June Calorie Burn--Name Your Goal Here
Replies
-
I am getting all of my excercising done every day....I was a bit disappointed when I wore my HRM on the elliptical last night. It only have me 62 calories and MFP was giving me 92. That's okay though. I changed the calories on my logging and I would rather be accurate. The dumb part was, I stopped it tracking the calorie burn after the elliptical and I did my weights and stuff...that would have been interesting to see what the burn was there. On the elliptical I was running 91% on the HRM....weights I was running around 80%. Yup...I am pretty gosh darn out of shape. HOWEVER....I can get better. I hate the elliptical, I almost just want to kick it before I get on...but I have vowed to do my 5 minutes a day through today. I will reset my goals after tonight and let's see what I can come up.
The rest of you sound like you are doing great. Stairs...I go up and down the stairs at work...huffing and puffing...I do it a couple of times a day...it is only 1.5 flights up and then back down....Gosh...Yup...out of shape... :noway: But again....I am breathing better on them now than I used to, baby steps and small improvements.
I hope you are all having a great Friday....Looks like rain here in Northern WI....yay...more mosquitoes!!! :sad:0 -
Sue- I bought the Polar FT 60 in a cute purple color for myself and in black for my teenage son. Neither of us has used it yet and since I'm sick, it may have to wait a few more days. I'm super excited though. I don't trust the calorie burns for my Zumba and hope this will give me a little insight. I'm not exactly a "tech-savvy" person. These watches/HRMs have a ton of features. I'm not sure I'll ever figure them out.
0 -
Happy Weekend, Warrior Women!
I went to a gym today and took a tour and I'm going to join! It's a YMCA, so I'm going to bring in some paperwork tomorrow and try to get a discount. What's great is that either way, my son's free, until he turns 18! It was way cleaner and prettier than it looked from the outside, so I'm pretty stoked. They have 2 strength training areas, 2 cardio areas, 4 class studios, an indoor track, a basketball court, an Olympic sized pool, saunas and jacuzzis, free wellness coaches and personal trainers (for a fee). And, all of the classes I'd like to take are included in the membership! I was hoping for weights, Zumba & a pool and got so much more! They even have African Dance & Ballet!
I've done really well with my "cardio diet". I've limited myself to burning 3500 calories/week and I'm only at 2708 tonight. So, even with my long walk tomorrow, I should fine. And, the reset is going well again, now that I can eat! I took myself out to lunch to celebrate having an appetite again and discovered that this awesome place called Sweet Bar Bakery (Do you know it, Culo?) has amazing salads!
Diana, I'm sorry you're not feeling well & wish you luck figuring out your cool new gadget. I think that Rachael's is a Polar, although maybe not the same model. She's probably more tech savvy than us, so ask her if you get stuck. She's had it for a while. I love that it's purple, because the pink just doesn't appeal to me.
Jodi, sorry to hear that the HRM burn was lower. Probably, there will be other exercises that will have higher burns. Oh, and sorry about the mosquitoes! I grew up in the Midwest and would get eaten alive by them every summer. Yuck. Maybe, that's part of why I live out here on the West Coast.
Belle, that's great they have free yoga where you live! They have it at my new gym, too, but it would be weird to do it without my anorexic albino Wii friend. We've gotten close.0 -
All I did yesterday was a short swim--short because I'd intended to do at least 40 minutes and ran out of time and did only between 20 and 25. Planning to go again today. I love swimming, but it takes so much more time to do it per the amount of exercise you actually get that I feel like I need a longer session to justify the whole thing. This provides me with an excuse to put off going if my time is limited (which I've used often), so going at all on Friday was kind of a victory.
I had decided in advance that because I have lots of extra exercise calories for the week and am trying to be better about eating them back as I exercise more that I could go over on Friday (trying to think of this as cumulative for the week), but that stupid red line is a bummer. Oh, well, I'm old enough to ignore it!
Anyway, despite it being not that long or intense, I was completely beat afterwards. Went out for my huge and delicious Ethiopian dinner (swimming makes me hungry, so probably not the best choice before a portion-less shared meal that is impossible to log, heh) and then a play, and even though the play was good I was struggling to stay awake and felt generally kind of sore all over and basically fell into bed when I got home (I only had a few steps to make 10,000, but just couldn't). Much more rested this morning, and plus I counted up my exercise for the week so far and am just over my calorie goal of 3500 with one day to spare, so I've decided the tiredness was in part cumulative for the week.
That's great about the gym, Sue. Like I said to Rachael, a good gym is the best! (I really need to start looking at my options a bit, but probably not for a while yet. Among other things, I'd like a pool open on Sundays and good class options.)
