Notices

Help! Opinions please.... :)

Old 03-18-2011, 11:57 PM
  #1  
FitDay Member
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 4
Default Help! Opinions please.... :)

Hi everyone! I wondered if you had any advice for me in losing a few pounds!

I'm a 22 year old female, 5'5, medium frame, and my weight tends to hover around 140lbs. I've been going to the gym 5-7 times a week, burning off around 750 calories each session (according to machines) with an hour of cardio followed by weights. I also do a keiser cycle class and body pump once a week with others thrown in occasionally. Using the 'fitday.com' calorie and activity tracker i am currently getting a calorie deficit of 1000kcals per day, (eating 1800, burning off 2800 for example). I feel like I am following all the fitness advice I can find online but don't seem to be losing much weight. I measure myself with a tape measure and weigh myself regularly and the losses im experiencing are not very impressive (I have been following this routine for a month now, where previously i went to the gym 4-5 times a week and didn't count calories, and would estimate that i've only lost around 2lbs in total, and 0-2cm in measurements). Occasionally I have a weekend off (visiting friends etc) where i dont go to the gym or watch what i eat for a couple of days and drink alcohol. Could this be what is setting my weightloss back? I only want to lose around 5-7 for the time being, do I need to lower my calorie intake further? Or am I just being too impatient?!
Thanks
Caroline
cazlar is offline  
Old 03-19-2011, 12:37 AM
  #2  
FitDay Premium Member
 
mecompco's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 2,621
Default

Do you honestly track every single thing you eat and drink, including the "occasional" day off? Do you weigh and measure portions, or "eye ball" them? Are you sure the calorie burn shown on the machines are accurate? Do you add sleep to your "lifestyle" in the calorie burn calculator?

At 260 pounds, with daily exercise and being male, my daily burn comes out to around 2800 cals. I run around a 1200 cal per day deficit, monthly "day off" included and average from 2.5 to 3lbs per week loss (which is right in line with what the "math" predicts).

I just have to think that you may be overestimating your burn, underestimating your calorie intake, or both.

Thoughts?

Regards,
Michael

PS How is your water intake and your calorie mix?
mecompco is offline  
Old 03-19-2011, 12:54 AM
  #3  
Super Moderator
 
cjohnson728's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 4,083
Default

I've heard others say that the machines at the gym overestimate the calorie burn. If you could get or borrow a heart rate monitor that calculates calories for you, that might be a way to check up on it.

I know that my treadmill at home usually tells me double the calories my HRM does...but then again, it's so old I can't input my age/height/weight, and I'm kind of an outlier, being short.
cjohnson728 is offline  
Old 03-19-2011, 12:59 AM
  #4  
FitDay Member
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 4
Default thanks!

Thanks for your response guys.
I do track everything i eat and drink, and i weigh everything aswell, so think my calorie intake is generally accurate. I don't however track the days that i have 'off' so perhaps that is the problem (on these days I am usually away from a computer and probably don't track them subconsciously to make myself feel less guilty haha!).
Im only going by what fitday says is my basal metabolic rate (mostly seated, correct for my height etc.). The machines at my gym measure heart rate and allow you to input height and age, but obviously i can not say if they are totally accurate.
As for water, i try to drink around 2.5l a day and on average my calories mix is 17% protein, 53% carb, 30% fat, although this doesn't include the days that i haven't tracked.
Perhaps it would be worth me getting a HRM, thanks for the advice!

Last edited by cazlar; 03-19-2011 at 01:04 AM.
cazlar is offline  
Old 03-19-2011, 01:24 AM
  #5  
FitDay Premium Member
 
mecompco's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 2,621
Default

Originally Posted by cazlar
Thanks for your response guys.
I do track everything i eat and drink, and i weigh everything aswell, so think my calorie intake is generally accurate. I don't however track the days that i have 'off' so perhaps that is the problem (on these days I am usually away from a computer and probably don't track them subconsciously to make myself feel less guilty haha!).
Im only going by what fitday says is my basal metabolic rate (mostly seated, correct for my height etc.). The machines at my gym measure heart rate and allow you to input height and age, but obviously i can not say if they are totally accurate.
As for water, i try to drink around 2.5l a day and on average my calories mix is 17% protein, 53% carb, 30% fat, although this doesn't include the days that i haven't tracked.
Perhaps it would be worth me getting a HRM, thanks for the advice!
Well, many of us add 8 hours of sleep to our daily activities (though the programmers say it's included in the lifestyle calculation)--you might try that.

