Exercise and Calories.

wiijogger

Hi, I need some help with my exercise and Calorie intake if someone could please.

I exercise 5 days a week for 1 hour per day (30mins jogging Treadmill - 156 cals approx, and 30 mins X Trainer 482 approx)...I

don't know how accurate the machines are.

I am Female, aged 51, 5ft 6" , weight 10st 6lbs and eating around 1300 Calories per day. I am not losing any fat (I am a stone

heavier than I was in January when I gave up smoking) therefore would like to lose that 1 stone gain if possible.

My question is should I be eating more Calories or does that sound about right for the amount of exercise that I do ? I feel so

frustrated at not seeing the scales go down and none of my jeans fit me any more.

I eat a healthy diet of Fish Chicken Veg Salad etc and low fat.

Thanks so much for any help :-)

gtahvfaith

HI,
If you would let me know exactly what you are eating I could better tell you part of why you are having trouble losing weight.
But, the key is if you are not burning more calories than you are taking in on a regular basis you will not lose weight.
More often than not we think we are being honest with our portion sizes but actually we underestimate, sometimes by quite a bit.
If you would like to send me your food list I will try to help you.
gtahvfaith@gmail.com

mreffle

Hi wiijogger,

Congratulations on giving up smoking!! Way to go! :flowerforyou:

Based on your information that you posted, your BMI is 23.6, within the normal range. And your BMR is 1352.8 Your BMR is your base metabollic rate, which is the amount of calories that you would use up in a day if you were sedentary for the entire day. If you are eating only 1300 carloris per day, you are eating too few. Plus, the calories you burn when you are exercising put you about 500 calories under. Your body is putting itself into starvation mode. You're probably in great shape, but your body thinks you are starving it, so it's hanging on to all the body fat it can.

My suggestion: keep logging your food and exercise into MFP, continue with the exercise you're doing, and increase your caloric intake by a few hundred per day, but with lean protein. The lean protein will keep you fuller longer, and it will repair and build the muscles you're using in your exercise regime. There are all kinds of protein that isn't chicken. I like spreading roasted garlic hummus on my deli-sliced meat sandwich, instead of mayo, or using it as a veggie dip. Also, greek yogurt has about twice the protein as regular yogurt, and it's quite tasty. I'm sure other people out there will have lots of other ideas.

You're doing so many things right, you need to increase your food intake, to fuel your body. Good luck on your journey! :happy:

wiijogger

Hi mreffle, thanks so much for the reply :-) When you say up the Caloric intake by a few hundred per day, should I for example start
by upping at maybe 300 per day and stay at that for a couple of weeks and see how I go weight loss wise then adjust accordingly ? Or should i stick at that for longer, maybe a month before I adjust ? It would be fab to actually see the scales start to go down again !!!!! Thank you again for helping, i'm must go shopping for some lean protein goodies :-)

scorpiousuk

Well if you have set your details on this site to take off 500 calories a day, then you should lose weight on that on it's own, so long as you input ALL your foods at the right amounts, and don't go into the red.

Personally I do this, but in addition I also aim to put 3500 calories in the bank each week to lose that second lbs each week. I do it this way as I can pick and choose when I do that. Saturdays I usually do a long walk,and Sundays a couple of hours cycling. Each of these days will usually put a 1000 calories in the green, that I will leave there (as opposed to eating more chocolate and going right up to the edge). In the week I swim a mile on Thursdays, usually another 1000 calories with some walking there and back, and then I only need to find 500 somewhere in the week.

With the weather getting worse, this is becoming a struggle though.

Are you really only burning 156cals for half hour on the treadmill? I use runkeeper for running (I really struggle with running) and a 30 minute jog (covering about 3 miles) usually nets me 400 or so calories. I know I am a guy and 181lbs at present, but I would check that.

The chicken, veg and healthy food etc is good for your intake, but its the final calorie score what matters.

wiijogger

Hi and thanks so much for the reply :-) I don't keep a diary anymore on MFP because I can't get on the Computer everyday to keep up to date with things. I am currently on a Weight Watchers diet (Discover plan and not the latest Pro Points plan) I am allowed 19 points per day (Apparently 1 point = 70 cals)
Typically for Breakfast I will have a 30g bowl of Special K Cereal with 125mls semi skimmed Milk or a Medium sized Poached Egg on 1 slice of White Toast with low Fat spread....Mid Morning a snack of Fruit..Lunch Homemade Veg Soup or a Tuna sandwich ( 2 slices white bread, Tuna and Mayo lite) with a low fat yoghurt and fruit...Dinner can be Fish, Chicken, Salad. a ready made WW meal if i'm in a hurry (Not very often) I think one of my problems could be too many carbs. I love Bread Potatoes etc so I will try to cut back on those. I drink 6-8 glasses of water per day and drink green Tea also.
From the advice from mreffle below it seems that I am not eating enough calories so i'm upping my cal intake to 1600 per day and eating more Protein. Fingers crossed the lbs start to drop...we'll see. Thanks again for your help, this is a great friendly helpful forum :-)

wiijogger

Just to Add that starting from today I have upped my Calorie intake to 1600 per day.......Lets hopw the weight starts dropping. Thanks everyone for your help :-)

SUSIE2662

I agree with upping your calories with the amount of exercise you do. Rosemarys Conleys diet (based on 5 x 30 mins exercise a week) says you should be having at least 1400 & loose weight so 1600 sounds perfect. I dont understand the points system but if you keep low fat you cant go wrong!

wiijogger

Oh thanks Susie. :-) I'm crossing fingers for a weight loss this week/next week, if not i'll adjust accordingly until it starts to come off *Sigh* I so want to get back into my old Jeans

michellersalo

First of all, I would not use the calorie estimations on the the equipment as a guide. They can be 30% more or less than what you are actually burning. If you want a more accurate count, get a heart rate monitor.