HRM report, continued: Of my bikes for the week so far, 3 of the 4 I measured (including the really short one) were more calories on the HRM than MapMyRide (if memory serves MapMyRide is similar to or even higher than MFP). For the final one (Thursday evening), the HRM counted fewer calories. This makes total sense, because the first 3 had winds that all made the ride at least slightly more difficult, whereas the final one had a wind that was more helpful than not. Given that experience tells me that winds here are more likely to increase difficulty than the reverse (I realize this sounds kind of like saying I walk uphill to school and back), I think this factor is going to at least even out and probably continue to make actual calories a little higher than MapMyRide overall, so even though I'm going to continue comparing I'm just logging the MapMyRide calories for now. I'm really interested in hearing about others' experiences with using a HRM as we all get a chance to play with them more.
Jodi, I also sympathize about the mosquitos. They aren't bad here yet, but I hate them, and have some familiarity with how much worse they get as you go north.0 -
Okay, not swimming again today--tired and I think not overdoing it would be better. The only reason I was planning to is that it's not open tomorrow.
Goal for next week (in addition to 3500 calories burned): 5 days on the bike (any distance is fine) and 3 days in the pool. This is going to be challenging given my work schedule next week, and my focus will be consistency instead of long workouts.0 -
Hey, Warrior Women!
I had a good week and an even better weekend. I managed to keep my calorie burn down to 3544 and eat above my BMR every day, except for the day I had my tooth extracted. I lost a pound, but I've already regained it. My plan for the next week is to bump my calories up to maintenance every day and to keep my burn at 3500.
Stephanie, I think it's good to just rest when you're tired. Overdoing it has only backfired for me.0 -
GO SUE. Sounds like you have it worked out :-)
Ah well, that's week one of my June goal done. Made it by the skin of my teeth. Was aiming for 3500 and managed to get 3963 burned. I've noticed that the longer I've been going to the gym the lower my calories burn seems to get, even if I'm doing the same time. Disappointing. Monday of week two...we shall see what the week holds ahead...I know I'm not doing the gym on Tuesday, but may try and do a wee home workout. I've got my cousin's wedding reception on Friday night, so won't make it to the gym on Saturday but again will aim for a home workout. Got to be super good this week as I have my hospital weight management on Monday so don't want to disappoint myself.
Hope you all have a super active week ;-)
Fiona x0 -
Happy end of the weekend Warrior Women. So much good stuff to comment on but I'm overwhelmed so I'll just carry on.
How are people tracking to their goals? Mine was to bike ride an average of 10 miles per week or 40 miles for the month of June.
Week 1, 9 miles
Week 2, 15 so far
Week 3: TBD
Week 4: TBD
Total: 24 miles out of 40
Yeah buddy. They have good home made chai. And they are close to WeBeBop. It's one of those rare boutiques that cover most women's sizes from small to 5x. http://www.webebopinc.com/And, the reset is going well again, now that I can eat! I took myself out to lunch to celebrate having an appetite again and discovered that this awesome place called Sweet Bar Bakery (Do you know it, Culo?) has amazing salads!0 -
Hello all….it sounds like everyone had a good weekend. I did as well…I guess….so so …. LOL. I did not do my work outs on Saturday, but I did Saturdays and Sundays on Sunday…along with my Karate class. Tonight I have karate again and my work out. My goal this week…Monday thru Friday is to do 8 minutes on the dreaded Elliptical (maybe 10) and 10 minutes on the stationary bike. I think, now that I am using my HRM, I am becoming addicted to finding out how many calories I can burn. So I am going to try really hard not to do more than 10 and 10….I find when I start out doing too much….I quit. I did good last week and I am hoping for good again this week. I think, after I have been logging for a few weeks and I get a sense of what I am doing…I will start making calorie burn goals but not yet.
For those using HRM’s, do you log calories burned during weight training as well? Or just during cardio training? I have been logging my weight training, but it does not add to cardio burn at all…but it does help with showing me where I am….kind of.
Hope you all have a great week…I am off to the dentist for a cleaning and check up…I know how to live!!!0 -
I've noticed that the longer I've been going to the gym the lower my calories burn seems to get, even if I'm doing the same time. Disappointing.
Yeah, this is the side effect of getting smaller and more efficient at the activity.
