Calorie deficit a must ?

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liat481
liat481 Posts: 3
in Health and Weight Loss
If I don't keep a deficit calorie count, does the exercise that I do still change my body?

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  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    Yes, it likely will. I mean, your current fitness level and what exercise you do would factor in, but depending on those factors you would either maintain current fitness, decrease fitness or, more likely, increase fitness.

    You can lower many health markers with exercise alone. People who are overweight but healthy are almost always those that exercise regularly.
  • BonworthVonFattyPants
    BonworthVonFattyPants Posts: 49 Member
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    Of course.

    Your diet should focus around your goals.

    If you are trying to gain muscle mass then you almost certainly have to eat above your TDEE. If you are trying to lose weight you have to eat at a deficit.

    If you are trying to lose weight AND gain muscle mass ... well ... good luck to you.


    Edit: wrote "BMR" but meant "TDEE"
  • bwogilvie
    bwogilvie Posts: 2,130 Member
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    ^^^ I think you meant "TDEE," not BMR.
  • BonworthVonFattyPants
    BonworthVonFattyPants Posts: 49 Member
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    ^^^ I think you meant "TDEE," not BMR.

    Yeah, I did.
  • vismal
    vismal Posts: 2,463 Member
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    If I don't keep a deficit calorie count, does the exercise that I do still change my body?
    It depends on your goals. If your goal is to lose weight/fat then yes, it's a must. If your goal is to build muscle, not only is it not a must, its a must not! You can't be in a deficit and hope to achieve any decent amount of muscle gain. Exercising also has positive effects on your body in ways other then body composition so it's worthwhile no matter what.
  • _rachel_k
    _rachel_k Posts: 243 Member
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    See, and I'm in a predicament where I need to lose a significant amount of fat and I do cardio AND weights. My TDEE - 20% (with 5-6 hours selected as I do weights an hour every evening Monday to Friday and I am trying to jog a minimum of 30 minutes in the morning 2 days a week) is 2227. I don't want to get super muscles just yet, I want to focus on getting the fat off and then building my muscles up a little bit after.
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
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    If I don't keep a deficit calorie count, does the exercise that I do still change my body?

    It should improve your overall health but it might not result in weight loss. We tend to naturally get hungrier when we exercise, eating all of the extra calories we burn. Sometimes we might even eat more. You could actually gain weight by working out and not counting calories.
  • mayfrayy
    mayfrayy Posts: 198 Member
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    See, and I'm in a predicament where I need to lose a significant amount of fat and I do cardio AND weights. My TDEE - 20% (with 5-6 hours selected as I do weights an hour every evening Monday to Friday and I am trying to jog a minimum of 30 minutes in the morning 2 days a week) is 2227. I don't want to get super muscles just yet, I want to focus on getting the fat off and then building my muscles up a little bit after.

    I think you should do some real research

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