Thread: Exercise

Hey everyone,

I recently went back to exercise and after 1300 calories a day (I keep a food diary) and 2 weeks (6 times a week) of intense exercise I have not lost an ounce. I am so frustrated...


Hugs,
Amani

Stick to your regimen but only weigh yourself once a month. Also, muscle weighs more than fat, so you may lose inches before you lose pounds. Don't give up. But can you really sustain this long-term? Have a maintenance plan for when you reach your goal weight so that you don't just gain weight again. That happened to me so many times until I found a moderate plan that I can live with for the long haul - has worked for me for 3 years now. I have a food plan but I don't count calories, and my exercise is moderate too.

You want healthy weight loss, not overly rapid weight loss.

Originally Posted by dunyah

Stick to your regimen but only weigh yourself once a month. Also, muscle weighs more than fat, so you may lose inches before you lose pounds. Don't give up. But can you really sustain this long-term? Have a maintenance plan for when you reach your goal weight so that you don't just gain weight again. That happened to me so many times until I found a moderate plan that I can live with for the long haul - has worked for me for 3 years now. I have a food plan but I don't count calories, and my exercise is moderate too.

You want healthy weight loss, not overly rapid weight loss.

Thanks girl! No I won't give up. I know the body will obey eventually whether it wants it or not. I am sure the scale has to budge sooner or later. I also think it takes sometime for metabolism to start.

Hugs,
Amani

The other question I have is what kind of exercise are you dong? Cardio is what will burn the most calories. But you also need to build muscle in order raise your metabolism. But as noted, muscle will be heavier inch per inch than fat. (that's why you can have someone who is a size 4 who weighs 130# but is svelte or someone who weighs 130# with the same bone structure who is a size 8 because she is chubby.)

So if your goal is weight lose, I would suggest that you up your cardio. If it is overall health, keep it balanced and be patient. Oh, also, de-stress. Keeping an eye on the scale / stressing / worrying / continuing to focus on the things which got you to your current weight will keep you there. Sometimes our head space contributes much more than we'd like to admit.

{{{HUGS}}}

Call me crazy but you might need to increase you eating as well. I'm not shy about what I eat. I eat about 5 to 6 meals a day, my calorie intake is about 1800 calories, I need those calories because I work out six days a week in fact I could fit an extra 200 calories once my 1/2 marathon training begins. I think that the more you eat to full your body the faster you metabolism will be. Don't worry it takes time to show results, just keep working hard and include like some folks said strength training in your work outs too. You'll notice results when you least expect them!

Angelina, can you give us an idea how much weight you need to lose? I ask because generally if one has a significant amount to lose, there should be at least a pound or two coming off after two weeks of the regimen you describe. You might also want to track some measurements (waist, hips, bust, etc) because as others have mentioned, if you are building some muscle from your workouts, it may temporarily hide your progress.

If you are already within your healthy weight range and are trying to shave off the last 10 vanity pounds, that can be very difficult.

Are you measuring ALL of your food? If you are eating out at restaurants, it is practically impossible to track calories, because you don't know how much oil, butter, sugar etc. is going into things, and serving sizes are HUGE. Also, if you are guestimating serving sizes of calorie-dense foods like proteins, starches, and fats, there could be a large amount of error in your food log.

Example: A cup of mashed potatoes could have anywhere from around 170 cals if you put practically no added fat in the, to over 300 cals if you really made them rich (as they almost certainly would be in any restaurant).

If you guestimate that you eat 1/2 cup, but you really eat 3/4ths cup, you have underestimated you intake by anywhere from 40 to 70 cals. If you make 5 similar errors per day, you are already 200 to 350 cals over your target. If you manage to delude yourself even more (and its not that hard) -- say recording a cup of mashed potatoes as only 1/2 cup, then you could end up 500+ cals over your target.

The only way to accurately track calories is to make everything at home and measure all calorie-dense foods yourself.

Originally Posted by tahiradancer

The other question I have is what kind of exercise are you dong? Cardio is what will burn the most calories. But you also need to build muscle in order raise your metabolism. But as noted, muscle will be heavier inch per inch than fat. (that's why you can have someone who is a size 4 who weighs 130# but is svelte or someone who weighs 130# with the same bone structure who is a size 8 because she is chubby.)

