Never being able to eat back burned calories…PROBLEM

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gracelaura17
gracelaura17 Posts: 1
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi there!
So I'm in college and for about a year now I've been very healthy. I workout 5-6 days a week and eat a very healthy diet and at the beginning of my journey I saw a lot of progress. Being almost a year into it now I've hit a plateau and I'm not sure what to do. I know that muscle weighs more than fat and I know I've gained muscle, but I am gaining weight back.
At the gym - I burn about 800 calories, I know this for a fact because I wear a Polar FT4 Fitness Monitor. I do 45 minutes of cardio and 45 minutes of strength training a muscle group. But I also walk everywhere at college which burns about 300 more calories, so I'm up above burning 1,000 calories every day. Plus, I'm not always wearing my monitor and I'm in a musical where we dance so I know I must burn hundreds there too.
I try to eat back as many calories as I can because I heard that's what you're supposed to do. If you're not ingesting 1200 net calories a day I hear your body goes into starvation mode and can actually gain weight.
Well last night after a very active day, I gained a pound and I'm just getting so frustrated. I'm doing everything I feel I have to but I'm honestly sick of constantly eating even when I'm not hungry just to try to gain back calories. Should I stop doing this and just stick to 6 small meals a day? Should I stop burning so many calories at the gym? Should I eat more and if so - how?
I could really just use some advice here.
Thank you so much,
Grace

Replies

  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,411 MFP Moderator
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    Well HRM are only accurate for steady state cardio. So for the walking and the weight training, those burns are very probably exaggerated. Second, do not worry about starvation mode as it won't occur if you are regularly eating. Third, if you are active because of dance, I would drop the additional cardio and concentrate on weight training.

    With that said, are you weighing food or using the cafeteria? Also, can you open your food diary?
  • markrichtsspraytan
    markrichtsspraytan Posts: 89 Member
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    Unless you are overweight, burning 800 calories in 1.5 hours is not too likely. Considering you are female and your profile says you don't have a lot of weight to lose, I think your HRM is overestimating your burn. I weigh 120 and 1.5 hours of just running/jogging burns maybe 500 on a good day.
  • danipeur
    danipeur Posts: 7 Member
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    Well HRM are only accurate for steady state cardio.

    To further elaborate on this: What steady state means is that you're doing the same movement, keeping the same (nearly) heart rate and moving at the same pace. So you're walking(same movement), keeping your heart rate at (for example) 143-150, and at a pace between 2.5 and 3.0 mph. Even with that strict of a movement, the HRM can be off by ten percent.

    I believe it's likely what the above posters said: you're eating more than you think and you're burning less than you think.

    And reminder: muscle doesn't weigh more than fat, it's just more dense than fat. It also uses a ton of water to repair, so make sure you're not counting a pound of water as 'gained weight'. IE: that pound has been there for more than a week.

    Lastly, are you keeping measurements? The scale doesn't give as accurate a picture as much as your clothes, photograph comparisons and, most importantly, your measuring tape.

    PS: Starvation mode is literally when people are 'starving'. If the body held onto fat like people thought it did with 'starvation mode', then there wouldn't be anorexics.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,411 MFP Moderator
    Options
    Well HRM are only accurate for steady state cardio.

    To further elaborate on this: What steady state means is that you're doing the same movement, keeping the same (nearly) heart rate and moving at the same pace. So you're walking(same movement), keeping your heart rate at (for example) 143-150, and at a pace between 2.5 and 3.0 mph. Even with that strict of a movement, the HRM can be off by ten percent.

    I believe it's likely what the above posters said: you're eating more than you think and you're burning less than you think.

    And reminder: muscle doesn't weigh more than fat, it's just more dense than fat. It also uses a ton of water to repair, so make sure you're not counting a pound of water as 'gained weight'. IE: that pound has been there for more than a week.

    Lastly, are you keeping measurements? The scale doesn't give as accurate a picture as much as your clothes, photograph comparisons and, most importantly, your measuring tape.

    PS: Starvation mode is literally when people are 'starving'. If the body held onto fat like people thought it did with 'starvation mode', then there wouldn't be anorexics.

    This link can help with HRM accuracy.
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/774337-how-to-test-hrm-for-how-accurate-calorie-burn-is

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