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Excercise to eat more???
Replies
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@NorthCascades I was thinking more like the exercise was the currency and the food was a "luxury" being bought.
I just don't feel comfortable with this concept. I know other people do. It's not saying CICO doesn't matter, but food isn't a luxury to be bought with exercise. It has a health and cultural value in and of itself.1 -
Well, energy is the currency, food is a way of getting more of it into your body to replenish what you've used up. It's not a luxury, it's an everyday necessity. (A long bike ride in the sun is a luxury.)
I don't like putting gas in my car, but I can see the fuel gauge go from full to empty when I drive, and the way stuff works, I have to put my gas in my car when I drive more.4 -
NorthCascades wrote: »I don't like putting gas in my car, but I can see the fuel gauge go from full to empty when I drive, and the way stuff works, I have to put my gas in my car when I drive more.
This really made me think. Thank you!
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Hi all hoping you can maybe settle and internal debate I've been having of late.
Is there anything wrong or of concern to get into the mindset that it's okay to excercise to enable you to eat more? Something does not sit well in my mind and I worry that as I continue in weight maintenance, my exercising has shifted more from the health aspect to the "I wanna have a beer and pizza so I'd better run 10 miles"
Unfortunately my desire to eat more has increased in maintenance so I'm therefore running much more. (Have got quite good at it infact) and I enjoy the increased flexibility that running affords me.
Views, opinions and sciencey things welcome.
This is what I do and why I began running at all.
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distinctlybeautiful wrote: »If I realize the only reason I'm going to work out is to eat more or because I've overeaten, I don't do it! I used to be stuck in a cycle of restricting and binging and then trying to compensate for binging, so I avoid anything that seems like a compensation measure.
The other thing is that I really enjoy working out! I mean, sure it's hard and sometimes the last thing I want to do, but for the most part I love it. I definitely don't want to ruin that by making it a punishment for having eaten too much or by making it the way I earn my food. It's to make myself stronger and faster and bendier and healthier!
Now, don't get me wrong, I eat all my exercise calories back and enjoy every one of them, but that's just a perk of working out, not the point of it!
If you're super hungry, I second what @feisty_bucket said.. maybe you're not eating at true maintenance or maybe not getting enough fat or protein. Maybe your maintenance has changed or MFP isn't correct. I follow what they tell me is maintenance, but I think I'm really in a very slight deficit, although that could be due to other factors, like having my activity level set wrong or not logging my exercise calories burned exactly right.
Why does the motivation to work out matter? I enjoy working out (most of the time) now, too, but I began working out so I could have treats, rather than stick with my rather restrictive 1400 calorie diet.
Not only am I now in much better shape, but my blood sugars have normalized as well - and all this happened because eating a strict 1400 calories/day seemed depressing and restrictive. I like the fact that I "earn" my extra calories by working out.
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I could never survive trying to stay within my calorie goal if I were completely sedentary. Instead, I decided to incorporate more exercise into my daily schedule (daily walks in addition to additional cardio workouts). This gives me a much more reasonable daily calorie goal.2
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Talk to a professioanl either a personal trainer, a nutrtionist or your family Doctor0
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DorkothyParker wrote: »NorthCascades I was thinking more like the exercise was the currency and the food was a "luxury" being bought.
I just don't feel comfortable with this concept. I know other people do. It's not saying CICO doesn't matter, but food isn't a luxury to be bought with exercise. It has a health and cultural value in and of itself.
But whether or not you think that way, the exercise does enable you to eat more.
Food and exercise have all kinds of value. The others do not cease to exist just because I'm acknowledging one5 -
I actually started exercising more to manage my mental health but I did definitely used to be part of the "I ate pizza, now I have to spend forever in the gym to make up for it." That made me miserable and made me hate exercise. Once I got past this, I began to love exercise so much that I now teach exercise classes at my university. Now, if I have pizza, I have pizza. I try to make sure I plan for it so it fits into my calories but if it doesn't, it's just one day and it won't kill me.
Also, I like to put exercise in the "fun" category as mentioned before. My profile picture is from a day when a friend and I went running and found some rocks to climb on. I probably didn't burn too many calories that day, but I had a heck of a lot of fun!2 -
Unfortunately unless I eat, I do not exercise. My running demands that I eat with a purpose to exercise. I enjoy exercising and I enjoy eating..all of these events are fun for me... so WIN WIN.
I don't think it is grossly unhealthy to want to eat more and exercise more to do this.. I think that I may be doing this thing already but not really ever thought about it like the OP is describing it. But with this type of eating and exercising I also maintain my weight by doing what I do. again WIN WIN
I think it is calling a spade a spade.