Jodi, are you logging strength training in the cardio section and getting calories (even if smaller than what you get for cardio stuff)? Or just in the weight training section to keep track? I log mine in cardio as strength training and will count whatever it gives me toward goal, although I took the last week off from weights. The benefit of strength training is way beyond the calories burnt while doing it and they are hard to count accurately, but I'll take the few calories that get logged too!
culo, I went back and forth on how to keep track of my goal and ended up deciding I would count calories from particular activities I'm focusing on now and log separately in MFP. (At the moment that's swimming and biking, although I'd like to add weights and running.) After playing around with my HRM I decided the estimates I'm currently getting are good enough for these purposes (mainly to make sure that I am working out a specific amount, as opposed to relying too much on the specifics of the calorie numbers, although I was pleased the HRM seemed to confirm my biking numbers). So what I did was create a spreadsheet of the activities I'm tracking and putting in the calories I get for what I log (plus minutes and distances, just for me). Then I'm adding up those.0 -
Happy Monday, Warrior Women!
Well, I have a little confession to make. I went over my 3500 calorie burn limit, yesterday. I had a friend visiting from out of town and he wanted to go out for dinner, so we ended up burning a few hundred extra calories going to and from the restaurant. Oh, well. At least I didn't burn 7000 and eat 1200 calories/day. Lol. I'm ripping off the band-aid and attempting to eat at maintenance, this week. It's so bizarre trying to add calories, instead of limiting them. It reminds me of the first time I tried to get pregnant. You spend years trying NOT to get pregnant and then when you want to, it feels really strange. However, I did end up having 3 kids and I think I can manage to eat 2050 calories/day. I must've done it a lot, without exercising one bit, back in the day.
Fiona, you are on FIRE! You've been so consistent with your exercise! It is a drag that the lighter & fit we get, the lower our burns are:( I've lamented that same thing.
Culo, awesome job biking 10 miles! When I get my new bike, we might need to roll around somewhere fun together. I should be moving in August to a place with a bike storage room, so I'm waiting for that. Thanks for the boutique tip! I've been assembling a new wardrobe, so it's just in time!
Jodi, great job pacing yourself on exercise! I think between the elliptical, the bike, karate & weight training, you're getting plenty of exercise. And, there's so much value in consistency.
REPRESENT, WARRIOR WOMEN! Have a stellar week:)0 -
Getting to know yourself better, then easing into things seems like the best way to set yourself up for success.I did not do my work outs on Saturday, but I did Saturdays and Sundays on Sunday…along with my Karate class. Tonight I have karate again and my work out. My goal this week…Monday thru Friday is to do 8 minutes on the dreaded Elliptical (maybe 10) and 10 minutes on the stationary bike. I think, now that I am using my HRM, I am becoming addicted to finding out how many calories I can burn. So I am going to try really hard not to do more than 10 and 10….I find when I start out doing too much….I quit. I did good last week and I am hoping for good again this week. I think, after I have been logging for a few weeks and I get a sense of what I am doing…I will start making calorie burn goals but not yet.
The main thing is to set up a doable but stretch goal. You want to achieve it and help keep you focused.culo, I went back and forth on how to keep track of my goal and ended up deciding I would count calories from particular activities I'm focusing on now and log separately in MFP. (At the moment that's swimming and biking, although I'd like to add weights and running.) After playing around with my HRM I decided the estimates I'm currently getting are good enough for these purposes (mainly to make sure that I am working out a specific amount, as opposed to relying too much on the specifics of the calorie numbers, although I was pleased the HRM seemed to confirm my biking numbers). So what I did was create a spreadsheet of the activities I'm tracking and putting in the calories I get for what I log (plus minutes and distances, just for me). Then I'm adding up those.
I decided not to get a HRM because I get too into the gadgets or setup a tracking spreadsheet. I let them sidetrack me. Glad yours is working out for you both.Well, I have a little confession to make. I went over my 3500 calorie burn limit, yesterday. I had a friend visiting from out of town and he wanted to go out for dinner, so we ended up burning a few hundred extra calories going to and from the restaurant. Oh, well. At least I didn't burn 7000 and eat 1200 calories/day. Lol. I'm ripping off the band-aid and attempting to eat at maintenance, this week. It's so bizarre trying to add calories, instead of limiting them. It reminds me of the first time I tried to get pregnant. You spend years trying NOT to get pregnant and then when you want to, it feels really strange. However, I did end up having 3 kids and I think I can manage to eat 2050 calories/day. I must've done it a lot, without exercising one bit, back in the day.
Just curious, did you have a corresponding 1 pound drop in weight to match your 3500 calorie burn? It's easy to eat 2000 calories a day, just don't pay attention to what you put in your mouth. [voice of experience] I suppose it's a matter of training yourself to eat more than you're used to in a balanced way. The tricky part is getting your appetite to match the added calories.0 -
The main thing is to set up a doable but stretch goal. You want to achieve it and help keep you focused.
I decided not to get a HRM because I get too into the gadgets or setup a tracking spreadsheet. I let them sidetrack me. Glad yours is working out for you both.
