A few things I would like advice/info on...

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AishaPhantasma
AishaPhantasma Posts: 8
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi! So I used to be fairly fit - eating very healthy & exercising regularly and whatnot. Then I moved to a different country after transferring from one university to another, and broke up with a boyfriend of 3+ years. Not having someone to "impress" sort of made me totally let go of myself and I stopped bothering to exercise and just ate a lot of crap food and gained a lot of weight - I was at my heaviest ever. After about a year or so of half-assed weight loss attempts, I finally got fed up this year with my lack of progress and my squishy areas.
In early February I moved house & basically walk at least 20-30 minutes almost every day. By March I decided I needed more workouts so I started exercising regularly, and I then started using MFP sometime in April after I started watching my eating more carefully.

SO the things I wanted to ask about...
Does anyone feel like some of the calories burnt from exercise seem a little low? I do some intermediate level pilates and intense yogas and feel like I'm getting a harder workout than MFP tells me I am. It's almost winter here down under, and I'm usually sweating by the end of my workouts!

Is it normal to feel hungrier since I've started exercising more? I exercise almost daily - some days if I don't get a chance to do a full workout, I still do a 10-15 walk just by walking into the city to do a few errands or go to class and back home. Some days I feel fine, but then I notice some days I am STARVING. Yesterday I ate SO much - is it because Wednesday & Thursday I burned off just about all the calories I consumed? I've been pretty hungry all day today too and I haven't done any exercise either.

Do heavy shoes make a difference with calories burnt during a walk? I usually wear my New Rock boots for every day errands where I walk to the city. They are steel-bottomed and must weigh around 1kg each, maybe more. I mean, I notice a 10min brisk walk with them on gets my heart thumping more than when I walk with lighter shoes...

And...best way to lose flabby fat? I have the stubbornest lowest belly pooch that makes me so angry and seems to be completely resilient to all my ab workouts and daily walking.

Yeah, that was a lot. Sorry about that! I'm basically new to all this again since it has been so long since I tried any sort of fitness thing. Also, being fairly slim as it is, I don't have the most support from my friends in regards to my fitness goals since according to them I "don't need to exercise", as though me wanting to be tight & toned and in better shape is a bad thing...

Replies

  • Toddrific
    Toddrific Posts: 1,114 Member
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    Meh, too lazy to read all that =P

    Cardio supposedly can trigger a hunger response, so that may explain that.

    If you are doing low-intensity workouts I'm not sure how you'd measure how many calories you are burning. People might suggest heart rate monitors but I'm not sure they are terribly accurate below say 90 bpm. It's seems to be a better idea to underestimate calories burned than overestimate.

    Do bodyweight exercises or some weight lifting to tone up. The fat will come off with calorie deficit.
  • sweetpotatofry
    sweetpotatofry Posts: 209 Member
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    My appetite has definitely improved since starting a regular exercise program. What *really* spikes it is whenever I do Insanity. I love the workout, but afterwards it's nonstop eating for me. So I think heavy cardio definitely can do that. One of my friends has seen more results with walking than anything else (and she isn't out of shape to begin with), because walking doesn't increase her appetite.
  • angieleighbyrd
    angieleighbyrd Posts: 989 Member
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    I do a lot of pilates. It doesn't burn a lot of calories. It is a great tonight/shaping routine.
  • amanda52488
    amanda52488 Posts: 260 Member
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    Just from what I saw today...

    I did a pretty intense yoga class at my gym today, my HRM said I burned 366 cals.... mfp says I only burned like 223.

    If you down have one already, definitely invest in a hrm!
  • Denjo060
    Denjo060 Posts: 1,008
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    Just from what I saw today...

    I did a pretty intense yoga class at my gym today, my HRM said I burned 366 cals.... mfp says I only burned like 223.

    If you down have one already, definitely invest in a hrm!




    Great advice thats what I did. On MFP some of the workouts are over exaggerated too so yes definitely get a HRM
  • ponchan
    ponchan Posts: 6 Member
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    Try doing some kettlebell exercises. They make **** happen. :)
  • kneeki
    kneeki Posts: 347 Member
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    1) It does seem low, but it depends on what you're doing. Yoga and Pilates doesn't exactly elevate your heart.

    2) Yep. Your just burnt calories, your body wants to replace them. Hunger is normal after exercise. The best way I've found to alleviate is to increase your protein and fat intake while reducing your Carbs. Save your large Carb meal to be consumed within 1-2 hours POST work out.

    3) Adding weight resistance to your workout is a good way to increase the overall workload and thus, calories burnt. However, be careful with that method. Your joints won't appreciate it.

    4) Lower your body fat percentage. That's the /only/ way to reduce belly fat. Remember, body fat comes off uniformly. You cannot target the loss to your stomach area.
  • mfpcopine
    mfpcopine Posts: 3,093 Member
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    .

    SO the things I wanted to ask about...
    Does anyone feel like some of the calories burnt from exercise seem a little low? I do some intermediate level pilates and intense yogas and feel like I'm getting a harder workout than MFP tells me I am. It's almost winter here down under, and I'm usually sweating by the end of my workouts!

    Is it normal to feel hungrier since I've started exercising more? I exercise almost daily - some days if I don't get a chance to do a full workout, I still do a 10-15 walk just by walking into the city to do a few errands or go to class and back home. Some days I feel fine, but then I notice some days I am STARVING. Yesterday I ate SO much - is it because Wednesday & Thursday I burned off just about all the calories I consumed? I've been pretty hungry all day today too and I haven't done any exercise either.

    Do heavy shoes make a difference with calories burnt during a walk? I usually wear my New Rock boots for every day errands where I walk to the city. They are steel-bottomed and must weigh around 1kg each, maybe more. I mean, I notice a 10min brisk walk with them on gets my heart thumping more than when I walk with lighter shoes...

    And...best way to lose flabby fat? I have the stubbornest lowest belly pooch that makes me so angry and seems to be completely resilient to all my ab workouts and daily walking.


    If anything, I think that most calorie burning estimates are too high.

    it's not unusual to feel hungry after exercise. Eat a protein snack afterwards.

    You have to lose weight overall before you will reduce your belly fat. Your abdominal exercises are good for your body, but you won't see results until you've lost a great deal of body fat.

    With heavy shoes, I'd be concerned about injury to my ankles more than anything else.
  • AishaPhantasma
    AishaPhantasma Posts: 8
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    Thank you for the responses! I'll definitely get myself a heart rate monitor! I usually do avoid carbs after a workout and try to stick to protein, veggies and healthy fats like avocado...while trying to break my carb addiction in general (I freaking LOVE bread >.<)
    I often exercise first thing in the morning to get it out of the way so I am usually hungry already.

    Would it be worth getting one of those digital scales that supposedly calculates body fat and whatnot? Or is it a load of crock?
  • AishaPhantasma
    AishaPhantasma Posts: 8
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    My appetite has definitely improved since starting a regular exercise program. What *really* spikes it is whenever I do Insanity. I love the workout, but afterwards it's nonstop eating for me. So I think heavy cardio definitely can do that. One of my friends has seen more results with walking than anything else (and she isn't out of shape to begin with), because walking doesn't increase her appetite.
    My problem is I can't afford to eat more than I already do ha...
    Is Insanity a conditioning workout?

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