What am I doing wrong in my exerise/weight loss attempts?

[Anonymous]

I have a treadmill that monitors heart rate. Nearly every morning for the past 4 months, I do the "cardio" program which adjusts incline and speed to keep my heartrate at 142 (I am 42 year old female). I know I've gotten in much better shape, as I used to hit my target heart rate much sooner, while now it takes longer and I'm at higher speeds and inclines for longer periods. Currently it keeps me around 3.8 mph and 7% incline for the majority of my time. (I always go at least 60 minutes, and sometimes up to 90). I will sometimes run, but only for short spurts (maybe up to 1/2 mile or so at a time). If I go an hour, I will usually burn (per the treadmill, so I understand it's not completely accurate) about 850 calories.

I have a fitbit that tracks my steps and I average about 90K per week.

My calories are about 1500-1700 per day, but I usually splurge on weekends because we use dining out as entertainment, sadly.

I have lost 3 lbs in these 4 months. I have a ton to lose.

Where am I messing up? Too many calories? Still not enough exercise? I have posted before about how much I hate the gym. I was debating between an elliptical or a treadmill months ago, and we went with the treadmill since hubby could use it more than the elliptical. We do have a garage full of free weights/dumbbells/racks/benches/etc. because of my hubby's obsession with weight lifting, but the thought of going out there and doing anything honestly makes me want to injure myself. :/

Can I not lose weight on aerobic exercise alone?

[Anonymous]

Assuming you are really, actually consuming the calories you think you are on the weekdays, it's the weekend splurges that are getting you. Splurging can undo all your workday sacrifices very easily. I would pick just one or two meals to *somewhat* splurge on - as in a one-item exception per meal to your diet - and keep tracking the calories. If you track properly, you'll see the problem quickly. I speak from experience! Good luck

PS - Ignore the calorie counter on the machine and look on reputable fitness websites for a more reasonable estimate. No way no how are you burning 850 calories walking for an hour. Half that, if you're lucky.

[Anonymous]

I feel very strongly that it is 2/3 or maybe even 3/4 diet and the remainder is exercise.

Have you calculated your BMR? This is the number of calories you burn on a weekly basis based on your activity level. I would find a calculator online, and enter the activity level as 'sedentary' which is the most conservative.

Then take out 500 calories a day from this number. Over the course of a week, if you are true to the net number (BMR Calories - 500) - you will lose a pound. It is simple math. This way, anything you lose additional on the treadmill will be a bonus.


Don't splurge for two weeks - cut 500-700 calories out of your diet for 14 straight days and you will lose a couple of pounds - I guarantee it. Also drink a ton of water, then drink some more (couple gallons a day).

Have a long horizon on your goals. The longer it takes you to reach your goal, the better chance of success because you need to develop good habits over a period of time.

The weekends are killing you because it is very tough to dial back in when you have stretched out your stomach over the weekend.

My last advice is to weigh yourself a couple of times a day - Every time I get on the scale I try to guess beforehand, what I think it will be, for instance "If it says 145, I will be satisfied - more than that, need to focus"

[Anonymous]

Are you holding on to the treadmill, or going totally hands free? Holding on will reduce your body's calorie burn by 20-40%. And I agree with pp, 850/hour is a way over-exaggeration no matter what - don't trust the calorie counters on the machine. I wouldn't even trust the heartrate monitor on it.

A good way to gauge your effort, is your conversation level. Can you maintain a conversation? You're not working hard enough. Is it difficult to get more than a couple words in? You're working too hard. In-between is where you want to be for a moderate workout (unless you're doing intervals or something).

How are your clothes fitting? The scale can help with a broad picture, but it does not give you a full one. That's great you feel more fit, but to judge if you're burning fat, clothes don't lie (and the scale can lie sometimes).

Try doing some intervals. Slow your speed down, but vary the incline. Go low/high for a few minutes at a time, and repeat.

[Anonymous]

OP here: Thank you all for the advice! I knew the calorie count was not accurate, but I had no idea it was that off... yikes! Also, I do not hold on to the treadmill, as I want to get my arms swinging to get my fitbit count credited. lol I sort of thought it was my weekends that were doing the most harm, but I was afraid to hear that I needed to be doing more exercise, or what I was doing was useless. I will work on the diet part of it more over the next couple weeks (started today!) tracking every bite in myfitnesspal, and be extra careful on the weekends, just to see how much difference. I appreciate your help!

