Thu Feb 6 Check In

deskjockey925

1. Did I exercise for at least 20 minutes?
2. Did I stay within my calorie budget for the day?
3. Did I keep track of all the calories I ate or drank?
4. Pass days (3+ is fine if you reach the max)

itladyee

Why Exercise Alone is Not Enough

You've heard quotes like “fit bodies are made in the kitchen not the gym”…

There's no doubt that exercising is important for our cardiovascular health and gaining or maintaining strength and mobility - but even the best exercise routine will not offset eating poorly or too much.

To lose weight, we need to have an overall calorie deficit, forcing the body to use its stored fat for energy. On average, it takes a 3500 kcal deficit to lose one pound, meaning that eating ~500 kcal less per day than we need to maintain our weight would cause us to lose about a pound a week. Eating at a higher deficit, we lose more; eating at a lower deficit, we lose less. Needless to say that we will gain at the same clip if we eat above our maintenance calories.

The easiest way to achieve a calorie deficit is to monitor both your food and exercise by tracking accurately (yesterday’s topic). Whether or not to eat exercise calories back is up for eternal discussion (at least on MFP) – but it really comes down to how large of a deficit you want to create and whether you want to create it by cutting down on food only, cutting down on food and increasing exercise, or only increasing exercise. Although the math above is simple, the decision how to go about it depends on many factors that are personal to you, such as your ability to exercise, your nutritional needs, what you enjoy and are able to sustain, and any medical conditions that would lead you to want to lose slower or faster.

Talking about nutritional needs- poor nutrition is linked to weight gain and a range of health concerns, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, and inflammation. It is technically possible to lose weight by eating only fast food burgers and fries - as long as you’re generating a calorie deficit, but this would be detrimental to your health even if you were to exercise. Getting all the nutrients we need from food is hard when cutting calories and controlling macros (protein-fat-carbs), micronutrients (such as major vitamins and calcium), sodium, and fiber.

Source: prior post from member: henridw2095 (edited)

Please share your strategies for balancing your dietary goals and exercise.
Calorie Deficit? How much?
Eat back your calorie? Always, sometimes, never?