Working out too much and not eating enough?
jax_006
Posts: 87 Member
Hi All- I started my fitness journey in January eating 1200 cals and working out 4-5 days/week approx 35 minutes long.
Since the end of February I upped my exercise regimen to working out exactly 5 days/week at 65 minutes long.
This is what I do now:
-quick 5 minute warm up on spinning bike,
-strength train for 14 minutes,
-hop on cycle for 5 mins,
-strength train for 14 minutes
-and then hop on my spinning bike for the remainder of 20 minutes.
(*Sometimes I will go for a long hike one day of the week in place of the above workout)
This totals 65 minutes. I wear a Polar M400 heart rate monitor (with chest strap). I know this is pretty accurate b/c I compared it with the fitbit once while wearing both. The fitbit was grossly inaccurate. But I digress.
Here are my stats:
Height: 5'3
Current Weight: 142
Goal Weight: 115/120
I have lost about 10 lbs since January (with a 2 week break in the beginning of the March due to being sick.)
I am currently still eating 1200 calories. I eat clean, wholesome foods and drink water (and protein drinks). I log my food and weigh it as well (most of the time). The scale isn't moving as quickly as I would like it to. I want to lose 1-2 lbs a week. And for the past few weeks it hasn't moved. I have been hovering around 142. And yes, recently I do have 1 cheat day/ week that consists of a few alcoholic drinks or a dinner when I am socializing with friends. But usually I get so sick I end up throwing it up that same night, sorry TMI! But I do compensate my cheat day with eating clean and working out a lot during the week.
Question: Am I working out too much and eating too little? I really enjoy working out and don't want to decrease what I am doing, but thought I would ask you guys! I know some people say weight loss isn't through exercise, but food. But I am trying to lose weight and tone up my body, a lot! I used to be 115 pounds 2 years ago and have gained a lot since then. Help! What are your thoughts? What am I doing wrong?I want to lose the last 27-20 pounds by August/September (of course I am being realistic here, I do not expect to lose this weight in 2 months.)
Thank you!
Since the end of February I upped my exercise regimen to working out exactly 5 days/week at 65 minutes long.
This is what I do now:
-quick 5 minute warm up on spinning bike,
-strength train for 14 minutes,
-hop on cycle for 5 mins,
-strength train for 14 minutes
-and then hop on my spinning bike for the remainder of 20 minutes.
(*Sometimes I will go for a long hike one day of the week in place of the above workout)
This totals 65 minutes. I wear a Polar M400 heart rate monitor (with chest strap). I know this is pretty accurate b/c I compared it with the fitbit once while wearing both. The fitbit was grossly inaccurate. But I digress.
Here are my stats:
Height: 5'3
Current Weight: 142
Goal Weight: 115/120
I have lost about 10 lbs since January (with a 2 week break in the beginning of the March due to being sick.)
I am currently still eating 1200 calories. I eat clean, wholesome foods and drink water (and protein drinks). I log my food and weigh it as well (most of the time). The scale isn't moving as quickly as I would like it to. I want to lose 1-2 lbs a week. And for the past few weeks it hasn't moved. I have been hovering around 142. And yes, recently I do have 1 cheat day/ week that consists of a few alcoholic drinks or a dinner when I am socializing with friends. But usually I get so sick I end up throwing it up that same night, sorry TMI! But I do compensate my cheat day with eating clean and working out a lot during the week.
Question: Am I working out too much and eating too little? I really enjoy working out and don't want to decrease what I am doing, but thought I would ask you guys! I know some people say weight loss isn't through exercise, but food. But I am trying to lose weight and tone up my body, a lot! I used to be 115 pounds 2 years ago and have gained a lot since then. Help! What are your thoughts? What am I doing wrong?I want to lose the last 27-20 pounds by August/September (of course I am being realistic here, I do not expect to lose this weight in 2 months.)
Thank you!
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Replies
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Are you weighing your food? Every single item in your meal? "Cups" are super inaccurate and you could be eating more than you think. If not, get a food scale and start weighing everything.
