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Low BMR, not losing weight, depressed
Annfurtado
Posts: 4 Member
OK so I'm 63, always been sporty and fit but gaining weight (5ft 4ins, 147 lbs) so a month ago I started MFP. 1200 calories a day (BMR is 1299) and increased my exercise.
I go to the gym 3 times a week and do 5/600 calorie sessions, also vigorous horse ride once a week, fast cycle ride twice /three times a week plus general cycling in and out of town, do core work and tai chi at home. I think I have actually put a couple of pounds on, no cheating! One thing I have noticed is that the analyses show I eat more carbs despite not quite meaning to. I'm mostly veggie, have been all my life.
My pulse is around 50 bpm and I have a slow metabolism, tend to have low basal temperature. Frustrated and depressed. Anyone any thoughts?
I go to the gym 3 times a week and do 5/600 calorie sessions, also vigorous horse ride once a week, fast cycle ride twice /three times a week plus general cycling in and out of town, do core work and tai chi at home. I think I have actually put a couple of pounds on, no cheating! One thing I have noticed is that the analyses show I eat more carbs despite not quite meaning to. I'm mostly veggie, have been all my life.
My pulse is around 50 bpm and I have a slow metabolism, tend to have low basal temperature. Frustrated and depressed. Anyone any thoughts?
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Replies
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I can almost guarantee you are not burning that many calories with your gym work. Try only eating back half your exercise calories and that may do it. If that doesn't work after a few weeks then don't eat back any of them. Also, make sure your logging is tight and you're weighing everything.8
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Side effect of starting exercise is weight gain - water weight.
I will suggest if you already have problems staying warm, don't make the diet extreme - 500 cal deficit is decent now and 250 when 10 to go, make your daily activity level honest (sedentary is literally a bump on a log 7 days a week outside of exercise - are you really?), and careful eating the calories from some of those workouts logged because they have no intensity level.
The 1200 is of course for your non-exercise days, which sounds like is rare - so your eating level should always be more than that when you do more.
Even seasonal changes cause water weight changes, more time outside, more active, sweating more perhaps.
Otherwise confirm you are logging food per weight eaten (calories is per gram), not by volume (cups & spoons).1 -
Also, if your basal body temp is low have a FULL thyroid panel run.2
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I feel your frustration . I'm 56 & moderately active too , strength train , yoga & jogging etc.. I have found that since menopause 3- 4 years ago it seems my fat redistributed to my midsection & Losing weight has become much more difficult despite my efforts . I feel like I have to almost starve myself & workout more . I eat clean about 85 -90% but I certainly don't go all out & eat everything fatty . I'm just curious if any other menopausal women out there are having the same struggles & if they have any advice .1 -
I'm not sure what you are calling a "vigorous horse ride" but keep in mind that what is vigorous for the horse may not be vigorous for the rider. If you are trail riding it probably isn't vigorous. Vigorous riding would be something like barrel racing. Even so, if you are doing the exercise you say you are, I find it doubtful that you are only eating 1,200 calories per day. It is likely a case that you are eating more than you think.3
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As with all those threads that has this issue, I ask, how are you measure your food, and are not making sure the entries are accurate not using any generic or homemade entries? It is quite likely you are eating more than you think you are.1
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TimothyFish wrote: »I'm not sure what you are calling a "vigorous horse ride" but keep in mind that what is vigorous for the horse may not be vigorous for the rider. If you are trail riding it probably isn't vigorous. Vigorous riding would be something like barrel racing. Even so, if you are doing the exercise you say you are, I find it doubtful that you are only eating 1,200 calories per day. It is likely a case that you are eating more than you think.
As an equestrian, I can guarantee you that riding (other than at a walk) requires a surprising amount of physical exertion, most of which involves your core and leg muscles. It's nowhere near as 'easy' as it looks.6 -
If your BMR is 1299 and you have what, 10-20 pounds to lose? Set your Goals as "Lose 1/2 pound per week."
