Should I bump up my activity level?
Options
alid8333
Posts: 233 Member
I've asked this question before. But my activity has increased and wanted others opinions. First of all I'm 5'3.5 and weigh 174 pounds. I've lost little over 22 pounds since January 4th.
Around 5 days a week I'm taking roughly around 11,500 steps (which does include 40 min of exercise) the other 2 days I take around 5500 to 7500 steps which may or may not include exercise.
With it being spring I'm outside doing yard work, walking my dogs and soon will be getting the pool running and re doing the entire back yard. I also clean my house every day as well. I don't log anything other than intentional exercise (cardio).
MyFitnessPal doesn't give me credit for my steps taken either, so the only credit I get for calories burned is my 40 to 60 min workouts 5 days a week.
I definitely don't feel sedentary anymore. My current settings are at sedentary with losing 1 pound a week which gives me a calorie allowance of 1330. I also only eat back maybe half of my exercise calories.
I've noticed the past couple weeks that I don't feel like I have the energy like I normally do when exercising. I have episodes where I feel weird but after I eat I feel fine. Also my weight loss has slowed down. I know I'm not over eating as I weigh all solids and measure all liquids, so I'm thinking I'm under eating and that's putting a damper on things..
Any advise would be appreciated.
Thanks
Around 5 days a week I'm taking roughly around 11,500 steps (which does include 40 min of exercise) the other 2 days I take around 5500 to 7500 steps which may or may not include exercise.
With it being spring I'm outside doing yard work, walking my dogs and soon will be getting the pool running and re doing the entire back yard. I also clean my house every day as well. I don't log anything other than intentional exercise (cardio).
MyFitnessPal doesn't give me credit for my steps taken either, so the only credit I get for calories burned is my 40 to 60 min workouts 5 days a week.
I definitely don't feel sedentary anymore. My current settings are at sedentary with losing 1 pound a week which gives me a calorie allowance of 1330. I also only eat back maybe half of my exercise calories.
I've noticed the past couple weeks that I don't feel like I have the energy like I normally do when exercising. I have episodes where I feel weird but after I eat I feel fine. Also my weight loss has slowed down. I know I'm not over eating as I weigh all solids and measure all liquids, so I'm thinking I'm under eating and that's putting a damper on things..
Any advise would be appreciated.
Thanks
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Replies
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Try some mild energy drinks like Emergen-C or Nune tabs. They give me a bunch of energy.0
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Based on steps alone you are active.
Too big of a deficit for too long of a time can have the effect you describe
Of course coffee/tea/energy drinks will help fight some of this.
Or.. sticking to a ~20% as opposed to ~35+% deficit...
You DO have your own data, right?
Approximately 84 days and 22lbs means a deficit of approximately 900 Cal a day or almost double what you're aiming for...4 -
Factually, you're not sedentary, and you're having some of the symptoms associated with chronic under-eating.
I think you know what to do already, and you don't need permission.3 -
Make sure you actually activate the steps synchronization on MFP.
Your weight loss slowing down is pretty normal though, as you're burning less calories now than when you were 22 lbs heavier.0 -
endlessfall16 wrote: »Try some mild energy drinks like Emergen-C or Nune tabs. They give me a bunch of energy.
I can't have any energy drinks etc because of my heart problems..
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Based on steps alone you are active.
Too big of a deficit for too long of a time can have the effect you describe
Of course coffee/tea/energy drinks will help fight some of this.
Or.. sticking to a ~20% as opposed to ~35+% deficit...
You DO have your own data, right?
Approximately 84 days and 22lbs means a deficit of approximately 900 Cal a day or almost double what you're aiming for...
I changed my activity level to lightly active at losing 1 pound a week. It now gives me a calories allowance of 1550. Should I still continue to eat back some of my exercise calories or no?
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Make sure you actually activate the steps synchronization on MFP.
Your weight loss slowing down is pretty normal though, as you're burning less calories now than when you were 22 lbs heavier.
It is activated. It shows how many steps I've taken but doesn't give me any extra calories for it.
