OK...here's my problem...

polar5554
polar5554 Posts: 576 Member
edited September 28 in Fitness and Exercise
At this point, I am within 5-8 lbs. of hitting my goal weight of 125 lbs. I know that the last few lbs. are the hardest to lose and I'm OK with that.

I have been reading a lot of places that for the last few lbs. you should be focusing on more on toning with strength training and not SOOOO much cardio.

Here is where the problem is...I always eat my exercise calories and pretty much need them to get through my day without going over my calorie goal. If I do strength training with lifting weights, I wouldn't have those calories to log as I have also read that a lot (most) people don't log strength training workouts because it doesn't really get your heart rate up.

Any thoughts?

Replies

  • Cmccracken1
    Cmccracken1 Posts: 326 Member
    you do burn calories for strength training look it up in the database under cardio it will give you a guide. or you could use and hrm. it will burn more calories than resting.
  • hanzchloe
    hanzchloe Posts: 1
    you can do both, set up a circuit of say what would be 10 different things, start off with cardio and get your heart rate up then go to strength, could be bench press then lat pull down then squats or dumbells one arm pulls and then do sit ups throw in push ups and ten back to cardio and dont stop any time duringthe routine, keep that up for 40mins and you will do both atthe same time.
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,328 Member
    Yes, but you should have been doing strength training all along.

    Second, you need to increase your calories for those last few pounds. I don't know what your goal/week is, but if it is 2 pounds you might want to lower it to 1/week. I am currently at .8 pounds per week and basically eat my BMR, so the deficit I have it the calories I burn doing my daily activity.
  • Dnsnyder
    Dnsnyder Posts: 263 Member
    What about something like circuit training that gets your heart rate up and includes toning? My sugguestions: Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred (30DS), Shred It with Weights, No More Trouble Zones, 6 Week 6 Pack (6W6P), Ripped in 30. I am doing a combination of the 30DS and 6W6P and love them both. Invest in a heart rate monitor that calculates calorie burn to get the most accurate idea of how many calories your expending during these workouts.
  • ltosti
    ltosti Posts: 27 Member
    I do strength training on Tuesdays and Thursdays and I as well depend on my extra calories to make my day. I bought the Polar FT4 HRM so that I could get a more accurate reading of my calories burned during these workouts. I also workout with a trainer for my strength training and she keeps my heart rate up by quickly moving to the next set. So I will do 25 reps on my arms and with no rest go to the next set of 25 reps on my legs. After I finish each complete set, I will jump on the elliptical or treadmill for 2 minutes and get my heart rate up. Then go on to the next set. I do this three times. without much time for rest. In comparison to my cardio only days I burn 475 calories for 45 minutes on the elliptical and 425 calories on my Tuesday and Thursday strength training days. So I think you can still get the calories you want by stepping up the pace and intensity of the strength training with no rest between sets.

    Good luck on your last few lbs I wish I was already there!
  • TrainingWithTonya
    TrainingWithTonya Posts: 1,741 Member
    You do burn calories with strength training. They are just harder to estimate because you have issues with the heart rate going up and down during the training so HRM's aren't as accurate since they are more accurate with steady state heart rates. Under the cardio section, though, you will find a listing for strength training. This uses METs so it is a good estimate of calories burned.
  • EmsyLou77
    EmsyLou77 Posts: 47 Member
    What about something like circuit training that gets your heart rate up and includes toning? My sugguestions: Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred (30DS), Shred It with Weights, No More Trouble Zones, 6 Week 6 Pack (6W6P), Ripped in 30. I am doing a combination of the 30DS and 6W6P and love them both. Invest in a heart rate monitor that calculates calorie burn to get the most accurate idea of how many calories your expending during these workouts.

    I was going to recommend Jillian Michaels too. She combines strength moves with cardio so you are burning fat as well as strength/toning. And I log them under cardio as circuit training.
  • ChantalGG
    ChantalGG Posts: 2,404 Member
    Strength training doesnt take as long as cardio. cut the cardio in half and do both.
  • Swimgoddess
    Swimgoddess Posts: 711 Member
    Yes! Circuit weight training!!!

    with it I went from

    162lbs/26% BF (42lbs fat, 120lbs lean) to...
    156lbs/19.8% BF (31lbs fat, 125lbs lean)

    in just 6 weeks! :)

    Basically, pick two complimentary machines or free-weight exercises (ie; skullcrushers and 21s, laying leg press & calf exercise, etc.) or just something where you only can work one limb at a time (like using only your heel of one leg on the thighsolator, or one leg on the standing hip abduction machine, or chainsaw pulls, etc) and do one of them for one set with a weight you can only tolerate 6-12 reps with. Switch to the other exercise and do the same... NO BREAKS! Repeat until you've done 3 sets of each exercise. IMMEDIATELY jump to the next set of exercises. They're also called "supersets".

    Good for about 8.5 calories per minute per a chart I found online. Now that I have an HRM I know it's more like 8.7-9.3 calories per minute :D
  • Annie5859
    Annie5859 Posts: 280 Member
    I think if you eat back your exercise calories, then you should log your weight lifting routine. I found this website that I use sometimes because I find that mfp is a little high on the calorie burn. I know this website is not an exact science either, but I'd rather be on a bit more modest on my calories.

    http://www.braydenwm.com/calburn.htm?gender=f&wt=170&age=40&hr=120&VO2max=0&Time=60&Cal=507.74&CalTot=507.74&Power=141.04&WattsPerKg=1.83
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