Burning question about calories in calories out...workout stuff.

cali08
cali08 Posts: 12 Member
edited November 10 in Food and Nutrition
So for example today I ate 1220 calories. Now I did zumba for 1 hour this morning and did 21 day fix cardio (30 minutes) so this roughly burned maybe 1000 calories on top of my normal going to work today. On average I usually get about 1000 calories in with about 80 carbs per day and work out just one time at 30 minutes with various work out styles. My question is, is this healthy? Is this enough to lose weight? I am on a diet guided by coaches and mine told me in the short term this isn't an issue but im still at a loss. Thoughts?

Replies

  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    edited January 2015
    What do you mean you "get about 1000 calories in..."? How much are you eating every day? at 1200 calories you should be eating your exercise calories back. And you should never be eating less than 1200.

    Also, how are you calculating your burns?
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    I'm just going to drop this link off because it's late and I'm posting from a mobile device and thus am too lazy to type things out. It sounds like you may be over complicating things. Whatever happens, I wish you luck in your endeavors.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    I'd be awfully hesitant to say that you burned 1000 calories on 1.5 hour worth of work.

    Zumba's work- but its' not THAT much work- and believe you me- I am a RIDICULOUS person in zumba (like I dance 100%) no way it's burning through 500+ calories.

    How often do you do cardio workouts?? is that normal? once a week? twice a week?
  • Phoebeg1723
    Phoebeg1723 Posts: 88 Member
    I agree that an hour and half probably isn't burning 1000 cals. I walk for 2-3 hours (on a good day) and burn around 800 (according to my walk ever anyway). However what you have to remember is that by eating 1200 cals a day, you're already doing enough to lose a certain amount of weight. Note: NEVER eat less than 1200 cals a day as your body will go into starvation mode and that will hinder you rather than help.

    As for carbs, I aim for 20-25% of my food to be carbs with the majority of my cals coming from protein as that's the big muscle builder.

    30 minutes a day exercise is fab, but don't forget about any walking you do, household cleaning (some can get very physical) for example. Try using a step counter and reach 10000 steps a day and you should really notice a difference.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    IMO, people can certainly burn 1000 cals in 90 minutes of exercise, but I do agree with the general point of previous posts - be careful about overestimating calorie burning, especially early on in the process while you are still trying to figure out your calorie needs.

    That said, 1000ish cals per day while burning 200ish through exercise is certainly enough to lose weight. Is it healthy? Healthy is relative, but most will say that this is not healthy (too few calories), especially if you were to sustain it long term. Low cals for a week or a month probably isn't a big deal... but certainly could be over months and years.

    Speaking of sustaining long term... don't undervalue the importance of your ability to sustain a diet and exercise plan long term. Nothing meaningful is going to happen in a day or a week, so make sure you can maintain things long term.
  • 47Jacqueline
    47Jacqueline Posts: 6,993 Member
    JoRocka wrote: »
    I'd be awfully hesitant to say that you burned 1000 calories on 1.5 hour worth of work.

    Zumba's work- but its' not THAT much work- and believe you me- I am a RIDICULOUS person in zumba (like I dance 100%) no way it's burning through 500+ calories.

    How often do you do cardio workouts?? is that normal? once a week? twice a week?

    LOL! Me too. No matter how out of breath I get, how much I sweat, I can't get the HRM to register over 400 calories, if that and I am a maniac when I dance.

    Also, if you are really active, you should be eating more than 1200kcal a day. I lost a half pound a week steadily eating 1450kcal a day and working out 5 or six times a week. Other than walking a lot because I live in a city and don't drive, that was my routine.

    The key to maintaining is a moderate pace of losing weight and increasing your daily activity to a sustained level. It won't, and shouldn't happen in a month.
  • Sternacus
    Sternacus Posts: 7 Member
    cali08 wrote: »
    So for example today I ate 1220 calories. Now I did zumba for 1 hour this morning and did 21 day fix cardio (30 minutes) so this roughly burned maybe 1000 calories on top of my normal going to work today. On average I usually get about 1000 calories in with about 80 carbs per day and work out just one time at 30 minutes with various work out styles. My question is, is this healthy? Is this enough to lose weight? I am on a diet guided by coaches and mine told me in the short term this isn't an issue but im still at a loss. Thoughts?

