Im going backwads! Where am I going wrong?

Hi!
Recently I noticed I gained 5lbs (i dont weigh myself often) and I dont seem to understand. I eat my 3 meals (Brkfst: 250-320; lnch 3-400; Dinner 6-800 depending) and 2 snacks (80-110 each) every day. I keep a note of everything even drinks. Which brings me to about 1420- 1600 daily
I do about 45-60 min of cardio (I sweat to the point Im peeling my cloths off) and about 20 or so of "sculpt-ilates" which I consider strength training although it can be cardio. On average I burn 1300 calories. I was told to burn more than what you eat in order to lose, but from what I read here people advise to intake more. Unless I eat junk thats not possible for me.
Some tell me 'dont worry ur pms-ing n thats y the gain' but I dont think thats it I've gained an inch all around.

Any ideas of what Im doing wrong or can do different?

Replies

  • proctor78
    proctor78 Posts: 51
    Hi,

    You are burning almost allf your calories that you eat, therefor your body can go into starvation mode and store fat. You should eat back some of those calories with good fats...
  • IveLanded
    IveLanded Posts: 797 Member
    Well, I don't think you are burning 1300 calories with an hour of cardio. I do serious hour work outs and they burn about 400 calories, give or take, depending on your weight and such. So, for 1 you may not be estimating your work outs correctly.

    Second, it's different for everyone, but I find when I have large meals as opposed to equally spreading out my calories through the day, I tend to hold on to meals. My nutritionist explained to me that if you eat a huge meal at the end of the day, close to bedtime, your body isn't going to burn those calories as efficiently and your body can hold on to those calories since it knows the next meal will be tiny.

    Last........what you are doing isn't working. You said it yourself. So you have to change it. And sometimes it won't make sense. But if it's not working, it's not working. It might be time to reevaluate your diet? Cut carbs and/or fat and/or sugar? Cut alcohol? Something obviously needs to change a little more drastically.
  • I cross check my calories btwn 3 sites, according to my height, weight, and work out I use the median which is 1000-1300.
    I dont eat any later than 6pm (3 nights a week Im done eating by 5).
    I dont drink alcohol, I dont do sugar (I do Splenda), I do carbs... but concious of intake.

    DRASTIC Measure....I've thought of doing a liquid diet and only 1 solid meal a day but I dont think I can actually live the rest of my life like that. I want to have a life style that is do able, not a "diet" I dread.
  • morgansmom02
    morgansmom02 Posts: 1,131 Member
    I think those sites might be over estimating how many calories you are burning. You should get a heart rate monitor to get more accurate calories burned.
  • morgansmom02
    morgansmom02 Posts: 1,131 Member
    If you open your diary, we can take a look at it!!

    I wouldn't do the liquid diet.
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
    How accurate are your food measurements? Are you using a food scale?
  • RachelsReboot
    RachelsReboot Posts: 569 Member
    People would better be able to help if you open your diary, given your family history of diabetes you should get yourself checked for insulin resistance or cut back on your carbs a little and see if that doesn't start you going. Say you get 250g of carbs per day try cutting back to 175g that's still a generous amount and may be enough to get the scale moving for you.
  • Onesnap
    Onesnap Posts: 2,819 Member
    I would avoid any and all artificial sweeteners.

    (that's according to the experts...oh and my primary care doctor).

    Did you know Truvia is made with 40 chemical compounds (does not have to be listed in ingredient list). I can't even imagine what is in Splenda.

    Just do raw honey (great for your immune system--it's the milky looking honey not the one you can see through). A bit of real sugar.

    Sugar is not the enemy here.

    My advice is MEET your calorie goals on MFP. Don't fall below them.

    Here's my example.

    To lose 1lb/week I have to NET 1260/day.

    That means after my workout I'm trying to fuel my healthy 35 year old body with...wait for it...wait for it...760 calories.

    If you fall below your goals, you are eating a deficit to a deficit and you're not fueling the machine. Don't fight the system. Make sure to NET what the program says to NET.
  • I agree with IveLanded. I run an average of 25-30 miles a week (which I consider pretty intense cardio) and I am told that I am burning less than 600 calories per hour. I only burned 1300 calories in one day with exercise when I ran a half marathon (2+ hours of running).

    I don't think it is likely you are burning 1000 calories in one hour of cardio.
  • Onesnap
    Onesnap Posts: 2,819 Member
    and I post this a lot.

    No cleanses, detoxes or liquid diets.

