Figuring out daily Caloric needs with HRM

iluvsparkles

i recently wore my HRM for a period of 12 hours on a regular day of work, (but on a pilates day instead of a zumba cardio day) to try to figure my general caloric needs for a day. I know that you are *supposed* to test this during a day of full rest, but seriously..who gets one of those? So i decided to just choose a day that i do resistance exercise rather than cardio) do i alot for the fact that i was up and about ?(and did pilates which had me perspiring slightly but my heart rate wasnt up so the cal marker didnt go up much more than at rest)

But im still confused. I dont know if i burn the same at night, or less because im at rest? i dont wanna wear the hrm to sleep...however In those 12 waking hours, according to my HRM, i burned a total of about 925-950 calories.

If i did go on and double that for a total of 24 hours, i come up to 1850-1900 cals needed in 24 hours to maintain my current weight. (right, am i understanding this correctly?) So the 1200 calorie plan that i am currently puts me at about a 650 deficit....and should theoretically make me lose over a pound a week. This hasnt been the case so far, as everytime i go down a pound i stay on or around it for weeks and weeks. Seems like my whole process so far has been one big plateau!

Maybe im looking at it in the wrong way?

I have a history of being under calories on fair occasion, and wonder how to tell when you body is in starvation mode. i do not eat very much during the day, get about half of my calories in the evening after my workout. I've been told this is quite backwards to how i should be doing it. ( i believe i read from jbar (breakfast like a King, Lunch like a Prince, Dinner like a Pauper.) But i have never been a breakfast eater and find myself not hungry during the day much at all..

Any ideas about this whole subject would be appreciated!

namasté friends

iluvsparkles

i recently wore my HRM for a period of 12 hours on a regular day of work, (but on a pilates day instead of a zumba cardio day) to try to figure my general caloric needs for a day. I know that you are *supposed* to test this during a day of full rest, but seriously..who gets one of those? So i decided to just choose a day that i do resistance exercise rather than cardio) do i alot for the fact that i was up and about ?(and did pilates which had me perspiring slightly but my heart rate wasnt up so the cal marker didnt go up much more than at rest)

But im still confused. I dont know if i burn the same at night, or less because im at rest? i dont wanna wear the hrm to sleep...however In those 12 waking hours, according to my HRM, i burned a total of about 925-950 calories.

If i did go on and double that for a total of 24 hours, i come up to 1850-1900 cals needed in 24 hours to maintain my current weight. (right, am i understanding this correctly?) So the 1200 calorie plan that i am currently puts me at about a 650 deficit....and should theoretically make me lose over a pound a week. This hasnt been the case so far, as everytime i go down a pound i stay on or around it for weeks and weeks. Seems like my whole process so far has been one big plateau!

Maybe im looking at it in the wrong way?

I have a history of being under calories on fair occasion, and wonder how to tell when you body is in starvation mode. i do not eat very much during the day, get about half of my calories in the evening after my workout. I've been told this is quite backwards to how i should be doing it. ( i believe i read from jbar (breakfast like a King, Lunch like a Prince, Dinner like a Pauper.) But i have never been a breakfast eater and find myself not hungry during the day much at all..

Any ideas about this whole subject would be appreciated!

namasté friends

songbyrdsweet

If I were you, I'd try this again, but on a day when you're doing the VERY least amount of activity possible, and wear it from the minute you wake up until you hit the sack. You can visit caloriesperhour.com to check how many calories you burn while sleeping; I've found it to be the most accurate counter so far. Resistance exercise still burns calories (I burn about 240 in 40 min.), so your caloric value doesn't really represent your basic caloric use.

A 650 cal. deficit isn't extreme. I am down to 19% body fat and I can support that deficit without losing muscle mass, so I often dip into a 600 cal deficit.

Your food should be centered around your workout. What time of day you eat matters very little, but eating around your workouts--especially afterward--matters a TON. Your biggest meals should fall after your workout, whether it's twice a day, in the evening, whatever. You will be in the best place hormonally to put those nutrients to use for repair. It makes little sense to eat a tiny meal at dinner if you work out right before dinner, because you're not taking advantage of your insulin sensitivity and caloric needs. Likewise, if you work out in the AM or at lunch time, those should be your big meals.

timisw

If I were you, I'd try this again, but on a day when you're doing the VERY least amount of activity possible, and wear it from the minute you wake up until you hit the sack. You can visit caloriesperhour.com to check how many calories you burn while sleeping; I've found it to be the most accurate counter so far. Resistance exercise still burns calories (I burn about 240 in 40 min.), so your caloric value doesn't really represent your basic caloric use.

A 650 cal. deficit isn't extreme. I am down to 19% body fat and I can support that deficit without losing muscle mass, so I often dip into a 600 cal deficit.

Your food should be centered around your workout. What time of day you eat matters very little, but eating around your workouts--especially afterward--matters a TON. Your biggest meals should fall after your workout, whether it's twice a day, in the evening, whatever. You will be in the best place hormonally to put those nutrients to use for repair. It makes little sense to eat a tiny meal at dinner if you work out right before dinner, because you're not taking advantage of your insulin sensitivity and caloric needs. Likewise, if you work out in the AM or at lunch time, those should be your big meals.

Completely Conquer! ~smiling~

Its amazing to see how much your heart rate jumps from when you first wake up, to rolling over, to climbing out of bed, to cooking breakfast, to running up stairs.

I go from 55bps waking up to 60 just rolling over and turning off the alarm clock. As soon as I am up and around, I am already cranking out 65 to 75.

Doubling the 950, in this case, just wont work!

iluvsparkles

you guys rock so much. Thank you so much again song, for such thorough and easy to understand info...love it!!

im definitely eating at the right time then... because my biggest meal usually comes directly after my big cardio session after work.

I think part of my (probably skewed) mentality during the daytime stems from the knowledge that if i have an empty stomach, the excess fat on my body (and i assume muscle) would be the first to go since i have no fuel in my body... i know thats not the best idea persé..anywhooooo thanks for the feedback!!!