Too much exercise? Am I eating enough?

[Lilyofthevalley]

I've been eating 1300-1600 calories a day for the past 4 or 5 days, but I've been doing the treadmill almost every day for 90 min at an 8.5% to a 9% incline at 2.6mph. The treadmill says I burn somewhere around 645 calories, but I looked up this treadmill calculator and that says I burn around 850, AND it takes into account my weight. So first of all, does this calorie burn sound about right? I want to lose around 2lbs/week.

Secondly, am I eating too little? I've been to a couple of websites and they say I'm eating enough, but they don't take into account my calories burned for the day.

I feel like I'm going insane with all these numbers floating around in my head.

 

[KaraCooks]

It's easy to get overwhelmed by all the numbers.

My advice to you would be not to overthink things, first of all.

My next bit of advice would be not trust the calorie calculators - even though they take into account your weight it's really really hard to know how many calories you're burning w/out measuring your heart rate and knowing what kind of exertion you're putting out. 800+ calories is an awful lot at a walking pace, even for 90 minutes of exercise. I wear a heart rate monitor that takes into account my heart rate, age, and weight, and when I *run* hard for 30 mins (at 5.6 miles an hour and 1.5 incline), I only burn around 400 cals. That's not to say that you aren't burning that many calories, but I'm skeptical. It's hard to say.

If you are, then you definitely need to eat more to support that level of exertion.

Here's the thing: When you reduce calories, you are going to lose fat, but you're also going to lose some lean muscle. It's pretty much unavoidable - it's just the way the body works. You can avoid losing a lot of lean muscle by exercising (including resistance and weight training) and eating not just a healthy amount of food, but the right kind of food - lean protein, veggies that are rich in nutrients, and complex carbs and whole grains.

When you eat too little, or you don't eat the right kind of food, you lose MORE lean muscle, and you lower your metabolism, and then you get into a vicious cycle

Ok, now, on top of all of that is the lovely fact that even though it's a mathematical equation: [calories in] - [calories out], our bodies are complex enough that it isn't that linear. There are all kinds of other things that affect how fast you lose weight - everything from how your body handles carbs, to whether or not you ate a lot of sodium and are retaining water, to your time of the month, to the barometric pressure outside, to the state of your metabolism. (I know .. it sucks - would be so much easier if you could just manage the numbers and let everything fall into place!)

So here's my advice for you: First thing is let the numbers be a guideline, rather than a goal. Figure out what a healthy amount of calories is for you, and drop that by 30% to get your "diet" amount. The calculation I use (and the average for someone who is moderately active) is around 15 cals per pound of bodyweight. So for example, I weigh 174. If I multiply that by 15, I get 2610. Drop 30% off of that and I get 1827. So my "weight loss" calories are 1800, give or take a few.

Then I exercise. I don't worry about how many calories I burn while exercising or try to calculate them or anything like that. I just do it. I lift weights 3x a week and I run 3x a week and I take a day off for rest and recovery. You don't have to have the same routine, although my suggestion would be to add in some weight training or resistance training with things like squats and lunges and so forth, to alternate with your treadmill work.

Start out like that and give it a good 6 weeks to see what happens. If you're not losing a healthy amount of weight, then drop your calories by 200 and give it another 4 to 6 weeks.

Remember too, that a healthy amount of weight loss is about 1% of your current bodyweight per week. Again, for me, that would mean to be healthy I should be losing about 1.7 lbs per week, give or take some.

And remember that we're all different, so you're going to have to pick a starting spot and tweak it here and there. And as you lose weight and your body becomes accustomed to working out, you're going to have to tweak again. It's a moving target ... not a linear path.

I hope that helps you a little and hasn't confused you more. Feel free to ask questions if you need to. I"m happy to answer.

 

[Lilyofthevalley]

My next bit of advice would be not trust the calorie calculators - even though they take into account your weight it's really really hard to know how many calories you're burning w/out measuring your heart rate and knowing what kind of exertion you're putting out. 800+ calories is an awful lot at a walking pace, even for 90 minutes of exercise. I wear a heart rate monitor that takes into account my heart rate, age, and weight, and when I *run* hard for 30 mins (at 5.6 miles an hour and 1.5 incline), I only burn around 400 cals. That's not to say that you aren't burning that many calories, but I'm skeptical. It's hard to say.

Well, I'm really red and sweaty and out of breath by the end, and I do it at around an 8.5%-9% incline, which is very steep.

If you are, then you definitely need to eat more to support that level of exertion.

So is that a yes?

So here's my advice for you: First thing is let the numbers be a guideline, rather than a goal. Figure out what a healthy amount of calories is for you, and drop that by 30% to get your "diet" amount. The calculation I use (and the average for someone who is moderately active) is around 15 cals per pound of bodyweight. So for example, I weigh 174. If I multiply that by 15, I get 2610. Drop 30% off of that and I get 1827. So my "weight loss" calories are 1800, give or take a few.

So, if I did that, I get around 1900? That seems like way too much.

