What is your target deficit per day? Including exercise?
I am shooting for a 700 calorie deficit each day, which puts me right at 1500. However, if I exercise, that puts me below the recommended minimum. Yesterday, I ended up with a 1200 point deficit after exercise.
I guess I am concerned because I am really not seeing any movement this week, and this is the second week of counting calories instead of WW points. Last week went very well; this week, not so much.
Don't worry about not seeing any movement on the scale this week. I can't remember the thread but someone posted their weight loss for 4-6 weeks just to show that it wont come off regularly every week. Some weeks there was 1 lb gone the next 2 weeks might only be 1 gone then the next week 0. I think you are shooting for an average of 1-2 lbs a week. I am no expert though. I am sure somene else can clearify. Don't give up though! You are doing great so don't let the scale discourage you!
How are you tracking your exercise? I use fitday and it's pretty unreliable (actually, so is anything else I've tried).
Throught trial and error, I've come up with pretty good approximations though. I just did a 21 day challenge. I guesstimated that I had about a 500 cal per day deficit and I lost about a pound a week. That was around 2000 cals of all actvities and around 1500 cals of food.
well according to the mathmatics that says to take your weight times 11 to tell you how many calories you need to maintain, i need 1800 to maintain. I am eating about 1200 a day. I excersize 3 times a week burning approximately 300 calories. so i'd say my basic deficient is about 500 on non-excersize days and 700-800 on excersize days. I should be losing about a pound and a half every week, but i'll take just one and be happy!!!
I personally keep my exercise and my calories completely separate. I burn what I burn, I eat what I eat.
When "they" talk about not eating below 1200 calories, that has nothing to do with your exercise. Even if you were exercising for 6 hours a day (I just picked a ridiculous number), you would still be getting the NUTRIENTS from your 1200 calories, so don't worry about that.
As far as those activity "calculators" go, they are highly, highly inaccurate and I wouldn't put to much value into them. What kind of exercise are you doing and for how long?
Also, our weightloss really will vary week to week, even if we do EXACTLY the same things. Don't fret. Hang tight.
I personally keep my exercise and my calories completely separate. I burn what I burn, I eat what I eat.
When "they" talk about not eating below 1200 calories, that has nothing to do with your exercise. Even if you were exercising for 6 hours a day (I just picked a ridiculous number), you would still be getting the NUTRIENTS from your 1200 calories, so don't worry about that.
As far as those activity "calculators" go, they are highly, highly inaccurate and I wouldn't put to much value into them. What kind of exercise are you doing and for how long?
Also, our weightloss really will vary week to week, even if we do EXACTLY the same things. Don't fret. Hang tight.
~Me too, yes, yes, and yes. I agree and am with Robin 100%. I also eat what I eat, and burn what I burn-one isn't dependant on the other. The ONLY time where I purposely eat more calories during the day is when I attend dance seminars, and that is because it is literally like taking 4-6 dance classes in one day, plus performing that evening.
Personally, I don't think fitday (and other calculators) are that far off. They maybe incorrect for a lot of people, but for me they seem to be correct since I lose 2lbs per week with a deficit of approx. 1000 cals. Now granted, some weeks it takes 8 days before I see results, some weeks it takes 6 days. You really just have to look at the calculators and tweak according to what your body is doing. Everyone is different with how they lose weight, so I'd wait a few weeks before assuming that something isn't working, one week isn't long enough.
I also agree with Robin & Aphil. I don't factor exercise into my calories; I keep that separate.
Three times a week, I do the cool running program, then add another 20 minutes of walking. So for this week, I am walking about 40 and running about 10.
Two days a week, I do the elliptical at the gym for 40 minutes.
One day a week, I do four miles of walking.
I like the eat-what-I-eat, burn-what-I-burn idea. I just did not want my body to think that I was getting into starvation mode if I had a 900 net for a day after exercise.
It's TOM. The scale is going to be high. The emotions are going to be high.
I will say that calorie-count.com and the machine at the gym for the elliptical are very similar for my weight, time on the machine and intensity. I am not doing the exercise so much for the weight loss as for not becoming a diabetic. My family has a history, and they have not made it look like any fun.
hi!
I would care more about the avergae weight loss, vs how many each and every week.
I know personally that the trend with me has been good week, bad week, good week etc. And i'm not talking about calories- I've been very consistent. So I think some people just hang onto the fat as long as possible and then drop at once instead of little by little..and then when I'm down, its frequently 3lbs at once.
I agree too about keeping the exercise seperate from the eating..
I am not a calorie counter persay, (I eat a designated meal plan with lots of choices ) BUT whenever I plug my numbers into fitday I've been 1150-1300 calories. I also need about 1800 to maintain, so the calculators say (i'm 164lbs)
I exercise about 3x a week on the recumbent bike for 85minutes, and do turbo jam when I feel like it , maybe 2x/week. I think the exersice doesn't have a huge impact on weight loss for me, but it does help my appetite, stress level, and making me feel healthier and less like a big blob of lazy cellulite. lol
I think it may be even more critical to exercise while maintaining, bc that gives you an extra "play" of a couple hundred calories several times per week so you can still have some joy
Anyway I kinda got off point but what I mean is that I would keep the exercise factor seperate UNLESS it was really extreme like you were an olympic althlete or running 500 miles a day..kwim? even then I would probably make sure the "extra" cals were protein based. The ppl on Biggest Loser apparently worked out like crazy and they still followed a lower calorie diet, so I don't think that particualr aspect of it puts you in starvation mode.
If that makes any sense..lol
I tend to work my deficit out over a weekly period so for example i'd take in 10,500 calories in a week and I would take out 16,100 through exercise and general existence so my weekly deficit would be 5600.
It's usually reasonably accurate to how much I have lost in that week on the scale....of course some days I have more water weight or retention than others but ah well...it happens!
I worked out my weekly amount to maintain, based on my BMR x my activity level (Harris-Benedict equation).
Then I subtract 7700 calories from my weekly allowance, to estimate a loss of 1kg (2.2 lbs). Then I average my daily NET calories (after exercise), allowing for more if I'm hungry or less if I'm not.
I've lost 1kg reliably for the past 3 weeks using this method, after several weeks of plateau. I had been eating 1250 calories and exercising separately, and I think it just wasn't enough food for my level of activity/body.
So if I'm exercising 600 calories' worth (measured with a heart rate monitor), I eat 2080 cals that day. Works for me.
The key to lasting weight loss is figuring out what works for your body. I track all my activity and intake in a spreadsheet, so I can see what results I get based on what I did that week.
I am in a plateau phase that is driving me crazy. I had two days where I ate close to my BMR number, but I did not go over. I am averaging 1000 per day, but it is just not happening.
Maybe it's time to tweak the foods that you're eating. Change things up a bit. Just what kind of foods are you eating? How long is your plateau going on for?
I aim for a 500 calorie deficit per day which equals 3500 a week and should result in a loss of 1 lb a week. I find this is a really sustainable level for me.
onthetee, keep in mind that as you lose weight your body will try to compensate by reducing your metabolic rate. Your body says "Hey! she's not getting as much food! I think I'll try to slow down the rate I burn calories in the hope that she'll start eating more!" And so you end up on a plateau. But your body can't sustain the reduced metabolic rate forever, so after a while it will have to go back to normal levels. You just have to wait it out. Stick to your diet, and persevere. Eventually, you'll see weight loss again!
What is your target deficit per day? Including exercise?
