Adding cardio calories cause me not to lose anything

klawthom

My calorie goal is 1200 per day, but I exercise 5-6 days per week (boot camp, running). It seems if I add my exercise calories to my daily total I can't lose anything. Anyone else noticed this?

However, I am terrible about watching fat, carbs and protein. I typically only pay attention to calories. Is this sabotaging my weight loss or maybe I cannot handle the extra calories I am allowing myself with exercise?

MelodyandBarbells

With only 16 lbs to lose I'm guessing you're fairly small? You might be over estimating your calories burned and/or under estimating calories eaten. What kind of burns do you record for running, for example?

Maleficent0241

With only 16 lbs to lose I'm guessing you're fairly small? You might be over estimating your calories burned and/or under estimating calories eaten. What kind of burns do you record for running, for example?

This. You're likely overestimating your exercise calories and wiping out your deficit. How are you figuring out calories burnt with exercise?

SLLRunner

With only 16 lbs to lose I'm guessing you're fairly small? You might be over estimating your calories burned and/or under estimating calories eaten. What kind of burns do you record for running, for example?

This. You're likely overestimating your exercise calories and wiping out your deficit. How are you figuring out calories burnt with exercise?

Both of these.

Where are you getting your exercise calorie estimates? Do you weigh your solid foods and measure liquids and log everything you ingest?

Open your diary, please, and you will be able to get specific feedback. Otherwise it's all speculation.

kazzsjourney2goal

If the exercise is new your muscles may be retaining fluid as part of the recovery process. Sometimes it takes a bit of time for the body to adapt.

klawthom

I am using the My Fitness Pal estimates for calories burned. I think it ends up being about 110 calories per mile run maybe 115? I run a 10 minute mile. And for my 55 minute boot camp, I was using about 350 calories. I was hoping that was a low estimate because our coach thinks we burn 400 or more.

Measuring my food would really help since I "eyeball" it.

hearthwood

Don't eat the calories you're burning thru exercise. Lots of times it's guesswork at what you're burning and if you eat them back you're sabotaging the workouts, and or overheating your workouts,

stephe1987

Don't eat back more than half of your exercise calories. Most people underestimate how much they eat and overestimate how much is burned through exercise. If you only eat back half (or less) of your exercise calories then you won't have this problem.

Fsunami

I am using the My Fitness Pal estimates for calories burned. I think it ends up being about 110 calories per mile run maybe 115? I run a 10 minute mile. And for my 55 minute boot camp, I was using about 350 calories. I was hoping that was a low estimate because our coach thinks we burn 400 or more.

Measuring my food would really help since I "eyeball" it.

You are correct on the measuring.....think of it like a math equation. "2 +2 = 4, not "close to 2 + maybe near 2 = 4"

Gotta have good data going in and out to make sure the equation works. And things like measuring and having your diary visible help us to help you with "the equation" because you need the data to be finite.....

SnuggleSmacks

I am using the My Fitness Pal estimates for calories burned. I think it ends up being about 110 calories per mile run maybe 115? I run a 10 minute mile. And for my 55 minute boot camp, I was using about 350 calories. I was hoping that was a low estimate because our coach thinks we burn 400 or more.

Measuring my food would really help since I "eyeball" it.

This. This is the problem. You're eating more than you think.

At your low calorie goal, you definitely do want to eat back at least some of your exercise calories. You want to try to net 1200, after exercise is taken into account. You never want to net less than 1200 calories for the day if you can help it. Plus, at such a low goal, you have very little wiggle room for miscalculating things. You will do so much better with a food scale so that you know exactly how much you're really eating, and if possible, with a heart rate monitor so you have a better idea of how much you're burning without having to guess.

AllOutof_Bubblegum

You are most likely overestimating your calorie burns, then.

MyChocolateDiet

You are most likely overestimating your calorie burns, then.

Agreed, from what you wrote. So you can 1) eat back only half your exercise cals or 2) get some kind of HRM or other cal measuring device.

The food scale is a good idea too.

zoeysasha37

With only 16 lbs to lose I'm guessing you're fairly small? You might be over estimating your calories burned and/or under estimating calories eaten. What kind of burns do you record for running, for example?

This! I don't lose when eating back calories either, cuz clearly I was overestimating calories burnt and eating at maintaining calories instead.

MelodyandBarbells

I am using the My Fitness Pal estimates for calories burned. I think it ends up being about 110 calories per mile run maybe 115? I run a 10 minute mile. And for my 55 minute boot camp, I was using about 350 calories. I was hoping that was a low estimate because our coach thinks we burn 400 or more.

Measuring my food would really help since I "eyeball" it.

I don't know what you weigh, but these don't look like horribly wrong numbers, unless you run lots and lots of miles, then it adds up. An equation I've seen for running NET calories burned:

.63 X weight (lbs) X number of miles. Means to burn 115 net calories, you'd have to weigh 183 lbs. if you're very small and run lots or miles though, you can see where being 40 calories off each mile could hurt.

The food scale is definitely necessary. I would suspect your food calorie measurement is a bigger source of the inaccuracies than the exercise calories, or perhaps it's a combination of the two. Read this:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1296011-calorie-counting-101

_Zardoz_

I agree with the overestimating calories burnt thing. Also if you increase your calories you are likely to gain weight in the short term as it will increase the amount of water retained. So you need to give it a few weeks of increased calories before it settles down

fitcrt

I am using the My Fitness Pal estimates for calories burned. I think it ends up being about 110 calories per mile run maybe 115? I run a 10 minute mile. And for my 55 minute boot camp, I was using about 350 calories. I was hoping that was a low estimate because our coach thinks we burn 400 or more.

Measuring my food would really help since I "eyeball" it.

Try this - eyeball a portion of food like you normally would & then actually weigh or measure it & I bet you will be surprised ... I used to think I knew what a serving size looked like but did not... When I measure my food I do well, when I don't, I don't!

RGv2

I am using the My Fitness Pal estimates for calories burned. I think it ends up being about 110 calories per mile run maybe 115? I run a 10 minute mile. And for my 55 minute boot camp, I was using about 350 calories. I was hoping that was a low estimate because our coach thinks we burn 400 or more.

Measuring my food would really help since I "eyeball" it.

Along with measuring your food, using MFPs burn estimate is also causing your issue. MFP is notoriously high on their burn estimates. I'd start at 50-75% of that and go from there.