That's discouraging.
Replies
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An HRM is worthless for calorie monitoring.
I once wore one for a 24 hour period during which I did no exercise, and was either asleep or at my desk, and it said I burned 4000 calories. I most certainly did not, I just have a high resting pulse.
I trust the calories shown on my treadmill far more. The treadmill has an HRM as well, with a chest strap. I find it useful only for staying in the right "zone", not for counting calories.0 -
That is discouraging. I feel for you! I was blown away when I realized the treadmill numbers I'd been using for so long were so far off. Does the treadmill have you enter your weight? There are apps for cell phones that are treadmill calorie calculators. You can put in weight, incline of treadmill, speed and minutes walked.
Also way to go on the 12 or 13 incline! That's amazing! The most I ever got up to was 9.
Also, wow you live in Westlake? I live in Bay.
Best of luck!0 -
Looking at the past week in your diary, I see a few things.
You eat a LOT of empty carbs - tortillas, white bread, crackers, etc. That kind of food is worthless for your body - those calories don't go to helping you build muscle or help your body function better in any way shape or form.
The next thing I see is your high sodium intake. Sodium and water are best buds. The more salt you have, the more water you hang on to, causing you to weigh more. If you replace your Coke with water, not only are you able to decrease empty calories in your diet, but you are better able to flush out excess salt, causing you to lose water weight.
Lastly, holy exercise lady. Unless you have a HRM that connects with the treadmill, there is no way those numbers are accurate. Also as a general rule, MFP agrees you should eat back half your exercise calories anyway because MPF's calculations are a bit generous.
A final note - the scale isn't everything. Take your measurements. Take pictures. Record your run/walk times. Write down how heavy of weights you use. As time progresses and so do you, these things will show how awesome you are better than numbers on a scale.
I agree with the white bread and crackers, but would like to point out that especially corn tortillas are very healthy, full of vitamins and minerals and at a standard size ( here in Mexico about the size of a saucer ) are a good deal with 50-55 calories a tortilla.
I would like to recommend for all who are not aware how healthy corn tortillas are to google the word " nixtamalisation " and then read up on it in Wikipedia ( I know not always the most reliable, but this time what they say is right ).
Apart from the tortillas not being empty calories ( of course flour tortillas are ) I agree with what you say....:o).0 -
That is discouraging. I feel for you! I was blown away when I realized the treadmill numbers I'd been using for so long were so far off. Does the treadmill have you enter your weight? There are apps for cell phones that are treadmill calorie calculators. You can put in weight, incline of treadmill, speed and minutes walked.
Also way to go on the 12 or 13 incline! That's amazing! The most I ever got up to was 9.
Also, wow you live in Westlake? I live in Bay.
Best of luck!
Haha! Yeah, the treadmill has me enter my weight--- but not my height, which I found to be kind of poopy, because isn't that slightly important in deciding how much work is going to burn me how many calories?
And yeah, I get totally nerdy with my treadmill walking. Sometimes I'm just listening to a podcast so I mostly walk but I want to burn so I choose a high incline. Most of the time, though, I'm listening to music, and I play it 3.5 at 12.0 (pretty much always 12, I only went 13 like twice for maybe 10 minutes near the end of sessions because I was feeling good) but when the chorus comes and I'm jammin' I get all my emotional excitement and I shove it up to 6-7 depending on the speed of the song and just run up that damn hill... usually for about 30 seconds or so. Which isn't much, but because I've been trusting the damn numbers on the damn thing, I thought it was enough.0 -
Looking at the past week in your diary, I see a few things.
You eat a LOT of empty carbs - tortillas, white bread, crackers, etc. That kind of food is worthless for your body - those calories don't go to helping you build muscle or help your body function better in any way shape or form.
The next thing I see is your high sodium intake. Sodium and water are best buds. The more salt you have, the more water you hang on to, causing you to weigh more. If you replace your Coke with water, not only are you able to decrease empty calories in your diet, but you are better able to flush out excess salt, causing you to lose water weight.
