# Does your daily calorie requirement reduce with fitness?



## Globalti (17 Aug 2011)

Thanks to having gone over to road riding I am fitter now than I've ever been in my life. Yet I feel more and more inclined to get podgy around my waist. Is this because being so fit, my daily calorific requirement is lower or is it just being 55 and having less testosterone than at 20?


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## jowwy (17 Aug 2011)

you normally only lower your calorific amount if trying to lose weight - (3000 less calories = 1 pound fat loss)


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## ColinJ (17 Aug 2011)

jowwy said:


> you normally only lower your calorific amount if trying to lose weight - (3000 less calories = 1 pound fat loss)


I think what Globalti is suggesting is that his body has become more efficient so he doesn't need to eat as much as before to maintain his energy levels and weight, but since he is still eating the same he is tending to put weight on.

It is 3,500 calories of fat burning for a loss of 1 pound of fat.


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## lulubel (17 Aug 2011)

I don't know if increased fitness makes a difference at rest, but it definitely makes a difference when you exercise (unless you make sure you are continuing to use the same effort).

And yes, your daily calorie requirement does (sadly) decrease as you get older.


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## Saluki (17 Aug 2011)

I can probably go look it up somewhere, but generally speaking if you are 6' tall and weigh 12 stone, you will need to eat less calories to maintain that weight than if you were the same height and 15 stone. This obviously varies from person to person depending on musculature, bone density and other factors.
This does depend on lifestyle and exercise taken. Someone who is sedantary would not require the same amount as a person who takes a moderate (which is a very subjective term) amount of exercise. Someone who wanted to maintain weight and took a lot of exercise i.e. marathon runners, tri-athletes etc would need to consume far more calories to maintain their weight.

I found a nice website which alleges to show a guide to calorific intake needed based on height, weight and amount of exercise taken. http://www.caloriecontrol.org/healthy-weight-tool-kit/weight-maintenance-calculator-women
Gives a *rough* guide for women. I don't seem to be able to find a similar one for men.


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## Seamab (17 Aug 2011)

As you mature (ahem) in general your metabolic rate slows down so you burn less calories overall - certainly when not exercising. So getting rid of fat around the waist is more difficult. So, i guess that you'd need to find ways of boosting your metabolic rate.
I recall reading somewhere that lots of very short sharp hard interval repeats (10 secs on 10 off times as much as you can manage type of thing) can do this better than just general cycling around. Caffeine after exercise can also apparently keep the metabolism going faster for longer.


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## Smurfy (17 Aug 2011)

Saluki said:


> When you are lighter, you need less calories to live on.



What about having large muscles? If I weigh the same as before, but have larger muscles, do I become more, or less efficient? In normal day-to-day life (i.e. not heavy exertion) isn't having large muscles the equivalent of using a 6 litre V12 engine to pop out and pick up a pint of milk?


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## Zoiders (18 Aug 2011)

Saluki said:


> When you are lighter, you need less calories to live on. I have found since I lost a stone or two, that to maintain my current weight, that I consume less calories than I did to maintain a higher weight.
> This was all explained properly to me by a nutritionist. I can probably go look it up somewhere, but generally speaking if you are 6' tall and weigh 12 stone, you will need to eat less calories to maintain that weight than if you were the same height and 15 stone.


Lighter might mean less calories.

More active and lighter does not equate to the same thing.

Dangerous premise you are putting forward, please have a think and reword or remove that post.

I am sick to death of posts suggesting a grown man needs much less than 3000 cals a day if they are putting in a full working day and lot's of commuting miles on the bike, it's harmful crash dieting coupled with over exercise and I wish it would stop getting recirculated in the health section as being the thing to do.

You might get past 40, you might have a bit of belly and love handles - sod that and think about your CV fitness and what you can actually do - not how you look.

The fitter you are your calorific intake should go up or stay about the same for less weight unless you were seriously over eating or eating the wrong foods.


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## screenman (18 Aug 2011)

"When you are lighter, you need less calories to live on." Zoiders, it is the last 2 words that count in this sentence. Are you saying that a 18 stone person doing exactly the same as a 12 stone person needs the same daily calorie count, I suggest not.


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## Globalti (18 Aug 2011)

Interesting. One thing I'm sure about is that as I age and the testosterone levels diminish, my chest, shoulders and arms are less muscled than when I was younger and simple DIY tasks make them ache a lot more. I guess less muscle means it takes you longer to saw a piece of wood and uses less calories?

