Working Out But Not Losing Weight? (Fitness magazine)

Kristi

Kristi

Well-known member
I keep reading about plateaus and getting stuck at a certain weight and thought that this might be a helpful read.(It was for me.) The chart at the bottom puts things into perspective.


"Working Out But Not Losing Weight? (Fitness magazine- March 2008)

You're probably eating too much. When Overweight women exercised for three hours a week for six months, they fell three pounds short of a predicted six-pound weight loss, according to a recent study. "We suspect they started to eat more," says Tim Church,MD.,Ph.D., director of preventitive medicine research at Penninton Beach Reseach Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. "People assume they're burning more calories than they really are, which may lead to overeating." Below, get the real deal.- Rachel Sturtz


(estimated calorie burn is based on a 140 lb. female)
The Exercise..........Cal burned in 30 min..........Cal. burned in 45 min.

1.Yoga........80 cal. burned= 1 apple.........120 cal=1/4 c. low-fat granola

2.Walking 4 mph...160 cal=1 c. low fat yogurt...240 cal.=1 serv pita chips +
1 1/2 tbls. hummus

3.Spinning...224 cal=1 c. cereal+1/2 c. skm milk.....336 cal=2 slices whole- wheat toast+1bls. PB

4.Lap Swimming...256 cal= 1 energy bar..384 cal=1 smoothie+1tbls trail mix


5.Running 6 mph...320 cal=1 c. low fat choc. milk+1 ounce almonds...
(45 min..)480 cal=1 banana=2 ounces low-fat cheese+5 crackers."
 
People assume they're burning more calories than they really are, which may lead to overeating."
Click to expand...

that's very true... and a lot of times the calorie counters on some machines don't help that belief any... iv'e compared what my heart rate monitor says vs what the calorie counter on specific machines say vs where i input my exercise into... and every single time -my heart rate monitor -which i believe is the most accurate - comes up with the lowest number... Were I to believe waht's on the treadmill (and the treadmill asks me to input my weight so it's not guessing) that always says I'm 100-150 calories burned more than what was reality...

A lot of people and I see it on so many sites - claim to be plateauing -when if tehy took a closer look at portion sizes and what they're eating -they'd realie that it's not really a plateau...
 
I hear so many people say "well I exercised so I can have...." and what they want to eat has at least 5x the calories they burned exercising that day. They just don't realize how little we burn through exercise.
 
yes, no coincedence that most people reach their "plateaus" shortly after they get a little too comfortable with what they are eating and their ability to properly track it.
 
LandonsBaby said:
I hear so many people say "well I exercised so I can have...." and what they want to eat has at least 5x the calories they burned exercising that day. They just don't realize how little we burn through exercise.
Click to expand...


Absolutely. I hear people all the time say "I went to the gym last night so I can have mexican for lunch"

Sure. If you burn 100 calories strolling on the treadmill you can have a 1500 calorie lunch. Makes perfect sense.

I am lucky to burn enough calories at the gym to cover my post workout meal.
 
Weight loss plateau can be a little tricky. The best way to beat it is to lift weights before cardio (swimming). Lifting weights breaks the fat while then the cardio itself will burn it. Good luck.
 
Re: Re: Working Out But Not Losing Weight? (Fitness magazine)

If our main goal in exercise is to have a healthy body and not a slim and stick-like body, I think there will be no worries of gaining more calories everyday.
 
As a nutritionist I can tell you that there is difinitely such a thing as a plateau. Many people experience rapid weight loss when first starting a diet and then after a few weeks can't seem to lose another pound. This is because the restriction of calories has slowed down the metabolism and the body has figured out what they are doing.

The way to break through the plateau is to trick your metabolism and body and cycle your calories throughout the week. Also increase your cardio and change your routine.
 
Yoga, lap swimming, pool yoga are simply perfect exercises that are very good to work on as it reduces the fat and makes you feet.

Or you can simply try some more equipments that are also very beneficial in getting fit and fine.

Thanks!
 
Those gym calorie machines are so wrong its actually funny! I use a heart rate monitor and here are some ....variations that come to mind:

Treadmill for 10 minutes at 11.5km/h
Machine says 150kcals. HRM reads 80kcals.

Bike for 10 minutes, level 7 out of 12
machine reads 150kcals, HRM reads 70kcals

Cross trainer for 10 minutes level 10 out of 25 rpm 150
Machine reads 160kcals, HRM reads 100kcals.

Stepper level 15 out of 25 for 10 minutes
Machine reads...280kcals! HRM reads 110kcals.

The conversations in the womens changing room are almost painful to hear- you almost want to step in and say "no please do not eat the rest of that chocolate bar" after hearing them confess their eating and correct it by saying the treadmill told them it was ok....

