What the F is going on!!?!?

2

Replies

  • countrylovinmn
    countrylovinmn Posts: 18
    I don't understand why if you can eat up to 1800 calories you sometimes only eat 1200.
    If you eat 1200 calories and burn 500, you are netting 700 calories a day which isn't smart.
    I also seriously doubt you burn AT LEAST 500 calories every day from a work out alone.

    honey I said about 5 days a week and yes I do. HRM and I bust my *kitten* each workout for about an hour or more.
  • countrylovinmn
    countrylovinmn Posts: 18
    ok here's a rant fest.... I exercise at least 5 days a week burning about 500 + calories per workout AT LEAST blah blah blah about 1200-1800 a day...blah blah blah.

    the PROBLEM: The scale has NOT MOVED.blah blah I just started doing this three weeks ago...) } and blah blah blah.

    Thanks in advance!! :)

    kat
    It is my personal opinion that when a person starts a workout regimen it takes between 6-8 weeks for any REAL changes to thier weight begin to happen. Most fluctuations in weight will be purely water weight based and non-maintainable. Long story short, keep on keepin on. You didn't get at the place you're currently at in 3 weeks, don't expect to correct it in three weeks. If it was easy, we'd all be walking around chiseled and perfect.

    been here for over a year but I revamped my diet and exercise routine. But yes it's a new routine :) thanks for the advice!
  • countrylovinmn
    countrylovinmn Posts: 18
    I need to clarify a few things....

    I have been working out for years.... Gained weight in college because of boredom. I started at 205#, lost 60 pounds, had three babies and am trying to lose that last 20#.

    I work my @$$ off each work by doing Insanity, weight lifting, Bob Harper's Inside Out Method and I use a HRM that I researched and seemed pretty accurate so I am happy with my results. According to MFP I should have burned more than what my HRM says so I just stick to my HRM.

    I basically look like I got out of a pool after each workout and I love it! :)

    I am thinking possibly a scale then to measure food, but let's also be honest, it's a lifestyle change. I am not going to count and eat only 15 carrots every day. If I want 30 carrots then I will eat 30 carrots. If I want M&M's I will eat ONE small pack of M&M's. I deprived myself before and it only leads to binging, gaining weight and depression. So I stopped doing that crap and I have lost the weight very SLOWLY but I haven't been over 160 in over a month and I haven't been under 155, I go up and down.

    Please know I appreciate your input, and I will consider it all :) thanks!!!!
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
    I need to clarify a few things....

    I have been working out for years.... Gained weight in college because of boredom. I started at 205#, lost 60 pounds, had three babies and am trying to lose that last 20#.

    I work my @$$ off each work by doing Insanity, weight lifting, Bob Harper's Inside Out Method and I use a HRM that I researched and seemed pretty accurate so I am happy with my results. According to MFP I should have burned more than what my HRM says so I just stick to my HRM.

    I basically look like I got out of a pool after each workout and I love it! :)

    I am thinking possibly a scale then to measure food, but let's also be honest, it's a lifestyle change. I am not going to count and eat only 15 carrots every day. If I want 30 carrots then I will eat 30 carrots. If I want M&M's I will eat ONE small pack of M&M's. I deprived myself before and it only leads to binging, gaining weight and depression. So I stopped doing that crap and I have lost the weight very SLOWLY but I haven't been over 160 in over a month and I haven't been under 155, I go up and down.

    Please know I appreciate your input, and I will consider it all :) thanks!!!!

    Okay, so you are 20 pounds from goal weight. You should aim for not more than 1 pound per week loss. That is a 500 calorie deficit per day. There shouldn't have to be any feeling deprived on a 500 calorie deficit. You say you burn 500 each time you work out, so you should be able to eat quite well and still lose weight.

    If you are not weighing your food, you are probably eating more than you think. Nail down your actual calories and see if the scale doesn't start to move.
  • paulawatkins1974
    paulawatkins1974 Posts: 720 Member
    I don't understand why if you can eat up to 1800 calories you sometimes only eat 1200.
    If you eat 1200 calories and burn 500, you are netting 700 calories a day which isn't smart.
    I also seriously doubt you burn AT LEAST 500 calories every day from a work out alone.

    I burn over 400 just from a brisk walk for 55 mins. Maybe she goes to the gym and works out harder than just walking
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Your loss was slow because you had a small deficit... which is fine, but it also means that the margin of error is small, which is why it helps to weigh your food. Heck even if you don't want to weigh your food forever, buying a scale and looking at what a portion size really is can be an eye opener.

    You can still eat your 30 carrots if you want to. It doesn't mean you have to eat one serving of everything. I rarely eat one serving. Sometimes it's 1.5, sometimes it's 0.744444... I just help myself of what I want, weigh it and log that.
  • countrylovinmn
    countrylovinmn Posts: 18
    Read this and see if it helps you:

    http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero/

    awesome! thanks! :)
  • CallMeCupcakeDammit
    CallMeCupcakeDammit Posts: 9,377 Member
    I wouldn't call netting 800ish calories a small deficit, I would call that a pretty big one. I bought a digital scale at CVS for $10. I have one at home and one at work, and I weigh anything that isn't a pre-packaged single serving.

    You've probably seen this on my profile, but I'm going to post it here.

    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/why-big-caloric-deficits-and-lots-of-activity-can-hurt-fat-loss.html
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    I work my @$$ off each work by doing Insanity, weight lifting, Bob Harper's Inside Out Method and I use a HRM that I researched and seemed pretty accurate so I am happy with my results.