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I've asked this question before. But my activity has increased and wanted others opinions. First of all I'm 5'3.5 and weigh 174 pounds. I've lost little over 22 pounds since January 4th.
Around 5 days a week I'm taking roughly around 11,500 steps (which does include 40 min of exercise) the other 2 days I take around 5500 to 7500 steps which may or may not include exercise.
With it being spring I'm outside doing yard work, walking my dogs and soon will be getting the pool running and re doing the entire back yard. I also clean my house every day as well. I don't log anything other than intentional exercise (cardio).
MyFitnessPal doesn't give me credit for my steps taken either, so the only credit I get for calories burned is my 40 to 60 min workouts 5 days a week.
I definitely don't feel sedentary anymore. My current settings are at sedentary with losing 1 pound a week which gives me a calorie allowance of 1330. I also only eat back maybe half of my exercise calories.
I've noticed the past couple weeks that I don't feel like I have the energy like I normally do when exercising. I have episodes where I feel weird but after I eat I feel fine. Also my weight loss has slowed down. I know I'm not over eating as I weigh all solids and measure all liquids, so I'm thinking I'm under eating and that's putting a damper on things..
Any advise would be appreciated.
Thanks
Congrats on your 22 pounds lost!
I had to edit because I misunderstood. I see you have your settings at 1 pound per week, but it sounds like you are losing faster than you had intended. Yes, I would increase your activity level and/or calorie intake. Eat your exercise calories back as well.
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Based on steps alone you are active.
Too big of a deficit for too long of a time can have the effect you describe
Of course coffee/tea/energy drinks will help fight some of this.
Or.. sticking to a ~20% as opposed to ~35+% deficit...
You DO have your own data, right?
Approximately 84 days and 22lbs means a deficit of approximately 900 Cal a day or almost double what you're aiming for...
I changed my activity level to lightly active at losing 1 pound a week. It now gives me a calories allowance of 1550. Should I still continue to eat back some of my exercise calories or no?
Of course - activity settings and exercise are separate and distinct items.
An alternative:
You could simply manually change your base calorie goal rather than tinker with activity settings.
Find that sweet spot where you aren't too hungry/tired and are losing at a sustainable rate.0 -
Based on steps alone you are active.
Too big of a deficit for too long of a time can have the effect you describe
Of course coffee/tea/energy drinks will help fight some of this.
Or.. sticking to a ~20% as opposed to ~35+% deficit...
You DO have your own data, right?
Approximately 84 days and 22lbs means a deficit of approximately 900 Cal a day or almost double what you're aiming for...
I changed my activity level to lightly active at losing 1 pound a week. It now gives me a calories allowance of 1550. Should I still continue to eat back some of my exercise calories or no?
Yep.0 -
I've asked this question before. But my activity has increased and wanted others opinions. First of all I'm 5'3.5 and weigh 174 pounds. I've lost little over 22 pounds since January 4th.
Around 5 days a week I'm taking roughly around 11,500 steps (which does include 40 min of exercise) the other 2 days I take around 5500 to 7500 steps which may or may not include exercise.
With it being spring I'm outside doing yard work, walking my dogs and soon will be getting the pool running and re doing the entire back yard. I also clean my house every day as well. I don't log anything other than intentional exercise (cardio).
MyFitnessPal doesn't give me credit for my steps taken either, so the only credit I get for calories burned is my 40 to 60 min workouts 5 days a week.
I definitely don't feel sedentary anymore. My current settings are at sedentary with losing 1 pound a week which gives me a calorie allowance of 1330. I also only eat back maybe half of my exercise calories.
I've noticed the past couple weeks that I don't feel like I have the energy like I normally do when exercising. I have episodes where I feel weird but after I eat I feel fine. Also my weight loss has slowed down. I know I'm not over eating as I weigh all solids and measure all liquids, so I'm thinking I'm under eating and that's putting a damper on things..
Any advise would be appreciated.
Thanks
Congrats on your 22 pounds lost!
You said you are losing a pound a week, which sounds sustainable. This, to me, sounds like you are eating enough.
