What you need to be careful of is when you have little to lose. You can screw yourself up by doing too much exercise + eating too little. Ultimately, things are variable to the individual but in general when you're pushing too hard, too fast, there will be warning signs. Massive fatigue, or insatiable hunger, or fixating on food are the good warning signs. Loss of TOM, hair falling out, no sex drive are less good.
In general thought there is no such thing as muscle confusion. Changing exercise routines doesn't speed up fat loss. If you're not bored and you're only exercising for health and fat loss ... there is no reason to change one's routine. If you're trying to improve your 5K time or want to dead lift 300 lbs then it's a different story.
You know, we don't often agree on things- purely based on oppinion, but these two gems, are absolutely valid.
From a personal perspective- (mind you, i have a very naturally athletic build, and start struggling anywhere under 170 right now). About 8 months ago- I got really close to the 160's. I was sitting at about 173-174 and decided to "Starve out" the last couple of lbs. Obviously that's an exaggeration- but I am VERY active, and was eating about 1500 calories a day, with a approximately 1700 BMR and approximately a 900 calorie burn on top of that or more, DAILY. Guess what that lead to? Other issues, like severe binging. Not the "i want to eat 6 big macs and roll around" kind of binging, but the "i want to eat 3 lbs of cottage cheese, 4 handfuls of almonds, a quart of strawberries and 4 cucumbers" kind of binging- simply because i was draining nutrients out of my body. This obviously didn't end well. I over analyzed, which lead to further issues.
Moral of the story? If you're working out- I would suggest to eat at the high range of your calories at a minimum, and eat back maybe 100-200 if you're hungry. Weightloss is in the kitchen- exercise is just a little perk!
This is why I don't use some of the modern net calorie apps, although they are quite good and not meaning anything against anyone who does.
I count calories (and use MyFitnessPal), but I have to remind myself that the calories eaten are approximate as are the calories exercised.
I don't see a difference between netting 1260 by eating 1600 and exercising 240 and just going for a 1600 goal. I think MFP overestimates calories burned and I think it lowballs net calorie goals.
I figure that as long as I'm losing 1-2 lbs/week, the system is working. If/when that changes, I'll reassess.
FWIW, I saw my PCP today and asked him what he thought my calorie goal should be and he said "about 1600" given that's maintenance for a 150 lb woman (and I've got a ways to go before I get there!)
The only thing I'm absolutely sure of is that everyone's body has its own peculiarities. The best we can do is select a reasonable baseline and then adjust if we're not getting the results we want.
I believe that weight loss and maintenance are done in the kitchen and fitness is done via working out.
Two different concepts, with two different goals and outcomes.
That being said, my job, working for a veterinarian does require that I'm strong, no matter what I weigh. And living on a farm, also requires being strong. Pounding fence posts is not a good time, and less so if I'm out of shape.
So, just for me, my loss and maintaining are done in the kitchen and my fitness is done in the gym. I do incorporate gym moves that are relevant to my lifestyle. Some may seem a bit weird, however, for me, it's functional fitness.
I try to make exercise as part of my daily life (like brushing my teeth or washing the dishes) that I try not to consider whether I should "eat back my calories burned." If I feel I am losing too much weight (I'm in maintenance) or feel lethargic, then I up my caloric intake. To me, it sounds like when people eat too much and then exercise the excess calories off. I really avoid that.
But when I up my caloric intake, it's like eating an extra apple or banana. I would be careful relying on certain gadgets to give you an exact reading of calories burned after doing a specific type of exercise.
I also never bought the idea that doing the same exercise over and over again is some evil thing to do. If you enjoy doing it, great! I find that most people will naturally increase the intensity of a workout--it's just more fun and time flies faster. For instance, I can't see myself moving on a treadmill at a "slow" pace (slow for me) just because I would be bored out of my mind and would not complete my allotted time of activity. I would have to increase the speed. I think most people know whether they are truly pushing themselves or just going through the motions.
Last edited by memememe76; 02-12-2013 at 02:03 AM.
Does your body really get "used to" the same exercises? My exercise consists mainly of rotating between the treadmill, elliptical and weights. Will my body eventually stop responding to the same routine? If so, why?
I think it's more that the exercises make you stronger and fitter, so you're expending less energy to do the same thing. To keep your energy output constant, just ramp up the intensity (e.g., heavier weights or a faster pace on the treadmill).
I think it's more that the exercises make you stronger and fitter, so you're expending less energy to do the same thing. To keep your energy output constant, just ramp up the intensity (e.g., heavier weights or a faster pace on the treadmill).
Freelance
This is true but after the initial period of rapid adaptation things don't change much unless you really push it.
The only I really have to add is that I use mfp also and have some complaints related to this. The biggest is that when you put in your strength training, they don't calculate calories for that. So, if I run for 10 minutes and lift for an hour, it gives me the same exercise calories as if I ran for 10 minutes and left the gym. But if I run for half an hour and record the 350 calories (or whatever) of exercise and don't eat it back, it fusses at me and tells me I'm not eating enough. Honestly, I think it's a convenient tool to track my eaten calories and record my daily weight, but it's not about being compliant to mfp - it's my app and my tool and I'll use it my way that helps me. If you feel good, you're not starving, and you're losing weight - keep doing it. If you're hungry, figure out a way to solve that without going over your calories. If you're not feeling well, maybe you need more calories. If you not losing weight, maybe you need less. It's really that simple in my opinion.
(1.) I'm on Team Listen To Your Body. You can only go to bed white-knuckle-hungry so many nights before you snap and binge.
(2.) I don't think it will stop responding to those exercises as long as you add weight to the weights and sometimes incorporate intervals/hills to the cardio. But obviously if you're trying to achieve fitness goals you have to eat maintenance calories or higher.
Good post!
