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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Calories are the fuel for your body. Your body needs a base line to function, like if you’re just sleeping for 24 hours your still burning 1,500 ish calories depending on height, weight, muscle, and age. This is called your basal metabolic rate. Everything else you do burns calories. Brushing your teeth, making food, getting dressed, whatever.
So to lose weight you need to create a deficit where you’re burning say 2,000 calories but eating 1,500 calories. This is a 500 calorie deficit and you should start losing weight.
The actual mechanics are a bit complicated like your body is going to react to 1,500 calories of brownies differently than 1,500 calories of carrots. But that’s the basics.
Exercise is amazing for your body but not something you really do to lose weight. It can have the added benefit of losing weight but you could also gain weight from muscle mass or by going “I just burned 300 calories, let’s eat cake!” The best thing is to exercise for your health and make changes in your diet for weight
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