i'm soooo confused? someone help me

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etelou
etelou Posts: 14 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
i started my weight loss journey about 2 months ago and though i'm seeing very good changes at times, but recently not so much. i'm very confused when it comes to calories and thinking about them makes me stressed. the idea is that "If you burn more calories than you eat you will lose weight", and while calculating my BMI, i realized that i should be eating between 1600-1800 calories per day. As of now i exercise 5-6 times a day by walking 3-5 a day depending on my moods, which means that i'm only burning 200-500 calories per day and maybe over a 1000 calories a week. how can i possibly burn over 1000 calories per day, is that normal or am i just not understanding this whole calorie thing. I've decided to make my workouts more intense i guess, please let me know your thoughts.

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  • UrbanLotus
    UrbanLotus Posts: 1,163 Member
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    You burn calories just by being alive.
  • Sobus76
    Sobus76 Posts: 242 Member
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    You burn calories just by being alive.

    exactly, your body is burning calories all the time, which is your BMR. the calories you burn with exercise add to your BMR, so if for instance your BMR is 2000 (calories you burn a day without exercise) and you eat 1800 calories, you're at a 200 calorie deficit. so when you work out on top of that it creates a bigger deficit.
  • AvonBell
    AvonBell Posts: 107 Member
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    You burn calories pumping blood, breathing, sitting, standing, moving, fidgeting, thinking, digesting, etc, etc, If you were bed ridden you would be burning calories. Life requires energy.
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
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    You misunderstood. Your BMR is the amount of aclories your body burns just being alive even if you were in a coma. Mine is about 1800. On top of that even if you are sedentary you burn an extra 200-300 just sitting or standing or walking to the refrigerator and back to the couch. This is called your NEAT and mine is around 2200. On top of that you add your burn from exercise and that is your TDEE. My TDEE is about 2600. If you eat less calories than your TDEE you will lose weight. The bigger the deficit the faster the loss.

    I eat about 2000 a day anf have been losing a little over a pound per week.

    Your BMR is not the amount of calories you have to burn through exercise to lose weight it is the amount of calories your body burns no matter what just to be alive. Takes a lot of energy to maintain your body temp keep your heart beating and maintain brain activity.
  • megsmom2
    megsmom2 Posts: 2,362 Member
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    Not understanding your confusion ....your calories that you eat have no bearing on the calories that you exercise...are you thinking you should be burning 1600-1800 calories a day through exercise? You burn more than that just being alive and doing everyday things. Deliberate exercise adds more to that. Eating your recommended calories keeps you eating below that level, so you will lose weight by using your body stores as fuel instead of the food you're eating. I think you're conflating your consumable calories with your exercise burned calories. I'm not explaining this well...but I think you're overcomplicating things.
  • GlennTipton
    GlennTipton Posts: 19
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    The fist thing to do is not freak out! You've had success for 2 months so don't change everything because of a plateau. If you hit a wall it means either:
    -your body is adjusting and you need to shake it up a little
    -your routine has changed
    -your diet has changed

    To me, 1600-1800 sounds like a lot for a female - and why such a large gap? I would be pushing it down closer to 1400, but stage it. Take 100 off this week and see how you go, then take another 100 off. The important thing here is how you feel. If you are tired all the time and struggle to keep your eyes open you need more calories. If you take 100 off and still feel fine you can afford a little more.

    Can you list your daily macro targets? Fat, carbs and Protein? This will indicate a problem, too. Too many carbs and your body will be converting your food into body fat. You want to get into Ketosis to truly burn body fat, with little risk to muscle.

    Lastly is to shake it up! Try adding some sprints or strength training. Try cutting carbs to only 20g a day.

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