pcb09

Hey all,

I am looking for a little bit of advice regarding nutrition.

I am 21 years old 145lbs, 5foot 8, looking to begin racing some crits this summer. I am working hard now to put some miles on and really get my self in shape. Due to being in college, crappy weather, and a schedule that wont really let me get outside right now I am spending time on a stationary bike.

My question centers around how many calories I should be eating each day. As I said I am 145lbs and probably have about 5lbs of fat that I could still lose and would like to lose.

Currently I am riding 5-6 days a week and am doing 60-75 minutes each day. This is on a stationary bike and this puts me at about 30-35miles a day completed, and a claimed 850-950calories burned. (Not sure how accurate that is but the 4 bikes all seem to report the same numbers, and I am well aware that I couldnt do this type of pace outside due to a stationary bike eliminating many challenges of riding outside-wind, hills, etc...)

I am having trouble determining how many calories to eat each day, I feel that some days I eat far to few calories and find myself binge eating the next day. Which leads me to believe that I need to eat more so I dont feel the need to binge eat.

I currently eat primarily eat frozen meals (i know they arent really healthy, they are just extremely convenient with a busy college schedule), and a ton of fruit, typically a couple apples and a couple bananas a day.

So what would you all recommend as a good number of calories to eat a day? Keeping in mind I want to drop a few more pounds, and not feel like Im starving myself which leads to binge eating.

thanks




-disclaimer- i know i should go see a nutritionist, but that simply isnt going to happen, i will not hold anyone here responsible for their advice, i am just looking for some general advice.

Monkeyclaw

Everybody's different. One thing for sure, ignore the calorie count on the stationary bikes or anything else for that matter. I would start with 2200 calories/day for a week and see where that takes you. If you find you're losing weight, try to keep it at ~1 pound/wk loss. If you're losing too quickly, increase the number of calories/day by 100 or 200. You could also go a week with logging but not restricting just to see how many calories you eat per day and work from there.

Counting calories as closely as possible and limiting intake is the easiest way to lose weight. There are other ways, but in the end they all end up being calorie-restricted (whether by choices made or rules of the diet). Some people just find it easier to follow dieting rules than to do the actual counting. There are a lot of sites and apps that can help with this. The hardest part is getting the weight of the food right, unless you have a scale.

Binging can be a reaction to many things. I tend to binge when I'm tired. I think it's my body's way of trying to get extra energy when what I really need is rest/sleep. It can also be a reaction to stress or many other things.

I hope that's general enough for you!

hammy56

why are you trying to lose weight? Why not focus on the riding (and eating a finer quality of food), and after youve raced for a period of time, you can evaluate whether your weight is truly an issue...where do you feel your excess weight is? If youve got a belly thats one thing, but if you turn out to be a "sprinter type" with bulky, muscular legs, thats another story.

A fine example would be rkwaki- hes a fatso but has had some success in crits.

rkwaki

Das right homeboy...

echappist

why? Cost, or is it that you think it somehow emasculates you?

i've learned many things meeting a nutritionist. Almost all colleges have a nutritionist on site. You want what's a good recommended caloric intake? Other than trial and error with the help of diligent food-logging, a nutritionist is your best bet.

Also, if you are going through starving and binging cycles when you try to cut weight, that's even more reason to go see a nutritionist if not a mental health professional.

rkwaki

You've been a little fiesty today This forum emasculates me...
As carefully as I watch nutrition I met with my doctor today and am going to have a micro nutrient test done today to continue to look for shortfalls.

echappist made some great points in this post. With as much experience as I and my wife have in this area we still fall short.

If you can regulate your food intake at a minimum you are making positive strides.

hammy56

maybe rkwaki can help with a recommendation here as well.

rkwaki

Problem is I waited too long to see one and now it can't be fixed, kinda like that itch you have...

TMonk

when I was in college, I was on the IPA and cheeseburger diet.

im still on that diet.

hammy56

I wish you could smell my finger.

rkwaki

That made me burst out laughing, you win.

Salty?

TMonk

+1.

What I do is make sure that I get all of my necessary nutrients (vitamins, minerals, esp. protein) through having a diverse diet with a minimal amount of supplementation.
At this point in the game, I can get down to 140lbs (any less and I lose strength) through diligent dieting, or eat whatever the **** I want and be 150. I prefer the latter.

Disclaimer: When I say eat whatever I want, this is of course including a full training load (as time permits) and getting all the necessary nutrients.

canemaster

So for you the difference in diligent dieting and eating whatever is only 10 lbs?! I fluctuate that much in a day!
To the OP:
STAY AWAY from those frozen meals! They are god awful along with any other processes "meal." I would eat a lot more dark greens, limit things with lots of sugar (unfortunately lots of food fall under this), and if you get hungry snack on sun flower seeds or almonds.
I can't really tell you how many calories you need since everyone's body and metabolism are different.

I'm currently consuming around 7-8K a day for jiu jitsu, weight training, and cycling. But I'm not loosing, or trying to lose weight

echappist

donno why, must be b/c i'm a bit irked that my long ride this weekend might be cancelled due to snow...

though more likely, it may have to do with the topics. That one thread was a shining example of how not to argue, and this current one is something that hits close to home, alas me having the most number of posts in the weight-loss thread.
lucky bastard
all jest aside (and we really area a bunch of jokestars most of the time), this really isn't a joking matter. And really, no one should be trying to "shame" anyone else who's seeking professional help. God knows only few of us are not screwed up in some way.

rkwaki

e remind me to comment on this tomorrow. It will be my only serious post of the day, deal?

I have to get outta here for the evening.

ericm979

I eat what I want and I can get my weight down as low as I can stand. Low enough that my body fat scale just gives up rather than reporting a number. (I also know from experience that I can't stay there, I need an extra pound or two of fat for long term happiness, restistance to illness, missing a meal, etc).

I hate calorie counting. It's dreary and it's especially difficult if you make real food rather than eating packaged food.

My diet works like this: I eat when I am hungry. If I want to lose weight, I eat when I am really hungry and cut down on non-essential calories, like that third helping of pasta at dinner. Cutting back on dinner works because you still have all the calories you need to ride and recover (assuming morning rides).

I suggest that as a student you get in the habit of making real food. It's cheaper, healthier and tastes better. Also, women like guys who can cook. If you can't find the time now when you can arrange your own schedule and have no dependents, you're never going to be able to do it when you're working full time, your boss gives you an assignment that absolutely has to be done by Friday and you have kids to feed.

The calorie numbers your exercise bikes are reporting sound a little high for your weight and amount of training.

Your binge eating could be from two different things (besides not eating enough which you already identified)- you're not eating at the right time to support your training, or you are missing something from your diet. Long ago I tried a low fat/low salt diet. I wound up guiltily eating half a pound of Cheeze-Its a week. They're basically orange colored lard squares with salt on top. I was deficient in two of those three things (it doesn't take much orange food coloring to meet dietary requirements of even the hardest working athlete) but it took months for me to make the connection.

kensuf

oreos.

laserfj

wut

Creatre

This.

rkwaki

Better?

hammy56

tldr

echappist

rkwaki, i was actually fortunate enough to have read it before you deleted it. Thanks for sharing, and I fully agree with what you said as I've gone and am still going through a similar process.

You seem to have casted pearls before swine, and that's too bad.

rkwaki

I got a couple of emails regarding that post, I may put it back up.

hammy56

what happen? I was gonna come back to it...put it back.

echappist

For such a serious topic (and one still viewed as somewhat taboo) and have someone irreverently write a tl:dr is quite insulting. Not writing any remarks would be better.