You MUST track those "days off". My days off are pretty ugly (generally due to a fairly large quantity of beer) but I track them. If you're away from a computer, write down what you eat/drink on paper and enter it later. Do your best estimating the portions.

Have you considered upping your protein? 17% seems mighty low--I try to keep a 40/30/30 carb/protein/fat mix on average. Some recommend even more protein than that.

2.5l seems like a good start, but more (within reason) wouldn't hurt.

That's my .02

Regards,
Michael

Last edited by mecompco; 03-19-2011 at 02:11 AM.
mecompco is offline  
Old 03-19-2011, 02:06 AM
  #6  
Super Moderator
 
taubele's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 1,085
Default

I have to agree on the upping your protein I find that it helps me a lot. Try to get it up over 25% at first and ekeing it towards thirty, if you can. Also, get a HRM - I too use the machines at the gym for "calorie burn" estimates, but I think they're probably off (I enter my age and weight, but it doesn't ask for height, for example) and I will be getting a HRM at my next paycheck

Also, when are you weighing yourself? I often find that if I weigh myself the day after a lot of weight lifting, I'm mysteriously up a pound from fluid retention. Try to figure out a day when you might be retaining less fluid, perhaps?

I'm also giving a thumbs up for logging sleep - I was frustrated before because I thought my "burn" was around 1200-1500 daily (and thus I should have been losing 2-3 lbs. per week) before I started logging sleep - now it's averaging more like 750, and that's way more accurate for the amount of weight I'm actually losing (averaging a pound and a half per week).
taubele is offline  
Old 03-19-2011, 02:20 AM
  #7  
Super Moderator
 
cjohnson728's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 4,083
Default

I agree with Mike and Terri 100%. I log sleep and the calorie balance is dead on for me.

More protein helps. Logging even when it's an ugly day helps. Everyone's body is different, but if you experiment with different ratios, you will find the one that leads to better losses for you. Hang in there!!
cjohnson728 is offline  
Old 03-19-2011, 05:00 AM
  #8  
FitDay Member
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 4
Default

Great advice, thanks guys!
I will definitely start logging my sleep! I'll try upping my protein aswell, but i'm on a student budget so that can be expensive!
same with the heart rate monitor, is it worth getting a cheap one or should i weight and save for a higher tech one?
I'm definitely building muscle and probably am burning fat but as you have said, i need to face up to my bad days and log them, otherwise my calorie deficites will be way out and my weight loss won't be as i expect it to be.
Thanks again .
cazlar is offline  
Old 03-19-2011, 09:07 AM
  #9  
Super Moderator
 
cjohnson728's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 4,083
Default

Tuna is cheap protein, and you may want to see if you can borrow a HRM. Once you've done your routine with it once, you know about how many calories, so you don't need to keep using it. If you have access, as a student, to a phys ed department or something, they might have one you could use. Generally, the cheaper ones don't measure calories, just heart rate. I think I paid about $100 for mine and it was pretty middle of the road.
cjohnson728 is offline  
Old 03-19-2011, 02:12 PM
  #10  
FitDay Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 426
Default

I didn't know that you should log your sleep. I try to log my sleep today but not quit under stand what it said. This is my log, can you help me to understand it? How much should I eat, according to this?

Activity Specific Activity Time (hh:mm) Calories Burned Distance Units Delete
Calories Burned Today 24:00 2,066
sleeping 404
jogging, general 261 milekmmyrdft
Lifestyle Seated, Some Movement(Customize) 15:19 1,401
Calories Burned Today 24:00 2,066
lastri is offline  

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service

Copyright © 2021 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.