So if your goal is weight lose, I would suggest that you up your cardio. If it is overall health, keep it balanced and be patient. Oh, also, de-stress. Keeping an eye on the scale / stressing / worrying / continuing to focus on the things which got you to your current weight will keep you there. Sometimes our head space contributes much more than we'd like to admit.

{{{HUGS}}}

Hi Tahira,

I do exercise 6 times a week. I do high intensity elliptical for 50 minutes 4 times a week and strength training 3 times a week. I think I just need to jumpstart my metabolism. It will take couple weeks or month to really get it going.

Hugs,
Amani

Originally Posted by angelina

Hi Tahira,

I do exercise 6 times a week. I do high intensity elliptical for 50 minutes 4 times a week and strength training 3 times a week. I think I just need to jumpstart my metabolism. It will take couple weeks or month to really get it going.

Hugs,
Amani

Hi Amani,

Sometimes it might take 6-8 weeks before you suddenly notice a visual difference.

Just curious, how did you come up with the figure of 1300 calories? And how are you measuring progress? Are you measuring bodyfat and lean muscle mass? If you are only using the scales then I would strongly suggest you get yourself some calipers to start measuring exactly what you are losing or gaining.

Ideally you would want to be losing fat and gaining lean muscle. As someone has mentioned, if your clothes are getting looser then it probably means you are losing fat and gaining muscle at the same rate and that is a good thing. But you won't really know unless you measure it.

http://www.amazon.com/FatTrack-GOLD-.../dp/B0000X63LM

The exercise program you are doing is a fairly standard combination of HIIT cardio and resistance training. I'm no fitness professional but I do know someone who was on a similarly ultra low calorie diet at 1200 calories together with a similar exercise plan and got sick on it because her body was under recovering. So just be careful.

Originally Posted by HubicRuzz

Hi Amani,

Sometimes it might take 6-8 weeks before you suddenly notice a visual difference.

Just curious, how did you come up with the figure of 1300 calories? And how are you measuring progress? Are you measuring bodyfat and lean muscle mass? If you are only using the scales then I would strongly suggest you get yourself some calipers to start measuring exactly what you are losing or gaining.

Ideally you would want to be losing fat and gaining lean muscle. As someone has mentioned, if your clothes are getting looser then it probably means you are losing fat and gaining muscle at the same rate and that is a good thing. But you won't really know unless you measure it.

http://www.amazon.com/FatTrack-GOLD-.../dp/B0000X63LM

The exercise program you are doing is a fairly standard combination of HIIT cardio and resistance training. I'm no fitness professional but I do know someone who was on a similarly ultra low calorie diet at 1200 calories together with a similar exercise plan and got sick on it because her body was under recovering. So just be careful.

Hmm... well the 1300 calories I calculated from my BMR and subtracted 500 in order to lose pound a week (which is 3500 calories). I think I am on a lower side and you are right no one should go below 1200. I think 1200 is the minimum and I think I would also be ill if I went any lower than 1300. All my calories that I try to get are from fruit and complex carbs. I eat buckwheat, and whole grain pita. Sometimes I allow myself white bread and even a little piece of chocolate as long as I factor it in to my calories. I get my fats from olive oil (measured of course) and nuts.

I am glad to say I already lost about 5 pounds! I am in the Gulf region and here diabetes is rampant. Last time I was at the doc's, he told me that UAE was number 1 for diabetes.

I feel people here have allergy to exercise. Their food is very unhealthy with lots of temptation (pretty much like in the US). I am a pre-diabetic so I am also on Glucophage, which helps me to increase insulin response. Now if my husband could lay off of me and not pressure me to get pregnant right now... sigh... (well that's another thread).