How many calories do your cheat meal and drinks consist of? You can totally wipe out a weeks worth of deficit with a cheat meal and drinks. It doesn't matter if you're eating 1200 calories 5 days, if you're eating/drinking 3000 calories on Friday and Saturday and blow your deficit for the week.0 -
Just from what I have learned over the years you would be better and probably get more benefit from changing you workout a little, I would go with a straight 30 minutes of strength training then finish with 35 minutes on the bike one day and either a walk or an elliptical trainer the next. Also make sure you are doing your strength training properly, I see a lot of people in our gym come in do a couple of reps and hen off to the next machine. To really get a good benefit from most of the machines you need to do at least three sets of 12 reps, per machine.0
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Have you ever logged your "cheat day" calories... Wondering if you are consuming more than you think every week?
Also if you are strength training every week, 5 times a week, the scale might move slower...
I have no idea but those are the factors that I noticed.0 -
Yes I do weigh my food. When I work out, I burn between 500-600 calories and that is with eating 1200 cals, so I am in a huge deficit those 5 sometimes 6 days. I would think one cheat meal wouldn't ruin 5 days of working out and clean eating. I have done it in the past and have it not make me gain. I am not big into junk food, my cheat is usually drinks with friends. My drinks are low sugar/low cal when I do have them one day/week ( think vodka tonic etc.) I normally don't eat much when I drink (so I can get buzzed and let lose and have fun with friends for that one day), usually after I am done drinking I will eat a small cheat meal. Think at 2am hamburger when I am going home. And most of the times I end up throwing up that night b/c I get sick sometimes.0
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NaturalNancy wrote: »Have you ever logged your "cheat day" calories... Wondering if you are consuming more than you think every week?
Also if you are strength training every week, 5 times a week, the scale might move slower...
I have no idea but those are the factors that I noticed.
Yes, if I am not lazy, the majority of the time I am logging my alcohol and/or sushi/cheat meals. I try to be as accountable as possible!0 -
Eating too little and working out too much can be unhealthy and make you feel bad, but it isn't going to make you lose weight more slowly, or stop you from losing weight. Do you log your "cheat" meals? Are they enough to where it can be putting a large dent in your weekly deficit?0
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I_Will_End_You wrote: »Eating too little and working out too much can be unhealthy and make you feel bad, but it isn't going to make you lose weight more slowly, or stop you from losing weight. Do you log your "cheat" meals? Are they enough to where it can be putting a large dent in your weekly deficit?
Yes, I am logging my cheat meals 99% of the time. Even logging my alcohol intake. Not sure with my size (5'3) if that means a slower weight loss since I am doing weight training combined with cardio.0 -
I would eat back at least part of your exercise calories for health reasons.
Can you try giving up the cheat meal and drinks for a couple weeks and seeing if the scale drops at all? When you don't have a ton to lose, every little calorie counts towards weight loss.
And you're right, diet is for weight loss, exercise is for health. You can lose weight by just eating at a deficit with no exercise.0 -
I_Will_End_You wrote: »Eating too little and working out too much can be unhealthy and make you feel bad, but it isn't going to make you lose weight more slowly, or stop you from losing weight. Do you log your "cheat" meals? Are they enough to where it can be putting a large dent in your weekly deficit?
Yes, I am logging my cheat meals 99% of the time. Even logging my alcohol intake. Not sure with my size (5'3) if that means a slower weight loss since I am doing weight training combined with cardio.
**I do not think they are large enough to be putting a dent (well I hope not). Like I said, the biggest thing I am doing is having a few drinks (maybe 5) with friends 1 night a week, NOT EVERY WEEK. I do not hog out on junk food before hand. I usually will go and grab a hamburger when we are headed home at 12am-1am. I wouldn't think this would be such a big impact on my week considering everything I am doing. Some days I do not even hit 1200 cals, maybe 1100. Ya know? Uhh..