    If you had really done the research, you would have found hundreds if not thousands of MFP posts explaining that HRMs are notorious for over-estimating burns on "intervaly" type training such as you listed above.

    If you are eating back exercise calories, cut the number you're getting from your HRM in half, for starters.
    According to MFP I should have burned more than what my HRM says so I just stick to my HRM.

    I see this on MFP all the time, and it is such a logic fail that I fear for the future of humanity.

    Netting 800 calories is literally concentration-camp level of intake. Unless you are losing weight like a concentration camp victim, you are not netting like a concentration camp victim.
  • CallMeCupcakeDammit
    CallMeCupcakeDammit Posts: 9,377 Member
    I work my @$$ off each work by doing Insanity, weight lifting, Bob Harper's Inside Out Method and I use a HRM that I researched and seemed pretty accurate so I am happy with my results.

    If you had really done the research, you would have found hundreds if not thousands of MFP posts explaining that HRMs are notorious for over-estimating burns on "intervaly" type training such as you listed above.

    If you are eating back exercise calories, cut the number you're getting from your HRM in half, for starters.
    According to MFP I should have burned more than what my HRM says so I just stick to my HRM.

    I see this on MFP all the time, and it is such a logic fail that I fear for the future of humanity.

    Netting 800 calories is literally concentration-camp level of intake. Unless you are losing weight like a concentration camp victim, you are not netting like a concentration camp victim.

    This is why I only log "1" calorie on lifting days. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1044313-this-is-why-hrms-have-limited-use-for-tracking-calories
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    I burn over 400 just from a brisk walk for 55 mins.

    A person would have to be 400 pounds to get close to that kind of burn on a walk of that duration.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    I work my @$$ off each work by doing Insanity, weight lifting, Bob Harper's Inside Out Method and I use a HRM that I researched and seemed pretty accurate so I am happy with my results.

    If you had really done the research, you would have found hundreds if not thousands of MFP posts explaining that HRMs are notorious for over-estimating burns on "intervaly" type training such as you listed above.

    If you are eating back exercise calories, cut the number you're getting from your HRM in half, for starters.
    According to MFP I should have burned more than what my HRM says so I just stick to my HRM.

    I see this on MFP all the time, and it is such a logic fail that I fear for the future of humanity.

    Netting 800 calories is literally concentration-camp level of intake. Unless you are losing weight like a concentration camp victim, you are not netting like a concentration camp victim.

    This is why I only log "1" calorie on lifting days. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1044313-this-is-why-hrms-have-limited-use-for-tracking-calories

    That is an excellent strategy and one that many, many MFPers would benefit from by adopting for themselves.
  • DrJenO
    DrJenO Posts: 404 Member
    I don't really know how to calculate burns for walking, but according to this:
    http://www.shapesense.com/fitness-exercise/calculators/walking-calorie-burn-calculator.aspx

    At 200 lbs, walking 3.5 miles in 60 minutes is just over 400 calories.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    I don't really know how to calculate burns for walking, but according to this:
    http://www.shapesense.com/fitness-exercise/calculators/walking-calorie-burn-calculator.aspx

    At 200 lbs, walking 3.5 miles in 60 minutes is just over 400 calories.

    That includes BMR calories, i.e., it double counts.

    The correct answer for those parameters is 210 calories. i.e. - cut the number in half.
  • DrJenO
    DrJenO Posts: 404 Member
    Well holy crap.

    *quickly goes to adjust exercise calories*
  • Mpol2
    Mpol2 Posts: 442 Member
    Your loss was slow because you had a small deficit... which is fine, but it also means that the margin of error is small, which is why it helps to weigh your food. Heck even if you don't want to weigh your food forever, buying a scale and looking at what a portion size really is can be an eye opener.

    You can still eat your 30 carrots if you want to. It doesn't mean you have to eat one serving of everything. I rarely eat one serving. Sometimes it's 1.5, sometimes it's 0.744444... I just help myself of what I want, weigh it and log that.

    THIS. When I started weighing food instead if guessing I was truly shocked and horrified about how wrong my guesses had been.
  • Commander_Keen
    Commander_Keen Posts: 1,179 Member
    How do you know you are burning 500 calories, are you using a HRM?
  • WhyphenN
    WhyphenN Posts: 3 Member
    I'm having a similar experience...within my calorie range and going to gym etc... scale has barely budged since September! It's aggravating. I "feel" good, but I'd also like some of my pants to fit me ...lol.
  • gmoneycole
    gmoneycole Posts: 813 Member
    I need advice from all you freaks out there.

    Thanks in advance!! :)

    kat

    Okay I comply... :)

    Keep drinking the water. I drink gallons a day and I have lost a lot of weight. I'm now down to the harder pounds to lose but that's okay because I like to eat back a lot of my calories that I burn most days. If you are hungry feed your body healthy food. Especially if you are working out most days and burning 500 cals a pop.

    Keep after it and mix up your workout routines to hit different muscle groups and different types of workouts too (cardio, weights, circuit training, etc...) Have fun and good luck!
  • sue_langley
    sue_langley Posts: 63 Member
    Two inches is something to be proud of, keep up what your doing because that's exactly how to loose weight.
    Maybe send your scale for a vacation to a friends house for a few weeks : )
    I did after my husband told me that he noticed that my mood for the day seem to depend on what the results on the scale was.
    I found that not having a scale for a little while caused me to totally focus on what I was doing and how my favorite tight pencil skirt fit. (my goal is to have that skirt a little looser) .
    I wasn't as distracted by the numbers on the scale.
    I now made peace with the fact that the scale will sometimes not say what I want it to say.

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