Yeah, I can get sidetracked by things like that too. For some reason what's more likely to sidetrack me is making overly detailed plans and overreacting and getting incredibly disappointed and frustrated if I am unable to follow through. There was a week early on in my MFP career (heh) where I'd been really happy that I had gotten consistent about exercise and then had a crazy two weeks at work where I kept failing to keep to my schedule and missing workouts and getting home too late to have the meal I'd planned, etc. When that happens in the past I traditionally have gotten upset that everything is spoiled and just decided it was a lost week and use stress or unhappiness as an excuse to go way off plan on everything, in particular food. And I definitely noticed that I was feeling much hungrier or more like snacking than I had been, but I decided that it's a shame that the workouts weren't on track but a couple weeks of less activity wouldn't ruin things and I just needed to control what I knew I could--the food. I ended up not being perfect, but actually losing as much in those weeks as any, and most importantly to stay with the overall program despite those weeks. In the past these kinds of things instead have led to me just abandoning my "get healthy" plans for months, sadly.
So the spreadsheet and all of that are kind of my way of creating goals and monitoring how I'm improving without having to make it about a strict plan (on Mondays I do this, etc.). While I have general weekly goals they are flexible, and the toys and numbers make it more like a game which for me helps with motivation.0 -
Lemur....( I do not know your name... :blushing: ) OH MY GOSH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Did you copy your last post out of my brain? This is so me....Well....Except, when I get frustrated..I just say "poop on it all" and give up. Although I think I am like at 3 weeks logging food, the good, the bad and the ugly....and there is lots of ugly on those pages, let me tell you. I can EITHER eat good and log well OR excercise and stay on track with activity, NOT both. I am not sure what the issue is with that...but I am not giving up. I am still loggin. LOL
I guess that stupid saying....keep on keepin' on....Have a great day ladies!!! You ALL inspire me so much!!!0 -
Stephanie. I just edited my profile to have my name. I always forget it's not there, so now it is!0
-
So you totally get my point. I get into the details for a living (spreadsheets, plans, the whole 9 yards) so I consciously try to avoid having the same situation at home. The only exception I make is financial tracking. Paying a lot of unnecessary fees and missing deadlines/due dates has a way of snapping you into focus.The main thing is to set up a doable but stretch goal. You want to achieve it and help keep you focused.
I decided not to get a HRM because I get too into the gadgets or setup a tracking spreadsheet. I let them sidetrack me. Glad yours is working out for you both.
Yeah, I can get sidetracked by things like that too. For some reason what's more likely to sidetrack me is making overly detailed plans and overreacting and getting incredibly disappointed and frustrated if I am unable to follow through. There was a week early on in my MFP career (heh) where I'd been really happy that I had gotten consistent about exercise and then had a crazy two weeks at work where I kept failing to keep to my schedule and missing workouts and getting home too late to have the meal I'd planned, etc. When that happens in the past I traditionally have gotten upset that everything is spoiled and just decided it was a lost week and use stress or unhappiness as an excuse to go way off plan on everything, in particular food. And I definitely noticed that I was feeling much hungrier or more like snacking than I had been, but I decided that it's a shame that the workouts weren't on track but a couple weeks of less activity wouldn't ruin things and I just needed to control what I knew I could--the food. I ended up not being perfect, but actually losing as much in those weeks as any, and most importantly to stay with the overall program despite those weeks. In the past these kinds of things instead have led to me just abandoning my "get healthy" plans for months, sadly.
The older I get, the more easily I get into overwhelmed mode. My resistance has worn down to the nub over the last 4 decades of life. I used to be far more resilient. I cope by being obsessed with making things as simple as possible. Having a relaxed attitude may be the reason I'm not successfully losing weight but I feel anxious just thinking about excessively tracking and logging everything I consume or do.
I understand everyone has their own way of doing things. One of benefits of MFP is that you can learn from others and hopefully teach a few things too.0 -
Day 2 of eating at maintenance and boy am I full! I grow more confident every day that this Is the right course of action, but it's still a big adjustment. One of the reasons I put off dealing with my obesity for so long was because I was anorexic as a teen. I worried that putting so much focus on what I was eating might throw me back into that. Combined with drug use, I got down to a whopping 70lbs. I've been in recovery from substances & anorexia for 26 years. Finally, my obesity was causing so many health problems itself, I had to address it. It took a lot of discipline to not get more extreme than I did.
Then, I had a weight loss stall and read about all these people who were just like me needing to do metabolism resets and made the decision to do that. This, by far, is more difficult for me than eating 1200 calories/day. I feel so guilty for eating so much food. And, it's not like the unconscious kind of eating that got me obese. I have to face the food and calories I eat in black and white every day.