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I_Will_End_You wrote: »Eating too little and working out too much can be unhealthy and make you feel bad, but it isn't going to make you lose weight more slowly, or stop you from losing weight. Do you log your "cheat" meals? Are they enough to where it can be putting a large dent in your weekly deficit?
Yes, I am logging my cheat meals 99% of the time. Even logging my alcohol intake. Not sure with my size (5'3) if that means a slower weight loss since I am doing weight training combined with cardio.
I will say that I don't think at you're size your burning 600 calories during your workout. I'm small in size too, and I'd have to bust my *kitten* pretty hard for much longer than an hour to burn 600 calories. It appears to be a mix of strength and cardio, your heart rate monitor isn't going to give you an accurate reading for strength training.
Opening your diary would be good if you want people to give you more advice. If you're positive your logs are accurate and you're in a deficit, I would just give it a couple more weeks and see if you start losing again. Could be water retention from working out and drinking regularly.0 -
I would eat back at least part of your exercise calories for health reasons.
Can you try giving up the cheat meal and drinks for a couple weeks and seeing if the scale drops at all? When you don't have a ton to lose, every little calorie counts towards weight loss.
And you're right, diet is for weight loss, exercise is for health. You can lose weight by just eating at a deficit with no exercise.
Yes, I can definitely ditch the cheat day/alochol. I did that the first 2 months of this year and saw nice results in terms of weight coming off. But I am not sure the closer I get to being in my BMI range for my height, the harder it will be.0 -
There is no way you're burning 500-600 calories doing that... sorry. It would require intense cardio for an hour to burn that much. Heart rate monitors are only accurate for steady cardio... not for an hour of different activities.
I'm 5'5" and 135 pounds and I burn 350-450 calories in 90 minutes of relatively fast spinning - just FYI.
I'm guessing you're just retaining water though (is your period due soon?) and the scale will move again soon.. if you're really eating 1200 calories... but with your cheat meals, you're probably not. Average your weekly intake and it will give you a better idea of how much you're really eating.0 -
How often do you weigh yourself?0
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I_Will_End_You wrote: »How often do you weigh yourself?
I try to do my official weigh in every 4 weeks, but I do sneak on the scale between those 4 week. I know I shouldn't and I probably will ditch doing that b/c it can be discouraging even though it's not always about the number. But for me it kind of is right now since I have gained weight the past 2 years. What would you suggest in terms of weighing yourself?0 -
There is no way you're burning 500-600 calories doing that... sorry. It would require intense cardio for an hour to burn that much. Heart rate monitors are only accurate for steady cardio... not for an hour of different activities.
I'm 5'5" and 135 pounds and I burn 350-450 calories in 90 minutes of relatively fast spinning - just FYI.
I'm guessing you're just retaining water though (is your period due soon?) and the scale will move again soon.. if you're really eating 1200 calories... but with your cheat meals, you're probably not. Average your weekly intake and it will give you a better idea of how much you're really eating.
I thought the same thing in terms of retaining water. That's why I am trying to stick this out for another 2 weeks and jump back on the scale. I have a Polar M400 which I know cant be 100? accurate, but with the cheststrap and comparing it to the fitbit, the Polar IMO is probably at least 90% accurate.
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There is no way you're burning 500-600 calories doing that... sorry. It would require intense cardio for an hour to burn that much. Heart rate monitors are only accurate for steady cardio... not for an hour of different activities.
I'm 5'5" and 135 pounds and I burn 350-450 calories in 90 minutes of relatively fast spinning - just FYI.
I'm guessing you're just retaining water though (is your period due soon?) and the scale will move again soon.. if you're really eating 1200 calories... but with your cheat meals, you're probably not. Average your weekly intake and it will give you a better idea of how much you're really eating.
I thought the same thing in terms of retaining water. That's why I am trying to stick this out for another 2 weeks and jump back on the scale. I have a Polar M400 which I know cant be 100? accurate, but with the cheststrap and comparing it to the fitbit, the Polar IMO is probably at least 90% accurate.