    You can lose weight when you are burning more calories than your consuming that's when the fat cells start burning it's good to be able to find out what your metabolic rate is as well so u can put that in to factor while your at work and stuff. I'm no expert so if I'm ever wrong guys just tell me good luck best to all
  • clyn27
    clyn27 Posts: 102 Member
    When I go to zumba I burn between 600 and 800 calories. When I log zumba into mfp their average is like 750. Plus she did another half hour of work out. She definitely got 1000 calories burned that day
  • Springfield1970
    Springfield1970 Posts: 1,945 Member
    clyn27 wrote: »
    When I go to zumba I burn between 600 and 800 calories. When I log zumba into mfp their average is like 750. Plus she did another half hour of work out. She definitely got 1000 calories burned that day

    Per hour? I weigh 129lb and can't burn more than 600 per hour in a 10k race, flat out sprint.
  • Lasmartchika
    Lasmartchika Posts: 3,440 Member
    Ok, whether you burn 1000 or not, you're only eating less than 1200 and it seems like your not eating your exercise calories back, eat some but not all... around 50% of them. :flowerforyou:
  • clyn27
    clyn27 Posts: 102 Member
    clyn27 wrote: »
    When I go to zumba I burn between 600 and 800 calories. When I log zumba into mfp their average is like 750. Plus she did another half hour of work out. She definitely got 1000 calories burned that day

    Per hour? I weigh 129lb and can't burn more than 600 per hour in a 10k race, flat out sprint.

    Yes per hour. If you ask an instructor they usually say average is between 500 and 1000 calories burned depending on how into it you get.
  • FredDoyle
    FredDoyle Posts: 2,273 Member
    clyn27 wrote: »
    clyn27 wrote: »
    When I go to zumba I burn between 600 and 800 calories. When I log zumba into mfp their average is like 750. Plus she did another half hour of work out. She definitely got 1000 calories burned that day

    Per hour? I weigh 129lb and can't burn more than 600 per hour in a 10k race, flat out sprint.

    Yes per hour. If you ask an instructor they usually say average is between 500 and 1000 calories burned depending on how into it you get.

    I think you are fooling yourself. Of course the instructor would say that. It's over-inflated as a marketing strategy.
  • Ninkyou
    Ninkyou Posts: 6,666 Member
    I'd also say you're overestimating your caloric burn.

    But, with that being said, from your post, it sounds like you're EATING 1000 calories and also exercising on top of that.

    The answer to your question is NO, it's not healthy.
    You should be eating a minimum of 1200 calories a day without exercising. And 1200 calories may not even be appropriate for your age/size/activity level. So I'd highly suggest re-evaluating your calorie goal just based on that.
    And when you DO exercise, you should be eating at least a portion of those calories back. But since your calorie burns are questionable, it might be better to eat back maybe half of your calories. So if you think you burn 1000 calories of working out, eat 4-500 calories in addition to your baseline goal (which again, should be 1200 MINIMUM).

    My suggestion for you is this: Invest in a food scale and start weighing your food so that you can accurately know whether you are really eating just 1000 calories, and if you are, then you need to readjust your habits/food to meet at least the minimum. Secondly, invest in a HRM or Fitbit or whathaveyou to know how many calories you're actually burning, so that you can fuel your body properly and healthily.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    You do realize that you "burn" calories by merely existing right? Like a *kitten* load of them. You don't have to exercise off every single calorie you consume which is what it sounds like you are trying to do...and no...that's not healthy at all.

    1200 calories is pretty much the minimum for a sedentary individual to lose at a decent clip without any exercise...if you're working out, you need more fuel in order to provide your body the required energy to merely exist on top of your other activities.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    FredDoyle wrote: »
    clyn27 wrote: »
    clyn27 wrote: »
    When I go to zumba I burn between 600 and 800 calories. When I log zumba into mfp their average is like 750. Plus she did another half hour of work out. She definitely got 1000 calories burned that day

    Per hour? I weigh 129lb and can't burn more than 600 per hour in a 10k race, flat out sprint.

    Yes per hour. If you ask an instructor they usually say average is between 500 and 1000 calories burned depending on how into it you get.

    I think you are fooling yourself. Of course the instructor would say that. It's over-inflated as a marketing strategy.

    Agreed. My instructor said in class today "You guys burned 800 calories!" Nope.
  • FredDoyle
    FredDoyle Posts: 2,273 Member
    arditarose wrote: »
    FredDoyle wrote: »
    clyn27 wrote: »
    clyn27 wrote: »
    When I go to zumba I burn between 600 and 800 calories. When I log zumba into mfp their average is like 750. Plus she did another half hour of work out. She definitely got 1000 calories burned that day

    Per hour? I weigh 129lb and can't burn more than 600 per hour in a 10k race, flat out sprint.

    Yes per hour. If you ask an instructor they usually say average is between 500 and 1000 calories burned depending on how into it you get.

    I think you are fooling yourself. Of course the instructor would say that. It's over-inflated as a marketing strategy.

    Agreed. My instructor said in class today "You guys burned 800 calories!" Nope.