Lastly, holy exercise lady. Unless you have a HRM that connects with the treadmill, there is no way those numbers are accurate. Also as a general rule, MFP agrees you should eat back half your exercise calories anyway because MPF's calculations are a bit generous.
A final note - the scale isn't everything. Take your measurements. Take pictures. Record your run/walk times. Write down how heavy of weights you use. As time progresses and so do you, these things will show how awesome you are better than numbers on a scale.
I agree with the white bread and crackers, but would like to point out that especially corn tortillas are very healthy, full of vitamins and minerals and at a standard size ( here in Mexico about the size of a saucer ) are a good deal with 50-55 calories a tortilla.
I would like to recommend for all who are not aware how healthy corn tortillas are to google the word " nixtamalisation " and then read up on it in Wikipedia ( I know not always the most reliable, but this time what they say is right ).
Apart from the tortillas not being empty calories ( of course flour tortillas are ) I agree with what you say....:o).
I'm such a friggin' picky eater... I've had corn tortillas before, I bought them accidentally and I hated them and I ended up throwing them all away :C... I plan to get some carrots... and, well... carrots. Carrots and apples and strawberries are the only effing plants I like.0 -
After taking a look at your diary I just wanted to add that it would be a really good idea for you to get a food scale and use it to weigh all of your solids. By using measuring cups/spoons, counting out pieces, and guessing the size of items you are probably eating more than you think.
You also need to give your body some time to get used to the exercise if it's new. You will retain water to help repair sore muscles.
Make any adjustments you need to, give it some time and don't let the little things get you discouraged. Take the information you are getting from the boards and use it to your benefit. It might not be what you want to hear but it will help you be successful in the long run.0 -
An HRM is worthless for calorie monitoring.
I once wore one for a 24 hour period during which I did no exercise, and was either asleep or at my desk, and it said I burned 4000 calories. I most certainly did not, I just have a high resting pulse.
I trust the calories shown on my treadmill far more. The treadmill has an HRM as well, with a chest strap. I find it useful only for staying in the right "zone", not for counting calories.
HRM's are not meant to be worn all day. They are only meant to be worn during steady cardio exercise.
Activity trackers like the FitBit, Jawbone, and Nike fuel band are meant to be worn all day.0 -
Start weighing yourself daily when you wake up. That's when the weight is lowest.
Look for a trend.
Also, is it possible you are trading fat weight for muscle ? If you are significantly exercising, that would explain the lack of weight loss.
Looking at your food diary, you only hit your protein target once in the last ten days. You are always significantly short !
You should make it a point to always hit it, even on days that you aren't fully hitting your calorie target.
Foods high in protein I suggest :
- Greek yogurt . Preferably 2% or 0% fat. The fat content per se isn't bad, except that it means higher calories.
Sweeten it with some 0 calorie sweetener. I like erythritol, but it's not cheap. You may use splenda or anything else you have avaialble..
Do not eat other yogurts as the carb & sugar content is too high.
- fatty fish. I like canned sardines and it's very easy to eat, just buy a bunch of cans, no preparation. Don't worry about the fat.
One can of wild sardines in olive oil from costco has only 135 calories and they are almost all from protein
- meat, a couple times a week.
- if all else fails, drink some protein shake. I like the taste of Designer whey chocolate. I can't tolerate the taste of most protein powders. It's especially good to drink it after your workout.
Hitting protein target wiill mean reducing carbs a bit, and especially sugars.
Speaking of which, you are not tracking sugars in your diary. You really need to !
You should aim to reduce the simple sugars. For example, cut the sugary soda.
If you must drink soda, at least drink the diet one. And have it with other food, as in my experience the alternate sweetener messes with your brain and makes you hungrier. Don't have the diet soda by itself.
I'm with you on veggies, really hate the taste of them. And I hardly eat any. You can see my food diary !
And I like sweet things.
I lost almost 12 lbs in 5 weeks, as well as 2 inches on my waist. In the last week, my weight flat lined, though, but I was above my calorie target several days.0 -
I weigh everyday also. I only do it first thing in the morning with very little on if anything. I just started weighing myself everyday or every other a few months ago because for that same reason. At least now I know where the extra pound or two may have come from by what I did or didn't do the day or two before.