No it's only accurate for steady cardio, which is definitely not what you're doing. It way overestimates strength training, for example.
I'd say that you're probably burning 200 calories doing all that... You should still be losing though. Watch out for a day when you have to pee a lot and weigh the next day...0 -
Hi
As long as you're weighing your food and logging everything accurately, you will eventually see a loss. You can also be retaining water from your workout especially if you're doing heavy lifting (you didn't give details on your strength training)
I personally thing you're over estimating on cals burnt from your workout. A heart rate monitor is really only accurate for steady state cardio.0 -
I opened my diary. The first 2 weeks of March do not have anything b/c that's when I was ill and not working out and hardly eating. This past weekend was my bad cheat weekend, so I didn't log that b/c it was bad. But that's been the only "bad" weekend since I started in January. Thanks all. Just trying to figure out what I am doing wrong and what to change. Yesterday I updated my macros. Not an expert in that but did it through IIFYM.0
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Hi
As long as you're weighing your food and logging everything accurately, you will eventually see a loss. You can also be retaining water from your workout especially if you're doing heavy lifting (you didn't give details on your strength training)
I personally thing you're over estimating on cals burnt from your workout. A heart rate monitor is really only accurate for steady state cardio.
Even for a Polar watch? I heard those are the most accurate and why I stuck with that instead of keeping the fitbit I returned. Good to know. Do you log your weight training. I just do simple strength training with my own body weight and dumbbells.0 -
I'm 172lbs currently and to get a burn of 600 calories I need to do an intense 70-80 minutes of constant HIIT and superset strength training with no breaks and active rests (boxer shuffle). I think your burns are inflated and therefore your deficit lower. Newer smart watches with gym specific apps linked to HRM can be a lot more accurate, that's what I use. Prior to upgrading my burns were about double according to my HRM, not accurate at all. So your bigger burns combined with cheat meals/drinks are decreasing your deficit.
That and just changing your routine and hormones could be masking any losses.
I'd be curious to know too what your intake is for a week on average (can be seen under the nutrition tab).
As for weighing, I weigh daily and track the trends using a trending app, to take the fluctuations out. I'd be majorly disappointed if I only weighed once a month because there are days I can be up to 4lbs heavier just due to natural water weight fluctuations which would disguise a whole month of losses for me.0 -
I_Will_End_You wrote: »How often do you weigh yourself?
I try to do my official weigh in every 4 weeks, but I do sneak on the scale between those 4 week. I know I shouldn't and I probably will ditch doing that b/c it can be discouraging even though it's not always about the number. But for me it kind of is right now since I have gained weight the past 2 years. What would you suggest in terms of weighing yourself?
I weigh every day and chart this in Excel. When I hit a new low I log this into MFP. Daily weighing helps me not be bothered by normal fluctuations. I also learned I gain weight at ovulation as well as premenstrually.
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kshama2001 wrote: »I_Will_End_You wrote: »How often do you weigh yourself?
I try to do my official weigh in every 4 weeks, but I do sneak on the scale between those 4 week. I know I shouldn't and I probably will ditch doing that b/c it can be discouraging even though it's not always about the number. But for me it kind of is right now since I have gained weight the past 2 years. What would you suggest in terms of weighing yourself?
I weigh every day and chart this in Excel. When I hit a new low I log this into MFP. Daily weighing helps me not be bothered by normal fluctuations.
What is the benefit of weighing yourself everyday? I feel like I would be discouraged not seeing the weight loss. 0 -
I also weigh every day and use the Happy Scale app to log weight. I only record my weight on MFP when it's lower. I'm about your size, 5'2", 138 and I don't lose weight steadily. I usually go 2-3 weeks where the scale is up above my lowest weight. Then suddenly it will drop a bit for a few consecutive days.
Also, I average 1400-1500 calories and I'm losing at a rate of a little over a half pound a week. I didn't want to cut right down to 1200 because then I'd have no where to go as I get closer to my goal of 120.
