NTGPR - Calories and losing weight....

BlueEyeZ1981 · January 2011

I have been trying to lose weight for 2 ? months now. I have been in the gym 4-5 days a week with both resistance training and cardio. Resistance training is 3 times a week and one of those is with a trainer and cardio is every day I?m in the gym. But I?m not losing weight. I have actually gained 2 pounds. I?m eating healthier and trying to stay in the calorie count that all the different websites say I should be in to lose 1 to 1.5 pounds a week which is about 1800 calories.

My question is if I burn 300 calories working out should I add those back into my calories for the day to bring me back up to the 1800 calories?

NDGOIRISH · January 2011

I'm starting weight watchers (again!) and I never counted activity points - another lady I work with does the same thing.

I would look at those calories as icing on the cake and keep to your allotted amount. You'll probably lose faster. With that said, don't starve yourself!

charlsie26 · January 2011

I tried writing everything I ate with livestrong.com and with the activity points added back in, I noticed I didn't lose the weight. I notice I have to eat how many calories they suggest minus the 300-400 calories I burn up exercising to lose the weight. It's tough. And I'm in the same boat as you are now. I work out with intense cardio and stenght training 3-4 times a week and I gain weight...I dont lose any fat. It's so frustrating and hope that you know your not the only one out there suffering from this! Hang in there!

UFCasey · January 2011

Counting calories is what is going to make you really lose weight. I would use this calculator from they Mayo Clinic to determine what your calorie intake should be, and stick to it. It's worked for me so far - 5 pounds lost in 2.5 weeks

https://www.mayoclinic.com/health/weight-loss/NU00595

mdiblasi10 · January 2011

UFCasey:
Counting calories is what is going to make you really lose weight. I would use this calculator from they Mayo Clinic to determine what your calorie intake should be, and stick to it. It's worked for me so far - 5 pounds lost in 2.5 weeks
https://www.mayoclinic.com/health/weight-loss/NU00595

Thank you for sharing this! I just printed my pyramid out It's a lot of great information. I also ordered Nutrisystem so I will be curious to see how they line up. And your Casey cat is adorable!

tiffanyhr · January 2011

BlueEyeZ1981:

I have been trying to lose weight for 2 ? months now. I have been in the gym 4-5 days a week with both resistance training and cardio. Resistance training is 3 times a week and one of those is with a trainer and cardio is every day I?m in the gym. But I?m not losing weight. I have actually gained 2 pounds. I?m eating healthier and trying to stay in the calorie count that all the different websites say I should be in to lose 1 to 1.5 pounds a week which is about 1800 calories.

My question is if I burn 300 calories working out should I add those back into my calories for the day to bring me back up to the 1800 calories?

It's good practice when you're trying to lose weight to write down EVERYTHING you put in your mouth...even if it's a quick handful of whatevers. Or record it online, or something. This will make you more aware of whether you are actually staying within the calorie limit you're aiming for. Also, how long are you doing cardio for, and at what intensity? I've been working out with a trainer 2-3 times per week for a year now, and i lose weight when i do A LOT of cardio (like 4-5 hours per week).

meganruns · January 2011

One other thing to remember: to lose one pound of body fat, one has to burn off (or shave off from their caloric intake somewhere) 3,500 calories.

A very generic example: A person who leads a routine life at an "average" weight, might require 2,000 calories a day. Let's say they eat those 2,000 calories, and then burn 500 at the gym later that day. If they did this every day for 7 days, they should theoretically lose one pound in that time frame.

If they are adding those calories back in by way of taking in calories, then they wouldn't lose any weight.

Also, if you're doing some kind of strength training, you would be converting fat to muscle potentially, therefore not technically losing weight, but gaining muscle.

Ya Never Know · January 2011

You should add them back in as any healthy diet would suggest. Even weight watchers tells you how many points you will gain back in a day based on activity points. If you burn the 300, you need to eat 300.

Weight watchers goes off the basis that if you eat too few calories, your body won't respond as well. They give you a points range because that is the range that your body needs to be able to get your metabolism working properly. Under-eating will work against you, and it will end up making you hungrier which won't help with following a diet.

You should be aware as well, that what you might be gaining through your workout isn't fat. With working out, you will build muscle mass. It can take a couple of months before you see weight loss through exercise, and that is normal.

Also, you may want to look in to something more complete than just counting calories. WW is great because they don't just look at calories, they also look at fats and fibres, which are also an important part of your diet. A proper diet that looks at all of these things will help you to retain less water.

