How would you classify my exercise and a ?

LabMonkeySteph85

I'm trying to decide how to classify my exercise when calculating my TDEE with the scoobycalculator. I do 6-8 hours of Zumba per week, usually 2 hours total on the elliptical and 3-4 hours of walking. Should I use 3-5 hours a week of moderate exercise since I'm not really doing extreme stuff like weightlifting and crossfit or should I go with the 5-6 hours of strenuous exercise? The difference is a couple hundred calories per day, which could really add up to a large difference in deficit over the week. I'm losing weight eating anywhere from 1300 to 2000 calories per day. It's coming off pretty slow in relation to how much exercise I am doing so I'm thinking that maybe my calories are off. mfp keeps saying I should be losing 2 pounds per week and I am closer to 1. That is fine because I only have about 20 more pounds to lose but I see people not working out at all and eating 1800 calories per day on here losing more weight than I am so I think I might have a calorie problem. Then again, while I do track everything I am eating, I am by no means a "healthy" eater but I have seen differing opinions over whether a calorie is a calorie in relation to weight loss or if eating cleaner makes a difference.

Edit: I am 27 years old, 2 kids, 5'4", 159 pounds (but 10 of it is probably boobs lol!) if that makes a difference.

selina884

Reduce cardio to 2-3
start resistance training for 2-3 sessions a week

Keep your calorie intake abit more consistant.

1700-1900.

willdob3

Reduce cardio to 2-3
start resistance training for 2-3 sessions a week

Keep your calorie intake abit more consistant.

1700-1900.

Good advice.

Beezil

Reduce cardio to 2-3
start resistance training for 2-3 sessions a week

Keep your calorie intake abit more consistant.

1700-1900.

Good advice.

I agree with this!

LadyIntrepid

Yes -- add strength/resistance training for sure.

LabMonkeySteph85

I did do a strength training class on Tuesday night and I was sore until yesterday LOL! I couldn't move without pain, especially my abs and quads, on Wednesday and Thursday. Friday was better but pretty stiff and sore still. I don't think I could handle twice a week but I guess I will suck it up! I can't stop working out so much though. I tried already and it is like a stress reliever for me. I don't get any time to myself with kids and nursing school and working out is it for me. So if I add in another strength day, my schedule will look like:

Monday - Zumba 55 mins, elliptical 20 minutes
Tuesday - Strength training 55 mins, Zumba 30 mins, walking 20 minutes
Wednesday - Zumba 55 mins, elliptical 20 minutes
Thursday - Strength 55 mins, Zumba 30 mins, walking 20 mins
Friday - 50 minute walk
Saturday - 110 mins Zumba, 50 minute walk
Sunday - 55 minutes Zumba, 20 elliptical,50 minute walk

Should I still be eating 1700-1900 calories or try to eat more? Or less, i guess. IDK, I am so frustrated with how much I see everyone else losing and I am creeping along.

katy_trail

i'm not understanding how weight lifting is extreme? we're not all trying to be body builders.
we're just lifting what is challenging for us.

katy_trail

if you are focusing on the compound movements 1 hour in the weight room is way too long.
and with so much cardio you're not allowing your muscles to rebuild, and recover
unless your body is very adapted to zumba, it would be better to do less intense cardio,
limiting it to 2 times a week, so you can have energy for the lifting
without proper recovery, you're just running yourself ragged without building or maintaining
the muscle you have.

LabMonkeySteph85

i'm not understanding how weight lifting is extreme? we're not all trying to be body builders.
we're just lifting what is challenging for us.

I don't really mean extreme, I was just trying to differentiate between the classifications of exercise on the scooby calculator for TDEE. 3-5 hrs of moderate exercise versus 5-6 hours of strenuous exercise.

Also, what is a compound movement? This was a class that I went to, we used dumbbells and did floor work. There is no way I am going into the free weight room at the gym. Can I use the resistance machines to get a good workout?

albertine58

Zumba isn't really "strenuous," although I sweat like crazy and I absolutely love it. I'd say moderate. To me, strenuous is when you're pushing yourself insanely hard until you absolutely cannot do something anymore- like sprinting or a really intense cardio/strength circuit. I could Zumba for hours, so that's not strenuous.
For strength, most people tend to wander around the weights area in the gym and go slowly, never actually getting their heart rate up. That's not going to help you very much, and it barely counts as exercise because so few calories are burned. If you amp up your strength, it can count.
Try doing strength 3 or 4 times a week instead of twice. The more you do it, the less sore you'll get. Plan a strength training circuit with cardio bursts, compound movements, and very little rest so you keep your heart rate up the whole time and burn calories. No wandering around between weight machines like so many people do! Do functional compound movements like jump squats, walking lunges with weights, and bicep curls into shoulder presses while standing on a Bosu (those half-stability-balls at the gym). Cardio bursts can be mountain climbers, jumping jacks, etc. This style of training has changed my body more than anything I've ever done. If your gym has a Bootcamp-style class, join it!

