whats the point of excercise if I eat back the calories?

CyberEd312

maybe I should start a new thread on for this question but What is considered "TOO FAST" for those of you here?

is it more than 2 pounds per week?

Your missing the point, this isn't about speed, this is about the journey, learning from your mistakes, setting reasonable goals and reaching them, figuring out how you got there and make sure you never go back there again.... I have spent 4 years doings this, getting in a therapy pool to use water displacement to be able to stand (couldn't even walk at 560 lbs.) so that I could exercise, spent 17 months in the pool before I could get fitted with braces to be able to get out of the pool and on solid ground, work through my addictions, learn from them and over come them.... I was in weightloss mode for 3 years, just finished 1 year of maintenance, and am back in weightloss mode to push through the last 20 lbs. I want to lose.... It was the journey that made me who I am today and I wouldn't want to rush any of it, this is my life and I am in no hurry for it to end.....

kyleekay10

I never eat back my exercise calories and I lose weight just fine. I am on a 1200 calories diet and my workouts are about 400 calories. and I feel perfectly fine, I sleep 8 hours, go to work, do all the things and feel full of energy.

I mean. Not to get all 'mean' or whatever (heaven forbid) but all the pro-ana types thing they feel fine and full of energy.

Just putting that out there.

This is why we're friends.

tworthen79

I'm sorry but if one has lost 153 lbs I'm sure they know quite a bit. Its ok, keep doing what you're doing, we'll see you back in the forums in a month, whinning about how you aren't losing and asking. ? Why?

beachlover317

maybe I should start a new thread on for this question but What is considered "TOO FAST" for those of you here?

is it more than 2 pounds per week?

Listen, there's not a person on this site that would not LOVE to lose weight as fast as possible. These are the SAME people that have lost/gained/lost/gained/lost/gained and are tired of that crap. People with lots of weight to lose need to learn to do things completely different. It's a fact.

Nothing you say will change the minds of people like me who are finally feeling success after years of wanting to do it fast. It's a slow process. So ask away, but I'm out.

Achrya

I never eat back my exercise calories and I lose weight just fine. I am on a 1200 calories diet and my workouts are about 400 calories. and I feel perfectly fine, I sleep 8 hours, go to work, do all the things and feel full of energy.

I mean. Not to get all 'mean' or whatever (heaven forbid) but all the pro-ana types thing they feel fine and full of energy.

Just putting that out there.

This is why we're friends.

Wait. You mean it's not because of my boobs and ever growing collection of pretty skirts and dresses?

I've been misled.

amaysngrace

I do strength training, squats, abs, and cardio. I eat half of my calories back and have never hit a plateau, as of yet. So...

beachlover317

maybe I should start a new thread on for this question but What is considered "TOO FAST" for those of you here?

is it more than 2 pounds per week?

Your missing the point, this isn't about speed, this is about the journey, learning from your mistakes, setting reasonable goals and reaching them, figuring out how you got there and make sure you never go back there again.... I have spent 4 years doings this, getting in a therapy pool to use water displacement to be able to stand (could even walk at 560 lbs.) so that I could exercise, spent 17 months in the pool before I could get fitted with braces to be able to get out of the pool and on solid ground, work through my addictions, learn from them and over come them.... I was in weightloss mode for 3 years, just finished 1 year of maintenance, and am back in weightloss mode to push through the last 20 lbs. I want to lose.... It was the journey that made me who I am today and I wouldn't want to rush any of it, this is my life and I am in no hurry for it to end.....

:drinker:

bethannien

wut...? :explode: ok, no one is saying that 600 calories of food would suddenly disappear from your body after exercise. We seem to be using 1300 cals so let's be consistent. You eat 1300 calories in a day. You exercise to burn 600. Your body is then left with 700 calories to use to carry out daily functions. And most people need more than that to function properly.

No, that's not how it works at all (esp. if you have a high bodyfat %) - your body feeds off the stored glycogen (or the carbs stored in your muscle & liver) + your bodyfat for energy during exercise

BONUS TIP: if you exercise fasted or first thing in the morning you'll burn MORE FAT and less carbs (glycogen)

:noway: Ok, let me put it another way. My 1 year old is 3 feet tall and weighs 22 lbs. SHE eats more than 700 calories per day. So you're saying thag an adult who exercises off 600 calories should be able to carry out the remainder of their day on LESS than a toddler eats?

AdrianBry

the point I'm trying to make about "FAST" is that it's okay if you lose over 2 pounds a week and if you happen to lose 5 pounds in a week then that's okay and no need to panic about that or vice versa...

if you lose under 2 pounds a week that is also okay.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding here but I getting the feeling here that some of you think losing over 2 pounds a week is dangerous or unhealthy. It's perfectly fine to lose way over 2 pounds in your first weeks (or months) just starting a new diet + workout

Mr_Knight

I do enjoy working out, but should I skip cardio until I loose the weight that I want to loose?

The more you exercise, the bigger the caloric deficit you can safely support. MFP in its natural state isn't set up to do that, unless you actively choose to only eat back up a percentage of exercise calories. If you use MFP in the "TDEE-X%" mode, then it happens automatically.

To put the exercise in perspective, a person with a 2500 cal daily burn could afford a 500 calorie deficit, or roughly 1 lb a week. Add in 1200 calories a day of exercise (which is a commitment, esp. for someone not fit!), and the same 20% deficit is 900 calories a day, or nearly 2 lbs a week.

justlynzo

My pants will be LOOSE when I LOSE weight. Just sayin'...

Chevy_Quest

My pants will be LOOSE when I LOSE weight. Just sayin'...

