I've burned ~400 calories doing intense running, but

[Special K]

Originally posted by: Tiamat
remember, if you sleep 8 hrs, you burn roughly 500 calories. Also, doing normal stuff like studying, or walking around will burn a little, probably ~ 200 calories.

Although you can find estimates for calories burned during various activities, it's almost an exercise in futility to try and calculate how many calories you are actually burning per day, because there is so much difference between each person's metabolism that it is impossible to say something like "running burns X calories per hour" and have it be true for everyone.

On the other hand, you can calculate exactly how many calories you consume each day. You can also weigh yourself first thing each morning. By using calories consumed as the input, and your weight (and the mirror) as the output, you have more control over the situation. I'm not saying cardio is bad, but it is not necessary to lose fat, and it is easier to track and manipulate your diet than sit down and try to guesstimate how many calories are actually being burned during exercise.

 

[habib89]

whenever i exercise, i seem to just be extra hungry after, so it seems like i just eat the amount of calories that i had burned off.. that pretty much negates the exercise doesn't it? so i may as well not exercise?

 

[PhoenixOrion]

Originally posted by: Firebot
Diet's always been my weak point though as I do like to sneak in some snacks here and there, I need to be more careful overall especially on pop.

Nothing wrong with snacks here and there but its the decision process......

apple or banana versus cake/candy bar for a snack.

Yep, pop=evil, fresh water FTW when on calorie counting.

 

[notfred]

I burned about 1000 calories earlier riding my bike. I'm stir frying some vegetables right now for dinner.

One zucchini: 20 calories
half a bell pepper: 25 calories
Some broccoli: probably 50 calories
Mushrooms: like 10 calories
A bit of soy sauce: 15 calories

Meal: about 100 calories.

This is according to numbers I found on the internet.

 

[oboeguy]

Originally posted by: Special K
That is terrible advice. Not eating after some arbitrary time (evening, dinner, night, etc.) is a sure fire way to get your body to start eating up muscle for energy. Think about it - when you sleep, your body is going on an ~8 hour fast. You need to keep eating up until bedtime to ensure your body is properly fed for the night. You didn't mention if you lift weights or not, but if you do, sleeping is an important time for your body to rebuild and grow, and it can't do that if you don't feed it.

The bottom line is this - if you are consuming fewer calories than you burn over a period of time, you WILL lose weight. Whether that weight comes from fat, muscle, or a combination of both depends on how dedicated you are to your diet, and whether or not/how good your training is. There is no magical time beyond which the body suddenly decides that all calories consumed will be stored as fat.

Also your comment about losing 1 lb. in a day means nothing in the grand scheme of things. A person's weight can vary by as much as +/- 5 lbs. in a single day. Heck, right now I could gain ~8 lbs. by tomorrow simply by increasing the amount of carbs I am eating. It's water weight, nothing more.

^^^^ The voice of reason, as are those who go against this idiotic "don't eat for such and such time".

I would also like to second the heart rate monitor suggestion. VERY useful tool, if you know what to do with it. Related to this rec is a question: how did you get the 400 calorie figure? It doesn't take all that long for me (6', 185-190) to burn that much running or cycling (like half an hour maybe?). I'll bet I get a better estimate than you of how many are burned because of the HRM. Get one, you won't regret it!

 

[notfred]

I finished my stir-fry.

You could eat this all day and not gain weight.

 

[Art Vandelay]

Originally posted by: notfred
I finished my stir-fry.

You could eat this all day and not gain weight.

hmm, how is that? i thought fried stuff was bad.

anyways, after i began my new job in may, i quit the gym and gained about 12 lbs since then. i work 120 hours a week so its kinda hard to find time. today i got back into the gym after i left work *early* at 11:00 (got in at 8am). just came home from a 1 hour elliptical machine session and 200 swiss ball crunches + 200 pushups. I expect to be very sore tomorrow, but who cares, i am a financial analyst, i rarely leave my desk and move, so i guess i'll be ok.

 

[notfred]

Originally posted by: Art Vandelay

Originally posted by: notfred
I finished my stir-fry.

You could eat this all day and not gain weight.

hmm, how is that? i thought fried stuff was bad.

anyways, after i began my new job in may, i quit the gym and gained about 12 lbs since then. i work 120 hours a week so its kinda hard to find time. today i got back into the gym after i left work *early* at 11:00 (got in at 8am). just came home from a 1 hour elliptical machine session and 200 swiss ball crunches + 200 pushups. I expect to be very sore tomorrow, but who cares, i am a financial analyst, i rarely leave my desk and move, so i guess i'll be ok.

I like it, and it's not actually fried. and 120 hours a week is insane.

 

[thoro86]

Originally posted by: Firebot
Protein shake right after ~310 calories
nutri grain bar (berry!) 140 calories
grilled chicken burger - 340 calories
fries - about 250 calories (didn't eat all)
milk - 125 calories
chocolate covered peanuts - 100 calories worth or so
more milk - 100 calories
Pepsi - about 100 calories
yogourt - 40 calories (!)

I'm still hungry and this is about 1500 calories eaten within 4 hours

At least a good hour or two before I go to bed too.

do u want to lose weight, or gain weight?? If u want to lose weight, y would want a protein shake??

 

[Special K]

Originally posted by: thoro86

Originally posted by: Firebot
Protein shake right after ~310 calories
nutri grain bar (berry!) 140 calories
grilled chicken burger - 340 calories
fries - about 250 calories (didn't eat all)
milk - 125 calories
chocolate covered peanuts - 100 calories worth or so
more milk - 100 calories
Pepsi - about 100 calories
yogourt - 40 calories (!)

I'm still hungry and this is about 1500 calories eaten within 4 hours

At least a good hour or two before I go to bed too.

do u want to lose weight, or gain weight?? If u want to lose weight, y would want a protein shake??

Your body needs protein whether you are trying to gain or lose weight. Keeping a high protein intake is especially important when cutting because it helps preserve muscle.

Losing weight is ultimately about total calories consumed. What type of weight lost (fat vs. muscle) will depend on the quality of your diet.

Protein is not some magic substance that inexplicably causes one to gain weight. To gain weight, you must eat more calories than you burn, period.

 

[maddogchen]

whats cutting?

 

[Special K]

Originally posted by: maddogchen
whats cutting?

Losing fat while trying to preserve muscle. This is in contrast to bulking, which is gaining as much muscle as possible while minimizing the amount of fat gained along with it.