Figured out my plateau. YAY!!

nancymmorris
nancymmorris Posts: 310
edited September 26 in Health and Weight Loss
So the first 2 months I was following MFP, I was losing about 1.5-2 lbs per week then this last month I have barely lost 1 lb the entire month.
I was so afraid to eat too many of my exercise calories back because I was not sure how accurate the numbers really were. So last week my doctor advised me to buy a HRM. So Saturday I got one. My doctor told me to wear it one full day that I work and one full day that I was off work so I could get a good idea of how many calories I was really burning.
I have a VERY active job. Some days I do more than 30,000 steps in just 8 hours work plus all of the lifting etc. MFP estimated that as a very active person I was burning 1900 calories per day and was only allowing me 1200 calories plus my exercise calories.
Yesterday was just an average day at work and my HRM showed that I burned 4500 calories in the 15 hours that I was wearing it. (din't wear it to bed) And today is my day off work and I have had it on for 9.5 hours. It has been a very low key day. Did a little shopping and lunch with my daughters and then watching movies at home and just hanging out. Right now it is showing my calorie burn at 1971.
Yesterday after seeing how many calories I was burning I added 700 calories as exercise calories and ate most of those calories. (about 1700 calorie day) To my surprise I lost 2 lbs in just one day. I know that is not safe and I am sure it will not continue, but I feel like the estimation of calories here had put my body into starvation mode. So now with a better idea of the calories I am really burning I am hoping I can eat a more accurate amount of calories and continue with this journey.

Replies

  • heyitsmekatie
    heyitsmekatie Posts: 544 Member
    very interesting... yay for breaking the plateau!
  • angisnee
    angisnee Posts: 236 Member
    Sounds like you have a very good doctor! It's awesome that you were steered in the right direction and got the information you needed to be successful at this! Keep up the great work, and enjoy eating more!
  • suzooz
    suzooz Posts: 720 Member
    Great job, and thanks for sharing.

    I am thinking about getting a heart rate monitor. What kind did you get?
  • jram70
    jram70 Posts: 91 Member
    I ate more calories and busted my plateau too after being stuck for about a month.
  • cjwolfjen
    cjwolfjen Posts: 323 Member
    This was a very interesting post I am glad I read it. It has me worried the same thing might happen to me. I always round up on calories and round down on exercise I hope this isn't putting my body into starvation mode??? It's so hard to know for sure. I've lost a lot of weight just in 2 1/2 weeks I have a worry my weight will stop dropping. I'm also breast feeding and that is tricky in itself to know how many calories I burn doing that each day. I think I'm going to get a HRM soon.
  • beastmode_kitty
    beastmode_kitty Posts: 845 Member
    Ya I just recently figured that out too. For months I was always wondering why when I stepped on the scale at the gym it was always the same weight, never changed, sometimes it went up. Then I started to have AT LEAST 1200 calories a day, and slowly but surely it's come off now.
  • soccermum75
    soccermum75 Posts: 588 Member
    Congrats on breaking you plateau. Interesting info!
  • traceyrbb
    traceyrbb Posts: 39 Member
    i'm glad you posted this. i'm stuck in the "I'm scared to eat my exercise calories" mode and so afraid to eat more in a day. i'm losing a pound a week since January so it's in my head that if it's working, don't fix it! i think i should get an HRM. i was using my treadmill to calculate my exercise calories, then got a pedometer which recorded much less that what my treadmill says. so now i have to eat even less because i'm not burning as much as i thought...so i think?? so maybe and HRM would be more accurate? thanks for your post and good job on breaking your plateau. haven't had one yet but am very afraid of it! :frown:
  • JessyT919
    JessyT919 Posts: 11
    HRM are one of the best investments ever! You can see see exactly how many calories you're burning and I love it that my PT knows to push me harder when she knows what my heart rate is at. Also, I love that since getting one (Polar PT60) I've almost become competitive with myself to try and beat last week's calorie burn and clock up more minutes of exercise.
  • WarmDontBurn
    WarmDontBurn Posts: 1,253 Member
    That is awesome and now you have me thinking...look out :laugh:

    Not sure what kind of HRM you have but I do wonder if any HRM would do. I thought I had read somewhere that most weren't accurate for daily wear and that you needed something like the bodybugg. I am not sure what the difference is but thought I had read that somewhere. I guess it would be a closer guesstimate the MFP who could never know your HR so I am intrigued.

    Please share which HRM you have.
  • nancymmorris
    nancymmorris Posts: 310
    Great job, and thanks for sharing.

    I am thinking about getting a heart rate monitor. What kind did you get?
    I got the timex personal trainer 5g971. It was rated "Best buy" from consumer reports. I really like it so far, and very affordable. $54.99
  • taso42_DELETED
    taso42_DELETED Posts: 3,394 Member
    Congrats on breaking through!

    Just an fyi though - the "calories burned" calculation that the HRM uses is not very accurate for non-cardio exercise, so the 4500 calories was likely to be an over-estimate. Nevertheless, I am willing to bet that the conclusion that you needed more calories was still correct. I came to the same conclusion, as did several other people I know on here. Kudos to you for fine-tuning your numbers and getting out of that plateau!
  • chrishillfl
    chrishillfl Posts: 9
    bump. :happy:
  • abyssfully
    abyssfully Posts: 410 Member
    very interesting... yay for breaking the plateau!
    This! Right on!
  • ladyhawk00
    ladyhawk00 Posts: 2,457 Member
    Congrats! Glad you're being open minded and doing searching and asking questions.

    There are a couple of things I would point out here. First: As Taso and a couple others pointed out, HRMs are not intended to record all day. They are VERY inaccurate when it comes to estimating HR or cals burned while at rest. So I wouldn't get too set on that number. Ideally, the best way to find out BMR or RMR is to get it tested. Many gyms can test it, as well as some dietitians or doctors. From what I've heard, it usually runs $50-100. In your situation, with a very active, but perhaps irregular schedule, that would probably be your best bet to get a starting point for estimating your daily cals burned.

    Second, I would not necessarily say that MFP had your goals wrong - you did. With where you started, with about 40 lbs to lose, you should never have been at a 2 lb loss per week goal. With where you are now, you should be at 1/2 lb loss per week goal. That would significantly raise your cal goal. Remember that MFP is a "dumb tool" - even if you shouldn't be trying for a 2 lb loss per week because of where you are in the process or because it is unhealthy, it will still try to help you get there (within the 1200 lower limit.)

    Anyway, glad you're getting it figured out and making progress. :wink:
  • casi_ann
    casi_ann Posts: 423 Member
    Thanks for sharing this very interesting and informative post.
This discussion has been closed.

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