Log everything accurately and be patient.0 -
1. Sore muscle can make you retain water
2. You can be building muscle while losing fat
3. Water weight can mask fat loss. Lyle Mcdonald has an article stating that he believes water can replace fat triglycerides in fat cells masking weight loss. Eventually you will get a "woosh" and lose the excess overnight.
I am currently in a local weight loss challenge. Despite huge deficits I got hung up at 190 and then again at 185 for 20 plus days. I am now 178. The last 7 lbs. were lost very rapidly. Just keep going and you will see the results.0 -
Question: Am I working out too much and eating too little?
You're logging too little, too inaccurately and drinking/eating too much. You aren't doing yourself any favours not acknowledging this fact.
And yes, recently I do have 1 cheat day/ week that consists of a few alcoholic drinks or a dinner when I am socializing with friends. But usually I get so sick I end up throwing it up that same night
Yes I do weigh my foodthe majority of the time I am logging my alcohol Yes, I am logging my cheat meals 99% of the time. Even logging my alcohol intake I do not think they are large enough to be putting a dent I usually will go and grab a hamburger when we are headed home at 12am-1am
I looked through your diary starting from January. I didn't see a single alcoholic drink or hamburger logged. Most of your weekends (Friday through Sunday) were unlogged. January had 13 unlogged days, February had 10 and March had 14 plus two days that looked incomplete to me.
Your entries look very generic to me and I can count on one hand the entries that look like they were weighed. Jax's salad macros don't add up. For a salad with cheese and romaine in it there should be fat and carbs in addition to the 20g of protein. Another salad entry had zero macros listed for the calories. Your chicken is *always* 3oz or 4oz on the nose? You're that precise when you weigh it out each time?
Use your food scale for *all* caloric solids. Save your measuring cups and tablespoons for caloric liquids only. Log everything every day. Do that and you should see the scale begin to move down again.
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Question: Am I working out too much and eating too little?
You're logging too little, too inaccurately and drinking/eating too much. You aren't doing yourself any favours not acknowledging this fact.
And yes, recently I do have 1 cheat day/ week that consists of a few alcoholic drinks or a dinner when I am socializing with friends. But usually I get so sick I end up throwing it up that same night
Yes I do weigh my foodthe majority of the time I am logging my alcohol Yes, I am logging my cheat meals 99% of the time. Even logging my alcohol intake I do not think they are large enough to be putting a dent I usually will go and grab a hamburger when we are headed home at 12am-1am
I looked through your diary starting from January. I didn't see a single alcoholic drink or hamburger logged. Most of your weekends (Friday through Sunday) were unlogged. January had 13 unlogged days, February had 10 and March had 14 plus two days that looked incomplete to me.
Your entries look very generic to me and I can count on one hand the entries that look like they were weighed. Jax's salad macros don't add up. For a salad with cheese and romaine in it there should be fat and carbs in addition to the 20g of protein. Another salad entry had zero macros listed for the calories. Your chicken is *always* 3oz or 4oz on the nose? You're that precise when you weigh it out each time?
Use your food scale for *all* caloric solids. Save your measuring cups and tablespoons for caloric liquids only. Log everything every day. Do that and you should see the scale begin to move down again.
I find myself not logging on the weekends, whether that has to do with my cheat day or what not. I am still getting used to this, just started in January. I think you are right that I am logging too little, too inaccurately, especially since the beginning of March when I derailed to due illness. January and February I went all month without alcohol. Maybe I will try that again. Thanks for your input
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Question: Am I working out too much and eating too little?
You're logging too little, too inaccurately and drinking/eating too much. You aren't doing yourself any favours not acknowledging this fact.
And yes, recently I do have 1 cheat day/ week that consists of a few alcoholic drinks or a dinner when I am socializing with friends. But usually I get so sick I end up throwing it up that same night
Yes I do weigh my foodthe majority of the time I am logging my alcohol Yes, I am logging my cheat meals 99% of the time. Even logging my alcohol intake I do not think they are large enough to be putting a dent I usually will go and grab a hamburger when we are headed home at 12am-1am
I looked through your diary starting from January. I didn't see a single alcoholic drink or hamburger logged. Most of your weekends (Friday through Sunday) were unlogged. January had 13 unlogged days, February had 10 and March had 14 plus two days that looked incomplete to me.
