Is there such a thing as 'working out too much?'

vpsmith14
vpsmith14 Posts: 71
edited September 26 in Health and Weight Loss
Can working out too much affect your weight loss? I know it sounds silly but here's the deal. I workout 4x a week doing vigorous strength training, 3 or more doing over an hour of cardio. I watch my calories like a crazy person and do very well staying between 1200 and 1300. BUT, I am only losing exactly 1 pound every 8 days. Exact!! I am nearing my goal weight with about 15 pounds left but it is so frustrating seeing how my "numbers" reflect a higher calorie loss throughout the week. Numbers meaning, I wear a heart rate monitor to workout so gage my calorie burn and I keep track of calories.

Thanks,
Tricia

Replies

  • purplehaze12
    purplehaze12 Posts: 44
    When I used to go to the gym, I would do an hour on the elliptical 5 days a week. The machine only went up to 60 minutes. So, I wanted to boost my routine, and started trying to do 80 minutes. The guy working there seemed to notice my upped routine (or else people complained since I was taking up a machine so long, which may be the case!) and came and talked to me. He said at a certain point, cardio becomes ineffective. It's better to do it for a shorter amount of time more often or combine it with other types of strength training.
  • concealedpearl
    concealedpearl Posts: 206
    Are you only eating 1200-1300 calories or is that the net after you minus your exercise calories? If you're only eating that much then you're definitely not eating enough. I also learned exercising too much hinders you're weightloss. You have to put in a rest day or two somewhere in there. Hope this helps.
  • ladyhawk00
    ladyhawk00 Posts: 2,457 Member
    If you're nearing your goal weight, 1 lb a week is a very realistic rate of loss - actually a bit fast. The body (especially for women) prefers to have a "cushion" of fat stores, so the leaner you get, the slower weight loss will be.

    I wouldn't say your workouts sound excessive, but I would say you probably aren't eating enough to fuel them properly. Especially when you are relatively lean, it is even more important to eat enough to let the body know that it's safe to release those fat stores.

    I would recommend reading these threads that may help you understand what to expect and how metabolism works. Good luck to you!

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/61706-guide-to-calorie-deficits

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/186814-some-mfp-basics

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/9433-expectations

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/123142-the-answers-to-the-questions
  • christina_michelle
    christina_michelle Posts: 225
    Are you only eating 1200-1300 calories or is that the net after you minus your exercise calories? If you're only eating that much then you're definitely not eating enough. I also learned exercising too much hinders you're weightloss. You have to put in a rest day or two somewhere in there. Hope this helps.

    This is completely correct. The NET CALORIES on your Home tab is whats most important. You need to prepare your diary for the amount of calories you believe you will lose. So even though it might say your over 400 calories, when you work those out you will be at your correct net calories. You need to do this when your within 25 lbs to your goal and is preferable during total weight loss. She is also correct on the rest day. Your body retains water when working out. The muscles take it in and don't filter it out for a day or two.
  • kmunis
    kmunis Posts: 48 Member
    Have you been checking you measurements as well? For every pound of fat you looose, you are probably gaining muscle as well with the strength training. The scale doesn't always tell the whole story. Also, 1 pound per week is very reasonalbe, esp if you are close to you goal. Good luck!!
  • Newfiedan
    Newfiedan Posts: 1,517 Member
    you can not work out like a champ and eat like a mouse and expect good results for fat loss, you will be burning up muscle and all that hard work goes to nothing. I have posted many many times about this type of regimen and why it fails time and again. I have helped many women & men get the diet on track to support this type of training and yes there is such a thing as working out to much, the body does require a recovery phase to optimize muscle gains.
  • TrainingWithTonya
    TrainingWithTonya Posts: 1,741 Member
    Yes, there is a such thing as Overtraining where decreased results occur. There are other symptoms of overtraining such as fatigue, illness (or more accurately susceptibility to infection from the excessive stress to the body), lack of motivation, decreased enjoyment from exercise, etc. 4 days a week, however, isn't usually enough to cause overtraining syndrome. However, when you combine training with not eating enough to fuel the activity, it can cause the same symptoms or even overtraining syndrome at a lower amount of activity. I'd recommend upping your calories a bit.
  • vpsmith14
    vpsmith14 Posts: 71
    Hi All. Thanks so much. For the questions you asked about my net calories this is what a day may look like.

    target calories is 1200
    calorie burn is 700
    actual calories ate for the day after all is said and done is about 1900-1950

    I do normally eat back my exercise calories. Am I eating too much? Not enough?
  • ladyhawk00
    ladyhawk00 Posts: 2,457 Member
    Hi All. Thanks so much. For the questions you asked about my net calories this is what a day may look like.

    target calories is 1200
    calorie burn is 700
    actual calories ate for the day after all is said and done is about 1900-1950

    I do normally eat back my exercise calories. Am I eating too much? Not enough?

