I need clarification!! HELP!!

ojmeredith92
ojmeredith92 Posts: 5 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I am hoping I can get some advice and clarity on my problem.

Since the lockdown begun, I have been exercising quite regularly. I started off running 3 times a week but have since changed to using my partners stationary bike and doing that 3/4 times a week, burning at least 1000 calories at a time. Since the lockdown started, I have also cut out fizzy drinks, opting to drink more squash and water, don't eat junk (sweets, biscuits, chocolate etc). I did initially see a weight drop (from 14.5 to 14.0) but over the last 2/3 weeks I have noticed my weight has gone up and I don't see much fat burned off my stomach. I have been told that I might have gained muscle in my legs from using the bike so much, but I don't know how true that is.

My goal isn't to get 'shredded', I just want to be a bit flatter. Can anyone shed light on this for me?

Replies

  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 6,841 Member
    Two things I've noticed:
    - you don't mention how many calories you are consuming. Without that info, it's impossible to know if you are in a calorie deficit or not. Are you weighing and logging everything you are consuming?
    - 1000 calories per cycling session is a LOT unless you are very heavy, exercising at a very intense level and/or exercising for a very long time. Where are you getting this number: MFP, the stationary bike or an activity tracker?

    Have you entered your stats and set up your goals in MFP so it gives you a daily calorie goal?
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    How many hours are you on the bike to burn "at least 1000 calories" and how are you estimating that?
    Are you are very fit and powerful cyclist?

    Yes intense cycling can build some muscle but not a significant amount in such a very, very short time. Remember unless you have increased water weight (from soreness, inflammation) then gaining weight still indicates a calorie surplus.
  • Redordeadhead
    Redordeadhead Posts: 1,188 Member
    ^^ as said, exercise calories seem high and without monitoring what you eat, it's likely you are eating too many calories and not in a deficit. Weight loss only comes from a calorie deficit, not specific food choices. For example, a diet fizzy drink is usually 0 calories but unless the squash is sugar free, it's not.
  • ojmeredith92
    ojmeredith92 Posts: 5 Member
    So I use an activity tracker (UA Record through my watch) when using the bike to track my burning calories, which I do at a high tension level.

    Since the lockdown began, I have reduced my daily calorie target (given that I cannot go out as much and I am furloughed) and I do use this app to track my calorie target.
  • Redordeadhead
    Redordeadhead Posts: 1,188 Member
    It's very possible the tracker is overestimating.

    How many calories are you eating each day, and how tall are you/what is your current weight?

    How do you measure the calories you eat (e.g. do you weigh your food in grams on a scale, use measuring cups, just take the package calories, use "1 piece" etc.)?
  • ojmeredith92
    ojmeredith92 Posts: 5 Member
    I use the package calories. I eat anything in the region of 1500-1800 calories a day.
  • Redordeadhead
    Redordeadhead Posts: 1,188 Member
    ojmeredith92 wrote: »
    I use the package calories. I eat anything in the region of 1500-1800 calories a day.

    And for things not in packages or where you only use some, like cereal, peanut butter, bananas, bread, rice, pasta, sauces?
    Height/current weight?
  • ojmeredith92
    ojmeredith92 Posts: 5 Member
    Redordeadhead wrote: »
    ojmeredith92 wrote: »
    I use the package calories. I eat anything in the region of 1500-1800 calories a day.

    And for things not in packages or where you only use some, like cereal, peanut butter, bananas, bread, rice, pasta, sauces?
    Height/current weight?

    I do weigh out things that are not in packages, like fruit for example. My height is 6ft and my weight started at 14st 5, then dropped to 14st, and has gone up over the last few weeks by 3lbs and there hasn't been much change in my diet.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,419 Member
    I'm with sijomial. That 1000 is probably not right.

    Why not just use a more realistic calorie burn, like 300-400 per hour of moderate to intense stationary bike?

    Second, you're not logging food. In the past week, you have maybe one day with reasonable calories logged (about 1600.) The rest of the days are blank or partially filled in.

    Log Food.

    Decrease calorie allocation for exercise to a normal level.

    Do that for a month. EAT the calories, not UNDER the calories.

    You have no idea what you're eating. And you're not using a food scale for fruit...heck, there is no fruit. Try to get balanced nutrition, not just grains and an egg here and there. Fruit, meat (or protein, lots more of it) vegetables, fats.

  • spiriteagle99
    spiriteagle99 Posts: 3,745 Member
    I agree that the exercise burn is too high. Your watch may be using your HR, which would be high if this level of exercise is new to you. When I use my stationary bike I get 300 or so for an hour and 22 miles biked.
  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 8,458 Member
    We’ve all been where you are: starting from a state of confusion and misunderstanding. Stick with it. It will take a few weeks but will eventually click, if you want it enough.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,226 Member
    I agree with all of those above (and I'll point out that by and large they're old MFP hands who've successfully lost weight using MFP).

    At the risk of adding to downer-ville, I'll add this:

    If you're not used to indoor cycling, it's possible that it's enough of a muscular challenge for you to build a little muscle, at first, especially if you are setting the resistance very high **.

    However, in a few short weeks, you will not have added a meaningful amount of new muscle mass (grown more muscle fibers) from cycling, even high-resistance cycling. Lifting heavy weights (following a good program) is pretty much the gold standard for gaining muscle mass. Under ideal conditions, a new-ish male weight lifter would be getting a good result if he added half a pound of muscle per week (half that for women). Ideal conditions also include good genetics, relative youth, sound nutrition (especially protein), and a calorie surplus (i.e, he'd be gaining weight, not losing or holding steady).

    You can get lots stronger without adding muscle mass (via neuromuscular adaptation, NMA). You can get a little more defined-looking because of how water is held in the muscles for repair, among other things. Those factors deceive some people into believing they've gained a lot of muscle mass.

    Sadly, in a few weeks of cycling, you haven't gained a lot of muscle mass . . . certainly not enough to outpace any reasonable rate of fat loss. Sorry! :flowerforyou:

    ** Which is potentially a risky thing to do as a steady/frequent practice, BTW. Not only is there more knee (and other joint) risk, but it is also shifting the workout in a more anaerobic direction, i.e., relatively more strength emphasis, relatively less cardiovascular emphasis (yeah, I know your heart is beating reeeeeaaallllly hard - bear with me a minute). You aren't getting the same cardiovascular benefits you would get from low/moderate resistance and faster spin (rpm). And your HRM is ramping up not so much from oxygen consumption (the thing that actually correlates calorie burn with heart rate, broadly/loosely speaking), but instead from strain. Heart rate monitors are not too great at estimating calories from exercise that emphasizes strength (because of strain and other factors increasing heart rate without commensurate calorie burn), and you're shifting your cycling (via high resistance) to emphasize strength . . . a thing that cycling isn't optimal for in the first place.

    Besides the excellent advice in posts above about focusing on eating (not exercise) in order to lose weight, your fitness and extra calorie burn needs would be better served by shorter but more steady-state aerobic (lower resistance, moderate intensity) indoor cycling (which your HRM-based device will then likely estimate more accurately, though not perfectly) for a shorter time period, and devoting the rest of the time to a good strength training program, like the ones discussed in the thread below. (A beginner bodyweight one will work for a while, so it's no barrier if you don't have weights while in lockdown).

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you/p1

    Wishing you much success! :)

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