Healthy to burn off everything you eat with exercise alone? How much should I eat?

[NYCypher]

What is the minimum number of calories you would suggest I eat to maintain running 6 miles per day or doing the elliptical for an hour and a half. I assume these exercises burn 1200 calories and I have been eating about 1400 calories per day.


Is exercising off everything you eat a good way to lose weight or will I run out of energy in 2 weeks? I don't plan on doing this long term. I just want to drop weight quickly, I do alright at maintaining once I'm at the weight I want.


I burn 3500 calories a day. (without exercise)

I am 30 years old

Weigh 230lbs

6'3

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I had my metabolic rate tested twice, (breathing into a machine for 10mins and having the expired oxygen measured to figure out how many calories I burn at rest) my average was burning 3500 calories per day when adding in about 800 calories for lifestyle and normal activity. My metabolism is above average.

 

[PLB]

Hey NY, welcome!


If you're really burning 3500 kcal per day plus 1200 kcal through exercise, I would say that consuming 1400 kcal per day is likely on the low side and will probably be quite difficult to maintain. Where did you get the calculation for calories burned on the elliptical? It seems quite high...


The typical recommendation is to create a 500 to 1000 kcal per day deficit, meaning that if you truly burn 4700 kcal per day, then you, in theory, should be able to eat A LOT more than 1400 kcal per day and still lose weight. How long have you been consuming 1400 kcal per day? The only real way to see what is going to work is to try it and see what happens. I would suggest raising your caloric intake for a few weeks. See how much weight you lose... if you're not losing weight, reduce your caloric intake slightly.