Could these pics be the reason I'm not losing??

justinegrey

I am not familiar with HIRT ...what kind of work out program is that?

Had to do the googles too - high intensity resistance training. Basically from what I understand going for one resistance exercise to the next without rest. I could be wrong though.

Correct. There is a rest but they wait until you do the circuit first. To me it's like a boot camp with lifting included. The program was given to me because I need to lose so much weight first (at least another 30 pounds) so instead of doing a higher weight lifting program like NROLFW or Starting Strength, this program would allow me to burn fat at the same time.

justinegrey

My suggestion would be to do less exercise, you don't need to do 2 x 90mins workouts.

Thank you. The day I burned 900 calories it was 50 minutes of HIRT and then I decided to walk/jog home since the bus wasn't coming... which was another 40 minutes. I really like the way I feel when I get as much exercise as I can in. But I'm probably over doing it.

Helloitsdan

Hi there!

I lost 10 pounds easily within 4 weeks of starting MFP.... and I lost 4% body fat as well. I set myself to 1400 calories a day (net) and usually burn an average of 3500 calories a week in exercise. I feel like i'm kicking butt.

But I'm in a competition at my work for body fat% and after my first weigh-in 2 weeks ago (which showed the above results) to now, the scale hasn't really budged and what's worse is my body fat % has gone up 1%... we use the same scale each weigh-in.

I haven't really changed my eating habits in the past 2 weeks, except maybe a bit more carbs than I did at first. But I try to choose carbs from legumes and fruit, not grains or starches. You can see my dairy... you will notice I do eat out several times per week, especially on weekends and during lunch at work, but 99% of the time I try to choose the healthy options. Plus, I always record a bit more calories than I think just to be safe (i.e. choose the highest calorie option for an item, or choose 1.5-2 of an item instead of 1 so I don't lowball).

I know it's only been 2 weeks since things seemed to have stalled, but since I got off to such a good start, I thought surely I'd see something positive these last 2 weeks. Then I had a look at my weekly report for net calories. It looks like I'm netting between 900-1100 calories a day. Could this be why I'm stalling out? Or do you think it's more likely that I am eating more calories at restaurants than I'm counting?? Thanks in advance!! Justine

ShmareParks

Eating back your exercise calories could be the sole problem here. I just read an article showing how most online estimates for calories burned from exercise AND most fitness machines OVERestimate the amount of calories burned. On average, the calories burned are overestimated by 15 to 20 percent! Perhaps low-balling THOSE figures would help?

3dogsrunning

HIRT = an hour of circuits where you do a variety of things that keep your heart rate up but include weight lifting... so for example 1 minute of treadmill at 25 incline and fast, then planks, then treadmill, then step ups with lifting, then treadmill, then push-ups, then treadmill, then deadlifts, then treadmill, then... you get the idea. You get a break every so often but it's not like in lifting where you break in between sets, its like a break after the circuit.

I had a question about your advice to eat 1700 calories a day and not eat back exercise cals. It says now I'm grossing 1600-1800 a day (when I eat back exercise calories) so wouldn't that be the same as the TDEE situation you suggested. What is the difference between including the exercise in the total gross calories (1700 for example) versus eating 1350 + whatever you exercise... my only worry is that some days I don't exercise as much as other days.

Ideally of you chose the activity level you will end up at the same place if you log exercise accurately. It's up to you which you feel is better.
Ill be honest with you, my biggest concern here is overestimating exercise calories. You did say that you log for food which could cause problems. I think the TDEE method would be helpful here.
Just pick one method and stick with it. If you aren't losing after a couple of weeks, re-adjust.

nz_deevaa

My suggestion would be to do less exercise, you don't need to do 2 x 90mins workouts.

Thank you. The day I burned 900 calories it was 50 minutes of HIRT and then I decided to walk/jog home since the bus wasn't coming... which was another 40 minutes. I really like the way I feel when I get as much exercise as I can in. But I'm probably over doing it.

I also noticed you have a lot of 'packing boxes' logged. Are you moving house? Or is that in there for something else?

justinegrey

My suggestion would be to do less exercise, you don't need to do 2 x 90mins workouts.

