Still kind of lost on getting to a "good" level of cardio

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  • jsilky
    jsilky Posts: 21 Member
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    If it takes 3 hours of cardio a day to get fit I'm throwing in the towel right now... :noway: I don't have the time, energy, motovation, or the want for that...
  • lmr0528
    lmr0528 Posts: 427 Member
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    Way too much cardio. How on earth do you find the time to do all that? I'm lucky if I can squeeze in 30-45 minutes a day.
  • MKEgal
    MKEgal Posts: 3,250 Member
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    So now I'm curious. Let's say she's NOT burning 2100, maybe more like 1000-1500 (this is a horrible guess, I hate cardio). She's eating x amount of calories (forget the exact amount)... Then what is the stall coming from? I think she say she's eating 2200 ish calories, so is she over eating? Not eating enough? Annoying her body with too much cardio?
    Profile says young male, claims 2030 cal per day.

    Harvard Medical School says that to maintain weight when moderately active (30 min per day) we need 15 cal / lb.
    http://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/HB_web/calorie-counting-made-easy.htm

    2030 / 15 = 135 lb
    170 lb x 15 = 2550 cal / day

    My doctor & dietician say that to lose weight, to get to a certain weight, eat 10x that in calories & ignore exercise calories burned.

    Maybe he's tall enough (over 5'10") so 170 is a healthy weight, and the body wants to stay there, no matter how it's abused.
    Or maybe, like most people, he's actually eating more than he thinks & burning off less (several people have already addressed that part).
  • MKEgal
    MKEgal Posts: 3,250 Member
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    If it takes 3 hours of cardio a day to get fit I'm throwing in the towel right now... :noway:
    I don't have the time, energy, motovation, or the want for that...
    It doesn't.
    The CDC says 30 min per day to maintain weight, maybe twice that to lose.

    "To maintain your weight: work your way up to 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity, 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity, or an equivalent mix of the two each week."
    (The page explains moderate & vigorous.)
    http://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/physical_activity/index.html
  • Runcakes
    Runcakes Posts: 92 Member
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    It sounds like you're over-exercising. 3 hours of cardio + weights is not only difficult to maintain long-term, but over-exercising can mess with your metabolism and actually lower it. When you're expending this much energy and not taking in enough through calories your body goes into starvation mode and will try to hold onto whatever energy it has available, and this is why fat loss slows down. I would recommend doing an hour of intense exercise vs. multiple hours at a steady-state pace.
  • RaspberryTickleChicken
    RaspberryTickleChicken Posts: 629 Member
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    HOLY WOW - like seriously where do you FIND 3 hrs to do cardio?! ;)

    It kind of sounds to me as if you may have hit a plateau of sorts and despite what logic may lead you to think - 'hey I need to do MORE cardio' what you may want to do is to rev up the intensity in a MUCH MUCH shorter duration.

    When I hit a plateau I kept extending how long I was doing cardio. At one point, being a full time working mother of 2 I simply couldn't afford more time in the gym. My friend who had just received her masters in nutrition and is a personal trainer suggested that I reduce the amount of time but rev up the intensity which I did; I had nothing to lose at that point because I was SO frustrated with the lack of progress.

    And wouldn't you know it ... in a matter of a week I broke through the plateau that I was stuck at for over 2 months!

    Also as many of the other posters have mentioned, if you over exercise your body will revolt because it thinks it's going into starvation mode.

    Additionally, because you are exercising SO much, what sort of calories are you consuming post workout? We can't out gym poor eating choices - no matter how frequent or the extent the duration we invest at the gym.

    This lifestyle change should be about finding balance in how much you consume and how much you exercise. From my experience an extreme in either or never seems to have the desired results we are all ultimately wanting.

    Best of luck to you.
  • Graelwyn75
    Graelwyn75 Posts: 4,404 Member
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    I'm sorry dear, I don't think you're burring 2100 calories a day doing 3 hours of cardio

    I would agree with this. You would be losing quite rapidly, I would imagine, if you were truly only netting in the negative. You would also have burnt out totally, especially if the activity was intense, speaking from experience.
    Heck, I lose doing 60-90 minutes combined cardio and weights 5x per week, and eating 2000 + calories as a female.
    Regardless, your post shows evidence you have an issue and have or are developing a psychological issue relating to your weight/food/activity. It would be seriously damaging to your body to be eating that low of an amount while doing so much exercise.
    I suggest you seek the help of a psychologist and also discuss this with your doctor.

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