Under 1200 calories post workout

What happens when you’re eating 1200 calories but you burn off 500? And I’m not losing the weight???

Replies

  • ipasteris9
    ipasteris9 Posts: 5 Member
    I am 5’2” and about 142 lbs and I’ve been doing this for a week and I’m not dropping any weight?
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    ipasteris9 wrote: »
    What happens when you’re eating 1200 calories but you burn off 500? And I’m not losing the weight???

    How did you measure that you burnt 500 cals?
  • ipasteris9
    ipasteris9 Posts: 5 Member
    Is it because I’m not eating enough post workout?
  • ipasteris9
    ipasteris9 Posts: 5 Member
    ipasteris9 wrote: »
    What happens when you’re eating 1200 calories but you burn off 500? And I’m not losing the weight???

    How did you measure that you burnt 500 cals?

  • ipasteris9
    ipasteris9 Posts: 5 Member
    Orange Theory
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    ipasteris9 wrote: »
    I am 5’2” and about 142 lbs and I’ve been doing this for a week and I’m not dropping any weight?

    A week is too early to get worried. Is your workout routine new? Many times when people begin a new exercise routine (or begin a more challenging routine), their muscles retain water to help with recovery. This can temporarily mask weight loss. Additionally, a week is seven days. You need to be patient and give a calorie deficit time to work.

    That said, if you're really eating 1,200 and burning 500 (and you may not be depending on how you are measuring your intake or estimating your calorie burn), this isn't enough. You need to set reasonable goals that you can sustain.
  • singingflutelady
    singingflutelady Posts: 8,736 Member
    How are you measuring your food?
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    ipasteris9 wrote: »
    Is it because I’m not eating enough post workout?

    No.

  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    ipasteris9 wrote: »
    Orange Theory

    What does that mean? Do you mean someone at Orange Theory told you that you burned 500 calories? Do you know what they based this estimate on?
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    I retained 7 pounds of water when I started working out. Took a few weeks to come off.

    Eat back at least half of the calories you earned from exercise.

    MFP uses the NEAT method (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis), and as such this system is designed for exercise calories to be eaten back. However, many consider the burns given by MFP to be inflated and only eat a percentage, such as 50%, back. Others, however, are able to lose weight while eating 100% of their exercise calories.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/818082/exercise-calories-again-wtf/p1
  • Running_and_Coffee
    Running_and_Coffee Posts: 811 Member
    edited July 2018
    ipasteris9 wrote: »
    Orange Theory

    What does that mean? Do you mean someone at Orange Theory told you that you burned 500 calories? Do you know what they based this estimate on?

    At Orange Theory they have you wear a heart rate monitor. You're spending about 30 minutes sprinting/running on a treadmill and the rest is split between rowers and full body weights. It's 55 minutes. I would guess the burn is accurate (depending on the OP's size) but the issue might be accuracy of the food tracking.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    ipasteris9 wrote: »
    Orange Theory

    What does that mean? Do you mean someone at Orange Theory told you that you burned 500 calories? Do you know what they based this estimate on?

    At Orange Theory they have you wear a heart rate monitor. You're spending about 30 minutes sprinting/running on a treadmill and the rest is split between rowers and full body weights. It's 55 minutes. I would guess the burn is accurate (depending on the OP's size) but the issue might be accuracy of the food tracking.

    Oh, I had no idea. Thanks for the context!
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    ipasteris9 wrote: »
    I am 5’2” and about 142 lbs and I’ve been doing this for a week and I’m not dropping any weight?

    It's only been a week. This isn't enough time to be concerned about. When you start a new exercise routine or ramp up an old one it's common to see a small bump on the scale because our bodies flood those sore muscles with extra fluid to help cushion and repair them. This can look like a stall on the scale, but it's really just masking the fat loss that's still going on in the background. Make sure you are tracking calories properly (preferably a food scale, but at least not guesstimating portion sizes, using the recipe builder, choosing good entries, not mixing up fluid ounces and ounces or anything like that, no skipping logging things like cooking oils or veggies, etc) and give your body a little time to catch up. Usually at least 3 weeks after starting a new exercise routine.
  • apullum
    apullum Posts: 4,838 Member
    A week is far too soon to tell whether or not any diet or exercise change is working, and you're almost certainly retaining water if you just started exercising more intensively than usual. I put on eight pounds of water weight after my last half marathon, even though I'd trained for it. That water was gone within a week. Give it more time.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    Jixil wrote: »
    If you're not losing weight, this is always 100% because you're eating too many calories. You need first figure out how many calories your body needs to maintain your current weight, and then you need to be eating at a calorie deficit.

    @Jixil Out of curiosity, why do you discount the possibility of water weight masking fat lost?
  • GrumpyHeadmistress
    GrumpyHeadmistress Posts: 666 Member
    Jixil wrote: »
    If you're not losing weight, this is always 100% because you're eating too many calories. You need first figure out how many calories your body needs to maintain your current weight, and then you need to be eating at a calorie deficit.

    Not always, no. Usually, if the individual hasn’t changed anything else and hasn’t lost over a long period of time, then yes. But in a week?

    It could be food in the gut, water weight from
    Hormonal or exercise changes or increase in sodium or even stress. Impossible to know after just a week.

    OP, give it at least a few more weeks and then review. If you still aren’t losing then it’s likely that some part of your “calories in, calories out” calculation is wrong.
  • Jixil
    Jixil Posts: 12 Member
    Jixil wrote: »
    If you're not losing weight, this is always 100% because you're eating too many calories. You need first figure out how many calories your body needs to maintain your current weight, and then you need to be eating at a calorie deficit.

    Not always, no. Usually, if the individual hasn’t changed anything else and hasn’t lost over a long period of time, then yes. But in a week?

    It could be food in the gut, water weight from
    Hormonal or exercise changes or increase in sodium or even stress. Impossible to know after just a week.

    OP, give it at least a few more weeks and then review. If you still aren’t losing then it’s likely that some part of your “calories in, calories out” calculation is wrong.

    I agree, 1 week is too short to know the difference. Ideally, weigh yourself the same time every day (mornings after using bathroom), and you want to find the average at the end of the week. Do this for several weeks to see any real weight change.

    What I meant is that in the long run, if you're not seeing any change and maintaining the same weight, it's because you're not eating at a calorie deficit