Obese, low metabolism - do you still eat back the exercise c

MrsRipdizzle
MrsRipdizzle Posts: 490 Member
edited October 1 in Food and Nutrition
I've read a lot of the threads on this...I know this is a much debated topic. However, for the past couple of weeks I decided to give it a go and see how eating my exercise calories affected me.
First of all ~ I'm 5'4.5", 180 lbs (considered obese still), 31 year old female.
I use a heart rate monitor when I workout and my workouts register 600-700 calories burned in an hour (heart rate generally stays high enough in 150-170s range during cardio work and that's mostly what I'm doing ~ 30 Day Shred with 30 mins brisk "fat-burn" mode walking on treadmill). So it would stand to reason that I should be eating 1200+600/700 calories = 1800-1900.
I have been eating 1600-1700 (figuring there is nothing wrong with a little buffer there in case I underestimate calories some days).
I'm barely registering any losses right now. Since last week, I've lost .6 lb. Before that, I don't think I lost anything? (P.S. just started 30 Day Shred 8 days ago).

Yes, I know I am building muscle. But I haven't built up muscle that heavy yet. I know I have water retention because of the muscle. But I was still exercising (running C25k program prior to starting 30DS) and building muscle before.

So...I'm thinking I need to lower the calories IN a bit more and test that out to see if my body responds by letting go. I don't want to eat just 1200 calories...if I do that, I'm hungry periodically throughout the day. I don't want to be hungry. I'm working too hard to be hungry. I get the whole "net calories"....but obviously I'm not losing when I eat back most of my exercise calories...so this seems the most logical thing to try next since everybody's body responds differently.

I guess what I'm looking for here is people's experiences with eating say 1300-1400 calories a day in a similar situation. I know I have a lower metabolism because of the years of yo-yoing and last year's dance with HCG (I'm NOT a proponent of HCG dieting!! Read my profile to see how it affected me). So...knowing all of this...do you think I'll have better results if I still continue to exercise burning 600-700 cals and eating only 1300-1400 a day? By the way, one day I week I like to throw that all off and eat a bit more than usual (sometimes a "bit" can be 500 cals, sometimes 1000 cals). I don't want my body to get used to eating only 1500 cals a day and not get a jolt every now and then. And before anyone tells me that THIS is why I'm not losing weight consistently ...c'mon...it's only one day a week and I burn way more than that that I don't eat back to be affecting my overall 3500 calorie deficit on top of the 500 that MFP builds in. ;o)

I know I'm opening a can of worms here...but I really need to figure out what the heck is going on with my body here and why I'm not losing like I SHOULD be. P.S. My diary is open...but it's only been the last two weeks that I've taken logging online more seriously (prior to that I logged on paper and didn't always input online til I discovered the app for my phone so it's spotty and doesn't give a good picture of how I eat...but the last two weeks is pretty "normal" for me, for the most part.)

Replies

  • RNewton4269
    RNewton4269 Posts: 663 Member
    I eat back sometimes....and sometimes I don't. If you are hungry..eat them back.
  • d2footballJRC
    d2footballJRC Posts: 2,684 Member
    You need to be taking measurements.

    I have been getting disappointed on the numbers from the scale as well. I worked out over 10 hours last week. Put in well over 500 HARD minutes at the gym sweating and I've never went over my calorie goal or ate exercise calories. I lost 1.2lbs last week when the weeks before I lost a ton of weight per week compared to the last two weeks. Yet measurement wise I'm still shrinking about the same. Could it be muscle? I don't know, I do know my calves are a lot trimmer then they used to be and they have grown measurement size. I think we can't always look at the numbers and we need to be taking measurements as well.

