So many myths it’s exhausting.
Replies
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To lose weight all you need is a calorie deficit which you can achieve through diet alone. But if your goal long term is to add some muscle and lose fat exercise is key. I’m a 38yr old woman with thyroid disease and I have been able to decrease my body fat percentage while adding some muscle so I can tell you what I did. I suspect that someone younger or without my medical issues would probably have faster results. I’ve been at this a little over 2yr now.
I started by maintaining a modest and maintainable calorie deficit while playing around with different workouts and activities just to explore what I enjoyed and get used to moving more at first. I really love hiking and boxing now. Doing this got me to the top end of a healthy BMI range.
Once I reached a healthy weight I became more focused on my macros and training schedule. I do 3-4month bulk/cut cycles. I alternate between cardio and strength days when bulking and cutting. When I’m bulking my runs on cardio days involve more hills and I don’t time them. It’s more about challenging my body on different terrains. In the gym I’ll add more weight and less reps for strength days. When cutting I run longer on flat ground and work towards improving my speed getting my heart rate up higher and focus on increased reps without adding weight on strength days. For diet calories are still king but I focus on hitting my protein first for both cycles. When cutting I also reduce my net carbs (not super low but goal is 100g net max).
You will have to find the right combination for you. I currently lift twice a week, boxing once a week, Jazzercize with light hand weights (3-10lb) once a week, and run the other days. The boxing and Jazzercize both incorporate cardio and strength into the same workout which I really enjoy.
Well that’s my problem. I don’t know what to do because I do weight training and some cardio and try to eat healthy and I still don’t lose weight. I’m only active when I’m @ the gym because I don’t do anything else at home. So that is why I’m saying maybe using the treadmill for over an hour will help me walk more and burn more calories because of the steps. How can I know how many calories I burn each day. What device can I use?0 -
Jarettzy18 wrote: »
Always so much good advice and knowledge.I actually learned a lot from these forums, as well as reading lifting books, like Strong Curves and New Rules of Lifting for Women.
If you want to lose weight, you want to eat in a deficit #1, so less than you burn. Lifting (progressive over time) will help you maintain muscle as you lose fat (also good for health and strength), along with adequate protein. If you do not lift, you will lose fat and way more muscle than you would otherwise and have a softer appearance/higher bodyfat when you get to goal. I've done it both ways and my results from lifting vs not lifting were quite different.
You can add some cardio to that to help burn more calories add to that deficit (it is also good for health and fitness). But keep in mind too much cardio can start to affect lifting performance and recovery in many so you don't want to overdo it.
While some people can gain a bit of muscle in a deficit under certain circumstances, you will mostly be retaining what you have right now. So once you get closer to goal, and you feel like you don't have the muscle base you are happy with you can either eat at maintenance to recomp, or you can run bulk (surplus) cycles to put on weight to gain muscle.
All along I’ve been thinking weights burn more calories than cardio oh myyyy🤦🏻♀️ Should I walk in the treadmill for an hour to increase my steps? I’m not an active person. I go to the gym in the morning to only lift weights and in the afternoon I go to a cardio class but that’s it’s. I don’t even get to 10,000 steps daily. Should this be my problem?
Cardio is great for health and adding to your deficit. While it's good to be active, you don't need to go crazy with it. Start with your food intake.. then let the rest followJarettzy18 wrote: »
Always so much good advice and knowledge.I actually learned a lot from these forums, as well as reading lifting books, like Strong Curves and New Rules of Lifting for Women.
If you want to lose weight, you want to eat in a deficit #1, so less than you burn. Lifting (progressive over time) will help you maintain muscle as you lose fat (also good for health and strength), along with adequate protein. If you do not lift, you will lose fat and way more muscle than you would otherwise and have a softer appearance/higher bodyfat when you get to goal. I've done it both ways and my results from lifting vs not lifting were quite different.
You can add some cardio to that to help burn more calories add to that deficit (it is also good for health and fitness). But keep in mind too much cardio can start to affect lifting performance and recovery in many so you don't want to overdo it.
While some people can gain a bit of muscle in a deficit under certain circumstances, you will mostly be retaining what you have right now. So once you get closer to goal, and you feel like you don't have the muscle base you are happy with you can either eat at maintenance to recomp, or you can run bulk (surplus) cycles to put on weight to gain muscle.
All along I’ve been thinking weights burn more calories than cardio oh myyyy🤦🏻♀️ Should I walk in the treadmill for an hour to increase my steps? I’m not an active person. I go to the gym in the morning to only lift weights and in the afternoon I go to a cardio class but that’s it’s. I don’t even get to 10,000 steps daily. Should this be my problem?
Cardio is great for health and adding to your deficit. While it's good to be active, you don't need to go crazy with it. Start with your food intake.. then let the rest follow
This! ^ Weights don't burn more calories but they shape your body better. Manageange the calorie part with diet. You don't "have" to do anything more. If you "want" to give yourself a little more dietary flexibility with calories and have the time, sure walk more. Getting the 10,000 steps is nice but controlling the diet is the key. That and resistance training will give you a great looking body.
What happens in the cardio class? You must get some calorie burn from that. Maybe I missed it earlier in the thread. Here is the thing. It's not a rules based thing with the exception of eating less than you burn. Everything else is a bonus. Be careful about too much focus on the scale. You can make some great body changes while not having weight drop that much. Take a look at this thread and the pics posted.
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/comment/42695689#Comment_42695689
This lady lost weight and gained it all back in a fabulous way!
Yes girl. This is what I’m trying to explain I weight lift because later on when I’m leaner I want to gain more muscle. But that’s a whole other story, right now my main goal is to maintain muscle and lose weight. The only time I’m active is when I go to the gym because when I’m in my house I don’t even reach 7,000 steps. But I have nothing else to do, so that’s why I said maybe walking on the treadmill for an hour can help my daily steps. Also, I’m familiar with the calorie deficit but i find it hard to track my calories burned even with my Apple Watch. What can be an accurate device so I can get familiar with my calories burned and make a deficit???0 -
Jarettzy18 wrote: »To lose weight all you need is a calorie deficit which you can achieve through diet alone. But if your goal long term is to add some muscle and lose fat exercise is key. I’m a 38yr old woman with thyroid disease and I have been able to decrease my body fat percentage while adding some muscle so I can tell you what I did. I suspect that someone younger or without my medical issues would probably have faster results. I’ve been at this a little over 2yr now.
