question about exercise

[Mississippigirl]

I have been walking on my treadmill for about 40 minutes a day. I burn about 180 calories every session. And I know that you lose weight by burning more calories than you take in, but....my question is....

 

After you are done with your workout do you still burn more calories than that because your heart rate is still up afterwards? Because I know I eat more than 180 calories a day!

[mountainmare]

From what I've read you burn calories during your cooldown and for several hours after you exercise. During cooldown you burn extra calories simply by having your body reset itself into normal mode.

[adoptmom]

Also, don't forget that after a while your body adjusts to your workout and you burn calories less efficiently. You need to make changes to your workout by adjusting the incline, adding some bursts of speed or upping your pace every so often to make your body work harder. Also adding some resistance training like weights, yoga or pilates will help you burn more efficiently even when you're not exercising because muscle burns more calories even at rest.

 

Tami

[sharonella]

There are a lot of factors involved and Tami & mountainmare are both right in what they say.

 

I'm assuming the "180 cal burned" figure you are getting from your treadmill readout? That's really sort of a "relative figure". Your actual calories burned depends on: your current fitness level - your weight - your fat vs muscle %. All you can really depend on with those figures is, that a workout that says you burned 300 cals probably did burn twice as many cals than a workout that says you burned 150 cals. But you didn't necessarily burn those EXACT amounts.

 

(I always laugh to myself when I plug in my weight on the cardio machines at the gym - how does the machine know the difference between a chubby 5'2", 160lb woman and a more muscular 5'8" 160lb man? The machine would say that we both burned the same amount of calories during the same workout!)

 

It's great that you can workout on your treadmill 40 min a day! But like Tami said, you need to "switch around" your workout a bit to not let your body "get used to" the exact same workout. MY bottom line when I work out - if I haven't broken a bit of a sweat, I haven't worked out as hard as I could have. :rolleyes: As you continue to work out, you'll find that what made you sweat last month, will seem almost easy this month, so keep challenging yourself!

 

Doing everything you can to boost your metabolism - which in turn means you burn more calories whatever you're doing - is another factor in making your workouts do more for you. Those "little tricks" in the magazines really do work - parking further away in the parking lot, taking 1 or more flights of stairs instead of the elevator, in other words, burning every little extra calorie you can!

 

Good luck!

Sha

[Mississippigirl]

That's exactly right! I went last night and bought a fitness ball. I tried the workout on the dvd it came with and absolutley love it! Also I did change my speed on the treadmill a bit and I do change inclines alot. I don't want to get in a rut. I also have a dvd on weight training to lose weight and two 3lb. weights and two 5 lb. ones as well. I don't have a bench but I think I will start using a kitchen chair...lol.

 

Thanks so much for your feedback everybody and good luck!

[Nliedel]

As you workout you burn more calories. Muscle burns more calories than fat. Also you should be upping your intensity, either your incline or your speed, every three to five weeks.

[ForEternity]

LIFT WEIGHTS!!! It doesn't even have to be that much weight, but at least something. I had tried cutting back calories a bunch, and upped my cardio too, with very very little loss. Maybe 5 pounds over the course of a several months. End of last August I started lifting weights (on a routine basis, 2-3 times a week) and lost about 20 pounds in four months. I actually ended up doing less cardio during that time and kept my diet the same. So the only difference was weights.

 

Your body burns calories all the time to "maintain" all functions and parts. For example, it takes calories to digest. I don't know how it all works, but I do know that the more muscle you have, the more calories your body will burn at rest. So with cardio you burn while you do it and your heart rate is up, and for a few hours after. With weights, you actually are "tearing" the muscles kind of, so it takes 24-48 hours to rebuild and in turn get stronger and bigger. That's why you get sore and they say to wait 48 hours between lifting. During that time of rebuilding, you are burning calories. Then, because there is more muscle, your body continues to burn more on a regular basis.

 

I strongly suggest lifting weights. I know many women fear getting all big and bulky, but w/o more testosterone, it rarely happens. Stick to lower weights with lots of reps. I usually do 3 sets of 12 reps on most things. Start lower if needed and work up. Keep increasing too, some weight, but especially reps. Of course cardio is still great to do too! And dieting :) But weights will make a huge difference!

[Boatbuilder]

Lifting weights is a critical part of any weight loss program and you'd be wise to follow the previous poster's advice.

 

While it is true that you get additional calorie burn after working out, this has become a real cop-out for a lot of people. Folks will say "Well, I burned 200 calories by working out, and I understand that I may get 200 bonus calories afterwards, so I'll put that down as a double. Hmmm....the old something for nothing argument. I burn a lot of calories when I work out and I just count the ones on the equipment. So, if I want to lose 2 lbs, I will need a 7,000 calorie deficit. That's achieved by 500 calories burned on the treadmill each day and 500 calories less food per day, in simple terms.

 

Does your treadmill have a Heart Rate monitor feature? If so, you should really take advantage of it. The benefit is that you are driven to keep increasing your output to match your improving level of fitness. If you do not have a HRM, then you should try to set some goal for improving your calorie burn each week. Maybe you're at 180 now, and you target 200 next week, then 220 after that. I have no idea what your age or fitness level are, so you always need to be mindful of your own limits. But, the key thing is that the best way to lose weight is to burn more calories, rather than changing the accounting method. :)

 

Good luck and stick with it!

[sweetpea-2]

depending on how active you are...depends on how much you burn however your body needs so many calories each day just to survive period....

[sharonella]

......But, the key thing is that the best way to lose weight is to burn more calories, rather than changing the accounting method. :) .......

 

LOL! So TRUE!

 

Sha

[MrsPete]

I have been walking on my treadmill for about 40 minutes a day. I burn about 180 calories every session. And I know that you lose weight by burning more calories than you take in, but....my question is....

 

After you are done with your workout do you still burn more calories than that because your heart rate is still up afterwards? Because I know I eat more than 180 calories a day!

Yes, but you're burning calories all day long -- not just when you work out. Obviously you burn more when you're on the treadmill and less when you're sitting here in front of the computer, but you're still using them.

 

Also, once you're done working out, your metabolism remains higher for a while; I've heard different time frames as to how long it remains higher, but to make up some numbers . . . let's pretend that you normally burn 50 calories per hour just sitting in front of the TV. You work out, then you sit down to rest. Now you're burning 70 calories per hour as you sit and watch TV. Thus, the workout continues to benefit you after you're done.