Which brings me to another point.. are you drinking enough water? The less water you drink, the more you retain. Usually the first 10lbs that anyone loses is water weight. If you're not drinking enough, then your body may be retaining, which could be why you're seeing extra pounds on the scale.

Don't be discouraged, just keep up what you're doing. If you're working out, then you will see results. And instead of just counting calories, check in to fats/carbs/fibres.

A great website for calculating all of that (and is free) is sparkpeople.com

I hope any of this info is helpful, GL!

StrivingArtist · January 2011

FWIW, when I first tried to lose weight I did the same thing. I gained a few pounds in the first few months. The good news though, is that it was from weight-lifting and strength training, and once my body had the muscles I started to drop weight like crazy. With what you described as your routine I think you'll be fine as long as you stick with it.

Out of curiosity, do you pull your number of burned calories from a formula, a heartrate monitor, the machine you're on, or something else? I ask because I use the Daily Burn app to track calories and it does give me the calories back after a work out.

Ya Never Know · January 2011

charlsie26:
I tried writing everything I ate with livestrong.com and with the activity points added back in, I noticed I didn't lose the weight. I notice I have to eat how many calories they suggest minus the 300-400 calories I burn up exercising to lose the weight. It's tough. And I'm in the same boat as you are now. I work out with intense cardio and stenght training 3-4 times a week and I gain weight...I dont lose any fat. It's so frustrating and hope that you know your not the only one out there suffering from this! Hang in there!

If you really want to burn fat, then try weight training. Cardio is meant to get your heart rate up, but it's not the best way to burn fat. You would have to do A LOT of cardio to get major weight loss results. Any personal trainer I've ever had told me the same thing over and over, 5-10 mins of cardio to warm up.. weights for toning and weight loss, then 30-35 mins of cardio after a workout.

BlueEyeZ1981 · January 2011

UFCasey:

Counting calories is what is going to make you really lose weight. I would use this calculator from they Mayo Clinic to determine what your calorie intake should be, and stick to it. It's worked for me so far - 5 pounds lost in 2.5 weeks

https://www.mayoclinic.com/health/weight-loss/NU00595

Wow if I were to stick to what the Mayo Clinic says to lose weight I would currently be over eating. It wants me to eat 1200 calories. Of course it also wants m I ran it saying I wanted to maintain my weight and it was 800 calories more than it said to lose weight and 300-500 calories more than I am currently taking in. I try and eat between 1500-1800 calories because myfitnesspal and spark people say I should eat around that. I guess I should try an stay closer to the 1500 calories.

Ya Never Know · January 2011

BlueEyeZ1981:
UFCasey:

Counting calories is what is going to make you really lose weight. I would use this calculator from they Mayo Clinic to determine what your calorie intake should be, and stick to it. It's worked for me so far - 5 pounds lost in 2.5 weeks

https://www.mayoclinic.com/health/weight-loss/NU00595

Wow if I were to stick to what the Mayo Clinic says to lose weight I would currently be over eating. It wants me to eat 1200 calories. Of course it also wants m I ran it saying I wanted to maintain my weight and it was 800 calories more than it said to lose weight and 300-500 calories more than I am currently taking in. I try and eat between 1500-1800 calories because myfitnesspal and spark people say I should eat around that. I guess I should try an stay closer to the 1500 calories.

I believe that the higher end of the calorie range on sparkpeople is for maintenance. Basically if you eat between 1500-1800 you won't gain weight. If you're dieting, you'd probably want to eat closer to the 1500. The 1800 is probably what you would want to eat when you're not dieting.

BlueEyeZ1981 · January 2011

StrivingArtist:

FWIW, when I first tried to lose weight I did the same thing. I gained a few pounds in the first few months. The good news though, is that it was from weight-lifting and strength training, and once my body had the muscles I started to drop weight like crazy. With what you described as your routine I think you'll be fine as long as you stick with it.

Out of curiosity, do you pull your number of burned calories from a formula, a heartrate monitor, the machine you're on, or something else? I ask because I use the Daily Burn app to track calories and it does give me the calories back after a work out.