I started by maintaining a modest and maintainable calorie deficit while playing around with different workouts and activities just to explore what I enjoyed and get used to moving more at first. I really love hiking and boxing now. Doing this got me to the top end of a healthy BMI range.
Once I reached a healthy weight I became more focused on my macros and training schedule. I do 3-4month bulk/cut cycles. I alternate between cardio and strength days when bulking and cutting. When I’m bulking my runs on cardio days involve more hills and I don’t time them. It’s more about challenging my body on different terrains. In the gym I’ll add more weight and less reps for strength days. When cutting I run longer on flat ground and work towards improving my speed getting my heart rate up higher and focus on increased reps without adding weight on strength days. For diet calories are still king but I focus on hitting my protein first for both cycles. When cutting I also reduce my net carbs (not super low but goal is 100g net max).
You will have to find the right combination for you. I currently lift twice a week, boxing once a week, Jazzercize with light hand weights (3-10lb) once a week, and run the other days. The boxing and Jazzercize both incorporate cardio and strength into the same workout which I really enjoy.
Well that’s my problem. I don’t know what to do because I do weight training and some cardio and try to eat healthy and I still don’t lose weight. I’m only active when I’m @ the gym because I don’t do anything else at home. So that is why I’m saying maybe using the treadmill for over an hour will help me walk more and burn more calories because of the steps. How can I know how many calories I burn each day. What device can I use?
"Trying to eat healthy" is pretty vague. Are you logging your food? Using a food scale? Choosing database entries carefully?
MFP will give you a calorie goal. Exercise burns are difficult to get an accurate calorie count for, you kind of have to go with estimates and tweak as you go. That's why everyone here keeps repeating that you need to get your calories in on point, you have way more control over that side of the equation.9 -
Generally speaking, I log my exercise on MFP, use the calories it tells me I burned, and eat back half. I keep the other half as a cushion in case I underestimated my food calories and/or overestimated my exercise burns. Plus, if I'm hungry at the end of the day, I may dip into that 'reserve' too. It doesn't need to be 100% accurate, but it does need to be in the ballpark.8
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Jarettzy18 wrote: »To lose weight all you need is a calorie deficit which you can achieve through diet alone. But if your goal long term is to add some muscle and lose fat exercise is key. I’m a 38yr old woman with thyroid disease and I have been able to decrease my body fat percentage while adding some muscle so I can tell you what I did. I suspect that someone younger or without my medical issues would probably have faster results. I’ve been at this a little over 2yr now.
I started by maintaining a modest and maintainable calorie deficit while playing around with different workouts and activities just to explore what I enjoyed and get used to moving more at first. I really love hiking and boxing now. Doing this got me to the top end of a healthy BMI range.
Once I reached a healthy weight I became more focused on my macros and training schedule. I do 3-4month bulk/cut cycles. I alternate between cardio and strength days when bulking and cutting. When I’m bulking my runs on cardio days involve more hills and I don’t time them. It’s more about challenging my body on different terrains. In the gym I’ll add more weight and less reps for strength days. When cutting I run longer on flat ground and work towards improving my speed getting my heart rate up higher and focus on increased reps without adding weight on strength days. For diet calories are still king but I focus on hitting my protein first for both cycles. When cutting I also reduce my net carbs (not super low but goal is 100g net max).
You will have to find the right combination for you. I currently lift twice a week, boxing once a week, Jazzercize with light hand weights (3-10lb) once a week, and run the other days. The boxing and Jazzercize both incorporate cardio and strength into the same workout which I really enjoy.
Well that’s my problem. I don’t know what to do because I do weight training and some cardio and try to eat healthy and I still don’t lose weight. I’m only active when I’m @ the gym because I don’t do anything else at home. So that is why I’m saying maybe using the treadmill for over an hour will help me walk more and burn more calories because of the steps. How can I know how many calories I burn each day. What device can I use?
If you're not losing weight then you're eating more than you need. Eating healthy does not mean you're in a calorie deficit. That's where your focus needs to be first and foremost. Use a food scale, log everything and hit your calorie goal. You don't need to add exercise to what you're already doing unless you just want to.
Focus on calorie intake first.
I am not active outside of lifting and a little cardio. It is my intake that lets me manipulate my weight whether it's losing, maintaining or bulking.10 -
Very helpful thread!2
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Your food consumption is the most efficient variable to change for fat loss. Think of a donut for example. That little bit size treat that you can eat in a couple of minutes is going to be about 250cal or so. It will take about 60min on a treadmill at 3mph to burn that off. I would focus on your calories for fat loss. Think of the exercise merely as a bonus for fat loss.
What you eat will affect how much of your loss is fat vs. lean mass. There are lots of books on that topic. I like Lyle McDonald's writing style and he backs up his arguments. There are many others. The reality is some percentage of your loss will be lean mass. That is just how it works.
Focus on the exercise to improve your cardiovascular fitness and use the weights to try to build some lean mass. People tend to have this crazy idea they touch a weight and they will make huge gains. That is not the case. Very meticulous body builders can be happy with 10-15lb of lean mass increase in a year. Another bonus of exercise is the change in your mindset.
Keep it simple. It has to be a plan that works for you and your life long term. Most of us that creep into the unhealthy weight category have problems with extremes. Finding a balance that will work for you and your life is difficult and is the most important aspect to focus on if this is to be a life change. I'll be honest. I have done this once before, and now I am doing it again.2 -
Jarettzy18 wrote: »Okay so I have varios forums on the same topic but the days goes by and I get more confused. My trainer at the gym said if my goal is to lose weight I need to cut the weights and focus more on cardio. Others say I should lift heavy and do a little cardio. My goal is to lose weight and maintain muscle. I have fat to loose but my goal later on is to gain muscle and make gains. Where can I educate myself what can I do? I have like 4 years on my journey to lose weight and I always give up. So many of you have a lot of experience. Please help. I feel there will always be mixed comments and different information on this topic. AGH.