    I don't eat back my calories and according to my diary I need to eat more as my exercise puts me into some low nets most days.
  • chocolattahottie
    chocolattahottie Posts: 104
    If you eat less calories then you need, your body will retain as much calories and thus you won't loss weight. I would suggest that you use all the calories you are given a day. Cutting back on calories when your body needs them will only make your metabolism slower. There are some articles about this on livestrong and I'll give you an example. I started my weight loss journey at 175 lbs, when I ate less calories then my body needed, I gained weight, when I at the exact number or just above I lost on average 2 pounds a week. I know it sounds odd, but in order to boast your metabolism you gotta eat!
  • chickenpoppa
    chickenpoppa Posts: 207 Member
    whats HCG?
  • franscott
    franscott Posts: 32
    Man O man this sounds like me. I have been working out like crazy for the past year and 1/2 and have only lost 50 lbs. I am on week 4 of p90x and have lost maybe 4-5 lbs. While yes i know any weight loss is good..I was really hoping to lose more. My weight seems to go and down by 2-3 lbs and it annoys me. Thanks so much for posting this. I will be looking forward to the replys u get. Have you tried tracking your protien intake? Im trying that next. I will let you know how it goes. Congrats on taking on the challenge of losing weight the healthy way...I know it stinks at times...but hang in there!
  • kater8er
    kater8er Posts: 364 Member
    I know everyone says to eat back your cals, but I usually don't eat back more than half of them. I'm set at 1230 net a day--I always eat at LEAST 1230 a day, but my thought process is that just because I work out, that doesn't mean I get to gorge myself later.

    This is a very controversial topic, and I honestly DON'T think there's an absolute right answer on this. I've lost 15-20 lbs (some before mfp) NOT eating back my calories. However, every 3-4 day, I do eat back ALL of them, to shake up my metabolism a bit.

    I think your idea sounds pretty good....
  • treehugginpam
    treehugginpam Posts: 1,129 Member
    Try one of those free online calorie calculators to see how many calories you should be eating (like this one: http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm) and go from there. You might be surprised -- it's possible you're eating too few calories! I had to bump my calories way up before I saw any progress, especially when I work out really hard.

    Also, watch your sodium -- when mine goes too much over 2300 mg my body just clings to the water weight like crazy.

    Good luck!
  • spyro88
    spyro88 Posts: 472 Member
    If it's only been a couple of weeks maybe you need to give it a bit longer? I think sometimes people have a problem with giving things time and give up because they don't see results straight away.

    I eat back my calories and I'm losing gradually, but I have really just started so I couldn't say. I would have thought that burning 600-700 and eating only 1300/1400 is not a good idea, though.
  • LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo
    LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo Posts: 3,634 Member
    In my experience, it is best not to eat back all your exercise calories unless you are hungry. However you should be eating back some.
  • d2footballJRC
    d2footballJRC Posts: 2,684 Member
    One thing I noticed on your diary. Since Sat of last week you have went over for a total of 2140.. If you take all the calories you didn't burn as well from the other days you only netted a positive 359. You have to watch the calories, while being over every once in awhile doesn't hurt you have to remember it's a lifestyle change and not a race. Just because myfitnesspal starts the day over doesn't mean your calories go away. Weight doesn't always come off fast every week either.

    Make sure you are weighing in the morning first thing after you wake up and go to the bathroom if needed.
    Water and water! If you are going to go over on sodium drink extra! I go over on sodium so I try to drink 14+ glasses of water on those days.
    If you go over on calories those calories still have to burnt off. Going over by 2140 in the time frame means that you have to burn 2140 extra off. Say you are going for a 2 pound per week weightless that means you have to be -7000 calories for that time (each pound is 3500 calories is how it figures it) So when you go over calories by 2140 you then have to lose 9140 calories for that 2 pound weight loss. Makes it a lot harder to lose larger amounts.

    So stick with it! You can do it!
  • drvvork
    drvvork Posts: 1,162
    I eat back sometimes....and sometimes I don't. If you are hungry..eat them back.

    I have a low thyroid - I agree with RNewton4269. Have you had your thyroid checked? Maybe try looking into how your metabolism works - here is a link for a test that I took and it was like 'wow'. I changed my setting in MFP and away it went. I am guilty of not being so strict since I am technically in a maintenance mode. But I would suggest giving this test a look and go from there. But definitely have your thyroid checked. :flowerforyou:
  • MrsRipdizzle
    MrsRipdizzle Posts: 490 Member
    Alright, so I just went through my diary and did some calculations.
    For the past two weeks (14 days), I ate a total of 22, 399 calories. I burned about 6,920 calories in that time frame with exercise.
    My BMR according to the Katch McArdle algorithm is 1522 cals. So each day my body in a resting state is burning about 1500 cals. Which means I burned about 21,000 just to survive.

