Too much cardio?

[Brett N]

I am overweight, I have been trying to get my diet dialed in with a deficit. My intake is around 1600 - 1850 a day. I know I am not getting the perfect 1 gram protein +. Carbs are all clean and I am getting fresh veggies.

Today (using myfitnesspal app to track macros)

fat - 43
Carbs - 142
Protein -179



I have been doing quite a bit of cardio. Every day I am switching back and forth from MTN Biking and Jogging with an occasional hike. Just trying to be more active. I work out with weights 3X a week doing Stronglifts 5X5.

Today I ran 3 miles and walked .75 after to get all the way home. According to Endomondo smart phone app (using gps) I burned 689 calories.

This afternoon, I hiked with my kids on a 5 mile hike and with the same method it says I burned 929 more calories

That's a total of 1618 calories that I supposedly burned today. I don't feel weak or anything is wrong. This morning I ran on an empty stomach except for a 16 drink with BCAAs in it.

If I am only eating (today) 1766 calories, do I need to eat more if I am doing so much cardio? Am I destroying any muscle that I have grown? Is it more beneficial for me to concentrate on the weight now and then worry about building muscle back up when I have lower bodyfat?

A lot of questions, looking for some proper guidance. Thanks guys.

[Brazensol]

I just calculated my weekly cardio totals for calories burned miles ridden on my bike. I burned 5820 calories while riding 113.1 miles. This is about what I've been averaging for the last 2.5 - 3 months and I also thought I was losing lbm because of all the cardio in addition to a 400-500 calorie deficit cutting diet. When I did my bod pod this past Wednesday I was surpised to find I had actually GAINED lbm in addition to losing significant bf. I don't know if this applies across the board to most individuals but so far as I know I am as average as the next guy so I'd say press on with the cardio and diet.

[Brett N]

So basically I should quit over thinking it you think? Just keep doing what I've been doing and if I notice significant muscle loss worry about it then?

[--->>405<<---]

What was the duration of the hike?

What was the duration of the run/walk?

[Brett N]

The run/walk was around 50 minutes if I remember right. I know I was averaging 11 minute mile on jog.

The hike was 6 hours later and was close to 2 hours at a kids pace through the woods. on trails. Wasn't breathing hard but my legs were getting wore out.

Edit - Forget to mention that this was a non lifting day for me so that is all the real exercise I had.

[--->>405<<---]

^^ i still havent perfected the amount of cals burned for me doing cardio but i estimate it around 10-12 per minute and usually 600 per hour to be on the conservative side. this is running 130(ish) BPM heartrate.. so your amount given (@1600cals) with one hr ish of running and 2 hrs ish of hiking is probably close.

what are ur complete stats? age weight height bf%??

[Brett N]

Age 41
Height 5'10
Guesstimate BF% - 25% going by pictures here (definitely not under, if anything I guess between 25-30)
Weight - 215

I have no idea how to calculate calories burned, that app endomondo uses gps which takes in speed, altitude and distance traveled and also the type of workout you are doing. Road biking is figured differently than trail mountain biking and so on. I am not sure how accurate it is but I am just using it as a rough guide. I think it is closer than machine calculations.

I had my elliptical tell me I burned 1200 calories in an hour before. No way that ever happened.