Culo, last week I lost 1lb and then gained 2lbs, so I don't know what that 3500 calories did. The Eat More 2 Weigh Less people say that it's common to gain water weight, when you add back a lot of calories, especially if you've been eating a low carb diet. I wasn't eating too low carb, but pretty low. I think my body's adjusting to the sudden abundance of calories. Also, because it's more difficult to restrict your sodium and sugar intake, when you have more calories, I think I overdid both a few days. That's great that you've developed a relaxed attitude! I'm odd, because I'm super relaxed about most things, but incredibly intense about this weight loss thing. I feel like it's my full-time job to get healthy again.
Stephanie, I also enjoy gadgets & spreadsheets! I'm so glad you and Jodi haven't let your perfectionistic tendencies derail you this time around!
Jodi, you are such a delightful addition to our little crew. You keep logging the good, the bad & the ugly!0 -
Culo...I agree with learning from others. I am a receptionist where I work, so I have a lot of time on my hands and I am constantly scanning message boards, groups etc. and filtering. What works from some, does not work for me, but this is all a learning process. My weight shows I am going down this week, however...I gained two weeks ago...so....while I am losing, I will not consider any thing a loss until I get back to my 266 where I was a few weeks ago. Then I will start counting down again, maybe I am being to hard on myself…I don’t know…but that is my mind set.
Steph.....HEY!!!!!!!!! LOL
Sue, wow...thank you for sharing your story. Addictions suck!!! I am lucky....while my family members have had many addictions from booze to drugs, cutting and many others....in my opinion...eating addictions are the worst. No matter if it is on the under eating/ binge/purge side of things or the overeating all the time and becoming obese like me. I quit smoking 10 years....quit cold turkey and was done....I was ready to quit and it worked for me. HOWEVER, I have an eating addiction and it sucks....because you cannot just quit eating cold turkey. We have to eat to survive! So we are trying to rewire our brains in to a new life, getting rid of our old habits and beliefs, in my case I have had them for 45 years, and retraining the brain with new more positive beliefs is not going well right now for me. I love food, my brain tells me to eat when I am bored, stressed, happy or sad. I need to figure out how to rewire, and make my brain realize that I only need to eat for the health and well-being of my body. IT IS NOT EASY.
This is my most difficult battle in life for sure. 2 divorces, my father’s death (he was my hero and died at 57), my brothers cancer (he is my bff, doing great now), my niece that I raised as my daughter is homeless right now and I am having to learn to not help her and give in all the time.....all of these things.... easier than dealing with my addiction to food.
Keep up the good fight Sue... it is a daily fight for you I am sure, I hear it in your posts and it makes more sense now. We are here for you.
I am so very glad I was asked in to this group, thank you Steph for inviting me, I am blessed with my new friendships.0 -
Schnicklefritz1! I am a receptionist also, and I do the same thing!0
-
Good Evening, Warrior Women!
Our group's been kinda quiet, this week. Are people getting tired? Is there some "diet burnout" going on? Are you just too busy to do anything but log. Talk to us!
As you probably read on the newsfeed, I had a blast at the YMCA! That class, "Jack's Happy Hour" is one I'll go back to again and again. Jack makes circuit training fun and loves to dance:) I was disappointed in my swim. I grew up swimming every day and even as a young adult was a strong swimmer. Today, I got into the pool and was so out of breath after 10 minutes that I needed to get out. I guess I haven't used those muscles in a long time. It reminded me of when I could only walk for 10 minutes. Speaking of walking, on the way home, my legs were like noodles from the happy hour class. It was the longest 1/2 mile I've ever walked. I even thought about taking a bus, 1/4 mile home, but just sat down for 5 minutes instead.
Jodi, thanks for your support & encouragement. I'm still smoking (though I'm tapering for a September quit date) and really admire that you've abstained from nicotine for 10 years! They say that's the hardest drug to quit. Two years ago, when I was talking to my doctor about my health care challenges, he said, "Sue, that smoking's too hard on your blood pressure, deal with the fat later." Well, I find dealing with the weight a lot easier than quitting smoking, so I ignored him. My last job was running 2 homeless youth (ages 12-24) programs in San Francisco. I hope that your niece is somewhere with good homeless youth services. If you ever need tips on working with homeless kids, message me. I used to take care of about 140 of them/day.
