Guidance needed!

AnnPT77 wrote: »

hszentim wrote: »

Oh nelly,
I would work towards gaining more lean muscle mass and cutting back on cardio. Steady state cardio is also one of the most inefficient ways of burning calories because you do not continue burning After the workout is complete and you have to spend so much time working towards something that could be accomplished in half the time with a little effort. Doing some style of HIIT for your cardio sessions could be a great change for your body. As for weight lifting, it will change your body composition, allow you to eat more without gaining due to its higher caloric needs, increase bone density which is important as we age, among so so many other benefits. Along with this change I would advise to look into your macronutrient ratios to make sure that you are fuelling yourself as an athlete seeing as you are training like one. Making sure you have enough will be so important as you can inadvertently put your body into a famine mode if you don’t get enough calories or nutrients.

Bolded: Inaccurate. LISS cardio does have an afterburn (EPOC). It's a smaller percentage than the percentage for (true) HIIT, but most people do LISS for a longer period of time, so more calories are burned during the workout (vs. HIIT which by definition, if true HIIT, can't be sustained for long); a smaller percent of a bigger number of calories yields a higher number of calories worth of afterburn. The crossover point (where the LISS afterburn calories numerically > HIIT afterburn calories varies by exercise type, but typically isn't a very long duration, often on the order of half an hour to 45 minutes).

See, for example:

https://muscleevo.net/afterburn-effect-interval-training/
https://breakingmuscle.com/fitness/the-myth-of-interval-training-and-epoc

Most of what's called HIIT these days doesn't fit the original definition; often it's regular intervals, or some kind of circuit training (both of which are good, valid, training modalities in themselves). HIIT (so called) is trendy, and over-hyped. Traditional HIIT (like classic Tabata) has fitness value, but mainly for athletes wanting to increase VO2max before an event. It can sub for less intense activities as a time-saver now and then, but regular practice isn't all that useful, and can be counterproductive (via increased fatigue and recovery issues).

Endurance cardio burns the most calories (long LISS run, row, bike, etc.), but by definition takes a long time.

Yes, strength training is worth doing for many reasons, and muscle is metabolically more active than fat, but the difference is believed to be on the order of 2-4 more calories burned per day, per pound (of muscle vs. fat). Useful, but minor. Given how long it takes women to build a pound of muscle, especially when not in a calorie surplus, that's not going to be any kind of short-term solution.

Bottom line: I think this sort of thing would be a blind alley for the OP, especially in the short run, since the problem seems to be that she's ravenously hungry and maybe (not certainly) gaining slowly.

OP, I agree with others above: Calorie-wise, take a break, or wait it out, or cut a little from the exercise eat-back (any of those could work). I'm thinking that sticking to 1200 (not fueling exercise) before the last month might have been a stressor, and some people do find that if they increase calories, they temporarily get hungrier (when you'd expect less hungry), so I'd suggest focusing more on the appetite management and eating side of things.

How's your nutrition? Any change there? Are you eating the foods many people find satiating (protein, fats, and fiber are common ones, but it varies by person)? Have your increased calories recently come from foods that tend to stimulate your appetite? Has there been any change in your daily life (non-exercise) activity level? Are you getting enough sleep? Do you see any patterns in your recent hunger (with respect to when they occur in relation to exercise sessions, stress, reduced-sleep nights, or anything)? Are there particulr times you feel most hungry? If so, would tweaking your timing of meals/snacks help? (You don't need to answer all those questions: Just things to think about).

Since you're enjoying your exercise, I don't think you'd want to cut that back (or change it, unless there's something you'd find more fun). The idea that our bodies "get used to an exercise and burn fewer calories doing the same thing" is mostly nonsense (a popular myth that helps the fitness industry make more money by selling us new programs and equipment).

Best wishes!