With a 12.0 incline are you holding on to the treadmill as you walk or run? It might be time to change up what you are doing so you trick the body. Try something else for a while then go back to that.
Don't give up and don't be discourage. You are worth the effort!0 -
An HRM is worthless for calorie monitoring.
I once wore one for a 24 hour period during which I did no exercise, and was either asleep or at my desk, and it said I burned 4000 calories. I most certainly did not, I just have a high resting pulse.
I trust the calories shown on my treadmill far more. The treadmill has an HRM as well, with a chest strap. I find it useful only for staying in the right "zone", not for counting calories.
Wow.. what a laugh. If you did your research, you'd realize HRMs are built for steady state cardio and not for people to wear all day to estimate their TDEE. It's like a caveman banging on a car door, not understanding how the car works and concluding the car is worthless for transportation.
HRMs are tools and they are very useful if used correctly. Used incorrectly, they're probably not very useful, but then again a hammer is pretty worthless if you hold it upside down.
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op/ 1 your only on day ten? give it time, 2) you probably are not eating enough, i can almost prpmise that, 3) dont relay on a scale for all measurements, use a tape measure, take pictures... 4) patience patience
Get your numbers right, go to www.fat2fitradio.com and get your b.m.r ( the amount of calories you burn just breathing, these are the numbers you would use if you were in a coma.)
good luck,0 -
To everyone who keeps mentioning the Cherry Coke-- I am very, very aware that this was a bad choice xD. I recently got a new job. At my old job, I was a manager and I got free food, and they always had bottles of water in stock, so that would be my drink for the day. At this job I'm in an office so there is no free food... and the only thing to drink is what's in the pop machine next door. I forgot to bring a bottle of water from home all three days I worked, so that's where the coke on two of those days came from. The second day I actually chose to drink nothing at all, but I was so worn out that day that I couldn't barely bring myself to run at all on the treadmill, so when I forgot again today, I made the decision to go for the Coke one last time.
I assure, it won't happen again-- or at least, not often, not discounting the times I may, once again, forget to bring water from home.
(Also, on the subject of diet soda-- I can't stand the stuff. One sip has me gagging. It's on my list of abominations, along with sweet pickles, kettle corn, and sugar-coated soft pretzels.)0 -
I weigh everyday also. I only do it first thing in the morning with very little on if anything. I just started weighing myself everyday or every other a few months ago because for that same reason. At least now I know where the extra pound or two may have come from by what I did or didn't do the day or two before.
With a 12.0 incline are you holding on to the treadmill as you walk or run? It might be time to change up what you are doing so you trick the body. Try something else for a while then go back to that.
Don't give up and don't be discourage. You are worth the effort!
AHA! I DO in fact hold on to the treadmill as I run! This possibility slipped my mind--- I actually had realized during my sessions that it's probably taking away some of the work my legs are doing, but I'd thought "hey, it makes my arms sore, so I might as well lose some of that arm fat while I'm at it!" so I kept doing it.
Would it be advised by many to lower the incline and speed of my treadmill (so I don't fall off the damn thing) and stop holding onto the handle?0 -
HRM's are not meant to be worn all day. They are only meant to be worn during steady cardio exercise.
Activity trackers like the FitBit, Jawbone, and Nike fuel band are meant to be worn all day.
Yes, I know, but even if you wear the HRM only during exercise, it really has no idea what kind of exercise you are doing. All it knows is your heart rate. Some individuals have resting pulse of 60, others can be 120.
The only thing that may help a bit with calorie count is the difference between your resting and exercise pulse. But even then it would be very approximate.
If your resting pulse is 100-120 as mine usually is, and it goes to 130 - 180 doing moderate exercise, the HRM will be way off in calorie count.
Heck, my older HRM only was only designed to count pulse only up to 200 , but my pulse actually used to go up to 250 in my teens with intense exercise (verified independently by my PE teacher who took my pulse). I haven't hit those highs lately though, pulse goes down a bit with age.