    So, 21,000 to survive. I ate 22, 399. I burned 6920 through exercise. Then let's say MFP builds in 1200 cals a day and if 1500 is my BMR, that's a 300 cal deficit, so 300 x 14= 4200 deficit. 4200+6920 = 11,120. Then divide that by 3500 for a pound, shows I SHOULD have lost 3 lbs. Or at the least, 2.5 lbs (because I ate 1399 more than my survival BMR calories).
    From two weeks ago, I'm exactly the SAME weight, not an ounce lost. Hope I didn't lose anyone with my calculations here...but I had to do all of this to see what I SHOULD have lost given all the numbers and not just guesses.
  • MrsRipdizzle
    MrsRipdizzle Posts: 490 Member
    Betty ~ what's the link? I didn't see it. I have had my thryoid (at my annual checkup) checked and numbers were in normal range. :o/

    So you can see I'm stumped...2-3 lbs is not a huge difference for two weeks...meaning, I'm not in "starvation mode" when you look at my calorie in versus calorie out. I think anyone would agree after looking at the numbers that I'm certainly eating enough of my exercise calories back and I'm not depriving my body because 2-3 lb loss in TWO WEEKS is not out of the ordinary. It's a normal, healthy weight loss. But I didn't even achieve that...so what is going on with me?!!? :o/

    I set my sodium to <2300 mg a day and I try to hit that but I do go over on occasion (but not crazy over)...and I have my sugars at 23 g but by eating two servings of fruit alone, I go over that. So I don't consider my fruit sugar grams as unhealthy sugar grams (and I don't OD on fruit...I eat a little each day for the nutrients...I don't love fruit...but I eat it because I am trying to be healthy about this). I set my diet up at 40% carbs, 30% protein, 30% fat (as that seems to be the recommended method of eating). I don't always hit these right on..but that is hard to do when the exercise calories toy with the percentages.
  • jeander4
    jeander4 Posts: 4
    Hey, I'm 5'0 feet tall. I was 140lbs about two weeks ago. The first week I started this program, I was excited to eat more if I exercise. So I exercise and ate more. The first week I gained a pound. So, I decided that's not the way for me. This is my second week. (My week starts on a Wednesday.) I continued to exercise, just walking briskly for 40 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes on the treadmill at lunch. I stopped eatting the extra calories and tried to stay within the 1200 calories range. This morning, I weighed 139. I'm learning to also exercise some self control b/c I think I'm addicted to chewing. I eat just b/c I like to chew and not because I'm hungry. I eat something every hour, an apple, an orange, a banana. I eat salad everyday. I've been trying to lose 10 pounds for about 18yrs. The good news is I have remained the same weight for most of those eighteen years.
  • LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo
    LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo Posts: 3,634 Member
    Alright, so I just went through my diary and did some calculations.
    For the past two weeks (14 days), I ate a total of 22, 399 calories. I burned about 6,920 calories in that time frame with exercise.
    My BMR according to the Katch McArdle algorithm is 1522 cals. So each day my body in a resting state is burning about 1500 cals. Which means I burned about 21,000 just to survive.

    So, 21,000 to survive. I ate 22, 399. I burned 6920 through exercise. Then let's say MFP builds in 1200 cals a day and if 1500 is my BMR, that's a 300 cal deficit, so 300 x 14= 4200 deficit. 4200+6920 = 11,120. Then divide that by 3500 for a pound, shows I SHOULD have lost 3 lbs. Or at the least, 2.5 lbs (because I ate 1399 more than my survival BMR calories).
    From two weeks ago, I'm exactly the SAME weight, not an ounce lost. Hope I didn't lose anyone with my calculations here...but I had to do all of this to see what I SHOULD have lost given all the numbers and not just guesses.

    21,000 + 6920 = 27,920 (total calorie burn) then minus 22,399 (total consumption) = 5,521 2 week deficit then 5,521/2 = 2,760.5 weekly deficit. So you only had a deficit of 2,760.5 per week & you should have a weekly deficit of 3,500 to lose a pound. Technically you should have lost a pound by now but you also need to take into consideration what you're eating too especially sodium content. Beware of canned & processed foods because they have hidden sodium.
  • d2footballJRC
    d2footballJRC Posts: 2,684 Member
    Measurements! And are you using a heart rate monitor? That is the only way to know you are truly burning what is being said is burnt. If you think your metabolism or thyroid is off a Dr can help with that. There is this machine you breathe into that can help you get your true metabolism. Other than that there are things that can be off.

