LADIES, need some feedback please!!

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EthanJeremiahsMama
EthanJeremiahsMama Posts: 534 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi MFP. So I had to ask the ladies.. if anyone has similar goals.. where exactly are you at today? Are you maintaining or losing? What is your calorie intake per day? Do you eat your exercise calories back? What do you mainly watch out for as far as carbs? sugar? protein?

Today I ate my exercise calories back. Sometimes I feel a bit guilty because I have not purchased a HRM yet, and most of the time when I go to the gym.. I either do Elliptical or the Treadmill with some sort of weight lifting as well.. I go based off the machines calories and alot of people on here have told me that "the calories are not accurate on the machines, better off with a HRM" so I honestly don't know if I am burning as much as the elliptical or treadmill says. Also, i've been eating more than I usually do but figured .. why not listen to my body when I feel hungry? I told myself that there's nothing to be stressed or worried about.. as long as i'm eating more healthier choices I should be fine, but seeing negative numbers on my diary or the calories total for that certain day makes me feel a little guilty since it's more than I'm used too. Although getting on the scale, if numbers go up.. I start to freak out a little bit, heh. I guess I just get a bit scared on gaining weight back. I'm still trying to figure out what my cal deficit should be everyday as far as trying to maintain or when it comes to wanting to drop those last 2 pounds. I have been on a 1,200 cal intake for the past 3 months and recently bumped it up to 1,220.. yeah, not that much of a difference but at the same time I've been eating more than usual which i'm not quite used too since I was so used to being at 1,200. I am happy with my upper body, but definitely not as pleased with my lower body.. but i've learned to accept it, although I know it can change with cardio & strength/weight lifting. I just need some feed back, MFP has always helped me with any questions that needed to be answered. I appreciate any responses. <3

Replies

  • 1myfit
    1myfit Posts: 69
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    why do you say the machines cal count is not right???
  • Riverofbeauty
    Riverofbeauty Posts: 205 Member
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    I moved onto maintaining last week (after 3 months of eating 1100-1300cals a day + exercise).

    First week of maintaining didn't work, I lost half a kg. So I've upped it a bit more this week, to see if I can maintain. I also started the workout program 'Making the Cut'. It's a bit scary allowing myself to eat more. Because I feel like I'm going to gain weight! I'm really happy with my weight now, and I don't want to slip back into old eating habits (which were shocking).

    I'm trying to maintain and tone!
  • Sepheara
    Sepheara Posts: 208 Member
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    why do you say the machines cal count is not right???
    [/quote]
    Machines are not totally accurate. they don't take into account things like:
    Your body fat percentage or your fitness level,
    also holding on to the support rails on some machines lessens the work load and can throw off the calorie count.
    The calorie estimates on a machine can be off by as much as 30%.
    --
    OP, MFP takes into account your BMR, and calculates the calories you need to eat to lose weight. If you eat back your exercise calories you're still at MFPs calculated deficit for you. If you go over a little and you're eating healthy foods because you are genuinely hungry, I wouldn't worry about it. I would however, look and see what else is available for eating. something more filling with less calories, like dense vegetables (broccoli etc). Just my opinion :) good luck
  • EthanJeremiahsMama
    EthanJeremiahsMama Posts: 534 Member
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    why do you say the machines cal count is not right???
    Machines are not totally accurate. they don't take into account things like:
    Your body fat percentage or your fitness level,
    also holding on to the support rails on some machines lessens the work load and can throw off the calorie count.
    The calorie estimates on a machine can be off by as much as 30%.
    --
    OP, MFP takes into account your BMR, and calculates the calories you need to eat to lose weight. If you eat back your exercise calories you're still at MFPs calculated deficit for you. If you go over a little and you're eating healthy foods because you are genuinely hungry, I wouldn't worry about it. I would however, look and see what else is available for eating. something more filling with less calories, like dense vegetables (broccoli etc). Just my opinion :) good luck
    [/quote]

    thanks for the response **EVERYONE** and i'm just going based off what others have told me with the machines not being as accurate
  • Maridelsol82
    Maridelsol82 Posts: 90
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    I dont have a calorie counter myself and understand how you feel. My friend gave me the advice to only count 60% of the calories MFP says you burned. I feel more confident doing this but its not exactly accurate either.
  • Maridelsol82
    Maridelsol82 Posts: 90
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    I dont have a calorie counter myself and understand how you feel. My friend gave me the advice to only count 60% of the calories MFP says you burned. I feel more confident doing this but its not exactly accurate either.
  • JenFerguson1
    JenFerguson1 Posts: 156 Member
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    my treadmill would say that I was burning around 450 calories running for a half an hour (at about 10mph) ...I got an HRM and I now realize that I burn about 200 if I'm lucky. I burn less than half of what mfp and my treadmill says.

    As of now, I weigh about 123 ( i fluctuate a lot due to sodium and water intake) and I'm 5'6". I dont really want to lose anymore but i wouldnt be upset if I did in the thigh area hahah. I eat 1,200 PLUS most of my exercise calories. So I eat around 1,300-1,500 total each day:)
  • 1myfit
    1myfit Posts: 69
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    my treadmill would say that I was burning around 450 calories running for a half an hour (at about 10mph) ...I got an HRM and I now realize that I burn about 200 if I'm lucky. I burn less than half of what mfp and my treadmill says.

    As of now, I weigh about 123 ( i fluctuate a lot due to sodium and water intake) and I'm 5'6". I dont really want to lose anymore but i wouldnt be upset if I did in the thigh area hahah. I eat 1,200 PLUS most of my exercise calories. So I eat around 1,300-1,500 total each day:)
  • 1myfit
    1myfit Posts: 69
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    What is a HRM???
  • 1myfit
    1myfit Posts: 69
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    It really upsets me to hear both treadmills and MFP are wrong on cal burning. I know it was not totally accurate but by that much????
  • JenFerguson1
    JenFerguson1 Posts: 156 Member
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    It really upsets me to hear both treadmills and MFP are wrong on cal burning. I know it was not totally accurate but by that much????

    it really depends on how much you weigh and your fitness ability and what not but yeah, they ALWAYS say much more than you actually burn
  • kasrentz
    kasrentz Posts: 16 Member
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    HRM=heart rate monitor
  • servilia
    servilia Posts: 3,452 Member
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    The machines at the gym, ESPECIALLY the elliptical, are usually way off.
    For example for the same workout, the machine readout said 142 calories, and my HRM said 88! That's for just an 11 minute stint! That's more than 50 calories off for 11 minutes. Now imagine if I added back the cals for a one hour workout, that would be almost 300 calories too much.
    If I was eating back ALL of those calories that the elliptical told me I burned, I'd be way over.
  • B_L_A_Z_I_A_N
    B_L_A_Z_I_A_N Posts: 151
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    Hey Christina!

    I am in maintenance right now... (V for victory!!!) so I slowly increased my caloric intake from 1200 to 1500 but I don't totally freak out if I am over or under. I do try to exercise everyday, and am thinking about getting a heart rate monitor since I don't use the elliptical anymore ( I just run).

    Of course since your my friend on here u can see my diary and exercise log :P
  • Womona
    Womona Posts: 1,630 Member
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    I would invest in a heart rate monitor. It's the only thing I trust, and yes, it shows a lot less than the machines at the gym or MFP's calculation. If you thinking you're burning way more calories than you actually are, you'll be scratching your head saying "why can't I lose weight?"

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