frustrated, confused and need help/advice
birksybabe
Posts: 22 Member
I go to the gym most days and burn quite a few calories for example I burnt roughly 1200 calories today....the thing is I've been told by my instructor that I need to eat about 2500 calories a day to loose weight. I struggle to eat 1500 a day never mind 2500. I personally think it's far too much for someone wanting to shred weight. I eat healthily lots of chicken veg and fruit and I calorie count but I'm struggling to loose weight. Any body got and suggestions or advice for me
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birksybabe wrote: »I go to the gym most days and burn quite a few calories for example I burnt roughly 1200 calories today....the thing is I've been told by my instructor that I need to eat about 2500 calories a day to loose weight. I struggle to eat 1500 a day never mind 2500. I personally think it's far too much for someone wanting to shred weight. I eat healthily lots of chicken veg and fruit and I calorie count but I'm struggling to loose weight. Any body got and suggestions or advice for me
If you are REALLY struggling to lose weight than you are eating more than you think and/or you are burning less than you think so look at those two things. 1200 calories seems like a lot to burn working out so maybe you are overestimating there. Make sure you are logging accurately yadda yadda yadda.0 -
I suggest putting your numbers in to MFP to see what it recommends. Set your activity to sedentary even though you are not. This will give you your base calories to get in daily then you can eat more depending on what your exercise earns you.
Fitness machines may overestimate your calorie burn.0 -
how are you getting the 1200?0
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birksybabe wrote: »I go to the gym most days and burn quite a few calories for example I burnt roughly 1200 calories today....the thing is I've been told by my instructor that I need to eat about 2500 calories a day to loose weight. I struggle to eat 1500 a day never mind 2500. I personally think it's far too much for someone wanting to shred weight. I eat healthily lots of chicken veg and fruit and I calorie count but I'm struggling to loose weight. Any body got and suggestions or advice for me
How you calculate your exercise calories?
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What are you doing to burn 1200 in the gym? That would take me hours and hours of intense working out. If you're struggling to lose weight you're logging is likely off. Do you use a food scale, use accurate entries, use the recipe builder, etc?0
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"Calories burned" displays are usually to high, and so are the amounts listed on MFP0
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I go to the gym most days and burn quite a few calories for example I burnt roughly 1200 calories today....the thing is I've been told by my instructor that I need to eat about 2500 calories a day to loose weight. I struggle to eat 1500 a day never mind 2500.
At 1500 calories a day intake you should be losing weight regardless of exercise.
Also unless you are totally working out for hours a day it's unlikely you are actually burning 1200 calories at the gym. 30 minutes on the exercise bike at a moderate pace will only burn like 110 or so calories.
My advice is to concentrate first on diet. Log your food on MFP, and make sure you are accurately measuring your food, preferably by weight.
MFP will tell you what your daily calorie goal should be for your weight loss goal and your body parameters.
The exercise calories are bonus that you get to eat back.
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I don't burn off 1200 every time I go to the gym but I do go for hours at a time I do metafit, spinning, swimming and other exercise. I do calorie counting by weight and I go for healthy food. I know that if I eat 1500 I should loose weight irrespective of what exercise I do but I've managed to loose about 6 lb in 3 months and it's frustrating the hell out of me because I work so hard0
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birksybabe wrote: »I don't burn off 1200 every time I go to the gym but I do go for hours at a time I do metafit, spinning, swimming and other exercise. I do calorie counting by weight and I go for healthy food. I know that if I eat 1500 I should loose weight irrespective of what exercise I do but I've managed to loose about 6 lb in 3 months and it's frustrating the hell out of me because I work so hard
To lose weight there is no need to exercise that much. Accurately count your calories. You are eating more than you think.
