:

I know they say one pound of fat can be lost with 3500calorie deficit a week, so does this work the other way round > eat 3500 more calories and you put a pound on.

Pretty much, yes, I'd say adjust +/- 500cals a day as see how you go.

Pross

I'd be more worried about over training than calorie intake with that schedule. However, based on the rates on the Livestrong site vigorous training on a static bike would burn about 700kcals an hour. General road cycling is around 550kcals per hour but this is likely to be higher for your hilly route. As these are based on a slightly heavier person than you then I would say you look like you are burning around 1300kcals a day over and above standard. Again from Livestrong for your age, height and weight and assuming a lightly active (working sat at a desk and standing up) lifestyle then you would need 2,031kcals to maintain your current weight. So based on that plus the training schedule you would be looking at around 3,300 calories per day.

Have a look a the Livestrong site as it is a useful way of tracking your exercise and calorie intake http://www.livestrong.com/thedailyplate/

Dmak

I like your schedule, I will be keeping a copy!

In addition to the above links you could try http://www.endomondo.com and http://www.myfitnesspal.com

Good luck on getting things balanced, it's not an easy thing to do.

walsht1105

Over training is an issue I will be looking at but I think 5 weeks on with 5 days rest, where I allow myself to eat what I want and generally forget about the bike, will hopefully keep overtraining at bay. I'm following the regime for three 5 week stints - through out the winter then I will be looking to do more high end intense sprintervals.

I have a training diary (Which I created myself) and I have a calorie intake spread sheet (which I made myself), I take note of my weight and resting HR for all my training days (leave it blank for rest days as I think a rest from the paper work helps mentally).

Thanks for the recommendations and replies, just going to be a case of continuous monitoring over the next 18 weeks....

Training for racing next year, have been riding for bout 13months and have found my fitness is really good, my climbing is better than people that have been riding for plenty of years but my strength (out of corners) and technical skills (mainly corning) are where I'm lacking.

mclarent

Still interested to know how much weight you lost and why it's an issue - have you noticed a associated decrease in performance for example?

Think you're right about overtraining, shouldn't be an issue to my mind, and I'm not suprised you're climbing well at 57kgs - I can only dream!!

walsht1105

I was eating too much in the early summer and was going up weight from 63kg to bout 65kg (but I was taking creatine in an attempt to gain muscle quick), so I cut what I was eating and have steadily come down, losing a kilo a week down to 57 / 58kg on some days and 58 / 59kg on others.

I haven't dropped in performance but I have gradually started feeling more hungry, so I'm wondering if my body was using the fat I had a 65kg to fuel the training so far. Now I'm down to a low level of body fat and I need more food to supply it. I don't want to put weight on, I'm happy at 58kg.

I'm just wondering if I'm eating the right amount and the start of over training is what I'm experiencing or I'm not eating enough and I need to up the calories.

From what everyone has said - I'm eating the right amount. So maybe over training is on the horizon, think I have done a lot of miles (about 4000+) for just 1years cycling.. (never done any serious sport / exercise before either, so my body / fitness / muscle base was like a blank book).

I have a very addictive personality but cycling is probably the best thing I've got addicted to and I just want to get as good as I can as quickly as I can, so I can compete next year (not expecting to win everything but hoping to get Cat 3). Fully aware that over training and not resting could cause the opposite of what I'm hoping to achieve

must-tri-harder

That's not too dissimilair to what i grind out in a week, although i run 2-3 times a week rather than go to the gym, and then sometimes pretend to got swimming, likewise concerned about eating enough when training volume is high, i just bought and read this which is helpful as it helps to explain what to eat and when:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Racing-Weight-Matt-Fitzgerald/dp/1934030511

Also has sample daily diets from a selection of pro cyclists/runners/triathletes which is quite interesting.

This is also worth reading if you want to educate yourself about good nutrition:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Complete-Guide-Sports-Nutrition-Guides/dp/1408105381

Atleast one day of complete rest is probably a good idea, particularly with that weekend mileage volume, depends on what you are trying to acheive of course but i would maybe put my feet up or do something lighter on the wednesday if you're feeling knackered.