Thank you. The day I burned 900 calories it was 50 minutes of HIRT and then I decided to walk/jog home since the bus wasn't coming... which was another 40 minutes. I really like the way I feel when I get as much exercise as I can in. But I'm probably over doing it.

I also noticed you have a lot of 'packing boxes' logged. Are you moving house? Or is that in there for something else?

Oh yes, I did move. That was the time I lost a lot haha

nz_deevaa

So what have you changed since then? Apart from not packing boxes?

justinegrey

Good question. After the move, I added more exercise to my routine. But I think it's true I'm overestimating calories burned and that's causing problems.

justinegrey

HIRT = an hour of circuits where you do a variety of things that keep your heart rate up but include weight lifting... so for example 1 minute of treadmill at 25 incline and fast, then planks, then treadmill, then step ups with lifting, then treadmill, then push-ups, then treadmill, then deadlifts, then treadmill, then... you get the idea. You get a break every so often but it's not like in lifting where you break in between sets, its like a break after the circuit.

I had a question about your advice to eat 1700 calories a day and not eat back exercise cals. It says now I'm grossing 1600-1800 a day (when I eat back exercise calories) so wouldn't that be the same as the TDEE situation you suggested. What is the difference between including the exercise in the total gross calories (1700 for example) versus eating 1350 + whatever you exercise... my only worry is that some days I don't exercise as much as other days.

Ideally of you chose the activity level you will end up at the same place if you log exercise accurately. It's up to you which you feel is better.
Ill be honest with you, my biggest concern here is overestimating exercise calories. You did say that you log for food which could cause problems. I think the TDEE method would be helpful here.
Just pick one method and stick with it. If you aren't losing after a couple of weeks, re-adjust.

I agree, you're right. I hate you HRM. thanks for all your time today, TDEE is my best bet right now. Many thanks

nz_deevaa

So either cut back on your exercise (my choice)

Or,

Exercise the same amount and eat less of the calories back.

ndj1979

I am not familiar with HIRT ...what kind of work out program is that?

Had to do the googles too - high intensity resistance training. Basically from what I understand going for one resistance exercise to the next without rest. I could be wrong though.

Correct. There is a rest but they wait until you do the circuit first. To me it's like a boot camp with lifting included. The program was given to me because I need to lose so much weight first (at least another 30 pounds) so instead of doing a higher weight lifting program like NROLFW or Starting Strength, this program would allow me to burn fat at the same time.

I personally prefer straight lifting..but when I first starting working out - a while back - I did do circuit training and it really helped melt off the initial fat.

My thoughts. Do the TDEE method minus 25% ...do the HIRT for about 4=6 weeks once you see gains from that then I would transform to more of a standard weight lifting program. Maybe three day a week total body and two day cardio and two day rest..

good luck to you ...

feel free to add me as a friend...

jstout365

At this point I think your calorie level will be determined by trial and error. That takes time because you will want to give it at least a few weeks to see what is happening. Every time I increased the intensity of my workouts (either length, frequency, or total exertion) I had to up my calories. I lost my first 10 lbs just returning to an exercise program with no change to diet. I lost the last 17 or so lbs focusing on diet and exercise. I lost the majority of the 17 lbs eating at 1500-1700 calories and exercising 4-6 times/week for 30-60 minutes. In January I started a more strength training centric plan and upped the calories to 1800-1900. This week I decided I was close enough to goal BF% and weight that I would eat 2000-2200 (depending on activity level) and focus on my fitness. I got to those numbers by watching what my body was doing, what I was seeing on the scale, and how I felt by the end of the week. I tried 1200 at one point and within 4 days felt like crap. It took me a while to listen to my body and recognize the signs of being too low on my calories and to realize I had to focus on either a lower calorie diet or my workouts. I like to eat and enjoy working out so I picked the workouts and ate to fuel them. My loss wasn't linear by any means and it was over just about 9 months.

If you have been eating at 1700-1800, try 2000 for two to three weeks without changing your current exercise plan/frequency. If you do nothing but gain you know you need to back down a little. If you want this for the long term, don't make this about the contest. Feeling the pressure to succeed on someone else's time schedule is difficult. Use it as a way to provide motivation to keep moving toward your goal.

onyxgirl17

The sucky thing about those scales is that hydration level affects "body fat" readings. There isn't much you can do except stay hydrated on top of what you are doing.