Is it good to do cardio everyday if you want to eat more?

sugarfreesquirrel

I have a desire to walk 10,000+ steps per day so I can eat more. Or swim, or use the elliptical. Someone I know has taken a different approach and does weight training a few times a week so they have more muscle and burn more calories during the day. I feel like doing both is better, but the cardio makes more sense for calorie burn because you would overall burn more calories from that, than simply having more muscle? who is right?

I used to have a personal trainer, now I have a gym membership and have no idea what to do with the machines or free weights. I'm tempted just to do cardio or use the machines. Is poor form with weight lifting better than not doing it at all? I hate looking at myself in the mirror, I've been bullied my whole life for having poor posture and I find my body embarrassing to look at. I know body building.com has tutorials on different exercises and how to use machines.

Thanks for the help

herringboxes

You absolutely can exercise for the purpose of increasing how many calories you can eat.

However, be aware:

- many apps, trackers, and calculators overestimate calorie burn, so you may have less leeway than the number you get

- it takes a lot to burn 100 calories, and it’s awfully easy to eat it. So it may not net you as much leeway as you hope - but maybe your hopes are appropriately modest.

williamsonmj1

Yes, you can.

Putting on muscle also makes you burn more calories. Get on a proper lifting program, eat at a small surplus and eat enough protein. In a couple of years your maintenance level will be quite a bit higher.

tomcustombuilder

williamsonmj1 wrote: »

Yes, you can.

Putting on muscle also makes you burn more calories. Get on a proper lifting program, eat at a small surplus and eat enough protein. In a couple of years your maintenance level will be quite a bit higher.

Muscle is notoriously over rated for burning extra calories as 1 lb only burns about 8 calories a day.

tomcustombuilder

sugarfreesquirrel wrote: »

I have a desire to walk 10,000+ steps per day so I can eat more. Or swim, or use the elliptical. Someone I know has taken a different approach and does weight training a few times a week so they have more muscle and burn more calories during the day. I feel like doing both is better, but the cardio makes more sense for calorie burn because you would overall burn more calories from that, than simply having more muscle? who is right?

I used to have a personal trainer, now I have a gym membership and have no idea what to do with the machines or free weights. I'm tempted just to do cardio or use the machines. Is poor form with weight lifting better than not doing it at all? I hate looking at myself in the mirror, I've been bullied my whole life for having poor posture and I find my body embarrassing to look at. I know body building.com has tutorials on different exercises and how to use machines.

Thanks for the help

is your goal Fatloss or muscle gain? What is your height and weight.

sugarfreesquirrel

tomcustombuilder wrote: »

sugarfreesquirrel wrote: »

I have a desire to walk 10,000+ steps per day so I can eat more. Or swim, or use the elliptical. Someone I know has taken a different approach and does weight training a few times a week so they have more muscle and burn more calories during the day. I feel like doing both is better, but the cardio makes more sense for calorie burn because you would overall burn more calories from that, than simply having more muscle? who is right?

I used to have a personal trainer, now I have a gym membership and have no idea what to do with the machines or free weights. I'm tempted just to do cardio or use the machines. Is poor form with weight lifting better than not doing it at all? I hate looking at myself in the mirror, I've been bullied my whole life for having poor posture and I find my body embarrassing to look at. I know body building.com has tutorials on different exercises and how to use machines.

Thanks for the help

is your goal Fatloss or muscle gain? What is your height and weight.

Mostly weightloss, then muscle gain. I'm female, nearly 34, 5'10 and 110.5kg

ninerbuff

Without cardio, I'd be eating way less than I'm doing now. But I really do cardio more for the aerobic and heart health benefit.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 35+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

spiriteagle99

There is no reason you can't do both cardio and weights. The weights may help more in giving you a shape that you feel proud of and the cardio will help your health and fitness, plus you can eat more calories and continue to lose weight. A lot depends on how much time you have to work out and your fitness level. 20 minutes walking will burn about 50 calories while 20 minutes running may burn 200. An hour running can burn 500+. A stationary bike burns about 300, if you work hard.

tomcustombuilder

sugarfreesquirrel wrote: »

tomcustombuilder wrote: »

sugarfreesquirrel wrote: »

I have a desire to walk 10,000+ steps per day so I can eat more. Or swim, or use the elliptical. Someone I know has taken a different approach and does weight training a few times a week so they have more muscle and burn more calories during the day. I feel like doing both is better, but the cardio makes more sense for calorie burn because you would overall burn more calories from that, than simply having more muscle? who is right?