Eating below your BMR isn't a good plan when you don't have much to lose. On those exercise days, eat 200-300 calories more, not 600 more. Log all your food, use a food scale. With not much to lose it's really important to have accurate records so you know what and when to tweak.3 -
I just wanted to add. I'm 63. I lost 70 pounds ten years ago. I'm 5'7". The last 20 pounds are difficult, and I had to keep really tight records and logs. I ate nearly every meal from home - still do, that way I control my calories. I just use a flat 300 calories per hour for moderate exercise regardless of what kind of exercise it is. I couldn't get 100% accuracy on exercise calories so I came to that number by doing a year of spreadsheet numbers. It really is your experiment to run - but I found that the numbers on MyFitnessPal worked for the most part as long as I was honest and consistent.2
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Many thanks for these helpful replies. Re the horse riding, I'm not an American who sits on a horse while it ambles along. What I do is an hour in an indoor school doing non stop trotting and cantering and schoolwork, that's getting the horse to circle, go round poles, stop,go, jump and I can assure you its damn hard work!
Overall I guess when I was younger the weight just fell off if I cut my food intake a bit or went for a couple of extra runs. I seem to be in new territory now!1 -
snickerscharlie wrote: »TimothyFish wrote: »I'm not sure what you are calling a "vigorous horse ride" but keep in mind that what is vigorous for the horse may not be vigorous for the rider. If you are trail riding it probably isn't vigorous. Vigorous riding would be something like barrel racing. Even so, if you are doing the exercise you say you are, I find it doubtful that you are only eating 1,200 calories per day. It is likely a case that you are eating more than you think.
As an equestrian, I can guarantee you that riding (other than at a walk) requires a surprising amount of physical exertion, most of which involves your core and leg muscles. It's nowhere near as 'easy' as it looks.
I was an equestrian, too. Even vigorous riding does not burn all that many calories.
It's a bit like weight lifting where there's lots of perceived effort, little calorie burn during the exercise. And, unlike weight lifting, riding doesn't cause a bunch of muscle microtears, so you don't use much fuel for repairs.2 -
Annfurtado wrote: »Many thanks for these helpful replies. Re the horse riding, I'm not an American who sits on a horse while it ambles along. What I do is an hour in an indoor school doing non stop trotting and cantering and schoolwork, that's getting the horse to circle, go round poles, stop,go, jump and I can assure you its damn hard work!
Overall I guess when I was younger the weight just fell off if I cut my food intake a bit or went for a couple of extra runs. I seem to be in new territory now!
That's down to the riding discipline, not so much someone's nationality.
I assure you that plenty of American equestrians in the hunter/jumper disciplines follow a similar method of training to what you describe.3 -
Annfurtado wrote: »Re the horse riding, I'm not an American who sits on a horse while it ambles along.
Horses don't amble in other countries?7 -
Annfurtado wrote: »Many thanks for these helpful replies. Re the horse riding, I'm not an American who sits on a horse while it ambles along. What I do is an hour in an indoor school doing non stop trotting and cantering and schoolwork, that's getting the horse to circle, go round poles, stop,go, jump and I can assure you its damn hard work!
Overall I guess when I was younger the weight just fell off if I cut my food intake a bit or went for a couple of extra runs. I seem to be in new territory now!
I was not aware that Americans were lazy equestrians.3 -
I'm not an American who sits on a horse while it ambles along.
Yeah, that was an unnecessary dig. What does that even mean? That American horses are lazy? I don't even.3 -
I'm pointing back up thread to the 5-600 calorie gym burns. I think that needs closer attention. I burned 600 exercise cals yesterday but I had to hike 4.5 miles, run 2.5 on the treadmill and then bike vigorously for 20 minutes to do so. What are you doing in the gym to get those figures?
Also, former equitation type equestrian here too, yes it's not passive but it's not burning much worth logging in my opinion.0 -
cmriverside wrote: »Yeah, that was an unnecessary dig. What does that even mean? That American horses are lazy? I don't even.
American horses must sit in front of the TV eating junk food and drinking beer.
