"It's SIMPLE! Burn more than you consume!" (B.S.)

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  • wellbert
    wellbert Posts: 3,924 Member
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    basic law of thermodynamics always applies. How you burn or store calories, including body composition, varies.

    If you burn more energy than you consume, then energy will be harvested from available sources(adipose, muscle, whatever.) No ifs, ands, or buts about it.
  • rm830
    rm830 Posts: 531 Member
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    Depends on how you look at it I guess....one of my trainers told me to NEVER eat more than 1200 calories and infact, I should keep it between 800-1000 because I'm only burning about 500 calories a day through my exercise and I would need to burn MORE than what I EAT during the day to lose any weight. I just thanked her for her advice and walked away...I don't like confrontations.
  • shanchamber
    shanchamber Posts: 29
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    God, I hear you. As for the BSers on this thread, just wait until they hit their own long-term plateaus. They'll be singing a different tune.

    Some people's bodies are remarkably adept at adjusting to exercise and reduced food intake. (See, "set points.") For all of the people waving "science" in your face, they should keep in mind that no less an expert than director of the University of Pennsylvania Center for Weight and Eating Disorders has written extensively on the complex chemical feedback systems that keep us within a 10-20 percent weight range. We evolved in conditions where our bodies experienced frequent bouts of starvation, followed by periods of plenty. Of course, like 68 percent of the people in this undereducated country don't "believe" in evolution, so you may be running up against that.

    I'm not sure what to do about plateaus, other than to occasionally shock the body out of its routine. Try strength training for a while, maybe. For my part, I think I might try Zumba.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,395 MFP Moderator
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    I think the bigger question is, WHAT WOULD CHUCK NORRIS DO?
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    Depends on how you look at it I guess....one of my trainers told me to NEVER eat more than 1200 calories and infact, I should keep it between 800-1000 because I'm only burning about 500 calories a day through my exercise and I would need to burn MORE than what I EAT during the day to lose any weight. I just thanked her for her advice and walked away...I don't like confrontations.

    Wow, and was the trainer still in the state of trying to impress you for your business, or they are already paid and that was just a side comment?
  • Captain_Tightpants
    Captain_Tightpants Posts: 2,215 Member
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    3 million physiologists would disagree with you. But hey you're a zumba teacher so what do they know?

    You don't want help but I'll offer it anyway in case someone more open is reading and needing. You're overworking your body and it's now metabolically adapted to hang onto your adipose tissue.
  • blondie0942
    blondie0942 Posts: 146 Member
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    Guys, she was just venting out, instead of everyone being mean, rude, and sarcastic why don't we do what this site is meant for and offer support and understand where she's coming from. She's probably frustrated, she's probably plateaued and maybe doesn't realize it, instead of being so cold-hearted why don't you try to explain this without making total jerks of yourselves? She said she was venting, and there are certain things that get under peoples skin. If you don't agree with her then why even bother on commenting. Honestly does it really make anything better to take that 3 min to tear her down and be mean, when you could be on a different post or actually helping her understand what might be happening?
    People need to understand that (especially over the internet) you don't know a person. You don't know her daily struggles. She could be like me and have an eating disorder and deal with triggered self harm (not saying you do of course) and all of these comments if they were directed at me would be seriously impacting. I dunno. maybe it's just because I'm 16 , naive, and in my own personal struggles, but I just think people should have a little more common courtesy with how they treat one another, especially on a site meant for us all to support each other in being healthy and reaching our goals.



    THIS. Why is everyone so quick to bash people for their opinions? chill!
  • pastryari
    pastryari Posts: 8,646 Member
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    perhaps ranting to your own personal friends would have been a better choice-since your not looking for opinions or advice

    pointless

    Probably - but then I wouldn't have given you something to point out that it was pointless, now would I?

    Statements like this and all I hear is "Hi I'm a troll! And I just posted this because I knew it would piss someone off."

    When I read that, this was my exact same thought.
  • rm830
    rm830 Posts: 531 Member
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    Depends on how you look at it I guess....one of my trainers told me to NEVER eat more than 1200 calories and infact, I should keep it between 800-1000 because I'm only burning about 500 calories a day through my exercise and I would need to burn MORE than what I EAT during the day to lose any weight. I just thanked her for her advice and walked away...I don't like confrontations.

