Exercise. How much is too much?

Ok! I've been in a weight loss stall, so I decided to bumb up the exercise and cut back on my calorie intake (i.e., less carbs, more protein in mind). Well yesterday i went to a cardio class and ended up burning around 950 calories. (I stayed for 2 classes) Well my intake yesterday was only around 850 calories but around 100 g of protein. I didnt feel hungry after my workout at all. (I go at night) So, is this hurting of helping my weight loss? I know I've heard our bodies have to have something to burn off and if Im burning more than im consuming, is my body going to go into starvation mode? Maybe someone can help me. 

I have always gone under the assumption that if you eat more calories than you burn, you gain and if you burn more than you eat, you lose.  I am not sure about all this starvation mode stuff.  Your calorie intake does seem a little low to me for 8 months out but I don't feel qualified to really make that statement.  My official answer is that, "I have no clue".

My surgeon and dietician want me to get *at least* 850 - 1000 calories in per day,  and up to 1200 is fine. If I get in less than 850 per day, I am guaranteed to stall since it causes a pronounced slowing of your metabolism.

Here's a LINK that you might find helpful.

Also, I can highly recommend the book *YOU ON A DIET* by Dr. Michael Roizen and Dr. Mehmet Oz. It is EXCELLENT!

Remember, you want to keep your metabolism fueled for optimum calorie burning. : )

 

I get a little concerned when I hear about people *****ally exercise hard as a means of weight loss.  They tend to burn out and quit when they don't see the results they expect or hope for. Really, the best reason to exercise is to maintain a healthy body and mind.  It's important as a part of a good and active lifestyle as well as all the other good stuff that goes with it like maintaining bone density and improved moods.  Everything else is gravy. As far as the stalling goes, the thyroid sets your metabolic rate for the greatest efficiency.  If you give it more (to a point) it will go faster because it realizes there is plenty of fuel for all the systems.  When you start not giving the body enough, the thyroid thinks the body needs to conserve and slows things down to meet what the body has been given. I don't have any links, but I just took endocrinology and medical physiology classes last semester.  I'm also 4.5 years post op and have maintained my weight for 3.5 years. Linn 

In my opinion, and it's just my opinion, counting calories is hard to do, and can be misleading. What's so important is WHAT are those calories coming from? For instance; if the ladies I'm coaching to lose up to 150lb**** a stall, we often add more calories in the form of a tablespoon of olive oil in their shakes, or a tablespoon of coconut oil in their hot tea. This tends to push them past the stall. We also add an entire additional "meal" or shake, in the middle of the day, which boosts their metabolism and helps them get back to releasing pounds as well as inches. I see inches lost when the scale stays the same quite often with women, so don't forget that part. If your goal is to be HEALTHY, and not just to reach a magic number on the scale, there is a lot to consider. I would say that taking in 850 calories on a heavy workout day is dangerous. You are tearing down muscle, which requires fuel to rebuild. I've learned that we are in one of two "modes" - fat burning, or fat storing. You can do things all the time that help you stay in fat burning mode, including deep breathing exercises (take huge deep breath in, feeling tummy rise, hold it for about 15 seconds, blow out through mouth attempting to blow out more than you took in. Repeat 3- 4 times and do this often through the day). You may also benefit from drinking water as soon as you rise, and then doing a bounce and shake routine (using a small trampoline, or just bouncing around!) for a few minutes to jump start your body. Make sure you're getting your 5 servings of vegetables a day (if this is what the WLS nutritionists advise) along with excellent, organic and clean protein. Is it possible to work out in the morning to promote fat burning all day, rather than work out at night? Oh, you might also try digestive enzymes - check on the label if they're a combination of all those needed for protein, carbs and fat - to make sure that protein you're eating is actually nourishing your body. All my opinions, with two years of experience both in my weight loss and many, many, many other peoples'!!!! :-) I wish  you the best of everything. Ruth

thanks for everyones responses. i will take each comment into consideration