    If they worked we would not be a world of overweight people:

    http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/detox-diets-purging-myths
  • SuffolkSally
    SuffolkSally Posts: 964 Member
    That calorie burn estimate has to be wrong surely??? For an hour of cardio? Otherwise it's hard to even guess without seeing your diary - excess salt intake for instance can cause water retention.
  • tananichelle
    tananichelle Posts: 103 Member
    I got a problem with "backwads" too. :laugh:
  • adamb83
    adamb83 Posts: 719 Member
    1. I agree with others - you're probably over-estimating Cardio burn. For 60 minutes of high-intensity cardio at a heavier body weight, 600 would be a great burn. 1,000 would be pretty hard to acheive.

    2. If you truly are only eating 1600 calories a day and burning even 600 Calories in your workouts, that means you would have a net caloric intake of 1000 for the day. WAY too low. Have you checked your BMR? You should probably be eating way more calories. If you don’t – your body says HELL NAW and shuts down the fat loss. You might be eating away at your lean muscle mass, though… which is great (sarcasm).

    Advice? Eat more (don't say you can't - you can). And get yourself a Heart Rate Monitor so you're not relying on bogus website averages/estimates - they suck (even here on MFP).
  • danibabs
    danibabs Posts: 298 Member
    Definitely open up your diary. The types of foods you eat are important, as well as how much you eat. I'm a big advocate of eating back exercise calories but also agree with others that 1300 seems high for one hour of cardio. On days I do 30-40 mins of circuit training, run 40 mins, walk another 40 mins I usually max out at around 1000 calories - and that's about two hours worth.
    Also (and I've seen the other current trending thread on this issue today lol) but are you getting much water? I find I always do better when I drink ALOT of water - and I mean way more than 8 cups a day.
    Other factors like rest days, varied forms of exercise, getting enough sleep, carbs vs protein vs fat, sodium, etc. can also come into effect and are well worth exploring before any drastic measures!
    Feel free to friend me as well :)
  • jtintx
    jtintx Posts: 445 Member
    +1 on the thought that you are overestimating you calorie burn. My guess is that the workouts you describe burn at the most 800 calories. Plus the more you do a workout the more efficient your body gets at doing the workout and the less calories it burns to do it. That's why you eventually have to increase intensity and/or duration - you will eventually plataue. You need to keep your deficit at only 500 calories. Losing slowly is the key to keeping it off.
  • susannamarie
    susannamarie Posts: 2,148 Member
    I was told to burn more than what you eat in order to lose, but from what I read here people advise to intake more. Unless I eat junk thats not possible for me.

    Burn more than what you eat doesn't mean exercise off more than what you eat. Don't forget your body burns calories even while you're sleeping.

    I would be heavily suspicious of 1300 calories or even 1000 calories/hour burnt.
  • danielleburwell97060
    danielleburwell97060 Posts: 257 Member
    It shouldn't matter if sites are over estimating your exercise cals. If you're eating 1600 and doing an hour of cardio every day you are probably NETTING too few cals.

    I have found that I've had more weight lose on weeks were I barely worked out at all than on weeks where I work out. Exercise is great for building muscle and endurance and becoming healthy in general but weight loss is cals in and cals out. You could probably back off a lot on all that cardio and see better results.

    What does MFP tell you to eat per your goals? If I were you I would eat that, and then eat back half your exercise cals, but making sure it's as healthy as possible.
  • wordpainter09
    wordpainter09 Posts: 472 Member
    I would get a heart rate monitor or Body Media Fit. It's very unlikely you're burning that amount of calories... you'd have to be running about 15 miles to burn that amount.
    But even if you are only burning 400-500 calories per workout, that's not the issue. If you are burning that many and eating 1400 cals, you are eating below your BMR which could be causing you to lose lean muscle mass rather than fat. This could slow and even reverse your weight loss.
  • sjwhite7
    sjwhite7 Posts: 86 Member
    A heart rate monitor will definitely help but you could be close to accurate on your calories burned. The more you weigh the higher the calories burned will be. But the actual heart rate would be more accurate. I would also suggest taking measurements in many different areas of your body. I will also say that depending on how long you have been eating right and exercising, you may just have to give it a few more weeks to see results. The first couple of weeks are your endurance weeks and your body is adjusting. After about 4-6 weeks you should be in your losing phase. Just give it time and dont give up. I promise it will come but you have to be patient and find out how your body adjusts to your changes. Everyones body is different and what works for others may not work for you. This is a learning process and nothing happens over night.
  • I have a food scale, measuring cups and spoons. It feels obsesive but I measure everything. If not I scan what Im eating with the MFP app on my phone

    How accurate are your food measurements? Are you using a food scale?
  • Heart rate monitor it is than!
    Thats a main reason y I dont eat what it says I burn cuz I dont want to over eat. Plus I only log my "work outs" I dont take in count cleaning or evening strolls with the fam.

