what is the point in exercising?

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echastee92
echastee92 Posts: 48 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I need some motivation because my calorie goal is already as low as it gets. If I exercise, I technically should just be eating more, but then it makes exercise feel pointless. I need to get out of this mindset so I thought maybe some of you educated exercise folks could hit me with some good ol facts to help me see the point in exercise! I know it has benefits and it's good for you but can someone help me understand how it's going to help aid in my weight loss? I keep talking myself out of it. I've been doing a real good job without it I just wonder how much better I could be doing with it...
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  • toxikon
    toxikon Posts: 2,384 Member
    edited January 2018
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    You do not need intentional exercise to lose weight. You can be totally sedentary and reach your goal weight.

    As you say, in the weight loss realm, its most important function is increasing your TDEE, thus allowing you to eat more calories.

    Also as you mention, it has some very important health benefits that shouldn't be ignored. Losing muscle and bone density is nothing to sneeze at - if you want to be healthy in old age. And having a strong heart and lungs is very important too.

    So... my advice: go to the gym if you want to. If you don't want to, try to find some physical activities that you DO enjoy, even if it's purely for health benefits. But don't beat yourself up for having some couch potato days.
  • darrenbeckworth
    darrenbeckworth Posts: 64 Member
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    Exercise makes you burn calories and thus makes it easier to lose weight. It also would allow you to be able to eat more "fun stuff" by adding extra calories to your day.

    As for why would you want to exercise, I think that mindset might be why you are having issues in the first place. It was a factor in how I got so big. I spent years on the couch instead of doing anything to physically better myself. Now I go to the gym everyday after work, not to mention all of the walking to do during my work day. Frankly, I wish I could go back and start exercising sooner. If I had the same level of determination years ago as I do today, I'd be amazingly fit... until then, tonight is arm day!

    Why exercise? Calories, tone, muscle, endurance, heart health, mental health.
  • delipidation
    delipidation Posts: 34 Member
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    Exercise is only tangentially about weight loss. We lose weight by burning more calories than we consume. Exercise is about health and well-being (and strength, and endurance, and whatever else your particular form of exercise brings with it). Eating at a 500-calorie daily deficit will lead to the loss of about a pound per week, but we get a whole different life and body from eating 4000 calories per day and burning 3500 than we do from eating 2000 and burning 1500.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,576 Member
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    Exercise boosts your metabolism. Even after you stop exercising your metabolic rate will be higher than if you had not exercised.
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
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    Exercise .. I do it for health, strength, fitness, fun, to eat more (if I am in a deficit), but if I am being honest, most of all to look good
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    echastee92 wrote: »
    I need some motivation because my calorie goal is already as low as it gets. If I exercise, I technically should just be eating more, but then it makes exercise feel pointless. I need to get out of this mindset so I thought maybe some of you educated exercise folks could hit me with some good ol facts to help me see the point in exercise! I know it has benefits and it's good for you but can someone help me understand how it's going to help aid in my weight loss? I keep talking myself out of it. I've been doing a real good job without it I just wonder how much better I could be doing with it...

    The more you move, the more energy (calories) are required...just like a car that has to commute 100 miles per day will need more fuel than a car going around the corner to the grocery store.

    Your calorie target does not include exercise activity...exercise activity is additional, unaccounted for activity. Basic common sense would dictate that all activity should ultimately be accounted for. Your calorie target is your weight loss target without any exercise...when you exercise, you can eat more because your maintenance requirements will have increased. For example, my maintenance without exercise is around 2400 calories which means I can lose about 1 Lb per week without exercise eating 1900 calories. If I exercise regularly and burn 300 calories then I can eat 2300 calories and still lose 1 Lb per week because my maintenance requirements would have moved to 2400+300=2700 calories per day...and 2700-2300=500 calorie deficit still.

    Beyond that, exercise is extremely important to your overall health and well being, not to mention your general fitness. We are not designed to sit around sedentary all day and doing so causes a lot of health problems. Moving more will do more to combat health issues as a result of a sedentary lifestyle than diet ever will.

    I've been in maintenance for years and still exercise 5-6 days per week...because it's good for my overall health and well being and I enjoy being a fit individual who can actually do things like walk up stairs, play with my kids, and carry the groceries, etc without feeling like I'm going to die. I maintain because I eat a maintenance level of calories that is commensurate with my overall activity.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
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    Exercise especially strength training helps minimize muscle loss. It also builds a fitness base that helps keep you alive and healthy throughout your life.
  • MelanieCN77
    MelanieCN77 Posts: 4,047 Member
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    It's not a straight exchange for me. I do not get equally as hungry for as many calories as I burn, but the exercise does allow me to build in room for higher calorie/calorie dense treats which have little to do with hunger. I think 50% I work out for the extra cals and 25% for vanity and 25% for the "wow look what I can do" factor.
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
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    There are countless reasons to exercise. Many have already been listed...one of the ones I think should be near the top of the list is so that you can be active, healthy and pain free, as you grow older. Using it solely for a calorie burn should be far down that list in my opinion.
  • jessef593
    jessef593 Posts: 2,272 Member
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    I exercise because it helps me reach my goals.

    It also aids in combatting my anxiety and depression. Along with it feels great to constantly improve yourself and know that I’m one step better than I was the day before. Who wouldn’t want to be able to do amazing things with their bodies? I see incredible athletes doing incredible things and I strive to do the same.

    Laziness is a mind set. If you can’t find a reason to reward your body then that’s purely on you unfortunately.
  • 92019start
    92019start Posts: 80 Member
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    Exercise is wonderful for boosting your mood, increasing energy, gaining strength and reducing risk of injury, and more. It’s unfortunately not particularly helpful in weight loss: http://nymag.com/news/sports/38001/

    So why exercise at all? Why not just skip the gym and skip the bagel, and call it a day? Because it makes us feel good. Try doing something physical you enjoy, even if it’s just walking your dog. You’ll be better for it.
  • snowflake954
    snowflake954 Posts: 8,399 Member
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    Exercise is for your future--my husband calls it "our insurance policy for old age" a friend of ours said "I want to die healthy". As you age, even if you're thin, health problems creep up. It's easier to work with them if you're in decent physical shape. It's the best thing you can do for yourself. I hope you love yourself enough to overcome your dislike of exercise.
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
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    I'm a stress eater, a boredom eater, and an emotional eater.

    Exercise relieves stress, occupies me, and helps my moods.

    I'd thought that it also helped curb my appetite, and a recent experience proved to me that I was right. For the record, I eat back half the calories I burn through exercise. Two months ago, I was on 1240 calories before exercise to lose 1lb/week. I had to go for bladder surgery and knew that I would probably need to take things easy for 3-6 weeks while I recovered. So, I figured I'd take my weight-loss down to 1/2-lb/week and not exercise. And I was hungry. I mean, seriously, until that point, I'd been tempted by yummy-looking food, but I hadn't really felt much in the way of hunger. But without exercise, I just didn't feel satisfied with the calories available. (After five days, the catheter came out and I was able to go back to cardio, which helped a lot.) Everyone is different, but for me, exercise has a lot of clear benefits, even without the extra calories.

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