It's easy to maintain muscle by doing 1 to 3 sessions of muscular training per week, especially when your young.
When you exercise, you burn mainly carbs and some fat. The lower the intensity the higher percentage of fat you will burn, but you will still burn mainly carbs.
If you want to lose weight and maintain muscle i would recommend doing more cardio and doing a couple muscular sessions per week to maintain your muscle.6 -
Jarettzy18 wrote: »Jarettzy18 wrote: »
Always so much good advice and knowledge.I actually learned a lot from these forums, as well as reading lifting books, like Strong Curves and New Rules of Lifting for Women.
If you want to lose weight, you want to eat in a deficit #1, so less than you burn. Lifting (progressive over time) will help you maintain muscle as you lose fat (also good for health and strength), along with adequate protein. If you do not lift, you will lose fat and way more muscle than you would otherwise and have a softer appearance/higher bodyfat when you get to goal. I've done it both ways and my results from lifting vs not lifting were quite different.
You can add some cardio to that to help burn more calories add to that deficit (it is also good for health and fitness). But keep in mind too much cardio can start to affect lifting performance and recovery in many so you don't want to overdo it.
While some people can gain a bit of muscle in a deficit under certain circumstances, you will mostly be retaining what you have right now. So once you get closer to goal, and you feel like you don't have the muscle base you are happy with you can either eat at maintenance to recomp, or you can run bulk (surplus) cycles to put on weight to gain muscle.
All along I’ve been thinking weights burn more calories than cardio oh myyyy🤦🏻♀️ Should I walk in the treadmill for an hour to increase my steps? I’m not an active person. I go to the gym in the morning to only lift weights and in the afternoon I go to a cardio class but that’s it’s. I don’t even get to 10,000 steps daily. Should this be my problem?
Cardio is great for health and adding to your deficit. While it's good to be active, you don't need to go crazy with it. Start with your food intake.. then let the rest followJarettzy18 wrote: »
Always so much good advice and knowledge.I actually learned a lot from these forums, as well as reading lifting books, like Strong Curves and New Rules of Lifting for Women.
If you want to lose weight, you want to eat in a deficit #1, so less than you burn. Lifting (progressive over time) will help you maintain muscle as you lose fat (also good for health and strength), along with adequate protein. If you do not lift, you will lose fat and way more muscle than you would otherwise and have a softer appearance/higher bodyfat when you get to goal. I've done it both ways and my results from lifting vs not lifting were quite different.
You can add some cardio to that to help burn more calories add to that deficit (it is also good for health and fitness). But keep in mind too much cardio can start to affect lifting performance and recovery in many so you don't want to overdo it.
While some people can gain a bit of muscle in a deficit under certain circumstances, you will mostly be retaining what you have right now. So once you get closer to goal, and you feel like you don't have the muscle base you are happy with you can either eat at maintenance to recomp, or you can run bulk (surplus) cycles to put on weight to gain muscle.
All along I’ve been thinking weights burn more calories than cardio oh myyyy🤦🏻♀️ Should I walk in the treadmill for an hour to increase my steps? I’m not an active person. I go to the gym in the morning to only lift weights and in the afternoon I go to a cardio class but that’s it’s. I don’t even get to 10,000 steps daily. Should this be my problem?
Cardio is great for health and adding to your deficit. While it's good to be active, you don't need to go crazy with it. Start with your food intake.. then let the rest follow
This! ^ Weights don't burn more calories but they shape your body better. Manageange the calorie part with diet. You don't "have" to do anything more. If you "want" to give yourself a little more dietary flexibility with calories and have the time, sure walk more. Getting the 10,000 steps is nice but controlling the diet is the key. That and resistance training will give you a great looking body.
What happens in the cardio class? You must get some calorie burn from that. Maybe I missed it earlier in the thread. Here is the thing. It's not a rules based thing with the exception of eating less than you burn. Everything else is a bonus. Be careful about too much focus on the scale. You can make some great body changes while not having weight drop that much. Take a look at this thread and the pics posted.
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/comment/42695689#Comment_42695689
This lady lost weight and gained it all back in a fabulous way!
Yes girl. This is what I’m trying to explain I weight lift because later on when I’m leaner I want to gain more muscle. But that’s a whole other story, right now my main goal is to maintain muscle and lose weight. The only time I’m active is when I go to the gym because when I’m in my house I don’t even reach 7,000 steps. But I have nothing else to do, so that’s why I said maybe walking on the treadmill for an hour can help my daily steps. Also, I’m familiar with the calorie deficit but i find it hard to track my calories burned even with my Apple Watch. What can be an accurate device so I can get familiar with my calories burned and make a deficit???
Tracking calories burned is of secondary importance. There is no way outside of a metabolic ward to get more than a ballpark estimate. Honestly, you are way to focused on the exercise part. Focus on the diet part. And as Kimny and others said, weight measure and be very tight about accuracy. That is the way to lose weight no matter what exercise you do or what the burns are.
"Trying to eat healthy" is great for the "what" of what you are eating but it doesn't tell you anything about the "how much". It's the "how much" that is the biggest single factor in weight loss.14 -
OldAssDude wrote: »Jarettzy18 wrote: »Okay so I have varios forums on the same topic but the days goes by and I get more confused. My trainer at the gym said if my goal is to lose weight I need to cut the weights and focus more on cardio. Others say I should lift heavy and do a little cardio. My goal is to lose weight and maintain muscle. I have fat to loose but my goal later on is to gain muscle and make gains. Where can I educate myself what can I do? I have like 4 years on my journey to lose weight and I always give up. So many of you have a lot of experience. Please help. I feel there will always be mixed comments and different information on this topic. AGH.
It's easy to maintain muscle by doing 1 to 3 sessions of muscular training per week, especially when your young.
When you exercise, you burn mainly carbs and some fat. The lower the intensity the higher percentage of fat you will burn, but you will still burn mainly carbs.
If you want to lose weight and maintain muscle i would recommend doing more cardio and doing a couple muscular sessions per week to maintain your muscle.
Fuel substrate during exercise is irrelevant. Overall calorie deficit is what matters no, matter what the exercise or fuel substrate.
