Am I doing too much

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-06-2006
Am I doing too much
8
Sun, 07-09-2006 - 8:50pm
I have been working out for the past 4 weeks now and still am not seeing any results. Every Sunday I write out my meal plan and exercise plan for the week and my husband happend to see it (he thinks I'm crazy, and that I am doing way too much cardio). This weeks plan was to go in a totally different direction, I wanted to try something new instead of 2500 calories a day I would eat 3000 calories (minus all the salt) on the days that I work out (according to self.com my calorie burn for my 3 hour workout would be 2839 calories, so I thought that would be a good number) and on the days that I don't workout I would eat around 1850 calories. My husband says that I am exercising way too much, and at my weight (over 300lbs.) I could really hurt myself. I need a balance and I just don't know what to do. HELP...
iVillage Member
Registered: 10-25-2004
Sun, 07-09-2006 - 9:27pm

Well, I'm not sure what your exercise plan is, but if you are not getting worn down and are listening to your body, you are probably fine on the exercise. If you don't mind sharing, what is your exercise plan?

Also, I wouldn't necessarily trust that the calorie burning calculators are very accurate. I don't know what type of workout you are doing for 3 hours, but it would be very difficult to burn as many calories as Shape.com says you are burning in just 3 hours. Last week I walked a total of 18 miles and for my height and weight of 242, the online calculator said only 2200 calories and it took me 4.5 hours at a clip of 4 miles per hour to achieve that, a pace that's nearly impossible to keep up for 3 hours straight, unless you are super fit. I even used the www.caloriesperhour.com calories burned calculator, and according to it, for my daily activities I should burn almost 4000 calories--that includes my exercise. If that were true, I would have lost about 15 lbs these last 3 weeks instead of the 1/2 a lb that I did lose.

Other than that, if you have 4 exercise days and 3 non exercise days, your calories would still average out to about 2500 per day for the week, so it wouldn't be too extreme. If you aren't seeing results, you might not be eating ENOUGH calories anyway. That was my problem for the past few weeks. I finally upped my caloric intake to 1800 or 2000 per day from 1500 per day and am finally seeing results. Also, how are you tracking your calories? Are you reading labels and measuring your portions and keeping a food journal? That can be a huge factor. It may not seem like much, but if you eat an extra ounce of something here and another one there, you end up with 500 more calories than you thought you had without even knowing it. Plus, if you keep a journal, a lot of these online trackers are nice, like the www.fitday.com one, but unless they have your specific foods (particularly breads and tortillas and other grains), their count can be WAY off. For example, one slice of DFs favorite bread is 110 calories, but if you used their calculator, the closest description only lists 70 calories per slice. A difference of almost 80 calories for one 2 slice sandwich. I would definitely keep a handwritten journal so that you can see exactly how many calories you are eating.

Finally, don't measure just by the scale. Have you taken your measurements with a tape measure yet? If not, start tracking that and I'll bet you see the numbers are going down.

If yuo are doing all of these things and continue working out and still don't see results, I would consider seeing a physician for a full workup to see if there is anything else that could be contributing to your lack of loss. If you decide to do that, make sure you take your very specific food journal (with portion sizes and everything) with you so that you can show him/her that you have really truly made an effort at reducing calories and upping activity.

Sorry so long, I just don't know all the specifics and wanted to cover everything. I do have to say congratulations on everything you have accomplished and on sticking with your program even though you aren't seeing the results you want! I am hopefully just emerging from a period like that, and, like I said, for me it was a matter of not eating enough for my activity level.

Staci


 


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iVillage Member
Registered: 01-25-2006
Sun, 07-09-2006 - 9:28pm

I am no expert but if you are doing 3 hours of cardio a day then i would think it is too much, but if you are doing 3 hours a week then no I wouldn't think it was too much!! Just my opinon!!

30 min to an hr a day 3-5 days a week is great, the personal trainer at the Y told me that you absolutely need to take off 1 day a week AT LEAST from all exercise for your body to recupe preferably 2 days a week.

If you are not losing lbs or inches and you are sure of what you are eating then I would say talk to a dr and get their opinion!!

Angela

 

Angela

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iVillage Member
Registered: 07-06-2006
Sun, 07-09-2006 - 10:55pm

For my workout I am doing 2 hours on the stationary bike, 20 mins on the elliptical, and 30 mins of weight training 3-4 days a week. I break it up into 2 workouts in 1 day. I have been looking on self.com to get calorie counts, and thats what it says for my weight (348lbs).

Laura

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-25-2004
Sun, 07-09-2006 - 11:01pm

Wow! You must be in great shape to manage 2 hours on the stationary bike! I usually only manage about 20-30 minutes per day when I do it. What type of bike are you using? Does it have resistance or a mph counter? If it has different resistance options, I would set it on the highest resistance in order to see more results quicker. That's what I do and I already have much more definition in my legs and butt. Also, if you are doing that much cardio in one day, it probably is too much or not at a high enough intensity. They say you get the most benefit from exercising at an exertion level of about 5-7, which should put you in your target heart zone. That level is usually only sustainable for about 30-45 minutes for most people.

Staci


 


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iVillage Member
Registered: 07-06-2006
Sun, 07-09-2006 - 11:21pm

As far as resistance goes I average between 1-2, and as for mpr I usually stay between 12.9 and 13.5. I am in OK shape, but I may not be doing as great as I thought, I did a workout and noticed that I am maintaining a heart rate of 60-65%, but on the elliptical I am doing up to 80%. I like the fact that you use a higher resistance to build muscle I want to try that.
Quality not quantity---I need to start thinking like that.

Laura

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-19-2004
Mon, 07-10-2006 - 2:22pm

As you said in your last post, its the quality of the exercise, not the quantity. If you aren't hitting your Target Heart Rate, based on your age and weight, Cardio itself is kinda fruitless.
One of the big points of doing any exercise is to have an increased metabolism. I think the rate you are eating VS burning is okay. I think you will find on the days you have don't work out, and have a decreased caloric intake, you will fill like your starving. But I could be wrong. But you just have to be careful that you aren't going to be burning yourself out. Its better to start out slower then try to do it all at once. I'm reading Dr. Phil's book, and he says you are just setting your self up for failure. If you haven't read it, I highly recommend it.
I was in the same boat about 2 months ago. But I was only eating about 1300 calories a day, and working out about 1 and a half hours a day. And guess what? I got burned out. I also didn't really lose much. I am lucky I haven't gained any back, but getting myself to eat right and exercise is like starting all over again from the beginning. Losing a significant amount of weight takes times. Years, in most cases. Realize it can't be done overnight, no matter how much you exercise. Try to be realistic, and don't push your body to hard. Good luck :)

Tami
257/227/195
Waiting to move on the 22nd!
Will have a fitness center right across the hall!!!



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iVillage Member
Registered: 07-06-2006
Mon, 07-10-2006 - 5:20pm

Thank You for the advice. I have Dr. Phils' book, but I have yet to open it. Maybe it's time I did so.

Laura

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-25-2004
Mon, 07-10-2006 - 5:54pm

I would definitely up the resistance and maybe even aim for MPH. Don't be surprised if you can only do a short amount of time at this intensity, but it has given me results very quickly. You don't want to burn yourself out, and 3 hours of cardio 4 times a week is a lot, but how about aiming for 30-60 minutes daily? Then you could space your calories out more evenly and really work at making exercise a habit. Plus, 30-60 minutes is easily doable when you are stressed or have a lot to do. THen you might work up to 90 minutes per day, which is now the recommended amount for weight loss (eek!). I hope you really start seeing some results that you are hoping for :).

Staci


 


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