eating more & exercise to lose more question

amy_marlene

i'm 5'5,sw-161 lbs,cw- 148 lbs
i've been eating 1200 cals and exercising 4-5 days a week for 30 minutes ( sometimes 45 ) but wasn't eating exercise calories. hitted the plateau after 8.8 lbs lost and stalled for 4 weeks. Last Sunday i decided to stop exercising to see if the scale is going to move and bam - lost 5.5 lbs.
So i figured out i should be eating exercise calories to lose weight. I'm i right? I still eat 1200 cals even though i'm not exercising.
what should i do? thank you )

cathie2903

I would eat back your exercise cals especially if ou have set your limit at 1200. If you don't eat back your body isn't getting enough "fuel" to cope with the exercise so you don't lose.
I have recently uped my cals and stuck with my 3/4 times a week exercise - mix of cardio and strength - and I am losing again.

Stick with it! Good luck x

yarwell

Last Sunday i decided to stop exercising to see if the scale is going to move and bam - lost 5.5 lbs.

Excellent. You reduced your calorie deficit to a more manageable level and won with a weight loss.

Is the logical conclusion that you should not exercise as much ?

amy_marlene

Last Sunday i decided to stop exercising to see if the scale is going to move and bam - lost 5.5 lbs.

Excellent. You reduced your calorie deficit to a more manageable level and won with a weight loss.

Is the logical conclusion that you should not exercise as much ?

i don't know.i don't think i was exercising too much,i think i didn't eat enough

amy_marlene

I would eat back your exercise cals especially if ou have set your limit at 1200. If you don't eat back your body isn't getting enough "fuel" to cope with the exercise so you don't lose.
I have recently uped my cals and stuck with my 3/4 times a week exercise - mix of cardio and strength - and I am losing again.

Stick with it! Good luck x

thank you

Sarauk2sf

You should eat your exercise calories back to give yourself a reasonable deficit. However, I would warn you that some of the weight you lost would be water weight (sorry) - when you exercise, you tend to retain more water in your muscles, so stopping exercising you probably released some of it. Not trying to put a downer on your weight loss at all (congratulations on your loss so far), and you should absolutely do what you decided, however do not get discouraged if you gain a little the first week back at exercising - it will only be water weight if you do.

yarwell

i don't know.i don't think i was exercising too much,i think i didn't eat enough

You were eating X, exercising Y, achieving nothing.

You changed to eating X, not exercising. The weight came off.

A man from Mars (or me) would conclude that the exercise was not helping your weight loss. Stopping it worked. Why restart ? Is weight loss your goal, or exercise for exercise sake ?

Sarauk2sf

i don't know.i don't think i was exercising too much,i think i didn't eat enough

You were eating X, exercising Y, achieving nothing.

You changed to eating X, not exercising. The weight came off.

A man from Mars (or me) would conclude that the exercise was not helping your weight loss. Stopping it worked. Why restart ? Is weight loss your goal, or exercise for exercise sake ?

Exercise has a lot of benefits other than weight loss. Why not keep the appropriate deficit? In other words, keep exercising, but keep a smaller deficit?

yarwell

a 25% calorie reduction (CR) compared to a 12.5% calorie reduction and 12.5% exercise calories (CR+EX) over 3 and 6 months M3 & M6. Also compared to control group and VLCD group who had a VLCD until 10% weight loss up to M3 then maintenance M3 to M6. CALERIE study, US published data.

yarwell

Why not keep the appropriate deficit? In other words, keep exercising, but keep a smaller deficit?

Depends on her priorities. Looks like she found a solution that works, I would stick with it while it works.

You want her to gamble on adding back the exercise and adding calories ? She can try that too, no evidence it'll be any better for weight loss though so as I say depends on priorities.

Sarauk2sf

Why not keep the appropriate deficit? In other words, keep exercising, but keep a smaller deficit?

Depends on her priorities. Looks like she found a solution that works, I would stick with it while it works.

You want her to gamble on adding back the exercise and adding calories ? She can try that too, no evidence it'll be any better for weight loss though so as I say depends on priorities.

Definately up to the OP. However, due to the significant benefits of exercise, especially for women, in my opinion, it would be better to work to a goal that includes weight loss and exercise.

amy_marlene

i would like to continue with exercising because my body is changing a lot while exercising and i feel good but i don't want to stop losing again. i think i'm going to go back to exercising when i hit the plateau again.
yes,i also think the most of it is water weight but i lost centimeters too while not exercising.
thank you for your opinions and advices )

em9371

I would keep up the exercise but increase cals (set goal to 0.5-1 per week as you don't have much to lose), as Sarah said exercise has many benefits as well as weight loss.

The same happened to me, I was netting 1100-1200 back In January after exercise. Had to stop exercise due to injury and netted 1650, I lost more the month I didn't exercise much than any other month. Now I can exercise again, I've increased cals to keep net around 1600 and the loss has continued :-)

TavistockToad

Eat ur exercise cals!

