Discouraged does not begin to describe it...

BrandNewLaura

Okay, this is going to be kind of long, but I want to give all the details so hopefully someone can help me. I started my weight loss journey in July, and I started exercising right away...going from completely sedentary to at least 30-50 minutes a day, 5 or 6 days a week. I got a heart rate monitor right away and I typically burnt 300-500 calories a day in exercise. About two months ago, my calorie burn tapered way down to minimal numbers, even though I was consistently working out in my target zone, and once I subtracted the calories that my body would have burned if I didn't do anything at all, I was lucky to get 100 calories max per day for exercise.

Needless to say I got completely discouraged, and I stopped exercising because I was just too frustrated to keep killing myself and not even have it be worth much at all. I had some trouble with food shortly after I stopped exercising, but I have continued to lose weight. I have been noticing that I am starting to get out of breath when I climb stairs again, and that scared me, so yesterday I went for a 40 minute walk. I was in my target zone on my HRM the whole time, and according to my GPS, I averaged 3 mph for my walk. Got home, and I burnt 131 calories. Subtract my resting calories, and I've got about 50 or 60 calories for all that hard work.

Today I pulled out my Leslie Sansone DVD and did 15 minutes of HARD walking and burnt 59 calories. Yes, 15 minutes wasn't very long, but I was sweating and breathing heavy, and once I looked at the calorie burn I decided it just wasn't worth it.

I am 25 years old, and weigh 281 pounds.

My question is, is it normal for me to be burning so few calories at my weight and for the length of time that I've been working out? Or must it be my HRM? I have replaced the chest strap because I accidentally washed it with fabric softener once and ruined it, but the transmitter and watch unit should be just fine, as I've only had the HRM since August 1. Someone please help.

BrandNewLaura

Okay, this is going to be kind of long, but I want to give all the details so hopefully someone can help me. I started my weight loss journey in July, and I started exercising right away...going from completely sedentary to at least 30-50 minutes a day, 5 or 6 days a week. I got a heart rate monitor right away and I typically burnt 300-500 calories a day in exercise. About two months ago, my calorie burn tapered way down to minimal numbers, even though I was consistently working out in my target zone, and once I subtracted the calories that my body would have burned if I didn't do anything at all, I was lucky to get 100 calories max per day for exercise.

Needless to say I got completely discouraged, and I stopped exercising because I was just too frustrated to keep killing myself and not even have it be worth much at all. I had some trouble with food shortly after I stopped exercising, but I have continued to lose weight. I have been noticing that I am starting to get out of breath when I climb stairs again, and that scared me, so yesterday I went for a 40 minute walk. I was in my target zone on my HRM the whole time, and according to my GPS, I averaged 3 mph for my walk. Got home, and I burnt 131 calories. Subtract my resting calories, and I've got about 50 or 60 calories for all that hard work.

Today I pulled out my Leslie Sansone DVD and did 15 minutes of HARD walking and burnt 59 calories. Yes, 15 minutes wasn't very long, but I was sweating and breathing heavy, and once I looked at the calorie burn I decided it just wasn't worth it.

I am 25 years old, and weigh 281 pounds.

My question is, is it normal for me to be burning so few calories at my weight and for the length of time that I've been working out? Or must it be my HRM? I have replaced the chest strap because I accidentally washed it with fabric softener once and ruined it, but the transmitter and watch unit should be just fine, as I've only had the HRM since August 1. Someone please help.

renae5

Maybe someone else can help you with the HRM question, I just wanted to say you've come a long way and please don't let a little thing like a machine get you down. Exercise is not just about burning calories (bc I think your HRM is probably wrong) but it is also about strengthing muscles, bones and internal organs... is about being healthy not just thin... you've come SO FAR since July and I just hate to see you not being totally proud of what you have already accomplished in such a short time, 5 months and 59 pounds is AWESOME. KEEP IT UP, YOU ARE WORTH IT!!!

gsschulte

Well honestly from what you are saying and how your loss tapered off it sounds like a plateu. you need to change. thats it just change, if you run do the eliptical. if you lift, lift in a different order and with different exercises but you need a change. your body is used to what you are doing to it so its running on easy mode to conserve energy for when times get hard again. make your body work differently and it will start burning calories again.

pettmybunny

Laura, what a beautiful picture! Wowza!