If you increase your activity level, your weight loss will slow down, but you will be able to eat a bit more.
The choice is yours as to what is most sustainable for you.
Actually since my activity has increased my weight loss has become lower 1 pound loss in almost 3 weeks. It's hard to workout for 40 min without feeling weak. Then about 40 min after I eat I feel better. When I was only walking 5000 steps (exercise included) I feel my calories allowance was sustainable. But now that my activity has increased quite a bit I think I need a bit more based on how sluggish I feel.
0 -
I've asked this question before. But my activity has increased and wanted others opinions. First of all I'm 5'3.5 and weigh 174 pounds. I've lost little over 22 pounds since January 4th.
Around 5 days a week I'm taking roughly around 11,500 steps (which does include 40 min of exercise) the other 2 days I take around 5500 to 7500 steps which may or may not include exercise.
With it being spring I'm outside doing yard work, walking my dogs and soon will be getting the pool running and re doing the entire back yard. I also clean my house every day as well. I don't log anything other than intentional exercise (cardio).
MyFitnessPal doesn't give me credit for my steps taken either, so the only credit I get for calories burned is my 40 to 60 min workouts 5 days a week.
I definitely don't feel sedentary anymore. My current settings are at sedentary with losing 1 pound a week which gives me a calorie allowance of 1330. I also only eat back maybe half of my exercise calories.
I've noticed the past couple weeks that I don't feel like I have the energy like I normally do when exercising. I have episodes where I feel weird but after I eat I feel fine. Also my weight loss has slowed down. I know I'm not over eating as I weigh all solids and measure all liquids, so I'm thinking I'm under eating and that's putting a damper on things..
Any advise would be appreciated.
Thanks
Congrats on your 22 pounds lost!
You said you are losing a pound a week, which sounds sustainable. This, to me, sounds like you are eating enough.
If you increase your activity level, your weight loss will slow down, but you will be able to eat a bit more.
The choice is yours as to what is most sustainable for you.
Actually since my activity has increased my weight loss has become lower 1 pound loss in almost 3 weeks. It's hard to workout for 40 min without feeling weak. Then about 40 min after I eat I feel better. When I was only walking 5000 steps (exercise included) I feel my calories allowance was sustainable. But now that my activity has increased quite a bit I think I need a bit more based on how sluggish I feel.
I had to edit because I thought you were losing a pound a week now, but it sounds like you were losing faster than intended.
Could your tiredness have to do with your heart issue?0 -
I've asked this question before. But my activity has increased and wanted others opinions. First of all I'm 5'3.5 and weigh 174 pounds. I've lost little over 22 pounds since January 4th.
Around 5 days a week I'm taking roughly around 11,500 steps (which does include 40 min of exercise) the other 2 days I take around 5500 to 7500 steps which may or may not include exercise.
With it being spring I'm outside doing yard work, walking my dogs and soon will be getting the pool running and re doing the entire back yard. I also clean my house every day as well. I don't log anything other than intentional exercise (cardio).
MyFitnessPal doesn't give me credit for my steps taken either, so the only credit I get for calories burned is my 40 to 60 min workouts 5 days a week.
I definitely don't feel sedentary anymore. My current settings are at sedentary with losing 1 pound a week which gives me a calorie allowance of 1330. I also only eat back maybe half of my exercise calories.
I've noticed the past couple weeks that I don't feel like I have the energy like I normally do when exercising. I have episodes where I feel weird but after I eat I feel fine. Also my weight loss has slowed down. I know I'm not over eating as I weigh all solids and measure all liquids, so I'm thinking I'm under eating and that's putting a damper on things..
Any advise would be appreciated.
Thanks
Congrats on your 22 pounds lost!
You said you are losing a pound a week, which sounds sustainable. This, to me, sounds like you are eating enough.
If you increase your activity level, your weight loss will slow down, but you will be able to eat a bit more.
The choice is yours as to what is most sustainable for you.
