Eating back exercise points

Blezzed888

Since we can eat back our exercise points, what good does it do to exercise in the first place?

Ready2Rock206

Health. Looking good once you've lost the weight. Good for your heart. There's so many reasons to exercise. There's a big difference between just being skinny and being healthy.

malibu927

Fitness, body composition, and more food. Remember that MFP has you set up to lose weight without exercise, so when you do exercise you burn more than they expect and need to fuel your body more.

TeaBea

If you got your calorie goal from MFP - exercise calories were not included in the equation. That means people who exercise (and don't fuel workouts) would create a larger deficit than intended.

What's wrong with really aggressive weight loss (ie: large deficits)? You run the risk of increased muscle loss. Most people would like to lower their body fat %, fast weight loss doesn't support that very well.

ccsernica

It makes ice cream fit into my calorie goal.

InkAndApples

Exercise more, eat more. Win.

Also! Retaining as much lean mass as possible is one of my primary goals, strength training helps with that.

Plus, Zumba is fun!

cwolfman13

Exercise does a whole lot more than just burn some calories...it's pretty essential to health and general wellness.

PinkCuddleMonster

Exercising was making me retain weight, so I quit it. When I get closer to my goal than I'll start up again, for right now I lose so much more weight if I keep away from workouts.

WyldHaggis

InkAndApples wrote: »

Exercise more, eat more. Win.

Haha, so true. Because when you're not tall and MFP has you at less than 1300 calories/day (and that's to lose a puny 0.25 lbs/week...), it's pretty depressing to tell yourself you may not be able to have that yoghurt at the end of the day. -_-

So yeah, health and all, but not only physical... Mental/psychological as well in that case.

dragon_girl26

What good does it do?
To be able to eat more...of course!

Luna3386

Muscle retention or growth.

Heart health.

Stress release.

Helps you feel like a badass.

Silentpadna

PinkCuddleMonster wrote: »

Exercising was making me retain weight, so I quit it. When I get closer to my goal than I'll start up again, for right now I lose so much more weight if I keep away from workouts.

Not likely. Exercising was probably making you retain water for muscle repair (a good thing). Exercise by itself cannot help you retain fat. Exercise helps you burn more calories. If you burn more calories than you eat, you lose fat. Weight, especially in the short term doesn't show that.

You are perfectly okay to lose weight without exercise, but I wanted to point out that exercise in and of itself does not make you retain fat, only water in the short term - sometimes - because the body is finicky and doesn't run on a schedule with respect to water weight.

markswife1992

i started working out because i have always had very skinny legs and arms. all my weight is carried in my mid-section. when i work-out with weight lifting, i feel better about myself and my arms and legs look more toned. honestly i don't think it does much in the way of losing weight, but i don't like the way i look/feel when i don't do weight-lifting or other exercises.

WendyLeigh1119

Because I suck at Cardio and need to be better so that I live long enough to annoy my son's *potential* future-children. Because I love feeling and looking strong. Because higher muscle mass means a slight advantage in long term calorie burn. Because fitness looks good on everyone and shows everywhere, not just your physique.

Because I don't want 1/2 cup of Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream. I want a FULL cup + a glass of milk before bed.

Christine_72

Moving more = Eating more. Win, win

SCoil123

Because retaining current muscle is so much easier than trying to replace lost muscle after weight loss

NorthCascades

Blezzed888 wrote: »

Since we can eat back our exercise points, what good does it do to exercise in the first place?

What good are weekends if you eat on them? What good is anything if it doesn't make you skinny faster?

tomteboda

Another vote for "I get to eat more food". I'm trying to be healthy for the rest of my life. Time will pass regardless.
Benefits of exercise:
1. cardiovascular health
2. muscle tone
3. increased endurance and strength in daily life

Life is much, much better with these things