As you get smaller, do you burn fewer calories during exerci

Amy_B
Amy_B Posts: 2,317 Member
edited September 20 in Fitness and Exercise
I may have asked this before, so I apologize if I have. I just completed a Turbo Jam dvd that I used to burn 430-450 calories doing before. Today, I only burned 400 calories, and I was definitely energetic while doing it. Is this normal?

Replies

  • BrendaLee
    BrendaLee Posts: 4,463 Member
    Yep, you burn fewer calories the smaller you get. I always say that's the only plus side to being my size- I burn a ton of calories.
  • Missouwechanged
    Missouwechanged Posts: 963 Member
    GRRRRRRR!!!!!!! I only need to lose 24 pounds to reach my ideal weight and I feel I need to work so hard to acheive my goal :angry: :frown:
  • tiffanygil
    tiffanygil Posts: 478 Member
    Thats the key though, is keeping the same or increaseing the amt of cal burn as you loose. Its worked really well for me so far, though I have hit a hard spot this last week after increasing my cals burned from 500 to 710. I only lost 1 lbs this week :grumble:
  • twilight1542
    twilight1542 Posts: 403
    The longer you do an activity the more accustomes yiur body becomes to the activity & the easier it becomes for your body. That means fewer calories burned & is the reason why it's important to vary exercises & increase intensity level. As an example when I started using the stairclimber I could do 1hr, but at a max level of 3. Now I start at level 7 & adjust based on my target heart rate. I can also do close to 2hrs on it w/out dropping below level 5.
  • reefkeeper
    reefkeeper Posts: 26
    As I lose I get more energy, so it just kinda works out.
  • DeeDeeLHF
    DeeDeeLHF Posts: 2,301 Member
    Thanks for posting. I agree that it is frustrating but do what all of these helpful people have said...push it up a notch.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
    Theoretically, the increased fitness level you attain should help offset the decrease from the weight loss, but often it does not make up for all the decrease. If you are way over your ideal weight, or if you had a decent level of fitness to begin with, your fitness level will probably not increase as fast or to the same degree as you lose weight.

    Just one personal example: After a few weeks of exercise when I ramped up my program last March, I had upped my endurance so that I was able to burn 1000 calories in one run. On one good day, I reached that number in 51:15. I had lost about 20-25 lbs by then, but was still pretty big (230-235lbs). I was running 6.0-6.2 mph, and was able to maintain a rate of almost 1200 Cal/hr. As I continued to lose weight, my speed increased, but the Calories/hr rate kept going down.

    The best I have ever done since then is about 52 minutes, even though I had increased my avg speed to 7.0 mph.
  • Missouwechanged
    Missouwechanged Posts: 963 Member
    Because of a car accident I had 22 years ago, there is so much exercise I can do. Now, all I can increase is the amount of time I spend exercising and on my good days, I workout for 2 hours!!! I don't really want to workout all day long :wink: :laugh: :laugh:

    I will start exercising on a different exerciser this week. It is the Gazelle. I stored it at my parents and I will get it back tomorrow. I just can't wait!!!
  • arewethereyet
    arewethereyet Posts: 18,702 Member
    :grumble: yes it is true.

    When I started with the trainer, I would burn close to 500 calories in an hour. Now if I hit 300 I am lucky. And she changes me up each time I go, so it is endurance and body make up that is the difference.

    She explained that the additional muscle I have built, will burn more calories so it works out at the end of the day.

    Plus..............I feel WONDERFUL!!:flowerforyou:
  • ShellyLee
    ShellyLee Posts: 293 Member
    While you may not be burning quiet as many calories during exercise I will point out that the muscle you have put on has replaced the fat that you have taken off.. and muscle burns calories. Maybe push it up a notch or try a different exercise... variety is the spice of life.. or so they say.

    "Studies have estimated that for each pound of muscle that you add to your body, you burn an additional 35 to 50 calories per day. So, an extra 10 pounds of muscle will burn approximately 350 to 500 calories a day, or an extra pound of fat every 7 to 10 days, without making any other changes.In another study, researchers found that regular weight training boosts basal metabolic rate by about 15%. This is because muscle is 'metabolically active ' and burns more calories than other body tissue even when you're not moving."
  • stephcheers
    stephcheers Posts: 105
    Just one personal example: After a few weeks of exercise when I ramped up my program last March, I had upped my endurance so that I was able to burn 1000 calories in one run. On one good day, I reached that number in 51:15. I had lost about 20-25 lbs by then, but was still pretty big (230-235lbs). I was running 6.0-6.2 mph, and was able to maintain a rate of almost 1200 Cal/hr. As I continued to lose weight, my speed increased, but the Calories/hr rate kept going down.

    The best I have ever done since then is about 52 minutes, even though I had increased my avg speed to 7.0 mph.

    You rock! I would really love to improve my running time.
    Thanks for all the helpful postings.
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