Does muscle really weigh more than fat?
Replies
-
I know you said you aren't eating back your exercise calories, but those burns entered seem really high. How often and how long do you exercise?
We'll help you figure it out
But, I think you need to let go of the idea that you are gaining muscle. Looking at your diary, hearing about the exercise you do (running) etc. this is not what is happening to you. If you are putting on weight in a 6-week time period, we need to help you tighten up your logging. 0 -
janejellyroll wrote: »lisacarroll18 wrote: »I ate the sandwich lol, I'm frustrated because no matter what I don't see that damn scale moving, I know I need to get rid of that scale. I don't eat the calories that I earned from exercise is because I feel like I've undone everything that I've worked for by exercising. I'm afraid of late night eating, it's what has gotten me here now, but granted I would eat a ton of sugar,not do anything during the day and at bedtime eat some more, I mean excessive. I know this isn't an easy road to travel and it won't come off over night, I just don't like on weigh in day seeing a 2 pound increase on the scale as opposed to a loss, I would settle for like a 3 oz loss, something...
MFP is set up so that you have a deficit built in without any exercise. This deficit will result in weight loss. If you increase the size of the deficit through exercise, then you can eat those calories back -- it leaves your original deficit untouched.
If you are burning a lot of calories and not eating them back, then you can wind up with a net calorie count that is too low (that is, I eat 1,400 calories and then burn 400 through running -- my net calories are now 1,000). You aren't undoing anything by eating exercise calories back. The only thing you need to watch out for is that MFP databases and gym equipment often over-estimate calorie burns -- for this reason, many of us eat back 50-75% of your calories.
If your mood and energy are suffering, this is something you should pay attention to.
Now if you aren't losing weight, you may have a logging issue. I don't know how long it has been since you've seen a loss, but if you open your diary you may get some good advice. It's possible that you are eating more than you think that you are.
This.
If your logging has been pretty accurate, likely it's water weight. Even more likely if you're continually increasing speed and/or distance while running and have a relatively slow rate of loss. I couldn't believe how much water I stored when I was doing the half-marathon training program for the first time. Took a vacation partway through and dropped 4 lbs in 2 days. Weight that didn't come back. Crazy.
I will second this -- whenever I increase speed or distance, my body will hold water weight until I get "used" to my new normal. I will then drop 3-5 pounds really quickly.
OP, are you measuring yourself? This can be a useful way to see progress without being thrown off by what you are seeing on the scale.
0 -
The Krystal is cooked, I picked them up when the rest of the family was picking them up. I never thought about switching out fiber one bars for Quest bars, would you find those at a local Walmart? My height is 5"6 and my current weight is 188, I was 186.8 before this scale moved on me about a week and a half ago. I'm weighing them, I've also have measurement spoons. My daily calorie goal is 1460, but I get the extra from the exercise. I guess I need to find something higher in protein, the only thing I don't eat is fish.0
-
One thing I notice in your diary is that your protein is very low. For me, protein is my most satiating macro. Eating 100+ grams a day is specifically what keeps me from being hangry. Since I notice you like stuff like Fiber One bars, what about swapping those out for something like a Quest Bar in Cookie Dough? I think you would probably like them based on the things you seem to like (cause I like those things too), and be swapping a lot of carbs for 21g protein instead.
Some of the items calorie counts look low - like a couple days ago I see "Krystal Hamburger - 3 burger" at 390 calories. Is that a prepackaged item? That seems pretty low to me.
What is your height and weight?
Are you weighing stuff or just guessing? A lot of your stuff is prepackaged, but small errors can still add up to a lot.
Is the 2100ish daily calorie goal from you entering your exercise? Edit: Yes I see you are entering exercise.
Krystal has slider-size burgers (it's kinda like a Southern White Castle), so that calorie count is right -- their burgers are 130 calories each.
http://krystal.com/images/uploads/assets/Nutritional-Values.pdf0 -
I see you've lost 13 pounds. Congratulations! Every ten pounds allow MFP to reset your calories because the smaller we are, the less we need.
I looked at your diary. I believe the combination of not weighing your food and highly overestimated calorie burns is killing your deficit to where you are basically eating at maintenance. This is true even though you are not eating exercise calories back.
I realize you can't weigh your food when you are out, but everything you eat at home you must try to weigh and ensure you are using correct entries.
An example I can give is fruit. A lot of MFP entries say medium (whatever fruit it is) with the grams in parentheses. Well, if you don't weigh the food, then you don't really know how much it is, even though that whole bag of apples looks to be the same size.