Belle! Where've you been! How's it going?0 -
I'm here!! Sitting at my desk , thinking about the walk downtown I am going to take for my lunch break Today was the first day since I started working again that I got up early and did the treadmill . I used to do this EVERY day before work. I got way lazy. But I think doing it this first time, will make me want to keep doing it!! 5:30 comes early! 0
-
Sue-Swimming is so hard. I was swimming a few years ago before I had to have some surgeries, then I gained a lot of weight back and have not been back since. I did find the swimming suit I used to wear there when I was 240....now, at 270 it does not fit. I am hoping to go back to the pool some day. I love it, it is a total body work out for sure. My niece is an adult now, has made really bad choices and she is pregnant, we have offered her to stay with us short term, but we will not allow the boyfriend to stay, so she has made the decision to not stay with us and sleep in the car or what ever. It breaks my heart, she calls me mom, I have raised her since she was 12, she just makes one bad decision after the other and I won't tolerate that kind of life in my house any more. Very stressful stuff. But, we talk every day and she has learned to respect our side of things. Lots of praying happens for her for sure.
Belle-Keep up the good work getting up in the AM to work out. "One day at a time"...that is what you have to do. I had some sort of light bulb come on last night and that is what I am trying to do. I had a horrible day of eating yesterday (HORRIBLE) but I went home and did my excercises and wiped the slate clean....it was what it was. This AM I got up and made breakfast and lunch and logged it before I left the house, I know what i have for the day and that is it. I am reading a book that talks about figuring out if you are actually hungry or if it is emotional hunger.....So, breakfast was 413 cals and lunch is 390 cals..plently of calories for me, my brain may start telling me it thinks it is hungry, but I am going to try to march in place or go for a walk, drink my lemon water etc and hpe for the best. I did not bring any snacks today either. I want to see what happens.
Steph has inspired me to get my bike out of the basement tonight. A friend of mine that trys to work out with me once in a while is going to pick me and the bike up and we are going to go to a trail close by and enjoy a few hours on the bike. It won't be "racing" it will more of a fun day...but I am going to wear my HRM and use the Map my ride app and see what it tells me. I am sooo out of shape that it does not take much to get my HR up and my breathing to quicken. I am soooo excited and afraid all at the same time. I have not done something fun for myself like this in a long time and I am pumped....not only fun, excercise and fellowship with a good friend.
I have logged for 25 days in a row now. WOW...it is not pretty to look at my food logs, but I am logging. Like I said before..."the good, the bad and the ugly"....It is what it is. I am honest with the diary and I am hoping that I can look back at them and maybe learn from mistakes eventually. (That would be nice, that is why we log right?) As a matter of fact, the diary told me when I completed yesterdays that if I keep eating like that....I will weigh 4 pounds more in x amount of time than I do now. Yikes!!!! That is good motivation when the MFP app is snarky to you like that. LOL That is why I have logged already for both lunch and breakfast.
ANYWAY>...blah blah blah....I feel so safe in here I could go on forever....Later Warrior Women!!!!!!!!!!0 -
I am not sure what I am supposed to be doing...and I am not sure why I am worried about it....because I am not being accurate enough right now TO worry about it but here is my issue.... MFP tells me I have 1820 calories to eat.... But then I excercise and it gives me more calories to eat. Isn't the goal calories in/calories out? So hypothetically, if I burned 1820 calories .... (which has never happend) I would be at zero calories if I ate 1820 and wouldn't that be a good thing? Don't get to techical on me here because I get lost easily. I have read some of Sue's posts and I am assuming she is going to answer....keep it easy for me!!!! If we want to lose a pound or two a week...shouldn't we have worked off something like 500 calories MORE than we consumed for the week or something like that?
Anyway....help would be much needed....I am just trying to learn as much as I can for when I remove my head from me rectum and start not only logging, eating well AND working out. That will be a glourious day!!!! :drinker:0 -
Hi, Jody!
This is a pretty accurate calorie calculator that was given to me by an MFP friend:
http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/
Have you already used it or some other calorie calculator? I've never heard of MFP giving women such a high calorie goal, when they say they want to lose 1-2lbs/week. Anyway, if you plug in your information, it will fill in the blanks in a chart giving you 3 numbers: 1) BMR--basal metabolic rate--this is the # of calories your body needs just to sustain life. Some people say, it's the number of calories that you would burn if you were in a coma. 2) TDEE--total daily energy expenditure--this is the # of calories your body needs to just live + be active (one of the things they ask for in the top portion is your activity level--mine is set at moderate). 3) Daily calories you should eat, to meet your goal. If you want to lose about 1lb/week, you should choose "TDEE-20%" and use that number as your daily calorie goal. Some people who use this method of choosing goals actually just enter 1 for all of their calorie burns, so they're not confused by the additional calories being added to their goal. It doesn't distract me, so I just honestly log my burns.
In my case, my BMR is 1359, my TDEE is 2107, and if I were trying to lose 1lb/week, I'd eat at "TDEE-20%", or 1685 calories. Now, if you don't want to end up like your Auntie Sue and get sidetracked by a weight loss stall, illness, and a slow metabolism, you probably want to make sure to eat back any exercise calories that take you below your BMR, too. So, most days, you'd eat that "TDEE-20%" number. Then, when you burned so many calories that your net calories are below your BMR, eat them back until you're above your BMR. Does that make sense?0 -
Hi, Jody!