I used to have a personal trainer, now I have a gym membership and have no idea what to do with the machines or free weights. I'm tempted just to do cardio or use the machines. Is poor form with weight lifting better than not doing it at all? I hate looking at myself in the mirror, I've been bullied my whole life for having poor posture and I find my body embarrassing to look at. I know body building.com has tutorials on different exercises and how to use machines.

Thanks for the help

is your goal Fatloss or muscle gain? What is your height and weight.

Mostly weightloss, then muscle gain. I'm female, nearly 34, 5'10 and 110.5kg

at your stats you want to prioritize Fatloss and muscle RETENTION. You’ll probably want to get your steps in and not take in more calories. Use the steps to add to your deficit.

A moderate calorie deficit, cardio and some strength training a couple times a week and you’ll see progress.

sugarfreesquirrel

tomcustombuilder wrote: »

sugarfreesquirrel wrote: »

tomcustombuilder wrote: »

sugarfreesquirrel wrote: »

I have a desire to walk 10,000+ steps per day so I can eat more. Or swim, or use the elliptical. Someone I know has taken a different approach and does weight training a few times a week so they have more muscle and burn more calories during the day. I feel like doing both is better, but the cardio makes more sense for calorie burn because you would overall burn more calories from that, than simply having more muscle? who is right?

I used to have a personal trainer, now I have a gym membership and have no idea what to do with the machines or free weights. I'm tempted just to do cardio or use the machines. Is poor form with weight lifting better than not doing it at all? I hate looking at myself in the mirror, I've been bullied my whole life for having poor posture and I find my body embarrassing to look at. I know body building.com has tutorials on different exercises and how to use machines.

Thanks for the help

is your goal Fatloss or muscle gain? What is your height and weight.

Mostly weightloss, then muscle gain. I'm female, nearly 34, 5'10 and 110.5kg

at your stats you want to prioritize Fatloss and muscle RETENTION. You’ll probably want to get your steps in and not take in more calories. Use the steps to add to your deficit.

A moderate calorie deficit, cardio and some strength training a couple times a week and you’ll see progress.

I have trouble staying within my calories even when I just have a 250 deficit after eating back my exercise calories. How on earth am I supposed to maintain a 1000 calorie deficit everyday without losing my mind?

Winning4EJ

I've found that I can burn just as many calories doing just cardio as I can doing faster paced weights where you rest less but lift light enough that you can complete 12 to 15 reps per set.

One of my personal goals is to do more interval training where there's some light cardio and weights combined. You then get the best of both.

For improving my posture I try to remember balance..doing push ups for my front and weights for my back muscles and some superman's from time to time. Oh and some simple abdominal exercises.

Hope things improve for you

Winning4EJ

Also exercising to eat more? I'm not sure. I know I've exercised because I over ate however, I would try to find what feels right. If it becomes stressful (exercising to eat)I would focus more on maybe eating more filling healthy foods and fats. And exercising not just to eat more, but to feel good about yourself and be strong and healthy. Perhaps then it'll all fall into place for you anyways.

Hang in there

lesdarts180

@sugarfreesquirrel

"Is poor form with weight lifting better than not doing it at all? " NO!!

Lifting weights with poor form can lead to injury. The machines are easier for a beginner, and the gym should be able to provide you with an induction course - hopefully free - and there should be trainers around who can help you.

tomcustombuilder

sugarfreesquirrel wrote: »

tomcustombuilder wrote: »

sugarfreesquirrel wrote: »

tomcustombuilder wrote: »

sugarfreesquirrel wrote: »

I have a desire to walk 10,000+ steps per day so I can eat more. Or swim, or use the elliptical. Someone I know has taken a different approach and does weight training a few times a week so they have more muscle and burn more calories during the day. I feel like doing both is better, but the cardio makes more sense for calorie burn because you would overall burn more calories from that, than simply having more muscle? who is right?