    Wow, and was the trainer still in the state of trying to impress you for your business, or they are already paid and that was just a side comment?

    Already paid...I asked her for advice on how to up my protein. She basically told me I eat too much and I need to eat more rice.
  • morganhccstudent724
    morganhccstudent724 Posts: 1,261 Member
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    I have taught Zumba for a little over 2 years. I have maintained my 50 pound weight loss throughout that time teaching 2-3 times a week. High intensity compared to other Zumba classes I have taken all over the east coast. But I haven't lost anything for quite some time.

    I didn't start losing again until I incorporated a combat and pump class in my routine IN ADDITION to the classes I attended and taught every week.

    I have started to slim down recently since I have taken up running.

    Change up the game.


    Just some food for thought...or you can just spit it out...whatever you like. :smile:
  • Funsoaps
    Funsoaps Posts: 514 Member
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    That simple statement doesn't take into account SOOO many things;

    Hormones
    Thyroid
    Auto-immune Diseases
    Illnessess
    Vitamin and/or mineral Deficiencies
    Genetics
    Pregnancy
    Cortisol levels (another hormone)/adrenals/stress levels
    How much sleep one is getting or needs
    What someone is eating, is it under calories but pesticide-laden, genetically modified, not nutritional (empty calories) or is it healthy, organic, etc.
    Allergies (yes this can impede weightloss).
    Medications one is taking
    Depression
    Cancer treatments/cancer/etc.
    Imbalances in the body/digestive issues/IBS/Celiac Disease/food allergies
    Etc....


    I also call b.s. I workout just as hard as any athlete, I eat very well. I have done this all for a long time and I am very overweight. Sometimes it does feel hopeless and I have tried just about everything, mixing it up, upping calories, lowering calories, I eat natural/organic, low carb, etc etc. I get frustrated but am never gonna give up. I like the way I feel and look compared to if I were to eat badly and not workout.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    Simple? For some it is simple. For others, not so much. Outside a medical condition, all you need to do is burn more than you consume. Knowing exactly how much you burn and how much you consume is often difficult. But many medical conditions can change the equation. And once you get close to goal and begin burning less with the same exercise, it gets even less simple.

    I don't think "burn more than you consume" is B.S., but it's not always simple either.
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
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    God, I hear you. As for the BSers on this thread, just wait until they hit their own long-term plateaus. They'll be singing a different tune.

    Some people's bodies are remarkably adept at adjusting to exercise and reduced food intake. (See, "set points.") For all of the people waving "science" in your face, they should keep in mind that no less an expert than director of the University of Pennsylvania Center for Weight and Eating Disorders has written extensively on the complex chemical feedback systems that keep us within a 10-20 percent weight range. We evolved in conditions where our bodies experienced frequent bouts of starvation, followed by periods of plenty. Of course, like 68 percent of the people in this undereducated country don't "believe" in evolution, so you may be running up against that.

    And does set point theory do anything to disprove that you need to be in a deficit to lose weight?
  • bm99
    bm99 Posts: 597 Member
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    That simple statement doesn't take into account SOOO many things;

    Hormones
    Thyroid
    Auto-immune Diseases
    Illnessess
    Vitamin and/or mineral Deficiencies
    Genetics
    Pregnancy
    Cortisol levels (another hormone)/adrenals/stress levels
    How much sleep one is getting or needs
    What someone is eating, is it under calories but pesticide-laden, genetically modified, not nutritional (empty calories) or is it healthy, organic, etc.
    Allergies (yes this can impede weightloss).
    Medications one is taking
    Depression
    Cancer treatments/cancer/etc.
    Imbalances in the body/digestive issues/IBS/Celiac Disease/food allergies
    Etc....


    I also call b.s. I workout just as hard as any athlete, I eat very well. I have done this all for a long time and I am very overweight. Sometimes it does feel hopeless and I have tried just about everything, mixing it up, upping calories, lowering calories, I eat natural/organic, low carb, etc etc. I get frustrated but am never gonna give up. I like the way I feel and look compared to if I were to eat badly and not workout.