PS: I would fire your trainer for giving you that advice. It is always easier to preserve muscle mass than it is to build it. His advice sounds like the typical Bro advice from a lot of the weekend certification trainers.6 -
I think everyone's got it pretty much covered lol. Eat less than you burn, boom, done. Why people insist on making it harder than that is beyond me.4
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Jarettzy18 wrote: »To lose weight all you need is a calorie deficit which you can achieve through diet alone. But if your goal long term is to add some muscle and lose fat exercise is key. I’m a 38yr old woman with thyroid disease and I have been able to decrease my body fat percentage while adding some muscle so I can tell you what I did. I suspect that someone younger or without my medical issues would probably have faster results. I’ve been at this a little over 2yr now.
I started by maintaining a modest and maintainable calorie deficit while playing around with different workouts and activities just to explore what I enjoyed and get used to moving more at first. I really love hiking and boxing now. Doing this got me to the top end of a healthy BMI range.
Once I reached a healthy weight I became more focused on my macros and training schedule. I do 3-4month bulk/cut cycles. I alternate between cardio and strength days when bulking and cutting. When I’m bulking my runs on cardio days involve more hills and I don’t time them. It’s more about challenging my body on different terrains. In the gym I’ll add more weight and less reps for strength days. When cutting I run longer on flat ground and work towards improving my speed getting my heart rate up higher and focus on increased reps without adding weight on strength days. For diet calories are still king but I focus on hitting my protein first for both cycles. When cutting I also reduce my net carbs (not super low but goal is 100g net max).
You will have to find the right combination for you. I currently lift twice a week, boxing once a week, Jazzercize with light hand weights (3-10lb) once a week, and run the other days. The boxing and Jazzercize both incorporate cardio and strength into the same workout which I really enjoy.
Well that’s my problem. I don’t know what to do because I do weight training and some cardio and try to eat healthy and I still don’t lose weight. I’m only active when I’m @ the gym because I don’t do anything else at home. So that is why I’m saying maybe using the treadmill for over an hour will help me walk more and burn more calories because of the steps. How can I know how many calories I burn each day. What device can I use?
My Fitbit has been very accurate for me. The other day I ran 3.7miles averageing 10:12 per mile. My Fitbit gave me 363 calorie burned. When I entered runs on this site it gave me over 500 cals. I no longer enter here at all and only use Fitbit for my activity0 -
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Jarettzy18 wrote: »Jarettzy18 wrote: »
Always so much good advice and knowledge.I actually learned a lot from these forums, as well as reading lifting books, like Strong Curves and New Rules of Lifting for Women.
If you want to lose weight, you want to eat in a deficit #1, so less than you burn. Lifting (progressive over time) will help you maintain muscle as you lose fat (also good for health and strength), along with adequate protein. If you do not lift, you will lose fat and way more muscle than you would otherwise and have a softer appearance/higher bodyfat when you get to goal. I've done it both ways and my results from lifting vs not lifting were quite different.
You can add some cardio to that to help burn more calories add to that deficit (it is also good for health and fitness). But keep in mind too much cardio can start to affect lifting performance and recovery in many so you don't want to overdo it.
While some people can gain a bit of muscle in a deficit under certain circumstances, you will mostly be retaining what you have right now. So once you get closer to goal, and you feel like you don't have the muscle base you are happy with you can either eat at maintenance to recomp, or you can run bulk (surplus) cycles to put on weight to gain muscle.
All along I’ve been thinking weights burn more calories than cardio oh myyyy🤦🏻♀️ Should I walk in the treadmill for an hour to increase my steps? I’m not an active person. I go to the gym in the morning to only lift weights and in the afternoon I go to a cardio class but that’s it’s. I don’t even get to 10,000 steps daily. Should this be my problem?
Cardio is great for health and adding to your deficit. While it's good to be active, you don't need to go crazy with it. Start with your food intake.. then let the rest followJarettzy18 wrote: »
Always so much good advice and knowledge.I actually learned a lot from these forums, as well as reading lifting books, like Strong Curves and New Rules of Lifting for Women.
If you want to lose weight, you want to eat in a deficit #1, so less than you burn. Lifting (progressive over time) will help you maintain muscle as you lose fat (also good for health and strength), along with adequate protein. If you do not lift, you will lose fat and way more muscle than you would otherwise and have a softer appearance/higher bodyfat when you get to goal. I've done it both ways and my results from lifting vs not lifting were quite different.
You can add some cardio to that to help burn more calories add to that deficit (it is also good for health and fitness). But keep in mind too much cardio can start to affect lifting performance and recovery in many so you don't want to overdo it.
While some people can gain a bit of muscle in a deficit under certain circumstances, you will mostly be retaining what you have right now. So once you get closer to goal, and you feel like you don't have the muscle base you are happy with you can either eat at maintenance to recomp, or you can run bulk (surplus) cycles to put on weight to gain muscle.
All along I’ve been thinking weights burn more calories than cardio oh myyyy🤦🏻♀️ Should I walk in the treadmill for an hour to increase my steps? I’m not an active person. I go to the gym in the morning to only lift weights and in the afternoon I go to a cardio class but that’s it’s. I don’t even get to 10,000 steps daily. Should this be my problem?
Cardio is great for health and adding to your deficit. While it's good to be active, you don't need to go crazy with it. Start with your food intake.. then let the rest follow
This! ^ Weights don't burn more calories but they shape your body better. Manageange the calorie part with diet. You don't "have" to do anything more. If you "want" to give yourself a little more dietary flexibility with calories and have the time, sure walk more. Getting the 10,000 steps is nice but controlling the diet is the key. That and resistance training will give you a great looking body.
What happens in the cardio class? You must get some calorie burn from that. Maybe I missed it earlier in the thread. Here is the thing. It's not a rules based thing with the exception of eating less than you burn. Everything else is a bonus. Be careful about too much focus on the scale. You can make some great body changes while not having weight drop that much. Take a look at this thread and the pics posted.
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/comment/42695689#Comment_42695689
This lady lost weight and gained it all back in a fabulous way!
