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pauley_13
pauley_13 Posts: 2 Member
edited December 2014 in Health and Weight Loss
I tried calorie counting and exercising last year for about 2.5 months. I was eating about the same calories and burning less, working out. I was working out 30 mins/day, five days/week doing arms, abs, legs, cardio, etc. I lost a little more than 20 lbs and was seeing results. This time around I've been working out consistently 65-75 mins, five days/week and burning about 700-900 calories per workout. I have seen some results,but not as much as I thought I would. When I workout, do I not need to be eating those calories? I normally workout before bed. Sometimes making up somewhat the calories I burned, and other times not. I'm not perfect, and I don't expect to be skinny right now. I just thought more work would equal better results. Seemed like I was hardly trying last year, and doing better. I want to stick with it and keep going for years to come to make myself a better person.
ETA: I've been doing this for about 35 days (forgot to log in one day on my streak) and haven't seen weight loss results in the past 17 days.

Replies

  • SamLD88
    SamLD88 Posts: 111 Member
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    Are you weighing and measuring what you're eating? It may be a classic case of overestimating burn and underestimating food intake.

    I lift weights 0-3x/week, play soccer on Sundays, and follow the MFP calorie guidelines and lose just fine while hardly trying.

    Others will want to see starting stats (weight, height, sex, etc), current calorie intake, and types of exercise that you've been doing.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    When you lose weight you have to eat less and/or move more to keep up the same weight loss rate.
  • hortensehildegarde
    hortensehildegarde Posts: 592 Member
    edited December 2014
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    pauley_13 wrote: »
    and burning about 700-900 calories per workout..

    people will probably tell you that this number is likely an overestimate.

    If you eat back 100% of your exercise calories then that exercise will have done virtually nothing to speed weight loss.

    What's that common phrase "you can't out exercise a bad diet". Exercise is a LOT of work for relatively little payoff calorie-deficit wise. What do you get for a mile of running-half of 1 cookie? The fitness benefits extend beyond weight loss, but if trying so hard is going to lead you to totally give up then stop trying so hard.

    I am lazy so I don't bother to work out and am feeling how it sounds you did last year. In fact I can't even fathom why I didn't do this sooner it's been so easy. Expectations make a huge impact on how we feel, that's for sure. Don't let yours ruin your positive feelings about your successes. Working out that much is a huge accomplishment for your health I'd imagine.
  • parasshelawala
    parasshelawala Posts: 29 Member
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    Don't get discouraged, long term weight loss is all about slow and steady progress over months, sometimes years. Just make sure you are running a reasonable calorie deficit by tracking your food and exercise and make sure your lifestyle changes are ones you can keep doing for a long time.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    Where are you getting your calorie burns from? Sound excessive
  • MsGrumble
    MsGrumble Posts: 6
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    I agree with the first poster that it could be just a case of measuring all of the ingredients and calories for your meals properly; I have to get a 1/2 cup scoop out for my oatmeal every single morning just to make sure!

    It could also be some of the types of food being eaten. For example, even if you calorie count from a restaurant, those foods contain tons of sodium that hold on to water weight.

    A few other things that have hindered my weight loss include 1. eating too little (too few calories causes your body to hold into the food and create fat) and 2. not varying the workout enough.

    Good luck, I hope that you see improvement again, soon!
  • Jacobl1996
    Jacobl1996 Posts: 2 Member
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    Make sure to measure all the foods you are eating, and switch to foods that are as close to natural as possible. I lost 30 pounds, and ended up plateauing for a week or so. I rethought all my processes and decided to get a scale and really get strict with my food measurements. You'd be surprised with how much you are eating without realizing it! I lost all my weight over a period of 8 months or so. Don't get discouraged, it WILL change if you stick with it and have a calorie deficit! Good luck!
  • 999tigger
    999tigger Posts: 5,235 Member
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    what samdavis said. You are almost certainly eating more and burning less than you think, so you need to examine that.

    As pointed out are you weighing and logging your food?

    Where are you getting your calorie burns from.

    You can open your diary if you want further advice.