Lozze

OP you're now in the healthy weight range according to BMI (congrats!) so it's going to be harder.

Exercise is for health. Since you are a healthy weight, you should be focussed on health not a number on the scale. So no I don't think you should stop exercising.

I don't know how old you are but I put 25 when I figured out your TDEE (maintenance calories) This number will obviously change if you're not 25, but exercising 1-3 days a week you should be eating 2036 to maintain. Taking 20% off that figure (to lose weight) has you eating 1629 calories a day. So when you were exercising and not eating calories back you were underrating. Why not try eating slightly more and exercising and see what happens? You will put on weight initially (water weight usually) but you will feel better and your body will adjust accordingly.

CoderGal

i don't know.i don't think i was exercising too much,i think i didn't eat enough

You were eating X, exercising Y, achieving nothing.

You changed to eating X, not exercising. The weight came off.

A man from Mars (or me) would conclude that the exercise was not helping your weight loss. Stopping it worked. Why restart ? Is weight loss your goal, or exercise for exercise sake ?

^not this...I like my *kitten* much better firm. Sounds like water weight due to the fact you werent eating enough in the first place. Try researching bmr and tdee.

Kincar

I've had the same thing happen to me (I lost more when I ate the same cals and exercised less). I researched BMR and TDEE. I started eating to net at least my BMR everyday and started losing again.

I've found I lose more on the scale when I exercise less. However, I lose more in inches when I work out more. Plus, I like the way I feel and look from exercising. For me, it's a matter of finding the right balance.

CoderGal

I've had the same thing happen to me (I lost more when I ate the same cals and exercised less). I researched BMR and TDEE. I started eating to net at least my BMR everyday and started losing again.

I've found I lose more on the scale when I exercise less. However, I lose more in inches when I work out more. Plus, I like the way I feel and look from exercising. For me, it's a matter of finding the right balance.

^This, I'd rather go up and look skinnier then be a light flab ball. I got to goal doing the light flab ball thing, my butt has increased it's hotness 10 fold since I started hiking :P

checci

Either you're gaining muscle mass from exercise or you're eating so little compared to what you burn off that you're putting your body into starvation mode so that the days you don't exercise your body clings onto the calories you consume is what I would guess?

Please try to be happy with the weight you are at because you're healthy and I'm pretty sure you look really good. I look back at when I weighed 130lbs and I thought I was fat, how ridiculous I was being... I'm now 192lbs and would give anything to get back there instantly but unfortunately it's going to take a long time.

Please don't stop exercising because its stopping your weight loss. It's good for your body and will help you tone up and look better. When I was at a similar weight to you I used to go to the gym 3-4 times a week. I did this for a year and the number on the scales didn't go down at all but I felt great and I looked great so why did it matter if I weighed the same?

Burlesque12

I've had the same thing happen to me (I lost more when I ate the same cals and exercised less). I researched BMR and TDEE. I started eating to net at least my BMR everyday and started losing again.

I've found I lose more on the scale when I exercise less. However, I lose more in inches when I work out more. Plus, I like the way I feel and look from exercising. For me, it's a matter of finding the right balance.

^This, I'd rather go up and look skinnier then be a light flab ball. I got to goal doing the light flab ball thing, my butt has increased it's hotness 10 fold since I started hiking :P

^^^^AGREE WITH THESE^^^
I exercise and started to eat 20% less my TDEE about 6 wks ago and havent lost lbs but have lost inches, and I get compliments on my new toned arms & legs. I dont want to be "skinny fat".

MST318

I have a similar issue. I can't seem to get enough calories in each day. I could fill it with "junk" but obviously that is not what I want to do. I think because fruits and vegetables tend to be filling, I find I don't really WANT to eat.

Just to give you an idea, here is a breakdown of my intake yesterday:

Egg white/ spinach omelet
1/2 c apple slices
1 oz cheese
protein shake with 1% milk
side salad with grilled chicken (no dressing)
1/2 c of cheerios
1/2 c of honeydew melon
4 oz of chicken breast

This was only about 1300 calories, and going to the gym dropped my calories to below 1000.

Anything I can do?

The scale hasn't moved in quite some time and I'm getting discouraged...

neverstray

I guess your age at 23.

Based on that, your TDEE is 2397. If you take off 20% to lose 1lb per week, you would be at 1917 calories per day, assuming you workout 4 to 5 days a week.

So, if you do that, you should lose weight. 1200 cals is not enough. The reason you stopped losing was because the combination of exercise and your low calories, you were starving your body to death. Feed it more, and you will lose.

mmapags

I guess your age at 23.

Based on that, your TDEE is 2397. If you take off 20% to lose 1lb per week, you would be at 1917 calories per day, assuming you workout 4 to 5 days a week.