I love bananas on my oatmeal in the morning. Most of the time, that bunch of bananas all look to be the same size. Look at my banana history
for this week:
Monday's: 135 grams 128 calories
Tuesday: 113 grams 107 calories
Wednesday: 137 grams 130 calories
Thursday: 151 grams 143 calories
Well, there are big differences between those numbers alone. The database has a medium banana at 110 calories. If I believed that 110 calories for every banana I ate, I'd be killing my maintenance calorie goals.
So, my questions to you:- Where do you get those exercise burns from? I ask because MFP, machines, and internet sources way overestimate.
- Do you weigh your food at all?
- Do you log every single thing you eat?
0 -
I've started running on a constant basis, I do it for an hour, Everyday has to be an hour. If I can't hold out the whole I hour I will walk a small amount and start again. If my spouse is with me, then I have to slow the pace down because sometimes his heavy breathing lets me know that he's having a hard time breathing, this weight gain came over 6 days. I tried measuring myself but it didn't look as if it was going anywhere, I know some of my clothes are looser. I do run everyday. Some days I will walk just to give my body a break, I enjoy the scenery around our neighborhood but if I'm walking, I'm also doing it at a fast pace.0
-
lisacarroll18 wrote: »Oh and I also use a fitbit but I don't understand what it means when it's showing the calories burned, I think it's a crazy fitbit, possessed or something..
So, it's a fitbit? It looks like you are also including your exercise burns. Is that correct?
I believe with fitbit it's one or the other.0 -
OK bear with me while I store some info here as I gather it.
I used my three favorite calorie calculators with your info to get some calorie numbers for you.
http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/
http://www.fat2fittools.com/tools/bmr/
http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/
Your maintenance level if you DON'T exercise at all is around 1902. So this minus 500 calories a day deficit gives you 1402 calories. Again this is BEFORE exercise. So using the My Fitness Pal method, your base calories should be 1402, I think 1460 is a little high.
Now using the MFP method you DO need to eat at LEAST 50% of your exercise calories, or you are undereating. I question the burns you are entering though. How much/how long exercise? 750 cals a day in exercise calories is quite a lot. A very ballpark average is 100 calories per mile if you are keeping your heart rate high. Edited: you posted this info while I made this post
Let's figure out these numbers and then we can look at your logging some more.
Have you lost ANY weight in the last 6 weeks, or only managed to gain weight?
Edited again: I see you've lost weight, just frustrated with the last week right?0 -
I have a scale that weighs ounces, maybe I should get one that weighs grams? I have recently learned to start weighing fruit because for some reason when I did weight watchers, it seemed that fruit cost no calories. I think my mindset fell into that. I use the map my walk/exercise so it goes off of my speed that I am moving at. I do weigh the food here at home, I also have my husband double check behind me to make sure I am weighing correctly and I do log every single thing I eat. I've not eaten many fruits, but I did and have eaten tomatoes and didn't even think about calories in them. I guess the sodium is killing me too.0
-
ah ok thanks! I have never heard of that place.janejellyroll wrote: »
Krystal has slider-size burgers (it's kinda like a Southern White Castle), so that calorie count is right -- their burgers are 130 calories each.
http://krystal.com/images/uploads/assets/Nutritional-Values.pdf
0 -
Oh no, I lost 14 pounds but then managed to find 4 back and now I've lost 2 pounds so I'm at 188 as opposed to the 186 that I was. I'm running 60 minutes at a 12 sometimes an 11 minute mile, sometimes when i slow down on my walk (cool down) it will take calories away if I'm not moving faster. Like we went to the zoo, I turned it on, and I walked for atleast an hour at a leisurely pace, It said I burned zero calories, I know that not to be true, but if I'm not moving at a fast pace it won't really log calories for me.0
-
I think the week is just not enough time to establish a problem pattern. Were you losing a pound a week before that? I thought this was a longer problem. What is your weight loss pattern in the last six weeks? Has it been going ok?
Quest Bars you can't get at Walmart, but you can get them at Amazon. They are more expensive than other stuff but they have a lot of protein and to me they are a yummy treat.
http://www.amazon.com/Quest-Nutrition-Protein-Bar-Chocolate/dp/B00I7VD72M/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1428598999&sr=8-4&keywords=quest+bar
That is a variety pack with all the chocolate flavors. I like Cookie Dough the best
http://www.amazon.com/Quest-Nutrition-Protein-Chocolate-Cookie/dp/B00DLDH1N2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1428599073&sr=8-1&keywords=quest+bar+cookie+dough
I think eating more protein would help a ton with your hunger. I saw a day in there where you only got 33g protein. I would be a raging hangry monster on that little.0 -
AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!
