Okay - I know that I promised myself that I wouldn’t be overly concerned with my recent stall. I know it happens, and I can say that I don’t care, but I do. So I did what I would advise anyone else to do - verify calories in and calories burned. Any help, or observations, would be appreciated. Please forgive the slightly manic use of numbers (especially in the exercise section), but I’ve been playing around with it all day, trying to make sense of it all.

Calories in (1800-2000, monthly average - 1920)

I looked for hidden calories, and about the most I found was about 80 calories a day. I make my own fruit salad, which I was just using a generic number for. So I figured out that it’s more like 151/cup instead of the 125. I usually take 1-1/2 cups a day (40). The other items are the canola oil spray I’m using on my roasted veggies (30) and the single packet of Crystal Light (10). Everything else is spot on since most meals I make are done in batches and I do weigh/measure everything to put into FitDay. I even tend to enter brand name items that I use all the time (ie. the canned tomatoes, the balsamic vinegar, etc.) There are even areas I’m high with on purpose, but are likely lower. For example: homemade salad dressings that I log 1/8 of that sometimes go 10 or 12 servings. So, for now, let’s assume that I’m eating 2000 calories a day.

Calories burned:

This is where I feel like pulling my hair out. Using fairly conservative activities FitDay tells me that with this lifestyle I burn 2,650 (roughly) a day. So, eating what I’m eating should bring me a little more than a pound a week. Then you add in exercise. This is the problem. Trying to figure out roughly how much you burn.

If I walk 2mph on a zero grade my treadmill says I’ve burned 90 calories. Fitday says 113, which does make sense as the treadmill doesn’t adjust for weight. It’s saying that I expend approx. 25% more than the treadmill says. I’m willing to accept this. I see other sites that give info on the same exercise, which factor in weight, and they run from 120 - 330. I’m not buying the 330. The only reason that this is important is that I never walk on a zero grade. I do a couple of different programs that I’ve come up with to raise my heart rate. They average either 3% grade or 5% grade depending on the mood I’m in. So today I actually let the treadmill run while I did a calorie/incline study.

Did I mention that process improvement (quality) was my area of expertise?

So, 30 minutes at 3% and 30 minutes at 5% give me numbers of 126 and 150 calories burned respectively. Adjusting them up 20% (I’m being cautious) I get 150 and 180. So I’m doing (usually) 480 calories burned on the treadmill daily. I’ve also been using weights and a few other items, but only about 15 mins a day. The (possibly) more accurate method doesn’t make a huge difference, about 150 cals a day. Again, from what I see I’m erring on the low side. Going back only until Feb. 1st I’ve added in the treadmill info for the incline (the home version of FitDay allows you to add custom exercises). It shows that I have a calorie difference of over 1200 a day.

I guess I’m trying to decide what to do. I don’t want to drop the exercise, but I’m a little leary about adding calories. Yet I know from past experience (dieting myself into the hospital) that I have to give my body enough fuel to burn efficiently. I suppose what I’m trying to do is rationalize adding calories or doing nothing. The logical person says I should add those 200 calories now (watching them on the days I don’t exercise, or dial it back). The irrational, usually unsuccessful dieter in me says ‘no no, drop them’.

I’m welcome to any and all opinions. Including those that tell me I’m over analyzing this and that maybe I need another kind of professional help!