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Forty6and2 wrote: »... but I did definitely used to be part of the "I ate pizza, now I have to spend forever in the gym to make up for it." ...
I come at it from the perspective of ... I get to go for a long bicycle ride and then eat pizza after. What a great day!
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I look at it quite simply.
Eat to lose weight.
Exercise to eat more.
Exercise, in my case swimming 4 miles a day, gives me more room to play with.
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@JaneiR36 Not saying that exercise doesn't burn calories. Enable is a funny word. I like to eat whatever my body needs within a certain range. Because I feed it lots of fat and protein, it's usually pretty honest with me. I do occasionally overdo it on fake sugars (Damn you Quest!). I try to be careful.
In any case, it doesn't matter what exercise I have done that particular day, I keep with my exercise plan on a weekly basis (occasionally switch days).
I think my perspective is from when I would be coming in from a lunch hour run and folks would ask if I was running off a cookie (I work at a bank that bakes cookies in-branch on Fridays.) That really pissed me off. I understand for some people exercise has the benefit of enabling them to maintain their calorie deficit. That's fine. But I *personally* am not comfortable with the mindset due to my previous eating disorder. (Almost 5 years recovered, with some occasional slippage.)
As a recovered anorexic and I can see myself falling into orthorexia or other some such obsessive behavior with that mindset.
Yes, exercise burns a few hundred calories and you can have an extra beer or whatever. It's your life. It's not my view.3 -
I think Dorkothy Parker was pretty astute to recognize the body's energy needs are a type of economy, just like money is. 0
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I have found that in maintenance, the calories I am allotted does not seem enough because I am always hungry. However, if I add a little extra cardio to my existing cardio and weight lifting, I earn some more calories that I can "feed the furnace" with and feel better. Both ways, I have a similar calorie deficit but with the extra cardio and food, I feel better. It could be a total psychological thing but I stick with what makes me feels good that I can also maintain for long term.
There are a few times when I am deliberate about doing an extra workout or two to earn extra calories to eat. Those would be those times like a girls day out or an anticipated date night when I plan to eat dessert ... stuff like that.1 -
Unfortunately unless I eat, I do not exercise. My running demands that I eat with a purpose to exercise. I enjoy exercising and I enjoy eating..all of these events are fun for me... so WIN WIN.
(chopped)
I am in the same boat. I used to be able to be much less careful with eating - would just have popcorn for supper, no big deal, I already ate today, right? Stuffed most of my calories into lunch, only ate supper if I was hungry, if not hungry I'd make it for everyone else then pack it for lunch the next day. Weight stayed low. I can't eat like that and run in the mornings. If I do not have a good supper, run feels like CRAP, just awful. But if I don't eat a good lunch and something at teatime, I won't be strong enough for yoga in the evenings.
So it's not just "exercise so you can eat more", it is also "eat so you can exercise".
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kirstinethornburg wrote: »Talk to a professioanl either a personal trainer, a nutrtionist or your family Doctor
Do NOT go to a nutritionist!
Nutritionists are non-accredited people off the street who go to a 2 hour class, or not, and call themselves a "nutritionist." The term nutritionists is not defined by law, anyone can call themselves a nutritionist.
A Registered Dietician has a degree from a credited university and state licensure and accreditation. If you're going to go to someone for diet advice, go to an RD!3 -
I did a scenic 45 mile bike ride. Stopped about 15 mile in for lunch. Had a veggie burger and an iced cream shake, normally I wouldn't want the shake but it was a hot and sunny day, and I had been riding uphill for more than an hour.
Here are some pictures from the ride.
It was a great time!6 -
I definitely exercise to give myself wiggle room with food. Otherwise I feel restricted, which is not good for me, mentally--I feel like I'm on a diet. Eat to fuel exercise, exercise to eat more. Win win.
I've also noticed I make better food choices when I exercise--partially bc the food fuels performance and partially bc I don't want to "waste" my hard work. When I don't exercise, it's bread and ice cream, sugar cravings and veggie aversion. Don't know why, but it happens on any long break for me. So exercise is now a way of life.1 -
I make much better food choices naturally when I'm active too. I start eating more thoughtlessly when sedentary, although it could be that the state of mind that leads me to become sedentary also makes me careless about diet.1
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NorthCascades wrote: »I did a scenic 45 mile bike ride. Stopped about 15 mile in for lunch. Had a veggie burger and an iced cream shake, normally I wouldn't want the shake but it was a hot and sunny day, and I had been riding uphill for more than an hour.
It was a great time!
