Hi all - it's been a while, i just haven't made time to get on the forum. But, I joined a gym 3 weeks ago and got a personal trainer for 4 sessions. I love what he has recommended: I am doing interval training about 3-4 times a week, for 30-45 mins. He is giving me a lot of calorie burning techniques for the relevively short amount of time that I'm working out (I'm sweaty and exhaused when I'm done). However, I do have a couple of questions:

1) Now that I'm working out, I feel much hungrier throughout the day. I am eating 5-6 small meals, high in protein (meat and eggs, not protein bars) and veggies, and whole grains. I am interested in eating 1400-1500 calories per day on days I work out, but I've been struggling to keep it at that due to hunger. I am getting quite a bit of water during the day - any more suggestions?

2) I am using the MyFitnessPal app to track calories, but the calorie trackers on the gym equipment I use (eliptical, bike), show a lower calorie exhaustion than my app, by probably an average of 75 calories. Do you all feel that gym equipment is a better measure of calorie expenditure, or a particular app? I don't want to be kidding myself about the amount of net calories for the day.

Let me know, and have a happy weekend, all!

If you are working out hard and are truly hungry, eat a snack. Your body is telling you it needs more fuel. Eating more high fiber veggies is also a good way to fill up on hungry days.

Cardio machine counts and app counts are both wild guesses. The most accurate estimate is from a heart rate monitor (the kind with a chest strap so it can continuously monitor). When in doubt, go with the lower number. That said, my HRM is consistently higher than my treadmill's estimate.

One of the reasons I don't count exercise calories is because machines and apps are so far off most of the time. They also don't take into account that after a while of doing the same exercise that you burn less calories than when you first started.

You're hungry because your body needs fuel! If you're exercising you're going to generally eat more than someone who isn't. I find that my workouts are BETTER if I make sure I'm properly fed before them.

If you're worried about consuming too many calories, try drinking water after your workouts (which is just as important as drinking water DURING your workout!) and seeing if you're still hungry. If so you can usually get rid of that hunger with a healthy snack such as a piece of fruit or some veggies.

Thanks you guys! I'm going to pick up a heart rate monitor this weekend! And I will make sure my body is properly fueled!

are great..i'd need a Jillian Michaels kind of personal trainer

Have another meal of protein after your workout, within 1 hour, if possible... Then have another meal an hour after that, of protein and carbs... and eat lots and lots of vegetables, they will keep you full...

I suggest two slices whole grain bread toasted w/ a tsp of country crock margarine or new balance if you want something of better quality and if you feel inclined an all fruit jam? Maybe one piece before and one piece after if you need an energy boost for your workouts. Make sure to count these calories as part of your daily total..it's about 275 to 300 calories but really satisfying after a workout. This has worked for me

At your height and weight, you may not be eating enough calories. 1400-1500 sounds pretty low.

I agree with this. Here is a good calorie calculator to use:"

http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm

I used this one to and was able to lose almost 40lbs with diet and exercise and I started about 210 and ate 1800 per day and worked out 4-5x weekly. I would say eat more!

Sometimes our bodies are legitimately hungry. Especially on days when we're very active. Eating another calorie friendly and protein packed snack might help!