What am I doing wrong?

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  • kelbwjax
    kelbwjax Posts: 89 Member
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    Okay.... apparently I made this hard to understand. I went over my daily that I had set up by nearly 170 ish calories..... I went and exercised and burned around 200 or so calories. AFTER that I did not eat anything else. So NO I am not eating back my calories. Sorry for the confusion, I do appreciate the help. I do think that I should still focus on cardio, because my main goal is losing fat, I do want to gain muscle, but I don't that muscle that I work to gain to be hidden under fat.

    You're not going to get all bulky and ripped, I promise you! Muscle burns calories, so you really do want muscle, but you said you do 30 of cardio, and 30 of weights, so you're probably good on the weights part. I would probably up the cardio a little. Try a live zumba class. It burns tons of calories and it's fun as heck! :D Also, muscle replaces fat, and is smaller than fat, by volume, thus, you will lose inches, and look more toned, so keep it up!!!
    I get so bored with running but I probably should up it some, I just find it so hard to run for that long!
  • kelbwjax
    kelbwjax Posts: 89 Member
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    And earlier I said how I am drinking protein shakes, and eating protein rich foods so I think I'm good on my protein intake.

    Hard to say. I am told this by lots of people, and then it turns out that their actually not. Once again, what is it that you are eating? Does it have all 20 essential protogenic amino acids?

    Not sure, I usually have a whey protein smoothie for breakfast, and try to incorporate protein into both lunch in dinner in forms of tuna and chicken, and then try to drink almond milk with a scoop of whey after my workouts.
  • kamiev
    kamiev Posts: 5 Member
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    Sorry if this was already said, but if you notice visual changes in your body not on the scale, you're probably losing body fat but gaining muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat. Honestly, you should be focusing more on the visual changes and your measurments than what the scale says. Try measuring yourself like your waist, hips, thighs, and arms. Also, you're mistaken to believe that cardio is the only thing to help burn fat. Strength training helps, too. It doesn't burn as much while you're doing it but in the long run, building muscle helps you burn more calories even when you're just sitting. :)

    P.s- If you do want to build muscle, lift weights and challenge yourself! Lift heavy and once that gets easier, lift heavier.
  • afrazier128
    afrazier128 Posts: 99 Member
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    I started going to the gym 6 weeks ago, 5 days a week consistently, and the scale just moved a little this week. However, my clothes are fitting better and hubby says things aren't as jiggly! lol Stick with it!
  • Requiembell
    Requiembell Posts: 106 Member
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    I did use the tool you posted and the calculation was 2195


    Ok, eat about 20% less than that and you will loose fat. On the days you work out you MUST eat the calories back OR you will loose muscle and not burn fat. That is bad. Not what you want.

    Protein that is good in shakes, supplements: Whey and Casein. Soy is fine, but it can keep your estrogen up. Doesn't do it to everyone, but it can happen.

    If you have a crossramp or some such machine that makes you climb as you do cardio, that helps with building and doing cardio at the same time.

    You want to keep track of your exercise calories as close as possible. I use a heart rate monitor device.
  • kelbwjax
    kelbwjax Posts: 89 Member
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    Sorry if this was already said, but if you notice visual changes in your body not on the scale, you're probably losing body fat but gaining muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat. Honestly, you should be focusing more on the visual changes and your measurments than what the scale says. Try measuring yourself like your waist, hips, thighs, and arms. Also, you're mistaken to believe that cardio is the only thing to help burn fat. Strength training helps, too. It doesn't burn as much while you're doing it but in the long run, building muscle helps you burn more calories even when you're just sitting. :)

    P.s- If you do want to build muscle, lift weights and challenge yourself! Lift heavy and once that gets easier, lift heavier.

    I guess your right about visual changes, but it is kind of disappointing not seeing the scale change because I wanted to loose weight not just stay at the same place.
  • Requiembell
    Requiembell Posts: 106 Member
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    Not sure, I usually have a whey protein smoothie for breakfast, and try to incorporate protein into both lunch in dinner in forms of tuna and chicken, and then try to drink almond milk with a scoop of whey after my workouts.

    This is really good! Maybe have yourself some eggs in there some days. But it is good you have diverse sources.
  • jennifer_417
    jennifer_417 Posts: 12,344 Member
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    Cardio is great for you, but it can get boring. For me, a smart phone solves all of this. Netflix, if you have it, or YouTube has plenty of entertaining videos.
  • hausofnichele
    hausofnichele Posts: 531 Member
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    It is ALL about eating the right foods. Stop eating dairy or anything containing traces of dairy for a week .. same with sugar, processed foods, soy in any form, wheat/gluten (just for starters) and watch how quickly your body will respond!! It is truly amazing the changes that the body will make on its own if given the nutrients it desperately craves.

