Am I working out enough?

fitness_acc
fitness_acc Posts: 13 Member
edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
Right now I weight about 80KG - I am 5"6.

I go to the gym 4-5 a week.

I start by using the bike, level 4, fo 30 mins:
- about 7-8 miles
- 120 calories burnt

I then use the machines (chest press, calf press and x2 for hips).

Then I run/jog for 20-30 mins (I am trying to build up to 5K).

I also go to a gym class for legs, stomach and butt once a week which kills me haha.

Should I make any adjustments?

My goal weight for now is 60KG.

Replies

  • jayemes
    jayemes Posts: 865 Member
    Weight loss means eating less than you burn. Are you weighing and logging all your food?
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    Enough for what?

    The answer is going to be individual based on your fitness goals.

    If you're asking if you're working out enough to reach your goal weight, that's going to depend more on the calories you're consuming. You could lose weight on that amount of exercise if you're in a calorie deficit. If you aren't in a deficit, no amount of exercise will result in weight loss.
  • fitness_acc
    fitness_acc Posts: 13 Member
    edited September 2017
    jayemes wrote: »
    Weight loss means eating less than you burn. Are you weighing and logging all your food?

    I am, I eat about 1000 calories on days I don't workout and 1200 on days I do.
    Enough for what?

    The answer is going to be individual based on your fitness goals.

    Yes this is based on my goal weight.
  • fitness_acc
    fitness_acc Posts: 13 Member
    jayemes wrote: »
    It's not a good idea to eat so little. With around 40 pounds to lose you should be looking at .5-1lb a week loss. It looks like you're being too aggressive with your deficit and that's not going to be sustainable.

    That was the recommended amount on myfitnesspal, how many calories would you suggest?
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    I am, I eat about 1000 calories on days I don't workout and 1200 on days I do.
    You are either undereating or underlogging. Your goal is a number to hit, not to stay under.
  • fitness_acc
    fitness_acc Posts: 13 Member
    I am, I eat about 1000 calories on days I don't workout and 1200 on days I do.
    You are either undereating or underlogging. Your goal is a number to hit, not to stay under.

    So what should I be aiming for?
  • jayemes
    jayemes Posts: 865 Member
    I've never seen MFP recommend lower than 1000 calories a day. I didn't think that was even possible.

    I'm 5'7" and I started at 205 in June. I'm down to 184 now and I'm sedentary. I eat 1430 if I don't exercise. If I walk 5 miles one day I go up to around 1800 calories. I'm steadily losing a pound a week.
  • kokonani
    kokonani Posts: 507 Member
    Only 1200 calories and you excersise that much? I hope you are eating some Calories back. It seems it's not sustainable, in the long run you will end up feeling tired and hungry. I eat 1700 with very little excersise. I only weigh 112lbs.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,106 Member
    Without some indication of specific limitations or goals that require that work-out plan, I would say you are both working out too little and too much.

    Too much - you say you go to the gym four to five times a week, but you describe a single workout that you apparently do every time? For the lifting, your muscles need rest days between workouts. That's impossible doing the same workout five times a week, and it's impossible doing the same workout four times a week every week (theoretically you could manage four times a week in alternating weeks, and three times a week in the intervening weeks). You build muscles on rest/recovery days, not the days you go to the gym.

    Too little - you don't say anything about your goals from this workout, so it's possible there's some information you haven't provided that makes the lifting part of your workout appropriate, but barring that, it sounds like a random set of exercises targeting isolated, small to medium-size muscles (too little -- learn and incorporate compound lifts). Then once a week you have a class that sounds like it targets larger muscles and muscles groups (but only once a week).
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    I am, I eat about 1000 calories on days I don't workout and 1200 on days I do.
    You are either undereating or underlogging. Your goal is a number to hit, not to stay under.

    So what should I be aiming for?
    What calorie goal did MFP give you? 1300-1600 calories is a good goal, to lose 0.5 to 0.75 kilos pr week (1% of your total bodyweight is a handy rule of thumb). You should also eat back part of your exercise calories.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    jayemes wrote: »
    Weight loss means eating less than you burn. Are you weighing and logging all your food?

    I am, I eat about 1000 calories on days I don't workout and 1200 on days I do.
    Enough for what?

    The answer is going to be individual based on your fitness goals.

    Yes this is based on my goal weight.

