How much should I exercise to lose weight
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janejellyroll wrote: »Veejohnson1990 wrote: »Thanks all, I've been sticking to a 1500 calorie intake daily, even on my exercise days.
I'm vegan and I can find it hard to get much more than 1500 calories in a day, most of the time I'm at about 1100 calories a day! This isn't intentional it's just how my days work out food wise sometimes, but I'm glad that the exercise I'm currently doing will still yeild results ☺️
Thank you all for the great advice and insight!
As vegans, we absolutely have access to calorie-dense foods (and I think it's counter-productive when we say we don't, as it may be off-putting to people who want to gain weight or simply be able to maintain a healthy body weight and are also interested in veganism).
Some of my favorites: nut/nut butters, coconut/coconut milk, dark chocolate, potatoes, pasta, vegan mayo, avocado/guacamole, full fat salad dressings, hummus and/or tahini, vegan baked goods (banana bread, muffins, etc), pancakes/waffles, and smoothies/fruit juices. If you're meeting all your nutritional needs (which is unlikely on 1,110 a day, by the way), then you can also enjoy ones of the dozens and dozens of vegan beers or wines available to add more calories to your day.
I'm a vegan runner and some days I have as many as 3,000 calories without much of a challenge. I know of other vegan athletes or bodybuilders who eat a lot more than me. Scott Jurkek, the vegan ultrarunner, I think was eating 3,000-5,000 every day for a few months in a row when he was doing his full AT run. There are vegan powerlifters posting their meals on social media who are eating a mind-boggling number of calories (mind-boggling to me, normal for powerlifters). We are absolutely as capable as non-vegans are when it comes to eating to sustain our activity levels.
The problem I'm having since I've been more conscious of what I've been eating, is a lot of the vegans I've seen who have lose weight stick to the low fat/no fat diets, but I really struggle eating the amount of food they are consuming. So it's sort of put me in a place where the foods I enjoy, like banana bread and avocado etc seem really scary! But I just need to get out of that mentality I guess and especially make sure I'm eating enough on my exercise days.
I know there Are plenty of vegans who can get a lot of calories in etc but I just can't eat a massive amount of food, especially with working as well, plus I don't get a proper lunch break in my line of work. But I will try and get it up, as stated it isn't intentional.0 -
Fat is a necessary nutrient.
Fat doesn't (in itself) lead to being fat, it's all about a calorie balance.
If you are struggling to hit your calories, that's likely because you've cut fat. A handful of almonds = 170 calories and 14g fat.
Avo? 50 grams is 75 calories and 8g fat.
Eat your fats. Your brain (and body) will be happier.4 -
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Veejohnson1990 wrote: »Veejohnson1990 wrote: »Thanks all, I've been sticking to a 1500 calorie intake daily, even on my exercise days.
I'm vegan and I can find it hard to get much more than 1500 calories in a day, most of the time I'm at about 1100 calories a day! This isn't intentional it's just how my days work out food wise sometimes, but I'm glad that the exercise I'm currently doing will still yeild results ☺️
Thank you all for the great advice and insight!
Just a question: if you find it so hard to eat enough how come you feel the need to lose weight? Surely you'd not have gained weight if you'd always undereaten.
Do you use a kitchen scale and weight everything you eat in grams? Do you make sure you're selecting the right database entries?
I have snacked a lot in the past and I've not always eaten the way I do, I put 4 stone on in the past 2 years, and 2 stone of that piled on in 2 months last year but the drs couldn't find anything wrong.
I have been using a kitchen scale and measuring cups/spoons etc for my measurements.
But as I said I haven't always under eaten.
Hmm.. so your weight loss looks good! Nothing wrong there. You don't seem to be obese, thus 6lbs in 4 weeks is good, possibly even a bit on the fast side.
If you really want to know how much you're eating then dutch the cups and spoons and use a scale for everything. Even for products that have a weight on them. Most things can be off by 20%, and this generally means there's more in the package, hence more calories.2 -
Veejohnson1990 wrote: »Veejohnson1990 wrote: »Thanks all, I've been sticking to a 1500 calorie intake daily, even on my exercise days.
I'm vegan and I can find it hard to get much more than 1500 calories in a day, most of the time I'm at about 1100 calories a day! This isn't intentional it's just how my days work out food wise sometimes, but I'm glad that the exercise I'm currently doing will still yeild results ☺️
Thank you all for the great advice and insight!
