Weight loss seems more difficult because of exercise

I just had a monthlong break from weight loss and have continued my journey down the scale again about a week ago. Two weeks ago I expanded my exercise routine, I exercise 5 times per week now (about 7 hours of running/swimming/athletics).

Anyways, I get quite hungry because all of this exercise and while I can keep myself from overeating, I am not sure that I have a calorie deficit. Weight loss was much easier when I didn't exercise this much, I did intermediate fasting and I don't see myself doing that now that I do sports.

Any thoughts on this / advice?

BTW: I don't track calories and I won't start doing that now. It would require too much attention of me to get used to that habit, I don't have the time for that right now, unfortunately. I know that may be a good way to solve this problem. In 2 months I will have time because my studies will be over.
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Replies

  • ladynocturne
    ladynocturne Posts: 865 Member
    Not really sure what you're expecting as far as advice goes....

    You say you're not sure if you're in a calorie deficit. The only way to make sure is to log your food and exercise. If you refuse to do that, it's basically just guessing. So...?
  • Phoenix_Warrior
    Phoenix_Warrior Posts: 1,633 Member
    Not sure what advice you want if you're not tracking your food? Good luck on guessing!
  • brraanndi
    brraanndi Posts: 325 Member
    BTW: I don't track calories and I won't start doing that now. It would require too much attention of me to get used to that habit, I don't have the time for that right now, unfortunately. I know that may be a good way to solve this problem. In 2 months I will have time because my studies will be over.

    You do realize that working out creates a calorie deficit right? Not that you have any clue what you are putting into your mouth to track any sort of deficit? There's not alot people can do to help you if you aren't using the tools provided.
  • Hildy_J
    Hildy_J Posts: 1,050 Member
    I get this. I only *really* lose pounds when I'm not exercising for 5 or 6 days on the bounce.
  • christineellis
    christineellis Posts: 296 Member
    I can say that when I exercise a lot, I am a lot more hungry - beyond the number of calories I burn. And when I say exercise a lot, I mean training for century bike rides, half marathon, etc.

    If I want to lose weight, I need to cut back on that level of training and focus on the weight loss. That is what I'm doing now and hoping to get back to endurance training next summer.

    If you aren't tracking what you are eating, then it will be really hard to tell what is wrong. In the past, I have not tracked my food during intense exercise intervals, so going to do that next year when I am back on the bike.

    Good luck!
  • If I work out over a certain amount, I get ravenous. If you aren't willing to dial back your workouts, you might just have to figure out how to satisfy your hunger without going over. Do you eat enough protein/fat?
  • It's very common to get more hungry after exercise, it's exactly what's supposed to happen! Which is one reason some suggest that exercise can be counterproductive to weightloss, I think Time had an article about exercise making you fat some time ago.

    One way of countering this is to change what you intake, find foods that are more satiating. For example high fat and high protein. Obviously stay within calorie levels just try and fit in more protein and fat into that. (Don't do silly low carb though, unless there are serious medical issues it's a lot of nonsense).
  • firstsip
    firstsip Posts: 8,399 Member
    I just had a monthlong break from weight loss and have continued my journey down the scale again about a week ago. Two weeks ago I expanded my exercise routine, I exercise 5 times per week now (about 7 hours of running/swimming/athletics).

    Anyways, I get quite hungry because all of this exercise and while I can keep myself from overeating, I am not sure that I have a calorie deficit. Weight loss was much easier when I didn't exercise this much, I did intermediate fasting and I don't see myself doing that now that I do sports.

    Any thoughts on this / advice?

    BTW: I don't track calories and I won't start doing that now. It would require too much attention of me to get used to that habit, I don't have the time for that right now, unfortunately. I know that may be a good way to solve this problem. In 2 months I will have time because my studies will be over.

    Frankly, post this again in two months once you start. If your weight loss seems more difficult, and you're not tracking calories, even the most "aware" person is not going to truly estimate their calories if they're not tracking and weighing. You noting that you try hard to keep yourself from overeating because you get quite hungry screams, "Possible overeating without realizing it."

    You had time to post this article, and tracking food could be done on a break during exercise (if you have the smartphone app); if not, it takes 5-10 minutes tops in the morning or at the end of the day.

    Water retention/not enough recovery time from exercise can certainly alter weight loss... but if you're not tracking your food whatsoever, and food is ultimately where the vast majority of people's weight comes from, then I'd say your issue isn't exercise.
  • Pixi_Rex
    Pixi_Rex Posts: 1,676 Member

    BTW: I don't track calories and I won't start doing that now. It would require too much attention of me to get used to that habit, I don't have the time for that right now, unfortunately. I know that may be a good way to solve this problem. In 2 months I will have time because my studies will be over.