Why is it hard to eat 1500 all of the sudden? You'd have to have been eating more than that to gain weight. What was your normal day food-wise in the past?0 -
birksybabe wrote: »I don't burn off 1200 every time I go to the gym but I do go for hours at a time I do metafit, spinning, swimming and other exercise. I do calorie counting by weight and I go for healthy food. I know that if I eat 1500 I should loose weight irrespective of what exercise I do but I've managed to loose about 6 lb in 3 months and it's frustrating the hell out of me because I work so hard
you're eating WAYYY to little if you burn that much! I'd calculate your TDEE and take a deficit from that, if you're consistent on a weekly basis with exercise. If not, then log exercise in MFP and eat a portion back.0 -
My normal daily intake was probably about 800 calories. I hardly ever ate. As I childbirksybabe wrote: »I don't burn off 1200 every time I go to the gym but I do go for hours at a time I do metafit, spinning, swimming and other exercise. I do calorie counting by weight and I go for healthy food. I know that if I eat 1500 I should loose weight irrespective of what exercise I do but I've managed to loose about 6 lb in 3 months and it's frustrating the hell out of me because I work so hard
To lose weight there is no need to exercise that much. Accurately count your calories. You are eating more than you think.
Why is it hard to eat 1500 all of the sudden? You'd have to have been eating more than that to gain weight. What was your normal day food-wise in the past?
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birksybabe wrote: »My normal daily intake was probably about 800 calories. I hardly ever ate. As I childbirksybabe wrote: »I don't burn off 1200 every time I go to the gym but I do go for hours at a time I do metafit, spinning, swimming and other exercise. I do calorie counting by weight and I go for healthy food. I know that if I eat 1500 I should loose weight irrespective of what exercise I do but I've managed to loose about 6 lb in 3 months and it's frustrating the hell out of me because I work so hard
To lose weight there is no need to exercise that much. Accurately count your calories. You are eating more than you think.
Why is it hard to eat 1500 all of the sudden? You'd have to have been eating more than that to gain weight. What was your normal day food-wise in the past?
How about for the 34 pound increase. That what the post wanted to know. That intake?0 -
Can I ask what your dieting history is? Just a general idea would be helpful.0
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1200 is a huge burn. It's not impossible, but it generally requires a very large amount of time, or a high level of fitness. How are you calculating this number?
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I'm definitely counting my calories correctly. The reason I struggle to eat 1500 is because I've always starved myself from being a teenager. Most days I'd have a sandwich and that would be it I never drank water just diet pepsi. So my stomach shrunk and when I ate I'd get belly pains. I've obviously upped my food intake after being told to do so over and over but still struggle most days to hit the 1500 mark0
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I also suggest opening your diary. An astronomically large number of people roll through MFP believing they are counting accurately, when they're not.
Never hurts to have a few more sets of eyes looking over the numbers.0 -
My calorie burn is an estimate through machines. I go up to the gym for 3 or 4 hours most days. I do high intensity interval training like metafit ...hiit ....spinning.... boxersize ....rowing. my usual diet would be a banana for breakfast and water.....dinner would be something like chicken breast spinach and red peppers...then tea would be chicken stirfry (no sauce only seasoning like pepper or garlic) plus I would try and drink 2 litres of water a day0
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How would I open it up to others? I'm new to this and have no friends on here. I would definitely appreciate the help0
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birksybabe wrote: »My calorie burn is an estimate through machines. I go up to the gym for 3 or 4 hours most days. I do high intensity interval training like metafit ...hiit ....spinning.... boxersize ....rowing. my usual diet would be a banana for breakfast and water.....dinner would be something like chicken breast spinach and red peppers...then tea would be chicken stirfry (no sauce only seasoning like pepper or garlic) plus I would try and drink 2 litres of water a day
That what you ate that shows what your ticker says for how much you want to lose?
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I can definitely see a difference in my shape and my fitness has gone through the roof for a little fat asthmatic lol0
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birksybabe wrote: »How would I open it up to others? I'm new to this and have no friends on here. I would definitely appreciate the help
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings0 -
Why has your instructor arrived at 2500 calories? I also second the suggestion of opening your diary. Would just make it easier to get more accurate advice.