    Yeh, years ago when I was an apprentice, the ministry of labour stated that we would burn approx an extra 1400 kcals per 8 hour day doing fairly heavy construction work.
    It seemed to work out that way as i would maintain on about 3400-3600 kcals per day whereas now, working at a desk all day, my usual maintenance is anywhere from 2000-2400. I'm a little older though too. ;)
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    clyn27 wrote: »
    clyn27 wrote: »
    When I go to zumba I burn between 600 and 800 calories. When I log zumba into mfp their average is like 750. Plus she did another half hour of work out. She definitely got 1000 calories burned that day

    Per hour? I weigh 129lb and can't burn more than 600 per hour in a 10k race, flat out sprint.

    Yes per hour. If you ask an instructor they usually say average is between 500 and 1000 calories burned depending on how into it you get.

    zumba instructors don't know ANYTHING.
    seriously how can you POSSIBLY take anything they say nutrionally with any sort of credibility.

    I'd be willing to buy between 3-500 MAX... but there is out and out no way anyone is burning 1000 calories in a 50 min zumba class.
    NOT HAPPENING.
  • cali08
    cali08 Posts: 12 Member
    The calories was a total of 1000 estimate according to my fitness pal between two workouts. The zumba burned around 700 and the other around 300 making 1000. The original question was. I was told by my diet coach to eat around 1000 calories a day even though im working out. They told me as long as im losing weight and there are no negative effects on myself it would be okay. I just wanted a second opinion.
  • clyn27
    clyn27 Posts: 102 Member
    JoRocka wrote: »
    clyn27 wrote: »
    clyn27 wrote: »
    When I go to zumba I burn between 600 and 800 calories. When I log zumba into mfp their average is like 750. Plus she did another half hour of work out. She definitely got 1000 calories burned that day

    Per hour? I weigh 129lb and can't burn more than 600 per hour in a 10k race, flat out sprint.

    Yes per hour. If you ask an instructor they usually say average is between 500 and 1000 calories burned depending on how into it you get.

    zumba instructors don't know ANYTHING.
    seriously how can you POSSIBLY take anything they say nutrionally with any sort of credibility.

    I'd be willing to buy between 3-500 MAX... but there is out and out no way anyone is burning 1000 calories in a 50 min zumba class.
    NOT HAPPENING.

    I wear a fitbit. I burn any where between 600 and 800 calories in a 60 min class. Sorry not every one can right all the time!
  • acheben
    acheben Posts: 476 Member
    cali08 wrote: »
    The calories was a total of 1000 estimate according to my fitness pal between two workouts. The zumba burned around 700 and the other around 300 making 1000. The original question was. I was told by my diet coach to eat around 1000 calories a day even though im working out. They told me as long as im losing weight and there are no negative effects on myself it would be okay. I just wanted a second opinion.
    You should definitely eat more and try to net at least 1200 calories per day.

  • Unknown
    edited January 2015
    This content has been removed.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    clyn27 wrote: »
    JoRocka wrote: »
    clyn27 wrote: »
    clyn27 wrote: »
    When I go to zumba I burn between 600 and 800 calories. When I log zumba into mfp their average is like 750. Plus she did another half hour of work out. She definitely got 1000 calories burned that day

    Per hour? I weigh 129lb and can't burn more than 600 per hour in a 10k race, flat out sprint.

    Yes per hour. If you ask an instructor they usually say average is between 500 and 1000 calories burned depending on how into it you get.

    zumba instructors don't know ANYTHING.
    seriously how can you POSSIBLY take anything they say nutrionally with any sort of credibility.

    I'd be willing to buy between 3-500 MAX... but there is out and out no way anyone is burning 1000 calories in a 50 min zumba class.
    NOT HAPPENING.

    I wear a fitbit. I burn any where between 600 and 800 calories in a 60 min class. Sorry not every one can right all the time!

    That is extremely unlikely. Assuming your profile pic is reasonably accurate, you would have to be approaching olympic-athlete level of fitness to achieve that kind of burn.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    OP, this has become a train wreck of a thread... sorry.

    1000 cals certainly isn't advised, but it probably won't cause you any issues in the short term. Do it for a few weeks or maybe a couple of months, but I wouldn't sustain it much longer than that. Just don't ignore the importance of long term sustainability. There's a reason why so many people put the weight back on after they lose it.

    As I said earlier...
    jacksonpt wrote: »
    That said, 1000ish cals per day while burning 200ish through exercise is certainly enough to lose weight. Is it healthy? Healthy is relative, but most will say that this is not healthy (too few calories), especially if you were to sustain it long term. Low cals for a week or a month probably isn't a big deal... but certainly could be over months and years.

    Speaking of sustaining long term... don't undervalue the importance of your ability to sustain a diet and exercise plan long term. Nothing meaningful is going to happen in a day or a week, so make sure you can maintain things long term.

This discussion has been closed.