By comparison, a treadmill machine knows how much energy is needed to run at a certain speed with a given incline, especially if you can input your weight into it.
When I first started on MFP 5 weeks ago my pulse was easily going hitting 160 on the treadmill doing 3.5 mph / 5.0 incline and I couldn't do it very long. Now I'm only at about 130 doing the same. I have to raise incline or speed a bit. Incline seems easier, my legs still don't want to want to go faster.0 -
So, I've been doing MFP for ten days now. Wednesdays are my weigh-in days...
All of my profile information is public, and accurate. I haven't left anything out, and even if some of the measurements are off, my goal is only 1200 and I've never even gone over. So even if some of them are /way/ off, and honestly I don't feel like they are, I shouldn't have gone over, and even if I did it shouldn't have hurt me. All of the subtracted calories due to exercise are recorded by a treadmill at a local gym at 12.0 incline, 3.5 mph most of the time, with spurts of 6-7 mph.
But... today, when I weighed myself, it shows that I've gained a pound, and I'm currently just home from the gym on an empty stomach.
I know that weight fluctuates 2-4 lbs and such, I know that it's not the end of the world... mostly I'm just looking for people with experience. How long did it take for the weight to actually start coming off? Whether the number on the scale matters or not, I know 140 is not a healthy weight with my percentage of body fat, so I know that it's supposed to go down.
I guess I was kind of crossing my fingers for at least 138... but, nope. Also, what are the chances it may have something to do with my cheap-o $10 scale? Should I get a better one? Maybe my last weigh-in was wrong because it's crap?
Edit: Wow. Wrong forum.
Stick with it. 1 week isn't enough time to see a trend and weight really fluctuates quite a bit. I've been weighing daily for the past many months and you may be surprised at how often I'm +/- 3-5 pounds over the course of a single week (and 5-10 when doing a carb refeed). The graph isn't even close to a straight line. After a few weeks, you should start to see a trend (which should be a downward trend) but you aren't there yet - 2 weigh-ins simply isn't enough to conclude anything.
Also, you may want to try weighing in in the morning, as your data will be a bit more consistent. Your weight in the middle of the day is going to depend on how hydrated you are (again, as an example, I'll gain 5-10 pounds when fully hydrated vs. when I first wake up in the morning). Your goal should be to try and track fat loss, so the more you can prevent water weight fluctuations from influencing your data, the better.0 -
To everyone who keeps mentioning the Cherry Coke-- I am very, very aware that this was a bad choice xD. I recently got a new job. At my old job, I was a manager and I got free food, and they always had bottles of water in stock, so that would be my drink for the day. At this job I'm in an office so there is no free food... and the only thing to drink is what's in the pop machine next door. I forgot to bring a bottle of water from home all three days I worked, so that's where the coke on two of those days came from. The second day I actually chose to drink nothing at all, but I was so worn out that day that I couldn't barely bring myself to run at all on the treadmill, so when I forgot again today, I made the decision to go for the Coke one last time.
I assure, it won't happen again-- or at least, not often, not discounting the times I may, once again, forget to bring water from home.
(Also, on the subject of diet soda-- I can't stand the stuff. One sip has me gagging. It's on my list of abominations, along with sweet pickles, kettle corn, and sugar-coated soft pretzels.)
You definitely need to stay hydrated.
My job has free sodas as well. And free orange juice, and other high calorie foods.
I still pick up a couple diet sodas during the day as I pass by the fridge several times on the way to the restroom..
It's one of the things I can't seem to be able to give up.
It's that, or water and a caffeine pill.0 -
Haha! Yeah, the treadmill has me enter my weight--- but not my height, which I found to be kind of poopy, because isn't that slightly important in deciding how much work is going to burn me how many calories?
No, height actually has no relation to how many calories are burned.0 -
Try swapping the coke you have to diet it could save you hundreds of calories, and you have carbs galore. I think a bit more variety would be good for you.0
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AHA! I DO in fact hold on to the treadmill as I run! This possibility slipped my mind--- I actually had realized during my sessions that it's probably taking away some of the work my legs are doing, but I'd thought "hey, it makes my arms sore, so I might as well lose some of that arm fat while I'm at it!" so I kept doing it.
