Am I way underestimating my calorie burn?

shesthetype
shesthetype Posts: 45 Member
edited December 3 in Fitness and Exercise
Hey guys, hoping for some advice before I literally disappear! I've lost 70kgs and now weigh 55kgs (which is about 122lbs). I used to do heaps of cardio to lose the weight but now instead I do weight lifting routines 5 to 6 days per week with a few HIIT exercises thrown in there. I eat about 2,500 calories per day or 3000 on treat day. The problem is that my weight loss has slowed right down but I'm still losing bit by bit and as a result, my face looks very gaunt even though my body is very toned and muscular. I know I'm eating heaps (very little refined sugar but lots of healthy fat like nuts, avocado, etc) so I can only assume that I'm way underestimating how many calories I'm burning from my workouts. I'm logging 30 to 45 minutes of weight lifting as 200 to 250 calories burned, is that less than I'm likely to be burning? I get sweaty and breathless during workouts and I lift as heavy as I can without ruining my form. I also do cleaning for work and I clean a house each day for 2 to 2.5hrs which I know would also burn calories but I have no clue how much so I just log it as 150 to 200 calories (I do full cleans ie bathrooms, kitchen, vacuuming, mopping etc). Do you think I'm logging less calories than I should be, or do I just have a crazy fast metabolism now that's stuck in weight loss mode? I'd love some advice because I don't want to get too scrawny and look sick :( Thanks for any help!

Replies

  • sammyliftsandeats
    sammyliftsandeats Posts: 2,421 Member
    How did you get your numbers? Maybe you have a higher TDEE than originally thought and are accidentally under eating.

    Or maybe you are under-logging?
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    It's trail and error. Bump up your calorie intake and see if your weight loss stops. Keep tweaking until it does. Congrats on your weight loss.
  • shesthetype
    shesthetype Posts: 45 Member
    samanthaluangphixay wrote: »
    How did you get your numbers? Maybe you have a higher TDEE than originally thought and are accidentally under eating.

    Or maybe you are under-logging?

    I've crunched the numbers with my TDE in about 5 different online calculators lol. They all come back with around 2500 for someone of my height and weight who is active. I also clean houses each day for 2 to 2.5hrs which I'm sure burns lots of calories.
  • MidlifeMe
    MidlifeMe Posts: 4 Member
    Do you have a heart rate monitor? You can wear that during exercise to get a more precise calorie burn report. I've done vigorous weight training and burned 500 calories in 45 minutes (at 145 pounds). And HIIT burns even more for the time. From your description, I'd guess you are burning more than you estimate.
  • shesthetype
    shesthetype Posts: 45 Member
    MidlifeMe wrote: »
    Do you have a heart rate monitor? You can wear that during exercise to get a more precise calorie burn report. I've done vigorous weight training and burned 500 calories in 45 minutes (at 145 pounds). And HIIT burns even more for the time. From your description, I'd guess you are burning more than you estimate.

    I want a FitBit or similar so badly! I need to save money to buy one, I think it would help me a lot!
  • lshurland
    lshurland Posts: 15 Member
    So I wore my Apple Watch during my CrossFit workout and it said I burnt about 200 cals. My wife wore here MoTo watch and it was about the same. I think the thing to remember is weightlifting means you burn cals well after your workout. Unlike cardio which the burn stops a couple hours after. Your estimate is probably close to correct.
  • kathrynjean_
    kathrynjean_ Posts: 428 Member
    edited August 2016
    MidlifeMe wrote: »
    Do you have a heart rate monitor? You can wear that during exercise to get a more precise calorie burn report. I've done vigorous weight training and burned 500 calories in 45 minutes (at 145 pounds). And HIIT burns even more for the time. From your description, I'd guess you are burning more than you estimate.

    Nope, this is incorrect. HRMs are really only meant for steady state cardio and will give you an inaccurate reading for both HIIT and lifting.

    OP, I think really all you can do is wait it out and see. Track carefully and if you continue to lose, bump up your cals. Start by Increasing 100 calories per day. At the end of the day, all these calculations are just guestimations and the real proof is whether you are gaining, losing, or maintaining weight.
  • medic2038
    medic2038 Posts: 434 Member
    There's some articles out there about people who have lost a considerable amount of weight, have a very different maintenance level than someone that's naturally that same weight.
    A fitbit would be next to useless for weight training, or mostly any other training goal (except walking around more per day or monitoring your sleep).

    Basically you'll have to adjust your intake over a while until you get it to where you want to be. Even then, your body doesn't always cooperate with fat loss. Whenever I adjust my calories I usually give it 2-3 weeks minimum, since there's so many variables that can cause scale stalls/gains.
  • piperdown44
    piperdown44 Posts: 958 Member
    shesthetype wrote: »
    samanthaluangphixay wrote: »
    How did you get your numbers? Maybe you have a higher TDEE than originally thought and are accidentally under eating.

    Or maybe you are under-logging?

    I've crunched the numbers with my TDE in about 5 different online calculators lol. They all come back with around 2500 for someone of my height and weight who is active. I also clean houses each day for 2 to 2.5hrs which I'm sure burns lots of calories.

    Even the best TDEE calculators are only an educated guess.
    You use that number as a starting point and go from there. Add calories slowly, like an extra 100 a day (so 2600 for you each day for 2 weeks) and wait 2 weeks to see how the scale is going. If you've still lost after 2 weeks (and, really, give it 2 weeks) then add another 100 calories. Keep doing this until you stabilize.
    Seriously, it can take months to fine tune your TDEE and realize that can change based on age, activity level, LBM, etc.

  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    What is your goal exactly?
    If you want to lose weight- and you are still losing then you're on the right path.

    If you don't want to lose any more- then eat more. it's a pretty self correcting problem.

    I highly doubt your underestimate your calorie burn- it's far more likely for people to OVER estimate their calorie burn and UNDER estimate food than the other way around.
  • shesthetype
    shesthetype Posts: 45 Member
    JoRocka wrote: »
    What is your goal exactly?
    If you want to lose weight- and you are still losing then you're on the right path.

    If you don't want to lose any more- then eat more. it's a pretty self correcting problem.

    I highly doubt your underestimate your calorie burn- it's far more likely for people to OVER estimate their calorie burn and UNDER estimate food than the other way around.

    My goal was to lose 70kgs and I managed that. Now my goal is to build muscle tone and keep my weight stable :) I'd rather be strong and athletic looking than scrawny.

    I guess I'm surprised that 2500 to 3000 isn't enough to maintain for a small framed woman. Even with weight lifting and a physical job it kind of surprised me. I thought anything over 3000 calories per day was more for men or people who are professional athletes lol. I'm very ignorant about all of this stuff so I'm trying to learn and educate myself :)
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    Just keep it simple - if you are losing weight when you don't want to be the answer is to eat more.

    Bump up your calories until your weight stabilises in your preferred maintenance range.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    MidlifeMe wrote: »
    Do you have a heart rate monitor? You can wear that during exercise to get a more precise calorie burn report. I've done vigorous weight training and burned 500 calories in 45 minutes (at 145 pounds). And HIIT burns even more for the time. From your description, I'd guess you are burning more than you estimate.

    You can't use a HRM for lifting
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    sijomial wrote: »
    Just keep it simple - if you are losing weight when you don't want to be the answer is to eat more.

    Bump up your calories until your weight stabilises in your preferred maintenance range.

    This
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