I normally take it from the machine if I have input my weight and age. MyFitnessPal app will also give me calories burned from my activity. I know that these machines and apps may not be accurate but I haven't been adding the calories back in when to my allowed calories for the day. I take them as a bonus. If I eat 1500 calories and burn 300 calories then I'm at 1200 for the day so I figure I should be losing weight. But I'm starting to think that maybe I'm not eating enough even though I'm never hungry.

michaela080 · January 2011

Exercise does not really help you lose weight. It helps you tone and have a healthy heart and many other health reasons, but it's all about calories for losing weight. I am 6'0 and about 35 pounds over weight and I eat 1720 calories per day to lose 1-2 pounds per week (per selfdietclub.com). This has worked for me very well in the past. Unless you are very tall, 1800 is probably too high. Also, as you lose weight you will have to continue to cut calories if you want to lose more weight.

emu0013 · January 2011

BlueEyeZ1981:

I have been trying to lose weight for 2 ? months now. I have been in the gym 4-5 days a week with both resistance training and cardio. Resistance training is 3 times a week and one of those is with a trainer and cardio is every day I?m in the gym. But I?m not losing weight. I have actually gained 2 pounds. I?m eating healthier and trying to stay in the calorie count that all the different websites say I should be in to lose 1 to 1.5 pounds a week which is about 1800 calories.

My question is if I burn 300 calories working out should I add those back into my calories for the day to bring me back up to the 1800 calories?

try livestrong.com and chose my plate it tracks all calories, and also you can enter your weight, and see how many you should eat, 1800 sounds like a lot....

BlueEyeZ1981 · January 2011

emu0013:
BlueEyeZ1981:

I have been trying to lose weight for 2 ? months now. I have been in the gym 4-5 days a week with both resistance training and cardio. Resistance training is 3 times a week and one of those is with a trainer and cardio is every day I?m in the gym. But I?m not losing weight. I have actually gained 2 pounds. I?m eating healthier and trying to stay in the calorie count that all the different websites say I should be in to lose 1 to 1.5 pounds a week which is about 1800 calories.

My question is if I burn 300 calories working out should I add those back into my calories for the day to bring me back up to the 1800 calories?

try livestrong.com and chose my plate it tracks all calories, and also you can enter your weight, and see how many you should eat, 1800 sounds like a lot....

WOW even Livestrong.com says I should eat 2037 with a seditary lifestyle to lose 1.5 pounds a week. I will say that I am 5'6" and currently weigh over 200 pounds. I really should lose about 70 pounds to be considered in the healthy range. My OB knows I have been trying to lose weight for years. I'm really hoping that being on a thyroid medicine will help. I'm a week into the medincine and feel 1000 times better already.

StrivingArtist · January 2011

BlueEyeZ1981:
StrivingArtist:

FWIW, when I first tried to lose weight I did the same thing. I gained a few pounds in the first few months. The good news though, is that it was from weight-lifting and strength training, and once my body had the muscles I started to drop weight like crazy. With what you described as your routine I think you'll be fine as long as you stick with it.
Out of curiosity, do you pull your number of burned calories from a formula, a heartrate monitor, the machine you're on, or something else? I ask because I use the Daily Burn app to track calories and it does give me the calories back after a work out.

I normally take it from the machine if I have input my weight and age. MyFitnessPal app will also give me calories burned from my activity. I know that these machines and apps may not be accurate but I haven't been adding the calories back in when to my allowed calories for the day. I take them as a bonus. If I eat 1500 calories and burn 300 calories then I'm at 1200 for the day so I figure I should be losing weight. But I'm starting to think that maybe I'm not eating enough even though I'm never hungry.

I know that feeling. I realize at the end of the day sometimes that I've only had about 900 calories. Eating small meals has helped, as has spacing many meals through the day. If you eat too little your body can start to think it's being starved, and it will go into a new system that will conserve everything, and drop your metabolism. Once you're in that state your body will hold on to anything you eat.

For myself I make sure I eat a minimum of 1450 cal's per day, after exercise, otherwise I run into trouble.

I think the machines are a decent guess but can be a little unreal. GL

StrivingArtist · January 2011

Oh! I forgot to add this:

If you have a Spinning/Pace/Cycling classes available, I strongly recommended them. BodySculpt classes are also rather fantastic.

Both my 54y/o father and I swear by them.

MrsMitty08 · January 2011

First of all, kudos to you for your continued efforts. Losing weight (and keeping it off) is one of the most difficult battles...oh, and TTGP....

I believe that cardio is what will burn the most amount of calories and help you see the results you are looking for with weight loss. Increased cardio and decreased calorie intake (at a sustainable level) will get you the results you want.

Also, make sure your calories are coming mostly from protein so that you can feel fuller on less calories per day. To answer your original question, the 300 calories you burn can be added to your calorie deficit to show that you technically only consumed 1500 for the day.

But this is just my opinion and I really think everyone's body works differently....best of luck to you.

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