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What am I doing wrong and what should I change?

faburizu
faburizu Posts: 32 Member
edited December 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
This is my workout regimen: I do 30 minutes of cardio 4 days a week. I do 60 minutes of cardio 1-2 days a week, and the remaining day I usually weight train, rest or just do another day of 30 minutes. When I do 30 minutes, it's not exactly mild, I'm usually pouring sweat and pushing myself as hard as I can - I work hard enough so that I am not feeling physically able to continue for another 30 minutes. Should I work less hard and stretch it out to 60 minutes instead?

Most days I am at a 300-500 calorie deficit. I add calories burned in my exercise plan on myfitnesspal and it bumps up my daily goal. I'm never usually hungry enough to eat all of the recommended 1500+ calories. Some days I meet the goal, but it's very rare.

When I first started working out, I was in the 180s. After the first week and a half I went down to 175. After the next two weeks I went down to 170. And now, I've been stuck at 170 for a really long time. I'm guessing it's a plateau. I've tried varying my diet, doing new cardio routines (specifically HIIT exercises), lifting weights more, and just trying to change certain things I do. I realize the scale is not the most accurate form of progress, but I also have progress pictures and I measure myself and I'm just not seeing a difference.

The only thing I can think of that I can't control is eating processed foods. I eat prepared meals a lot, like Lean Cuisine, or things like granola bars and stuff. I would LOVE to switch to an organic or vegan diet but I just can't afford it. My family is on food stamps and I already use a lot of the money I get from my business on buying food. If I switched to solely organic stuff, I'd eat even less than I do now.

Could it be the calorie deficit holding me back? I kind of don't even think twice about that because whenever I use a machine at the gym, I enter the exact amount of calories burned into myfitnesspal and I know that those numbers are usually overestimated anyway. Is it the processed foods thing?

When I compare how I am eating and exercising now, to how I did at the beginning of this year or most of last year, there is a HUGE improvement. I did no exercise during the day and I ate disgusting amounts of food. I'm not going to give up anytime soon, but seeing progress is a HUGE motivator for me. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Replies

  • mfpcopine
    mfpcopine Posts: 3,093 Member
    One of the good things about eating processed foods is that you know what the company says the calorie count is supposed to be, although bear in mind that by law they are allowed to underestimate by as much as 20%.

    Most people overestimate how much energy they are expending. I would not take the machine estimates too seriously. The calculations used to be based on the energy expenditure of men, which is greater than that of women.

    I've also read that if you have to lose weight, you need about an hour of vigorous cardio 5 to 6 days a week, along with strength training.

    If you can, you should see a doctor to confirm that you're healthy. Some health plans will allow you to see a nutritionist.

    You should see if you can buy a scale that gives you a body fat estimate or buy a handheld electronic device.

    Hope this helps some.
  • faburizu
    faburizu Posts: 32 Member
    One of the good things about eating processed foods is that you know what the company says the calorie count is supposed to be, although bear in mind that by law they are allowed to underestimate by as much as 20%.

    Most people overestimate how much energy they are expending. I would not take the machine estimates too seriously. The calculations used to be based on the energy expenditure of men, which is greater than that of women.

    I've also read that if you have to lose weight, you need about an hour of vigorous cardio 5 to 6 days a week, along with strength training.

    Hope this helps some.
    Thank you for your input!

    When I do 30 minutes, I work hard enough so that I am not feeling physically able to continue for another 30 minutes. Should I work less hard and stretch it out to 60 minutes instead?

    I added this to my original post as well. I have no problem doing 60 minutes at the gym and I'll try that from now on for a few weeks to see if I see a difference! Thanks again!
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