burning crazy amount of calories and not losing weight?

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2

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  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,554 Member
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    Eat more.
    Exercise less.

    That should give you more energy to keep going without collapsing into a heap pretty soon. And you'll be more likely to see weight loss if your body is getting adequate energy to support all that you do.
  • ahubbard134
    ahubbard134 Posts: 61 Member
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    how do you know how many calories you are burning? if youre using mfp as your calorie counter then know that it freqyently overestimates calorie burns. three best way to know how many calories you're burning is to wear an hrm with chest strap.

    Oh that's interesting, I had no idea the MFP thingie was inaccurate, that is where you put in your weight, height etc and it estimates how many calories a day your body is burning?

    Does that mean the number of calories it estimates you can consume would also be incorrect?

    No, that part isn't what's incorrect! It's actually pretty (but not perfectly) accurate for calculating BMR, goals, and food.

    I think the point was: it's easy to log too much exercise in your diary -- because it's easy to say you did 60 minutes of intense exercise when you really did 60 minutes of moderate or light exercise. What matters is how much you were making your heart work, not what's in the DVD player.

    OP: Do you use a Heart Rate Monitor? Do you use a food scale? I think one or both would be a good idea if you aren't getting results now.
  • Divagettinfitin2011
    Divagettinfitin2011 Posts: 500 Member
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    Bump
  • pauljsolie
    pauljsolie Posts: 1,024 Member
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    EAT MORE, period.
  • samhelen
    samhelen Posts: 98
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    Your net calories should be at least 1200 a day. You're depriving your body of necessary fuel when you exercise PAST the number of calories you've consumed. Think of it as trying to drive a car with an empty gas tank -- the fumes will take you a few extra feet but eventually you're just going to stall and not go anywhere.
  • theoriginaljayne
    theoriginaljayne Posts: 562 Member
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    For the record, you should be netting at LEAST 1200-ish, probably more in your case.
    Netting zero/negative calories is not good at all.
  • mamagooskie
    mamagooskie Posts: 2,964 Member
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    eat your daily allowed calories and your exercize calories and you will lose weight. You are literally starving your body. I am in the 140's and eat 1480-2300 calories in a day depending on how much I work out and I still lose weight.
  • BlackRangerX
    BlackRangerX Posts: 133 Member
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    WOW that's some insane calorie burning. First, I would invest in a heart-rate monitor. Then either eat A LOT more and continue working out the same or workout less and continue eating the same. WOW that's a lot of calories.
  • Ianultrarunner
    Ianultrarunner Posts: 184 Member
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    Where are you getting the Calorie burn from?
    If it's from MFP then it's likely WRONG!!!!! and too high for you.
    For Cardio, get a Heart Rate Monitor, set it up and log the Calories from that.
    For Strength Training, don't log anything. Calorie burn from Strength Training is too vague and a complex issue.
    You should be alternating Cardio and Resistance training days and keep the amount of exercise down to a more sane level which will stop your body going into starvation mode which it might be if you are really burning that many calories and eating that little.
    Also, make sure to drink lots of water especially after working out.
    Look around the forums like others have said but take some of the advice with a pinch of salt and don't be afraid to look at other sites like Livingstrong, etc. There's plenty of good (and bad) information out there.
    Finally, if it drives you too crazy, consult a good nutritionist. One that doesn't have an agenda (like wants to sell you their junk).
  • purpleipod
    purpleipod Posts: 1,147 Member
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    Are you sure you're accurately tracking your calories burned? If so you need to back off of the exercise. That is seriously a little extreme. I have to agree with the exercise less and eat more. Too much exercise can be harmful, not helpful.
  • E1rlindsay
    E1rlindsay Posts: 32 Member
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    You can't be serious! If you're really netting that low of a calorie amount, you're going to get sick....i don't know how you even have the physical strength to muscle through all those work outs existing on NEGATIVE calories.
  • chevy88grl
    chevy88grl Posts: 3,937 Member
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    One thing I noticed is that MFP give you more carb allowance than you should take in. you should try not to go over 80g of carbs daily. And until you're ready to build lean muscle and work on shaping your body stay under 80g of protein as well.

    Why should I only have 80g of carbs? And only 80g of protein?

    I average 250-300g of carbs in a day and I average 100-120g of protein in a day.
  • azbutterfly1324
    azbutterfly1324 Posts: 74 Member
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    I'm doing P90X too and walking/hiking w/my dogs for approx 1 hour daily. I have a polar HRM w/cheststrap and monitor my calorie burn for all. I'm about your size....only about 5lb less, and with those 2 activities, I almost never burn more than 1000 calories a day. P90X averages 300-400 per workout for me.....much less than I see others post. Plyo is more and if I lift very heavy weights, can sometimes burn 400-500 on back/biceps and legs/back days.