It scared me the first time I bought a HRM, I had been fixating on the calories the machines read. I made sure they totalled 1000kcals a workout. I then found out this was actually closer to 500kcals.
I don't even think the HRM is spot on, they do also include your basal calorie rate so the basic 1400kcals just to keep you alive are on there, yet it cannot take into consideration say a broken leg, a bad cold or similar which would require your body more calories to recover from. I'd say the general rule of thumb is to do what you can each day, focus on real goals not imaginary figures from a said calorie amount which could be anything up to 250% wrong!
 
bonorom said:
Weight loss plateau can be a little tricky. The best way to beat it is to lift weights before cardio (swimming). Lifting weights breaks the fat while then the cardio itself will burn it.
Click to expand...

The above quotation is a bit inaccurate in reference to the last sentence. Hopefully someone will post something on the physiology of fat metabolism and exercise. If not... I wil.
 
Lifting weights breaks the fat while then the cardio itself will burn it.
Click to expand...
Um ... what?

Lifting weights promotes muscle development. When you're on a diet, lifting weights helps maintain lean muscle, which will help your metabolism stay high.

Cardio burns calories and increases your cardiovascular health and your endurance.

That's it. Muscle "breaking fat" is just ridiculous.
 
weight loss in easiy tips

I agree with u. some more methods are thir to losse weight simply walking and jogging among them excise , diet control to to know the further information plz visit
 
There are many reasons that can lead to the fact that some people don't lose weight althought they work out.

Overeating is definetely one reason. Another can be not enough sleep or too much stress.
 
i got the same problem but you have provided me with very valuable knowledge to me i was not that much older i am 18 but my weight is 73 kg i dun knw why it increased so much
 
Bike race

As an experiment I once wore a HRM durring one of my Bike races to get an estimate on how many calories I burn.

I chose the bike race because it's by far and away the hardest and most intense workout I have ever done. I figured if I was going to get a high calorie burn on any activity that would be it.

Total estimated calories burned in 1 hour 10 minutes of flat out pedaling:

1,000

oh man! I put that back with just a recovery shake and a turkey sandwich!

it's so true we just don't burn that many calories in a workout. That's why I'm such a big fan of trying to get as much activity through the day as possible. It's also a lot easier than driving yourself into the ground in a 60 minute suffer fest.
 
yeah that's true.. and you are what you eat.. losing weight isn't all that hard. you can just eat less and exercise more, and the pounds will come off..
 
Why Plateau?

HItting a plateau is usually a combination of things:

1. Doing the same activity day in and day out with no change in intensity or variety.

2. Eating more with the idea that working out will somehow negate the extra calories consumed.

3. Perhaps the body is where it needs to be.


If you're body stops responding to exercise, it's always a good idea to change up your routine and offer the body new and different activities. Second, the whole point of weight loss is a calorie deficit and when people rely on the machines at the gym vs. simply increasing daily activity, they get caught up in the numbers, which are often inaccurate. Finally, working 24/7 and eating minimal calories in order to break a plateau will not be a lasting venture. Therefore, if you feel great, and you're eating well and exercising regularly, maybe you're where you need to be. I believe that killing yourself to maintain an "ideal" weight, probably isn't your ideal weight.
 
I wear a HRM and find that spinning or the stationary bike gets my heart rate to anywhere from 135 to 155 but not really any higher then that. I find it still is pretty intense and I sweat alot. Yet the cross trainer gets my heart rate up to 180 and feels just as intense. Standing up counts for alot- the higher your heart rate, the more calories your going to burn. Not all workouts were created equally! Having siad that, spinning classes burn me about 450kcals an hour (rubbish compared to my solo gym workouts which get me up to 700kcals an hour!) yet an aerobics class comes in at roughly 350kcals an hour, I guess its learning what works for you and above that, chopping anc chaing what you do.

I wear HRM so I know when I am plateuing and need to turn up the intensity or speed up my legs, theres only so many machines at the gym and where I live is pretty unfriendly to outdoor runners! Gym classes feel too easy to me- I don't feel the burn in ANY of them! So I prefer to workout alone and monitor myself and adjust to avoid a plateau.

But going on your turkey sarnie and protein shake- just switch what you eat- maybe a low fat low sugar (natural/plain?) yogurt and an open turkey sandwich, low fat spread and lettuce (no mayo/sauce or butter) should be lower then 300kcals and you should be better off that way!
 
i think working out needs discipline.
if you are working out and haven't loss weight it means you lack discipline within yourself.

therefore you need to have a balanced diet as well.
 
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