A question about my workout routine and dieit.

PoAer
PoAer Posts: 17
edited September 23 in Fitness and Exercise
Ok so here is the haps. I used to work out everyday, and then school started in the fall and I started going less frequently. I'm now back in a routine atleast trying twice aweek ( I was going up this week to 3 times a week but I twisted my ankle yesterday and it's still swollen D:)
I just recently started to record my calories and I think I messed up my metabolism. I thought since I don't move that much throughout the day, mostly in class and I don't have to walk any distance at all to get to them, that 1200 calories was too much to consume. So I have been eating 920-1040 ish (at most!) and when I did workout out I burned between 200-400 calories with general toning exercises. I haven't been losing any weight, so I assumed I was doing something wrong. So I decided to log on to this site for the first time today and used the BMR calculator and it says I burn 1,333 calories by just staying in bed all day. My question is if I stick to 1200 a day and do cardio and burn 200 calories do I actually try to eat 1400, eating how many calories I burn?
Also I've noticed that I have been getting sore alot more stiff and sore the day after my workouts and while doing cardio I get drained of enegery fast preventing me from often completing my entire workout routine. Is there a trick to advoid soreness and being fastly drained of my engery?

Edit:
I'm a vegetarian with the exception of fish. My basic deit consist of special K protein plus, oatmeal, bocca burgers with 45 calories bread, harvest light soup, cheerios (plain not honey nut) etc. (in a nutshell) I never eat fried foods and when I crave something sweet I reach for a green apple or a orange. I'm currently 130, 5'3.

Replies

  • Kabear2013
    Kabear2013 Posts: 18 Member
    Curious how does staying in bed help you burn calories?
  • fitbot
    fitbot Posts: 406
    ummm i would be careful about the calculators... i find it hard to believe that you would be burning more than you consume just by sleeping.

    we can make fancy websites and calculators all we want but dieting is pretty simple.
    don't put junk in your mouth and get off your *kitten*,
    is pretty much all anyone needs to know

    in your case i think you are probably eating too little. under 1000 calories is really not enough to function with a clear head. how tall are you / how much do you weigh? a female should consume anywhere from 1800-2200 calories. If you are on a restricitive diet, this should be 1200-1500....

    however yoyo dieting, fasting, and malnutrition can really mess up everyone's thyroid and adrenal glands.... and then your body stops reacting the way it should be to dieting.

    it also depends on what kind of food you are actually consuming?
    you mention you are quite sore and lacking energy and i have an inkling that this is caused by malnutrition. your body needs nutrients to recover....

    i would take a really serious look at your diet.... and re evaluate
  • PoAer
    PoAer Posts: 17
    I'm a vegetarian with the exception of fish. My basic deit consist of special K protein plus, oatmeal, bocca burgers with 45 calories bread, harvest light soup, cheerios (plain not honey nut) etc. (in a nutshell) I never eat fried foods and when I crave something sweet I reach for a green apple or a orange. I'm currently 130, 5'3.
  • PoAer
    PoAer Posts: 17
    Curious how does staying in bed help you burn calories?
    I've heard your body needs a certain amount to maintain basic functions. Studies show that you burn on average 400 calories by just using your brain, I'm guessing this is why most experts suggest that you eat a big breakfeast (400 calories). Also if you comsume too few calories your body goes into stravation mode, which basically means your body thinks your straving so it slows down it's metbolism to conserve engery. This prevents you from losing weight. As for if the number is accurate or not, I'm not sure. But honestly it wouldn't surprise me if it was.
  • robin52077
    robin52077 Posts: 4,383 Member
    By "staying in bed" she MEANS her BMR, which is the calories your body needs to function even if you were in a coma, to beat your heart, breathe, cell reproduction, etc, your "staying in bed" calories.
    Only very obese people can ever dip below this number and should only be done with doctor's supervision.

    MFp then asks you about your activity level, (sedentary, lightly active, active, etc) and they ADD calories to that number based on how much you move in a typical day just doing your job and living your life (WITHOUT exercise). THAT number is your TDEE. MFP then subtracts from your TDEE based on how many pounds a week you told it you wanted to lose (2 is a bad idea unless you are VERY overweight). Choose 1 or 1/2 for safe steady loss you can maintain forever.

    So what you end up with on your diary is the number you should EAT (NOT try to stay way under) to lose that amount of weight per week. If you stay way under you are robbing your body of essential fuel. Try to REACH those numbers, and when you actually exercise, (real exercise, not shopping, or a casual stroll, as those are part of your TDEE, your LIFE) then you add those calories and eat them back, as they would create a larger deficit than the one MFP already created for you, thus leaving you undernourished, hungry, and more likely to binge.

    Any questions, feel free to message me, but I think I explained it as clearly as I can...
  • fitbot
    fitbot Posts: 406
    mmm well, the muscle paints and exhaustion tells me that you are not getting enough protein so i would add more fish, eggs, tofu, beans, nuts.
    How about your fat intake? do u have healthy fats in your diet, such as olive oil, avocado, etc?
    it is hard to determine whats up with you without really knowing the case.
    But I am thinking you are not eating enough and that you are missing some nutrients. If you continue working out like this you will injure yourself or run into more serious health problems.

    I went thru something similar a few years ago which caused me to gain 10 kg and i had to go on hormone replacement therapy at the age of 27. it sucked and it made me gain weight by eating a carrot.... trust me, no one wants to be in that situation. I am only now getting my system back to itself.


    oh and you are not a vegetarian in you eat fish. you are a flexitarian. :)
  • PoAer
    PoAer Posts: 17
    Yep! Questions answered! Thank you so much. :]
  • taletreader
    taletreader Posts: 377 Member
    Curious how does staying in bed help you burn calories?

    Uh, that's the BMR -- what you consume just to keep your brain functioning, heart pumping, digestion going... For a sedentary person, that's about 85 % of daily calorie consumption. Just to make sure we get misunderstandings out of the way.

    As for the OP's inquiry, from the BMR you posted I conclude that you're most likely about 5' and 145 lbs (or a bit taller and lighter, for example). My approach would be to use 1350 cals or so as your target and eat 100-200 more on days where you exercise significantly (breathing hard, sweating, > 45 min).
  • PoAer
    PoAer Posts: 17
    mmm well, the muscle paints and exhaustion tells me that you are not getting enough protein so i would add more fish, eggs, tofu, beans, nuts.
    How about your fat intake? do u have healthy fats in your diet, such as olive oil, avocado, etc?
    it is hard to determine whats up with you without really knowing the case.
    But I am thinking you are not eating enough and that you are missing some nutrients. If you continue working out like this you will injure yourself or run into more serious health problems.

    I went thru something similar a few years ago which caused me to gain 10 kg and i had to go on hormone replacement therapy at the age of 27. it sucked and it made me gain weight by eating a carrot.... trust me, no one wants to be in that situation. I am only now getting my system back to itself.


    oh and you are not a vegetarian in you eat fish. you are a flexitarian. :)
    Hmmm, ok, thank you. Though your messages seems to be some what hostile, I'm sure you don't mean to be. :)
  • robin52077
    robin52077 Posts: 4,383 Member



    oh and you are not a vegetarian in you eat fish. you are a flexitarian. :)

    No, Flexitarian eats any form of meat but very rarely, like a not-so- strict vegetarian who will have a burger once a year... She is Pescetarian which eats fish and seafood any time but never chicken beef or pork.
  • fitbot
    fitbot Posts: 406
    hey robin, you are totally right!
    :)
    i just call everyone who does not fully stick to a vegetarian lifestyle a flexi.
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