[Anonymous]

It has to be the eating. You are working out a TON.

[Anonymous]

Consider swapping a few treadmill days with yoga or pilates. Both of these will increase your strength, as well as your flexibility. And help prevent injury. Stronger muscles burn more calories at rest, so they are worth it.

As for diet... different things work for different people.

I find it easier to control my appetite if I don't eat many carbs. My sweet tooth subsides if I stay away from sweets and treat fruit as a dessert. If you can manage to slowly shrink your portions, your appetite will also slowly shrink. (Or in my case, get horribly sick--to the point of being unable to eat--for a week to reset your appetite; but I don't recommend or wish that on anyone.) I'm also in the camp of whole dairy is better for you than fat-free.

Eat as many veggies as you'd like. All meals and snacks should have fiber, protein and good fats.

and if after tracking your calories for a few weeks, you find that the math isn't adding up right, get your thyroid function tested.

[Anonymous]

Try swapping one or more of your workouts with a more high intensity intervals (such as increasing your pace/incline to get your heart rate over 160 for a minute and then slowly walking for the next minute).

[Anonymous]

try intervals, lifting weights, and track every bite of food for 3 days that goes into your mouth (including a weekend day) on my fitness pal or similar (I like that one because its easier to input).

If your calorie count is not vastly off, you can consider thyroid test of metabolic test (about 150 $, tells you your resting metabolic rate).

but yea, you're not burning 850 calories an hour on a treadmill-sorry! I've done full out high intensity rowing (where my HR gets up to 165is, I'm your age) in short intervals--takes me nearly 5 minutes to burn 50 calories and its not a sustainable pace for an hour.

also, how much do you weigh now? the less overweight you are, the slower your weight loss will be.

[Anonymous]

A good rule of thumb is about 100 cal per mile. So to burn 850 cal in an hour, you'd have to be running 7 min miles.

I say do one of two things:
1. Stop exercising and go on a protein heavy, extremely calorie restricting diet like medifast. I would do this if I had 50+ pounds to lose
2. OR (NOT AND!!) shorten the duration of your exercise and drastically increase the intensity. Like, run 30 sec, walk a minute for 20-30 minutes. And add strength training, either body weight exercises (burpees, push ups, lunges, squats) or free weights.

How much do you weigh and what is your goal? By way of reference I've gone from >180 to 125-130 doing a combination of the above. But it's taken me three years!

Oh, and if you're really overweight, you'll never lose from low & slow workouts (walking, jogging), Pilates, yoga and the like. When I was fat I was very active (but slow) & I just couldn't understand it!

[Anonymous]

I'd still need more info to tell. How tall are you? Where are you in relationship to BMI? Why do you think you need to lose a ton? When were you last at this goal weight? Where did you get that number of daily calories? What puts the weight on you (bread, carbs in general, dairy, sweets) and are those your splurge items? What are you splurging on, and how much is it?

[Anonymous]

One other question. Are you wearing the fitbit on the treadmill? You could be double counting the steps.

I do an hour on the treadmill at 4mph and it is less than 400 calories on the indicator.

[Anonymous]

Have you tried tabata training, meaning 20 secs at high intensity and ten seconds resting? Also, diversify your workout. Cardio alone only goes so far. Plyometrics are good, too. There are a ton of good routines on youtube. I am 39 and am a bit blindsided by how stubborn excess weight has become at this stage in my life. Ugh! Good luck!

[Anonymous]

If you're really, really serious about this, you need to change your weekend eating. It's not a reward. It just two days where you need to make good food choices. Think about how you can change your view of going out to eat as "entertainment." You'll never get it all off and keep it off if that's your mindset. Make your weekend entertainment be non-food related: going for a hike, doing a hobby, visiting a museum.

[Anonymous]

I think the calorie count for your walking is too high. I'm 42 and weigh 140ish and burn about 105 calories per mile running or 70 calories per mile walking. the incline probably adds to that a bit, but I still think 850 calories for an hour of walking is wildly inflated. (I can only burn that much when I run about 8 miles.)