    Why are you eating so little?
  • fitness_acc
    fitness_acc Posts: 13 Member
    Thanks everyone, I've read your comments and will definitely try to improve!
  • fitness_acc
    fitness_acc Posts: 13 Member
    edited September 2017
    I am, I eat about 1000 calories on days I don't workout and 1200 on days I do.
    You are either undereating or underlogging. Your goal is a number to hit, not to stay under.

    So what should I be aiming for?
    What calorie goal did MFP give you? 1300-1600 calories is a good goal, to lose 0.5 to 0.75 kilos pr week (1% of your total bodyweight is a handy rule of thumb). You should also eat back part of your exercise calories.



    It gave me 1260 calories
    jayemes wrote: »
    Weight loss means eating less than you burn. Are you weighing and logging all your food?

    I am, I eat about 1000 calories on days I don't workout and 1200 on days I do.
    Enough for what?

    The answer is going to be individual based on your fitness goals.

    Yes this is based on my goal weight.

    Why are you eating so little?

    I was eating what MFP recommended on workout days and a little less on other days because I only eat when I am hungry/don't want to overeat when I'm not being active.

  • fitness_acc
    fitness_acc Posts: 13 Member
    edited September 2017


    I was eating what MFP recommended on workout days and a little less on other days because I only eat when I am hungry/don't want to overeat when I'm not being active.

    MFP doesn't take your exercise into account. You can't overeat on days when you don't exercise because MFP assumes that you won't. The calorie goal is based on your non-exercise activity level. When you exercise, it's designed for you to actually eat *more* than your goal.

    That wasn't very clear, should I aim for around 1260 on days off and more on days on then?
  • JaydedMiss
    JaydedMiss Posts: 4,286 Member


    I was eating what MFP recommended on workout days and a little less on other days because I only eat when I am hungry/don't want to overeat when I'm not being active.

    MFP doesn't take your exercise into account. You can't overeat on days when you don't exercise because MFP assumes that you won't. The calorie goal is based on your non-exercise activity level. When you exercise, it's designed for you to actually eat *more* than your goal.

    That wasn't very clear, should I aim for around 1260 on days off and more on days on then?

    1260 is your base. Get it every day and eat more on days your more active.
  • fitness_acc
    fitness_acc Posts: 13 Member


    I was eating what MFP recommended on workout days and a little less on other days because I only eat when I am hungry/don't want to overeat when I'm not being active.

    MFP doesn't take your exercise into account. You can't overeat on days when you don't exercise because MFP assumes that you won't. The calorie goal is based on your non-exercise activity level. When you exercise, it's designed for you to actually eat *more* than your goal.

    That wasn't very clear, should I aim for around 1260 on days off and more on days on then?

    Yep, 1,260 is what MFP calculates (based on your current weight and the activity level you provided when you set your goals) you will need to lose weight on days when you don't exercise.

    On days when you do, MFP's designers intended you to log your exercise. It will then estimate the calories burnt from the exercise and add them to your goal. So let's say MFP estimates that your exercise burns 140 calories. Your new calorie goal for that day would be 1,400 calories (the original 1,260 plus the 140 burnt through exercise). Sometimes people find that MFP overestimates the calories burnt, so they only eat a portion of them back until they can see how accurate it is. They start, for example, with 50% or so and then give it a few weeks to see how that impacts their rate of weight loss.

    Okay that makes a lot more sense now, thank you!
  • Meghanebk
    Meghanebk Posts: 321 Member
    Weight loss happens in the kitchen, fitness in the gym. Eat within your recommended calorie limits, and eat back at least half of what MFP lists as your exercise calories

    Don't make the mistake of undereating if you're exercising a lot, more is not always better in the case of calorie deficits.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    Without some indication of specific limitations or goals that require that work-out plan, I would say you are both working out too little and too much.

    Too much - you say you go to the gym four to five times a week, but you describe a single workout that you apparently do every time? For the lifting, your muscles need rest days between workouts. That's impossible doing the same workout five times a week, and it's impossible doing the same workout four times a week every week (theoretically you could manage four times a week in alternating weeks, and three times a week in the intervening weeks). You build muscles on rest/recovery days, not the days you go to the gym.

    Too little - you don't say anything about your goals from this workout, so it's possible there's some information you haven't provided that makes the lifting part of your workout appropriate, but barring that, it sounds like a random set of exercises targeting isolated, small to medium-size muscles (too little -- learn and incorporate compound lifts). Then once a week you have a class that sounds like it targets larger muscles and muscles groups (but only once a week).

    @fitness_acc some very good points here ^
This discussion has been closed.