Hugs,
Amani

Originally Posted by angelina

Hmm... well the 1300 calories I calculated from my BMR and subtracted 500 in order to lose pound a week (which is 3500 calories). I think I am on a lower side and you are right no one should go below 1200. I think 1200 is the minimum and I think I would also be ill if I went any lower than 1300. All my calories that I try to get are from fruit and complex carbs. I eat buckwheat, and whole grain pita. Sometimes I allow myself white bread and even a little piece of chocolate as long as I factor it in to my calories. I get my fats from olive oil (measured of course) and nuts.

I am glad to say I already lost about 5 pounds! I am in the Gulf region and here diabetes is rampant. Last time I was at the doc's, he told me that UAE was number 1 for diabetes.

I feel people here have allergy to exercise. Their food is very unhealthy with lots of temptation (pretty much like in the US). I am a pre-diabetic so I am also on Glucophage, which helps me to increase insulin response. Now if my husband could lay off of me and not pressure me to get pregnant right now... sigh... (well that's another thread).

Hugs,
Amani

Are you getting enough lean protein in your diet?

And why is it so important to your husband that you get pregnant right now? Especially since you already have children? Just curious, you don't have to answer that if you don't want to.

Originally Posted by dunyah

Are you getting enough lean protein in your diet?

And why is it so important to your husband that you get pregnant right now? Especially since you already have children? Just curious, you don't have to answer that if you don't want to.

Hi Dunyah,

Yeah, I try to get my protein through chicken, fish, turkey, etc... Well, we have girls and my husband wants to try for a boy. Honestly, I am not too thrilled about the pressure.

Hugs,
Amani

Originally Posted by angelina

Hmm... well the 1300 calories I calculated from my BMR and subtracted 500 in order to lose pound a week (which is 3500 calories). I think I am on a lower side and you are right no one should go below 1200. I think 1200 is the minimum and I think I would also be ill if I went any lower than 1300. All my calories that I try to get are from fruit and complex carbs. I eat buckwheat, and whole grain pita. Sometimes I allow myself white bread and even a little piece of chocolate as long as I factor it in to my calories. I get my fats from olive oil (measured of course) and nuts.

I am glad to say I already lost about 5 pounds! I am in the Gulf region and here diabetes is rampant. Last time I was at the doc's, he told me that UAE was number 1 for diabetes.

I feel people here have allergy to exercise. Their food is very unhealthy with lots of temptation (pretty much like in the US). I am a pre-diabetic so I am also on Glucophage, which helps me to increase insulin response. Now if my husband could lay off of me and not pressure me to get pregnant right now... sigh... (well that's another thread).

Hugs,
Amani

Hi Amani,

Are you able to give us an idea of what you eat in a typical day, broken down by meal?

Also with the strength training, can you give us an idea of the weight, sets and reps you are doing? By any chance, are you doing the Body for Life program but with an extra cardio session a week thrown in?

If most of your calories are from carbs and fruit, I would be a little concerned there is not enough protein to help repair the muscle after workout. As well fruit tends to be high gi and I would limit it to post workout meal with protein, which would spike insulin levels and help shutter protein into the muscle. If you are pre diabetic I would replace the fruit with fibrous green vegetables like broccoli, spinach etc. Not sure what is locally available in the gulf region.

Originally Posted by ssipes

Angelina, can you give us an idea how much weight you need to lose? I ask because generally if one has a significant amount to lose, there should be at least a pound or two coming off after two weeks of the regimen you describe. You might also want to track some measurements (waist, hips, bust, etc) because as others have mentioned, if you are building some muscle from your workouts, it may temporarily hide your progress.

If you are already within your healthy weight range and are trying to shave off the last 10 vanity pounds, that can be very difficult.

Are you measuring ALL of your food? If you are eating out at restaurants, it is practically impossible to track calories, because you don't know how much oil, butter, sugar etc. is going into things, and serving sizes are HUGE. Also, if you are guestimating serving sizes of calorie-dense foods like proteins, starches, and fats, there could be a large amount of error in your food log.

Example: A cup of mashed potatoes could have anywhere from around 170 cals if you put practically no added fat in the, to over 300 cals if you really made them rich (as they almost certainly would be in any restaurant).