I agree that your body probably started getting healthier and works more efficiently and is burning less calories. Maybe try some higher speed intervals to get that heart rate up again? Or mix up your workouts as gsschulte said.

I think the most telling thing is that when you stopped exercising for a while, you don't feel as good. So... even if you're not getting the big calorie burn you're hoping for, the exercise is still important.

AngelaBeaulieu

I think you are obviously doing something right . . . 59 lbs already lost . . . THATS GREAT!
Dont get discouraged, think of it as a game. I weighed 238 lbs a little over a year ago and I am 26 . . . I started out slow and dreaded the gym . . now I wake up and actually look forward to it. Try joining a sport like womans soccer. i did and started as defense only being able to stay on for 2 min at a time now I am center and can stay on for the whole 20 min period. It does get better and the fact that you are on here and trying so hard I know you can do it! Do you live in hamilton . . . try getting a walking group together.

I know you can do it, you've done so well already!

allbefore40

:flowerforyou: I read this and my heart just broke because I hear your despair...we have all been there. You are on a journey and this is part of it.

You have to want this really bad because it is hard! Go back to the work outs and never stop the exercise it is the key. When I first started my new regeime I was working out and gained 1.7 pounds. I looked at the scale and laughed out loud and I refused to give into that moment. The next day with little food and more exercise...nothing..within the following 4 days-6 pounds. I am happy but I know that the good parts are balanced by the disappointments and frustrations and I cant let myself get derailed again or get caught up in the celebration.

You have youth on your side! Make today a new start and give it a full month and I know you will see results. Dont forget to measure today and use all your logs. 2009 is your year. 59 pounds and counting!:drinker:

HustleRose

My only question is, what is your "zone?" If you're working out in the fat burning zone, you'll be burning more calories from fat, but you'll be burning a lot less calories in total than if you work out in a higher range. As you condition your heart, you burn less calories, so if you're still staying in your lower fat burning zone, you probably won't burn as many as you'd like.

KatWood

I am confused. Why are you minusing your resting calories?

Even when you rest your body is burning calories.

Once you know how many calories you should eat in a day to hit your weekly weightloss goal in a week don't you add your exercise calories?

For example, if I didn't want to lose weight I should east approx 1,700 calories per day (i.e. to maintain my current weight without exercise). But since I was to lose 1 lb per week I am eating approx 1,400 calories per day. If I exercise and burn 300 calories, I add that to my allowance of 1,400 for that day, and thus I eat 1,700 calories.

I am concerned as to why you are reducing your exercise calories ... I'm worried you may not be eating enough and may have hit a plateau.

Maybe I have misunderstood.

Can someone enlighten me if I have missed something here?

KatWood

Ok. I reread and I guess I see what you are doing. I don't minus anything from my exercise calories.

I must agree with everyone else that you are doing a great job and although this can be frustrating, you know you can do it!

may_marie

my first reaction is that your HRM might be faulty,,, does it 0 out alot ?
maybe you can cross check it by manualy take you pulse for 1 min and see if that matches your heart rate on the watch.

i cannot see how you can exhaust yourself that much and burn that little, espacialy at your weight, you should be burning more,...

you might have indulced a plateau from not eating enough ... because your hrm is faulty,,,

good luck !!

ps. i agree with everybody else , youve been doing so well so far,, you can do it !!!!!!!!

