Should I bother exercising if it makes me eat more?

Bubblywendy

Hi fellow MFP users

My New Years resolution for 2013 was to lose 6kgs and now with only 4 months to go till year end I GAINED 2kgs so now I have to lose 8kg/ 18lbs. My problem isn't exercise because I exercise quite frequently and always get a good sweat. But what I've found is that on those days that I exercise I eat WAYY MORE than I normally would and WAYY MORE than what I burn through exercise (I can easily eat up to 1000cals of snacks after a workout)

I know exercise is extremely important but should I just reduce my exercise alot so that it doesn't enable me to eat excessive amounts of calories?

Have anyone here lose alot of weight from only a little bit of exercise?

msflynnbly

Hi I love exercise especially running my downfall is food! Started MFP again on Monday but decided to concentrate on 1200 cals per day. Stayed okay fot two days but have been feeling very hungry with no energy to exercise. I'm hoping in a few days my body will be getting used to fewer cals and I can exercise again. I'm exactly the same though, loads of exercise but then mess it up eating too much! Good Luck xx

hararayne

I've run into this problem. One tip that helped was the "eat 50% of your exercise calories back" trick. So if you burn 1,000 calories, eat 500.

I haven't lost much weight yet due to some set backs, but I found that knowing that I could have a snack after a workout and how many calories that snack could be helped a lot.

I've also heard that having a very small carb snack (like 1/2 a banana) before a workout gives you energy and then eating a protein heavy snack after within your calorie limit helps with satiety.

Lastly, many people confuse hunger for thirst after a workout. Are you hydrating enough?

I've been messing with my macros a bit here and there and I've decreased carbs on some days, eating more fat really helped my satiety as well. I switched to light bread but I allow myself some butter now. It helps me stay withing my calorie allotment. Hope some of these ideas help a little.

hararayne

I'd also like to make note of the other addage thrown around on MFP. It's 80% food, 20% exercise. Or it's 70% food, 30% exercise. Either way, what you eat when trying to lose weight is a big part of it.

Most commercial diet plans ask you to focus on your diet for the first few weeks (weight watchers, jenny craig, nutrisystem, etc) and then add in LIGHT exercise, increasing as you lose weight. This makes sense. Your body burns less calories as you lose weight. You can build in more calories for eating by expending more calories by exercising. Plus it's easier to get yourself moving as you get lighter.

The current plan I'm trying to follow says we should try to stay within calories weekly and just lift 3x per week, no cardio necessary. It's usually cardio that makes me ravenously hungry. What are you doing for exercise?

KarenJanine

If your goal is purely weight loss then all you need is calorie deficit so exercise is not necessary. However there are obviously other benefits to exercise. What form of exercise are you doing? What is height, weight, age and current calorie goal?

If you're snacking a lot after workouts is maybe you're not eating enough to fuel your exercise. Try to include protein and fat in all meals/snacks as these should help keep you full for longer.

Bubblywendy

I'm about 62kg and 165cm.
I'm trying to stick to 1200 and honestly its not physical hunger that trips me but mental cravings! I find it easier to stick to my calorie limit when i dont exercise but when i do exercise and burn 300 (which is not even alot) i eat up to 2000 calories a day easily. i want to lose about 8kg/ 17-18lbs

RobotMil

It's probably better to eat more if you exercise in order to keep your energy up - but that doesn't mean you can eat whatever you like! Diet doesn't go out of the window just because you got on the treadmill or lifted a weight... MFP and most other places overestimate wildly the amount of calories you will burn, so keep tracking and eat back SOME and not all of those calories and you should be fine. Make sure you plan what pre or post workout snacks you will eat beforehand to have them within your calorie goals and to reduce the temptation to just eat everything in sight.

For most people (who aren't very small framed/short) 1200 calories won't be enough especially with exercise, and people often find they can still lose weight eating more and be a lot more satisfied.

LilithElina

I'm about 62kg and 165cm.
I'm trying to stick to 1200 and honestly its not physical hunger that trips me but mental cravings! I find it easier to stick to my calorie limit when i dont exercise but when i do exercise and burn 300 (which is not even alot) i eat up to 2000 calories a day easily. i want to lose about 8kg/ 17-18lbs

Why do you want to loose 8kg? At your height and weight, that'll bring you right to the edge of being an underweight, skinny skeleton! Are you sure you'r not setting your goals too high? Also with your calorie intake, 1200 really isn't much and, as RobotMil says, won't suffice for most people.

KarenJanine

I'm about 62kg and 165cm.
I'm trying to stick to 1200 and honestly its not physical hunger that trips me but mental cravings! I find it easier to stick to my calorie limit when i dont exercise but when i do exercise and burn 300 (which is not even alot) i eat up to 2000 calories a day easily. i want to lose about 8kg/ 17-18lbs

You are already a healthy weight so your body will not want to give up more weight easily.