Actually since my activity has increased my weight loss has become lower 1 pound loss in almost 3 weeks. It's hard to workout for 40 min without feeling weak. Then about 40 min after I eat I feel better. When I was only walking 5000 steps (exercise included) I feel my calories allowance was sustainable. But now that my activity has increased quite a bit I think I need a bit more based on how sluggish I feel.
I had to edit because I thought you were losing a pound a week now, but it sounds like you were losing faster than intended.
Could your tiredness have to do with your heart issue?
Nope not related. This isn't a tired feeling it's a weak and shakey feeling. I check my blood sugar and it's low but still within normal limits.
Yeah when I first started I had my settings at sedentary at losing 2 pounds a week which gave me a calorie allowance of 1200. The first couple weeks I lost around 8 to 10 pounds. But I imagine that was water weight. My heart doctor suggested I bump my calories up because he said it was to low. So I changed it to losing 1lb a week. I was steady losing about 1 to 2 pounds a week up until my activity increased. That's when I started having issues with not having the fuel to workout at my full potential. I do eat breakfast and I workout usually within a hour after I eat. I'll feel great the first 10 min but then my legs start getting shakey and it's a struggle to get through the remainder.
I just got off the phone with my doctor and he said it sounds like I'm undereating since my activity has went up considerably. He said to bump my calories up and on days that I'm taking 11,500 steps to eat all my calories including half of my exercise calories. On days that I may only take 7500 steps just eat all my calorie allowance and no exercise calories. That way it kinda evens itself out.
Told me to try this for a few weeks and see how I feel and if my weight loss goes back to how it should.
He said that at 11,500 steps I would actually be considered active and even on my days of walking 5500 to 7500 steps that is considered lightly active. He said sedentary is someone who sits all day but still carries on daily activities of cleaning, mowing the lawn etc. but doesn't exercise. He said since I'm exercising 5 days a week for 40 to 60 min and all the daily living of cleaning etc already puts me at lightly active just because I exercise.
He said the sedentary option is basically for ones who can't or don't want to exercise.
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Based on steps alone you are active.
Too big of a deficit for too long of a time can have the effect you describe
Of course coffee/tea/energy drinks will help fight some of this.
Or.. sticking to a ~20% as opposed to ~35+% deficit...
You DO have your own data, right?
Approximately 84 days and 22lbs means a deficit of approximately 900 Cal a day or almost double what you're aiming for...
I changed my activity level to lightly active at losing 1 pound a week. It now gives me a calories allowance of 1550. Should I still continue to eat back some of my exercise calories or no?
yes, still eat back half but just make sure that it works out to netting 1550...0 -
He said since I'm exercising 5 days a week for 40 to 60 min and all the daily living of cleaning etc already puts me at lightly active just because I exercise.
He hasn't got this right. They are separate - how much you exercise is nothing to do with your activity settings. I'm guessing he is thinking you are using a TDEE site where activity and exercise all get lumped in together - MFP isn't a TDEE site.
If I was setting up a new account on here I would choose sedentary (desk job) even though I exercise up to 10 hours a week. That's why you log and get credited with extra calories after you exercise.
My son on the other hand is a builder - he would be an active or highly active activity setting even if he did zero intentional exercise.
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i would also chime in with that as you have lost a good bit of weight you may want ot consider running a strength training regimen to maintain some LBM and maybe get some initial newbie gains...this is assuming that your DR would clear you for it due to your heart condition...maybe something like strong lifts 5x5 with cardio on off days...just a thought..0
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He said since I'm exercising 5 days a week for 40 to 60 min and all the daily living of cleaning etc already puts me at lightly active just because I exercise.
He hasn't got this right. They are separate - how much you exercise is nothing to do with your activity settings. I'm guessing he is thinking you are using a TDEE site where activity and exercise all get lumped in together - MFP isn't a TDEE site.
If I was setting up a new account on here I would choose sedentary (desk job) even though I exercise up to 10 hours a week. That's why you log and get credited with extra calories after you exercise.
My son on the other hand is a builder - he would be an active or highly active activity setting even if he did zero intentional exercise.
[/quote
He probably was thinking that. Oh well I put settings at lightly active at losing 1 pound. I'll see how that goes for a couple weeks0
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