So, if you do that, you should lose weight. 1200 cals is not enough. The reason you stopped losing was because the combination of exercise and your low calories, you were starving your body to death. Feed it more, and you will lose.

This! You were not eating even close to enough for your activity level, height and weight! Losing weight and getting fit is a marathon not a sprint.

TrailRunner61

I do better if I eat SOME but not all and I only eat them if I'm actually hungry. I tried eating more of them 'just because I should' and I stalled for a MONTH after going back up to 150lbs after I had dropped to 146. I cut back and now only eat about 200-300 of them and I've started dropping the lbs again. Happily I'm now down to 145. I'd also like to add that I'm 5ft3, SW179 CW145 GW125. I exercise a lot but mostly walking. 4-10 miles per day, 25 per week, 100 per month with 1,000 goal by Oct 31st. If I walk 10 miles I will end up with over a 1,000 cal deficit and I'll eat some ex. cals but I won't force myself to eat if I'm not hungry anymore!

Eat if your hungry but experiment and see what works for you. We are all different. Good luck and <hugs>

BeachBobbie

I agree with this. Eating more calories isn't the problem for getting fit anyway. Chosing the right foods is

I would eat back your exercise cals especially if ou have set your limit at 1200. If you don't eat back your body isn't getting enough "fuel" to cope with the exercise so you don't lose.
I have recently uped my cals and stuck with my 3/4 times a week exercise - mix of cardio and strength - and I am losing again.

Stick with it! Good luck x

neverstray

I agree with this. Eating more calories isn't the problem for getting fit anyway. Chosing the right foods is

I would eat back your exercise cals especially if ou have set your limit at 1200. If you don't eat back your body isn't getting enough "fuel" to cope with the exercise so you don't lose.
I have recently uped my cals and stuck with my 3/4 times a week exercise - mix of cardio and strength - and I am losing again.

Stick with it! Good luck x

But you have to eat the proper amount of calories. 1200 is pretty much starvation. Her BMR is 1547. So, eating 1200 cals without exercise, she's starving her body. Add working out, and she's really doing damage. No wonder she stopped losing. As I said, her minimum is 1547 her max is 1917. probably stay closest to 1917 everyday, and the weight will come off.

microburst20

I went to fitness frog and my tdee is 2469 and my bmr is 1795. Isnt tdee based on the idea that you are going to consistantly exercise since you dont eat exercise calories back.? My exercise is spotty. Some days I do but some days i am a slug. I am trying to get at least a little in everyday. MFP has my calories at 1720 to lose 1 pound a week and then I can get exercise calories to eat back. Does that sound right?

neverstray

I went to fitness frog and my tdee is 2469 and my bmr is 1795. Isnt tdee based on the idea that you are going to consistantly exercise since you dont eat exercise calories back.? My exercise is spotty. Some days I do but some days i am a slug. I am trying to get at least a little in everyday. MFP has my calories at 1720 to lose 1 pound a week and then I can get exercise calories to eat back. Does that sound right?

If your BMR is 1795, MFP has you eating less than BMR. Since you're not lying in a hospital bed, you need to eat more than your BMR. You could calculate your TDEE based on no activity, or minimal activity, and then eat back the calories when you exercise.

mmapags

I went to fitness frog and my tdee is 2469 and my bmr is 1795. Isnt tdee based on the idea that you are going to consistantly exercise since you dont eat exercise calories back.? My exercise is spotty. Some days I do but some days i am a slug. I am trying to get at least a little in everyday. MFP has my calories at 1720 to lose 1 pound a week and then I can get exercise calories to eat back. Does that sound right?

That does sound reasonable. Try that for a few weeks and see how you do. If nessesary, make small tweaks up or down. Small as is 5% or 10% at a time.

I agree with neverstray, the OP was severely undereating.

microburst20

Thanks neverstray and mmapags! I'll be glad to have this figured out so I can just enjoy socializing with MFP' ers.

CoderGal

I've had the same thing happen to me (I lost more when I ate the same cals and exercised less). I researched BMR and TDEE. I started eating to net at least my BMR everyday and started losing again.

I've found I lose more on the scale when I exercise less. However, I lose more in inches when I work out more. Plus, I like the way I feel and look from exercising. For me, it's a matter of finding the right balance.

^This, I'd rather go up and look skinnier then be a light flab ball. I got to goal doing the light flab ball thing, my butt has increased it's hotness 10 fold since I started hiking :P

^^^^AGREE WITH THESE^^^
I exercise and started to eat 20% less my TDEE about 6 wks ago and havent lost lbs but have lost inches, and I get compliments on my new toned arms & legs. I dont want to be "skinny fat".

You just inspired me to make a post. I didn't think the pics would come out much different in a few weeks but they did:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/603357-120-lbs-weeks-of-no-loss-activity-level-change-pics
sedentary->active
Net 1650->net over 2000
no waist or butt measurement changes