I've been thinking

So, in the last three or so days I've lost weight. I also have NOT been exercising. I was stalling when I was exercising. Though that doesn't actually mean the two are related. After all, I have also lost weight when exercising.

There are people who eat back their calories on here and people who don't. I am trying to be one who doesn't. So, my thought is if I exercise more and more to the point I"m burning 500 ore more a day, will that hurt me/ I don't plan to eat less. MFP has me at 1200 and I've stayed pretty close to that. I sometimes walk and burn off like 100 or 200. I sometimes hit my punching bag and burn off more. I want to increase my endurance. I also, in all honestly, want to do well at the Biggest Loser contest we are having at work. Last year was horrible. I was not committed. This year I am. I can use the money lol. But, more importantly, I'm already on this journey. I'm just wondering if it isn't time to step it up. At the same time, in stepping it up, I don't want to screw it up.

The ideal person to respond to this would be someone who has done this and will know if it does or doesn't work or someone who has lost weight. I'm happy to hear from anyone. But, I'd really like to hear from people who have been successful doing what I am doing. I am 41. I don't have the metabolism of the cute 20 year olds on this site. I wish i had their dedication when I was younger, I might not be in this position now. So, I don't want to seem disrespectful. I guess I'm just looking for people who have been where I am.

The bolded portion is terrible motivation.

No exercise will never hurt your loss in any manner. This theory you have, please realize you are basing it off 3 days.

Your weight fluctuates around 5ish pounds.

You may or may not have lost weight.

If you are concerned about credentials i have lost 80 lbs ish. You can look at my photos.

Long story short, keep exercising, not only is it good for you, it will help your weight loss, never hinder it.

Hi, I'm 47.

If there is one thing I've learned in the last 9 months, it's that food and exercise are dose dependent, like medicine -- too little of either, and they are ineffective; too much of either, and bad side effects occur. You have to find the right dose; but, the dose often changes as our bodies change.

During my so-called "journey," I've never allowed myself to either eat too little or exercise too much, and especially not at the same time.

I've had my greatest success when I've eaten just above my estimated BMR , by 10% or so, and exercised my way back under my BMR by about 10%. Currently, my BMR is about 1,830 calories. Therefore, if I eat around 2,000 calories and burn 400 or so from exercise, so that I net 1,600, I melt. I also make sure that 30-35% of my calories come from protein and that I do resistance training. Nearly 90% of my weight loss has been from fat, and the lean mass that I did lose was likely connective tissue that isn't needed any longer. In fact, it's abundantly clear that I gained muscle while my body fat dropped from 41% to 16%. In decades past, I would have had to get down to 175 to achieve 10% body fat. This time, I should be able to achieve 10% body fat while still weighing about 190 lbs.

As a rough guideline, I've found that if I eat any less than 8 calories per lb. of body weight, a whole bunch of undesirable things happen to me. I find that if I eat 9-10 calories per lb. of body weight, I lose aggressively. When I eat 11-14 calories per lb. of body weight, I lose slowly. At about 15 calories per lb. of body weight, I maintain my weight. Anything over 15 calories per lb. of body weight, I gain weight. This general guideline is more accurate now that I'm at a more reasonable weight.

I hope something in this anecdote helps.

Hi,

I just want to reply to a couple of things.

"I can use the money" is not my only motivation. I started this thing back in May. I just wanted to clear that up so I didn't look too shallow. But, then I thought you know I'm doing this anyway, I may as well try and win the contest. The contest just started this week so it doesn't play into why I started.

I actually started at 272 and am down to 239. I didn't start MFP until I was down to 264 which is why the numbers don't quite match. So, I've actually lost 34 pounds to date doing the around 1200 calories a day. I chose that number because MFP recommended it to me to lose 1.9 pounds a week. That's probably why I and a lot of women have that calorie number. I actually eat pretty well. It took me a while to get to where I could plan around it. But, I've started going for a lot more protein than I used to. I also stopped eating boxed crap and pasta. (disclaimer: I'm going to Olive Garden tonight because of something my child is involved in.)

I appreciate all of your posts. I am taking everything everyone says to heart. I do want to get all of this weight off me. My real motivation was my oldest son leaving for the Army. I realized when he was born I gained a ton of weight. I never lost it. I just kept gaining. I was playing with the numbers. When he left, he weighed 130 pounds. That just so happens to be what I want to lose. I still have one at home but he's 17. I want to start taking care of myself, instead of everyone else. My motto is I'm finally losing my baby weight. My motivation is that it is time for mom to have a little fun. But, I need to feel better to do so.

I apologize if I came off condescending.

I can do that sometimes I tend to be blunt.

No I am glad you are making this decision. If you are exercising, (lets say i dunno burning 500 a day) and you are still only eating 1200 total, I would say you need to eat more. Enjoy your exercise calories. It is a long process to get where you want to be.

As far as the "stalling" i stalled at points during my loss (my process started before i came to MFP as well so i understand that) i was stuck at various weights for a good month or so.

Think about the long term and not the short term.

Like i said, I wouldn't abandoned exercise. It isn't going to slow your loss by any means.