I really hate how much I'm supposed to eat.

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Replies

  • lizsmith1976
    lizsmith1976 Posts: 497 Member
    You don't have to eat back all exercise calories. If you are not hungry, don't eat. I'm thinking your calories burned look a little high...
  • ladyace2078
    ladyace2078 Posts: 460 Member
    Brain....exploding....

    I took a different route and am quite happy with what I'm doing. The key is to find something you can live with, that won't make your brain explode, that gets you where you need to be.

    I calculated my total daily energy expenditure. Then, because I'm trying to lose weight, I calculated a 15% deficit off of that. I am highly active on a daily basis. I ride my bike to and from work, I walk a fair amount, I run, I play sports, I lift weights. Riding my bike and walking to and from places for a purpose, like going to the grocery store or whatever, I don't log as exercise, because I see it as transportation. Running, playing sports, lifting... I log. BUT, and here's the big difference, I don't eat back "exercise calories". I stay at a 15% deficit on my TDEE (which takes daily activity level into account). I am steadily losing weight and more importantly improving personal records and dropping inches so I know what I am doing is working for me. I am happy as a clam with this approach and I don't need to do crazy math. The less crazy math in my life, the better :laugh:

    I agree with this and is the method I follow. MFP became confusing for me when I increased my activity level. It was much easier to understand TDEE and take a cut from that and then eat the same amount everyday. I'm seeing results, so it's definitely working for me.
  • shebaw79
    shebaw79 Posts: 15 Member
    Great tip! Very helpful for me as I am struggling with the same thing.
  • uxbridgeheli
    uxbridgeheli Posts: 70
    I have to agree with some of the others.
    There is no way some of that exercise burns that many calories.
    I would recheck all of that if I was you.
    Good luck though and hope it all goes well - h x
  • pyrowill
    pyrowill Posts: 1,163 Member
    I've thought that before, but I'm getting the same sort of cal burn from 2 different heart rate monitors. I trust the HRM, nd my stats are correctly inputted. I'm just unfit.
  • mcarter99
    mcarter99 Posts: 1,666 Member
    Sorry but if you have decided that you are going to burn that many calories per day, you need to have adequate food. Do you want me to change the laws of physics for you?

    He doesn't need to burn off food eaten today to fuel today's activities. He has plenty in his fat stores. That's how weight loss works. We dip into those stored reserves.

    I think your HRM could be ok. 100 cals/mile is about average for a man.

    I totally agree with the person who said these are just recommendations. You don't have to eat at the level anyone recommends.

    That level of exercise could result in overtraining or injury or early burnout. Google 'signs of overtraining' and keep watch.

    Good luck!
  • wild_wild_life
    wild_wild_life Posts: 1,334 Member
    Brain....exploding....

    I took a different route and am quite happy with what I'm doing. The key is to find something you can live with, that won't make your brain explode, that gets you where you need to be.

    I calculated my total daily energy expenditure. Then, because I'm trying to lose weight, I calculated a 15% deficit off of that. I am highly active on a daily basis. I ride my bike to and from work, I walk a fair amount, I run, I play sports, I lift weights. Riding my bike and walking to and from places for a purpose, like going to the grocery store or whatever, I don't log as exercise, because I see it as transportation. Running, playing sports, lifting... I log. BUT, and here's the big difference, I don't eat back "exercise calories". I stay at a 15% deficit on my TDEE (which takes daily activity level into account). I am steadily losing weight and more importantly improving personal records and dropping inches so I know what I am doing is working for me. I am happy as a clam with this approach and I don't need to do crazy math. The less crazy math in my life, the better :laugh:

    I agree with this and is the method I follow. MFP became confusing for me when I increased my activity level. It was much easier to understand TDEE and take a cut from that and then eat the same amount everyday. I'm seeing results, so it's definitely working for me.

    I concur as well. You may fall outside the typical range of MFP users the site is designed for. You can find your TDEE several places online, including

    http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html
    And
    http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

    Try a few different sites and take the average, take 15-20% off that number and see if that is doable.
  • pyrowill
    pyrowill Posts: 1,163 Member
    I often get regular sized people commenting that my cal burn seems quite high. Since most people go by their own cal expenditure. A lot of people don't sem to realise, the heavier you are/unfit you are the more cals you burn.
  • bettyboop573
    bettyboop573 Posts: 610 Member
    Your HRM is broken. A 3 mile walk does not burn that much. Yoga does not burn that many calories. You need a new HRM or you need to confirm you've entered the details into your HRM correctly.

    the numbers did seem quite a bit high to me as well....
  • ladyace2078
    ladyace2078 Posts: 460 Member
    I often get regular sized people commenting that my cal burn seems quite high. Since most people go by their own cal expenditure. A lot of people don't sem to realise, the heavier you are/unfit you are the more cals you burn.

    I don't think your burn is unrealistic. I say this because both my husband and I use the same brand of HRM and do very similar workouts. He burns nearly twice as many calories as I do in the same amount of time simply because he is much heavier than I am.

