Surprised at how little exercise burns calories

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes but exercise (particular high intensity cardio like running, and lifting heavy weights) will burn calories even after you've stopped.

Your running calories seem pretty low though - are you super duper tiny? Did you run the whole time, or walk also? I burn about 300 running a 5k.

I credit exercise bigly for my weightloss. For one, I exercise in the early morning and it prevents me from over eating too much the night before. At the end of the day, weightloss is a numbers game - your calories burned (active + bmr) has to be more than the calories you intake. Exercise has infinite benefits besides burning calories though, so please don't stop it for that reason.

OP here. At the end of the day, my total calories burned was 1931 (585 active). I ate 1336 calories. My first full day tracking although I’ve been exercising and watching what I eat for a week now. I’m 115 pounds. Trying to lose 3-5 lbs.

No I’m average height at 5’6, 5’7 ish.

Are you under 5 feet?! Unless you're like 4'8" OP, you do not need to lose 3-5lbs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes but exercise (particular high intensity cardio like running, and lifting heavy weights) will burn calories even after you've stopped.

Your running calories seem pretty low though - are you super duper tiny? Did you run the whole time, or walk also? I burn about 300 running a 5k.

I credit exercise bigly for my weightloss. For one, I exercise in the early morning and it prevents me from over eating too much the night before. At the end of the day, weightloss is a numbers game - your calories burned (active + bmr) has to be more than the calories you intake. Exercise has infinite benefits besides burning calories though, so please don't stop it for that reason.

OP here. At the end of the day, my total calories burned was 1931 (585 active). I ate 1336 calories. My first full day tracking although I’ve been exercising and watching what I eat for a week now. I’m 115 pounds. Trying to lose 3-5 lbs.

No I’m average height at 5’6, 5’7 ish.

Are you under 5 feet?! Unless you're like 4'8" OP, you do not need to lose 3-5lbs.

So you’re trying to be underweight?

[Anonymous]

Diet controls how much you weigh. Exercise controls how your body looks at any given weight.

I got rid of my fitness tracker because it was making me neurotic. It was better for me to think of exercise as a tool to make better choices with food. I try to run for about an hour each day. I'm pretty slow, so I cover maybe 4-5 miles during that hour. But during that hour, I'm NOT sitting on my butt watching Netflix. I'm NOT snacking just to be snacking. I'm doing something that makes me feel strong and accomplished, which improves my mood. So later I'm not emotion-eating. And after the run and a good stretch, I DON'T want to stuff my face with pizza and beer -- nothing tastes better than a cool, juicy piece of fruit and plenty of water. Those few hundred calories burned leads to many times that in overall healthier lifestyle choices, and it's the food I'm NOT eating that's allowing me to drop the weight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes but exercise (particular high intensity cardio like running, and lifting heavy weights) will burn calories even after you've stopped.

Your running calories seem pretty low though - are you super duper tiny? Did you run the whole time, or walk also? I burn about 300 running a 5k.

I credit exercise bigly for my weightloss. For one, I exercise in the early morning and it prevents me from over eating too much the night before. At the end of the day, weightloss is a numbers game - your calories burned (active + bmr) has to be more than the calories you intake. Exercise has infinite benefits besides burning calories though, so please don't stop it for that reason.

OP here. At the end of the day, my total calories burned was 1931 (585 active). I ate 1336 calories. My first full day tracking although I’ve been exercising and watching what I eat for a week now. I’m 115 pounds. Trying to lose 3-5 lbs.

No I’m average height at 5’6, 5’7 ish.

Are you under 5 feet?! Unless you're like 4'8" OP, you do not need to lose 3-5lbs.

So you are 5'7" and 115 lbs and you want to lose 5 more pounds? Please seek help- I mean that in a sincere way OP

[Anonymous]

OP I think you would be better off *gaining* the Covid 15-19, not losing.

[Anonymous]

Cardio is the bible of any weight loss.
With the caveat that you eat normal portions of food and not 4000 calories per day.

[Anonymous]

And for most women that is not more than 1500 calories per day.

[Anonymous]

So you are 5'7" and 115 lbs and you want to lose 5 more pounds? Please seek help- I mean that in a sincere way OP

NP. I think you need help if those measurements bother you in any way. All women that I know close to that ratio are healthy, energetic and good looking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ive always been thin but when “skinny fat” became a thing, I started working out more and lifting.

The problem is, that stuff makes me SO hungry!! To the point where it’s hard to ignore.

So it’s like, do I want to be thin and at my goal weight or do I want to be muscular and weigh more.

It’s really frustrating.

Why wouldn't you want to be muscular? Why can't you let go of your scale and the idea of a "goal weight"?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For me, when I exercise I typically crave healthier food. I also tend to be more disciplined and feel more in control. Maybe it’s all mental but each time I have lost weight, exercise has been a critical component of the process.

Me as well. I think there are two things at play, if I am taking the time to exercise, I am paying more attention to what I eat. I don't want to spend 90 minutes sweating and working on cardio and strength and then ruin it all be eating a ton of junk. I don't fully restrict what I eat but I am careful with the amount of junk that I eat and I don't keep potato chips in the house because it is one of the foods I have no willpower with regards to.

The other piece is that exercise helps to build muscle, especially strength training/weight lifting. Muscle burns more calories than fat. As you increase your muscle mass, you increase your caloric burn while resting. So exercise that develops muscle is going to help you lose weight but in smaller amounts then making changes to your diet. That is part of the reason why people are always suggesting strength training for folks, it not only helps with how you look but it can cause a larger caloric deficit.

A 45 minute ride on the Peloton nets me 4 oreos. That is better then before I was riding the Peloton but still not a lot.