Just a question: if you find it so hard to eat enough how come you feel the need to lose weight? Surely you'd not have gained weight if you'd always undereaten.
Do you use a kitchen scale and weight everything you eat in grams? Do you make sure you're selecting the right database entries?
I have snacked a lot in the past and I've not always eaten the way I do, I put 4 stone on in the past 2 years, and 2 stone of that piled on in 2 months last year but the drs couldn't find anything wrong.
I have been using a kitchen scale and measuring cups/spoons etc for my measurements.
But as I said I haven't always under eaten.
Hmm.. so your weight loss looks good! Nothing wrong there. You don't seem to be obese, thus 6lbs in 4 weeks is good, possibly even a bit on the fast side.
If you really want to know how much you're eating then dutch the cups and spoons and use a scale for everything. Even for products that have a weight on them. Most things can be off by 20%, and this generally means there's more in the package, hence more calories.
I'm currently 16st 3lb since losing the 6lbs so according to every health organisation I'm obese 😂 I mainly want to get healthy and fit again! And well get some of my confidence back in my self image.
But I'll stick to weighing everything rather than cups.
Thank you 😊2 -
Veejohnson1990 wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »Veejohnson1990 wrote: »Thanks all, I've been sticking to a 1500 calorie intake daily, even on my exercise days.
I'm vegan and I can find it hard to get much more than 1500 calories in a day, most of the time I'm at about 1100 calories a day! This isn't intentional it's just how my days work out food wise sometimes, but I'm glad that the exercise I'm currently doing will still yeild results ☺️
Thank you all for the great advice and insight!
As vegans, we absolutely have access to calorie-dense foods (and I think it's counter-productive when we say we don't, as it may be off-putting to people who want to gain weight or simply be able to maintain a healthy body weight and are also interested in veganism).
Some of my favorites: nut/nut butters, coconut/coconut milk, dark chocolate, potatoes, pasta, vegan mayo, avocado/guacamole, full fat salad dressings, hummus and/or tahini, vegan baked goods (banana bread, muffins, etc), pancakes/waffles, and smoothies/fruit juices. If you're meeting all your nutritional needs (which is unlikely on 1,110 a day, by the way), then you can also enjoy ones of the dozens and dozens of vegan beers or wines available to add more calories to your day.
I'm a vegan runner and some days I have as many as 3,000 calories without much of a challenge. I know of other vegan athletes or bodybuilders who eat a lot more than me. Scott Jurkek, the vegan ultrarunner, I think was eating 3,000-5,000 every day for a few months in a row when he was doing his full AT run. There are vegan powerlifters posting their meals on social media who are eating a mind-boggling number of calories (mind-boggling to me, normal for powerlifters). We are absolutely as capable as non-vegans are when it comes to eating to sustain our activity levels.
The problem I'm having since I've been more conscious of what I've been eating, is a lot of the vegans I've seen who have lose weight stick to the low fat/no fat diets, but I really struggle eating the amount of food they are consuming. So it's sort of put me in a place where the foods I enjoy, like banana bread and avocado etc seem really scary! But I just need to get out of that mentality I guess and especially make sure I'm eating enough on my exercise days.
I know there Are plenty of vegans who can get a lot of calories in etc but I just can't eat a massive amount of food, especially with working as well, plus I don't get a proper lunch break in my line of work. But I will try and get it up, as stated it isn't intentional.
Are a lot of these vegans you're "seeing" online, like in videos? Because popular YouTube vegans are typically terrible role models for diet, prone to misrepresenting what they actually eat, and are famous for quitting veganism due to health problems (that are likely the result of their disordered eating patterns). A no-fat diet is absolutely unhealthy. Fat is an essential nutrient. Even a low fat diet isn't appropriate for everyone (I feel terrible on them).
When you look at your average, everyday, long-term vegans - we're eating a variety of foods. We're making sure to get sufficient fat and protein. We aren't trying to live on very low levels of calories. The vegans who are afraid to eat things like avocado and banana bread, they often don't make it to long-term veganism because the lack of nutrition and calories starts to wear them down. Then they're the ex-vegans talking about how veganism "doesn't work" when in reality anyone would fail on any type of diet if they ignored their nutritional needs.
