Am I doing Enough Exercise to lose 1kg a week?

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alegria_marie09
alegria_marie09 Posts: 27
in Fitness and Exercise
19 Year old Female, 5'11-6ft (1.82), Aiming to lose 1 kg per week. I started on Monday and have already lost 2 and a bit pounds since then. I eat 1800 Calories a Day (Usually Eat below). For starters just to get me into a fit lifestyle I have started with

30 Minutes Elliptical
30 Minutes Bicycle Machine
30 Minutes Either Power Walking or HIIT (Sprinting then Rest) or mix it up a mix if i'm not to tired.

I will be starting Strength Training soon.
Is this amount of exercise 6 days a week enough? or should I increase it?

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  • alegria_marie09
    alegria_marie09 Posts: 27
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    Bump Please!!
  • SankofaSister
    SankofaSister Posts: 2
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    You need to burn 3500 calories per week to lose 1pound; so basically that is approximately 583.33 calories per day in your 6 day workout sessions that you need to burn. However it is healthier to do a combination of cardio, strength training and making better food choices that will help you attain your goal. Don't over do it in the gym...that could lead to injury. Good luck!!
  • DeeDeeMee
    DeeDeeMee Posts: 133 Member
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    Technically speaking, weightloss is all about energy consumption and expenditure. Adjusting food intake is the main factor in this. Exercise plays a part by increasing expenditure and thus giving you leeway to consume more. My concern for you is how sustainable your exercise routine will be in the long run.

    If you tell MFP that you are sedentary and that you would like to lose a kilo a week it will adjust your daily goal accordingly. If you stick to this goal you should lose that kilo a week without any exercise. When you do exercise you should then eat some of those exercise calories back.

    Having said this, do I think that exercise is a good idea? Of course I do, it's part of a healthy lifestyle. However, people 'fail' in their weightloss goals when they amp up the exercise at the expense of a healthy and sustainable balance. Are you doing enough exercise? Adjust your MFP goals, work out a sustainable food and exercise routine that you'll be happy with for the rest of your life and then the answer will be self evident.

    If you'd like some ongoing friendly support feel free to add me.

    Dee Dee. :)
  • SrJoben
    SrJoben Posts: 484 Member
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    Exercise as a main mechanism for weight loss is silly.

    I'm not saying it won't work at all, it's just not optimal

    There are two main problems.

    (1) It's easier to eat less. Seriously, take the equivalent of a piece of bread a day out of your diet or run for 20 minutes? It gets even worse in terms of time and dedication if you want to burn a lot.

    (2) It's actually pretty hard to tell exactly how much you are burning so it's an awkward way of doing things.


    Control your weight by manipulating your diet. Never exercise just to burn calories, do it in ways that make you stronger and healthier. Long term that's going to require a schedule and rest days and such, which may not be compatible with hours of cardio grind every day.

    If you've read Starting Strength I'm pretty sure Mr. Rippetoe draws a distinction between TRAINING and exercise, and I think he has a point. Sensible training gets you somewhere long term, excercise just makes you sweaty today.

    Oh also...if you're a little heavy now that might not really be a bad thing going into a program like SS. Just sayin, I might find it a bit more convenient if I'd started 20 pounds too heavy and was slimming down, instead of starting it lean and slamming straight into eating like crazy to keep up in the first few weeks.

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