My honest take on it - it sounds like you are doing too much. Ideally, you want about a 500 calorie a day deficit, between nutrition and exercise. Any more than that can be a bit too aggressive, and by the sounds of your dieting history, you may need some repair on your metabolism.0 -
A great way to aid in losing weight is to start lifting weights. More muscle mass means that your resting caloric burn will be higher. Sometimes spending hours at the gym doesn't help if you're doing constant cardio exercise. Studies have shown that doing high intensity for short periods (20 - 30 minutes) can do more for caloric burning than an hour on the elliptical. I'd suggest taking a look on YouTube at some great HIIT workouts (most are about 30 minutes or so) and can really get your heart going, which is key.
As for eating, try cooking with fresh veggies and eating fruit for snacks. You'd be surprised at how much veggies you can eat like carrots and zucchini before feeling full while still keeping under your caloric goal. Your instructor is telling you to eat a lot of calories because if you don't eat enough your body will go into starvation mode and store any calories you eat.
Another tip is to eat after you work out. It doesn't have to be a meal, but a small snack filled with protein like a handful of nuts or cup of yogurt. This way your body will not be forced to eat at your muscles for fuel after a workout.0 -
Do you find yourself very caught up in concerns about weight and shape? You are spending a lot of time at the gym, and it sounds like you also have a history of restricting food too much. I think you need to be evaluated by a psychologist who treats eating disorders. They can do an assessment and help you to understand what you are experiencing, and help you figure out referrals/treatment if needed.0
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Metafit is like HIIT it's a great cardio work out. I have one to ones with my gym instructor.. as for the veggies I do that too because I love veg0
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birksybabe wrote: »I don't burn off 1200 every time I go to the gym but I do go for hours at a time I do metafit, spinning, swimming and other exercise. I do calorie counting by weight and I go for healthy food. I know that if I eat 1500 I should loose weight irrespective of what exercise I do but I've managed to loose about 6 lb in 3 months and it's frustrating the hell out of me because I work so hard
A good rate of weight loss is 0.5 lbs a week. 6 lbs in three months is 2 lbs a month, which is 0.5 lbs a week. Sounds like you're actually doing well.
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These steps in this order:
Step 1: Make sure your calorie burns are as accurate as you can be. Heart rate monitor for steady state cardio (running, biking). Otherwise, use MFP's calculations and cut them in half(ish). Or realize that calculating calorie burns is never completely accurate and TDEE instead (which is what I did because I was sick of guessing).
Step 2: Make sure your intake is being measured accurately. This means using a food scale to weigh solids and measuring cups for liquids and following this advice: community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1234699/logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide/p1
Step 3: IF you are not meeting your calorie goals, start adding more calorie dense food into your diet. Peanut butter, oil, avocado, ICE CREAM, cake, chips, etc.
Step 4: Monitor your results and adjust your calorie goal accordingly. Losing too fast, add calories. Losing too slow, remove calories. This should be done by watching your rate of loss over months, not weeks.0 -
birksybabe wrote: »Metafit is like HIIT it's a great cardio work out. I have one to ones with my gym instructor.. as for the veggies I do that too because I love veg
If you're already doing the workouts and eating veggies then definitely start lifting! Also, you may want to look at the quality of the foods you're eating. It may all come down to diet. Food is not the enemy but can aid in weight loss when done right. Love your body by being mindful of the foods you put in it.0 -
Yes I do get caught up about weight and shape I've been like it since being a child.....I spend a lot of time in the gym because I enjoy it. Not only am I getting fit and burning calories it helps with depression. I've started to look at my weight in a different way like " I maybe overweight but I'm probably fitter than most"0
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mizzlarabee wrote: »Why has your instructor arrived at 2500 calories?
If the burn really is 1200, it's a reasonable number.
IF....!
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