This is a pretty accurate calorie calculator that was given to me by an MFP friend:
http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/
Have you already used it or some other calorie calculator? I've never heard of MFP giving women such a high calorie goal, when they say they want to lose 1-2lbs/week. Anyway, if you plug in your information, it will fill in the blanks in a chart giving you 3 numbers: 1) BMR--basal metabolic rate--this is the # of calories your body needs just to sustain life. Some people say, it's the number of calories that you would burn if you were in a coma. 2) TDEE--total daily energy expenditure--this is the # of calories your body needs to just live + be active (one of the things they ask for in the top portion is your activity level--mine is set at moderate). 3) Daily calories you should eat, to meet your goal. If you want to lose about 1lb/week, you should choose "TDEE-20%" and use that number as your daily calorie goal. Some people who use this method of choosing goals actually just enter 1 for all of their calorie burns, so they're not confused by the additional calories being added to their goal. It doesn't distract me, so I just honestly log my burns.
In my case, my BMR is 1359, my TDEE is 2107, and if I were trying to lose 1lb/week, I'd eat at "TDEE-20%", or 1685 calories. Now, if you don't want to end up like your Auntie Sue and get sidetracked by a weight loss stall, illness, and a slow metabolism, you probably want to make sure to eat back any exercise calories that take you below your BMR, too. So, most days, you'd eat that "TDEE-20%" number. Then, when you burned so many calories that your net calories are below your BMR, eat them back until you're above your BMR. Does that make sense?
I think the reason they are giving me so many calories perhaps is because I am 270? I am just a little short round thing right now. LOL HOWEVER...I am going to kick butt today. Going on my first trail bike ride of the year...if the weather holds and I am pretty excited!!! That should burn some calories. I will check that link out though and let you know the results. I am going to use a HRM and MapMyRide today.....I basically use MMR to see how far I went and stuff. I am a visual person and have to see numbers. Have a good day ladies...thanks for the link Sue....(By the way...I think it would by sister Sue....I am 45...LOL)
I love this group...thank you all so much. Since I have been on here, my attitude is changing .... You are my Warrior Sisters!0 -
I'm around, sort of!
I'm not burned out on exercise, but am just dealing with one of my periodic super stressful times at work. One of these days I'll figure out how to do this without letting exercise go (I'm happy enough right now that I'm at least able to stay within my calories and not feeling too much like eating everything around), but not yet. So I'm kind of bummed out that on Thursday I was just too exhausted to swim and on Friday I got home too late to bike.
I didn't bike to work on Friday, because I had a doctor's appointment for my knee. He thinks it's a strained MCL (not torn, which I didn't think it was) and gave me a good sleeve to keep my knee stable when walking and a prescription for physical therapy and what sounds like super Advil (anti inflammatory) that I will probably ignore. Assuming I make progress with the PT, the sleeve is also supposed to help when I go back to running.
Anyway, I'm feeling more in control now, although I will be working all weekend, so hope to get some biking in today and tomorrow. Monday is definitely a no exercise day and Tuesday I will probably be exhausted. BUT I'll keep track of how I end up this week and make it my goal to make up the deficit (between my exercise and my goal for the week) during the remainder of June.0 -
The NEAT calculation that MFP does (your TDEE or total daily energy expenditure minus intentional exercise) definitely varies based on age, sex (because they estimate muscle mass), and weight/height, so you get lower calories as your weight goes down. Right now it tells me that my goal (without exercise) to lose 1.5 lb a week is 1250, so if I told it 1 lb I'd get 1500. (That's at lightly active--you get better numbers if you are more active on a daily basis also, before exercise.)MFP tells me I have 1820 calories to eat.... But then I excercise and it gives me more calories to eat. Isn't the goal calories in/calories out? So hypothetically, if I burned 1820 calories .... (which has never happend) I would be at zero calories if I ate 1820 and wouldn't that be a good thing?
You burn a bunch of calories just through being alive (this is what people mean when they talk about BMR) and through regular daily activity (which is why they ask whether you are sedentary, lightly active, active, etc.). This number is a lot--according to one of the calculators someone of my size (5'3, 170) and age (44) who doesn't exercise and is sedentary burns about 1670 or so. So even being sedentary and without exercise I would maintain with 1670 calories and lose almost 1 lb a week at 1200. If I change that to 270, keeping the rest of my stats, the number is more like 2000-2200 to maintain and would be more if I wasn't pretending this woman was sedentary. You then add exercise on top of that to see what the woman really is burning.