Remember too, that a healthy amount of weight loss is about 1% of your current bodyweight per week. Again, for me, that would mean to be healthy I should be losing about 1.7 lbs per week, give or take some.

Mine would be 1.8lb/week?

And remember that we're all different, so you're going to have to pick a starting spot and tweak it here and there. And as you lose weight and your body becomes accustomed to working out, you're going to have to tweak again. It's a moving target ... not a linear path.

That's what I hate about calories. They're never precise enough.

I hope that helps you a little and hasn't confused you more. Feel free to ask questions if you need to. I"m happy to answer.

So I just work out and don't worry about the calories? What do I do for the rest of the day? Do I just stick to the 1900 cal? Again, that seems like an awful lot.

Well, thanks for your help!

<3 Annie

 

[KaraCooks]

It seems like an awful lot to you because you've been ... well ... brainwashed! Like the rest of us who have been brainwashed by the diet industry to believe that you have to eat a tiny amount of food to lose weight. That the only acceptable amount ot eat to diet is 1200 or 1500 calories. For a long time that was the "wisdom". That to lose weight you had to eat as few calories as possible.

It's kinda like the 8 glasses of water thing, you know? Somehow, somewhere, someone said (in a booming voice) Thou must drink 8 glasses of water a day. And like lemmings, we all believed it!

And somehow, somewhere, someone used that same booming voice to say To lose weight, thou must eat 1500 calories or less. And again, we believed it.

Ok, so the like lemmings part is maybe not entirely true! I think it's in our natures to want rules, right? It's so much easier if there's a RULE to follow. From the days of the 10 Commandments ... it's easier if someone else says "Thou must" and then you can just do that.

But here's the reality: the best way to lose weight is to eat AS MUCH AS YOU CAN while still losing. And while that sounds counter intuitive, here's why:

The lower you drop your calories, the lower you're going to drop your metabolism. Our bodies are conditioned for survival ... that means if you stop feeding your body, then it slows waaaay down to conserve what little bit you're giving it. So here's what happens.

You eat less.
Metabolism slows and so weight loss slows.
You start stalling out so you eat less.
Metabolism slows more
You eat even less
Metabolism bottoms out
You can't eat less w/out becoming sick or malnourished.
End of cycle and you gain weight.

If you eat as much as you can while still losing weight, you stand much less of a chance of bottoming out before you hit your weight loss goal.

So yes, my advice would be to not worry (at least for right now) how many calories you burn in exercise. Try to eat around 1900 calories per day. I like to set myself a range, rather than picking one flat number. I try to eat anywhere from 1600 to 1900 per day, usually winding up in the mid 1700s. But aiming for a range, I don't get obsessed with having to hit the number exactly and freaking out if I eat 20 extra calories or whatever.

See what happens. You can always tweak from there.

 

[Lilyofthevalley]

It seems like an awful lot to you because you've been ... well ... brainwashed! Like the rest of us who have been brainwashed by the diet industry to believe that you have to eat a tiny amount of food to lose weight. That the only acceptable amount ot eat to diet is 1200 or 1500 calories. For a long time that was the "wisdom". That to lose weight you had to eat as few calories as possible.

You know, that's refreshing! The only problem is, with more leeway, I'll eat more crap.
I know myself. haha.

It's kinda like the 8 glasses of water thing, you know? Somehow, somewhere, someone said (in a booming voice) Thou must drink 8 glasses of water a day. And like lemmings, we all believed it!

*feels stupid*
sooo... how much water SHOULD you drink?
I think I just illustrated your point...

And somehow, somewhere, someone used that same booming voice to say To lose weight, thou must eat 1500 calories or less. And again, we believed it.

Ok, so the like lemmings part is maybe not entirely true! I think it's in our natures to want rules, right? It's so much easier if there's a RULE to follow. From the days of the 10 Commandments ... it's easier if someone else says "Thou must" and then you can just do that.

I would love a hard-and-fast set of rules to follow to lose weight. It would make things so much easier!!

But here's the reality: the best way to lose weight is to eat AS MUCH AS YOU CAN while still losing. And while that sounds counter intuitive, here's why:

The lower you drop your calories, the lower you're going to drop your metabolism. Our bodies are conditioned for survival ... that means if you stop feeding your body, then it slows waaaay down to conserve what little bit you're giving it. So here's what happens.

You eat less.
Metabolism slows and so weight loss slows.
You start stalling out so you eat less.
Metabolism slows more
You eat even less
Metabolism bottoms out
You can't eat less w/out becoming sick or malnourished.
End of cycle and you gain weight.

If you eat as much as you can while still losing weight, you stand much less of a chance of bottoming out before you hit your weight loss goal.

That makes a lot of sense! I was kind of wondering how it would be that I drop my calories or exercise more when I get closer to my goal. Now I just have to adjust as I lose weight!

So yes, my advice would be to not worry (at least for right now) how many calories you burn in exercise. Try to eat around 1900 calories per day. I like to set myself a range, rather than picking one flat number. I try to eat anywhere from 1600 to 1900 per day, usually winding up in the mid 1700s. But aiming for a range, I don't get obsessed with having to hit the number exactly and freaking out if I eat 20 extra calories or whatever.