Your entries look very generic to me and I can count on one hand the entries that look like they were weighed. Jax's salad macros don't add up. For a salad with cheese and romaine in it there should be fat and carbs in addition to the 20g of protein. Another salad entry had zero macros listed for the calories. Your chicken is *always* 3oz or 4oz on the nose? You're that precise when you weigh it out each time?
Use your food scale for *all* caloric solids. Save your measuring cups and tablespoons for caloric liquids only. Log everything every day. Do that and you should see the scale begin to move down again.
I find myself not logging on the weekends
Annd there it is....
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Nothing wrong with alcohol but if you're not logging it you don't know how much you've consumed. A bottle of wine is about 500 calories for example, boom my daily deficit is gone all other things equal. Add in some calorie dense foods like fries/chips and burgers with buns and who knows where your intake could be at.
So we've solved the not very mysterious mystery. Log. Log accurately. Log absolutely everything that passes your lips as best you can. And make sure to use the most accurate entry, if you're making the salad, no generic user made entries, add a recipe with the builder or each ingredient to your log.
As for the question about daily weighing. It takes the power away from the scales for many people because it just becomes data and not the be all and end all to our week/month. I can see my fluctuations and know that the 4lbs I "gained" overnight wasn't an actual gain, it's just water/muscle repair. For others it's too obsessive and that's okay but either way, you need to be patient and using other means by which to rack progress (tape measure. clothing fit, fitness goals).1. Sore muscle can make you retain water
2. You can be building muscle while losing fat
3. Water weight can mask fat loss. Lyle Mcdonald has an article stating that he believes water can replace fat triglycerides in fat cells masking weight loss. Eventually you will get a "woosh" and lose the excess overnight.
I am currently in a local weight loss challenge. Despite huge deficits I got hung up at 190 and then again at 185 for 20 plus days. I am now 178. The last 7 lbs. were lost very rapidly. Just keep going and you will see the results.
The bolded isn't true. Aside from some minimal possible newbie gains, no-one is eating a deficit and gaining muscle. And certainly not enough to equal fat loss, building muscle, especially for women, is dang hard.0 -
Question: Am I working out too much and eating too little?
You're logging too little, too inaccurately and drinking/eating too much. You aren't doing yourself any favours not acknowledging this fact.
And yes, recently I do have 1 cheat day/ week that consists of a few alcoholic drinks or a dinner when I am socializing with friends. But usually I get so sick I end up throwing it up that same night
Yes I do weigh my foodthe majority of the time I am logging my alcohol Yes, I am logging my cheat meals 99% of the time. Even logging my alcohol intake I do not think they are large enough to be putting a dent I usually will go and grab a hamburger when we are headed home at 12am-1am
I looked through your diary starting from January. I didn't see a single alcoholic drink or hamburger logged. Most of your weekends (Friday through Sunday) were unlogged. January had 13 unlogged days, February had 10 and March had 14 plus two days that looked incomplete to me.
Your entries look very generic to me and I can count on one hand the entries that look like they were weighed. Jax's salad macros don't add up. For a salad with cheese and romaine in it there should be fat and carbs in addition to the 20g of protein. Another salad entry had zero macros listed for the calories. Your chicken is *always* 3oz or 4oz on the nose? You're that precise when you weigh it out each time?
Use your food scale for *all* caloric solids. Save your measuring cups and tablespoons for caloric liquids only. Log everything every day. Do that and you should see the scale begin to move down again.
Here is your answer. That and the fact that you are VASTLY overestimating your burn. Your bodyweight exercises will burn next to nothing, which leaves you with a half hour bike ride broken up into 5 mins another 5 mins and 20 mins. That does not add up to 600 calories!0 -
They say the smaller you are the slower you lose weight0
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