SOME QUESTIONS HELP PLEASE

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So tonight will be "day" 20 of my weight loss journey. I haven't been missed a day at the gym & I usually go for an hour (two at the most) a day. I do the elliptical & lift weights. On the elliptical w/ resistance at 100 I usually burn 1000 cals. I'm eating 1270 & I have lost 6 lbs so far. My mom says a better work out would be doing the treadmill on incline 12 at 2.5 mph every day instead BUT it doesnt burn nearly as much calories a day so I'm thinking I won't lose weight as fast. Keep in mind that I want to reach my goal weight of 175 by the beginning of June... what do you think I should do??? stay on the elliptical or do the treadmill? heeelllppp

Replies

  • gregavila
    gregavila Posts: 725 Member
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    Honestly, if you are burning 1,000 calories a workout and only eating 1,270 a day you are not eating enough. To lose weight, you don't have to burn 1,000+ calories a day. I don't know your recommended daily calories but if what you say is accurate you are only eating 270 calories a day (NET) so you body likely thinks you are starving and isn't going to lose weight.

    I get between 400-600 exercise calories a day and keep my net deficit between 1,000 and 1,200 calories a day. I've lost 30 pounds in 8 weeks (results are not typical).

    So in some ways, I agree with your mom. Or you need to eat more and get a more manageable NET deficit.
  • Captain_Tightpants
    Captain_Tightpants Posts: 2,215 Member
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    Eating 1270 and burning 1000???? For gods sake eat more, you're gonna hurt yourself! :noway:
  • VictoriaFitness2010
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    I have noticed that I burn more calories on the elliptical vs. the treadmill. I recommend that you research the average calorie burn for both machines and compare. The number of calories you burn depends on a lot of factors to include using an incline, speed, etc.

    I highly recommend that you reevaluate the amount of calories you are taking in. If you are burning 1000 through exercise and eating 1200, you are not taking in enough calories. Do you have access to a fitness trainer or nutritionist? If you are burning way more than you are consuming, your weight loss could decrease.

    Seek professional advice.
  • OneChanceOneLife
    OneChanceOneLife Posts: 26 Member
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    If you really are eating 1270 calories a day and burning 1000 that is horrible. You are really in starvation mode and your body won't burn calories properly. You are definitely not getting the proper vitamins, nutrients, etc. either. Elliptical is not as good as many believe it is. Lifting is good as long as you are truly pushing yourself and doing them properly. Without going into many specifics and trying to keep it as simple as possible, try to eat more often and around 1500 calories a day. Walking on the treadmill with incline is definitely a better alternative to the elliptical. You will build more muscle and burn calories after you work out. If you want to maximize weight loss it is best to keep your workouts around an hour but push yourself so your heart rate gets around 85% of its max. If you have more time on your hands it is always okay to pull a double as long as you don't injure yourself. I like to keep my second workout to a good sweat session, like getting on a spinning bike or walking for 30-60 mins with a sweater on. That will help burn the calories without increasing the chances of injury and you will still have the energy the next day to go hard in your workout.
  • xraychick77
    xraychick77 Posts: 1,775 Member
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    there is no point in burning that many calories.

    i mainly lift which doesnt burn a lot of calories..and i run on the treadmill for about 30 mins..i may burn 200 calories.
  • kellybuss91
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    THANKS. and some people told me my net deficit should be in the negatives..... sooo yeah thats what i was going off of.
  • sarahcs424
    sarahcs424 Posts: 46 Member
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    You eat 1200 calories if you sit around all day or whatever you bmr is. If you burn 1000 you need to eat some of those calories back because your body needs those to do basic body functions. I lost 30 lbs in a month and a half! Some days I even got in 2000 calories in.
  • Determined523
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    AAAaahhh. So scary. Your net should be at least 1200 cal per day. Aren't you hungry through the day, just curious. I burn about 500 cal at the gym and come home starving.

    If you eat 2200 calories in a day, then go and burn a 1000 away, you are doing perfect.

    Remember to log your drinks too.

