Worried about being counter-productive

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mlcrec
mlcrec Posts: 66
in Fitness and Exercise
Ok, so I started this journey almost a month ago and am scared that I am not going to get results that I really want on a LONG TERM basis. So far I have been averaging about a 1-2 LB weightloss a week which is realistic, but I have yet to get to 1200 calories a day, I am close but not all the way there....and I am burning around 500 calories a day....is this eventually going to be hurt me? I know that everyone is different, but I need to know what the best balance is for calories in...calories out. I pushed myself today and did 25 min on the treadmill, the 30 DS DVD workout, and an hour of Zumba burning 1100 calories total but my net calories was like 50....PLEASE HELP!!!! I need advice!

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  • rjt1000
    rjt1000 Posts: 700 Member
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    net calories of 50 is crazy. when you say you have yet to get to 1200 calories, are you meaning getting to 1200 calories burned through exercise? 1200 is minimum you should be eating each day. If you are logging your calories accurately and have trouble getting to 1200, eat a little cheese, peanut butter, or something.
  • jehavin
    jehavin Posts: 316 Member
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    Yes, it seems to be counterproductive to try and "burn off" all of those calories---and unsustainable. You want to go slow and steady (2lbs a week at most) which ends up being 7,000 calories deficit or 1,000 a day. What the average body actually needs is prob around 2,200 so you have two options: either back off on the exercise and eat a low cal (prob 1,300 at minimum) with no extra deficit caused by exercise, or, if you want to be more fit/toned by doing the exercise, you'll have to eat at least 2,000 so that the calories you have burnt won't put you at less than you actually need to function.

    If you continue on what you're doing, you will either get sick, get injured or merely get bored and quit because it is "too hard." Try the middle road and see what happens! Good luck and congratulations on your decision to get healthier!
  • Mia_RagazzaTosta
    Mia_RagazzaTosta Posts: 4,885 Member
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    I'd be an absolute nightmare to be around if I only netted 50 calories for the day.
  • mlcrec
    mlcrec Posts: 66
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    I mean eating 1200 calories.
    net calories of 50 is crazy. when you say you have yet to get to 1200 calories, are you meaning getting to 1200 calories burned through exercise? 1200 is minimum you should be eating each day. If you are logging your calories accurately and have trouble getting to 1200, eat a little cheese, peanut butter, or something.
  • WithWhatsLeft
    WithWhatsLeft Posts: 196 Member
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    Wow. You are burning 500 calories a day through working out, and trying to eat 1,200 calories a day and not making it?

    I'd just kill someone and eat them.

    Is your problem that you just can't get the needed calories in each day?
  • ValerieMomof2
    ValerieMomof2 Posts: 530 Member
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    Why aren't you able to get to 1200?
  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
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    You need to eat more - a lot more, if you are really exercising the much!

    Your body panics if it has to burn fat to keep your heart pumping. That creates stress hormones, like cortisol that will not only affect your long term weight loss, but also your overall health.

    When MFP says "remaining" it means it - you should eat until that number is zero. Do that for at least a month. If you aren't losing an average of a pound a week at the end of that month, adjust from there. Notice I said an average - you may not lose a pound every single week.

    Anecdotal evidence, but I set MFP to lose 1.5 a week, I eat back my exercise calories, and I am losing an average of two pounds a week.

    As to what to eat, for most dieters, the answer is FATS! We tend to cut them out, but olive oil, nuts and egg yolks are all actually quite healthy. Just add them to what you are already eating.
  • mlcrec
    mlcrec Posts: 66
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    My problem with getting my food calories to 1200 is that I am not a big eater, I never have been, I WAS just eating junk...I now am forcing myself to eat throughout the day...
  • ValerieMomof2
    ValerieMomof2 Posts: 530 Member
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    You need to eat more - a lot more, if you are really exercising the much!

    Your body panics if it has to burn fat to keep your heart pumping. That creates stress hormones, like cortisol that will not only affect your long term weight loss, but also your overall health.

    When MFP says "remaining" it means it - you should eat until that number is zero. Do that for at least a month. If you aren't losing an average of a pound a week at the end of that month, adjust from there. Notice I said an average - you may not lose a pound every single week.

    Anecdotal evidence, but I set MFP to lose 1.5 a week, I eat back my exercise calories, and I am losing an average of two pounds a week.

    Same here. I have lost 5 lbs in the past month (I only put losing .5 lb per week) and eat a minimum of 1700 a day
  • jehavin
    jehavin Posts: 316 Member
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    You said that you average 500 cal burnt every day so today was just atypical, right? If I was working out enough to burn 500 cal every day, I personally would aim to eat around 1800 cal, (for me, that would take the form of a 450 cal breakfast/snack and two 650 calorie meals,) and then you are NETTING 1300, which will definitely get you that 1-2lbs a week.

    I manage to hit 450 calories every morning by having a nice fat pbj sandwich (with 2-3 tablespoons of pb for max protein) and a piece of fruit or cheese.

    My 650 meals would be a nice hunk of meat (shrimp, chicken, venison, ham, 4 eggs,) and a carb (1 cup of rice-a-roni/pasta-roni, 1 potato or 1 cup of beans) and 1-2 cups of veggies (I do half a bag of frozen veggies). Or, I might make a "big *kitten* salad" which would have 5 oz meat mixed with 2/3 cup broccoli or peas, chopped up eggs, mushrooms over 2-3 cups of baby spinach. And after having a meal like that, I am STUFFED for at least 5 hours.

    Hope that gives you some ideas on how to hit those calorie goals. Just don't overtrain and undereat----no good will come of that!

    Feel free to add me as a friend---my diary is open! =)

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