    But if you really feel crazy with how MFP is calculating what you eat, the TDEE cut method might work better for you. The scoobysworkshop site listed above is great because you can enter the number of hours of activity. Good luck!
  • secretlobster
    secretlobster Posts: 3,566 Member
    He doesn't need to burn off food eaten today to fuel today's activities. He has plenty in his fat stores. That's how weight loss works. We dip into those stored reserves.

    No, he doesn't need to eat back all of those calories. But he does need to make sure he's getting enough. If he eats MFP's base suggestion of 1900 calories (which I think is probably low), then expends all the calories he posted, he is netting in the negative calories. And that's even considering a cut from his TDEE.
    That level of exercise could result in overtraining or injury or early burnout. Google 'signs of overtraining' and keep watch.

    That would be my concern too. To sustain that amount of exercise on a daily basis is possibly a bad idea. Overtraining is not a joke.
  • pyrowill
    pyrowill Posts: 1,163 Member
    Well cal's burnt is based on heart rate/weight/sex/height correct?

    During P90x Yoga my HR spends 80% of the 90 mins at about 150-160. Thats working hard.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    I often get regular sized people commenting that my cal burn seems quite high. Since most people go by their own cal expenditure. A lot of people don't sem to realise, the heavier you are/unfit you are the more cals you burn.

    Read my comments above. HRMs give you total cals burned, if you enter what the watch says in MFP you are double counting the portion you would have burned had you not exercised (maintenance caloires). That and the fact the HRM are not designed from non-cardio routine as you HR is elevated due to different physiological responses the cals burned will be over estimated.

    So either workout change your activity level to active and stop logging biking and walking, find out your TDEE and eat 15-20% below that, or if you use the HRM back out the maintenance cals for the total on the watch and don't even bother using it for yoga, just estimate 5 cals/min or so
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    Well cal's burnt is based on heart rate/weight/sex/height correct?

    During P90x Yoga my HR spends 80% of the 90 mins at about 150-160. Thats working hard.

    Irrelevant, for non-cardio activtiy.

    The calculation in the HRM assumes a certain oxygen uptake (V02Max) that only occurs during cardio activity, your HR is elevated for different reasons during yoga and the oxygen uptake portion of the calculation will be way off. Not to mention HR =/= cals burned, HR is used to estimate intensity at which said oxygen uptake occurs, and as such the HRM will over estimate your burn.
  • phil4v7
    phil4v7 Posts: 68 Member
    My HRM is not broken. I weigh 230lbs and am 5ft9 with 33% BF. So I'm quite heavy. Also I would like to point out that the Yoga is a 90 minute session and its the P90x Yoga, which is ridiculously intense. And like I said in the cycle ride I am at 90-100% max heart rate for the entire hour.
    I can confirm that the P90X Yoga is very intense compared to other yoga sessions I've seen. It truly is a workout, and given the OP's stats, I have no problem believing those calorie burns. The same goes for the walking sessions if he's walking at a brisk pace.

    OP, I started with a similar BF% in early January. While I try to eat back some of my exercise calories, it's not uncommon for me to end my day having eaten 2,000-3,000 calories, but still 500-1,000 calories (and sometimes more) under goal for the day. I eat enough so that I'm not hungry, I have plenty of energy for my workouts and life in general, and then I make sure to get enough vitamins and protein. Beyond that, I don't stuff myself just because MFP says I'm supposed to, and so far it's working. I've been dropping 2.5lbs a week consistently since January. So don't let anyone scare you with dire warnings about starving yourself.
  • iplayoutside19
    iplayoutside19 Posts: 2,304 Member
    Your HRM is broken. A 3 mile walk does not burn that much. Yoga does not burn that many calories. You need a new HRM or you need to confirm you've entered the details into your HRM correctly.

    My HRM is not broken. I weigh 230lbs and am 5ft9 with 33% BF. So I'm quite heavy. Also I would like to point out that the Yoga is a 90 minute session and its the P90x Yoga, which is ridiculously intense. And like I said in the cycle ride I am at 90-100% max heart rate for the entire hour.

    His HRM is not broken. He's just a big dude. 3 miles is an hour of walking, easliy 300 calories in a big mans world.
  • wild_wild_life
    wild_wild_life Posts: 1,334 Member
    I often get regular sized people commenting that my cal burn seems quite high. Since most people go by their own cal expenditure. A lot of people don't sem to realise, the heavier you are/unfit you are the more cals you burn.

    Read my comments above. HRMs give you total cals burned, if you enter what the watch says in MFP you are double counting the portion you would have burned had you not exercised (maintenance caloires). That and the fact the HRM are not designed from non-cardio routine as you HR is elevated due to different physiological responses the cals burned will be over estimated.

    So either workout change your activity level to active and stop logging biking and walking, find out your TDEE and eat 15-20% below that, or if you use the HRM back out the maintenance cals for the total on the watch and don't even bother using it for yoga, just estimate 5 cals/min or so

    This is excellent advice -- take it!