If you guestimate that you eat 1/2 cup, but you really eat 3/4ths cup, you have underestimated you intake by anywhere from 40 to 70 cals. If you make 5 similar errors per day, you are already 200 to 350 cals over your target. If you manage to delude yourself even more (and its not that hard) -- say recording a cup of mashed potatoes as only 1/2 cup, then you could end up 500+ cals over your target.

The only way to accurately track calories is to make everything at home and measure all calorie-dense foods yourself.

Hi girl! :-)

Well, looks like I lost 5 pounds! I write down everything I eat and I do not eat at the restaurants since I started the program. I cook all my meals. I am not obese, but overweight and I would like to lose 20 or even better 30 pounds. I eat white bread sparingly and I factor it in to my calorie limit. Higher fat items like eggs, I take in the morning. I wait 2 hours or so, then I workout. It has been 3 weeks and 5 pounds off, so looks like there is progress so far.

I make mashed potatoes myself as well. I do add little butter, but I try to flavor it with mostly dill and roasted garlic. I measure about 1/4 cup to no more than 1/2 cup for me. In any case I eat mashed potatoes rarely.

Hugs,
Amani

Originally Posted by HubicRuzz

Hi Amani,

Are you able to give us an idea of what you eat in a typical day, broken down by meal?

Also with the strength training, can you give us an idea of the weight, sets and reps you are doing? By any chance, are you doing the Body for Life program but with an extra cardio session a week thrown in?

If most of your calories are from carbs and fruit, I would be a little concerned there is not enough protein to help repair the muscle after workout. As well fruit tends to be high gi and I would limit it to post workout meal with protein, which would spike insulin levels and help shutter protein into the muscle. If you are pre diabetic I would replace the fruit with fibrous green vegetables like broccoli, spinach etc. Not sure what is locally available in the gulf region.

Hmmm... well, I get up, (my day is shifted really) at about 12 pm, since I go to bed very, very late. Then I have my breakfast (if you wanna call it that LOL). I wait couple hours, I have my workout either cardio or strength training, depending on what I am supposed to do that day.

I love fruits as well, but you are probably right, I should limit it to post workout meal. I measure my fruit intake as well to make sure I do not go over calorie limit. Protein here is quite challenging part. I cook by myself, trying to get lean meat or chicken. I try to go with fish as well. Sometimes I have no appetite for anything at all.

For my strength training I use freeweights 8 pounds each. I do 15 reps of each exercise for arms there are about 5 or 6. As far as lunges I do 2 sets of 15.

Hugs,
Amani

I had this problem too. I followed everything to the letter and was committed, but nothing changed. Turns out I had to reset my "set point" and my body tried to hang on to every calorie it got because I had cut them too drastically at first.

I am 43 so for me it took awhile to get to where I wanted. (almost 9 months to lose a simple 13 pounds) but it did finally happen. So age can play a factor. As we get older, it's hard to lose, but not impossible. Keep at it, eventually your body will cooperate. Make sure to sleep well also. Green tea helped me too. It's an awesome anti oxidant to boot.