Nobody is telling you to eat a massive amount of food. I was pointing out that there are vegans with huge calorie needs who are eating a lot of food to illustrate that veganism doesn't place a cap on the number of calories that you can eat. You can use a variety of vegan foods to get the number of calories that you *need* whether that number is abnormally high (ultra-runner, powerlifter), normal (most of us), or even lower than usual. It's a very flexible way of eating. It works for athletes, it works for toddlers, it works for sedentary people. But that doesn't mean it is going to automatically work for everyone. Just as non-vegans fail to feel good when they don't eat enough or when they don't get enough fat, it can happen to us too.
Back to the "massive amounts of food" thing, in reality, if you identify some more calorie-dense foods to add to your diet, you'll actually be eating *less* in volume, because calorie-dense foods pack more calories per square inch (compare 200 calories of avocado to 200 calories of broccoli, for example). Think about how tiny a tablespoon of olive oil is, but it's about 120 calories. For someone who is struggling to eat enough, the calorie-density of fat is actually a great thing because it is so easy to add a calorie boost to meals without feeling stuffed.5 -
Veejohnson1990 wrote: »Veejohnson1990 wrote: »Thanks all, I've been sticking to a 1500 calorie intake daily, even on my exercise days.
I'm vegan and I can find it hard to get much more than 1500 calories in a day, most of the time I'm at about 1100 calories a day! This isn't intentional it's just how my days work out food wise sometimes, but I'm glad that the exercise I'm currently doing will still yeild results ☺️
Thank you all for the great advice and insight!
How fast are you losing?
If 1100 is an accurate count, and you're doing intense exercise you're not eating back on top of that, you're undereating. Undereating increases health risk.
I'm not sure how veganism relates to not being able to eat enough calories, but if it's that you're feeling full before getting enough calories in, add some nuts, avocado, olive oil, seeds or something like that, something calorie dense but not filling, please. U*nderfueling is not a good idea.
Sincerely concerned!
I'm not losing much at all, in 4 weeks with the exercise I've lost 6lb, and I'm just feeling full from the food I'm eating as I mostly have vegetables on the side of my meals, I cook from scratch also so there's no added sugars etc which keeps the calories down. I've been weighing everything to make sure I get it as accurate as I can, but as I said the low calories aren't intentional at all.
I'll be having homemade pizza tonight so I'm sure that will be calorie dense!
But I'll look into ways to increase my intake, last thing I want is health issues!
OK, so maybe you're not overeating, maybe you're undercounting when logging (for some of the reasons yirara mentioned. But 4 weeks may be a little on the short side, to get a good average. Sometimes the first week or two can be a water-weight roller-coaster ride, atypical. And - if premenopausal - you want to compare weights at the same relative point in two or more different monthly cycles (because hormone-related water fluctuation can also be misleading).
To be clear, what I'm saying here is that your actual weight loss rate is the best guide to whether you're undereating. - not something a calorie "calculator" or fitness tracker or whatever might say, because those are just statistical estimates. (There is a little room in there for undereating to the point of lassitude, so losing slower than one would expect when calories get too low. This is not "starvation mode" as popularly depicted (as the idea that "your body holds onto fat". The mechanism is pretty much fatigue, so reduced activity and reduced overall calorie expenditure.)3 -
Veejohnson1990 wrote: »Veejohnson1990 wrote: »Veejohnson1990 wrote: »Thanks all, I've been sticking to a 1500 calorie intake daily, even on my exercise days.
I'm vegan and I can find it hard to get much more than 1500 calories in a day, most of the time I'm at about 1100 calories a day! This isn't intentional it's just how my days work out food wise sometimes, but I'm glad that the exercise I'm currently doing will still yeild results ☺️
Thank you all for the great advice and insight!
Just a question: if you find it so hard to eat enough how come you feel the need to lose weight? Surely you'd not have gained weight if you'd always undereaten.
Do you use a kitchen scale and weight everything you eat in grams? Do you make sure you're selecting the right database entries?
I have snacked a lot in the past and I've not always eaten the way I do, I put 4 stone on in the past 2 years, and 2 stone of that piled on in 2 months last year but the drs couldn't find anything wrong.
I have been using a kitchen scale and measuring cups/spoons etc for my measurements.
But as I said I haven't always under eaten.
