Weight loss with treadmill and eating right?

flbelle87
flbelle87 Posts: 8
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello everyone! New to mfp..just wondering if anyone out there has had good results by diet/counting calories and walking/jogging on a treadmill. I have a treadmill and I do HIIT for about 30 minutes and another 30minutes spent walking fast...equalling 60 mins total and I do this 6 days a week. Also, 3 or 4 days a week I grab my weights and do some strength training as well. I have only been doing these things for about 3 1/2 weeks so far, and even though I know my starting weight, I have not weighted myself since beginning because I don't want to get discouraged if I don't see the number I want! I would really like to see or feel the difference in my clothes instead of just a number to rely on. I am 26, 5 foot 4, and 210lbs (well, almost 4 weeks ago). Just wanted some advice if anyone has had success by watching calories and using the treadmill? Also, if so, how much weight have you lost and how long did it take?? Thanks in advance for any info you can give me!

Replies

  • annenhie
    annenhie Posts: 91 Member
    I have done less exercise than you do when I started 2 months ago and I've lost 37lbs now. I have increased my activity though doing walks at least 2 hours per day and adding up other cardio and exercises when I can. Definitely doable.
  • flbelle87
    flbelle87 Posts: 8
    Wow! 37 lbs in two months...that is awesome!! Thanks for the response, I hope I can do anything close to that!
  • annenhie
    annenhie Posts: 91 Member
    Actually dear it's not a healthy pace. I'm upping my food intake now while keeping up with the exercises since that's too drastic for weight loss coz I'm not really too heavy. Just be sure to eat at the very least 1200 calories every day while doing your exercises. If you can, much better to eat back half of your calories lost from exercise.
  • m313m
    m313m Posts: 4
    I've lost weight by eating right and exercising only about once a week. You'll see a difference. I bet you feel better just from eating better food; more even levels of energy, less craving for junk food. Use that as a motivation until you think the time is right to check in on a scale.
  • flbelle87
    flbelle87 Posts: 8
    Although I am sticking to 1200 cal per day (per mfp), I still don't understand when people tell me to eat half the calories lost. I have a heart rate monitor/watch and every night I write down my days numbers. On average I am walking 10,000-11,000 steps, and losing between 1,800 and 2,500 cal a day. What should I be eating back and why? I don't want to lose 20 lbs, I want to lose at least 60 in the long run so I have a lot of fat on me. I've read on here people with a lot to lose don't "eat back calories" and people closer to their goal weight do?
  • flbelle87
    flbelle87 Posts: 8
    Yes I definitely do feel better!! I was so shocked just after one week how great I felt even though I haven't checked the scale... I know I'll check it soon but I don't want to be let down...also I don't want to see a weight loss and then give myself the "ok" to eat bad or not work out...Lol :)
  • annenhie
    annenhie Posts: 91 Member
    You have to eat back the calories lost from exercise since the 1200 isn't even enough calories to begin with. Calculate your TDEE and subtract 20% and that's what you're suppose to be eating based on the activities you do. 1200 calories is already a deficit to begin with, it's what MFP sets based on your weight loss goal but this app works by eating back the calories lost on exercise. You don't have to but that's the healthy way to do it. As you lose more weight, you have to gradually decrease your caloric consumption too. Smaller people need less calories than bigger people. I hope that makes sense.
  • annenhie
    annenhie Posts: 91 Member
    Wait you lose 1800-2000 calories from exercise? That's a lot. How much do you weigh now? Coz I walk/run at least 2 hours a day, that's about 18,000- 22,000 steps per day and I only lose about 800 - 1,500 calories at most, that's also if i include swimming and other exercises too. I'm 176lbs now but even when I was 215 I didn't lose as much as you do.
  • jenni765
    jenni765 Posts: 15
    I walk 2 miles a morning extra to normal daily activity I've also started healthy eating the 1200 calories a day. I have lost a stone in six weeks. Slow weight loss but I've dropped almost two dress sizes. I'm more than happy. Good luck to you.
  • leebesstoad
    leebesstoad Posts: 1,186 Member
    Although I am sticking to 1200 cal per day (per mfp), I still don't understand when people tell me to eat half the calories lost. I have a heart rate monitor/watch and every night I write down my days numbers. On average I am walking 10,000-11,000 steps, and losing between 1,800 and 2,500 cal a day. What should I be eating back and why? I don't want to lose 20 lbs, I want to lose at least 60 in the long run so I have a lot of fat on me. I've read on here people with a lot to lose don't "eat back calories" and people closer to their goal weight do?

