Question: Burning ALL of your calories?!

**brsmurk** · 02-02-2010 08:34 PM

Okay as many of you may know im new and im going through threads trying to better alter my approach to weightloss, and this may seem like common sense to you, but is it really possible to burn all of the calories you eat? I workout 6 days a week for about an hr but its with a dvd, it has cardio and strength training but i dont know think im burning up the whole 1500 calories im consuming a day. My body hurts and i think as far as exercise im at my limit right now. Some plz clear this up for me im baffled

**drchandra** · 02-02-2010 08:48 PM

First, forget the goal of weight loss. Fifteen hundred calories a day is reasonible. Your body will burn a certain amount of calories, as long as you burn more than you consume, you will lose weight (eventually). However, once you start excercising you will gain muscle, but will start to reconfigure your body. Weight lifting (light weights) is a must, large trunk excercises is also necessary i.e. running, walking, swimming, biking. Change your routinles to avoid muscle memory. Do not weight yourself, weight is not the answer, how you look and feel is. Goal is to look and feel better not some arbitary number.

**Hopeless Dork** · 02-02-2010 08:57 PM

In order to lose weight you don't try to burn all the calories you are eating... that will not work. a 1500 a calorie a day diet alone is enough to lose weight - without even exercising. Excersize helps that process quicker along... so if you burn say 300 calories a day its as if you only consumed 1200 cals. If your body actually needs 2000 calories... you are depriving it 800 calories... that goes to your weightloss. Depriving your body of 3500 calories typically equals one pound of fat loss. so even just exercising enough to burn 200 of your 1500 calories a day is going to put you losing around 1 to 3 pounds per week which is a safe maintainable loss.

If your body doesn't have any calories, either you don't eat, or you burn off everything you eat... you will go into starvation mode and start putting your muscles and therefore, organs... at risk of damage.

Please ask your doctor about how many calories your body needs to maintain your specific weight... and what would be a safe amount less than that for you to consume to lose weight.

This notion that you have to exercise off every calorie you eat in order to lose weight may jeopordize your health. Please seek the advice of a proffessional to help explain how the weightloss process can safely work... you are not going about it with the right information.

**brsmurk** · 02-03-2010 12:15 PM

thankyou so much ladies, ill be sure to get that professional opinion..i kinda thought i seemed alil much.

**LanaBear** · 02-03-2010 03:07 PM

Also keep in mind, you burn calories outside of working out as well. You may burn 300 from working out, but you are also burning calories with everything you do.

Google something like 'daily caloric burn' or 'daily calories burned' and you will get a handful of calculators. For example, I put in Female, 5'4", 30, 140lbs, light physical daily activity i.e. sitting at work, etc. and on average, with those numbers, you'd burn about 1800 calories a day.

Just something to think about, you aren't only burning calories when working out.

**junkyman** · 02-12-2010 04:13 AM

Well workout can be of different types....which one you do...can say more about..it....

**johndavid1804** · 02-15-2010 01:59 AM

Hey please clarify that which type of work out your are going for.??
And it is to inform you that it is upto you to burn all of the calories you eat in a day.

**lucilleroberts** · 02-15-2010 02:06 PM

Your body burns anywhere from 1500-2500 calories for the average person just from metabolic activities. This is why if you have a perfectly average diet and neglect to exercise you'll likely maintain the same weight for a time. Check out a basal metabolism rate calculator. Take that number add the calories you burned from your exercise, or what you think you did, and subtract the food you ate. You'll see that you are in fact losing weight. It is not necessary, very difficulty and probably not the healthiest thing to burn all the calories you eat.