Quote:
Originally Posted by fatklr
I know you burn calories naturally at rest. I read that in order for you to lose weight, you have to burn more than you take in. Is that including the amount you burn while at rest, or is that only counting calories you burn by exercising?
That's including EVERYTHING. Think of it this way. If it were only exercise calories and not "all" calories burned that counted, folks in comas wouldn't have to be fed intravenously. If only exercise calories counted, there'd be no reason for sedentary people to eat at all to maintain their weight.
Quote:
I am eating 1,200 to 1,500 calories a day. Does that mean in order for me to lose weight I should be burning over those amount of calories during my daily exercise?
Nope. In fact, many of the experts in the field of nutrition and exercise physiology recommend not eating less than your BMR (basal metabolic rate - the "at rest" calories required to keep you alive if you were immobile - such as in a coma).
Problem is, it's hard to determine what your BMR actually is, and BMR can change (what you're eating may even change BMR).
That being said 1200-1300 calories is pretty low for a BMR and extremely low for an active person. It's very likely that your BMR at least this high (Again in theory suggesting that you can and possibly should be eating more).
Quote:
I have been exercising like crazy, but the numbers on the scale aren't moving much, and my body fat % is not budging either. UGHHH!!!!
There are several reasons this might be occuring
1. You burn fewer than 1200 calories per day (total). This isn't very likely, but it's possible. You might try reducing carbs and see what happens. Many people (myself included) burn more calories when eating low-carb. This means we can eat more calories on low-carb to lose the same amount of weight as on much fewer calories of high-carb.
2. You ARE losing weight, but your body is retaining water. This is the most likely. Intense exercise (and even moderate exercise) makes microscopic tears in the muscle (this is actually a good thing, because these mini-injuries actually trigger the body to add muscle). However this muscle repair, rebuilding, and recovery process requires extra water to do it's magic. So the body retains water to use in the healing.
Even without exercise, many people find that they don't lose consistently. The body while losing fat, retains enough water to keep the body weight stable, and losses appear irregularly. Therefore, you may see losses at irregular intervals, what many folks here call whooshing or losing weight in whooshes. You'll see no loss for three, four, even up to six or seven weeks and then you'll suddenly almost overnight drop several pounds (I've experienced whooshes of up to 8 pounds and have gone up to eight weeks without a loss before a sudden whoosh).
I didn't really lose 8 lbs overnight, I was probably losing about a pound a week, I just didn't get to "see it" until the water weight left me in a whoosh.
3. You're underestimating your calorie intake. This is easy to do, especially if you're eating a lot of packaged foods and/or are not weighing your food. Food labels can be inaccurate and/or misleading. I've found that when a box says it contains "about 2" servings, it can contain anywhere from 1.2 to 2.8 servings. And when it says "about a half a cup" and gives a weight measurement (usually in grams) the gram weight may actuallly make anywhere from 1/3 cup to 3/4.
The gram weight will always be the more accurate, because that's what the labs that did the calorie analysis would have used. Since it's what the labs would have used, it's what I also use.
This doesn't mean that you have to run out and buy a food scale, you can continue to guesstimate your calories, but if you're always underestimating, then cutting calories will be effective. If you're actually eating 1800 calories when you think you're eating 1200, then by reducing your guesstimated calories to 1000, you'll actually be reducing them to 1500 or thereabouts (of course that is assuming your guesstimates continue to be off by the same degree).
Personally though, I do recommend a food scale. In the long run, it's easier and less time-consuming than using measuring cups and spoons.
4. Your BMR plus your activity comes to fewer calories than you are burning. This is the least likely, but is possible. Again changing carb-ratios can help. However another possibility is a metabolic disorder such as hypothyroidism or metabolic syndrome. Again sometimes carb-reduction can help you lose weight if you do have a metabolic disorder - but I'd recommend being tested for such conditions first.
I have metabolic syndrome/insulin resistance. My doctor recommended a low-carb diet (but warning not to go too low, even though he admitted he didn't know what was too low. So I've experimented with different carb-levels. Too low and I feel horrible. Too high and I don't lose. What consitituted too high and too low though hasn't remained constant. I'm having to always adjust my carb level, depending on how I feel (on days I exercise I need more carbs than on days I don't).
The only way to find out which of these scenarios is correct, you have to experiment and be patient. If you're a whoosher, you may have to wait more than a month to see the whooshes. That's frustrating, but it is what it is.