    So you're eating 1,200 calories a day and exercising 1800-2500 calories a day? And that seems healthy to you? What do you think your body is going to use to fuel itself? You know -- your basic functions -- brain, respiration, all the other fun filled things your body has to do just to survive. Your metabolism WILL slow down to compensate soon enough. And then what?

    The advice to calculate your TDEE and eat 20% less than that is, to me, the best way. MFP is predicated on you eating back your calories. It is assuming the 1200 is the net calories. Because over a long period of time, that is what studies have shown your body needs to function.

    You may lose weight your way -- for a while. But did those 60 extra pounds come on within a couple of months? Why do you think they can come off in a couple of months and why would you try?

    I just think you are heading for long-term trouble doing it like that.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
    A stone in 6 weeks is not slow, that's over 2 pounds a week.

    OP, weight loss is about diet. Exercise is about physical fitness. They are two different things.
  • melaniecheeks
    melaniecheeks Posts: 6,349 Member
    Yup, what Tigersword said. Exercise has a very small part in helping you lose weight - but it helps you look and feel better.
  • m313m
    m313m Posts: 4
    If you avoid fad diets and stick to good nutrition, you can just live instead of "dieting." If that becomes your routine, splurging a couple times a week on something like candy, ice cream or fried food won't be a problem. Here is good summary information with enough detail to understand but not enough to overwhelm: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/how-to-eat-healthy/MY02264
  • leebesstoad
    leebesstoad Posts: 1,186 Member
    As to your original question though, that is pretty much what I did: diet and treadmill with a couple of days of weight training. A lot of my weight training in the beginning was focused on rehabbing my new knee which is, as of today, 363 days old. When I started in January I had just been released from physical therapy, and still had somewhat limited motion. I certainly could not walk very quickly. My leg muscles were very weak and needed to be "re-activated" as it were. But almost from the very beginning I have exclusively done HIIT type training on my gym's treadmill. And it is the best treadmill around I think. A LifeFitness treadmill. I could barely walk at 2.5 MPH and 6 or 9% incline. Slowly I built up the speed and incline. By the end of 3 months, I had lost 32 pounds and had gotten to my "initial" goal weight, where I stayed for 2 months to sort of re-evaluate where I was and where I wanted to go. Then I went on another weight loss period for 3 months and I've lost another 19 pounds -- intentionally more slowly. That is where I am now. Now I'm entering maintenance and I'm almost doubled my calories from where I started. Initially I was too aggressive. fortunately, I didn't do it long and there was no damage. But had I continued I don't think I would have been as lucky.

    Now about 9 months later, with yesterday's tread session, on the high intensity part of the training on the treadmill, I'm up to about 3.7 MPH and a 30% incline. With my titanium knee, I'm not allowed to actually run (my surgeon would kill me and he has scalpels and knows how to use them). But at 30%, according to MFP's exercise database, it's the same as running at about 7 MPH on a flat surface.

    So yes, you can lose weight with a treadmill and eating right. And you don't need to be aggressive in doing it. BTW, I'm 58 years old and my starting weight was only slightly below yours (I started at 203).
  • coolraul07
    coolraul07 Posts: 1,606 Member
    So you're eating 1,200 calories a day and exercising 1800-2500 calories a day? And that seems healthy to you? What do you think your body is going to use to fuel itself? You know -- your basic functions -- brain, respiration, all the other fun filled things your body has to do just to survive. Your metabolism WILL slow down to compensate soon enough. And then what?

    The advice to calculate your TDEE and eat 20% less than that is, to me, the best way. MFP is predicated on you eating back your calories. It is assuming the 1200 is the net calories. Because over a long period of time, that is what studies have shown your body needs to function.

    You may lose weight your way -- for a while. But did those 60 extra pounds come on within a couple of months? Why do you think they can come off in a couple of months and why would you try?

    I just think you are heading for long-term trouble doing it like that.
    ^^Smart advice here!

    To answer the original question, my weight loss (check ticker and profile) has been almost exclusively high-incline treadmill walking and logging my food (diary open). The vast majority of my weight loss was before I bought a FitBit One and a Polar FT7 HRM. I love these devices and use them daily, but I just wanted to illustrate that they weren't required to do what I did.

    I'm just getting to the point where I'm ready to incorporate strength training into the mix. If I could go back in time, I would've done that from the beginning as well as taken 'before' pictures and measurements. However, I didn't even know about MFP when I started so I didn't have that frame of mind.