    Don't really have enough info to say precisely. Would need things like height, weight, age, activity level, etc.

    For where it sounds like you are, it could be too little because of too high of a loss/week goal. Read the first 2 threads I posted and that should help you determine a healthy goal/deficit.

    Edit: Also, it is somewhat dependent on how accurate your burns are. If your burn numbers are off significantly, you could be eating too little or too much to compensate for them. If you have an HRM, then they're probably pretty close. If not, they may be a bit high or low.
  • vpsmith14
    vpsmith14 Posts: 71
    Don't really have enough info to say precisely. Would need things like height, weight, age, activity level, etc.

    For where it sounds like you are, it could be too little because of too high of a loss/week goal. Read the first 2 threads I posted and that should help you determine a healthy goal/deficit.

    Edit: Also, it is somewhat dependent on how accurate your burns are. If your burn numbers are off significantly, you could be eating too little or too much to compensate for them. If you have an HRM, then they're probably pretty close. If not, they may be a bit high or low.
    [/quote]

    Thanks. I did read a the first and the last. It seems I am being told that 1 pound per week is sufficient. It just seems sooooooo small of a loss with the amount of work I put out. But I do eat my exercise calories back. I suppose I'll keep doing that since I am at least seeing the 1 pound loss.

    Tricia
  • ladyhawk00
    ladyhawk00 Posts: 2,457 Member
    Don't really have enough info to say precisely. Would need things like height, weight, age, activity level, etc.

    For where it sounds like you are, it could be too little because of too high of a loss/week goal. Read the first 2 threads I posted and that should help you determine a healthy goal/deficit.

    Edit: Also, it is somewhat dependent on how accurate your burns are. If your burn numbers are off significantly, you could be eating too little or too much to compensate for them. If you have an HRM, then they're probably pretty close. If not, they may be a bit high or low.

    Thanks. I did read a the first and the last. It seems I am being told that 1 pound per week is sufficient. It just seems sooooooo small of a loss with the amount of work I put out. But I do eat my exercise calories back. I suppose I'll keep doing that since I am at least seeing the 1 pound loss.

    Tricia
    [/quote]

    I know it seems agonizingly slow - just remember it didn't go on that fast, and it won't come off that fast either. Typically people who lose rapidly don't keep it off. So just remember that doing it slow and steady means you have a much higher chance of maintaining a healthy weight for life, not just a few months.

    It may help to use other measurements of progress, too. Like measuring with a tape measure, body fat %, how your clothes fit, etc. Don't focus too much on the scale - pay attention to NSVs (non-scale victories) too! :wink:
  • vpsmith14
    vpsmith14 Posts: 71
    That's what my husband is constantly telling me. Use the tape measure, and look at the how loose your clothing is fitting. If he had his way the scale would be in trash.

    Thanks for the encouragement.
    Tricia
  • Newfiedan
    Newfiedan Posts: 1,517 Member
    give zig zagging cals a shot to accelerate fat loss, but make sure you do it right to get proper results, I do not understand why so many ppl seem to think that they are entitled to lose more when they did not get to their current state at a 1 pound a week gain, rapid fat loss (meaning more than 5 pounds a week) will result in loose skin and muscle loss in most adults unless they are very overweight (60+ pounds) 1 lb a week loss is fast considering that you did not put it on that fast.
  • christina_michelle
    christina_michelle Posts: 225
    Also however long it took you to gain weight it should take twice as long to lose it!
  • Newfiedan
    Newfiedan Posts: 1,517 Member
    Also however long it took you to gain weight it should take twice as long to lose it!
    I do not entirely agree with this, most of us do not gain fat at a pound a week, but can lose at that rate quite safely. It took me 14 years to get to my heaviest at 198 pounds and 3.5 months to get back to my high school weight of 169 pounds. So no we can shed fat faster than we gained it and do so safely.
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