    I always forget about backing out maintenance calories and am not sure if if matters at lower calorie burns and low BMRs like mine but definitely becomes significant with higher burns and higher BMRs. You would have been burning some of those calories just sitting on the couch . . .
  • danfan1972
    danfan1972 Posts: 2 Member
    There is a reason that athletes eat 4000+ cals a day....you NEED to eat if you are going to be THAT active....otherwise you are going to end up in a world of hurt health wise. If you don't want to eat that much, cut the activity level.

    Exactly right. We wouldn't expect a car to drive us cross country without adding fuel, nor a horse to carry us. We can't expect our bodies too either. My teens are swimmers - they are very lean & struggle to get enough calories so they don't get unhealthily skinny - their bodies just can't perform without the fuel.
  • pyrowill
    pyrowill Posts: 1,163 Member
    Thanks to everyones input. I really would say to those saying the HRM is broken, please do not compare my burn to yours if you are in any way a different size or fitness to me. IF i burn 700 cals cycling in an hour and you burn 400, that can be due to many factors, rather than one of ours is obviously wrong.

    Ok perhaps I should have worded this thread. i really hate how much my unfit body seems to burn when i exercise.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,432 MFP Moderator
    I recommend you follow Eric's advice. HRM are designed for cardio and aren't very accurate for non cardio exercise (such as walking, yoga, weight lifting). Body media's are a bit more accurate but would probably read due to having a different algorithm. You aren't far off from me so you can probably eat around 2600-3000 calories and still obtain weight/fat loss.
  • Sapporo
    Sapporo Posts: 693 Member
    Does your heart rate stay that high for the last part of yoga? I used turn my hrm off for the p90x yoga when it come to the stretchy relaxing part since it is pretty much just chilling and my hr plummeted plus it is.like 30 min of that.
  • Heaven71
    Heaven71 Posts: 706 Member
    Your HRM is broken. A 3 mile walk does not burn that much. Yoga does not burn that many calories. You need a new HRM or you need to confirm you've entered the details into your HRM correctly.

    ^^this.. Unless you are doing 8 hours of Yoga, you are not burning nearly that many calories and the lunch walk is probably over estimated as well. Ty a new HRM or get a fitbit for your walking activities, I LOVE Mine!
  • konerusp
    konerusp Posts: 247 Member
    I think you are overestimating,no form of yoga burns 800 calories unless u do it for 4 hours!!I have been practicing yoga since i was a little kid!HRM estimates might be off.
  • kikilieb
    kikilieb Posts: 118 Member
    I took a different route and am quite happy with what I'm doing. The key is to find something you can live with, that won't make your brain explode, that gets you where you need to be.

    I calculated my total daily energy expenditure. Then, because I'm trying to lose weight, I calculated a 15% deficit off of that. I am highly active on a daily basis. I ride my bike to and from work, I walk a fair amount, I run, I play sports, I lift weights. Riding my bike and walking to and from places for a purpose, like going to the grocery store or whatever, I don't log as exercise, because I see it as transportation. Running, playing sports, lifting... I log. BUT, and here's the big difference, I don't eat back "exercise calories". I stay at a 15% deficit on my TDEE (which takes daily activity level into account). I am steadily losing weight and more importantly improving personal records and dropping inches so I know what I am doing is working for me. I am happy as a clam with this approach and I don't need to do crazy math. The less crazy math in my life, the better :laugh:

    I have a similar problem, I get A LOT of exercise everyday (I don't have a vehicle, so I do a lot of walking). I felt like my head was exploding trying to follow the MFP recommendations - not that they are necessarily bad recommendations, just a little scary to look at.

    I did the above^^ regarding TDEE and it has put my mind to rest. I exercise a lot, I eat a lot, and I lose weight. I lowered my cals for a while because of my scepticism and I felt awful and stopped losing weight. I came to really that I really am getting a lot of exercise, and yes, I really do have to eat this much (at least for now)

    I eat about 2500 cals/day... on average.

    Have you tried doing the TDEE minus 15-20%?
  • 3laine75
    3laine75 Posts: 3,069 Member
    wish i had 4600. wd mean i cd have a snickers now :(
  • mcarter99
    mcarter99 Posts: 1,666 Member
    Thanks to everyones input. I really would say to those saying the HRM is broken, please do not compare my burn to yours if you are in any way a different size or fitness to me. IF i burn 700 cals cycling in an hour and you burn 400, that can be due to many factors, rather than one of ours is obviously wrong.

    Ok perhaps I should have worded this thread. i really hate how much my unfit body seems to burn when i exercise.

    Enjoy how much your body burns now because it'll go down over time! Keep at it. Maybe slow down a little, though. You're doing way more than any professional would recommend.

    I agree with whoever said ignore the starvation baloney and the car analogies. Or think of yourself as a car and your belly as the gas tank. When it's flat and hard, THEN you can worry about not eating enough.
  • runfatmanrun
    runfatmanrun Posts: 1,090 Member
    Here is a crazy idea, don't work out so much. I applaud that you are working our and trying to get healthy, I get it. But if you don't want to eat your calories from working out and you work out that much something should change if you don't like it. Nothing says you have to eat everything back, nothing says that exercising that much will help you achieve your goals quicker, nothing says you have to workout at all to lose weight. It's to be healthy. Good luck and I hope you get the fix you are looking for.
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