    Also your math is off.

    You have to eat 21,000 + you got 6920 for a total of 27,920 is the calories you have without gaining any weight.

    You only ate 22,399 calories.. So 27,920 - 22,399 = 5521.

    Which this is over 2 weeks = so 2760.5 per week.

    So you should have lost a little over a pound if all things are perfect but they aren't always as these are generalized numbers. Also if you don't have a heart rate monitor I recommend them, they can give you a much much more accurate count of how many calories you are burning then what MFP is suggesting. I know that MFP would suggest my treadmill calories burnt was lower then they really were while it rated the exercise bike a lot higher. Also maybe the food calories are off a bit, I see some of the pizza is from a restaurant which can vary if the sizes aren't cut the same. It's silly but a food scale for the home cooked meals can come in handy as well. It's amazing how off we are people can guess sometimes!

    As for the sodium intake it is high, and that is fine IMO if you are willing to really increase the water amounts.
  • MrsRipdizzle
    MrsRipdizzle Posts: 490 Member
    Oh man, my math was off! Yikes, thanks for correcting! But yeah, still should have showed more of a loss than what I did for two weeks.
    Yes, I use a heart rate monitor (stated that in initial post). Also I log 25-50 less calories than my HRM shows (to allow for any off-calculations). So if my HRM shows 656 burned, I'll log 600. The 50 cals each day isn't that big of a deal in the end but it gives me a little buffer too.

    I was planning on making an appt with an endocrinologist because I do think something is going on with me hormonally...so maybe something will be uncovered then. In the meantime, I think I'll just eat closer to 1300-1400 cals each day and see if I notice any changes.

    I drink 90-100 oz of water a day (though I don't always log that because it's just water and I know I drink enough...I'm peeing all day and night, LOL).
  • rainvc
    rainvc Posts: 142
    I didn't really look at your diary with a fine tooth comb, but I would suggesting upping your protein intake. Looks like most days you aren't getting even the MFP default. For me, I really need that protein to boost my metabolism and burn the fat.

    It's worth a shot! And don't get discouraged!
  • 4theking
    4theking Posts: 1,196 Member
    Oh man, my math was off! Yikes, thanks for correcting! But yeah, still should have showed more of a loss than what I did for two weeks.
    Yes, I use a heart rate monitor (stated that in initial post). Also I log 25-50 less calories than my HRM shows (to allow for any off-calculations). So if my HRM shows 656 burned, I'll log 600. The 50 cals each day isn't that big of a deal in the end but it gives me a little buffer too.

    I was planning on making an appt with an endocrinologist because I do think something is going on with me hormonally...so maybe something will be uncovered then. In the meantime, I think I'll just eat closer to 1300-1400 cals each day and see if I notice any changes.

    I drink 90-100 oz of water a day (though I don't always log that because it's just water and I know I drink enough...I'm peeing all day and night, LOL).

    Try eating 1300 calories. Use your free day that you have to get your fat burning hormones going and don't eat your exercise calories, or if you do, very little. Up your protein to at least 30% of total calories. Eat 2000-2300 calories on your free day.
  • MrsRipdizzle
    MrsRipdizzle Posts: 490 Member
    I changed my MFP settings from default to 40% carbs, 30% protein, 30% fat. I'm getting lots of protein (most days)...as when I input my exercise calories it adjusts for the percentages and hikes up the protein, fat, and carbs too.

    That was my idea too ~ eat around 1300-1400 most days and one day a week give it a little surge (trick it a little). ;o) I think I had read about that little trick back in Body for Life many years ago? Who knows...something has GOT to give! ;o)
  • AlsDonkBoxSquat
    AlsDonkBoxSquat Posts: 6,128 Member
    Well, sometimes I would eat back all, sometimes I would eat back half, some times i would be really hungry and realize that I hadn't eaten even half in a day or two and give in (using healthy options) and just eat the crap out of my day.
  • aethompson5507
    aethompson5507 Posts: 251 Member
    I know everyone says to eat back your cals, but I usually don't eat back more than half of them. I'm set at 1230 net a day--I always eat at LEAST 1230 a day, but my thought process is that just because I work out, that doesn't mean I get to gorge myself later.