Bobbie145

I am new to HRMs, but do you have the kind where you measure your resting heart rate and then that is used to calculate your calories, etc.? I don't know if that's how all HRMs work, but mine has that, and you have to redo your resting heart rate from time to time to keep up with your physical fitness improvements. I probably didn't say that very well, so if someone else knows what I'm talking about, please say it better! :blushing: But whatever the outcome, don't give up. You are doing great, and plateaus definitely happen. Just keep going, and you'll probably see a big drop all at once. :flowerforyou:

Bobbie

BrandNewLaura

I am confused. Why are you minusing your resting calories?

Even when you rest your body is burning calories.

Once you know how many calories you should eat in a day to hit your weekly weightloss goal in a week don't you add your exercise calories?

For example, if I didn't want to lose weight I should east approx 1,700 calories per day (i.e. to maintain my current weight without exercise). But since I was to lose 1 lb per week I am eating approx 1,400 calories per day. If I exercise and burn 300 calories, I add that to my allowance of 1,400 for that day, and thus I eat 1,700 calories.

I am concerned as to why you are reducing your exercise calories ... I'm worried you may not be eating enough and may have hit a plateau.

Maybe I have misunderstood.

Can someone enlighten me if I have missed something here?

Because your body burns calories even at rest, when you exercise it is important to subtract from your exercise calories the number of calories that your body would have burnt while at rest, because it could cause a gain to eat them, as MFP has already accounted for those calories. For instance, last night, just to check my HRM, I laid in bed for 5 minutes, and my HRM said I burnt 10 calories. So I burn 2 calories per minute when I am at rest. So, if I workout for 30 minutes, and (just for example's sake and to make the numbers easy) I burned 100 calories, I need to subtract 60 calories (2 calories per minute multiplied by the 30 minutes that I exercised), and my body actually burned 40 calories because of my exercise. This gives you a more accurate picture of how many calories your body burns when you exercise as compared to the calories you burn at rest. Does that make sense?

On another note, thank you so much to everyone who has responded. I know I need to stick to the exercise, as it did scare me when I started breathing heavy when I climbed the stairs again. When I first started exercising, I had so much energy, my depression symptoms went away, and I felt so much more confident. I am just discouraged that either a) my calorie burn really is so much lower than it used to be or b) my $170 HRM was a bad investment because there is something wrong with it and I can't be sure because it really might just be me. Maybe I do need to change up my workouts, as all I typically do is walk (at my size I am not ready to join a gym yet, and since I don't have any home equipment, walking is the only no-equipment necessary workout that I can do right now). I haven't hit a plateau in that I am steadily losing weight, but I may very well have hit an exericse plateau. I do have some yoga and pilates DVDs as well as the Biggest Loser DVD that I might try as a way to shake things up a bit.

Thanks again everyone. I really appreciate all the support and encouragement...it means more than you all know!

mom2bchef

I am also new to this. I have bought in to SO many fads. They have all worked.....momentarily. My husband watched an infomercial about P90x. I think has a great base idea. Exercise has to be important. We did buy the P90X, but we are not in good enough shape to do all the exercises. We had to come to a realization that doing something was ALWAYS better than doing nothing. The core principle with the P90x is muscle confusion. Their tested theory says that you shouldn't do the same exercise in and out each day. You should work arms one day, core another day, cardio one day and yoga another. Don't give up, though, whatever you do. You've got to respect yourself enough to keep trying because you know you're worth it. Keep it up, girlie!

KatWood

I am confused. Why are you minusing your resting calories?

Even when you rest your body is burning calories.

Once you know how many calories you should eat in a day to hit your weekly weightloss goal in a week don't you add your exercise calories?

For example, if I didn't want to lose weight I should east approx 1,700 calories per day (i.e. to maintain my current weight without exercise). But since I was to lose 1 lb per week I am eating approx 1,400 calories per day. If I exercise and burn 300 calories, I add that to my allowance of 1,400 for that day, and thus I eat 1,700 calories.