Yes girl. This is what I’m trying to explain I weight lift because later on when I’m leaner I want to gain more muscle. But that’s a whole other story, right now my main goal is to maintain muscle and lose weight. The only time I’m active is when I go to the gym because when I’m in my house I don’t even reach 7,000 steps. But I have nothing else to do, so that’s why I said maybe walking on the treadmill for an hour can help my daily steps. Also, I’m familiar with the calorie deficit but i find it hard to track my calories burned even with my Apple Watch. What can be an accurate device so I can get familiar with my calories burned and make a deficit???
Tracking calories burned is of secondary importance. There is no way outside of a metabolic ward to get more than a ballpark estimate. Honestly, you are way to focused on the exercise part. Focus on the diet part. And as Kimny and others said, weight measure and be very tight about accuracy. That is the way to lose weight no matter what exercise you do or what the burns are.
"Trying to eat healthy" is great for the "what" of what you are eating but it doesn't tell you anything about the "how much". It's the "how much" that is the biggest single factor in weight loss.
I do know that no matter how healthy you eat if you eat more than what you need you won’t lose weight. I know that. But what I’m saying is I’m confused on how to track every single thing I put in my mouth. That’s kinda triggering but I really want to lose weight. I don’t know how to track my TDEE or I don’t know what it’s called to create a deficit. I am not an active person therefore I need to know how many calories I should be consuming to create the deficit.0 -
Your food consumption is the most efficient variable to change for fat loss. Think of a donut for example. That little bit size treat that you can eat in a couple of minutes is going to be about 250cal or so. It will take about 60min on a treadmill at 3mph to burn that off. I would focus on your calories for fat loss. Think of the exercise merely as a bonus for fat loss.
What you eat will affect how much of your loss is fat vs. lean mass. There are lots of books on that topic. I like Lyle McDonald's writing style and he backs up his arguments. There are many others. The reality is some percentage of your loss will be lean mass. That is just how it works.
Focus on the exercise to improve your cardiovascular fitness and use the weights to try to build some lean mass. People tend to have this crazy idea they touch a weight and they will make huge gains. That is not the case. Very meticulous body builders can be happy with 10-15lb of lean mass increase in a year. Another bonus of exercise is the change in your mindset.
Keep it simple. It has to be a plan that works for you and your life long term. Most of us that creep into the unhealthy weight category have problems with extremes. Finding a balance that will work for you and your life is difficult and is the most important aspect to focus on if this is to be a life change. I'll be honest. I have done this once before, and now I am doing it again.
Yes but since I’m not active I don’t burn enough calories and what I typically eat is 1,200 calories. In order for me to create a deficit I NEED to see how many calories I burn daily so I can create a deficit. But, I don’t know what to purchase that will help me track my calories. How in the world am I supposed to know the calories I burn throughout the day? I don’t know if I need a Fitbit...0 -
Jarettzy18 wrote: »
No it isn't complicated.
If you aren't losing weight over a period of at least a month then you know you you are eating too much - you adjust your goal downwards until you are losing at a sensible and sustainable rate.
Focus on consistent food logging and making adjustments based on results over an extended period of time.
No gadgets required, no need to "know" your TDEE.
8 -
Jarettzy18 wrote: »Your food consumption is the most efficient variable to change for fat loss. Think of a donut for example. That little bit size treat that you can eat in a couple of minutes is going to be about 250cal or so. It will take about 60min on a treadmill at 3mph to burn that off. I would focus on your calories for fat loss. Think of the exercise merely as a bonus for fat loss.
What you eat will affect how much of your loss is fat vs. lean mass. There are lots of books on that topic. I like Lyle McDonald's writing style and he backs up his arguments. There are many others. The reality is some percentage of your loss will be lean mass. That is just how it works.
Focus on the exercise to improve your cardiovascular fitness and use the weights to try to build some lean mass. People tend to have this crazy idea they touch a weight and they will make huge gains. That is not the case. Very meticulous body builders can be happy with 10-15lb of lean mass increase in a year. Another bonus of exercise is the change in your mindset.
Keep it simple. It has to be a plan that works for you and your life long term. Most of us that creep into the unhealthy weight category have problems with extremes. Finding a balance that will work for you and your life is difficult and is the most important aspect to focus on if this is to be a life change. I'll be honest. I have done this once before, and now I am doing it again.
Yes but since I’m not active I don’t burn enough calories and what I typically eat is 1,200 calories. In order for me to create a deficit I NEED to see how many calories I burn daily so I can create a deficit. But, I don’t know what to purchase that will help me track my calories. How in the world am I supposed to know the calories I burn throughout the day? I don’t know if I need a Fitbit...
You are choosing confusion and deciding it's complicated. If that's where you are happy living great. You've gotten great advice here. Log your food, log your exercise. Eat less than you burn. Track measure and adjust. It's just not that complicated unless you choose to view it that way.9 -
Jarettzy18 wrote: »Your food consumption is the most efficient variable to change for fat loss. Think of a donut for example. That little bit size treat that you can eat in a couple of minutes is going to be about 250cal or so. It will take about 60min on a treadmill at 3mph to burn that off. I would focus on your calories for fat loss. Think of the exercise merely as a bonus for fat loss.
What you eat will affect how much of your loss is fat vs. lean mass. There are lots of books on that topic. I like Lyle McDonald's writing style and he backs up his arguments. There are many others. The reality is some percentage of your loss will be lean mass. That is just how it works.
Focus on the exercise to improve your cardiovascular fitness and use the weights to try to build some lean mass. People tend to have this crazy idea they touch a weight and they will make huge gains. That is not the case. Very meticulous body builders can be happy with 10-15lb of lean mass increase in a year. Another bonus of exercise is the change in your mindset.
Keep it simple. It has to be a plan that works for you and your life long term. Most of us that creep into the unhealthy weight category have problems with extremes. Finding a balance that will work for you and your life is difficult and is the most important aspect to focus on if this is to be a life change. I'll be honest. I have done this once before, and now I am doing it again.