Hmm.. so your weight loss looks good! Nothing wrong there. You don't seem to be obese, thus 6lbs in 4 weeks is good, possibly even a bit on the fast side.
If you really want to know how much you're eating then dutch the cups and spoons and use a scale for everything. Even for products that have a weight on them. Most things can be off by 20%, and this generally means there's more in the package, hence more calories.
I'm currently 16st 3lb since losing the 6lbs so according to every health organisation I'm obese 😂 I mainly want to get healthy and fit again! And well get some of my confidence back in my self image.
But I'll stick to weighing everything rather than cups.
Thank you 😊
I'd suggest first week measure and weigh, or weigh and measure, those things you'd normally just measure.
Some foods you may discover were not far off, some maybe were and will explain a lot.
May also discover the weighing can be just as easy once you use the different methods of using the Tare button.
Also, weigh the fats you are going to try to eat more of - that can be a big surprise if done wrong.3 -
Veejohnson1990 wrote: »Hi all,
Just started my weight loss journey again, I am currently exercise 3 days a week doing high intensity aerobic dance exercises, and well I'm loving it!!
Every article I have read says you need to exercise 30 mins a day 7 days a week and it's kind of daunting 😩
Just wondering if people have had success with the amount I am exercising? I will increase when I feel I can, don't want to hurt or over do myself, but yeah just looking for some first hand experience 🙂
The 30 minutes you are referencing is a basic guideline for minimum exercise for basic health. It would also be 5 days per week for a total of 150 minutes of light to moderate aerobic exercise weekly for basic health.
Losing weight is about taking in less calories (energy) than you need to maintain the status quo...exercise is helpful because it increases your total energy expenditure...but diet is going to have far more impact on weight management in general. Exercise doesn't default to weight loss.
Also keep in mind that exercise doesn't have to be this super intense thing all of the time...and it really shouldn't be. I usually exercise in some manner 7 days per week, but it is varied...one day might be 30 mile bike ride...the next might be a shorter 10 mile ride...or I might go hit the trails on my mountain bike for an hour or two...or I might just go walk the dog or do some yoga. Varying intensity and duration lets you recover if you've had a more strenuous session...also varying activity keeps things more interesting than doing the same thing all the time.1 -
I'm 65, 5'2.5" and weigh 165. If I don't exercise how many calories should I eat daily to lose 40-50 lbs? I have always been on the thin side. Started gaining weight the closer I got to 60. Yes I started eating more and moving less. I do not have any health problems.
Use the guided setup in your MFP profile, it will estimate the calorie goal for you. At your size, around 1 pound a week is the maximum you should shoot for, IMO. If you do exercise, log it and eat those calories in addition to the base goal calories MFP gives you. (FWIW, I'm 5'5" and 64, formerly 183 pounds, joined MFP at 154 pounds at age 59, now about 130 pounds and in year 4+ of maintenance.)
The calorie goal for loss has nothing to do with what total amount you want to lose, except that if one doesn't have lots to lose, it's safer to stay away from 2 pounds a week loss. Mostly, your goal weight just tells you when to stop losing; the process of getting there is basically the same regardless: Eat fewer calories than you burn, more days than not, by a sensibly moderate amount.
Best wishes!
Hi Ann, thank you so much for your comment I follow you quite a bit on this site. I guess what I'm confused about is that prior to this diet plan or this new lifestyle I was eating approximately 7000 calories per day. This was primarily avocado toast, peanut butter toast, handfuls of mixed nuts, ice cream chocolate those are kind of the things I love to eat. I have always been physically active so I was still hiking with the hiking group maybe three to four times a week as well as cycling. I never was a fan of fast food in fact I rarely if ever eat it and I also don't enjoy going out to eat so my weight gain isn't from those areas. so now here I am eating 1200 calories per day and since lockdown now I do a 45-minute Peloton spin ride everyday and I do two different sessions at three to four mile walks which includes elevation gains. I've been doing a lot of housework and yard work so I am not idle my days are approximately 18 hours long. so my question is why am I stuck for months on end at my weight between 163 and 165? so why going from 7000 calories a day to 1200 calories a day am I not losing weight? I would have expected the weight to just melt off but here I am 3 months later with two pounds down and then two pounds up I don't get it.0 -
I'm 65, 5'2.5" and weigh 165. If I don't exercise how many calories should I eat daily to lose 40-50 lbs? I have always been on the thin side. Started gaining weight the closer I got to 60. Yes I started eating more and moving less. I do not have any health problems.