Would it be advised by many to lower the incline and speed of my treadmill (so I don't fall off the damn thing) and stop holding onto the handle?
As long as you are well balanced on the treadmill and you are not keep your arms on it for stability, no need to reduce incline or speed. I find it much easier to be balanced with high incline and low speed personally, vs low/no incline and higher speed, even if both are supposed to burn the same number of calories/hour.
If I run beyond 4.5 mph, which is rare, I definitely keep my hands on the handles. But I usually can't do it for long anyway.0 -
shenanigans.a 12 incline? i call shenanigans. also those machines notoriously way high. if you eat back alot of your exercise cals that tm calculation could be killing progresr
1. I go to Red Fitness in Westlake, OH and their treadmills reach 15 incline. On a good day when I have a lot of energy I'll boost it up to 13. So you can shove your "shenanigans" where the sun doesn't shine.
2. Like I said, though. I am usually hundreds of calories under. Even if the treadmill measurement was 50 calories off or more there's no way I'd be going over.
3. It's clear to me now that I just haven't been working out/dieting long enough to see any results. So thank you for your difficult to read, unhelpful, and judgmental reply.0 -
LOL!!! I know i would have to hold on if I didn't an incline over 6.0 and sometimes that's a challenge.
I would say take the incline down some and get those arms moving to break a serious sweat. You may be surprised at the difference. Get that whole body in motion as much as you can.0 -
prob fluid retention don't be disheartened you went to gym!
These things can take time.
As soon as I started lifting my body was shocked and the weight fell off; lost about 203 kg in the first 2-3 weeks0 -
2-3kg*0
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Wow.. what a laugh. If you did your research, you'd realize HRMs are built for steady state cardio and not for people to wear all day to estimate their TDEE. It's like a caveman banging on a car door, not understanding how the car works and concluding the car is worthless for transportation.
HRMs are tools and they are very useful if used correctly. Used incorrectly, they're probably not very useful, but then again a hammer is pretty worthless if you hold it upside down.
Can you be any more condescending ?
I maintain, HRMs can only provide estimates of calorie expenditure based on heart rate. There are so many other variables besides the heart rate that affect calorie expenditure that it's very hard to know when an HRM calorie estimate is accurate or not, even when you are actually exercising.
Many of the other variables, like resting heart rate, max hea rate, VO2 max, weight, age, change over time, making it, IMO, worthless to rely on the HRM for calorie counting.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Azdak/view/the-real-facts-about-hrms-and-calories-what-you-need-to-know-before-purchasing-an-hrm-or-using-one-21472
Calculating the energy needed for a given exercise is a much better baseline. A treadmill machine can actually do a very good job if it knows your weight. For other types of exercise, it's much more difficult to estimate the calories, and the HRM will not help.0 -
Carrots and apples and strawberries are the only effing plants I like.
Have you tried other types of berries like raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, etc ?
Those are fairly low in calories - but high in sugar. As long as you monitor sugar in your food diary, it's fine.
Do weight the portions with a food scale if you can, though.0 -
Can you be any more condescending ?
I maintain, HRMs can only provide estimates of calorie expenditure based on heart rate. There are so many other variables besides the heart rate that affect calorie expenditure that it's very hard to know when an HRM calorie estimate is accurate or not, even when you are actually exercising.
Many of the other variables, like resting heart rate, max hea rate, VO2 max, weight, age, change over time, making it, IMO, worthless to rely on the HRM for calorie counting.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Azdak/view/the-real-facts-about-hrms-and-calories-what-you-need-to-know-before-purchasing-an-hrm-or-using-one-21472
Calculating the energy needed for a given exercise is a much better baseline. A treadmill machine can actually do a very good job if it knows your weight. For other types of exercise, it's much more difficult to estimate the calories, and the HRM will not help.