Yes but since I’m not active I don’t burn enough calories and what I typically eat is 1,200 calories. In order for me to create a deficit I NEED to see how many calories I burn daily so I can create a deficit. But, I don’t know what to purchase that will help me track my calories. How in the world am I supposed to know the calories I burn throughout the day? I don’t know if I need a Fitbit...
if you are eating 1200 calories and you know for a fact its 1200(you weigh everything and log properly) then you should be in a deficit(unless very short,sedentary or elderly or a conbo of those). if you arent losing then you are eating more than 1200 calories and you are not in a deficit ,its that easy. you burn calories all day everyday active or not. you burn calories just by being alive.enter you info into my fitness pal and your deficit is calculated without exercise.so if you are sedentary aside from exercise then enter that you are sedentary and go from there.
if after a month you arent losing then get a food scale and weigh everything, give it some more time and go from there,if not losing then see a dr to rule anything out. as for calories burned in mfp just enter your exercise and whatever mfp gives you for that exercise and the time it took you to do that, cut the number in half and log that. so if it gives you say 350 for 60 min of cardio put in 175. its what I did before I had a fitbit or anything else and lost just fine. adjust accordingly as time goes on.5 -
Jarettzy18 wrote: »
its not complicated though. if you want to be accurate get a food scale. food packaging can be off by up to 20% per serving and no two pieces of the same food will weigh the same no matter what it is. if you use oils to cook with log those as they are calorie bombs for little amounts. your deficit is built in with MFP. I learned this the hard way. I lost weight without logging food or using a fitbit or anything else.
but then I started gaining the weight back and could not understand why. I came here and was told to get a food scale(I was using cups and spoons for everything). once I did I started losing again.as for tracking calories everything even fitbits or any other tracker will still be an estimate of the calories burned. I lost weight fine without one though by doing the things I mentioned above and on the last comment I made. also if you dont have a lot of weight to lose its going to be even slower.2 -
Your profile says you have 41lb to lose. I made a few random assumptions of age... (just guesses), and your TDEE could be a bit higher than 1200cal. If you hit 1200cal/d you should be in a deficit.
https://tdeecalculator.net/result.php?s=imperial&age=20&g=female&lbs=150&in=65&act=1.2&bf=&f=1
A few questions:
1. how long you been logging accurately?
2. have you been losing weight? If so, how much per week?
3. Do you use a food scale or just measuring cups?
4. Do you track any body measurements? Women can have more difficulty with ups/downs on scales, but the tape measure is good feedback at times to know you are on the right path. The neck, belly, or thigh are all good spots to measure.
5. How did you decide on the 1200cal? Do you feel hungry during the day? By hungry, I mean real hunger pangs and not your brain telling you its time to eat.
6. What are your target macros? P/C/F?
You do not need to track all that stuff all the time, but it is helpful until you get comfortable that you are achieving the goals you want.
The fitbit is not the solution. They can help if it is the one with a HR strap, but in all honesty you can get a good idea without. Listen to your breath and you will be able to get a good idea of your HR. You can also download an app for your phone that uses the camera. Those are not horribly accurate, but helpful. Keep in mind that even with a HR strap the device is still using data from research to estimate the calories consumed. It is closer to being correct once you have the HR data, but to really know you need to hook up devices like they do for athletes. It sounds a bit like you are looking for an exact answer. All of us go thru trial and error for periods of time.
If we agree 1200cal/d is your real TDEE, then you need to generate the deficit via exercise. Then this is a math problem. Walking is great for the heart, but the cal burn/hr is not great. Generally, you need to reduce your cal in by about 3500/week to lose 1lb/week (500/d). Again, that is just a starting point and can be wildly different for some people. Lets aim for 250 cal/hr burn with exercise. That means you need to target 2hr/d, 7d per week or almost 3hr/d if you at 5d/wk. That is not an easy plan to sustain unless you have been at it for months and love whatever you are doing. I would search for another solution before concluding that is what you need to do.
I would look carefully at how you are logging things. I am not totally sold on the fact your TDEE is 1200 or that your are eating that. Do not take that as being rude. We can all make little errors at times. I was having a problem with peanut butter when I got home for a couple of weeks. The container should have had weeks of tablespoons, but oddly, the containers were disappearing after a little more than a week. Hmm, something funny there. haha.4 -
Your profile says you have 41lb to lose. I made a few random assumptions of age... (just guesses), and your TDEE could be a bit higher than 1200cal. If you hit 1200cal/d you should be in a deficit.
https://tdeecalculator.net/result.php?s=imperial&age=20&g=female&lbs=150&in=65&act=1.2&bf=&f=1
A few questions:
1. how long you been logging accurately?
2. have you been losing weight? If so, how much per week?
3. Do you use a food scale or just measuring cups?
4. Do you track any body measurements? Women can have more difficulty with ups/downs on scales, but the tape measure is good feedback at times to know you are on the right path. The neck, belly, or thigh are all good spots to measure.
5. How did you decide on the 1200cal? Do you feel hungry during the day? By hungry, I mean real hunger pangs and not your brain telling you its time to eat.
6. What are your target macros? P/C/F?
You do not need to track all that stuff all the time, but it is helpful until you get comfortable that you are achieving the goals you want.
The fitbit is not the solution. They can help if it is the one with a HR strap, but in all honesty you can get a good idea without. Listen to your breath and you will be able to get a good idea of your HR. You can also download an app for your phone that uses the camera. Those are not horribly accurate, but helpful. Keep in mind that even with a HR strap the device is still using data from research to estimate the calories consumed. It is closer to being correct once you have the HR data, but to really know you need to hook up devices like they do for athletes. It sounds a bit like you are looking for an exact answer. All of us go thru trial and error for periods of time.
If we agree 1200cal/d is your real TDEE, then you need to generate the deficit via exercise. Then this is a math problem. Walking is great for the heart, but the cal burn/hr is not great. Generally, you need to reduce your cal in by about 3500/week to lose 1lb/week (500/d). Again, that is just a starting point and can be wildly different for some people. Lets aim for 250 cal/hr burn with exercise. That means you need to target 2hr/d, 7d per week or almost 3hr/d if you at 5d/wk. That is not an easy plan to sustain unless you have been at it for months and love whatever you are doing. I would search for another solution before concluding that is what you need to do.
