will exercise really make me lose faster?

mary190136

Hi-- I've lost about 25 lbs just changing my diet, but it's taken a long time. Will adding exercise really help me lose faster?

thanks

rockmama72

Maybe probably. And it will probably help you lose inches faster, which is the ultimate goal--to shrink.

dawndovell

Yes.

kbmnurse

Really?

fast_eddie_72

I'm no expert, but I believe the answer is a definite yes. I lost 10 lbs. just with exercise, training for a half marathon. Have now lost about 15 combining diet and exercise. I have, in the past, lost weight just with diet. Doing them both together sure does seem to be working better for me.

auddii

Weight loss results from a calorie deficit. This could be through diet alone (consuming less calories than you burn), exercise (burning more calories than you consume) or a combination of both. Exercise is not required, but a lot of people feel it can improve their health.

If you are losing slower than expected, you might be accidentally eating more than you think. This is a good read:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/872212-you-re-probably-eating-more-than-you-think

mccindy72

Hi-- I've lost about 25 lbs just changing my diet, but it's taken a long time. Will adding exercise really help me lose faster?

thanks

Only in the sense that it will increase your calorie deficit. you could also stop eating at a deficit, eat at a surplus and heavy lift for a while, building muscle, and then go back to the deficit. Muscle burns more calories than fat.

SLLRunner

Hi-- I've lost about 25 lbs just changing my diet, but it's taken a long time. Will adding exercise really help me lose faster?

thanks

Exercise will give you endurance and strength, but it also increases your calorie deficit. If you use the MFP method to calculate your goals, you must eat a portion of those exercise calories in order to fuel your body. If you don't, you probably won't feel well. Thus, your weight loss rate would probably stay the same. If you lose too quickly it will be harder to keep off.

auddii

Hi-- I've lost about 25 lbs just changing my diet, but it's taken a long time. Will adding exercise really help me lose faster?

thanks

Only in the sense that it will increase your calorie deficit. you could also stop eating at a deficit, eat at a surplus and heavy lift for a while, building muscle, and then go back to the deficit. Muscle burns more calories than fat.

Probably not an efficient use of dieting time if they feel they are losing slowly already. Studies show minimal increases in calorie burns for muscle, so even if you spent several months bulking, you may only end up burning an extra 30-50 calories a day.

http://www.aworkoutroutine.com/does-building-muscle-burn-fat/

MinnieInMaine

Weight loss results from a calorie deficit. This could be through diet alone (consuming less calories than you burn), exercise (burning more calories than you consume) or a combination of both. Exercise is not required, but a lot of people feel it can improve their health.

If you are losing slower than expected, you might be accidentally eating more than you think. This is a good read:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/872212-you-re-probably-eating-more-than-you-think

Yes, but I'd like to clarify the "burn more calories than you consume" point as this is confusing for a lot of folks. This doesn't mean you have to burn 1600 calories in the gym (thank goodness!) if you're eating 1200 calories a day. You actually burn at least 1000 calories per day just being alive - otherwise known as BMR. (You can find out your number by checking out the BMR cal under the Apps section of this website) This # of calories supports basic function as if you were in a coma.

Basically, trust the #s MFP gives you - eat as close to your daily goal as possible as there is a calorie deficit already included, and when you exercise, log it and eat back at least half of the earned calories.

Also, if you're losing slower than expected, it may be becuase your expectations are too high. Check out this handy guide:
If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal,
If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal,
If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal,
If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal, and
If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal.

ChrisM8971

Hi-- I've lost about 25 lbs just changing my diet, but it's taken a long time. Will adding exercise really help me lose faster?

thanks

Congratulations 25 lbs is a great achievement no matter how long it takes and slow & steady is the right way to go.

Exercise is an excellent way of achieving several things.

1) Fitness, diet alone can lose you weight and while lighter is generally healthier improved fitness comes from exercise

2) Increased weight loss, exercise burns calories, which can be used to increase your deficit and therefore greater weight loss, although you don't want to lose too fast

3) Allow you to eat more/fit in more of the foods that you love to eat

ETA to remove item 4

BarbellApprentice

I am just hopping in for all the cat ladies.

cwolfman13

diet for weight control; exercise for fitness...exercising will allow you to eat more whilst achieving the same goals...you could use it to broaden your deficit, but depending on what you're currently at, that can also be counter productive. Here's what happens with exercise using my numbers....

maintenance without exercise = 2,350 calories
deficit calorie goal to lose 1 Lb per week = 2,350 - 500 = 1,850 calories

maintenance with exercise = 2700
deficit calorie goal to lose 1 Lb per week = 2700 - 500 = 2,200 calories (much more acceptable because I like food and stuff)

exercise (in particular resistance training) will help you maintain your lean body mass which will help maintain your metabolism...exercise also has numerous other benefits...the fact that it burns additional calories is really just gravy...exercise is so much more than that.

melaniecheeks

Not a big factor in weight loss, but will definitely help you look and feel better.

twixlepennie

Weight loss is about calories and math.

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lost the weight without exercise. For me, it made things much easier to not exercise during the weight loss phase.

QuietBloom

Only if you use it to increase your calorie deficit.

masanz1

as others have stated, you can gain or lose exercising. calories in vs calories burn, you can eat more, but you need to still watch it. I am an avid runner and can still gain weight if i do not eat correctly.

bwogilvie

Not necessarily. Exercise has several benefits, but weight loss isn't necessarily one of them.

One analysis of several longitudinal studies found that there's a correlation between exercising *more* and weight loss, but not between exercise and weight loss/reduction in weight gain (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21696306). But there's no correlation between exercise itself and weight loss, and obviously, there's a limit to how much you can keep exercising more (since you need to eat, sleep, work, and do other things).

Plus, exercise makes you hungry—not immediately, but a few hours afterwards.

It makes you feel good, improves your stamina, and helps you preserve your muscles as you lose fat (especially strength training). It lets you eat more for the same amount of weight loss. It's worth doing for all those reasons--especially preserving muscle mass.