    My calorie goal is also 1200, but I typically eat between 1400/1600 a day and I'm still starving some days so I eat a little more. I think if you look thru the p90x stuff, they recommend no less than 1800 calories a day.....and that is with only one workout a day!

    I feel your pain, because I'm not losing either, but you probably need to cut back a bit on the extreme exercise or eat a little more :) Did you do measurements? Even though the scale isn't moving much, I've lost over 18 inches and my clothes fit great. I look much more toned/fit than when I started too.
  • frugalmomsrock
    frugalmomsrock Posts: 1,123
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    Instead of bumping up the burn, you should have bumped up the fuel!
  • littledeak
    littledeak Posts: 17 Member
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    When you exercise you build muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat. You could even gain a small amount until your body adjust.
  • sleepytexan
    sleepytexan Posts: 3,138 Member
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    um, that's a little bit crazy. you're not giving your body any fuel. you know how your car can't run on empty? neither can you.

    read here and do check out the link at the bottom:

    Here's an old post of mine from similar topic:

    OK. I'm gonna give this a shot. I am an avid lifelong athlete. I have never been overweight, however, I used to eat too few calories (without knowing it), and a couple years ago, I actually GAINED weight bc of having slowed my metabolism to the point that every little extra treat I ate caused a weight gain, even though overall my calories were too low. THIS DOES HAPPEN.

    It is also the reason so many fat people stay fat. They restrict their calories so low, slow their metabolisms, binge (even a little), gain weight, restrict more . . . . and so on and so on. But they are still fat.

    It is also the reason most people can't lose that last 10-20 lbs. For real.

    1. MFP has a deficit built in. Let's say you're trying to lose 1 lb/ week. That is a 500/day deficit from your BMR (the amount of calories your body needs to complete basic functions.

    2. You exercise and burn 500 calories. Now you are at a 1000 deficit. If you eat back those 500 exercise calories, you refuel your body and you still have a 500 deficit for that 1 lb loss. If you DON'T eat back those calories, you have too little fuel. This is bad. This is too much of a deficit for basic functions. If you do this for a long time, you will STOP LOSING WEIGHT. Why? bc your metabolism will slow down -- it's like a brownout--not quite enough electricity to make the whole city (your body) run, so it has to slow down some things. You will probably start being tired a lot, your skin and hair might start to look worse, and you might even gain weight. But you might NOT be hungry -- your body is getting used to fewer calories. That's bad.


    That's when you start to gain weight. Let's say you're running along, eating 1200 calories a day, and exercising 400 calories a day, so net is 800. You're losing, you think this is great. You keep doing it, but after a while you stop losing. hmmmmm. One weekend you go out to a special event and have a slice of pizza and a beer. 1 slice of pizza and 1 beer. So you ate maybe 2000 calories that day and exercised off 400, so net 1600. BOOM! You gain 3 lbs! What?!

    Next, you freak out and restrict yourself down to 1000 calories a day and work out extra hard, burning 500 calories. Great, netting 500 now. You don't lose any weight, but you sure feel tired. Better get some red bull.

    Are you getting the picture?

    EDIT: When you work out, you need fuel. Food is fuel. If you don't eat back those exercise calories, you will not only have a big calorie deficit, you will have an ENERGY deficit. Remember, the calorie deficit for weight loss is built in when you use MFP. Exercising basically earns you more calories because you must refuel.
    --

    There are many people who will tell you not to eat exercise calories. Before you take their advice, you might want to see whether they are at goal, have EVER been at goal, or have ever been able to maintain at goal. If anyone says to you 'THE LAST TIME I LOST WEIGHT", just stop listening right there.

    Ask some athletes whether or not they replenish their bodies with food equal to the calories they burn. Ask people who are fit and have achieved and maintained a healthy weight for some years. Don't ask people who count walking across a parking lot as exercise.

    Here's an interesting case study about how to stay fat while consuming only 700 calories a day. Take a moment, you'll be glad you did:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/3047-700-calories-a-day-and-not-losing

    blessings.
  • lisakyle_11
    lisakyle_11 Posts: 420 Member
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    bump...cause it's interesting and there are quite a few people out there with somewhat similar things goin on...
  • usernamejoe
    usernamejoe Posts: 219 Member
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    Eat more and sometimes victories aren't made on the scale
  • RepsnSets
    RepsnSets Posts: 805 Member
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    I burnt 141 calories today! Go me! LOL
  • jaymek92
    jaymek92 Posts: 309 Member
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    One thing I noticed is that MFP give you more carb allowance than you should take in. you should try not to go over 80g of carbs daily. And until you're ready to build lean muscle and work on shaping your body stay under 80g of protein as well.
    lol.
    <--- eats a buttload of carbs and tries to eat a buttload of protein every day. losing fat, building muscle, hasn't hit a plateau or gained in the past two and a half months.
    why? because i lift heavy and do cardio, burning somewhere around 3000 calories per WEEK. i eat all kinds of food, all the damn time. my diary's open. check it out.

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