I would look carefully at how you are logging things. I am not totally sold on the fact your TDEE is 1200 or that your are eating that. Do not take that as being rude. We can all make little errors at times. I was having a problem with peanut butter when I got home for a couple of weeks. The container should have had weeks of tablespoons, but oddly, the containers were disappearing after a little more than a week. Hmm, something funny there. haha.
no where did OP say her TDEE is 1200 calories just that she is eating 1200 calories. also how is your breath going to tell you your HR? and no one needs to workout 2 or more hours a day unless they want and then they will have to fuel their body anyway. your deficit is included when you enter your stats into mfp,so any exercise will be extra calories burned which are meant to be eaten back.2 -
Jarettzy18 wrote: »Your food consumption is the most efficient variable to change for fat loss. Think of a donut for example. That little bit size treat that you can eat in a couple of minutes is going to be about 250cal or so. It will take about 60min on a treadmill at 3mph to burn that off. I would focus on your calories for fat loss. Think of the exercise merely as a bonus for fat loss.
What you eat will affect how much of your loss is fat vs. lean mass. There are lots of books on that topic. I like Lyle McDonald's writing style and he backs up his arguments. There are many others. The reality is some percentage of your loss will be lean mass. That is just how it works.
Focus on the exercise to improve your cardiovascular fitness and use the weights to try to build some lean mass. People tend to have this crazy idea they touch a weight and they will make huge gains. That is not the case. Very meticulous body builders can be happy with 10-15lb of lean mass increase in a year. Another bonus of exercise is the change in your mindset.
Keep it simple. It has to be a plan that works for you and your life long term. Most of us that creep into the unhealthy weight category have problems with extremes. Finding a balance that will work for you and your life is difficult and is the most important aspect to focus on if this is to be a life change. I'll be honest. I have done this once before, and now I am doing it again.
Yes but since I’m not active I don’t burn enough calories and what I typically eat is 1,200 calories. In order for me to create a deficit I NEED to see how many calories I burn daily so I can create a deficit. But, I don’t know what to purchase that will help me track my calories. How in the world am I supposed to know the calories I burn throughout the day? I don’t know if I need a Fitbit...
Seriously, you are worrying about the wrong stuff. None of us knew for sure what our exercise cals were, and we lost the weight.
Make sure your stats are entered correctly and set your goal to lose 1 lb per week. MFP will give you a calorie goal.
Get a food scale and use it as often as possible for everything except liquids.
Double check that the entries you are using in the food database are accurate.
Log everything accurately and consistently - whole food, packaged food, condiments, cooking oil, beverages, late night snacks, everything
Log your exercise and eat back half of those calories, this will leave you with a little wiggle room.
Read the Most Helpful Posts pinned to the top of each board, lots to learn in there as well.12 -
CharlieBeans, sounds like she is not losing at 1200cal/d, so that is sort of what she is saying. If she is losing, then I agree, her TDEE is not 1200. By no means do I think that is what it is.
Listen to your breath when you exercise. You can tell how hard you are exercising when you go to talk. When my HR is at 150bpm I can hardly hold a conversation. If I push harder I will eventually start gasping for air. When walking on the TMill slowly and my HR is about 90, it is easy to maintain a normal convo with someone. Once you have a baseline you can easily strive to do more, go longer or change any of the variables to make progress.
I am not suggesting 2hrs/d. I am making the argument how difficult it is to achieve a large deficit with exercise. You can augment the deficit with exercise, but food is where the bulk of the deficit should come from. A more reasonable plan would be something like 300cal worth of exercise say 4 d/wk. That is 1200cal/wk. It helps with weight loss, but the real benefit of that is what it does for your mindset and well being.
Eat your calories back or not. I do not think eating the calories back is important until one is quite fit or doing something that really requires it. It is all about being happy with your progress and listening to the feedback your body gives you. If not happy, make darn sure you did not make a simply mistake somewhere, and then make a change. There is no right or wrong way so long as it is working.4 -
Sounds like she is not losing at 1200cal/d, so that is sort of what she is saying. If she is losing, then I agree, her TDEE is not 1200.
Listen to your breath when you exercise. You can tell how hard you are exercising when you go to talk. When my HR is at 150bpm I can hardly hold a conversation. If I push harder I will eventually start gasping for air. When walking on the TMill slowly and my HR is about 90, it is easy to maintain a normal convo with someone. Once you have a baseline you can easily strive to do more, go longer or change any of the variables to make progress.
I am not suggesting 2hrs/d. I am making the argument how difficult it is to achieve a large deficit with exercise. You can augment the deficit with exercise, but food is where the bulk of the deficit should come from.
Eat your calories back or not. It is all about being happy with your progress and listening to the feedback your body gives you. If not happy, make darn sure you did not make a simply mistake somewhere, and then make a change. There is no right or wrong way so long as it is working.
see thats where you and I are different at 150bmp I can still hold a convo no problem(now).an overweight or obese person could get out of breath just walking at a slow pace. I know I did when I was obese and trust me my heart rate was no where near 150,it was lower because I had to move more mass it was a struggle so of course I breathed harder,but manually checking back then my heart rate wasnt that high surprisingly
same with an asthma flare up I can struggle for breath and not be able to keep up a convo and Im just sitting there. so breath is no indication of BPM/heart rate. a person in better shape can also not have an issue keeping up a convo and have a higher heart rate.
if she is not losing at 1200 it usually comes down to inaccuracies with weighing,logging or both. most people end up eating more than they think they are and thats where the no weight loss comes in,they think they are eating less but they really arent or they are eating things and forgetting to log them, or underestimating calories,another issue is overestimating calorie burns from exercise.
as for eating calories back that is how MFP is designed, your deficit is built in before exercise. a bigger deficit isnt always a good thing for many. and as for exercise causing a large deficit it is not difficult. depends on what the person is doing for exercise and how long they are doing it for. biking for one can burn a decent amount of calories in a hr or so if you are making an effort and biking hills and other rough terrain,same with running. certain other types of cardio also can create big deficits.4 -
Jarettzy18 wrote: »
Always so much good advice and knowledge.I actually learned a lot from these forums, as well as reading lifting books, like Strong Curves and New Rules of Lifting for Women.
If you want to lose weight, you want to eat in a deficit #1, so less than you burn. Lifting (progressive over time) will help you maintain muscle as you lose fat (also good for health and strength), along with adequate protein. If you do not lift, you will lose fat and way more muscle than you would otherwise and have a softer appearance/higher bodyfat when you get to goal. I've done it both ways and my results from lifting vs not lifting were quite different.