I used to have a personal trainer, now I have a gym membership and have no idea what to do with the machines or free weights. I'm tempted just to do cardio or use the machines. Is poor form with weight lifting better than not doing it at all? I hate looking at myself in the mirror, I've been bullied my whole life for having poor posture and I find my body embarrassing to look at. I know body building.com has tutorials on different exercises and how to use machines.

Thanks for the help

is your goal Fatloss or muscle gain? What is your height and weight.

Mostly weightloss, then muscle gain. I'm female, nearly 34, 5'10 and 110.5kg

at your stats you want to prioritize Fatloss and muscle RETENTION. You’ll probably want to get your steps in and not take in more calories. Use the steps to add to your deficit.

A moderate calorie deficit, cardio and some strength training a couple times a week and you’ll see progress.

I have trouble staying within my calories even when I just have a 250 deficit after eating back my exercise calories. How on earth am I supposed to maintain a 1000 calorie deficit everyday without losing my mind?

Usually you want to look at your food choices if you have trouble with a small deficit. If you're having trouble with a deficit of 250 then it will be hard to progress in any real timeframe. That's a 1\2 lb loss a week and with a good amount of weight to lose it'll take a very long time. The extra activity will give you a better deficit provided you don't up your calories.

There is nothing wrong with a small deficit as long as you're actually losing weight, even slowly. The more aggressive the deficit the quicker the losses.

AnnPT77

sugarfreesquirrel wrote: »

I have a desire to walk 10,000+ steps per day so I can eat more. Or swim, or use the elliptical. Someone I know has taken a different approach and does weight training a few times a week so they have more muscle and burn more calories during the day. I feel like doing both is better, but the cardio makes more sense for calorie burn because you would overall burn more calories from that, than simply having more muscle? who is right?

The calorie burn benefits of adding muscle tend to be over-sold. A pound of muscle burns something like 2-4 calories more per day at rest than a pound of fat. For a woman making stellar progress - which won't happen in a calorie deficit - adding a pound of muscle a month would be a really good rate of muscle gain. So at roughly the maximum muscle mass gain rate, you get to eat like one cherry tomato more daily after a month's muscle mass gains. That's underwhelming.

Gaining strength and muscle - or even retaining muscle - are worthy goals. Strength training is worth doing. Short term calorie burn increases are not a reason to do it, though.

People will cite afterburn (EPOC) from strength training being higher than for cardio, but once you do the real math, the number of calories there tends to be trivial, too.

Cardio generally burns more calories per minute than strength training. That effect kicks in in the short run.

I used to have a personal trainer, now I have a gym membership and have no idea what to do with the machines or free weights. I'm tempted just to do cardio or use the machines. Is poor form with weight lifting better than not doing it at all? I hate looking at myself in the mirror, I've been bullied my whole life for having poor posture and I find my body embarrassing to look at. I know body building.com has tutorials on different exercises and how to use machines.

Thanks for the help

As someone else said, poor form in weight training is actively dangerous. If you're going to do it, it's important to do it with good form. A trainer is one way to learn good form.

Is it wrong to exercise lots to burn more calories so you can eat more? That's a subjective question. Assuming you're not doing something unsafe, how you want to run your life, what makes you happy - that's what matters here, not whether the methods you select would win a popular vote among your friends or among people on MFP.

I'd recommend that you think about what amount of exercise time would leave you with good overall life balance. By "good overall life balance", I mean enough time and energy for your job, family, school, social connections, non-exercise hobbies, or anything else that's important to you for a happy life. For many people, exercising for hours a day would mean poor life balance.

TooTiredToKnit

Don't lift weights if you don't know how. You can really injure yourself and that can can change your life dramatically. There are other forms of resistance training that you can do at a gym like using resistance bands, doing crunches, pushups, squats, pull ups. I love swimming and cycling, both have an element of resistance (try to find a lot hills when you're cycling!)

I injured my back over 20 years ago lifting things wrong. It still bothers me and prevents me from doing some swimming stroke, crunches, etc. Don't make my mistake!