Second of all, increase your calories... this should make a difference! GL

wiijogger

Hi Michellesalo, I think i'll have to invest in a HRM for more accurate count, could you recommend one for me ? I have no idea if a cheaper one would be as good as a more expensive one etc etc as I know nothing about them. Think i'll have a look on Amazon and see what they have on there...Thanks for the reply, much appreciated :-)

jn1975

Hi wiiijogger,
can't help you with the other stuff but recently I also have been looking at affordable and good basic HRM and most of the websites/ reviews point towards Polar: either the FT7 or the RS100

http://heart-rate-monitor-watches-review.toptenreviews.com/polar-rs100-review.html

http://www.bestheartratemonitorzone.com/polar-ft7-review/

hope this is helpful..

Murf1968

Hi Michellesalo, I think i'll have to invest in a HRM for more accurate count, could you recommend one for me ? I have no idea if a cheaper one would be as good as a more expensive one etc etc as I know nothing about them. Think i'll have a look on Amazon and see what they have on there...Thanks for the reply, much appreciated :-)

If you are looking at Polar HRM's, dont get an FT1 or an FT2 as although they measure your heart rate thet DO NOT show calories burned.

The FT4 is the cheapest Polar HRM that shows burnt calories and is used widely by people on here.

wiijogger

Hey thanks Murf, i'll take a look online and compare prices :-)

Mokey41

Oh thanks Susie. :-) I'm crossing fingers for a weight loss this week/next week, if not i'll adjust accordingly until it starts to come off *Sigh* I so want to get back into my old Jeans

Upping your calories will probably help in the long run but don't expect to start eating the extra today and see a weight loss tomorrow. You'll probably see your weight go up a couple pounds first as your body readjusts to actually getting the food that it needs. You've already trained it to expect to not be getting food so the first chance for storage is going to be used. It may take a couple weeks before you'll see loss happening.

Just remember that you did this to yourself over time and it will take time to rectify the problem. Yo yoing between low calorie, high calorie is not healthy so since what you are doing isn't working give the new plan time to actually have an effect.

wiijogger

I'll just have to be patient while my body adjusts then Mokey41 I was on a Weight Watchers diet where points are counted and I was on 19 points per day (1 Point = 70 Cals approx) I see now after reading lots of helpful info on here that I have been eating too few Calories (Not enough points) for the amount of exercise that I do ( 1 hour per day x 5 days)

One thing that I don't understand though is, on the Daily Summary what is the Net figure ? (I don't want to eat my exercise calories)

Thanks for your much appreciated help, people are so kind and helpful on here :-)

michelelash

1300 calories a day with that much exercise does seem low to me. If you're eating healthy calories like you say you are, don't be afraid to increase your calories. I LOVE to eat my exercise calories, it's my reward

You said you eat low-fat, just be sure you're eating healthy fats. Don't go fat-free. High-quality food is the key, not cutting out any major food groups.

Also, that's a lot of cardio. I'd recommend switching two of those workouts to strength training to put on some lean muscle mass.

Your body gets used to doing the same thing everday, switch it up. Go a longer run one day and no ellipital. Do speed intervals. Remember FITT - to continue to see improvments through exercise you have to change Frequency, Intensity, Time or Type of exercise.

wiijogger

Could you suggest how I should maybe start with the strength Training, Do I need Dumbells or use a Multi Gym ? At home we have a X-Trainer, Treadmill, Stairmaster, Multigym, Row Machine, Sit ups bench, Exercise Bike and a Gym Ball and Hubby has weights..but weights that would be too heavy for me so maybe invest in some dumbells ?

I'm going to mix up the exercise more, tomorrow and Friday i'm doing Treadmill, Row Machine and exercise bike. I', sticking at 1600 for about 3-4 weeks and if I don't start to lose weight i'll start to eat back some of my exercise Calories.....Thanks so much for your help :-)

NaturallyOlivia

I actually have to disagree. I think changing up your exercise might be the resolution. In my experiwnce ellipticals can give you the most bang for your buck when it comes to calories burned in a certain amount of time. its great that you do so much cardio but i would consider consolidating it some using interval training. I love interval training it made a huge difference in my body, especially my endurance, burns a lot of calories and makes everthing seem to go by quicker.

i usually do 5 minutes of at 5.8-6 mph on level 6 resistance (a moderate pace for me) then for one minute i try to push it to level 15( i did say try, some days i can only get up to level 12, but have made it as high as 18) and just go as fast as i can pushing with all my might. it shocks my body and pushes my muscles causing nice results and lots of caloric vurn!

I also agree with adding strength training to your workout because its said to help boost metabolism. i would try the abdminal machine, rowing machine, and lat pull down machine.

best of luck to you!

wiijogger

Thank you ! I'm starting on the Multigym today and making it a part of my weekly routine :-) I'll let you know how I get on, I am currently serching for some exercise charts on Ebay that I can pin on the wall for reference and guidance

wiijogger

I have just had a look at my Goals page and on 1600 cals per day it's set at a defecit of 150 cals per day...surely that's too low to lose 2lbs per week ? How do I change that to a defecit of 500 cals please ?

wiijogger

Week 1 done with no weight loss.....waiting patiently though :-)