There was more snark in my post than called for, but at the same time realize you concluded that a tool was categorically useless after giving us an example of how you misused the tool. HRMs aren't perfect but they are one of the best tools we have (at least for most people) for estimating caloric expenditure, especially if you know your VO2 max and have a HRM that can take that and your weight into account. Simply taking the burn from a cardio machine will (or at least should) take your HR into account as well, but it simply won't do so as accurately as well as a HRM. As for calculating the energy to perform a given exercise, realize that's only a fraction of the calories you'll burn from performing the activity and there are other variables that go into an accurate estimate of caloric expenditure.0 -
I weigh everyday also. I only do it first thing in the morning with very little on if anything. I just started weighing myself everyday or every other a few months ago because for that same reason. At least now I know where the extra pound or two may have come from by what I did or didn't do the day or two before.
With a 12.0 incline are you holding on to the treadmill as you walk or run? It might be time to change up what you are doing so you trick the body. Try something else for a while then go back to that.
Don't give up and don't be discourage. You are worth the effort!
AHA! I DO in fact hold on to the treadmill as I run! This possibility slipped my mind--- I actually had realized during my sessions that it's probably taking away some of the work my legs are doing, but I'd thought "hey, it makes my arms sore, so I might as well lose some of that arm fat while I'm at it!" so I kept doing it.
Would it be advised by many to lower the incline and speed of my treadmill (so I don't fall off the damn thing) and stop holding onto the handle?
Just so we're clear, you can't spot reduce.... unfortunately. :sad:
Also, I wouldn't take these comments too personally. A lot of people are just trying to be funny or blunt to get your attention. :flowerforyou:0 -
shenanigans.a 12 incline? i call shenanigans. also those machines notoriously way high. if you eat back alot of your exercise cals that tm calculation could be killing progresr
1. I go to Red Fitness in Westlake, OH and their treadmills reach 15 incline. On a good day when I have a lot of energy I'll boost it up to 13. So you can shove your "shenanigans" where the sun doesn't shine.
2. Like I said, though. I am usually hundreds of calories under. Even if the treadmill measurement was 50 calories off or more there's no way I'd be going over.
3. It's clear to me now that I just haven't been working out/dieting long enough to see any results. So thank you for your difficult to read, unhelpful, and judgmental reply.
Moronigans.0 -
I weigh everyday also. I only do it first thing in the morning with very little on if anything. I just started weighing myself everyday or every other a few months ago because for that same reason. At least now I know where the extra pound or two may have come from by what I did or didn't do the day or two before.
With a 12.0 incline are you holding on to the treadmill as you walk or run? It might be time to change up what you are doing so you trick the body. Try something else for a while then go back to that.
Don't give up and don't be discourage. You are worth the effort!
AHA! I DO in fact hold on to the treadmill as I run! This possibility slipped my mind--- I actually had realized during my sessions that it's probably taking away some of the work my legs are doing, but I'd thought "hey, it makes my arms sore, so I might as well lose some of that arm fat while I'm at it!" so I kept doing it.
Would it be advised by many to lower the incline and speed of my treadmill (so I don't fall off the damn thing) and stop holding onto the handle?
Just so we're clear, you can't spot reduce.... unfortunately. :sad:
Also, I wouldn't take these comments too personally. A lot of people are just trying to be funny or blunt to get your attention. :flowerforyou:
...Maybe build muscle in my arms then? Once I lost about 10 more pounds I plan to start lifting, so xD... but seriously, that's all just side speculation, would it really make a difference to stop holding onto the handles or no? Someone replied to this earlier but I didn't really understand what he was saying.
Also, I tend to feed trolls... Mostly because I think that while trolls are generally trying to pretend to be emotionally uninvolved in a conversation, they are humans and humans always have a sore spot, and sometimes you can make them cry, if you're lucky
. 0 -
LOL!!! I know i would have to hold on if I didn't an incline over 6.0 and sometimes that's a challenge.
I would say take the incline down some and get those arms moving to break a serious sweat. You may be surprised at the difference. Get that whole body in motion as much as you can.
Thank you! I'll definitely work on finding a comfortable speed/incline that I can work with without holding on. The hard part is going to be explaining to my boyfriend why I've actually lowered my workload... but I guess, technically, raised it.0
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