Retroguy2000

Exercise to eat more isn't a good plan. You should exercise for the health benefits, and because you enjoy it. That's how you'll stick to it, and change requires consistency.

You've probably heard the adage, "You can't out-exercise a bad diet." It's definitely true.

There's also this risk, if you plan to eat back all of your exercise calories:
a) Was the estimate for those additional calories burned accurate? Because often they can be inflated, for various reasons.
b) We have a tendency to do less NEAT the rest of the day, especially after vigorous exercise. So you may e.g. burn an additional 400 calories doing an hour of whatever, but then you spend hours taking it easy, and you may end up burning 200 less from NEAT during the rest of the day than if you hadn't exercised at all. If you eat back the full 400, you could be in a surplus. And it's very easy to eat 400 calories.

Timely video from Jeremy Ethier this weekend, where he and friends had McDonalds meals then used calorie tracking equipment to figure out how much each of them had to workout to burn it off.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcuoMCCY1qw

tomcustombuilder

Retroguy2000 wrote: »

Exercise to eat more isn't a good plan. You should exercise for the health benefits, and because you enjoy it. That's how you'll stick to it, and change requires consistency.

You've probably heard the adage, "You can't out-exercise a bad diet." It's definitely true.

There's also this risk, if you plan to eat back all of your exercise calories:
a) Was the estimate for those additional calories burned accurate? Because often they can be inflated, for various reasons.
b) We have a tendency to do less NEAT the rest of the day, especially after vigorous exercise. So you may e.g. burn an additional 400 calories doing an hour of whatever, but then you spend hours taking it easy, and you may end up burning 200 less from NEAT during the rest of the day than if you hadn't exercised at all. If you eat back the full 400, you could be in a surplus. And it's very easy to eat 400 calories.

Timely video from Jeremy Ethier this weekend, where he and friends had McDonalds meals then used calorie tracking equipment to figure out how much each of them had to workout to burn it off.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcuoMCCY1qw

It’s depressing for most people when they learn they can’t walk on the treadmill for 30 min to burn off a cheeseburger and fries.

Winning4EJ

tomcustombuilder wrote: »

Retroguy2000 wrote: »

Exercise to eat more isn't a good plan. You should exercise for the health benefits, and because you enjoy it. That's how you'll stick to it, and change requires consistency.

You've probably heard the adage, "You can't out-exercise a bad diet." It's definitely true.

There's also this risk, if you plan to eat back all of your exercise calories:
a) Was the estimate for those additional calories burned accurate? Because often they can be inflated, for various reasons.
b) We have a tendency to do less NEAT the rest of the day, especially after vigorous exercise. So you may e.g. burn an additional 400 calories doing an hour of whatever, but then you spend hours taking it easy, and you may end up burning 200 less from NEAT during the rest of the day than if you hadn't exercised at all. If you eat back the full 400, you could be in a surplus. And it's very easy to eat 400 calories.

Timely video from Jeremy Ethier this weekend, where he and friends had McDonalds meals then used calorie tracking equipment to figure out how much each of them had to workout to burn it off.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcuoMCCY1qw

It’s depressing for most people when they learn they can’t walk on the treadmill for 30 min to burn off a cheeseburger and fries.

Yeah sounds more like 2 hours of exercise.

kshama2001

sugarfreesquirrel wrote: »

I have a desire to walk 10,000+ steps per day so I can eat more. Or swim, or use the elliptical. Someone I know has taken a different approach and does weight training a few times a week so they have more muscle and burn more calories during the day. I feel like doing both is better, but the cardio makes more sense for calorie burn because you would overall burn more calories from that, than simply having more muscle? who is right?

I used to have a personal trainer, now I have a gym membership and have no idea what to do with the machines or free weights. I'm tempted just to do cardio or use the machines. Is poor form with weight lifting better than not doing it at all? I hate looking at myself in the mirror, I've been bullied my whole life for having poor posture and I find my body embarrassing to look at. I know body building.com has tutorials on different exercises and how to use machines.

Thanks for the help

While cardio does indeed burn more calories, you should strength train for its unique benefits and as part of a well rounded exercise program.

