Exercising, No Weight Loss?

cPT_Helice

Calorie burns are based on effort. If you walk 1 mile you won't burn nearly as much as you run. I burned 1200 cals the other day in a single run. Running most definitely can burn a ton of cals.

I have an HRM too, and I tend to burn roughly the same over a mile no matter the pace. A little more if I'm running but not a significant amount.

If you are talking distance rather than time, your total calories burned will be close per mile because even if the effort is lower, the time is proportionally longer...

I would doubt the accuracy of your HRM or something else is off here. People use to believe that it was calories/distance due to the time variable you bring up. But, they now know that is a fallacy. The reason that running burns so many more calories is not simply because of the speed but because of the WORK (think Newton's Laws and Work = Force x Distance) and power involved in the motion. Running requires that you physically push your body up, against gravity, and off the ground in a pseudo plyometric move (not actual plyometrics). This WORK requires a much greater expenditure of energy and calories are not simply determined by how fast your heart beats but by how much energy you expend. Heart rate is merely a way for us to get an idea (very rough estimate) of how hard we are working based on the effect it has on our heart.

cPT_Helice

The more out of shape you are the easier it is to get your HR up. Higher HR = more burned cals.

Wrong.

Higher HR = heart rate monitoring estimating higher calories on the basis of your seeming to be doing a lot of work.

A higher heart rate per se does not burn calories. If it did, Hollywood would be advertising horror movies with a "Scare yourself thin" marketing strategy. :bigsmile:

Yes, yes, yes!!!!

jacksonpt

I think there is a disconnect between myself and a few of you, so I'm going to let that part of the thread die.

Back to the OP's question, I stand by my initial thoughts - water retention is probably a big part of it.

TourThePast

This WORK requires a much greater expenditure of energy and calories are not simply determined by how fast your heart beats but by how much energy you expend. Heart rate is merely a way for us to get an idea (very rough estimate) of how hard we are working based on the effect it has on our heart.

Absolutely agree.

As for walking vs running a set distance, I thought the argument used to be that the longer time spent supporting the bodyweight in an upright position while walking made up for the increased energy involved in the "bounce" of running.

pdworkman

Nice! PR'd my run last week, and only burned 400 in 44 minutes. Believe me, I was working hard!

i don't know what kind of running you are doing, but i'll easily burn 400-500 calories in a 20 minute run.

TourThePast

i don't know what kind of running you are doing, but i'll easily burn 400-500 calories in a 20 minute run.

Nice! PR'd my run last week, and only burned 400 in 44 minutes. Believe me, I was working hard!

The bottom line is however many or however few calories you can burn in a set time, we're all burning infinitely more than the couch surfers. :bigsmile:

To the OP, really don't worry about the lack of apparent weight loss, it's probably fluid retention in your muscles, but you might want to start taking measurements as well - at times when I have not lost weight, I have lost inches so I've been glad I monitor both.

erickirb

The more out of shape you are the easier it is to get your HR up. Higher HR = more burned cals.

Wrong.

Higher HR = heart rate monitoring estimating higher calories on the basis of your seeming to be doing a lot of work.

A higher heart rate per se does not burn calories. If it did, Hollywood would be advertising horror movies with a "Scare yourself thin" marketing strategy. :bigsmile:

This is correct,

a higher HR due to cardio activity is a good estimator of oxygen uptake and intensity, which is what burns calories. The HR is just used to estimate intensity.

taso42

undereating

Sabineslims

Personally, if I eat 1200 calories or below I won't lose ANYTHING. I don't know why, but my body just won't budge.

I tried multiple daily calorie goals and I noticed 1400 calories is my magic number. That is WITHOUT exercise. I typically eat all of my exercise calories back when I do exercise.

I tried eating 1150 for 2 weeks and I didn't lose anything. Not even an ounce. I went back to 1400 and dropped 2 pounds within a week.

My advice is to up your calories for a week. See where that gets you. Eat 3 square meals a day with a snack in between. Eating that frequently keeps my metabolism working.

Congratulations on your weight loss so far! Best of luck to you. It is all about finding what works for you.

doubglass

Hey, muscle weighs more than fat--if you are loosing inches why worry about your weight? The fact you are slimmer in the right places means you are making process. Don't obsess @ weekly loss if you are making progress in inch loss in the right places.

bodyjammin85

A couple of people have touched on it. You need to eat more 1200 is the bare minimum that scientists say your body can function on. Calculate your BMR (use the calculator on MFP tools) and stick to that then add extra for calories burned during exercise. BMR is the cals your body needs if you just lay in bed all day. Your organs need to function, your hair and nails need to grow and your heart needs to pump blood around your body. They need these cals so don't deprive them. Try adding 100-200 a week slowly until you can maintain a steady healthy weight loss.

kent4j

Bump to read later.

mrtrik

I think there is a disconnect between myself and a few of you, so I'm going to let that part of the thread die.

Back to the OP's question, I stand by my initial thoughts - water retention is probably a big part of it.

Yes there is a disconnect.

The OP said she was running roughly 7-10 miles PER WEEK. So while 800-1200 is a "lot" of calories (subjective yes), spread over a week, it's 115-130 day. Not all that much. Easily negated by a few Oreos.

Yes you can run 9 miles in 90 mins and burn 1200 calories. Guess what, if you run 9 miles in 60 mins... you are going to burn pretty much 1200 calories too.

