exercise and loss

gieshagirl

I started in January and started walking 1/2 mile a day.......very slow and out of breath quickly. over the last few months I am doing 3-4 miles a day at 3.5-4mph. this is Huge for someone who has never walked or been very active ....ever......the weight is very slow to come off but it is going down slowly. my question is all this increased activity is only for toning what is left ? not weight loss? I understand deficit of calories, I understand that calories burned should mostly be eaten back....but my mind just cant seem to wrap around weigh loss the same whether I exercise or not.......so...im kinda lost on the point of doing it. more caloric intake? help please!

GauchoMark

if you are eating back our exercise calories (which I recommend in general) then your deficit stays the same whether you exercise or not.

So if your deficit stays the same, why would you expect fat loss to be different?

GauchoMark

oh, and the point of doing it is to retain as much muscle mass as possible while you are losing weight. Plus, the more exercise you do, the better you will look when you are thinner. The higher muscle mass will help you continue to lose weight easily, versus losing muscle mass and your weight loss slowing over time.

JustSomeEm

if you are eating back our exercise calories (which I recommend in general) then your deficit stays the same whether you exercise or not.

So if your deficit stays the same, why would you expect fat loss to be different?

This. I only wanted to add that if you're getting exercise, even if you're eating your exercise calories back (and therefore not losing more weight), you WILL be more toned and healthier.

iagkm

Dang I can walk 5 miles at 3.5mph and still be good and I'm 80lbs overweight. This post made me feel great about my in-shapeness!