Higher than normal hr = more cals burned...ADVISE PLEASE

irishgal44

So I'm about 30 days stuck at this weight and this week I gained a little, so it's time to ask this question that even my nutritionist today didn't know how to answer. I'm so frustrated.

Found out that when I exercise, my heart rate (per HRM) is very high. Finding out so far that nothing is wrong, waiting for test results from last tests, etc, etc...here's my question.

Let's say I run 30 minutes at 5.2 mph, 1% incline. I will burn off 600-700 calories. This is due to my heart rate being very high (in the 190's, maxing to 203). A "normal" person could run the 30 minutes and burn far less - like 400-500 calories. No worries - cardiologist has given me the green light to keep running until I hear back from my latest testing...

I've been doing as I have learned from MFP...eat all my exercise calories back. HOWEVER, I am not really seeing a loss. Called a nutritionist today who advised me to only eat 1200 cals a day and I will see a greater loss. My response "Saturday night, I burned 1100 calories...shouldn't I be eating back my calories to meet my net caloric intake" and she acted like she didn't quite understand net calories and then said "well that would be a good idea", etc, etc... I feel like I can't find anyone who can even remotely give me a clue as to what I should do.

Eating 1/2 the cals burned would bring me under net. However, being my hr is so high when exercising, and therefore reading that I'm burning off way more calories than the average bear, do you think I should be eating only maybe what an average person would burn during a specific exercise? Or is my body working harder and truely burning more calories due to my heart working harder and I should be eating them back? UGH.

So confused, frustrated, etc. I've never been able to get below this weight ever. Whenever I have gotten here, I stay here. I would really like to move past it and get to my goal...even .5 a week would be fine with me. Just to get the scale to move would be a miracle for me.

Anyone else in this situation? :sad:

missbeezy

I'm not in the situation, but I have a friend who is. She has had a very high resting heart rate and exercising heart rate and she is having a hard time getting the last few lbs off b/c of a similar situation. They actually put her on medication to level out her heart rate but in the mean time she is still burning a lot of calories (she is also a runner) and she has just started to lose. If you can't eat all and lose (which Is my problem it makes me gain) and if half is not quite hitting your net can you try like 2/3 or 3/4? If you want to add my friend as your friend or speak to her about what she is doing (b/c she has began losing again this last week) send me a msg and I will tell you her name on here. maybe she can help out

AmandaB4588

My HR was the same as yours when exercising, especially when I was doing C25K. I was really pushing myself but I never felt like I was overdoing it. I didn't feel bad when my HR was that high, and never would have noticed if it weren't for my HRM.

My doctor did an EKG, and it came back fine. His advice was to do something easier because my heart needed more conditioning. I started over on C25K, and sure enough... my HR was far lower in all of the weeks my second time around. I also do a lot of low intensity stuff (things that get my HR in the normal range) now, which also seems to help during the high intensity stuff.

Flyntiggr

Hey Irish -

My trainer is also a nutritionist. She basically told me to make sure my NET is at least 1,000 in.So, don't eat ALL of your calories back, but enough to get you up to 1,000 for the day. Since I've been doing this, I've been losing again after my plateau a couple of weeks back.

irishgal44

My HR was the same as yours when exercising, especially when I was doing C25K. I was really pushing myself but I never felt like I was overdoing it. I didn't feel bad when my HR was that high, and never would have noticed if it weren't for my HRM.

My doctor did an EKG, and it came back fine. His advice was to do something easier because my heart needed more conditioning. I started over on C25K, and sure enough... my HR was far lower in all of the weeks my second time around. I also do a lot of low intensity stuff (things that get my HR in the normal range) now, which also seems to help during the high intensity stuff.

I am pretty sure my heart needs conditioning too, which is also weird, because I have been a runner for 2 years now. However, I can do 30 minutes on my elliptical and then jump on my treadmill and I can run 30 minutes never getting my hr over 190. If I were to run on the treadmill first, I could easily get it up to 190's and up to 200+. Crazy! Good to hear you've conditioned your heart. Did you have a hard time losing weight when your heart would read that high with your runs?

irishgal44

Hey Irish -

My trainer is also a nutritionist. She basically told me to make sure my NET is at least 1,000 in.So, don't eat ALL of your calories back, but enough to get you up to 1,000 for the day. Since I've been doing this, I've been losing again after my plateau a couple of weeks back.

Good to know she knew what "net" was. LOL. Good to hear it's working for you. Plateaus are so frustrating. Doesn't make me want to give up - makes me want to try harder, yet I feel like I have lost a month when it comes to my goals and that is irritating.

PJilly

I am totally guessing here, but I wonder if HRMs are less accurate if your heart rate is either higher or lower than what's considered "normal." My blood pressure is quite on the low side, and my heart rate is lower than normal as well. My HRM shows calorie burns quite a bit lower than MFP's estimates, yet MFP's estimates have always worked well for me. Maybe the MFP estimates are a closer approximation to actual calories burned for those of us with abnormally high or low heart rates. As I said, it is just speculation. I don't really know if this is the case, but it kind of makes sense.

kdiamond

You are going to have to experiment a little...give each experiment 2-3 weeks to see how it works...since there is no MAGIC number for anyone, especially one in your situation. I agree with the OP to not eat any less than 1000 calories net, but experiment with the number of exercise calories you eat back...say start with 1/2, then 2/3, etc.. You'll eventually find your "sweet spot".

