I joined Daily Mile about a year ago. I just logged in to my account to add my spin mileage from today, and I saw this:
LIFETIME STATS:
314 hours
3,117 total miles / 1485 in 2012
269 workouts
AND….
43 pounds burned.
What in the…. 43 pounds burned??
For-for-forty three!!? I heard an explosion. It was in my head! Boom! Boom!
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Dear Daily Mile,
I just want to clarify some things. If had only eaten my daily calories that it took to keep me at my current weight each day, I would be 43 pounds lighter JUST from triathlon training??
But instead….
I have chosen to shove 43 pounds (150,500 calories = 300 margaritas = 150 thin crust pizzas = 376 McDonald’s cheeseburgers) into my MOUTH?!?
ARGH!!!!!
If I could tear out my hair or throw my computer monitor through the window I would. I hate math. But at times like this… I think I know why I never learned to count.
Daily Mile, I don’t like your fuzzy math. It. Just. Can’t. Be. True. Can it?
Yours truly,
Forty-Three Total Pounds Burned but Also Eaten
Don’t feel too badly – MD tells me 167 lbs and my actual weight has been constant, give or take 5 lbs in the summer. Especially at tri training pace it’s not easy to burn more calories than you take in. BUT, my conditioning, tone and confidence are much better than last season and I’m betting your’s is too
AAAAAA!!
That can’t be right….that’s a TON of calories over and above the daily minimum!! :-O
You’re focusing on the wrong numbers. Did you SEE the total miles??? Factor in injuries, sick kiddos, life and wowzers!!!
but you look awesome in the photo that I don’t think you intended to look awesome.
so that’s something. i’d murder someone for your skin.
There are a couple of good points in the comments. Also, don’t forget that you cannot train without fuel. If you figure out how many calories per hour it takes to run the engine, then determine a pound value for that and subtract it from the total, it’s going to be a better baseline. It also does not consider a variety of other factors such as stress, lack of sleep, etc. that can contribute to a body holding weight. It is simply a calories out figure, thus not a very accurate view. Don’t beat yourself up now just as you are beginning to gain momentum. You don’t need that banging around in your head since it’s the consistency that is ultimately going to yield the results!! Just look at what you’ve accomplished by being consistent with your blog over a period of time. You’ve had some setbacks with your training but your progress is still progress. That’s huge!
I thought about this post all night at work. The more I thought about it, the more that number seemed totally irrelevant. There is the calories that you have to take in to do the work and recover from it, essentially the “cost of doing business”, that must be deducted. Also, there is the consideration that muscle is heavier than fat, so there are a number of pounds of muscle gained that would count against that total, as well. Then deduct the caloric value for pounds actually lost and we are finally getting somewhere near a real value. I can see from the pictures how much your body composition has changed. You have achieved things the vast majority of the population can even consider. There is no calorie count for that at all. ActiveMamaInAz is right when she says focus on the mileage. The calories burned number is kind of arbitrary. There, NOW I am done spamming this post with my opinions!
You’re looking at it wrong – that’s 43 pounds you didn’t gain because of all of your exercising. Think where you would be if you didn’t run, bike and swim all those miles…if you were 43 pounds heavier this year than last year, you’d really hate yourself.
Sometimes when I get really down on myself and focus too much on my fat thighs, I think about where I would be if I wasn’t out rubbing my chub together running – the reality is, I would be huge. And I would hate myself. So even if all I’m doing is keeping weight off instead of losing it, it’s still progress, in a way…
Oh, I feel your pain. My numbers are about the same, and I too have not lost, in fact I’m up about 7 pounds from where I was last year.
But the other comments are right, you do need fuel to train, and I know you’re working to eat clean for the next 70+ days – that will help! I’m struggling with that right now (the detox phase is sucking!).
Good luck!
[...] Bike Mom burned 43 pounds worth of calories in the past year, according to Daily Mile. She’s also eaten the same equivalent, as she [...]
Time to get rid of the gadgets and gizmos and listen and learn about your body. Please pick up and read “Eat to Live”. I can promise you two things 1. You witll tell Dr. Fuhrman and me to go to bleep and want to throw it away after the first three chapters 2. IF you READ the WHOLE book you will be changed.
The best part about his food education is that he talks about our addicitons to food and how our bodies make us think we need certain foods by causing physical and emotional symptoms that are very real.
His thoughts are very extreme because he deals with patients who are going to die if they don’t lose weight. But the principals are the same for those who ONLY have to lose 43 pounds :0).
Exercise is not the answer for losing weight, changing your diet and fueling your body will.
Work smarter not harder.
I am only stalking you with this because I care and because I have been where you are.
Cindy…. I downloaded Eat to Live on my Kindle yesterday!! I am on the first chapter, and I am trusting you…
Thanks for your info!
Yay!!! Doing the happy dance…and crossing convert SBM to Eat to Live off my Bucket list!!!
It’s alot of smart info… my brain is hurting… but I’m trusting you