I am concerned as to why you are reducing your exercise calories ... I'm worried you may not be eating enough and may have hit a plateau.

Maybe I have misunderstood.

Can someone enlighten me if I have missed something here?

Because your body burns calories even at rest, when you exercise it is important to subtract from your exercise calories the number of calories that your body would have burnt while at rest, because it could cause a gain to eat them, as MFP has already accounted for those calories. For instance, last night, just to check my HRM, I laid in bed for 5 minutes, and my HRM said I burnt 10 calories. So I burn 2 calories per minute when I am at rest. So, if I workout for 30 minutes, and (just for example's sake and to make the numbers easy) I burned 100 calories, I need to subtract 60 calories (2 calories per minute multiplied by the 30 minutes that I exercised), and my body actually burned 40 calories because of my exercise. This gives you a more accurate picture of how many calories your body burns when you exercise as compared to the calories you burn at rest. Does that make sense?

On another note, thank you so much to everyone who has responded. I know I need to stick to the exercise, as it did scare me when I started breathing heavy when I climbed the stairs again. When I first started exercising, I had so much energy, my depression symptoms went away, and I felt so much more confident. I am just discouraged that either a) my calorie burn really is so much lower than it used to be or b) my $170 HRM was a bad investment because there is something wrong with it and I can't be sure because it really might just be me. Maybe I do need to change up my workouts, as all I typically do is walk (at my size I am not ready to join a gym yet, and since I don't have any home equipment, walking is the only no-equipment necessary workout that I can do right now). I haven't hit a plateau in that I am steadily losing weight, but I may very well have hit an exericse plateau. I do have some yoga and pilates DVDs as well as the Biggest Loser DVD that I might try as a way to shake things up a bit.

Thanks again everyone. I really appreciate all the support and encouragement...it means more than you all know!

After I reread your posting I understood what you meant

2 cal/min does seem high. That would imply 2880 calories in a day at rest.

I think MFP estimated my daily usage without losing any weight to be around 1800 calories. Even if I assume that to be at rest, that would only be 1.25 cal/min. So I guess I could subtract that off my exercise calories, but to be honest I just don't see the point. However, maybe I am just lazy

Anyways, just be careful to make sure you are eating enough. I read so many postings of people not eating enough.

I have been experimenting with my heart rate monitor that measures calories and I think that MFP has my daily allowance set a bit low. I'm going to experiment some more and see what happens. I certainly don't want to use it as an excuse to eat whatever I want :laugh:

mom2bchef

:flowerforyou:
Hey, something else I thought I might share. Not that we don't all know what good and bad eating habits are......
I read part of an exercise/diet regimen. It said to throw out all the junk food. After looking at the list, I didn't have any junk food. I was very proud of that fact. Then the family started exercising. Yeah, we're losing, but slowly. Then we started to follow the diet plan. It has totally change my way of thinking. The funny thing is, it was things I already knew from culinary school....just never put into practice. Things like substituting with low fat or no fat products, eating things like brown rice or quinoa in place of rice or potatoes. I had to really get back into nutrition and what it really is. Eating all your fruits and vegetables, getting enough vitamins and minerals is very important, too. With this diet, I realized you didn't have to starve yourself. You eat more often, but in smaller portions. With the amount of weight I want to lose, it's anywhere from 300-400 calories per meal and about 100-200 per snack. Keeping track of what you eat will certainly help, but remember to always air on the side of caution. If you think you may have only eaten 1/4 c, it won't hurt to put 1/3. Hope everyone is doing well. Stick to it, and you can achieve your goal.

BrandNewLaura

I am confused. Why are you minusing your resting calories?

Even when you rest your body is burning calories.

Once you know how many calories you should eat in a day to hit your weekly weightloss goal in a week don't you add your exercise calories?

For example, if I didn't want to lose weight I should east approx 1,700 calories per day (i.e. to maintain my current weight without exercise). But since I was to lose 1 lb per week I am eating approx 1,400 calories per day. If I exercise and burn 300 calories, I add that to my allowance of 1,400 for that day, and thus I eat 1,700 calories.

