I need some advise please.

Hello!

I am very active and go to the gym every day pretty much. Depending on my shift patterns with work I'll try and aim to burn about 400cals per session.

Basically, I'm 4.11 and I used to weigh 10.2 (I'm 25 years old) and I went on a massive mission and now I've lost weight however is burning only 200-300 per session still beneficial?

Whenever I only do 250cals I feel like I'm not putting in enough effort and go home feeling let down.

I eat about 1200cals a day or try to. I used to eat less but I'm trying to up it slightly as I don't want to be too much thinner. I think 7st is pretty small.

Thanks!

Replies

  • ew_david
    ew_david Posts: 3,473 Member
    Feeling let down after exercise because you don't see a certain calorie burn is kind of a red flag to me. What are you using to measure your calorie burn for exercise? A lot of tools range from "a pretty good estimate" to "downright overinflated." I wouldn't put too much emphasis on it.
  • Asher_Ethan
    Asher_Ethan Posts: 2,430 Member
    How do you calculate your calorie burn? Almost every single machine is off on calorie burn.
  • angelexperiment
    angelexperiment Posts: 1,917 Member
    The thinner you are the more effort you have to use to get larger burns. The less you weigh the less you burn.
  • Hi guys thanks! Yeah I'll usually use the calorie burner so I know how many I'm burning per session. I'll aim to do about 400 but this all depends on my work pattern.

    If I don't get enough time I have to settle for 250 however I don't feel this is good enough and go home feeling let down by myself for not achieving my goal of 400 which I'll always try and aim to do when I have time.

    Regardless I'm at the gym most days of the week. :)
  • abatonfan
    abatonfan Posts: 1,120 Member
    Try looking at it this way: Burning 250 calories through exercise is certainly better than burning 0, and you are benefiting your health by regularly exercising (improved cardiovascular fitness, increased bone strength, decreased insulin resistance, etc.).
  • veganbaum
    veganbaum Posts: 1,865 Member
    Any regular exercise that you can keep up as part of your life is good.

    I think using a calorie burn goal is problematic. You still didn't specify where you're getting the burn from, but from your wording, I'm assuming the machine? Machines usually are not accurate. Now, if you're using it just as a goal to reach, not a big deal if you're using the same machine all the time. However, you should be eating at least some of those calories back, which takes us back to problematic since the numbers are not terribly accurate. Also, I think a better/healthier goal to set for exercise is one involving progression. Such as - this week I will do x minutes of x. Then up the time each week by 5 minutes, or whatever. Or, use a time goal. I will walk/run 3 miles 5 days a week. Then work on improving the time it takes you to complete the 3 miles.