    Continue to eat the way you are, chances are you are over eating but the only way you will ever know if you are in a deficit is to actually count calories. Why even come to MFP if you aren't going to use the tools?

    Stop making excuses and suck it up.
  • Bigjuicyhog
    Bigjuicyhog Posts: 61 Member
    Tracking takes maybe 5 minutes per day. How do you not have time for that, but you have time to come and post here?
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,220 Member
    Any thoughts on this / advice?

    BTW: I don't track calories and I won't start doing that now. It would require too much attention of me to get used to that habit, I don't have the time for that right now, unfortunately. I know that may be a good way to solve this problem. In 2 months I will have time because my studies will be over.

    Weight loss is taking in less calories than you burn. You burn more calories during the day when you add exercise. Can't help you because you don't track your food. That's half the equation of the Calories in vs Calories out.
  • When you work out you need more calories. It is ok to eat more but I would pick healthy choices. You need to track your calories in and calories out. Trust me I was just like you was at a platieu, started tracking and broke right threw within 3 days of tracking!
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    If you've been doing this for a few weeks and haven't lost weight, then you probably do not have a deficit. If you are gaining, you likely are eating a surpus. If you are doing neither, then you are eating at maintenance.

    Are you tracking your measurements at all? If you are eating near maintenance then you could lose inches without losing any weight. You don't have to track to lose (I lost almost all my weight without tracking before joining MFP), but you do need a deficit.

    What does your typical diet look like? Do you eat enough protein? Enough fat? High fiber? I stay full longer if I eat moderate fat and protein and high fiber.
  • toutmonpossible
    toutmonpossible Posts: 1,580 Member
    Tracking takes maybe 5 minutes per day. How do you not have time for that, but you have time to come and post here?

    Sounds like the OP has more pressing business right now. If you're faithfully tracking and not eating the same foods every day, it takes energy and you always have to think about it. At least I do. That's why I track only loosely.
  • sweebum
    sweebum Posts: 1,060 Member
    You have to find the happy balance between the 2. If I exercise too much, I get very hungry and can go over my calories. I try to exercise enough to stop lean muscle loss, but not make me so hungry I blow my deficit.

    A conservative deficit would help with that, say 250 off for calories, and exercise the other 250 off for a total of 500 a day, or approx. 1 lb loss per week.

    Edited to add: If you don't track your calories, you will never know if you have a deficit or not. I would track for 2 weeks to see if a deficit actually exists.
  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
    In the time it took you to write this post, you could have logged your entire day. It takes me less than 5 minutes every day.
  • LiminalAscendance
    LiminalAscendance Posts: 489 Member
    Tracking takes maybe 5 minutes per day. How do you not have time for that, but you have time to come and post here?

    Sounds like the OP has more pressing business right now. If you're faithfully tracking and not eating the same foods every day, it takes energy and you always have to think about it. At least I do. That's why I track only loosely.

    In my experience, if someone doesn't want to do something, they can usually come up with a pretty good reason to justify it.

    There's nothing wrong with not having enough time to log your calories, but to ask for assistance on a forum without even taking such a minimal step?

    Perhaps the OP should just revisit the whole fitness thing when he has more time to fit it into his busy life.
  • laele75
    laele75 Posts: 283 Member
    I love people who come to a calorie tracking site, ask for advice, then blatantly refuse to track calories.

    I'd call troll, but apparently this person is actually serious...
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    Anyways, I get quite hungry because all of this exercise and while I can keep myself from overeating, I am not sure that I have a calorie deficit. Weight loss was much easier when I didn't exercise this much, I did intermediate fasting and I don't see myself doing that now that I do sports.

    I log everything, daily.

    In an attempt to quantify how much exercise helps in losing weight, I have significantly increased my daily exercise burn. I track everything, so I know exactly what was happening before, with what is happening now. By adding ~800 calories of exercise while keeping my intake constant, the result should be an extra ~1.5 lbs of weight loss in a week - and no surprise, that's exactly what happened.

    My daily intake is/was about 20% above BMR.
  • FrankiesSaysRelax
    FrankiesSaysRelax Posts: 403 Member
    Well.. come back in 2 months when you're ready to log and I'm sure we can be a lot more helpful. If you aren't willing to track your calories, then I guess you really don't want to lose weight. It takes me about 5 minutes MAX per day to log everything, I know you have that amount of time to spare. Hell, go to bed 5 minutes later and log.