After 1.5 years on MFP, I'm STILL confused!

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AwMyLoLo
AwMyLoLo Posts: 1,571 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I constantly go back and forth with how much I should be eating. I am 24 years old, female, 5' 5.5" tall, 134 pounds. I would like to get down to a consistant 122-124 pounds. 4 years ago I weighed 122, within 3 years I got up to 138, got back down to 125 after 6 months on MFP, and one year later I am back up to 134. I have been eating around 1600-1700 calories each day and following the routine below for about 3 weeks now. I have a HRM but I believe it grossly overestimates my calories burned. For example, during a 50 minute spin class it says I burn over 800 cals. I've tried eating more, eating less, working out more, working out less, every combination :tongue: . To simplify, I would like to give you my general workout routine and ask how many calories you all think I should consume in a day.

Monday through Friday I do Rodney Yee's AM Yoga (20-25 minutes easy yoga).
Several days per week I take my dog on a leisurely 3.2 mile walk in the evenings.

Monday: 30 minutes jogging on treadmill at lunch & P90X in the evening.
Tuesday: 30 minutes jogging on treadmill at lunch.
Wednesday: P90X
Thursday: 50 minute RPM Class (Spinning)
Friday: 30 minutes jogging on treadmill at lunch, P90X
Saturday: P90X
Sunday: 50 minute RPM Class (Spinning)

So.... what do you think? :flowerforyou:

BTW - I am pretty confident in my diet. I eat a variety of meat, fruit, vegetables, carbs, very few foods that aren't "whole".

Replies

  • Fiona711
    Fiona711 Posts: 17
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    Have you put on a lot of muscle weight? That's a whole lot of exercise you've listed there!
  • epj78
    epj78 Posts: 643 Member
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    If you are very consistent with the exercise you mention -- I'd shoot for about 1600 calories a day (1200 to maintain your weight without exercise at 120-125 and an extra 400 for the calories you are burning with purposeful exercise - not leisurely walks).
  • emersoam
    emersoam Posts: 179
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    I think you need a better heart rate monitor! On average, most people our size would burn 400-500 calories during a 50 minute cardio class.

    Do you need to double check your HRM settings or something?
  • 00trayn
    00trayn Posts: 1,849 Member
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    I agree, it might be muscle with that workout schedule, at least partly. There are scales that measure body fat (I have a Weight Watchers one that I got for $30 from Bed Bath and Beyond) and it's a great indicator of progress. Even when your weight isn't changing, it's likely your body fat % is because you're adding muscle mass.
  • emersoam
    emersoam Posts: 179
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    BTW...you should really be taking one rest day (light day...walking or something easier) each week.
  • AwMyLoLo
    AwMyLoLo Posts: 1,571 Member
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    I think you need a better heart rate monitor! On average, most people our size would burn 400-500 calories during a 50 minute cardio class.

    Do you need to double check your HRM settings or something?

    I really don't use my HRM to estimate calories burned since it seemed so high, but I do have my weight, height, age, etc entered and up to date on it. I use it more just to know what my heart rate is during my cardio workouts. My HR seems to run really high... Like at 170-184 through the entire 50 minute spin class. Even doing what I could consider a light workout on the elliptical, my HR is up around 170, easily. I can get my HR up over 160 within 2 minutes of jogging at 5.2 mph on a treadmill.
  • AwMyLoLo
    AwMyLoLo Posts: 1,571 Member
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    BTW...you should really be taking one rest day (light day...walking or something easier) each week.

    I consider Tuesday a rest day since I am only doing 30 minutes of light cardio, in addition to yoga and walking the dog...??
  • JustAnotherBob
    JustAnotherBob Posts: 33
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    I use a Polar FT4 and occassionally check my numbers with http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/calories_burned.asp ... the hrm is usually higher (but not as far off as you're reporting). I set up my own generic file in the database and only count the calories burned during cardio workouts ... hoping that the strength training, cutting the grass, etc helps to cover the deficit. I'm usually below the daily calorie limit so I'm not going to worry about 100 here or there.
  • AwMyLoLo
    AwMyLoLo Posts: 1,571 Member
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    bump:wink:
  • BiloxiBelle
    BiloxiBelle Posts: 680 Member
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    Hey Hillary!!

    I didn't realize we were basically the same height. You may be a half inch taller. We have very similar workout schedules, including the 20 minutes of Yee yoga everyday. My dogs (well, the beagle) can only handle about a mile though!! I hold steady at about 119-120 pounds. Sometimes I pop up to 122, but I can maintain 120 pretty easily. I stopped wearing a HRM & tracking my food about 4 or 5 months ago, but I basically eat the same foods over & over again in some variation. I eat about 1800 calories a day, sometimes more, sometimes less. I never eat less than 1550. So I wouldn't think your eating is too far off of where it should be. I know you've had some tummy issues, etc....maybe it will just take some time being consistent w/everything? :flowerforyou:

    Kara
  • AwMyLoLo
    AwMyLoLo Posts: 1,571 Member
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    Thanks, Kara!
  • Robin1117
    Robin1117 Posts: 1,768 Member
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    Hi! I have been maintaining a weight of 121-122, and am 5', 5" 1/2 height too. I'm older than you, not sure if that changes much but as a base I have been at 1280, plus 400-500 calories most days from 50-60 minutes on the elliptical.

    MFP goals still state "lose 1 lb a week" although I haven't lost anything in 5 months since I guess my body thinks it's at the limit. This setting seems to keep me on maintenance though.

    I'm thinking your HRM may be off too--maybe time to invest in a new one that you can trust! Good luck!
  • AwMyLoLo
    AwMyLoLo Posts: 1,571 Member
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    Hi! I have been maintaining a weight of 121-122, and am 5', 5" 1/2 height too. I'm older than you, not sure if that changes much but as a base I have been at 1280, plus 400-500 calories most days from 50-60 minutes on the elliptical.

    MFP goals still state "lose 1 lb a week" although I haven't lost anything in 5 months since I guess my body thinks it's at the limit. This setting seems to keep me on maintenance though.

    I'm thinking your HRM may be off too--maybe time to invest in a new one that you can trust! Good luck!

    Thank you! You look great, btw. I expected when you said you were older than me for you to be like, 27. lol :wink:
  • Robin1117
    Robin1117 Posts: 1,768 Member
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    [/quote]

    Thank you! You look great, btw. I expected when you said you were older than me for you to be like, 27. lol :wink:
    [/quote]

    thanks for that....looking 27 for as long as possible (without drastic measures....) is my long-term goal!

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