See what happens. You can always tweak from there.

Wow. That sounds so free-ing to have it all put out like that. So I should put my range from 1600-1900? Does that sound about right?

 

[KaraCooks]

Heheheh. It's such a learning experience, isn't it.

Yeah, I'd say you could work within a range of 1600 - 1900. Even if you go a little over 1900, you should be ok. Maybe in 6-ish weeks, see how it goes and drop 100 calories from that. Slow and steady!

The water thing ... haha! It's another one of those arbitrary rules that no one knows where it came from. The truth is that some people need more water and some people need less - but most people don't drink enough. The more active you are, the more water you need. I personally drink close to a gallon a day, in addition to the cup of coffee I have in the morning. That's just me ... I work out every day and I sweat like crazy, so I know I need to keep the liquids flowing.

The best guideline I can give ... and I know this is odd, but it really works ... is to watch the color of your pee. You want it to be a pale straw color. If it's perfectly clear, you can cut back on the water. If it's really yellow and concentrated, then drink more water.

 

[gudhealth]

Too much exercise, eating enough?

I would say don’t get overwhelmed with all those numbers. The first and important step in weight loss is to take things slowly when you have started. Weight loss is a regular practice rather than a momentary affair. Eat properly and exercise as much as you can comfortably and then increase gradually.

 

[shelley70]

I know how you feel!!

I know exactly how you feel, ive been going to the gym for 6 wks, and have gained 5lbs in weight, eaten sensibly.. whats going on?

It's easy to get overwhelmed by all the numbers.

My advice to you would be not to overthink things, first of all.

My next bit of advice would be not trust the calorie calculators - even though they take into account your weight it's really really hard to know how many calories you're burning w/out measuring your heart rate and knowing what kind of exertion you're putting out. 800+ calories is an awful lot at a walking pace, even for 90 minutes of exercise. I wear a heart rate monitor that takes into account my heart rate, age, and weight, and when I *run* hard for 30 mins (at 5.6 miles an hour and 1.5 incline), I only burn around 400 cals. That's not to say that you aren't burning that many calories, but I'm skeptical. It's hard to say.

If you are, then you definitely need to eat more to support that level of exertion.

Here's the thing: When you reduce calories, you are going to lose fat, but you're also going to lose some lean muscle. It's pretty much unavoidable - it's just the way the body works. You can avoid losing a lot of lean muscle by exercising (including resistance and weight training) and eating not just a healthy amount of food, but the right kind of food - lean protein, veggies that are rich in nutrients, and complex carbs and whole grains.

When you eat too little, or you don't eat the right kind of food, you lose MORE lean muscle, and you lower your metabolism, and then you get into a vicious cycle

Ok, now, on top of all of that is the lovely fact that even though it's a mathematical equation: [calories in] - [calories out], our bodies are complex enough that it isn't that linear. There are all kinds of other things that affect how fast you lose weight - everything from how your body handles carbs, to whether or not you ate a lot of sodium and are retaining water, to your time of the month, to the barometric pressure outside, to the state of your metabolism. (I know .. it sucks - would be so much easier if you could just manage the numbers and let everything fall into place!)

So here's my advice for you: First thing is let the numbers be a guideline, rather than a goal. Figure out what a healthy amount of calories is for you, and drop that by 30% to get your "diet" amount. The calculation I use (and the average for someone who is moderately active) is around 15 cals per pound of bodyweight. So for example, I weigh 174. If I multiply that by 15, I get 2610. Drop 30% off of that and I get 1827. So my "weight loss" calories are 1800, give or take a few.

Then I exercise. I don't worry about how many calories I burn while exercising or try to calculate them or anything like that. I just do it. I lift weights 3x a week and I run 3x a week and I take a day off for rest and recovery. You don't have to have the same routine, although my suggestion would be to add in some weight training or resistance training with things like squats and lunges and so forth, to alternate with your treadmill work.

Start out like that and give it a good 6 weeks to see what happens. If you're not losing a healthy amount of weight, then drop your calories by 200 and give it another 4 to 6 weeks.

Remember too, that a healthy amount of weight loss is about 1% of your current bodyweight per week. Again, for me, that would mean to be healthy I should be losing about 1.7 lbs per week, give or take some.

And remember that we're all different, so you're going to have to pick a starting spot and tweak it here and there. And as you lose weight and your body becomes accustomed to working out, you're going to have to tweak again. It's a moving target ... not a linear path.

I hope that helps you a little and hasn't confused you more. Feel free to ask questions if you need to. I"m happy to answer.

 

[Jynus]

your exercise schedule seems like a good enough place to start, so keep at it. However, I can assure you that you will plateau quickly on it. you're basically walking slowly uphill. <3mph isn't very much. While it might seem exhausting and make you sweat, after a lil while your body will quickly adapt. You will need to increase the intensity of your workouts and imo should add resistance training to them as well. That way you can continually make the workouts harder for yourself so you don't plateau.