Think I've found the problem - input?

f1redshoes

When I lost the weight I've lost so far, I was recovering from injuries and rehearsing. That meant I was doing small bursts of energetic things and the rest was easy-going "zumba" style dance and a bucketload of barrework to re-condition. Since I've come back to lose the last few pounds, I've been working flat out.

I had a major breakthrough yesterday, fitness wise. I'd been feeling fitter and decided to go back out running. When I last went in October, I ran for about 7 minutes of the 45min workout (and not 7 continuously - 7 spread out throughout it) and walked the rest. Yesterday, I ran 25mins solid for the first time ever, having not even been out running in 3 months.

Today, my new heart monitor was being tested during various activities. Ballet barre? It said I was in the fat burning zone. Adage (the slow things done in the centre)? Fat burning. By the time I'd moved onto pirouettes, it was loudly announcing that I'd gone into "fitness" zone and remained there throughout the allegro (small and big jumps) and a few full-out technical jazz dances afterwards.

So here's my question. Is it all possible that my weight hasn't shifted in the last four weeks, despite my best efforts, because I've been pushing *too* hard? I know this sounds like such a noob question, but I weigh absolutely everything I eat and log it as accurately as possible down to the last calorie so I don't think it's incorrect logging. Am I perhaps going "oh, I did an hour flat-out with arm weight on and everything" and logging it as high-impact aerobics, when in fact it was burning nowhere near that because I was at too high a heart rate - and then when I eat back some of the exercise calories, it ends up that I've eaten too much because I hadn't burned as much as I thought?

I'm completely open to this not being the answer and I realise it's a really silly question, so please *try* not to rip me to shreds for asking?

cafeaulait7

What kinds of burns have you been seeing for the various activities? I'm not surprised at all at the ballet being cardio, basically, because I use that and fast bellydance for my own cardio. Maybe compare MFP's 'high impact aerobics' counts with just ballet dancing and see which one seems more reasonable. Eating back too many exercise calories can definitely cause a stall.

You could also go with TDEE and not have to worry about eating back too many exercise calories, because that formula includes a general estimate in what you eat every day. I do TDEE-10-12.5%, so I don't have to worry about exactly how much I burn through my exercise.

f1redshoes

I've just checked and noticed - an app I use for walking and running estimated my 25min jog yesterday at exactly what MFP suggested I'd have burned. I'll need to try it with my HRM to see if it's in agreement, then perhaps I just need to log the calories my HRM says and pick any old activity that matches up when logging? (and if I ever open my diary, start adding exercise notes to explain my ridiculous exercise log to passers-by?)

I've been wondering about TDEE actually. Any time I use a calculator to work it out, even if I under-estimate how much I do, it gives me numbers around 1800. I gain (slowly but surely) on 1800 even if I'm doing a *lot* of training, so I'm never quite sure I can trust the numbers the calculators are giving me. For now, I've played around with the MFP settings to give me what TDEE minus various percentages would give me and I'll settle on one to try. If I'm back in a week several pounds heavier, we can all laugh at my maths and re-think the plan! :P

DavPul

Cliffs?

f1redshoes

I experimented further today, doing 30mins of flat-out dance - all my best leaps and turns, the odd bit of upside-down or floorwork - basically sweated profusely and kept my heart rate up really high. After subtracting the BMR figure for half an hour of being alive, I got exactly the same as MFP estimated for "aerobic - high impact".

I think I'm just going to have to keep testing it for a week or so to see how many calories all my different activities burn!

(also - cliffs? what?)