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I'm extremely confused. I've been on the Power 90 workout program for about a week, and have seen weight loss already, and feeling much better internally. But what I don't understand is how it is possible to burn more calories than I eat per day. Now, it is recommended that I eat at least 1200 calories per day. So it's still a challenge for me to eat that much, but I'm eating over a thousand per day and getting better (diet so far has been about an 8.5 out of 10 for "healthiness"). The workouts I'm doing, I have no way of telling how many calories I'm burning in each workout. I workout everyday in the morning before breakfast, and they alternate so that every other day I'm doing cardio/abs, and every other day I'm doing strength training, and this is a six days a week program.
Besides buying a calorie-burning-counter, how am I supposed to tell how many calories are being burned each day? I feel like I'm only burning maybe 500 calories (though I have no real way of knowing how many I'm actually burning, but I sweat a LOT), then I have to eat so many calories in a day, and the rest of the day I'm not very physically active outside of walking from here to there, lifting this and that, cleaning this and that, maybe dancing to a song or so.
Is it possible that I am burning more than 1200 calories per day with this kind of lifestyle?
Wow... you are now WORKING your way up to 1200 calories? This was BEFORE you started your workout/diet routine?? Sounds like you need a crash course in nutrition too. 1200 calories for most folks is WAY too low, even for weight loss. I know some people average 1200-1500 calories for a more "extreme" fat burning, but thats pretty low.
Most folks have a BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) of at least 1500, which is basically what you would burn if you were near bed-ridden. From a sedentary standpoint, most folks need somewhere of at least 1750-2100 calories, and if you introduce regular exercise into the mix, it goes up from there! I would be curious to as what you eat, especially before you started this Power 90 routine, and how you are figuring up your caloric intake.
Wow... you are now WORKING your way up to 1200 calories? This was BEFORE you started your workout/diet routine?? Sounds like you need a crash course in nutrition too. 1200 calories for most folks is WAY too low, even for weight loss. I know some people average 1200-1500 calories for a more "extreme" fat burning, but thats pretty low.
Most folks have a BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) of at least 1500, which is basically what you would burn if you were near bed-ridden. From a sedentary standpoint, most folks need somewhere of at least 1750-2100 calories, and if you introduce regular exercise into the mix, it goes up from there! I would be curious to as what you eat, especially before you started this Power 90 routine, and how you are figuring up your caloric intake.
Ian
I agree and I'd advise the OP to have their RMR measured (it's hard to find a place that does a true BMR).
I had mine done and my RMR was averaged to 1012 which is low (had it tested 3 times). Not everyone has a low RMR and you will be doing more harm then good if you contine to eat so little calories with the exercise program you have in place. Your body is going to starve.
Oh, and you can get a heartrate monitor to determine approx. how many calories you are burning during a workout.
txsizzler, that makes sense. I tried to do a program that would help me count calories, and it said I could only eat 1,170 or something calories per day to lose weight. Sounded very crazy to me!
I have been eating between 1,000 and 1200 calories per day, not intentionally aiming that low, but this is my best estimate right now. So for a better idea, these are the most common foods I've been eating:
Breakfast: one cup of cereal with half a cup of milk and fruits; or two poached eggs and one slice of whole wheat toast with fruit Snack: one 20g protein bar with fruit, or a handful of mixed raw nuts, or a 1/4 of a grapefruit Lunch: 3 ounces of tuna with a teaspoon of olive oil, a tspn of mayonnaise, tsp of mustard, one hard-boiled egg white, with lettuce between two slices of whole wheat bread; or a turkey sandwich with grapefruit Snack: a high protein bar, or one hard-boiled egg white; or 1/4 grapefruit Dinner: Stir fry vegetables with 1/2 cup of brown rice and 4 ounces of skinless chicken breast; or 4ounces of tuna with a cup of collard greens and fruit
What am I doing wrong here? I'm finding it pretty challenging to eat so much food in a single day, but is this not enough?? My height and weight are 5'4 173 by the way, and the recommended meal plan for me is supposed to be high in protein, low in carbs, and moderate in fat, with between 1200 and 1500 calories per day. I have lost weight (and inches!) so far, but am I stunting my weight loss by not eating more than this?
Oh, and before I started the program, I was eating maybe 600-800 calories per day (not intentionally). I was putting on weight because I wasn't physically active at all and much of what I ate was too much fat, like pizza, spaghetti with sausage, potatoes, beef, lots of condiments, lots of sweetened cereal and milk, buffalo wings, etc., many filling foods. So I would eat it in a single setting and then not have to worry about eating again because I felt full. So that's why the calorie intake was so low.
Your body is saying "I'm starving and hanging on to every last calorie put into my body" for real. I've lost a lot of weight...I'm 5 feet 1 inch and eat 1500 calories on days I don't work out and 1700 calories the days I do work out. I've tried the 1200 calorie thing in the past and nothing happened.
Sometimes it takes weeks to start showing up, especially if your body thinks it's "starving". I've had that happen a lot. Just keep at it and one day you'll notice you've lost 4-5 pounds in one day. Weight loss is like that.
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