Why? Why? Why?
Who the eff cares? Just let this dumb argument diiiiiiie!!!!-1 -
rjmudlax13 wrote: »AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!
Why? Why? Why?
Who the eff cares? Just let this dumb argument diiiiiiie!!!!
Did you even read the thread ...?? Clearly not...
0 -
rjmudlax13 wrote: »AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!
Why? Why? Why?
Who the eff cares? Just let this dumb argument diiiiiiie!!!!
Nobody in this thread is arguing. OP is seeking information -- which she received.0 -
Meal timing is irrelevant, so if you're hungry and have room in your allotment, eat.0
-
I am just seeking true assistance
0 -
rjmudlax13 wrote: »AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!
Why? Why? Why?
Who the eff cares? Just let this dumb argument diiiiiiie!!!!
Did you even read the thread ...?? Clearly not...
Sorry. The thread topic is what I was referring to. No, I did not read the thread completely. Shame on me. It's just the whole muscle vs fat argument is so dumb and repetitive. I'll try to get my eye to stop twitching.
To answer your actual question: If it fits into your calories allotment for the day, eat it or don't. All the matters is staying under calories.0 -
lisacarroll18 wrote: »Oh and I also use a fitbit but I don't understand what it means when it's showing the calories burned, I think it's a crazy fitbit, possessed or something..
So, it's a fitbit? It looks like you are also including your exercise burns. Is that correct?
I believe with fitbit it's one or the other.
Oh no, I don't trust what the fitbit is telling me, I use the zip, I use it for mileage, also the map my walk/run gives me the same mileage, I feel like I really don't know what I'm doing here, I feel lost. I only use calories from the map my walk, I don't use the fitbit (for caloric intake), I don't even have it linked to the MFP.
0 -
But the one thing I want to clarify is the first 6 pounds came off with in week one. So for me, I feel like it's an uphill battle.0
-
lisacarroll18 wrote: »Please read this link. If eating back your exercise calories was "undoing" your workout or put you over, why would MFP give them to you?
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/818082/exercise-calories-again-wtf/p1
Can you open your diary so we can give you more specific help?
This too.
This article was so helpful, the things is, is that I don't know which one I am using, I only know what MFP tells me I should eat and then the calories that I burn.
MFP is based on NEAT. It works as such:
Person enters their goal and stats into MFP to lose 1lb per week. Let's say that person's maintenance is 2000 cal and MFP spits out a 250 cal deficit per day in order to lose 1lb per week.
2000 main - 250 cal deficit = 1750 cals to eat in a normal day.
Now, let's say this person starts running and burns 300 additional cals per day so now their maintenance is 2300, so
2000 normal maintenance cals + 300 exercise = 2300 Maintenance cals
2300 - 250 = 2050 cals to lose 1lb per week.
One thing to keep in mind is, MFP will overestimate exercise cals, so most start at eating back 50% of them and adjust from there.0 -
lisacarroll18 wrote: »But the one thing I want to clarify is the first 6 pounds came off with in week one. So for me, I feel like it's an uphill battle.
This is common for most people because you start to lose a lot of water right off the bat then your body "catches up" and goes into "oh crap this is serious" mode and starts to hang on to water to repair muscles etc. This is one of the reasons why weight loss is not linear even if you are perfect with counting calories.0 -
I took a look at your exercise burns. It looks like on the days that you had your Fitbit synced you also logged your runs. Any step based activity that you do does not need to be logged while wearing it. Just let the Fitbit do it's thing. When you log exercise while using a Fitbit you have to be very careful about making sure that your start and stop times are correct or it will mess up your exercise calories.
There is a Fitbit group on here that has a lot of information on how the two work together and how to set them up so they work best for your needs.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/1290-fitbit-users0 -
Person enters their goal and stats into MFP to lose 1lb per week. Let's say that person's maintenance is 2000 cal and MFP spits out a 250 cal deficit per day in order to lose 1lb per week.
2000 main - 250 cal deficit = 1750 cals to eat in a normal day.
Now, let's say this person starts running and burns 300 additional cals per day so now their maintenance is 2300, so
2000 normal maintenance cals + 300 exercise = 2300 Maintenance cals
2300 - 250 = 2050 cals to lose 1lb per week.
