Still kind of lost on getting to a "good" level of cardio

Entaro

So... I've still been doing about 3 hours a day of cardio. Comes out to around 2,100 calories burned. Also do weight training every day.

I've kept my eating incredibly strict, and I consume 2,030 calories a day. I've held this rate by eating the same foods for the past.. four months or so? No change to diet.

8 months ago I was 9.9% body fat, at 180 pounds. I got it tested again around four months ago, and I was 8.7% body fat, at 172~ pounds.

I still hover around 172 pounds. Sometimes more, sometimes less. The fluctuations scare me.

I want things to be stable and consistent, but these last couple weeks I've gained 6 pounds.

Is it possible to gain because of undereating? Or overdoing cardio?

I'm just scared to do less, but at the same time everything tells me that I'm already way overdoing things.

In the back of my mind, though, I feel like my body's never been normal, and maybe it's just my bad luck that I have to do so much to stay even.

I guess I'm a bit freaked out at a sudden gain over two weeks. Also, my cat chewed through the cable of my elliptical machine, the little jerk, so I don't have my most reliable form of cardio on hand and it bothers me. Guess both of those things combined just kind of came together to make me freak out a bit, and now I'm feeling lost when I think about what I've been doing.

markjacobs1987

Sounds like you're overdoing it. 3 hours is a ton of cardio for a day especially if you are doing weight training as well. Usually 30 minutes-1 hour is plenty. I doubt you are gaining because of too much cardio. If anything too much cardio would just cause injury and not weight gain. It could be possible that some of the weight is muscle but 6 pounds in a couple weeks sounds like at least half of that is fat. That means something needs to change with your nutrition. If I can see your food diary I can get a good idea of what might be going on.

kshadows

Um ok wait. You're eating 2,030 calories a day, and burning 2,100 calories a day doing cardio.,...meaning you are netting -70 calories every day???

markjacobs1987

Yeah I was actually thinking the same thing just now as well....which is definitely overdoing it on the cardio.

SonicDeathMonkey80

Sounds like gymorexic, gymnasia, or whatever they call it. And the "feel like my body's never been normal" kinda raises a flag to me. Get some pro help, dude.

erickirb

OP you should probably be eating 2030 plus the 2100 cals you burn, or just stop it with the cardio, which gets my vote in your case

davemunger

You are probably not tracking your eating accurately, or not tracking your cardio accurately. I have found that for me, MFP overestimates my burn by about 30-40 percent, so I created my own exercises with more-accurate burns. Once you track your food as accurately as possible, the next thing to do would be to just decrease what you eat gradually until you start losing again.

arditarose

I'm sorry dear, I don't think you're burring 2100 calories a day doing 3 hours of cardio

formerfatboy1

to much cardio my friend! bring your cardio down to 30-45 min a day after your weight training of course. You want enough energy to get you thru your weight training that way you wont be bummed out if you do cardio before hand. also check your sodium intake if its to high that's where your extra pounds are coming from. Water retention from the sodium. Try a cyclical ketogenic diet. you low carb highfats and protein for 6 days then have a high carb day on the 7th. This really gets the fat off quick.

5stringjeff

OP, you've lost something like 250 pounds already. That's commendable, and I can only imagine the work and dedication you've put into losing all that weight. Now, you have to learn how to maintain a healthy weight. Believe it or not, you can maintain while doing much less exercise than you say you're doing now - even doing zero exercise. With such a low BF%, you no longer have excess body fat to fuel your workouts; all of your energy must come from food. So you need to find your TDEE and eat at that level.

sadmaker

I'm sorry dear, I don't think you're burring 2100 calories a day doing 3 hours of cardio

I easily burn 700+ calories doing and hour of plyometerics, kenpo x(maybe closer to 600), or an hour of insanity.

Abbdul

ur 172 lbs now . what you want to vanish ? get a grip

Elizabethgulick93

You don't have to do that much cardio, especially for your weight. It is very possible to overdo cardio, and you're definitely on the verge. I would suggest doing cardio, but make sure you're not getting tired, or run-down. When you do, it's time to stop. Also, you're body can go into "starvation mode" if you're not eating enough calories, because it thinks it isn't getting the proper nutrtion. Take it easy, the scale will follow, take it a day at a time, and just make sure you're burning more than you're taking in. Now, that doesn't mean exercise all the food off, because you burn calories every second from breathing, etc.

arditarose

I'm sorry dear, I don't think you're burring 2100 calories a day doing 3 hours of cardio

I easily burn 700+ calories doing and hour of plyometerics, kenpo x(maybe closer to 600), or an hour of insanity.