You can add some cardio to that to help burn more calories add to that deficit (it is also good for health and fitness). But keep in mind too much cardio can start to affect lifting performance and recovery in many so you don't want to overdo it.
While some people can gain a bit of muscle in a deficit under certain circumstances, you will mostly be retaining what you have right now. So once you get closer to goal, and you feel like you don't have the muscle base you are happy with you can either eat at maintenance to recomp, or you can run bulk (surplus) cycles to put on weight to gain muscle.
All along I’ve been thinking weights burn more calories than cardio oh myyyy🤦🏻♀️ Should I walk in the treadmill for an hour to increase my steps? I’m not an active person. I go to the gym in the morning to only lift weights and in the afternoon I go to a cardio class but that’s it’s. I don’t even get to 10,000 steps daily. Should this be my problem?
You do NOT need to become a cardio bunny in order to lose weight. Eat less. A daily cardio class is enough cardio for fitness. Walking to increase step count is the least effective way to accomplish anything, either adding calories or increasing fitness - it's better than nothing, but pretty much all forms of cardio are more efficient than walking. And walking on a treadmill is a serious waste of your life - walk outside where it's pretty if you want to walk. Walk TO or FROM something. Or don't - you don't need to.3 -
Jarettzy18 wrote: »Your food consumption is the most efficient variable to change for fat loss. Think of a donut for example. That little bit size treat that you can eat in a couple of minutes is going to be about 250cal or so. It will take about 60min on a treadmill at 3mph to burn that off. I would focus on your calories for fat loss. Think of the exercise merely as a bonus for fat loss.
What you eat will affect how much of your loss is fat vs. lean mass. There are lots of books on that topic. I like Lyle McDonald's writing style and he backs up his arguments. There are many others. The reality is some percentage of your loss will be lean mass. That is just how it works.
Focus on the exercise to improve your cardiovascular fitness and use the weights to try to build some lean mass. People tend to have this crazy idea they touch a weight and they will make huge gains. That is not the case. Very meticulous body builders can be happy with 10-15lb of lean mass increase in a year. Another bonus of exercise is the change in your mindset.
Keep it simple. It has to be a plan that works for you and your life long term. Most of us that creep into the unhealthy weight category have problems with extremes. Finding a balance that will work for you and your life is difficult and is the most important aspect to focus on if this is to be a life change. I'll be honest. I have done this once before, and now I am doing it again.
Yes but since I’m not active I don’t burn enough calories and what I typically eat is 1,200 calories. In order for me to create a deficit I NEED to see how many calories I burn daily so I can create a deficit. But, I don’t know what to purchase that will help me track my calories. How in the world am I supposed to know the calories I burn throughout the day? I don’t know if I need a Fitbit...
Unless you are less than five feet tall you are not doing a daily cardio class, weightlifting, and eating 1200 calories without losing weight. Start weighing your food and logging accurately. Look closely at things you might not be logging such as oil for cooking, condiments, and coffee creamer.7 -
Charliebeans, I am assuming she was not asthmatic, and would start with calibrating her breathing with any number of simple methods to measure your HR. Counting, apps, or whatever works. You are breathing harder when you exercise. The degree differs between individuals, and what you are doing, but it changes. I also understand that it changes as your fitness level improves. Nonetheless you breath harder and listening to that feedback can be a cue. I do have a Polar watch and wear a HR band during exercise, but I usually have a good idea how hard I am working.
Definition of Aerobic activity from Wikipedia:
Aerobic exercise is any physical activity that uses large muscle groups and causes the body to use more oxygen than it would while resting.[3] The goal of aerobic exercise is to increase cardiovascular endurance.[4] ....
She does not enjoy long exercise. That could come with time, but if the plan gets too involved earlier it is not all that likely to be successful.
I have done this all once before. I lost just short of 100lb, was around 13-14%BF and far more fit than now. I went off track for a number of years and for some reason finally decided to fix it. Any of us that have found the unhealthy side really need to pay attention to finding a reasonable plan that can work for years. Many of us seem to have switches that get flipped, and then we have laser focus. That same switch can get flipped off, and all those old habits are still within. She suggested she has struggled, so finding a good fit for her is what really matters.
For me, MFP is merely a tracking tool. I could accomplish what I need with a spreadsheet, but this is quicker. I have done my own reading from sources I trust and go with that. Eating back calories is important for the long distance enthusiasts that are fit, but many of us can pound down a protein shake right after a workout and move on. What you eat can have a more significant impact on preserving lean mass instead of just stuffing random calories back down because you earned a reward.2 -
Simplify. If this all looks complicated, do exactly this and forget about everything else for now:
1. Set MFP with your height, weight, and choose sedentary activity level.
2. MFP will give you a number of calories to eat. Depending on your starting weight I suggest you pick 1-1.5 lbs a week.
3. Log everything you eat into MFP
4. Do whatever exercise you like and let apple watch or fitbit or whatnot add the calories for you to eat
5. After a month or two of logging every day, increase your calories if you're losing too fast and decrease them if you're losing too slow.
Really, the only thing you have to do yourself is logging the foods you eat. Everything else will be done by MFP for you automatically. It will get less intimidating with time.
Don't let your desire to do it perfectly paralyze you. Logging imperfectly is still better than not logging at all. At least it will allow you to look at your diet objectively and notice little things like "this was filling and didn't cost too many calories, maybe I should eat it more often" or "maybe I can improve this meal and make it lower in calories. As you gain confidence in your logging, it will improve.
To summarize, focus on one thing and only one thing for now: log your food.8 -
As long as your goal is not to bulk up I would keep the weight lifting the same and add cardio into the mix. I just started back and my new routine is to run 5 miles one day and 2 miles the next with a Nautilus set in between. I am not trying to bulk just add some overall muscle fitness. It also helps that my gym is one mile from my house so I use that run as a warm up.1
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Jarettzy18 wrote: »
It's not complicated. Set up your myfitnesspal with your height, weight, etc, it will give you a calorie goal. Eat that. If you want to work out, do that. Log your exercise, it will give you more calories to eat. It's really simple. You are worrying too much about getting everything perfect.4
This discussion has been closed.
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