You "mental cravings" are your body's way of telling you you aren't eating enough. Log your workouts and eat back your exercise calories. This will give you a higher calorie allowance but will still leave you in deficit so you will still lose. Also, set your MFP settings to lose only 1/2 lb per week. As you are already a healthy weight losing faster than this will result in muscle loss as well as fat.

RedRita32

Try just eating back your burned calories...instead of eating up to 2000....you said you're at 1200 and you burn 300..so on the days you burn 300 eat 1500 calories only...

metacognition

I have the same issue. Train like an athlete and I will eat enough to maintain, sometimes 200 - 500 more than the charts recommend.
When I go to bed at night my comforter feels as hot as a sauna. I am literally a furnace of energy all the freaking time.

But if I reduce my calories to 1300 for ONE day then I feel horrible. I hit the wall during 50% of my next jog, have a hard time keeping up, generally feel tired and dead all the time. At night I shiver under a double blanket and have to wear thick fuzzy socks to keep my feet warm. Moving requires deliberate effort and there is a mild, constant headache. The difference of a mere 24 hours is staggering.

My body needs fuel. Dieting sucks if you're super active. It was tolerable when I did wimpy workouts 4 x / week. But I want to be strong, not hungry.

If you're at a healthy weight, just go for training like an athlete. It's healthy and no doubt more fun - especially the part where you get to eat more!

If you're near a healthy weight, shave 200 - 300 calories off your TDEE and eat to maintenance once every few days to keep yourself from overdoing it. That way you're getting enough for workouts without gaining. Manage your hunger with small high protein meals throughout the day and follow your exercise with a meal rich in complex carbs and protein.

serenalesley

You eat at a calorie deficit to lose weight.

You can EITHER burn no calories through exercise and therefore eat no extra calories, staying within the recommended figure for your weight/height/gender (which MFP will have calculated for you and will be your calorie goal),

OR you can burn extra calories and eat ONLY the calories that you burned as extra ones, staying within the calorie goal that MFP gives you after you've inputted your exercise. You will lose weight either way.

However, if you don't exercise, you will lose more weight from muscle (rather than fat) than if you DO exercise. USE the muscle to KEEP the muscle. Once it's gone, it's harder to get back, and your body will absulutely, categorically look BETTER if you lose more fat than muscle.

So yeah, the weight will come off either way with a calorie deficit. But it'll come of BETTER with exercise in addition to this.

IronPhyllida

Errr yes... I exercise to eat, if I don't exercise as much as I do, I can't eat what I want. So I exercise to live how I want. But if you find it easier to cut calories, then sure by all means cut your exercise.

TavistockToad

I'm about 62kg and 165cm.
I'm trying to stick to 1200 and honestly its not physical hunger that trips me but mental cravings! I find it easier to stick to my calorie limit when i dont exercise but when i do exercise and burn 300 (which is not even alot) i eat up to 2000 calories a day easily. i want to lose about 8kg/ 17-18lbs

You are already a healthy weight so your body will not want to give up more weight easily.

You "mental cravings" are your body's way of telling you you aren't eating enough. Log your workouts and eat back your exercise calories. This will give you a higher calorie allowance but will still leave you in deficit so you will still lose. Also, set your MFP settings to lose only 1/2 lb per week. As you are already a healthy weight losing faster than this will result in muscle loss as well as fat.

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foxygoesfast

It's up to you, but being active, even if you're losing weight more slowly, is much better for your metabolism and overall health than staying sedentary and losing weight rapidly. I had this problem when I started doing hard workouts, but I've learned what works for me:

See if you can find out what foods make you feel satisfied after working out without adding such high numbers. Is it carb depletion that's making you so ravenous? Drink a bottle of water, followed by some fruit, or a fruit smoothie, ideally with protein (powder, soy milk, etc). Maybe it's protein you need more -- again, water, then maybe a chicken breast wrap and some vegetables. 200-400 calories can get you a really good meal if you're basing it around fresh fruits and vegetables and lean protein. Are you doing your workouts on an empty stomach? Your body will MAKE you eat after doing that, because it wants to replenish its glycogen stores. If you give it a piece of toast or fruit or a glass of juice an hour before working out and let it get used to a reasonable recovery meal, it'll stop clamoring for excessive emergency replenishment.

Railr0aderTony

Learn about what works and why. find your BMR and your TDEE .
Here is good info:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/975025-in-place-of-a-road-map-short-n-sweet

onwarddownward

I swim an hour of laps daily - HARD. I'm never starving or even hungry afterward, but that's because I'm not starving myself. I eat about 2300 a day and it's all good food, but I never eat snacks after a swim. I push protein.