    And for those who say its impossible for me to burn that much...the more you weigh the more you burn when you sweat. I weight 230 and I work out hard to the point where all I hear is my heart pumping... think at least 2x I cant anymore but still go.

    Thank you to those of you who were encouraging and helpful! I appreciate it (truly)! Those with negativity and disbelief, thank for the reality of human kind.
  • Ritzbrit
    Ritzbrit Posts: 211 Member
    I agree with a lot that has been said above BUT also, increase your water intake and change up your workouts. Also, your weight is going to flex a few pounds depending on what you eat.
  • akjmart2002
    akjmart2002 Posts: 263 Member
    Shore up your data gathering. You are under- or over-estimating something.

    Agreed on the need for a HRM. Don't get a crappy cheap one - a Polar FT7 is a good place to start.

    After you know better what you are *really* burning each day, make a solid effort to hit that net target after taking your exercise into account.

    If you *still* are not seeing normal results, have your BMR clinically measured. Your body may need drastically fewer calories than you think and you are inadvertently still overeating.

    Ultimately it is all about the numbers.
  • geetabean
    geetabean Posts: 76
    Hi! I don't think that your burned calorie count is necessarily off....at least not by much. I am about the same weight as you and I work out for about 1.5 hours at a time. 1 hour cardio and 20-30 minutes weight lifting and I burn between 900-1300 calories depending on intensity. I also wear a heart monitor, so I know that this number is at least mostly accurate! I would highly recommend a heart rate monitor.....I love mine!

    I am not an expert by any means, but here is my humble opinion:

    1. Is it that time of the month? Women can gain up to 10 pounds during our "special" time....most of it being water weight, but it is weight none the less. I freaked out a couple weeks ago when I gained 2 pounds and then didn't lose anything for a week. Once my period was over I lost those 2 pounds and then a couple days later lost a couple more. Just a thought.

    2. It sounds to me like you are eating too few calories.....especially with as much cardio as you are doing. A heart rate monitor will tell you exactly how many you are burning and then you can adjust your diet accordingly. You want to make sure that your NET is what your daily goal is. If your goal is 1800 calories and then you burn 1000 you really need to be eating 2800 so that your NET is 1800.

    3. You might need more rest days. If you are burning that many calories during your workouts and also being active with your family, it might just be too much! You had mentioned that you are exercising to the point of exhaustion and still pushing yourself. I find that if I workout too much it is counter productive. If you take a couple days off in a row and then hit the gym again you will feel a lot better!

    Weight loss is a tricky bi*ch isn't it? :) I'm sure that you'll figure out what you need to do and get back on track in no time.
  • susannamarie
    susannamarie Posts: 2,148 Member
    Thank you to those of you who were encouraging and helpful! I appreciate it (truly)! Those with negativity and disbelief, thank for the reality of human kind.

    Disbelief is not necessarily negative -- you need to check ALL potential issues. Because something is weird here.
  • KTGator
    KTGator Posts: 78
    One thing to consider based on what you said regarding your workouts -- you stated you are working out until you hear your heart pounding, perhaps you're not working within the right target zone for weight loss? I found that I have to do some less intense cardio workout a few times a week (in addition to strength training) in order to lose weight. If I am doing very hard workouts that are keeping my heart rate up pretty high (over about 145 bpm in my case) throughout the entire workout, that just builds endurance, doesn't encourage weight loss, and I found that I wasn't gaining weight, but the scale wasn't budging in the slightest either.

    Perhaps something to consider? It will especially be easy if you invest in a HRM - I swear by them!
  • I love my Polar heart rate monitor and it syncs with the cardio machines at the gym. It is a great way to find out how you are doing and it keeps a diary so at the end of the week you know your calories burned.
  • gatorginger
    gatorginger Posts: 947 Member
    You might want to watch your sodium intake, you can add that in by going to settings, if your eating too much sodium it could probably make you swell
  • adamb83
    adamb83 Posts: 719 Member
    Thank you to those of you who were encouraging and helpful! I appreciate it (truly)! Those with negativity and disbelief, thank for the reality of human kind.

    I think we're all trying to be helpful - those of us who express "disbelief" are doing so because we've been where you are and we're seeing something that isn't quite clicking. That's why we're trying to give some advice. I started at 255 pounds, 5'4". I jumped into p90x and intense cardio right off the bat - working VERY hard (and I'm a guy, so my burn rate is naturally higher). I didn't hit that burn in that amount of time, even with intense work - at least not consistently. That's why I'm questioning it. And since you said you're using the estimates and/or machine equipment (both of which are notrious for vastly overestimating calorie burn) I think it's perfectly natural and appropriate for us to question the # and suggest an HRM. We're just trying to help.