Your photos are SO gorgeous. I was up in Seattle/Chelan in March, and I definitely had a strong urge to not get on the plane back home. If I ever get a job that lets me work from home and live anywhere, I'm moving to Chelan.1 -
NorthCascades wrote: »I did a scenic 45 mile bike ride. Stopped about 15 mile in for lunch. Had a veggie burger and an iced cream shake, normally I wouldn't want the shake but it was a hot and sunny day, and I had been riding uphill for more than an hour.
It was a great time!
Holy smokes, you are a lucky man!2 -
Hi all hoping you can maybe settle and internal debate I've been having of late.
Is there anything wrong or of concern to get into the mindset that it's okay to excercise to enable you to eat more? Something does not sit well in my mind and I worry that as I continue in weight maintenance, my exercising has shifted more from the health aspect to the "I wanna have a beer and pizza so I'd better run 10 miles"
Unfortunately my desire to eat more has increased in maintenance so I'm therefore running much more. (Have got quite good at it infact) and I enjoy the increased flexibility that running affords me.
Views, opinions and sciencey things welcome.
I've been known to do that. But I don't make it a habit. I don't feel like the reward is worth the effort.0 -
NorthCascades wrote: »I did a scenic 45 mile bike ride. Stopped about 15 mile in for lunch. Had a veggie burger and an iced cream shake, normally I wouldn't want the shake but it was a hot and sunny day, and I had been riding uphill for more than an hour.
Here are some pictures from the ride.
It was a great time!
No better backdrop for a burger and shake. Those pics are gorgeous2 -
mskessler89 wrote: »NorthCascades wrote: »I did a scenic 45 mile bike ride. Stopped about 15 mile in for lunch. Had a veggie burger and an iced cream shake, normally I wouldn't want the shake but it was a hot and sunny day, and I had been riding uphill for more than an hour.
It was a great time!
Your photos are SO gorgeous. I was up in Seattle/Chelan in March, and I definitely had a strong urge to not get on the plane back home. If I ever get a job that lets me work from home and live anywhere, I'm moving to Chelan.
I know, I'm always jealous. My parents live in the general area, so at least I get to visit sometimes.
This is my more typical bike ride:
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I exercise for 2 reasons. It helps me stay fit and healthy and allows me to eat more. These are two things I really want to do.4
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lemurcat12 wrote: »mskessler89 wrote: »NorthCascades wrote: »I did a scenic 45 mile bike ride. Stopped about 15 mile in for lunch. Had a veggie burger and an iced cream shake, normally I wouldn't want the shake but it was a hot and sunny day, and I had been riding uphill for more than an hour.
It was a great time!
Your photos are SO gorgeous. I was up in Seattle/Chelan in March, and I definitely had a strong urge to not get on the plane back home. If I ever get a job that lets me work from home and live anywhere, I'm moving to Chelan.
I know, I'm always jealous. My parents live in the general area, so at least I get to visit sometimes.
This is my more typical bike ride:
You're on the beach! That's a different kind of wonderful. This is part of my running trail, lucky me:
I use it because it's convenient and starts 1/4 mile away from my house. If I drive to a trail, I can run by the spot I got married at:
Not quite a lake in the mountains, but not too shabby 3 -
Nice! My photo was from my commute to work. That path is unfortunately unbearably crowded on the weekends once the weather gets nice, so I am even more likely to run around the neighborhoods and bike out in the suburbs.0
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mskessler89 wrote: »Your photos are SO gorgeous. I was up in Seattle/Chelan in March, and I definitely had a strong urge to not get on the plane back home. If I ever get a job that lets me work from home and live anywhere, I'm moving to Chelan.
If you ever do move to Chelan, or visit again, shoot me a PM. I'll recommend some hikes, bike rides, and scenic drives.Holy smokes, you are a lucky man!sunnybeaches105 wrote: »No better backdrop for a burger and shake. Those pics are gorgeous
Thanks everyone for the complements.
I get cabin fever really bad. If I don't leave my house for a day I feel anxious and then that turns into depressed. So, I try to do something like this every weekend. Often times it's less scenic (blue skies and big puffy clouds make great photos), but, still, I go out. In the winter it's a lot of cross country skiing and a little snowshoeing. In the shoulder seasons, it's a lot of rainy hiking. Cycling is what I love most of all. So I try to spend as much time outdoors as possible, I moved here to be closer to the mountains. My plans this weekend are to do a ~45 mile bike ride (25 of them on dirt) up Cascade River Road on Saturday, and go hiking with my girlfriend Sunday; the ride will use a lot of energy and I'll have a raspberry and protein smoothie to make up for some of it.0 -
@northcascades will get us all cycling. Then we'll be like, where the hell is our awesome view???2
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