Good luck. And I agree that if you're already thin, you're not going to lose without your body kicking up a fuss. It knows what's good and what's bad.

Capt_Apollo

sounds more like an issue with your self-control then with exercising.

PJ_73

Yes! Because first and foremost you want to be fit and healthy!

CyberEd312

sounds more like an issue with your self-control then with exercising.

My thoughts exactly.... This has less to do about exercise and more to do about staying within your caloric goals for the day... I eat 85% of my exercise calories back everyday except for my rest days when I eat to maintenance but I never intentionally eat over my caloric intake unless it was planned (refeed, etc). Weight loss can be achieved with diet alone, you exercise for the physical benefits and lift to help maintain Lean body Mass. Best of Luck

IronCakes

If I've calculated everything correctly...you are 5'4 weighing in at 136 and you want to lose 18 lbs there for weighing in at 118?

Those goals are definitely attainable, but not healthy. I weight 137 at 5'4 and eat around 1600 calories a day. If a number on a scale is what you want then by all means keep under eating and over exercising. That is a plan for failure. BUT if you want to change how your body looks and feel good about yourself without a worrying about a number on a scale then up your calories and lift weights.

Bubblywendy

Yes it's definately lack of self control and I really need to discipline myself, but its extremely hard because I'm sucked into this cycle of comfort eating. I feel edgy when I don't get the food I'm craving and I generally give in. When most people exercise they don't feel like eating crap but for me I feel like rewarding myself and can't help the fact that its always food! It's a love hate relationship I tell you :sad:

TamaraKat

sounds more like an issue with your self-control then with exercising.

My thoughts exactly.... This has less to do about exercise and more to do about staying within your caloric goals for the day... I eat 85% of my exercise calories back everyday except for my rest days when I eat to maintenance but I never intentionally eat over my caloric intake unless it was planned (refeed, etc). Weight loss can be achieved with diet alone, you exercise for the physical benefits and lift to help maintain Lean body Mass. Best of Luck

Agreed with you guys - in my honest opinion [opinion only] the caloric intake and crave-control is harder than the workout itself. You def's want to keep exercising as it will provide you with benefits on the long run...

JLN1974

I would have thought it was more about what you eat after exercise that is key. What sort of snacks are you having? If you are just getting a quick energy burst from a sugar rush then then that would explain why you are eating so much to feel full. You need slow release foods which will fill you up instead perhaps?

Bubblywendy

I know many people will say I'm already healthy but I'm not satisfied with my weight. I just really want to get back to my goal weight ( which is still a healthy weight) because it was my original weight beforeI starting eating like a maniac a year ago. My goal weight which is about 54kg which is what I weighed for 7 years and I just know that's my equilibrium. So please understand that i don't intend to be a twig , I just want to weigh as much as I used to be which I believe is my stable and comfortable weight.

IronCakes

WHY DOES A NUMBER ON A SCALE MATTER SO MUCH? Does that number define you? No and it never will!

Bubblywendy

I would have thought it was more about what you eat after exercise that is key. What sort of snacks are you having? If you are just getting a quick energy burst from a sugar rush then then that would explain why you are eating so much to feel full. You need slow release foods which will fill you up instead perhaps?

I usually exercise around 4-5 pm. And I guess I do eat alot of processed foods after such as crisps or Kraft peanut butter. I usually think " hmmm I burned 400 calories so I can eat what ever for 300calories" but then as soon as I have some sort of delicious flavour in my mouth I go overboard... Then follow up saying something like " I'll start controlling my cravings tmr" ... Which never works

TamaraKat

It takes some serious effort in controlling that aspect - that was my biggest problem too Encouragement and food dairies DO help! You can see where the calories are!

happyheart15

If I exercise a whole lot, it definitely makes me eat more, which is okay. But it also can lead to binging. I have had to cut down my exercise so I don't binge. It's not a lack of self-control for me. Lots of exercise makes me ravenous and binge-y.

Lelaina_vdw

@bubblywendy _ I have the same problem , but I find that drinking Herbalife shakes helps control cravings and helps maintain calorie intake !! Its 100% healthy and althought the first 4days are hard , it only gets better
it keeps you full and I dont crave chocolates and pastries that much when im on it
hope it helps and goodluck

neandermagnon

yes because exercise improves your health and you should aim to be healthy, not to eat as little as possible.

food is to feed your body, you need to eat enough of it to sustain your body and your level of exercise. You need to eat less than you burn off, but not too much less or it's counterproductive. Exercise is for health, i.e. strong bones and strong muscles. It also helps to ensure that the weight you're losing is just fat and not muscle or bone density.

so exercise and eat more.