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.
In: 209
read about your “Basal Metabolic Rate”. everyone burns >1000 calories a day his by being alive.
if you’re active calories + bmr are significantly greater (+10-20% or more) than the calories you take in, it’s essentially impossible to gain weight. you have to be careful though that your intake deficit isn’t nutritionally poor. for example if all you did was eat empty carbs but burn it all off and then some (again, active+bmr) you can become mal-nourished very quickly and in fact won’t have the energy to keep up the exercise.
I’m my opinion, most diets are BS. if you’re exercising regularly, you want your macronutrient fractions to be 30% carbs, 40-50% protein, and the rest as fat (ideally 100% of the fat being unsaturated). make sure your active + bmr calories burned is equal to or greater than your total intake, and you’ll get and stay fit.
something else to keep in mind: allow yourself the cheat days. don’t go crazy because you’ll get sick, but know that one day of excess doesn’t cause instant weight gain or cardiovascular harm. most of what you eat isn’t actually digested, especially insoluble fiber.
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