And as another poster said - it's all estimation. Not all miles are the same. Your weight contributes to calorie burn. The difficulty of the terrain (flat, downhill, uphill). Hell even wind (a nice tail wind will make you 30s / mile faster.

This is a fairly good write up about calories per mile: http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-242-304-311-8402-0,00.html

As for HRM's et al - I wear those too. My finding (and I have this documented on RunningAhead.com where I track all my running workouts downloaded from my garmin device). On one course I often run, 6.4 miles burns the same amount of calories whether run it at 7:00/mile or 8:30/mile. The former just takes 10' less....

But we can gladly agree to disagree. I think we can all agree that running is beneficial. The more you do, the hungrier you are. But healthier too. Good luck everyone.

dmburke11

blah blah blah, how many calories do i burn pacing back and forth from the living room to the kitchen checking over and over to make sure there aren't cookies in there somewhere?

BaconMD

Buy a measuring tape. Take pictures. Don't give up because of a number that could fluctuate throughout the day. Just keep at it, you'll get to where you want to go.

Remember running doesn't burn all that many calories. I mean it's a great thing to do... but if you are running 7-10 miles a week, that's what... 800-1200 calories?

i don't know what kind of running you are doing, but i'll easily burn 400-500 calories in a 20 minute run.

Well done you, now try running in possession of a pair of breasts! :bigsmile:

Been there, done that... Still doing that, actually.

AlsDonkBoxSquat

You can't gaudge the success of something by only doing it for a week or 2, you have to do it for several weeks to allow your body time to adjust to doing something new. keep at it, you'll be fine.

triadvocate

It's really about what you eat as opposed a to how much you eat. High protein , super low fat. Look at what chemicals are in the food that you are eating as well.

ANewLucia

I’ve been dieting for a little over a month now. I’ve lost 10 pounds so far. I’ve been exercising the whole way through, but nothing too crazy. Last week, I started running, and I’ve been running at least a mile a day, sometimes more. I thought I’d see some weight loss due to the running – I only lost a pound last week, but I actually didn’t lose anything this week. At least I didn’t gain, but it’s still frustrating! I’m staying under 1200 calories per day, unless I run – then I eat some of the calories back if I’m hungry, but I’m not netting over 1200.

My boyfriend is telling me I am starting to look slimmer, and his sister told me the same thing yesterday, without even knowing I was dieting or exercising. My boyfriend is really honest and straightforward, so I turn to him a lot to gauge how well I’m doing, because I know he’ll tell me what he truly sees. He told me he thinks I’m doing great and I should keep it up! His theory is that my weight may be staying the same because I am (hopefully) losing fat, but building muscle from the running. Any thoughts?

Wow, first of all...I believe you must eat to loose weight...you are not even eating your BMR ( which is your basal metabolic rate...what it takes for you to stay in bed all day and just breathe...organs to function...that's it), you not only get up and move around, but run too and you NET 1200....when you cut calories so drastically the body looses weight and then thinks it is starving because it isn't even getting what it needs to fuel BMR. Then metabolism slows to a halt, and there goes weightloss...deadstop.

I couldn't loose anything at 1200, then bumped to 1350, then 1500 I lost a few pounds...I did some research on TDEE and BMR and a safe cut amount and bumped up to 1800 calories...lost 7.2lbs when I lost NONE for over six months...I just stagnated so that means my body has slowed again to adjust for the deficit under TDEE and so I have bumped to 1950...

Said all this to say, I have more energy, I am never hunger, I am often just way too full matter of fact, I never carb binge anymore...I lift heavy, have lost fat and inches...

I have finally convinced many of my friends to start eating and had to create a group because I was on friend overload...we don't have to be miserable to loose weight...1200 cals is just too low for anyone. I now there are people that say they lost it all doing that...but sorry you can't convince me ever that it is safe to eat less than what your body needs to just breathe!

Anyway, upping calories is what has made me leaner and stronger than I have ever been in my whole life. There is a bunch of information in the group "Eat More to Weigh Less"...

I wish you the best!

lizziebeth1028

You're not eating enough......you are barely getting 1200 calories a day, if that. And I looked at your diary and it's full of processed foods that are high in sodium. Where are the fresh fruits and veggies? I would ditch all the cereal bars and 100 cal pack snacks and add apples, oranges, bananas, carrots, spinach ect. Greek yogurt, eggs, chicken breasts, tuna. And eat the recommended calorie allotment that MFP gives you and that means eating exercise calories back.

lizziebeth1028

Hey everyone (and sometimes I have to remind myself of this too) ....Before throwing out suggestions and advice - check to see if the OP's diary is open. Clearly she's under-eating and the calories that she is consuming aren't very nutritional.

tahoemads

I didn't lose tons of weight when training for my marathon. I have always been a runner, but I notice my diet significantly affects my performance and weight loss, or gain, regardless of how many miles I run.

Stick to whole foods, especially whole carbs to refuel (fibrous fruit and veggies). In fact, when you're running at a slow/moderate pace for endurance training, you don't need to carb load. It will only give you 50 minutes of energy anyway (but we don't need to go into the science about that). My point is, diet is key. Clean eating is key.

"Feed the machine" but with whole foods, no processed sugar, hydrate a lot, and just keep going. It takes time. Especially when you're building muscle and slowing shedding the weight.

Running can burn tons of calories, but it also correlates to your body weight decreasing. Running also isn't a license to overeat (this is easy/common - we've all done it as runners) but you do need to eat! Feed the machine. You'll be fine.