    This is a very controversial topic, and I honestly DON'T think there's an absolute right answer on this. I've lost 15-20 lbs (some before mfp) NOT eating back my calories. However, every 3-4 day, I do eat back ALL of them, to shake up my metabolism a bit.

    I think your idea sounds pretty good....

    agreed :) no right or wrong answer really.
  • solpwr
    solpwr Posts: 1,039 Member
    I would encourage you to exercise patience. Stick to the process. The body can often resist change. Two weeks is not a big deal. Stick with it. We all want quick results. Relax and look at this as how you are going to approach the rest of your life. You'll get there.
  • boisevore
    boisevore Posts: 14 Member
    Personally I have a better experience with more veggies (green) than piling on the protein. Try a smoothie with a handful or two of spinach, and apple a banana and some ice.
  • servilia
    servilia Posts: 3,452 Member
    I would try not eating them back for a while and see how that works out. Maybe also try a new workout routine a couple of times a week.
  • amadapooky76
    amadapooky76 Posts: 25
    bump!
  • CelticChick2011
    CelticChick2011 Posts: 11
    I checked out your diary to see if I could offer any suggestions. #1) processed food is going to be SUPER high is sodium. you don't have to be a "cook" to eat non-processed foods more. If it comes prepared for you to eat with all the salty-preservatives....you probably shouldn't be eating it if you want to lose weight. It's not just the calories, its HOW you're getting the calories! You can workout for hours a day and kill yourself and not lose a pound if what you're putting into your body isn't helping. Fresh fruit and veggies (heck buy the frozen steam in the bag veggies!) and lean meats is the way to go! Muscle Milk...altho it says "high protein" isnt the best way to GET protein.
  • MrsRipdizzle
    MrsRipdizzle Posts: 490 Member
    My husband just brought home the Muscle Milk on Saturday...I had it Sunday and today. I'm not sure I want to stick with it given the artificial stuff in it. :o/ I like to drink a protein shake in the morning for breakfast because then I immediately go into my exercise routine and it fuels me very well for a few hours.

    Unfortunately, I'm not able to cook three meals a day...heck, cooking one meal a day is sometimes difficult when I'm not home all day. Not to mention, I HATE cooking. I see tons of people who eat way more processed foods than I do and are still losing weight and gaining muscle...so there has to be something else to it then simply eat veggies and fruit all day long for the rest of my life. ;o) I'm not interested in going on a restrictive diet...I am, however, interested in making better choices for food (which may not be perfect all of the time). I WILL enjoy pizza once a week...haha (although this past week, TWICE since in-laws came over yesterday and wanted pizza for dinner...I was good, only had one slice and a big ol' salad!). ;o)

    It still doesn't make a whole heckuva lot of sense when you break the numbers down. I drink a ton of water so the little bit of extra sodium (sometimes up to 500 mg) I get should not be causing that big of a deal. There's something missing from the equation...keep the suggestions coming...we'll figure it out one way or the other.

    P.S. Anyone know how long it takes to reverse a slow metabolism? Or undo adrenal fatigue? I recently got OFF of birth control (two weeks ago)...so I'm hoping that MAYBE that will help in the long run.
  • chevy88grl
    chevy88grl Posts: 3,937 Member
    I'm 5'4" and last year when I got serious about weight loss I was very close to where you are now (I was 177lbs the first day I stepped into the gym).

    Eating LESS may NOT be what your body needs. I was working out 6-7 days a week for 60 mins each day. I was consuming around 1700-1800 calories a day and wasn't losing hardly any weight. I was so frustrated I used to sit and cry. I started reading more articles and doing more research. Realized that I need far more calories than I originally thought I needed to lose weight and now to maintain.

    I am currently 143-145lbs and am happily maintaining my weight while consuming 2200-2500 NET calories a day.


    I know my metabolism was a hot wreck when I started from yo yo dieting, not eating for hours and hours and then binge eating for hours and hours, etc.

    My metabolism is like a little fire now that I am eating enough. I eat every couple hours. My blood sugar is awesome and I haven't had the urge to binge eat since I started paying attention to my body.


    If I were you, I would aim to get my daily calories as close to zero as possible. Do it for at least 10 days to 2 weeks and see what happens.
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