Does anyone know if there is some type of reference chart for exercise based on your weight?

I am on a low calorie diet plan (medically supervised) so I run between 800-1000 calories a day before exercise.

My nutritionist recommends 2 x 20min. walks a day for my minimum exercise but said I can do more than that and she actually encourages more activity.

It seems silly to dress up in workout clothes to do 2 seperate workouts so I try to get the full 40 mins. in first thing in the morning. Some days I do more than the 40, today I have already done 60mins. and that's before a short afternoon walk I always do. The afternoon walk is only about 15-18 minutes up the street and back.

The weeks I do normal exercise (say 45 mins.a day every day) I lose good, the weeks I increase my exercise to a full hour or more a day the scale punishes me!

I guess mentally I can't figure out how I am working harder and longer but the results are better when I am lazier. Obviously I feel great working out more and I feel prouder and more productive. But then scale time comes and I feel deflated, like I wasted my time.

I know I have low calories but my body has more than enough weight in storage to feed off of!

Any ideas?
Thanks.

I'm not sure if this will be helpful or not... But I've really had to separate my diet from what I'm doing for exercise... And what I mean by that is I always use to try to "just eat less and exercise more" to lose weight and would get constantly frustrated when I didn't get the results that I thought I should be getting on the scale from all my hard work.... But what I was missing was all the "other" benefits I was getting... more energy, better mood, sleeping better, and just getting out again and being more "active" in general... for me getting back into exercise really was the key to feeling like I was getting my life back and actually more satisfying than losing the weight and seeing lower numbers on the scale...

So what's worked for me is to no longer approach my workouts from the mind set of how many calories am I going to burn and how much weight am I going to lose by doing whatever, since the reality is that we know that it isn't very much and even if it is our bodies do a pretty good job of making up for it... but instead to just look at it like this is something that's going to make me more fit again... which is something that I really want... Because I may never get down to my dream "goal" weight again.... but at least I CAN be fit again...

I have absolutely no answers, but I wanted to share that I'm experiencing similar. I lost weight doing 1200 cal several years ago (and maintained it until I began a 7 year stretch of pregnancy and breastfeeding) but I wasn't working out at all. My job was somewhat active as a server in a restaurant, but no formal exercise.

This go round, I'm shooting for 1200 cal, exercising at a high intensity for 40 min 6 days a week, and working an extraordinarily physical job. The scale moved favorably for the first two and a half weeks, then it went up slightly and has been stuck there since.

I don't get it. I was asking for advice in Calorie Counters last night and I think I am going to try upping my calories, since I'm doing this on my own with no medical supervision.

When do you meet with your nutritionist again? Possibly they could give you answers?

I enjoy working out and feeling my stamina increase but its very disheartening to not lose at any kind of steady rate.

Are you taking measurements? Have you lost inches instead of pounds?

Thank you both for your replies.

I haven't taken any measurements but my weightloss speaks for itself (to me) that I am doing something right.

I guess I more or less feel like I am spinning my wheels for nothing. If I can get the same (or better!) results with 40 mins. a day, I don't want to waste my time doing 60!

I see my nutritionist every week to review my plan; I just feel lazy questioning why my extra exercise doesn't pay off. Maybe it does, it just takes a week or 2 to show? IDK.

I get wanting to exercise to lose weight, but you really have to separate the two and embrace the benefits of exercise.

One of the biggest myths is that there's a straight line correlation between weight and health problems. Overweight people who exercise are healthier than thin people who don't. If health is your goal, then exercise must be a part of your plan. Exercise always pays off. (Not overtraining though!) But it's much, much easier doing something you really enjoy doing. Something you need to be fitter to do.

If you're seeing a nutritionist then do ask. That's what they're there for!

This thread makes so much sense to me... I've been on a 1500 calorie diet, but most days I don't even reach that much- usually falls around 1200. I've been rigorously exercising for 2 hours for 5 days a week and it's been 3 weeks I think, but I'm still stuck at around 144-146. However, since I started exercising, I do feel much much stronger. The first day I started going to the gym was just horrid. Couldn't be on the elliptical for even 3 mins straight without feeling like my heart was hurting and wanting to pass out. Now I can go on the elliptical for 2 miles, around 20-25 mins straight and spend another 1.5 hours doing other stuff. It's great! Breaking a sweat just feels good now! I took the scale home to my parents because I don't even wanna weigh myself anymore. I feel like if I stick to this regime, the weight should start falling off eventually right?