Confused about exercise and adding calories

No, you should never burn more calories then u take in, ur body will start eating off its own fat and that could be very dangerous.... u may become constipated and have problems with your kidneys, iron & potassium level will drop, your metabolisim can drop and ur body will feel full all the time and when u do eat, u can become majorly bloated.... no one wants to go through that..... I know from experience...

so basically you must fullfill the caloric intake alloted for your weight and height including any extra calories you have burned off working out in order to lose weight. it makes sense but it does seem confusing since the calories you have burned working out need to be replaced with food. defeats the purpose if you just look at it munerically, but the body works in mysterious ways!

p.s. i have been sticking closely to my required intake on both workout and non workout days, i may have gone over or under once or twice but basically ive been on target, but my weight loss is minimal. its getting discouraging.

Well, I must consume 1200 calories a day(w/o exercising) and burn 450 calories a week(30 minutes 3x a week) so I can lose 1.1 pounds a week. It's working so far. But most of the time I burn so much more a week and the pounds are not shedding faster.... I'm just satisfied by my 1 pound a week.

I just posted what's on my goals page.

I'm confused as it is with all this info so I just do what the site tells me to... period.

@lillola96 - what is happening to you? Are you eating too little? Is your body having issues as a result?

AnnPT77 wrote: »

Or are you saying, @lillola96, that you are constipated and feeling bloated?

Yes - and not losing a tiny bit of weight. 3 weeks in and the scale is the same every day, always feeling bloated and very hard to go to the toilet. I'm miserable and can't work out why.... your comments sound like what is happening to me...

lillola96 wrote: »

AnnPT77 wrote: »

Or are you saying, @lillola96, that you are constipated and feeling bloated?

Yes - and not losing a tiny bit of weight. 3 weeks in and the scale is the same every day, always feeling bloated and very hard to go to the toilet. I'm miserable and can't work out why.... your comments sound like what is happening to me...

There are several things that can lead to constipation, and yes, if you have constipation, your weight will tend to stall on the scale even though fat loss may be hidden behind the effect of that retained waste.

First, If you are going very long, consult your doctor. How long depends on what's normal for you, but if it's been 3 days with literally no movements, I would call the doctor's office and at least talk with them. (I know it can be embarassing, but it's important, and they're used to hearing about that sort of thing.) If you're experiencing pain or cramping, and not even passing gas, call and go see the doctor soon.

If it's not quite that bad, but still unpleasant, then there are things you can try. I won't get into over-the-counter medications (or herbs that do similar things but are less well-regulated!), but will talk about the dietary side.

There are a few things that affect constipation, for most people:
* Fiber
* Hydration (water and other fluids)
* Fats
* Sometimes micronutrients

Discussion:

Most women should be getting 25g of fiber most days, as a minimum. A common problem we see on MFP is someone who goes from a highly-processed-food diet straight into a "clean" diet, fully plant-based, or something like that. That change in eating increases fiber intake suddenly, and the body can have trouble adjusting. (That's especially true if one of the other factors is not ideal). It's better to gradually transition, so that fiber increases gradually over a period of a week or two. It's OK to use something like psyllium husk or metamucil if you're short on fiber, but better in the long haul to get it from food IMO.

You want to be drinking (or consuming in fruit, soup, or other water-containing things) enough fluids so that your urine looks pale yellow. If you're taking a lot of vitamins, especially B vitamins, or getting lots of them from food, then it may be bright (almost neon) yellow, and still be OK. But it should not be dark, tending toward brown-ish yellow. If you decide you're short on fluids, it would be better to drink some (a good sized glass) with each meal, and through the day, versus just gulp a whole bunch all at once.

When "going on a diet", many people think they should cut calories by cutting out as much fat/oil as they possible can. That's a bad plan. Fats/oils are needed for smooth digestive throughput, hormone health, cell wall health, and more. Something in the range of 0.35-0.45g daily per pound of body weight would be a good target. On the digestive front, though it's not literally true, getting enough fat sort of "greases the pipes" and helps you defecate. If you've been undereating fats, add some healthy fats to get up to the recommended level. Any fats or oils can help, but some expecially nutritious sources are nuts, seeds, avocadoes, olive oil. You can eat the higher-fat foods, or use more oil in cooking or on veggies/salads.

Those above are the biggies, in most cases. On MFP, among dieters, the "high fiber all at once" and "not enough fat" ones are commonest, IMO.

Beyond that are a few things that are less common, less scientifically documented, but that some people find helpful.

Some people find that they're not getting enough dietary magnesium. Some find that probiotics help (I'd suggest first trying to get them from foods, like live-culture yogurt, raw sauerkraut or kim chi, kefir, unpasteurized vinegar, or that sort of thing, but there are also good-quality supplements available. (Look for one from a mainstream company, not one that makes a lot of extreme promises.) Some people find that regular exercise, especially exercise the moves the midsection, is helpful.

If you've been logging at MFP, you can immediate see (on your diary page or nutrition/reports areas) whether you're getting 25g of fiber daily, and whether you're at least hitting your MFP fat minimum. You can look at your urine color, and think about whether you might be underhydrating. (No need to go crazy with water, though.) You probably know whether you've dramatically and suddenly increased fiber (veggies, fruits, whole grains). Those are areas you can adjust, and see if it helps.

But, to repeat myself, if there's pain/cramping, and it's been multiple days since a bowel movement, consult your doctor.

Best wishes for a solution soon!