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snickerscharlie wrote: »TimothyFish wrote: »I'm not sure what you are calling a "vigorous horse ride" but keep in mind that what is vigorous for the horse may not be vigorous for the rider. If you are trail riding it probably isn't vigorous. Vigorous riding would be something like barrel racing. Even so, if you are doing the exercise you say you are, I find it doubtful that you are only eating 1,200 calories per day. It is likely a case that you are eating more than you think.
As an equestrian, I can guarantee you that riding (other than at a walk) requires a surprising amount of physical exertion, most of which involves your core and leg muscles. It's nowhere near as 'easy' as it looks.
I was an equestrian, too. Even vigorous riding does not burn all that many calories.
It's a bit like weight lifting where there's lots of perceived effort, little calorie burn during the exercise. And, unlike weight lifting, riding doesn't cause a bunch of muscle microtears, so you don't use much fuel for repairs.
Oh, I recognize that and didn't intend to imply that it burns a lot of calories.
My comment was more to offset the common misunderstanding that "the horse does all the work."
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Horseback riding is considered isometric, kind of like holding a plank--not that it's not difficult, but it simply does not burn calories at the same rate as either aerobic/cardiovascular work or traditional weightlifting. It does, however, help to build/strengthen muscle mass.1
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Annfurtado wrote: »OK so I'm 63, always been sporty and fit but gaining weight (5ft 4ins, 147 lbs) so a month ago I started MFP. 1200 calories a day (BMR is 1299) and increased my exercise.
I go to the gym 3 times a week and do 5/600 calorie sessions, also vigorous horse ride once a week, fast cycle ride twice /three times a week plus general cycling in and out of town, do core work and tai chi at home. I think I have actually put a couple of pounds on, no cheating! One thing I have noticed is that the analyses show I eat more carbs despite not quite meaning to. I'm mostly veggie, have been all my life.
My pulse is around 50 bpm and I have a slow metabolism, tend to have low basal temperature. Frustrated and depressed. Anyone any thoughts?
I'm a gym rat. 61 years old. Low resting heart rate. Always exercised a lot. But I am losing.
Two things:
1) Make sure you are not overestimating your calorie burn. What it is that you are doing, that is burning 500-600 calories?
2) Are you weighing and logging EVERYTHING? Are you being honest with yourself? Because I tell you, I've been there. It's really easy to tell yourself that you are not cheating. It's impossible to make your body believe you, if you are.
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snickerscharlie wrote: »snickerscharlie wrote: »TimothyFish wrote: »I'm not sure what you are calling a "vigorous horse ride" but keep in mind that what is vigorous for the horse may not be vigorous for the rider. If you are trail riding it probably isn't vigorous. Vigorous riding would be something like barrel racing. Even so, if you are doing the exercise you say you are, I find it doubtful that you are only eating 1,200 calories per day. It is likely a case that you are eating more than you think.
As an equestrian, I can guarantee you that riding (other than at a walk) requires a surprising amount of physical exertion, most of which involves your core and leg muscles. It's nowhere near as 'easy' as it looks.
I was an equestrian, too. Even vigorous riding does not burn all that many calories.
It's a bit like weight lifting where there's lots of perceived effort, little calorie burn during the exercise. And, unlike weight lifting, riding doesn't cause a bunch of muscle microtears, so you don't use much fuel for repairs.
Oh, I recognize that and didn't intend to imply that it burns a lot of calories.
My comment was more to offset the common misunderstanding that "the horse does all the work."
Gotcha. Yes, it's more like 'the rider makes the horse actually work', unless the rider is lucky enough to ride a horse that is both a natural at their sport and that loves doing it. Then, all you have to do is point them in the right direction and not get in their way 0 -
Annfurtado wrote: »Many thanks for these helpful replies. Re the horse riding, I'm not an American who sits on a horse while it ambles along. What I do is an hour in an indoor school doing non stop trotting and cantering and schoolwork, that's getting the horse to circle, go round poles, stop,go, jump and I can assure you its damn hard work!
Overall I guess when I was younger the weight just fell off if I cut my food intake a bit or went for a couple of extra runs. I seem to be in new territory now!
I will be certain to inform my mare that her dressage and jumping work are to be called "ambling along" from now on.