MFP asks you how active you are and figures out your stats based only on daily activity plus being alive. So for an example, if you are a sedentary woman of 30, 5'8, 350 (just to pick random stats) and want to lose 2 lbs per week, it first calculates your NEAT and gets something like 2800 (or thereabouts). That's maintenance if you don't exercise. Then it subtracts 500 calories per day for each lb you want to lose (up to 2), so for 2 lb/week your goal is 1800. (The -500 per lb goal is called your deficit.)
If that woman then exercises another 500 calories per day and changes nothing else, she's going to lose at about 3 lbs/week. If she has a ton of extra daily activity or exercises a ton (all day hike, say, or working physically), she could have 1800 or more in calories burned. That means her deficit isn't just the 1000 calories planned, but also an additional 1800 calories, for a total of 2800 calories. Some people say "oh boy! that means over 5 lbs per week" but the problem is that too high a deficit can freak out your body unless you are really overweight and even then unless you are under a doctor's care usually. Among other things, it becomes hard to sustain, is likely to make you tired, stressed, run down, etc., and could lead to the loss of muscle and a reduction of your metabolism beyond that unavoidable from exercise.
So for that reason it's best to eat back some exercise calories. My thought is if it's reasonably moderate exercise, eat back what feels good to you. It's more important to eat some back when you are already at a higher deficit (i.e., aiming for 2 lbs per week).
If it's heavier exercise, definitely eat some back, but don't feel compelled to eat all of it or spread it over the week or consider the TDEE method Sue is talking about.
I see people go into the TDEE vs. MFP method all the time with newbies on the forum and my feeling is that for most people MFP works pretty well and getting into TDEE gets confusing, but I might switch to TDEE at some point. (The main difference with TDEE is that it adds in your exercise and trusts you to do it and gives you a calorie goal based on that, whereas MFP gives you a goal for if you aren't active and then adds more calories if you do exercise.)
Hmm, another way of explaining it is that a lot of diets say that 500 calories per day = 3500/week and 3500 calories is about a pound. So to lose 2 lb/week, you aim at cutting your calories by 500 and then adding on average 500 calories a day burned through exercise.
MFP in essence cuts 1000 calories but lets you decide to burn some portion of that through exercise and gives you back the calories to eat when you do.0 -
Hey, Warrior Sisters!
I like that, Jodi, and I'm glad that you're benefitting from the group. I like having a small, intimate group with which to share this process. I hope that the volumes that Stephanie & I wrote clarified things for you. I worry that we might have just made it more confusing!
Stephanie, I feel for you, working all weekend. Before I came back to MFP, I was working a very demanding job (the one where I was running 2 homeless youth programs) and working 10-20 hours/day, 7 days/week. When my doctor told me I needed to take some time off, last August, I was grateful that someone stopped me. I hope that you are taking better care of yourself than I was. From the looks of your diaries, you certainly are. While I worked non-stop, I would alternate between not eating and eating donated gourmet cupcakes and fatty pasta dishes the kids would bring me. And, I certainly didn't exercise.
I am on day 15 of my metabolism reset. While there's been a fair amount of fluctuation, between 175-179, I'm at 178.6 today. That's 1.8lbs more than on day 1. I'm getting a bit nervous. I was so relieved to get under 180 and I'm scared of going back up into that range. When I started this reset, I knew that most people gained weight at first and felt like it would be worth it, if when I started to cut my calories again, it could be at a higher, healthier calorie level. Now, I'm getting cold feet. I'm not sure I can commit to another week of this, much less 6-8 weeks. I guess this is a topic I should bring to http://eatmore2weighless.com/, but I thought I'd bring it up here because it's my safe place.
I've already hit my 3500 calorie burn for the week, so I intend to rest today. I'm considering lifting my cardio restriction tomorrow, since I've given my body 2 weeks to relax. I love my new gym and want to enjoy the activities there.0 -
Ok, so I said I was going to shoot for 1800 calories a week. So far (I'm basing this off of last Thursday bc of when I said I was starting) I have burned 2,042. This is being based off of what my Fitbit is telling me and I think it is overestimating quite a bit!
Sue, do you feel like you can't keep going with it because you think you will just keep gaining weight?0 -
Ok, so I said I was going to shoot for 1800 calories a week. So far (I'm basing this off of last Thursday bc of when I said I was starting) I have burned 2,042. This is being based off of what my Fitbit is telling me and I think it is overestimating quite a bit!
Sue, do you feel like you can't keep going with it because you think you will just keep gaining weight?
Don't forget though, fitbit is taking into account your calories that you burn just living and breathing. Fitbit syncs with MFP and will adjust accordingly. That is one of the reasons why I love the fitbit. LOL0