    Need more information as there are plenty of vague areas about what your diet exactly is.
  • pauley_13
    pauley_13 Posts: 2 Member
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    Some answers. I am doing treadmill excersice. I log my correct weight in the area before starting my workout. I am doing a program where I go up and down on incline. It is a newer treadmill so I thought it would have more accurate calorie burn accuracy. That makes sense about eating back what I burn. I just didn't want to have deficits bc I wasn't eating as much as I should. I have been logging my calories pretty closely and get about 1,760/day. I do need to work on my diet some. Maybe more control on the bad items with less time in between them. Hope that helps some. Thanks btw, for anyone that took time to read and respond.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    pauley_13 wrote: »
    Some answers. I am doing treadmill excersice. I log my correct weight in the area before starting my workout. I am doing a program where I go up and down on incline. It is a newer treadmill so I thought it would have more accurate calorie burn accuracy. That makes sense about eating back what I burn. I just didn't want to have deficits bc I wasn't eating as much as I should. I have been logging my calories pretty closely and get about 1,760/day. I do need to work on my diet some. Maybe more control on the bad items with less time in between them. Hope that helps some. Thanks btw, for anyone that took time to read and respond.

    Nope...eat back 50-75% and judge by weight lost

    Also do not measure foods - cups are extremely inaccurate - weigh on a digital scale
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
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    weight loss starts in the kitchen, with your diet. The exercise is great, but that is not where you'll be losing your weight.
  • Slasher09
    Slasher09 Posts: 316 Member
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    Liftng4Lis wrote: »
    weight loss starts in the kitchen, with your diet. The exercise is great, but that is not where you'll be losing your weight.


    This is so true. It was on these boards where I learned that diet is 80% of the battle and working out is only 20% (I always assumed working out was most of it).
  • loulamb7
    loulamb7 Posts: 801 Member
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    Slasher09 wrote: »
    Liftng4Lis wrote: »
    weight loss starts in the kitchen, with your diet. The exercise is great, but that is not where you'll be losing your weight.


    This is so true. It was on these boards where I learned that diet is 80% of the battle and working out is only 20% (I always assumed working out was most of it).

    +2 on this one. You can't out exercise a bad diet, eating more than you burn. Calculate your needed calories to maintain or lose without exercise and start there.
  • leanne0627
    leanne0627 Posts: 109 Member
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    Have u measured yourself with a tape measure? I only lost 2 pounds last month but lost 6 inches on my waist, 3 on each thigh, 2 on each arm etc. Progress does not always show on the scale.
  • debubbie
    debubbie Posts: 767 Member
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    I had a mini meltdown a few months ago because I was working my butt off exercising and was under my calories after eating back some of my exercise calories. It was frustrating to put all that effort in and not see any "payout" when stepping on the scale. I basically gave up for the last couple of months in frustration. I have since decided to use other means (fit of clothes, inches lost, better ability when jogging and increased strength when lifting) to serve as a better guide of whether I am using weight or not.

    I can honestly say that it has taken a lot of the aggravation and stress out of it. I feel that I have developed a better mentality towards my goal of losing weight since I shifted my focus to improving my diet and exercise ability and quit focusing on the scale. You may find that a shift to the non scale victories will help you to stay motivated and less aggravated with the weight loss battle.

    Keep up the great work in exercising and getting fit!

  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,626 Member
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    debubbie wrote: »
    I had a mini meltdown a few months ago because I was working my butt off exercising and was under my calories after eating back some of my exercise calories. It was frustrating to put all that effort in and not see any "payout" when stepping on the scale. I basically gave up for the last couple of months in frustration. I have since decided to use other means (fit of clothes, inches lost, better ability when jogging and increased strength when lifting) to serve as a better guide of whether I am using weight or not.

    I can honestly say that it has taken a lot of the aggravation and stress out of it. I feel that I have developed a better mentality towards my goal of losing weight since I shifted my focus to improving my diet and exercise ability and quit focusing on the scale. You may find that a shift to the non scale victories will help you to stay motivated and less aggravated with the weight loss battle.

    Keep up the great work in exercising and getting fit!
    I enjoyed weight loss much more before I began weighing myself. Now, I cannot help it. It's a good habit, getting on the scale every day. It will help when I'm no longer losing.

    But it really is great to just diet and see the progress in lose clothing. :)
  • alanlmarshall
    alanlmarshall Posts: 587 Member
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    The most common cause of this problem is underestimating calories and overestimating exercise burn.
  • shaynataggart
    shaynataggart Posts: 71 Member
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    Honestly I would get a Heart Rate monitor to calculate your HR and calories while exercising and a digital scale to weigh out food.

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