How do calories work? I bike 5 miles, I lose ~120-150 calories. But a small snack can be more than that?

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Trying to lose weight and putting it in numbers is demoralizing. I’ve started riding a stationary bike for 5 miles and then doing minor weight lifting after and I maaaaybe lose 200 or so calories. Is that not a good exercise? I’ve been doing this almost everyday starting 2 weeks ago. But it’s starting to feel useless if it’s such a minor amount of calories burnt. Is this a good trend to continue? What am I missing?

Edit: everyone here has been incredibly helpful, and surprisingly consistent with one another. I feel much more confident about what I’m doing and what I need to do. Seriously, thank you all.

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Anonymous 0 Comments

I’ve been on a weight loss journey for about 4 months and what I did was get one of those smart watches to measure my heart rate while on the stationary bike or the treadmill. I googled what my fat burn heart rate is using a simple calculation tool and stay in that rate for 40+ minutes – not always possible for me though – when I hit the gym 4 or 5 times a week. Pair that with lifting weights and eating healthier and less and I’ve been consistently losing weight. The sustained increased heart rate bit has been key for me.

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