    I have noticed I burn more on the elliptical and bike then on the treadmill too. Try doing half your time of the elliptical and half on the treadmill and see if it makes a difference.
  • Mabohlale
    Mabohlale Posts: 148 Member
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    Agreed with all of the above ... My Fitness Pal has a tool for finding your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) which is the amount you burn just living and breathing every day. Use that to look at what you need to burn and how much to eat to lose the amount you want to lose each week. In addition to the above comments ... I would also suggest that you NOT do the same exact exercise every day. Your body will "get used to it" and you won't lose as much weight. Cross training is good. Do some of each ... alternate workouts.
  • pixiestick
    pixiestick Posts: 839 Member
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    How are you calculating your cal burn? Because some machines WAY over calculate for women because they are calibrated for a man's body and a man's metabolism. I was working out at my local gym burning 900+ in an hour on the elliptical and 900+ on the treadmill. I bought a heart rate monitor at the recommendation of several MFP veterans. I was actually burning 600 cals on the elliptical and about 550cals on the treadmill.
  • Captain_Tightpants
    Captain_Tightpants Posts: 2,215 Member
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    OP: this article may help you figure it out. Everything you need to know about weight loss in one single page right here:
    http://body-improvements.com/resources/eat/
  • Alejandro96
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    For me workout is not really to important to lose weight this last week ive been slaking and ive got 90 minutes of workout but i still lost 4.1 pounds in a week ( i'm 175 and started at 197 lost 22 pounds in 6 weeks ! :D still got 2 more but im getting there ) remember to lift weights tho !
  • kellybuss91
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    Ok I appreciate the help everyone but yall are going too crazy. I use the machines to count my exercise calories. & I'm hungry when I'm done working out but not like OMG IM GONNA DIE IF I DONT EAT... I just eat a little bit of fruit afterwards or something. I feel good actually and I'm trying to lose as much weight as I can by June. I don't have a lot of time so it's a little bit frustrating to see that my app says I'll only lose 10 lbs by march 27th when I go to the gym every day.....
  • tkaawa
    tkaawa Posts: 302
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    YOU SHOULD REALLY CHANGE IT UP A LITTLE. I DO THE TREADMILL A LOT NOW..WELL BECAUSE I BOGG OUT ON THE ELIPTICAL..BUT DO BOTH, BUT CHANGE IT UP A LITTLE....YOUR GOAL IS TO CONFUSE YOUR MUSCLE..IF YOU DO THE SAME THING OVER AND OVER AGAIN, YOU WILL NOT SEE TOO MUCH RESULTS..KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK
  • kellybuss91
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    YOU SHOULD REALLY CHANGE IT UP A LITTLE. I DO THE TREADMILL A LOT NOW..WELL BECAUSE I BOGG OUT ON THE ELIPTICAL..BUT DO BOTH, BUT CHANGE IT UP A LITTLE....YOUR GOAL IS TO CONFUSE YOUR MUSCLE..IF YOU DO THE SAME THING OVER AND OVER AGAIN, YOU WILL NOT SEE TOO MUCH RESULTS..KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK

    thank you!! yeah Im gonna do the treadmill on incline and change speeds etc for the next week or so
  • emmaruns
    emmaruns Posts: 189 Member
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    I was burning 1300 and eating 1300 and TOTALLY stalled for 3 weeks. As scary as it sounds, try eating more. Your body doesn't know your on a mission to get to your goal weight by June. It thinks there's a food shortage and a lot of work that you have to do right now so it will get VERY good at keeping every morsel you put in your mouth. Once it knows food is abundant, it will drop it's "reserves" more readily. Make sense?
  • DeenieWeenie
    DeenieWeenie Posts: 149 Member
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    AAAaahhh. So scary. Your net should be at least 1200 cal per day. Aren't you hungry through the day, just curious. I burn about 500 cal at the gym and come home starving.

    If you eat 2200 calories in a day, then go and burn a 1000 away, you are doing perfect.

    Remember to log your drinks too.

    I have noticed I burn more on the elliptical and bike then on the treadmill too. Try doing half your time of the elliptical and half on the treadmill and see if it makes a difference.

    Exactly this! I'm starving after a good work out too!
  • ShrinkinMel
    ShrinkinMel Posts: 982 Member
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    Do what YOU like to do. That said I do like to mix it up and work different muscles with different cardio and think its important to do so every now and then. It is a good thing to mix it up. Most often when I have a gym membership I do a combination of bike, elliptical(even though that movement feels highly unnatural to me) and treadmill each visit. I'll also swim afterwards and relax in the hot tub/spa before getting a shower and leaving. When I got I end up there 2 hours a lot of the time to get in everything. cardio, weight lifting and some swimming and muscle relaxing in the spa.
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