I am concerned as to why you are reducing your exercise calories ... I'm worried you may not be eating enough and may have hit a plateau.

Maybe I have misunderstood.

Can someone enlighten me if I have missed something here?

Because your body burns calories even at rest, when you exercise it is important to subtract from your exercise calories the number of calories that your body would have burnt while at rest, because it could cause a gain to eat them, as MFP has already accounted for those calories. For instance, last night, just to check my HRM, I laid in bed for 5 minutes, and my HRM said I burnt 10 calories. So I burn 2 calories per minute when I am at rest. So, if I workout for 30 minutes, and (just for example's sake and to make the numbers easy) I burned 100 calories, I need to subtract 60 calories (2 calories per minute multiplied by the 30 minutes that I exercised), and my body actually burned 40 calories because of my exercise. This gives you a more accurate picture of how many calories your body burns when you exercise as compared to the calories you burn at rest. Does that make sense?

On another note, thank you so much to everyone who has responded. I know I need to stick to the exercise, as it did scare me when I started breathing heavy when I climbed the stairs again. When I first started exercising, I had so much energy, my depression symptoms went away, and I felt so much more confident. I am just discouraged that either a) my calorie burn really is so much lower than it used to be or b) my $170 HRM was a bad investment because there is something wrong with it and I can't be sure because it really might just be me. Maybe I do need to change up my workouts, as all I typically do is walk (at my size I am not ready to join a gym yet, and since I don't have any home equipment, walking is the only no-equipment necessary workout that I can do right now). I haven't hit a plateau in that I am steadily losing weight, but I may very well have hit an exericse plateau. I do have some yoga and pilates DVDs as well as the Biggest Loser DVD that I might try as a way to shake things up a bit.

Thanks again everyone. I really appreciate all the support and encouragement...it means more than you all know!

After I reread your posting I understood what you meant

2 cal/min does seem high. That would imply 2880 calories in a day at rest.

I think MFP estimated my daily usage without losing any weight to be around 1800 calories. Even if I assume that to be at rest, that would only be 1.25 cal/min. So I guess I could subtract that off my exercise calories, but to be honest I just don't see the point. However, maybe I am just lazy

Anyways, just be careful to make sure you are eating enough. I read so many postings of people not eating enough.

I have been experimenting with my heart rate monitor that measures calories and I think that MFP has my daily allowance set a bit low. I'm going to experiment some more and see what happens. I certainly don't want to use it as an excuse to eat whatever I want :laugh:

My resting calorie burn IS about 2880 because I weigh almost 300 pounds, and MFP has my resting calorie burn at about 2600 or so. So I think my HRM accurately measured my heartrate and calorie burn. I guess I just need to keep exercising and mix it up a bit...and not worry so much about the calorie burn...the fact that I am going to have to work so much harder to burn the number of calories that I used to is a sign that I'm healthier than I was when I started right? Silver lining anyone? :ohwell:

ChubbyBunny

I have noticed when I started working out that I would burn higher numbers the first week then it would almost be cut in half by week 2. I took a workout break for 2 months and like you discovered my STAMINA was way down the last month (and I was gettin jiggly in a bad way). So I decided to work my way back in slowly. I still keep track of the numbers creeping down and not burning as much. I figure when they get too low it's time to do a major change up....I have 2 set workouts I am balancing... when the numbers show they aren't as effective anymore I will switch to a new/more intense pair (even if I eventually go back).

You can do this, you've had great success already. :flowerforyou:

arewethereyet

can you borrow another HRM...and check to make sure the programming is correct on yours.

BrandNewLaura

can you borrow another HRM...and check to make sure the programming is correct on yours.

I don't know anyone else who has one...Jeannie you need to plan a trip to PA so you can lemme borrow your HRM haha...