Weight vests and calorie burn

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phosphorene
phosphorene Posts: 9 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I've lost 20 lbs this year so far and I've noticed a marked decrease in the rate of weight loss each week recently. This makes sense--I weigh less, so I burn less calories from exercise.

I'm planning on adding a weight vest to my exercise routine to offset this, but I'm not sure how to count the calories burned as a result! Anyone have tips from a similar situation?

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  • Savannahmiamaddie
    Savannahmiamaddie Posts: 54 Member
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    The only way to really calculate calorie burn is with a heart rate monitor.
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
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    Miasavannah wrote: »
    The only way to really calculate calorie burn is with a heart rate monitor.

    That is incorrect. A HRM is one method of estimating calorie burn. It has its strengths and weaknesses like any other method.

    OP - you could add the weight from the vest to your weight and it should give you an estimation of what you burn.

    Or you could up intensity to offset lower calorie burn.

    As you lose weight, the amount of weight you can expect to lose will also go down. It isn't just in exercise that your calorie burn goes down. Your overall calorie output will be lower.
  • phosphorene
    phosphorene Posts: 9 Member
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    3dogsrunning wrote: »

    OP - you could add the weight from the vest to your weight and it should give you an estimation of what you burn.

    Or you could up intensity to offset lower calorie burn.

    As you lose weight, the amount of weight you can expect to lose will also go down. It isn't just in exercise that your calorie burn goes down. Your overall calorie output will be lower.

    Both things I'm planning on trying. When I first started my exercise routine back in January, the 3.5 mile hiking trail at the nearby nature preserve was a huge challenge I could only do once a week. Now I do it 4 times a week and it doesn't feel like a very hard workout at all. I think it might just be time to pump up the intensity. (Though, of course, the weight vest helps with that.)
  • Jruzer
    Jruzer Posts: 3,501 Member
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    I would try a backpack instead, because then you can train to go backpacking too.
  • phosphorene
    phosphorene Posts: 9 Member
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    nosajjao wrote: »

    Be careful with how it affects your posture and neck/back muscles. I had a back spasm when I tried a trail jog with one.

    I'll have to keep an eye on that then. I have a history of lower back issues.
  • SonyaCele
    SonyaCele Posts: 2,841 Member
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    your calorie burn only goes down a little with weight loss, you are probably noticing the calorie burn drop because your body is becoming more efficient. I think you are better off beefing up your workouts rather than adding a weight vest. and i don't think that 20 pounds weight lost or added is gonna make that much of a difference. A hundred or more pounds will effect that whole BMR calorie burn, but not 20 pounds.
  • blues4miles
    blues4miles Posts: 1,481 Member
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    phosphorene wrote: »
    I've lost 20 lbs this year so far and I've noticed a marked decrease in the rate of weight loss each week recently. This makes sense--I weigh less, so I burn less calories from exercise.

    Just want to suggest if you haven't adjusted the calories you are eating, that's a bigger factor than how much you burn in exercise. Let's say you walk for an hour a day, ~3 miles. The difference between a 180 lb person and a 160 lb person is only 20 calories for that hour. Versus a hypothetical 180 lb woman 5'5" will go from a 1737 BMR to a 1650 BMR at 160 lbs, or 87 fewer calories a day burned just by existing. That's a more likely explanation for your weight loss slowing if you haven't adjusted your calories. You just have less of a margin to work with.
  • _Waffle_
    _Waffle_ Posts: 13,049 Member
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    Miasavannah wrote: »
    The only way to really calculate calorie burn is with a heart rate monitor.
    Which of course you enter your weight to help estimate your calorie burn.
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
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    phosphorene wrote: »
    Anyone have tips from a similar situation?

    Add the weight of the vest to your bodyweight.

    The observation I'd make is that subject to the weight of the vest it can affect your posture. My own experience is with Osprey combat body arour, so a vest with armour plates back, sides and front. That needed Lowa desert boots to support my ankles.

    Given that your calorie reduction from weight loss shouldn't be significant, to be perfectly candid, the impact of a weighted vest is increased injury risk, rather than increased calorie expenditure. You'll get more benefit fro going faster, hence covering more distance in the time available.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
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    phosphorene wrote: »
    I've lost 20 lbs this year so far and I've noticed a marked decrease in the rate of weight loss each week recently. This makes sense--I weigh less, so I burn less calories from exercise.

    I'm planning on adding a weight vest to my exercise routine to offset this, but I'm not sure how to count the calories burned as a result! Anyone have tips from a similar situation?

    How are you estimating calories burned? If you are using a heart rate monitor, then it is more likely that your HRM has not accounted for your increase in fitness level and thinks you are working at a lower workload. So the problem would be that you think you are burning fewer calories than you actually are--it's a problem with your HRM, not necessarily your calorie burn.
    Calorie burn WILL decrease with weight loss, but that is usually offset by the fact that you can work out at a higher intensity.
  • liftzilla16
    liftzilla16 Posts: 59 Member
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    On a different note, I just wanted to pipe in and say make sure you work your body into the weight vest routine. Start with light weight and add more as you get used to it. A lot of people slap on too much weight at first and it can really screw up the body, especially if you plan to run with it.

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