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I'm not fitness expert or hardbody, but I've always thought of exercise as important for stamina, muscle tone, blood pressure, etc. and not so much for weight loss. It's part of the equation, but not the whole picture.
Well it was important to my weight loss and is doubly important to my current weight maintenance/management. Can't speak for other people.
Vigorous exercise burned calories and calories burned is definitely part of the weight loss (aka caloric deficit) equation IF a person is truly honest when it comes to tracking. During the "loss" phase I was very religious about tracking. I monitored my intake pretty well. My diet was (and still is) largely grain based. I spaced my meals out to prevent hunger, so I was able to eat less and still not feel overly hunger.
How did exercise help? Exercise enabled me to maintain twice weekly (had to reduce to once weekly once I got significantly thinner) "cheat days", where I ate more than the daily deficit amount (probably ate more than 2500 calories...didn't track on those days). Those days I reserved for restaurants. So basically my weekly meal plan was 5 days at a caloric deficit and two days over. I lost weight, so I continued with what worked. My workout regimen consisted of 40 mins cardio, 40-45 minutes weight lifting.
Weight loss stalled at the 180# lb mark (aka plateau). At that point I had already lost 40 lbs. I revised my meal plan. Exercise program remained the same, but I cut out one of the cheat days. A physically stressful event (that involved me doing HARD physical labor) permanently moved me past the plateau and I was losing again. I've pretty much stuck to the one cheat day, six "clean" days ever since. A few weeks ago I had a 100% "clean" week, with no cheat day just as a sort of body cleanse. Same exercise program. Decided to continue the daily deficit in terms of calories. I lost 3.5 lbs. I guess I could go down to the 140s if I truly wanted to, but I absolutely will not give up my cheat day. So yeah, exercise does matter. I lost more weight with exercise. It also helped with my body composition, well as much as can happen when you're in your 40s.
In the case of the OP, I really can't explain why the scale isn't moving other than maybe water retention, overconsumption, or not exercising as intensely as she thought. I really don't know. I do know that burning extra calories does factor in to weight loss. ever wonder why most diet programs preach exercise as well as diet? i really honestly don't believe weight maintenance can be successful if physical activity isn't a part of one's life. calories are units of energy that need to be used.
im not a hard body..not even close. but being active has done wonders for me. As you said, I'm more muscular and have increased stamina. that's just the physical benefits. Exercise makes me also feel good mentally. When I don't work out, even if I am eating right, I feel different...and not in a good way.
Almost had a panic attack. Cycle is starting soon so I'm surprised I didn't fall out crying (although I was seriously on the verge...yeah I'm a bit dramatic).
The weird thing is I looked in the full mirror...I look better than I have in a while and that's coming from someone who does NOT brag. I think the other thing I need to do is take a serious break from the scale.
Going on vacation in 2 weeks and I want to enjoy myself so I may eat some of the things I want. I may take a break from weighing until I come back and am back in the gym for a week or two. Don't want to get so stressed about my weight that it causes me to eat.
im not a hard body..not even close. but being active has done wonders for me. As you said, I'm more muscular and have increased stamina. that's just the physical benefits. Exercise makes me also feel good mentally. When I don't work out, even if I am eating right, I feel different...and not in a good way.
Exercise also helps you feel good. I wouldn't say I consider it an important factor in losing weight, but I do consider it important for both physical and emotional health. My exercise regimen is pretty streamlined. I work out from home (weights) three days a week which takes about 30 minutes, go for a run once or twice a week, and a bike ride or day hike on most weekends. The dogs also get a daily stroll around the neighborhood. I wouldn't really qualify that as exercise as they spend half the time smelling things but it's something.
Hmmm...so if I went an hour on the elliptical at level 18 (which I do often) and it says I burned 550 calories, how many calories should I estimate I actually burned? If it were you, you are saying you wouldn't count those as calories burned at all since you've been subtracting 600 calories from whatever FitBit says you burned, correct?
It sounds like I just need to keep under 1500 calories period and not worry about how much I'm burning.
I can do this. Weight loss at 38 is hard! Eating under 1500 calories and working out 6 days a week with no progress? I guess I am eating too much by eating back the calories. I just thought it was all about calories in verus calories out but I see I can't really count the calories I burn as 'calories' out...that's just news to me is all.
First of all, the 550 calories is an estimate, the machine doesn't know how your body functions. Those numbers are all based on generic formulas and should be used judiciously.
Second, what I said I did was subtract 600 calories plus 10% of recorded calories consumed from the daily total calculated by FitBit. So if at midnight it indicates I've burned 3,000 calories and I've recorded consuming 1,200 calories, I assume my total deficit is 3,000 - 600 - 120 = 2,280. The remaining deficit is 1,080 calories which gets me much closer to the truth.
Third, I'm 52 with hypothyroidism and am wrapping up a 60 lb weight loss journey; you don't know what hard is just yet (the 40's seem to be where the body really starts to age based on my experiences). But really in the end, the formula has always been the same, it's just that when we're younger, particularly before we add on layers of obligations and commitments, it's easier to engage in activities that burn more calories. Plus, muscle tone is easier to return thus creating the visual illusion of fitness.
Fourth, I now know that setting a single, daily calorie budget and using that as a North star by which to navigate our daily food intake is the surest, most reliable way to lose and/or maintain weight. If you follow that religiously you will eventually start choosing healthier foods which fill you up for fewer calories and avoid high calorie options which tend to have little nutritional value.
So yes, set a single daily calorie budget and stop adjusting it based on what you think you've burned off in exercise. On max workout days you'll simple generate a greater weight loss result.
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