What should my exercise routine be?

amandarubenstein
amandarubenstein Posts: 1 Member
edited November 19 in Fitness and Exercise
I'm 5'4 and 168 lbs. I've been using my Fitbit One to keep track of my calories burned every day but it seems that even when I exercise (usually treadmill and stair climber for ~45 minutes) my Fitbit still says I'm only burning an average of 1700 calories a day. Is this accurate? If so what should I be doing at the gym to burn more calories? I rarely have time to be there for longer than 45 minutes and I just don't have the knowledge to know what the best routine for me would be. I'm trying to lose about 30-40 lbs.

Replies

  • yoherbs421
    yoherbs421 Posts: 160 Member
    Well just realize your body burns more calories while active despite your fitbit. 45 mins is a decent amount of time to hammer out some reps. I cant be too sure but I think lifting heavy weight > moderate pace steady state cardio. You dont need barbells and dumbbells you could use machines for leg and upper body work.
  • markswife1992
    markswife1992 Posts: 262 Member
    i would think burning 1700 calories in a day is really good. i am not familiar with fitBit, but you could add weight training in there just for good measure. i love to do "machines" at the gym for weight lifting, as well as lifting barbells & dumbells.
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    What activity level are you set on MFP?
  • rheddmobile
    rheddmobile Posts: 6,840 Member
    So how many calories are you consuming at present, and are you gaining / losing / maintaining weight?

    There's been a recent study which found that Fitbit could be wildly inaccurate at estimate calorie burn. I would expect a 168 lb person who does 45 minutes of cardio and is reasonably active to have a total energy expenditure of more than 1700 / day. How active are you apart from the gym? How intense are your workouts? Steady state low intensity cardio doesn't actually help weight loss all that much.
  • jennybearlv
    jennybearlv Posts: 1,519 Member
    As long as you are eating less than 1700 calories you will lose weight. It takes a 3500 calorie difference over time to lose 1 pound. So, if you were to eat 1200 calories every day you would lose one pound every week. 1700-1200=500, 500*7 days=3500 calories. though you might want to eat more than that and lose a little slower. Also, remember that activity trackers are just estimates. My Garmin underestimates my burn by about a half pound a week. The best way to figure out how much you are burning is to track your weight loss and calories eaten for a few weeks.

    If you like what you are doing in the gym, keep doing it. If you are looking to burn more calories increase the pace, intensity, or time. I'm a big fan of strength training. I think it makes us ladies look younger and a appear slimmer at a higher weight, and higher weight means you get to eat more food!

This discussion has been closed.

Categories