AmandaB4588

My HR was the same as yours when exercising, especially when I was doing C25K. I was really pushing myself but I never felt like I was overdoing it. I didn't feel bad when my HR was that high, and never would have noticed if it weren't for my HRM.

My doctor did an EKG, and it came back fine. His advice was to do something easier because my heart needed more conditioning. I started over on C25K, and sure enough... my HR was far lower in all of the weeks my second time around. I also do a lot of low intensity stuff (things that get my HR in the normal range) now, which also seems to help during the high intensity stuff.

I am pretty sure my heart needs conditioning too, which is also weird, because I have been a runner for 2 years now. However, I can do 30 minutes on my elliptical and then jump on my treadmill and I can run 30 minutes never getting my hr over 190. If I were to run on the treadmill first, I could easily get it up to 190's and up to 200+. Crazy! Good to hear you've conditioned your heart. Did you have a hard time losing weight when your heart would read that high with your runs?

I can't really say because I always have a hard time losing weight! :laugh:

From what my doctor said, the problem with exercising with your HR that high is that it is ineffective--- you are burning muscle rather than fat. Historically, I have found it much easier to lose weight through dieting only (no exercise) because I have yet to find that sweet spot that kdiamond mentioned.

irishgal44

I am totally guessing here, but I wonder if HRMs are less accurate if your heart rate is either higher or lower than what's considered "normal." My blood pressure is quite on the low side, and my heart rate is lower than normal as well. My HRM shows calorie burns quite a bit lower than MFP's estimates, yet MFP's estimates have always worked well for me. Maybe the MFP estimates are a closer approximation to actual calories burned for those of us with abnormally high or low heart rates. As I said, it is just speculation. I don't really know if this is the case, but it kind of makes sense.

Yes, one of my MFP friends mentioned this as well. An interesting outtake on this!

irishgal44

You are going to have to experiment a little...give each experiment 2-3 weeks to see how it works...since there is no MAGIC number for anyone, especially one in your situation. I agree with the OP to not eat any less than 1000 calories net, but experiment with the number of exercise calories you eat back...say start with 1/2, then 2/3, etc.. You'll eventually find your "sweet spot".

I hope I find the sweet spot cause when I do, it for sure will be a sweet moment for me.

irishgal44

[/quote]
"I can't really say because I always have a hard time losing weight! :laugh:

From what my doctor said, the problem with exercising with your HR that high is that it is ineffective--- you are burning muscle rather than fat. Historically, I have found it much easier to lose weight through dieting only (no exercise) because I have yet to find that sweet spot that kdiamond mentioned."
[/quote]

(I can't get that paragraph above to look like I quoted you for some reason so I added quotes around it - LOL)
So have I. I can lose weight very easily without high intensity exercise built in. 2-3 lbs a week actually if I stay at around 1200 cals/day. I have never heard about burning muscle rather than fat if it's too high - will have to look into this. It does make sense though, because of the not being able to lose weight well while adding exercise in!! If I feind the sweet spot, I will let you know for sure!! Sounds like we are in the same boat. If I do something low intensity like Walk Away the Pounds videos and I add those cals back in and eat them, I still lose at least 2 lbs a week. But for some reason, with running, I cannot lose weight well at all. Ho hum.

AmandaB4588

"I can't really say because I always have a hard time losing weight! :laugh:

From what my doctor said, the problem with exercising with your HR that high is that it is ineffective--- you are burning muscle rather than fat. Historically, I have found it much easier to lose weight through dieting only (no exercise) because I have yet to find that sweet spot that kdiamond mentioned."


(I can't get that paragraph above to look like I quoted you for some reason so I added quotes around it - LOL)
So have I. I can lose weight very easily without high intensity exercise built in. 2-3 lbs a week actually if I stay at around 1200 cals/day. I have never heard about burning muscle rather than fat if it's too high - will have to look into this. It does make sense though, because of the not being able to lose weight well while adding exercise in!! If I feind the sweet spot, I will let you know for sure!! Sounds like we are in the same boat. If I do something low intensity like Walk Away the Pounds videos and I add those cals back in and eat them, I still lose at least 2 lbs a week. But for some reason, with running, I cannot lose weight well at all. Ho hum.

Same to you! It is a really frustrating thing when you are pushing yourself and feel like you are kicking butt.... then the scale doesn't show your hard work at all. :grumble: As of right now, I am actually staying away from the scale (had my boyfriend hide it!) so that I don't let it bring me down when I don't see the results I want. It is hard, but I do think that the lower intensity will work well for me until I can do high intensity with a normal HR, and I do not want to lose focus.

Best of luck to you! Let's hope this works!