One thing to keep in mind is, MFP will overestimate exercise cals, so most start at eating back 50% of them and adjust from there.
250 per day is only .5 lb/week
it's 500/day for 1 lb a week
0 -
I have the Fitbit as well and the calories it's showing is total burned including those you burn at rest. To get a better idea of what you burn during a certain exercise you'll have to break down the calories burned during that time. It might also depend on the Fitbit. I used to have a Fitbit One but now I have the Fitbit Surge and I'm finding that the One was more accurate with calories burned (the Surge puts my calories burned higher than what the One did). The Surge isn't too far off though and I love it, so it's just something I have to keep in the back of my mind.0
-
lisacarroll18 wrote: »Easter was rough and I feel like my downfall really started when I ate the Cracker Barrel pancakes.
How have your losses been? Have you been stalled for a while, fluctuating, losing less than you'd like per week but still losing a little on average (if so how much)?
As others have said, a big loss the first week and then a leveling off as you regain some of the water (which is why the big first week loss) while also losing fat is really common. Fluctuations certain times of the month are common, and adding some water weight if you first start exercising or do higher intensity exercise that makes you sore is common. It's most notable with weights, but I definitely get it with running too, if I increase intensity.
If you are weighing once a week you can just hit it on an upswing sometimes (I weigh every day and just try to convince myself not to overreact to the results, but if the scale is already driving you mad, probably not the thing to do).
I found focusing on process goals (running a certain number of days per week, staying within my calories, making lunches ahead, stuff like that) to be really helpful to focus on at first, so that I would realize and feel good about the progress I was making even when the scale was frustrating.
If what basically happened was an upswing at Easter, that very well could be because foods with more sodium (Cracker Barrel?) or simply a higher percentage of carbs overall can cause some water fluctuations, again. That's not real gain and will come off pretty quickly, although it is frustrating.
Also like others have said, your exercise calories are too high for whatever reason, but if you cut them in half that's not going to be a problem (it's why it gets recommended for people to do that). And of course if you haven't been eating them it's not an explanation for the struggles.0 -
I attribute this to a failure of the Public Education Systems, worldwide.
This is 6th grade (US) Science right? Weight -v- Density.
The old 3rd grade trick question: a pound of gold -v- a pound of feathers.
Oh - and a calorie has no idea, No Idea, what time it's being consumed. If you're hungry at 23:00, eat at 23:00 (assuming you have spare calories in your quota.0 -
A few days I let the fitbit sync but then decided that I wanted actual calories that I burned exercising, I figured anything over that would be great but I wouldn't log it, so I unsynced and decided to just go with the map my fitness, I don't have it synced to the account because for some reason, it's crazy and I'm not sure how to do that one either.. I hate the scale, I look at it daily, I know that is not very conducive for me. But I am looking for motivation and feeling discouraged. I am guessing the best time to weigh is in the morning and not the middle of the afternoon. I weighed the morning I was at 186.6 and went back to the afternoon weighing, I know it's crazy but I always feel like I weigh less in the afternoon. Maybe I'm just crazy?0
-
lisacarroll18 wrote: »Easter was rough and I feel like my downfall really started when I ate the Cracker Barrel pancakes.
You've gotten lots of great advice here and it seems like you are open to it, so that's great! Congrats to you on the running, too. Woo Hoo!
I do worry you are being a little hard on yourself. I believe that if is that if it feels too hard, then we're setting ourselves up for giving up. As others have said, persistence is key to being successful, so I figure I have to make this process as enjoyable as possible so that I can stick to any changes I make.
Here's a great blog that helped me a lot when I first started. It's about how you don't have to be perfect to be successful:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/ShannonMpls?month=201208
Since you're a runner, here's another good blog:
http://www.runsforcookies.com/
Best of luck! Feel free to add me.
0 -
You think the calories burned may be inaccurate? I feel like I busted my hump for those calories burned, like running my butt off, literally for almost 5 miles, when I say I stopped, I think it was 2 times and it was only for maybe a tenth of a mile. So what would I get so that I would have accurate calories burned?0
This discussion has been closed.
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 393.4K Introduce Yourself
- 43.8K Getting Started
- 260.2K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.9K Food and Nutrition
- 47.4K Recipes
- 232.5K Fitness and Exercise
- 426 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.5K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 153K Motivation and Support
- 8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.7K MyFitnessPal Information
- 24 News and Announcements
- 1.1K Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.6K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions