Am I working out too much to lose weight?

JollyHodgers87

Help me out please so I don't buff up too big! LOL

I am on a 1200 calorie diet based on my weight and age etc...Meaning I have to eat at least 1200 to live. lol

When I exercise I burn those so I try to eat more (It just about always says I'm under my calorie goal if I workout. But I eat as much as I can stand, it seems counterproductive though).

I've been trying to burn at least 200 calories a day in exercise by doing calisthenics (like push ups and sit ups), yoga (high impact), and cardio since short workouts is all I really have time for and I don't want to overdo it since I've injured myself before.

The first week I lost 6 pounds right off the bat by eating healthier but not excercising. The next, only one. Then the next, I gained one. As healthy as I've been eating (more healthy than ever in my life) I am concerned I'm gaining weight in muscle. I'm not sure if this is good.

Just to give you an idea, I currently weigh 145 and am 28 at 5'4. I would like to get down to 125 or 130 but be fit and toned. I don't want to look like Jillian Michaels or the She Hulk...No offense to Jillian Michaels or buff women...she is just more buff than I'm going for. Overly done, and I don't think I would look like myself but rather a body builder version of myself. I just want to be more toned and healthy.

Should I exercise less?

Thanks!!!

sanfromny

Technically you don't have to exercise at all to lose weight as long as you continue to create a deficit but you need to know your numbers like you BMR and TDEE. Exercise is for health.

kathrynjean_

There's no way you're going to get any sort of buff looking while eating 1200 calories and doing mostly yoga and cardio.

JollyHodgers87

kathrynjean_ wrote: »

There's no way you're going to get any sort of buff looking while eating 1200 calories and doing mostly yoga and cardio.

Well I do the sworkit app also throughout the day and it does arm and leg workouts and such on top of that. But like I say about 200 calories if I can. Sometimes it comes to a lot more when I have a gig on guitar and I'm playing and singing for hours. But usually a beer or two keeps it down a little. lol I've been doing a pretty even amount of working each muscle group. I still hope that's the case though. I just want to be trimmed up. Hehe.

SonyaCele

you cant judge your progress with just three weeks of information. i don't think 200 calories of exercise a day is very much at all. and dont worry you aren't gaining weight in muscle.

SLLeask

Calisthenics, yoga and cardio which burns only 200 calories a day will NOT make you look buff or like Jillian Michaels in any way, shape or form, don't worry!! You are also not gaining muscle weight.

LivingtheLeanDream

You don't gain weight in muscle that quickly.

You may have gained water weight from water retention due to workout and the muscles holding onto water for repair.

Weight loss is all about calories in - eating less than we burn.

Any water weight will go away after a few weeks.

Eat 1200 but also eat back exercise cals - 1200 is too low for most people.

You really don't have much to lose so 1lb a week is more than enough to aim for.

All the best

JollyHodgers87

SLLeask wrote: »

Calisthenics, yoga and cardio which burns only 200 calories a day will NOT make you look buff or like Jillian Michaels in any way, shape or form, don't worry!! You are also not gaining muscle weight.

Thank you guys. I know I can be a little paranoid. It just feels strange that I've not lost any weight any quicker with my diet lately. Ah well. I guess patience is truly a virtue.

sllm1

The answer is never to exercise less.

Your muscles can retain water temporarily. Hormones and sodium levels can affect weigh ins. There's no need to stress. Keep doing what you're doing and the numbers will follow.

JollyHodgers87

sllm1 wrote: »

The answer is never to exercise less.

Your muscles can retain water temporarily. Hormones and sodium levels can affect weigh ins. There's no need to stress. Keep doing what you're doing and the numbers will follow.

I did have too much sodium yesterday. Hmm... Good to know about these things.

Thanks for the positivity! Also if that is your abs in your profile pic, I'm jelous! Haha I can't wait to have abs again!

SonyaCele

wstephens87 wrote: »

SLLeask wrote: »

Calisthenics, yoga and cardio which burns only 200 calories a day will NOT make you look buff or like Jillian Michaels in any way, shape or form, don't worry!! You are also not gaining muscle weight.

Thank you guys. I know I can be a little paranoid. It just feels strange that I've not lost any weight any quicker with my diet lately. Ah well. I guess patience is truly a virtue.

according to your original post, you have lost 7 pounds in three weeks. thats way too quick for your current weight.

Kimberly_Harper

It looks like you are doing just fine, and if you keep eating at a calorie deficit you will see the weight drop. Keep eating at a deficit and tracking your food correctly, keep exercising because it is good for your heart and body, and after a month or two you will start seeing an average weight loss trend. Also take measurements. If you are not dropping pounds, but you are losing inches, that will get you through the spots where the scale doesn't seem to budge.

JollyHodgers87

RunRutheeRun wrote: »

You don't gain weight in muscle that quickly.

You may have gained water weight from water retention due to workout and the muscles holding onto water for repair.

Weight loss is all about calories in - eating less than we burn.

Any water weight will go away after a few weeks.

Eat 1200 but also eat back exercise cals - 1200 is too low for most people.

You really don't have much to lose so 1lb a week is more than enough to aim for.

All the best

Thanks! I guess I'm nearing my bridezilla phase! Just playing of course. But at least I'm not in my last week before marriage. I've got a few months to shed the pounds!

kathrynjean_

The thing is, there is no such thing as "toning". When most people say that they want to "tone up", what they usually mean is they want to have a lower body fat percentage and have some slightly visible muscles but not be "bulky". This pretty much comes down to body fat percentage. However, many people find that when they reach their goal weight, they are actually "skinny fat" and are not happy with the shape of their body.

To avoid this, a progressive heavy lifting program is recommended. Even when you're eating in a deficit, it can help to strengthen the muscles that you have and it means that you will lose less lean body mass.

You can't gain muscle mass while eating in a deficit. Trust me when I say that you'd have to work really, really hard to look like Jillian and that's not going to happen by accident.

Tl;dr: No, you're not exercising too much and you won't get bulky doing what you're doing. But I would recommend a progressive heavy lifting program to help preserve lean body mass. And even if you do that, you're still not going to be bulky.

JollyHodgers87

SonyaCele wrote: »

wstephens87 wrote: »

SLLeask wrote: »

Calisthenics, yoga and cardio which burns only 200 calories a day will NOT make you look buff or like Jillian Michaels in any way, shape or form, don't worry!! You are also not gaining muscle weight.

Thank you guys. I know I can be a little paranoid. It just feels strange that I've not lost any weight any quicker with my diet lately. Ah well. I guess patience is truly a virtue.

according to your original post, you have lost 7 pounds in three weeks. thats way too quick for your current weight.

Thanks. No worries. I've been totally healthy in doing this. I've even started taking protein powder bc thanks to this site, I've realized I don't consume enough of it. But when I quit pop (or some may call it soda) I lost 10 in a week. Just a major diet change is all. After the 7 flew off, as I say, I've only gained a pound. lol

hazleyes81

Not to mention, your weight fluctuates daily, so your weekly (I assume) weigh ins may or may not reflect your true weight trend. I am 5'4" 143, average 1300 calories, run, bike, and lift (apx 350 cal/day average) and lose about 1.5-2# a week. All fat loss, no lean mass gain/loss according to the calipers.

PS Muscle is what makes you "toned". Without it you're thin and still jiggly. Your calisthenics will help with holding on to your muscle as you diet, but won't make you " big".

SonyaCele

weight loss isnt' linear. and fluctuates so much that its impossible to tell if you lost 1 lb of fat and are just retaining 2 lbs of water or stomach contents at that moment. Thats why you have to take the average over a long period of time, several months or more.

JollyHodgers87

You all have taught me something. Not what I wanted to hear, but definitely what I needed to hear. Looked it up and you are all right. You shouldn't try and lose more than 2lbs a week if you want to keep your metabolism. Thanks guys. Looks like I've got a couple more months or more to go! But it will be worth it! http://www.ninacheriephd.com/you-your-body-and-your-health/why-you-shouldn-t-attempt-to-lose-more-than-2-pounds-a-week

JollyHodgers87

Best of luck everyone!

sllm1

wstephens87 wrote: »

sllm1 wrote: »

The answer is never to exercise less.

Your muscles can retain water temporarily. Hormones and sodium levels can affect weigh ins. There's no need to stress. Keep doing what you're doing and the numbers will follow.

I did have too much sodium yesterday. Hmm... Good to know about these things.

Thanks for the positivity! Also if that is your abs in your profile pic, I'm jelous! Haha I can't wait to have abs again!

No - it's a motivational picture, but I'm close.

peaceout_aly

Most definitely not working out "too much" if you are doing yoga, calistenics, etc. and only burning around 200 calories. I burn right around the same amount, but I focus on heavy lifting which burns less, tones more. If you want to appear "buff," I suggest upping your food intake and starting a heavy lifting program. I used to be on a 1,200 calorie x day alottment and I did at least 30 minutes of cardio on top of that. I was a twig with a flabby stomach and felt fat (even though I appeared otherwise). For months, I avoided the "bulk" that everyone suggested, but beginning in October, I upped my calorie intake to 1,400, plus I eat back exercise calories, and I have made significant changes in the shape of my body. Muscle is growing, definition is beaming through, and I have more confidence from all of this strength. I highly suggest it.

sarahearra

I agree with the other posts that it is more likely water retention than weight gain. Up your water intake. I found that my weight would fluctuate a lot while dieting, so it was really frustrating to notice progress. As soon as I started drinking more water, my weigh-ins fluctuated a lot less and would be less effected by a salty dinner the night before.

ASKyle

wstephens87 wrote: »

kathrynjean_ wrote: »

There's no way you're going to get any sort of buff looking while eating 1200 calories and doing mostly yoga and cardio.

Well I do the sworkit app also throughout the day and it does arm and leg workouts and such on top of that. But like I say about 200 calories if I can. Sometimes it comes to a lot more when I have a gig on guitar and I'm playing and singing for hours. But usually a beer or two keeps it down a little. lol I've been doing a pretty even amount of working each muscle group. I still hope that's the case though. I just want to be trimmed up. Hehe.

There's no way you can bulk up AT ALL doing cardio and yoga? Are you lifting at all??

willworkoutforwine

I find that tracking measurements helps. Sometimes, the # on the scale is the same but I've lost inches or my clothes fit better. I also have a scale that measures body fat % and I sometimes see that # go down even when my weight doesn't.

nsa352

Wow 1200 calories a day! That's super low! I am 106 lbs for 5 feet tall and my fitness pal allows me to have 1300 a day , I can eat 1700 when I workout. When your calories intake is too low , your body works against you. Also the fact that you are stalling and even gained might mean yiu are retaining water. That's what the body does when the fat cells are getting empty. It fills the fat cells of water and then after a week or 3 will get rid of it so you'd look leaner. It happened to me.Make sure to drink plenty of water to flush out that water retention.
And yes if you really gained 1 lbs of muscles, it's a great news because more muscles means more calories burned while sitting around.And as you said you want to tone up. The only way to tone up is to change your body composition, get more lean mass, ie muscles, than fat.
There is no way you gain more muscles by doing yoga. Kettlebells,lifting yes. Yoga no.

JustMissTracy

peaceout_aly wrote: »

Most definitely not working out "too much" if you are doing yoga, calistenics, etc. and only burning around 200 calories. I burn right around the same amount, but I focus on heavy lifting which burns less, tones more. If you want to appear "buff," I suggest upping your food intake and starting a heavy lifting program. I used to be on a 1,200 calorie x day alottment and I did at least 30 minutes of cardio on top of that. I was a twig with a flabby stomach and felt fat (even though I appeared otherwise). For months, I avoided the "bulk" that everyone suggested, but beginning in October, I upped my calorie intake to 1,400, plus I eat back exercise calories, and I have made significant changes in the shape of my body. Muscle is growing, definition is beaming through, and I have more confidence from all of this strength. I highly suggest it.

This...exactly!

pandabear_

I'm doing the same thing but doing insanity. I'm also at 144, trying to get to 125 and on 1200 calories a day. I've seen the scale go up or stay the same, I started taking measurements and I have lost inches. I really recommend taking measurements, as otherwise it can be quite tiring to see no progress.

JollyHodgers87

nsa352 wrote: »

Wow 1200 calories a day! That's super low! I am 106 lbs for 5 feet tall and my fitness pal allows me to have 1300 a day , I can eat 1700 when I workout. When your calories intake is too low , your body works against you. Also the fact that you are stalling and even gained might mean yiu are retaining water. That's what the body does when the fat cells are getting empty. It fills the fat cells of water and then after a week or 3 will get rid of it so you'd look leaner. It happened to me.Make sure to drink plenty of water to flush out that water retention.
And yes if you really gained 1 lbs of muscles, it's a great news because more muscles means more calories burned while sitting around.And as you said you want to tone up. The only way to tone up is to change your body composition, get more lean mass, ie muscles, than fat.
There is no way you gain more muscles by doing yoga. Kettlebells,lifting yes. Yoga no.

Yea my fitness pal has set that as my allotted caloric intake at 1200 but I don't sweat it if I eat up to 1500 since my TDEE is higher. It's just a good number to make sure I eat at least that amount and no less. It's a good thing though because before, unless I ate a bunch of sweets, I never ate as many as 1200 and I had no idea I wasn't eating enough. My body was used to it. The only thing I can figure is they allow you more because you are more in shape than I. lol And that's a great thing for you!