    ALL THAT FALLS UNDER "CALORIES OUT". It doesn't mean calories in vs. calories out is wrong, it means you have to work a little harder to figure out the variables (ie, what calories out actually is number wise)

    You aren't burning more than you're eating. Whatever excuse you're using (I imagine it's on your list above), it's affecting your calorie burn. You aren't a magic person to whom the laws of physics don't apply.
  • Alisha_countrymama
    Alisha_countrymama Posts: 821 Member
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    I don't watch my calories, and I still lose. I eat low carb.
  • MeliciousGibson
    MeliciousGibson Posts: 300
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    For the record - I'm not a Troll - I never have been and I never will be. HOWEVER - if someone is going to be nasty in reply to something I've posted, I'm of a mind to make a snarky response. Call it a defense mechanism because, believe it or not I'M A REAL LIFE PERSON! There is a flesh and blood HUMAN BEING typing these words that actually has feelings and emotions. If you're going to be an a**hole enough of a person to belittle me or what I'm saying just for fun - I'm not going to feel bad about doing in return.

    I posted this original message out of frustration and venting. If you're SO bothered by it that you have to post a nasty reply just to feel superior to me - go ahead! I hope it made you feel better, because you really haven't affected me in the slightest. I'm still as frustrated as I was when I first posted this (with regards to my weight loss or lack thereof). But you certainly haven't made me feel like less of a person - just made me think less of you as one.

    So - enjoy that. I hope that all works out well for you.
  • KatiD83
    KatiD83 Posts: 152 Member
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    why_so_mean.jpg

    I'm no longer paying attention to the topic thanks to this cute cat.
  • myfitnessnmhoy
    myfitnessnmhoy Posts: 2,105 Member
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    I've been involved in a few of these classes as well, but that's just not me. I am consistently going as hard as I possibly can because I'm trying to keep the energy up. I wear a FitBit while I am doing Zumba and I am burning anywhere from 650 - 800 calories in a 1 hour period (according to the FitBit).

    Two more bits of unsolicited advice, take it for what it's worth.

    I enjoyed the classes where the instructor took the time during the class to visit each participant and teach form than the "up front sweating it out" type class. If I wanted someone up in front of the class "keeping the energy levels up", I'd buy a DVD and do it at home, because it's cheaper. If I'm paying someone to keep me accountable, I want a trainer, not a live-action DVD. No criticism implied here, we all like different things.

    And FitBit is like everything else - based on averages. If I recall correctly, it does not have a heart rate monitor, so it assumes that each action/motion is a certain amount of calories, and as your muscles and body have adapted to Zumba you'll naturally burn fewer calories doing it.
  • johncole90
    johncole90 Posts: 23
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    Experiment with what you feel comfortable doing. Whether it be trying to eat a few hundred calories more for a week or 2 or eating a few hundred less for a week or 2. If you arent seeing progress anyways nothing lost or gained. Or zig-zag calories for example 1700 a day to 1400 a day to 2000. Just some things that have worked for me. Good luck.
  • JaySpice
    JaySpice Posts: 326 Member
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    Your body has adapted. That's what causes plateaus. You need to vary your exercise and cycle your calories to start losing again.

    But, as you said, you don't care about my (educated) opinion, so you can just ignore this and keep sticking your fingers and your ears and saying, "Lalalalalalalala."

    Your anecdote is not fact. Please stop spreading the wrong information and calling science a lie.

    I've heard so many "educated" opinions, so excuse me if I simply don't want to hear any more of them. I happen to LIKE my fingers in my ears...they're just the right size!

    I don't recall ever saying "science is a lie!" Reading further posts into this thread I saw a statement that "simple" facts tend to not be so "simple" once delved into - as I think this is a perfect example of. Therefore, what I was calling a lie was the fact that this is not as SIMPLE as it is stated!

    I've talked to 2 different general practictioners and 3 different nutritionists (as well as 2 different certified personal/group fitness instructors) who all have different opinions. There is so much scientific information out there that contradicts so much OTHER sicentific information that to try to sort through it all is quite a daunting task. Please try not to take is personally that the opinion of one person (you) that I didn't happen to even know existed when I wrote this post doesn't impress me much at this point.

    I ain't even read alla that.

    I just wanted to say I agree with you that it's not simply, burn more than you consume. It's just not that simple. If so the people on the 1200 calorie a day diets and exercising like crazy should never hit plateaus. People have said in the same breath that it's that simple it's science then say your body has adapted and you should shake it up. Why? If it's as simple as burning more than I consume then wtf do I have to shake ANYthing up?
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