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Annfurtado wrote: »OK so I'm 63, always been sporty and fit but gaining weight (5ft 4ins, 147 lbs) so a month ago I started MFP. 1200 calories a day (BMR is 1299) and increased my exercise.
I go to the gym 3 times a week and do 5/600 calorie sessions, also vigorous horse ride once a week, fast cycle ride twice /three times a week plus general cycling in and out of town, do core work and tai chi at home. I think I have actually put a couple of pounds on, no cheating! One thing I have noticed is that the analyses show I eat more carbs despite not quite meaning to. I'm mostly veggie, have been all my life.
My pulse is around 50 bpm and I have a slow metabolism, tend to have low basal temperature. Frustrated and depressed. Anyone any thoughts?
what exactly are you doing to burn 500-600 calories per session at the gym??0 -
I jog on the treadmill at 5.5mph/gradient 2/2.5 for 25 minutes with some high intensity minutes interspersed and some cool down time, then 20-30 minutes on an eliptical trainer, then weights machines and floor work doing crunches, squats etc.
Something the poster above said about riding made me think of those cowboy films where the riders sit on great big comfy armchair saddles with a loose rein and they flap their legs a bit and the horse just goes. Riding a school horse requires a lot more effort than riding your own or just going for a hack in the country. There is no let up and there's lots of core involved.0 -
caholtz1960 wrote: »I feel your frustration . I'm 56 & moderately active too , strength train , yoga & jogging etc.. I have found that since menopause 3- 4 years ago it seems my fat redistributed to my midsection & Losing weight has become much more difficult despite my efforts . I feel like I have to almost starve myself & workout more . I eat clean about 85 -90% but I certainly don't go all out & eat everything fatty . I'm just curious if any other menopausal women out there are having the same struggles & if they have any advice .
Most women, unless they are actively building muscle, lose lean mass starting in their 30's. For both genders, it becomes more prevalent after 50, which is why many women may notice that the onset of menopause may seem like the culprit. I doubt the changing hormones help with weight loss, but I think a lot of it is due to an increase in being sedentary, a lack of strength-building exercise and eating adequate protein. Loss of lean mass means your body needs fewer calories.
In addition to the sarcopenia, we can also lose height as we age (though generally later than the muscle loss begins), which also impacts our TDEE/BMR. Another bummer.
There's info on sarcopenia here and https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3940510/.
Maybe look at your workouts. Are you pushing yourself when strength training? What I see at the gym is women (in general) "strength training" with 5 pound dumbbells as opposed to actually strength training with compound lifts and heavier, more challenging weights. I think most women underestimate themselves and what they're capable of and many trainers do as well. Especially when women start off with "I don't want to get bulky."
Maybe it's time to challenge yourself in a different way. New routines, heavier weights, different yoga poses. Yoga has been great for me--I'm hitting my one year-iversary at the end of the month. I take a 90 minute class 4-ish times a week and in my mid-40's have lost a lot of body fat since beginning. I'm in maintenance and my clothes are looser. I am dripping with sweat at the end of the classes. Especially with all the inversions. Maybe try crossfit? I'd done some stand up paddle boarding and holy ab workout batman! I've been on a surf board, but did more swimming than surfing. Bootcamp? Snowboarding? Skiing?
Is your logging as tight as can be? Those calories are sneaky devils and can sometimes be tricky to measure correctly. Especially the pre-packaged ones.1 -
Re the individuals who dont think horseback riding requires much effort or burns calories .... there is a difference between sitting on a horse and being carried along and riding a horse with legs and core engaged. As well, there is a difference between working in a ring and going cross country at speed, again engaged and working with your horse not just acting as baggage. Riding at a trot or canter coming down gently by using your core and leg muscles with the horses rhythm is not the same as being thrown up and down and hitting the horses back. Not throwing stones because when I get tired I definitely turn into a lump of potatoes on his back. When I ride properly, I feel it in my thighs and core. When I ride incorrectly I feel it in my arms and neck. Horseback riding us the same as anything else. To get the most benefit it has to be done properly.2
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