Even though I'm skinny the man boobs are slightly worrying; another consequence of the changing hormonal balance.


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## VamP (18 Aug 2011)

There are several contradicting processes taking place in OP's body.

On the one hand he is getting fitter, and with increased muscle mass and activity his calorie burn is increasing. Remember that it is virtually only within muscle mass that metabolic calorie consumption is taking place.

However, with fitness his efficiency at using fuel is also increasing.

Finally, as he gets older his metabolic capacity is gradually decreasing as well.

On balance, despite getting fitter, his calorific daily requirement is ''probably'' on the decrease.


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## Globalti (18 Aug 2011)

Damn. Just as I thought; fewer pies and more exercise needed!


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## fossyant (19 Aug 2011)

30 plus and it's hard work keeping the belly in.

As a youngster you go 'what ever' and then it catches up ! Balls !


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## JonnyBlade (19 Aug 2011)

An increased fitness usually leads to increased exercise and a larger intake of calories to sustain the extra activity


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## ColinJ (20 Aug 2011)

In the days when I did a lot of riding and was slim and fit, my ex made the following accusation:

_"You only do all that cycling so you can eat and drink what you want! Why don't you eat less and drink less, and then you won't have to ride your bike so much!"_

I tried explaining that lots of exercise = fun + slim + fit + healthy, and the need to eat more food and drink to supply the energy to keep going = a fantastic enjoyable bonus, but she wouldn't have it. People should sit around a lot so they didn't burn much energy, then they could survive on tiny unenjoyable meals. 

My reaction could be summarised as - _"WTF!" _


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## colly (20 Aug 2011)

ColinJ said:


> _"You only do all that cycling so you can eat and drink what you want! _



And what would be the problem with that ?


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## ColinJ (20 Aug 2011)

colly said:


> And what would be the problem with that ?


It's a puritanical attitude towards pleasure! Only certain approved pleasures are acceptable, apparently ... Enjoying food and drink is considered gluttony. At the time, I had a 32" waist, weighed 12 stone (I'm a fairly chunky 6' 1" so that isn't a lot for me) and I could do my local hilly rides in 2/3 of the time that I take now and barely break into a sweat. None of that counted - I was exceeding the approved intake!

It was like living in a monastery or the Soviet Union!


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## MacB (20 Aug 2011)

ColinJ said:


> _"You only do all that cycling so you can eat and drink what you want! Why don't you eat less and drink less, and then you won't have to ride your bike so much!"_



Wow Col, I had a similar situation, or was attacked by a similar argument, when I was a little lighter than that, a lot younger than now and used to swim and use the gym daily. I got blindsided by a tirade from a girl in the office when I unpacked the stuff I'd bought for lunch, don't remember what exactly but nothing unusual in those days. Same sort of crud about doing less and consuming less, totally out of the blue, left me feeling bemused but didn't put me off my lunch though  

Got to say it didn't make me think, oh here's someone I could get into bed with


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## ColinJ (20 Aug 2011)

MacB said:


> Wow Col, I had a similar situation, or was attacked by a similar argument, when I was a little lighter than that, a lot younger than now and used to swim and use the gym daily. I got blindsided by a tirade from a girl in the office when I unpacked the stuff I'd bought for lunch, don't remember what exactly but nothing unusual in those days. Same sort of crud about doing less and consuming less, totally out of the blue, left me feeling bemused but didn't put me off my lunch though
> 
> Got to say it didn't make me think, oh here's someone I could get into bed with


I actually got 'reported' in my last-but-one job for the amount of food I put on my plate in the factory canteen. _I s**t you not! _  

Every Thursday lunch time, there was a buffet salad bar, eat as much as you like. All sorts of very healthy, tasty stuff. I used to select a nice big jacket potato, sprinkle some grated cheese into it and then put loads of lettuce, cucumber, tomato etc. on my plate. Basically, as much as I could squeeze on. Great value for money, and very nutritious - _what's not to like?_

The very idea of it, apparently! One day, the canteen manager took me to one side and apologetically told me that _'it would be better'_ if I came down for lunch 30 minutes later on Thursdays. The canteen staff really liked the fact that I so clearly enjoyed the meals they prepared, but some of the shop floor staff took great exception to it. It made them 'feel sick' to see that much food on a plate and _'it wasn't right'_ that they should have to witness it. They reported this opinion to their foreman, who instead of telling them not to be so stupid, reported it to their manager, who passed it on to the canteen staff. _Morons led by f**kwits! _

Those complainants used to chain smoke in the canteen, pick their noses, fart and cackle on about who they'd screwed and how, but that was no problem. Somebody munching a plate of lettuce and cucumber _was!_

I ate my meals back up at my office desk after that._
_


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## dave r (24 Aug 2011)

ColinJ said:


> I actually got 'reported' in my last-but-one job for the amount of food I put on my plate in the factory canteen. _I s**t you not! _
> 
> Every Thursday lunch time, there was a buffet salad bar, eat as much as you like. All sorts of very healthy, tasty stuff. I used to select a nice big jacket potato, sprinkle some grated cheese into it and then put loads of lettuce, cucumber, tomato etc. on my plate. Basically, as much as I could squeeze on. Great value for money, and very nutritious - _what's not to like?_
> 
> ...



I've come across simular myself. Where I'm working now, I started in the goods in with an agency about eighteen months ago and got a number of comments about how crammed full my large sarnie carton was, I had the feeling that they didn't understand that with cycling thirteen miles a day commuting and spending most of the day unloading 40 foot containers by hand I needed fuelling.


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## elmsall missile (16 Nov 2011)

Saluki said:


> I can probably go look it up somewhere, but generally speaking if you are 6' tall and weigh 12 stone, you will need to eat less calories to maintain that weight than if you were the same height and 15 stone. This obviously varies from person to person depending on musculature, bone density and other factors.
> This does depend on lifestyle and exercise taken. Someone who is sedantary would not require the same amount as a person who takes a moderate (which is a very subjective term) amount of exercise. Someone who wanted to maintain weight and took a lot of exercise i.e. marathon runners, tri-athletes etc would need to consume far more calories to maintain their weight.
> 
> I found a nice website which alleges to show a guide to calorific intake needed based on height, weight and amount of exercise taken. http://www.calorieco...alculator-women
> Gives a *rough* guide for women. I don't seem to be able to find a similar one for men.



The calculator for men can be found by deleting wo from women at the end of the web address


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## Lisa21 (23 Nov 2011)

ColinJ said:


> It's a puritanical attitude towards pleasure! Only certain approved pleasures are acceptable, apparently ... Enjoying food and drink is considered gluttony. At the time, I had a 32" waist, weighed 12 stone (I'm a fairly chunky 6' 1" so that isn't a lot for me) and I could do my local hilly rides in 2/3 of the time that I take now and barely break into a sweat. None of that counted - I was exceeding the approved intake!
> 
> It was like living in a monastery or the Soviet Union!



And when you _did _eat, i hope you didnt enjoy it........._bad Colin........ _


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## ColinJ (23 Nov 2011)

Lisa21 said:


> And when you _did _eat, i hope you didnt enjoy it........._bad Colin........ _


Well, that would just be silly ...


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## Lisa21 (23 Nov 2011)

ColinJ said:


> I actually got 'reported' in my last-but-one job for the amount of food I put on my plate in the factory canteen. _I s**t you not! _
> 
> Every Thursday lunch time, there was a buffet salad bar, eat as much as you like. All sorts of very healthy, tasty stuff. I used to select a nice big jacket potato, sprinkle some grated cheese into it and then put loads of lettuce, cucumber, tomato etc. on my plate. Basically, as much as I could squeeze on. Great value for money, and very nutritious - _what's not to like?_
> 
> ...


You really couldnt make it up could you I guess they must all have had very bland, pleasureless lives. Mind you, by the sound of them they've probably all died by now whilst your still going strong


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## ColinJ (23 Nov 2011)

Mind you - I _did_ eat a bit too much this evening ...  (A home-made veggie curry with new potatoes - I'd run out of rice!)


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## Alun (23 Nov 2011)

I detect the green eyed monster at work behind some of these posts. Who wouldn't be jealous of a slim jim eating "freely"?


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## Lisa21 (24 Nov 2011)

Eating is surely one of the great pleasures in life () and so is cycling. And seeing that the more you do of the latter the more you can do of the former, the two compliment eachother perfectly

Says me.....who hasnt been on her bike for far too long yet is still eating like a pig at a trough


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