Yes!!!! This ^^^ :drinker:

bethannien

the point I'm trying to make about "FAST" is that it's okay if you lose over 2 pounds a week and if you happen to lose 5 pounds in a week then that's okay and no need to panic about that or vice versa...

if you lose under 2 pounds a week that is also okay.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding here but I getting the feeling here that some of you think losing over 2 pounds a week is dangerous or unhealthy. It's perfectly fine to lose way over 2 pounds in your first weeks (or months) just starting a new diet + workout

Sweet baby JC. The reason people lose 10 lbs in the first week is because their glycogen stores are depleted and they're losing almost entirely water weight.

Mr_Knight

BONUS TIP: if you exercise fasted or first thing in the morning you'll burn MORE FAT and less carbs (glycogen)

That's not correct, especially for anything even remotely cardio. The body is not capable of metabolizing fat stores quickly enough to support any serious level of activity, so pretty much all exercise in a fasted state will hit your glycogen stores. Even a person with very high body fat percentage will have trouble metabolizing more than 100 calories/hour from fat.

CyberEd312

the point I'm trying to make about "FAST" is that it's okay if you lose over 2 pounds a week and if you happen to lose 5 pounds in a week then that's okay and no need to panic about that or vice versa...

if you lose under 2 pounds a week that is also okay.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding here but I getting the feeling here that some of you think losing over 2 pounds a week is dangerous or unhealthy. It's perfectly fine to lose way over 2 pounds in your first weeks (or months) just starting a new diet + workout

Sweet baby JC. The reason people lose 10 lbs in the first week is because their glycogen stores are depleted and they're losing almost entirely water weight.

Yup!!!:drinker:

AdrianBry

wut...? :explode: ok, no one is saying that 600 calories of food would suddenly disappear from your body after exercise. We seem to be using 1300 cals so let's be consistent. You eat 1300 calories in a day. You exercise to burn 600. Your body is then left with 700 calories to use to carry out daily functions. And most people need more than that to function properly.

No, that's not how it works at all (esp. if you have a high bodyfat %) - your body feeds off the stored glycogen (or the carbs stored in your muscle & liver) + your bodyfat for energy during exercise

BONUS TIP: if you exercise fasted or first thing in the morning you'll burn MORE FAT and less carbs (glycogen)

:noway: Ok, let me put it another way. My 1 year old is 3 feet tall and weighs 22 lbs. SHE eats more than 700 calories per day. So you're saying thag an adult who exercises off 600 calories should be able to carry out the remainder of their day on LESS than a toddler eats?

Of course not, but you're not eating ONLY 700 cals. - you ate 1300

if your 1 year eats 700 calories and let's say (for sake of arguement) that your toddle burns another 100-to-200 calories exercising or their normal daily activity is She only eating 500 calories per day? of course not.

but look - let's not let me and you get off on the wrong foot here. WE BOTH agree that 1200-to-2000 cals per day is reasonable for MOST people to lose weight.

I think are main struggle here is to figure out where those DAMN exercise calories go - LOL.

but i say (and I know this) they are used mostly for burning extra FAT with the assitance of a calorie restrited diet.

arewethereyet

The question was What's the point of exercise if I eat back the calories? Not how many pounds can I safely lose a week.

MFP became my saving grace after decades of yo yo dieting and getting skinny fast. MFP is BASED on the premise that it gives you the deficit and if you CHOOSE to exercise you eat back those calories.

Other sites count that in when you say "I exercise 60 minutes, high intensity, 5 days a week" Then they give you 1700 calories a day and you cannot figure out why you are not losing. Well, you forgot to exercise! Or work got in the way or you are not working at high intensity.

So MFP puts in in YOUR lap. For me it is 1350 a day no exercise to lose 1/2 lb a week. It is enough for me, but if I burn 400 I eat them back because just like I fuel up my car, I fuel up my body.

What I don't get is this: Do you go to Weight Watcher's meetings and tell people not to count points??

:flowerforyou: Peace

ingoiolo

I am really fat, I have been here for 7 weeks, I have lost 11Kg. I am a 32yo male and MFP gave me 1850Kcal per day as a goal. That is quite a lot, so it might have a bearing on how i go about it... but

I dont pay too much attention to net or gross calories. I work out a few days a week and in those days I burn about 4to700 Kcal. I dont add walking... I always net less then my goal, sometime incl, sometimes not the exercise Kcals... I dont really bother about it.

I havent feel as well as these days for a decade... I guess trying to be too scientific about this is probably not necessary.

Now a question (PS I dont side either way).

What happens when someone does not eat back exercise calories, BUT hits his pre target goal and gets all the required nutrients from it... does the additional energy need come from carbs or good nutrients depriving the body? Or does the body attack the crappy fat reserves? Genuine question...

sudowpa2

I usually burn 1500-2200 calories at the gym because when you are 271lbs... Doing 1 hour on the ellipital alone burns ~1000cal.

I feel that if I just do 30-45, I feel that I am not even breaking a sweat. I know what people are thinking, your not breaking a sweat then your not working hard enough. I was using it figurative and not literary.

I keep raising the levels and putting resistance everyday I go so I know that my body is adjusting, but personally I like doing cardio. It relaxes me.

but like the other guy says... the more you burn the more you can eat which is exactly what I do. I am finding it hard at first to give up the "good, bad" food at first. I am sure when I am dropping weight then I will start to readjust.

but I have been burning lots of calories in the gym and I go out and pig out on anything I want and still loose weight. I just make sure I don't go overboard on carbs, fats, sugars. I just make sure I am within a good calorie deficient.

recently, I have been dropping inches, but not the weight. So, I take it that maybe everything that I am putting into my body is being converted.

sorry about just rambling on... I am sure there is something in these sentences people will find useful.

YesIAm17

This!!!