I know you're not in the US, but every gym I've every joined here has offered 1-3 free sessions with a trainer with membership. Many of them also had small group classes for free or very cheap. Do look into that. You can hurt yourself with poor form, or minimally waste time.

kshama2001

sugarfreesquirrel wrote: »

tomcustombuilder wrote: »

sugarfreesquirrel wrote: »

tomcustombuilder wrote: »

sugarfreesquirrel wrote: »

I have a desire to walk 10,000+ steps per day so I can eat more. Or swim, or use the elliptical. Someone I know has taken a different approach and does weight training a few times a week so they have more muscle and burn more calories during the day. I feel like doing both is better, but the cardio makes more sense for calorie burn because you would overall burn more calories from that, than simply having more muscle? who is right?

I used to have a personal trainer, now I have a gym membership and have no idea what to do with the machines or free weights. I'm tempted just to do cardio or use the machines. Is poor form with weight lifting better than not doing it at all? I hate looking at myself in the mirror, I've been bullied my whole life for having poor posture and I find my body embarrassing to look at. I know body building.com has tutorials on different exercises and how to use machines.

Thanks for the help

is your goal Fatloss or muscle gain? What is your height and weight.

Mostly weightloss, then muscle gain. I'm female, nearly 34, 5'10 and 110.5kg

at your stats you want to prioritize Fatloss and muscle RETENTION. You’ll probably want to get your steps in and not take in more calories. Use the steps to add to your deficit.

A moderate calorie deficit, cardio and some strength training a couple times a week and you’ll see progress.

I have trouble staying within my calories even when I just have a 250 deficit after eating back my exercise calories. How on earth am I supposed to maintain a 1000 calorie deficit everyday without losing my mind?

I took a look at your diary to see if you are eating more satiating foods these days. It looks like you haven't completed it for a week. Plan to hit your protein and fiber goals every day, and earlier in the day. You may find that having a lot less sugar and more protein at breakfast helps immensely with satiety throughout the day.

kshama2001

Retroguy2000 wrote: »

Exercise to eat more isn't a good plan. You should exercise for the health benefits, and because you enjoy it. That's how you'll stick to it, and change requires consistency.

[snip]

I definitely exercise for the health benefits, because I enjoy it, AND for the exercise calories.

tara84664

From reading your post, I am gathering that you 1) like food and want to eat more if it and 2) want to lose weight for self esteem issues. Welcome to the average human experience. Ha ha. Fer reals though, I hear you!!! I have been overweight my whole life and always made fun of from a young age. I did the diet roller coaster for 25 years - and nothing worked until I got more solid on my WHY.

So I think the real question for you to ask yourself is, what do you really want? Would you rather eat lots of food? Or would you rather feel more confident in yourself from losing weight, becoming healthier, and working out? You CAN workout AND eat good food. But first ask yourself why you want to workout. What do you want to accomplish? Why? Why? And why? Get deep in your answer. That will motivate you with the direction you want to go and drive you to workout RIGHT for your goals. stick to simple exercises. Bicep curls. Squats. Lunges. And watch YouTube videos for beginners. Don’t jump in too big.

Someone else alluded to the fact that what you eat will make the most difference. I would suggest really focusing on your diet. Track. Eat mostly Whole Foods that will help you feel energetic and better about yourself. Your mind and body will follow as you get healthier.

So get solid on that why. This is all coming from a girl who ate two cupcakes at a volleyball game last night so I’m definitely not perfect. But it’s a journey. So don’t give up.

dmeri77

So what I have always heard was determine what your normal calorie intake per day should be and reduce it by 500. Exercise to burn 500 calories per day which should result in a 1 to 2 pounds weight loss per week.

As Tara said, eat good whole foods that are filling that can give you good energy. Stay away from processed foods.

As for cardio the guidelines say 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity physical activity is what we should try to accomplish.

Weight training in my opinion is necessary, but honestly starting out push-ups, crunches, planks, lunges, squats are a good start.

Everyone's body and circumstances are different so you will have to figure out what works for you.

The hardest part is maintaining motivation! Keep your eyes on the prize and you will get there!