Yeah, but do you do 3 hours in a row?

Michifan

Unless you are doing a submersion body fat analysis or something at specialized clinics, fat% is a close guess with calipers and flat out wrong with the electronics. Those things should be "for entertainment purposes only".

Given how lean you say you are, you should just accept yourself in the mirror and your clothes. It's a slippery slope to an eating disorder when you are pushing certain boundaries.

arditarose

I'm sorry dear, I don't think you're burring 2100 calories a day doing 3 hours of cardio

I easily burn 700+ calories doing and hour of plyometerics, kenpo x(maybe closer to 600), or an hour of insanity.

Yeah, but do you do 3 hours in a row?

I mean, maybe you do! I would be totally jealous of that burn if so!

sigalsirkin

You are under eating and over exercising. You cannot continue like this forever. Not a lifestyle change.

vmclach

Why do 3 hours of cardio a day? Are you training for and ironman or ultra marathon? I don't understand. Doesn't not compute.

vmclach

I'm sorry dear, I don't think you're burring 2100 calories a day doing 3 hours of cardio

I easily burn 700+ calories doing and hour of plyometerics, kenpo x(maybe closer to 600), or an hour of insanity.

Yeah, but do you do 3 hours in a row?

I mean, maybe you do! I would be totally jealous of that burn if so!

I agree. Even if I ran for 3 hours straight, I don't think I would hit 2100.. And that's running at 7.5-8.0 miles per hour

arditarose

I'm sorry dear, I don't think you're burring 2100 calories a day doing 3 hours of cardio

I easily burn 700+ calories doing and hour of plyometerics, kenpo x(maybe closer to 600), or an hour of insanity.

Yeah, but do you do 3 hours in a row?

I mean, maybe you do! I would be totally jealous of that burn if so!

I agree. Even if I ran for 3 hours straight, I don't think I would hit 2100.. And that's running at 7.5-8.0 miles per hour

Right. So now I'm curious. Let's say she's NOT burning 2100, maybe more like 1000-1500 (this is a horrible guess, I hate cardio). She's eating x amount of calories (forget the exact amount)...Then what is the stall coming from? I think she say she's eating 2200 ish calories, so is she over eating? Not eating enough? Annoying her body with too much cardio?

MKEgal

"Most weight loss occurs because of decreased caloric intake.
However, evidence shows the only way to maintain weight loss is to be engaged in regular physical activity.
To maintain your weight: work your way up to 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity, 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity, or an equivalent mix of the two each week."
(The page explains moderate & vigorous.)
http://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/physical_activity/index.html

I've still been doing about 3 hours a day of cardio. Comes out to around 2,100 calories burned. Also do weight training every day.

Don't do weights every day, or rather don't exercise the same muscle groups every day.
Allow at least 1 day in between for your muscles to heal. 2 would be better.

I've kept my eating incredibly strict, and I consume 2,030 calories a day.
I've held this rate by eating the same foods for the past... four months or so? No change to diet.

Sounds incredibly boring & restrictive.

8 months ago I was 9.9% body fat, at 180 pounds. I got it tested again around four months ago, and I was 8.7% body fat, at 172~ pounds.
I still hover around 172 pounds. Sometimes more, sometimes less. The fluctuations scare me.

So you're doing very restricted eating, massive over-exercising, you're at an extremely low body fat, and you're scared of weight fluctuations.
Sounds like an eating disorder.
Have you talked with your doctor or counsellor?

Is it possible to gain because of undereating? Or overdoing cardio?

No.
You gain weight because you're eating more calories than you burn (which does not sound like your situation, at all),
or because of water retention (which is most likely with this sudden small gain - check if you've had something with extra sodium lately).

I'm just scared to do less, but at the same time everything tells me that I'm already way overdoing things.

Counselling. You know you're harming yourself, yet you're scared not to.

I guess I'm a bit freaked out at a sudden gain over two weeks.

6 lb in 2 weeks is almost certain to be water, not muscle or fat.

MFP overestimates my burn by about 30-40 percent

Yes.
Yesterday MFP says I burned 667 cal on the elliptical (when it only knows my body weight & the time, not the speed),
yet the machine (which knows weight, time, and speed) says I burned 471.