    I admire what you are doing but really take a look at what you are putting in your body. I promise you can get over this if you ditch any ingredients that aren't truly natural.
  • kelbwjax
    kelbwjax Posts: 89 Member
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    Alright that makes sense, sorry for the earlier misunderstanding. I just hope that I will eventually seen more results in the fat loss.
  • smcs1222
    smcs1222 Posts: 5 Member
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    It generally takes at LEAST 6 weeks before one will really see change. I'll tell you what someone told me a while back - "Stick with it, sista - first your body will start changing, then all of a sudden the weight will start falling off." She was right. Hang in there!
  • Requiembell
    Requiembell Posts: 106 Member
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    . Stop eating dairy or anything containing traces of dairy for a week .. same with sugar, processed foods, soy in any form, wheat/gluten (just for starters)

    This is not true for everyone. Some people need dairy, some people do great with soy. Depends on your body.
    Many of the "don't eat this ever again" things are simply fads. I have seen hundreds come and go.

    Almonds may be the most super super food ever invented, but if I eat them they will end me. Everyone is different.
  • Requiembell
    Requiembell Posts: 106 Member
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    Alright that makes sense, sorry for the earlier misunderstanding. I just hope that I will eventually seen more results in the fat loss.

    No worries! We all start somewhere, but no one gets anywhere without trying.
  • kelbwjax
    kelbwjax Posts: 89 Member
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    . Stop eating dairy or anything containing traces of dairy for a week .. same with sugar, processed foods, soy in any form, wheat/gluten (just for starters)

    This is not true for everyone. Some people need dairy, some people do great with soy. Depends on your body.
    Many of the "don't eat this ever again" things are simply fads. I have seen hundreds come and go.

    Almonds may be the most super super food ever invented, but if I eat them they will end me. Everyone is different.

    Agreed, Dairy contains Vitamin D a great source of strength for our bones. And I may be wrong about this but not all carbs are bad carbs. Carbs help our body produce ATP which it our source of energy. I don't want to cut foods that my body needs to stay healthy, I simply want to give my body what it needs for optimal health. I am not into fad dieting, I want to change my lifestyle with food, not just stick to a diet to loose weight for the time being... So I do think the foods I am eating now are great for me. Anyhow is there a reason why I should eat 20% less of what I calculated, jw?
  • IkirPaulson
    IkirPaulson Posts: 40 Member
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    I'm sure its quite possible, maybe I really should just opt for low cal food items, but I do like to have a recovery drink after the gym is that something I shouldn't do? I thought whey protein was really helpful?

    When I did this I bloated up like a balloon. You might be overdosing on protein and not realize it. The way I broke my plateau was by tracking calories like I had obsessive compulsive disorder. It was the only time I saw a change in the scale. Side note: MFP overestimates calories burned so I suggest NOT eating back the calories you burned, or not tracking burned calories and only trackintake.

    Remember the number one rule to weight loss is having your body burn more calories than it is taking in. You must have a deficit to bust the plateau. Then when you reach another plateau (and you will), bump the calorie intake UP and then down. It's called calorie cycling. It may not work for everyone but it helped me go from 146 to 124 over 6 months. Slow and steady wins the race!!
  • Requiembell
    Requiembell Posts: 106 Member
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    If you eat 20% less of what you calculated you will loose weight. If you eat what you calculated, you stay the same.

    That being said, (I know I told you this, but it is worth repeating) you have to eat back what you burn exercising.
  • ParkerH47
    ParkerH47 Posts: 463 Member
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    maybe check out this article? It might be helpful :)
    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/not-losing-fat-at-20-deficit-what-should-i-do-qa.html
  • kelbwjax
    kelbwjax Posts: 89 Member
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    If you eat 20% less of what you calculated you will loose weight. If you eat what you calculated, you stay the same.

    That being said, (I know I told you this, but it is worth repeating) you have to eat back what you burn exercising.

    Good deal, that makes me feel a lot better because what MFP was quite a bit less than what my calculations were, so I acutally did okay today. And now that I understand that I have to eat back what I burn, but still stay in my daily calorie range I feel like I know more about what I am actually doing. I thought that I had to try to burn as many calories as I could without eating them back... so glad I know now not to do that.
  • Markguns
    Markguns Posts: 554 Member
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    Okay.... apparently I made this hard to understand. I went over my daily that I had set up by nearly 170 ish calories..... I went and exercised and burned around 200 or so calories. AFTER that I did not eat anything else. So NO I am not eating back my calories. Sorry for the confusion, I do appreciate the help. I do think that I should still focus on cardio, because my main goal is losing fat, I do want to gain muscle, but I don't that muscle that I work to gain to be hidden under fat.

    Yes you will lose more weight with cardio initially, and it will build your endurance. I would suggest you do your Strength training first after a 5-10 min warmup, then do your cardio. You will get more out of your strength training and it wont detract form cardio. In fact once you're up and running you will find the first 10 mins of cardio your pulse rate is up easily as you are already at an elevated rate. some useful links to read:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/931670-bmr-and-tdee-explained-for-those-needing-a-guide

    One note on eating back I wouldn't eat them all back , remember all the #'s are estimates so leave some margin for error. I only eat back 2/3.
  • Requiembell
    Requiembell Posts: 106 Member
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    Good deal, that makes me feel a lot better because what MFP was quite a bit less than what my calculations were, so I acutally did okay today. And now that I understand that I have to eat back what I burn, but still stay in my daily calorie range I feel like I know more about what I am actually doing. I thought that I had to try to burn as many calories as I could without eating them back... so glad I know now not to do that.

    Common mistake. I help people with this on a daily basis. You will start to see results. Add me if you want and I can keep helping you learn what to do and how to do what works for you.

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