Also, the BIGGEST thing I can say is to really focus on eating cleanly. No amount of exercise will fix a bad diet. No judgement at all, but I looked at your food diary briefly & you really need to improve your eating if you want to see results. Not all calories are created equal- fuel your body with unprocessed, good-quality food. Don't eat anything from a restaurant or from a box, cook your meals, and only buy fresh food (and frozen veggies too). Avoid white bread/rice and added sugar as much as possible. The scale will move faster! (I'm not saying I NEVER eat out or never eat any of this stuff, but it is never part of my daily diet)

katy_trail

compound moves use many muscles in your body. you're likely already doing them.
every push up is a compound move- uses your chest, shoulders, abs, back, your whole body if you're able
to do men's version.

you can use the machines or resistance bands up to a certain point.
eventually they will be too easy.
if you can lift a certain amount more than 10-12 reps it's too easy/light.

but as a friend of mine on here said, machines are slightly more useful than a poke in the eye with a stick.
this is bc they don't use natural movement, also, makeing 1 isolated muscle stronger doesn't mean much if the rest of your
body isn't keeping up. if your quads are super strong but then you tear your muscle because your back, hamstrings and so on
aren't strong enough, then it's a very hard injury to recover from.
it's an extreme example, but illustrates one of the problems with machines
the main problem is they don't use natural movements
doing natural things like squats, you build your fundamental strength for every day
chores, bringing in groceries, carrying the 50 lb bag of dog food and so on.

also, using free weights is the fastest way to get your strength workout in
and they are at least in the beginning much cheaper, than buying a home 'gym'
with cables, and take up much less space, if you decided to make a gym at home.
in the gym, it often the free weights section that is free, so again
time savings for you so you can get in and get out.

lifting can be moderate or intense
it depends on that person's level of fitness
how heavy the load is compared to what they can handle safely
how much rest time between sets among other factors.

katy_trail

she's fine if she wants to do it 2x a week, upper one day and lower the next or full body both days.
and yes the doms will go away as she gets used to it.
if you lift heavy with few reps, you'll have less doms
remember 'heavy' is a relative term.
might be 25lbs for some moves, depends on the exercise and
what is challenging for you .

himilayaneyes

Less cardio and more weights. So much cardio will not allow your body to recover in order to rebuild the muscles you have as a previous poster mentioned. Compound movements work mulitple muscle groups at the same time. When I used to go to the gym, I enjoyed the body pump classes. They use fairly light weights with lots of repetition.

LabMonkeySteph85

Also, the BIGGEST thing I can say is to really focus on eating cleanly. No amount of exercise will fix a bad diet. No judgement at all, but I looked at your food diary briefly & you really need to improve your eating if you want to see results. Not all calories are created equal- fuel your body with unprocessed, good-quality food. Don't eat anything from a restaurant or from a box, cook your meals, and only buy fresh food (and frozen veggies too). Avoid white bread/rice and added sugar as much as possible. The scale will move faster! (I'm not saying I NEVER eat out or never eat any of this stuff, but it is never part of my daily diet)

I know my diet needs work, but I am never at home. I am either at school, the YMCA or running my kids around. I was doing better for a while but it was a lot easier to slide back into bad habits. i really need to buckle down.

Also, I am a binge eater and when I am on a binge, I don't eat healthy, I eat crap. Like this morning, I woke up and was feeling depressed about my weight gain of 3 pounds this week so I ate 2 huge bowls of fruit loops, a package of pop tarts, 2 leftover breadsticks and half a bag of chips. All in about 45 minutes. I'm working on not eating my feelings and it is happening less often, thank God.

Thanks everyone for the advice!

selina884

btw all this cardio is not good for bones either.

You really should drop it, otherwise your body wille ventually tire out.

floppybackend

I agree Zumba is prob classed as light aerobics and having done it once and hated it, there is no control with moves and think it suits people who need to shift a lot of weight as it introduces them to exercise. Are there classes you can do with weights - in the UK we have begs, bums and tums with weights, body pump, body sculpt etc.

Your diet is horrific - 2 mcdonalds in one day !! Lots of processed junk in there. I'm unsure what some of this stuff is? You have to plan your meals in advance. I always wonder how people can afford to eat like this.

Brenda4105

Hi! Iooked at your food diary and your right you don't eat very well. I think it is great that you do log it, even if it isn't the greatest for you. I only went back a few days, but it looks like you eat out a lot. Maybe cut back on that. It looks like you love your carbs, make sure you get the protein in. Also, I didn't see any water logged at all on any of the days? If I were going to tell you what all is wrong with how your doing things (I'm not) it would be to get on you about no water!!!!
I only just started exercising today and have lost 39lbs, since January 1. I can't stress how important the water is. So drink up gf!