Hopefully you've made some more progress with the weight Amani :) a couple of things that might be helpful. Most people think that fat is bad, but remember that you need about 30% of your daily intake to be fats in a healthy diet. You are on the right track getting those fats from nuts ect. Its not a bad thing for some of it to be strait up fat from meats or good fat from cheeses though.
When you are exercising what is your heart rate? In order to lose weight you need your heart rate to be 65-85% of your max heart rate. You can calculate this by subtracting your age from 220. Your target heart rate is going to vary depending on your physical condition and your age. I personall tell clients to try and hit 75% of your max heart rate. I noticed you mentioned that you are working out on the eliptical? Try varying up what you do for your cardio.
As far as diet is concerned you are going in the right direction. Keep in mind that fiber binds to fat. So fiber is good, just not too much, and try getting a lot of it from dark green leafy veggies; rather than from grains. You also might want to try and add a few calories to your diet. Especially if you are working out 6 days a week. You should never ever go under 1200 calories or your body will start using your muscles as fuel. So 1300 is percariously close to starvation for your metabolism.By reducing your caloric intake that much, you may actually be hindering rather than helping your weight lose. Eating 5-6 small meals a day is the best way to go. If you need those 3 meals a day make them medium to small and add a snack in between each meal.
A lot of other things factor into our metabolism. One of the biggest things that affect it is sleep. Since you are more of a night owl it is going to be a little bit harder for you to lose weight. Our metabolisms are most active around 7 am. This is why breakfast is so important. The metabolism then starts to slow down. For most people it is almost inaffective by 8-9 pm. It still works, of course, but it is going to send a larger percentage of your glucose to be stored rather than burned. Starting your day with a workout can be a great way to really increase your metabolism.
Keep in mind too that it takes about 6 weeks before you are going to see tangible results unless your are extremely overweight. A pound a week is as healthy and reasonable goal for weight lose. Measurements are a great way to stay motivated since we can replace fat with muscle. A pound of fat is the size of a grapefruit, a pound of muscle is the size of an orange. So even if you aren't losing wieght you may be gaining muscle. Since you are doing strength training this is highly likely. Remember most importantly being healthy is a lifestyle choice not a diet;-)
Everyone has some great tips and advice, its so nice to see good advice rather than wacky outdated info. Woot to the smart belly dancers :) Best of luck to you Amani!!!

Yup, 1300 calories a day will slow your metabolism down! That is how all those yo-yo dieters end up fatter than ever. Be sensible, take the long view, and SWEAT! good luck!

Originally Posted by Delmerr

I would say that 1300 calories is not right for a normal person with normal type of physical activities during the whole day... can weak your muscles.
You should increase some calories and add some exercise..

I disagree with the generality of that statement. This may be the case for a young person, depending on their size and gender, but it is not the case that this is too few calories for all "normal" people.

I am 5'4" with a very small frame, and I'm 45. I lift weights and do some cardio, and am around 25% body fat. I have had my basal metabolic rate measured at my university, and based on that, 1300 to 1500 cals is what I am supposed to eat for healthy weight loss. I lost 35+ pounds eating in this range, slowly and consistently over a period of a year, and am going on 3yrs keeping it all off.

I have spent many weeks/months over the past 4 years logging my food, and I can tell you that 1800-2000 calories maintains my weight. Any more cals causes gains. 1600-1800 is a grey area. I can lose weight eating this, but it is so slow that occasional cheats tend to swamp it out.

Depressing, but true.

Running and swimming both are the good cardio exercises. Running burn 80 calories in 45 minutes and swimming also useful to reduce the weight and as well as give the strengthen to body muscles.

Hi dear,

Running, jogging and swimming are very perfect exercises for fitness, burning fat and losing the weight. Yoga can also be included for this purposes.

I used to run alot years ago, but that didn't give me any weight loss. I have been doing Jazzercise now for 15 months and have lost several inches and weight (that I really wasn't trying to loose). I am actually too skinny now and trying to gain weight now and can't. My metabolism has really changed for working out so much. I go 3 mornings a week. It is 40 min of dance aerobics/cardio, and 20 of strength training w/ weights. I have really strengthened my core and toned up. I love it. I didn't change my diet at all, and just ate regular healthy foods.

I totally agree with you. Exercises are so much essential for the good health. Swimming and running are my favourite exercises.

Hi Amani,
What is your age, height and weight? Keep regular with your workout and do start some cardio exercises. Do break your meals in 5/6 small meals including snacks and eat raw food more in your diet plans. Prefer green tea over beverages and soda and increase water intake.

Exercise is really good for our health. It makes our health good. It can help us to reduce problem of heart disease and diabetes. Exercise helps us to reduce our weight.

Just wanted to share a book I recently found that may help. Diet for Dancers: A Complete Guide to Nutrition and Weight Control by Robin D. Chmelar

Diet for Dancers: A Complete Guide to Nutrition and Weight Control: Robin D. Chmelar, Sally S. Fitt: 9780916622893: Amazon.com: Books

It's geared towards professional dancers and specifically ballet, but what I've read so far has been really eye opening and I've never set foot in a ballet class.

Arm yourself with information! We can give you advice all day, but everyone is different so in the end you know your body the best. Good luck!