    Good luck on your journey!
  • flbelle87
    flbelle87 Posts: 8
    Ok, thank you guys for the tips...I appreciate it! Second, annenhie, not that many calories per work out...that many calories a day. And leebesstoad, i don't know if that seems healthy to me. I wrote this post for advice, obviously, so I do not know everything. That is the reason I am asking for opinions on this forum. Isn't that the point? To get some help if you feel you need it? I mean of course 60 lbs didn't come on in a few months...I never said I want to lose 60 lbs in a short time...I was simply asking if watching what you eat and using a treadmill for exercise has been any help to anyone.
  • bridgie101
    bridgie101 Posts: 817 Member
    I'm just watching what I eat and going for walks, so I'm sure that's going to count for the same as you. :) I lost 2kg the first week, 1kg this second week, (I was over my start weight when I came back to MFP this time around) and I spose I'll keep on losing a reasonable amount every week. I think the trick is to be in the ballpark of the calories per day requirement, but don't go too crazy limiting your intake. I started to do that and then thought "hang on, you were losing before you cut calories this low, so why are you cutting calories this low?" I started eating them again! :D

    You're definitely going to lose weight. Trust the physics. :)
  • 1capybara
    1capybara Posts: 162 Member
    Yes, you can and will lose weight doing what your doing! Congratulations on your determination, keep it up! remember that
    diet is the main part of losing weight. the saying is "lose weight in the kitchen, get fit in the gym" .
    think about this. 3500 calories = 1 lb
    . 1 mile on the treadmill = 100 calories.
    to lose one lb on the treadmill
    you run or walk 35 miles = 5 miles/day for a week, or go into calorie deficit 500 calories per day for a week.
    or some combination of the two things. we will soon see your post in the "success" section, I know it !!!
  • annenhie
    annenhie Posts: 91 Member
    Ok, thank you guys for the tips...I appreciate it! Second, annenhie, not that many calories per work out...that many calories a day. And leebesstoad, i don't know if that seems healthy to me. I wrote this post for advice, obviously, so I do not know everything. That is the reason I am asking for opinions on this forum. Isn't that the point? To get some help if you feel you need it? I mean of course 60 lbs didn't come on in a few months...I never said I want to lose 60 lbs in a short time...I was simply asking if watching what you eat and using a treadmill for exercise has been any help to anyone.

    Ahhh now it makes more sense. :) Yeah just try and do it slow and steady. 1-2lbs per week would be in a healthy level. Try to stick with healthy non-processed food too. I got scolded but a lot of my friends here because I was over doing it and they are right, I won't be able to keep it up in the long run and I'm also ruining my body. So better keep the calories up and eat at least half of your exercise calories. Good luck, you can do it!
  • flbelle87
    flbelle87 Posts: 8
    Bump. I have the diet down to a T. Any takers on losing weight by diet and treadmill workouts?? I sure would love to hear some success stories..
    even if small ones :)
  • pavrg
    pavrg Posts: 277 Member
    Although I am sticking to 1200 cal per day (per mfp), I still don't understand when people tell me to eat half the calories lost. I have a heart rate monitor/watch and every night I write down my days numbers. On average I am walking 10,000-11,000 steps, and losing between 1,800 and 2,500 cal a day. What should I be eating back and why? I don't want to lose 20 lbs, I want to lose at least 60 in the long run so I have a lot of fat on me. I've read on here people with a lot to lose don't "eat back calories" and people closer to their goal weight do?
    People tell you to eat back half the calories because it's easy to over-estimate exercise, particularly as a beginner. It's a way to prevent you from posting on here in a month asking why you have a plateu, and then like 6 people will tell you to eat more without even looking at your food/exercise diary.

    For example, you're saying that you burned 1800 calories throughout the whole day by walking around. Well, that's already factored into the baseline (which you set too low, btw). Your 'exercise calories' are above and beyond what your normal daily activity is, which is your treadmill and weight workouts.

    If you have a job where you walk around a lot, set MFP to lightly active and then log your treadmill workouts on top of that. But if those 10k steps include your treadmill workouts, keep it at sedentary and log your treadmill work.
  • skadoosh33
    skadoosh33 Posts: 353 Member
    Lost 6lbs this month after running 83miles. About 2-3 runs a week, 5-13miles each.
  • 1capybara
    1capybara Posts: 162 Member
    Bump. I have the diet down to a T. Any takers on losing weight by diet and treadmill workouts?? I sure would love to hear some success stories..
    even if small ones :)
    and thats exactly how i lost 25 lbs, diet + elliptical some days, diet + treadmill other days, diet + walking sometimes :)
  • Juicy2730
    Juicy2730 Posts: 5 Member
    Ok so it's been 3 this week make four and I only lost 3 pounds I want to lose 2 a week need help I dance for 30 min and walk 30 min on treadmill should I do more I'm eating 1500 calories a day some time less
  • cb4amt
    cb4amt Posts: 1
    It is amazing the amount of weight you have lost well done. I have been on 1200 calories a day and wondered if anyone has any advice on excersize I dont feel I am losing anything. :/

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