Use the guided setup in your MFP profile, it will estimate the calorie goal for you. At your size, around 1 pound a week is the maximum you should shoot for, IMO. If you do exercise, log it and eat those calories in addition to the base goal calories MFP gives you. (FWIW, I'm 5'5" and 64, formerly 183 pounds, joined MFP at 154 pounds at age 59, now about 130 pounds and in year 4+ of maintenance.)
The calorie goal for loss has nothing to do with what total amount you want to lose, except that if one doesn't have lots to lose, it's safer to stay away from 2 pounds a week loss. Mostly, your goal weight just tells you when to stop losing; the process of getting there is basically the same regardless: Eat fewer calories than you burn, more days than not, by a sensibly moderate amount.
Best wishes!
Hi Ann, thank you so much for your comment I follow you quite a bit on this site. I guess what I'm confused about is that prior to this diet plan or this new lifestyle I was eating approximately 7000 calories per day. This was primarily avocado toast, peanut butter toast, handfuls of mixed nuts, ice cream chocolate those are kind of the things I love to eat. I have always been physically active so I was still hiking with the hiking group maybe three to four times a week as well as cycling. I never was a fan of fast food in fact I rarely if ever eat it and I also don't enjoy going out to eat so my weight gain isn't from those areas. so now here I am eating 1200 calories per day and since lockdown now I do a 45-minute Peloton spin ride everyday and I do two different sessions at three to four mile walks which includes elevation gains. I've been doing a lot of housework and yard work so I am not idle my days are approximately 18 hours long. so my question is why am I stuck for months on end at my weight between 163 and 165? so why going from 7000 calories a day to 1200 calories a day am I not losing weight? I would have expected the weight to just melt off but here I am 3 months later with two pounds down and then two pounds up I don't get it.
Oh - forget my 1250 figure then which was based on you saying not doing much.
You need to start your own topic, give your body stats, info in that paragraph, and how you log food (weight or measure).0 -
I'm 65, 5'2.5" and weigh 165. If I don't exercise how many calories should I eat daily to lose 40-50 lbs? I have always been on the thin side. Started gaining weight the closer I got to 60. Yes I started eating more and moving less. I do not have any health problems.
Use the guided setup in your MFP profile, it will estimate the calorie goal for you. At your size, around 1 pound a week is the maximum you should shoot for, IMO. If you do exercise, log it and eat those calories in addition to the base goal calories MFP gives you. (FWIW, I'm 5'5" and 64, formerly 183 pounds, joined MFP at 154 pounds at age 59, now about 130 pounds and in year 4+ of maintenance.)
The calorie goal for loss has nothing to do with what total amount you want to lose, except that if one doesn't have lots to lose, it's safer to stay away from 2 pounds a week loss. Mostly, your goal weight just tells you when to stop losing; the process of getting there is basically the same regardless: Eat fewer calories than you burn, more days than not, by a sensibly moderate amount.
Best wishes!
Hi Ann, thank you so much for your comment I follow you quite a bit on this site. I guess what I'm confused about is that prior to this diet plan or this new lifestyle I was eating approximately 7000 calories per day. This was primarily avocado toast, peanut butter toast, handfuls of mixed nuts, ice cream chocolate those are kind of the things I love to eat. I have always been physically active so I was still hiking with the hiking group maybe three to four times a week as well as cycling. I never was a fan of fast food in fact I rarely if ever eat it and I also don't enjoy going out to eat so my weight gain isn't from those areas. so now here I am eating 1200 calories per day and since lockdown now I do a 45-minute Peloton spin ride everyday and I do two different sessions at three to four mile walks which includes elevation gains. I've been doing a lot of housework and yard work so I am not idle my days are approximately 18 hours long. so my question is why am I stuck for months on end at my weight between 163 and 165? so why going from 7000 calories a day to 1200 calories a day am I not losing weight? I would have expected the weight to just melt off but here I am 3 months later with two pounds down and then two pounds up I don't get it.
Oh - forget my 1250 figure then which was based on you saying not doing much.
You need to start your own topic, give your body stats, info in that paragraph, and how you log food (weight or measure).
Oh sorry for the misunderstanding. Moving less I meant I no longer snow ski or backpack just hike and cycle.0
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