Eat more or exercise less?

wreckage

A few months ago I fell prey to the dreaded "Starvation mode" where I was eating far too few calories with my exercise routine. I upped my calorie intake and was back on track. Recently I started adding in weight training with my cardio and I think i'm falling back into the fat-storing zone. I try to eat around 1500 calories a day, but on days where I walk/jog and lift weights I end up burning around 700-ish calories, leaving me with around 800 net calories. So my questions is, should I eat even more calories or should I exercise less and maybe do weights one day and walking the next? My weight-lifting routine would allow me to walk 3 days a week when I'm either taking an "off" day from weight lifting or just doing abs. I'm woried about just weight lifting as I think I burn less calories when doing that vs my walking/jogging.

tara3103

I always make sure I net at least 1200, so sometimes that means I am eating 1800 calories. I usually burn between 700-800 a day, so I added in more healthy foods throughout the day. An extran snack or more with lunch. It's working great for me. I think you may just have to try both ways and see what works for you. Good luck!

wreckage

Well, the lazy part of me really wants to exercise less, but the driven part of me doesn't know if that's the right answer. I find it hard to control things like sodium, carbs, etc. when I eat more calories than I'm used to.

wreckage

Anyone else want to weigh in on this before I have a lazy night in front of the computer?

tara3103

I can tell you I was eating 800-900 ne calories and stalled...once I began eating more and adding in a little more exercise, I started to see results pretty quickly. Think about how crappy you will feel if you don't get your workout in. I usually feel pretty guilty.

ajbeans

If it were me, I'd go for eating more. The exercise is way better for you than lazy nights in front of the computer.

Mindful_Trent

I've heard that combining weights and cardio together can be more effective than doing them separately... that said, I don't see anything wrong with splitting them up and devoting 3 days to cardio and 3 days to weights (or however you split it). Like you said, the weight lifting days won't earn you as many exercise calories to burn, but they will help you tremendously in the long-run.

You're going to have to determine what works best for your lifestyle - there is no "right" answer - either you find a way to fit in some extra calories (there are easy ways to do this with healthy, higher calorie foods like nuts, avacado, etc.) or split your cardio/weights so that your calories from exercise aren't so high every day. I think either proposed solution is valid (it's not like you're saying you're going to STOP exercising! :laugh: ) So figure out what works best for you and go with it.

Jonesie1984

I feel conflicted with this one too.. my net calories are almost always never at 1200--just because i exercise and when i'm doing working out I kinda feel nausea to try to stuff food down.. (am I the only one??) but I think that I'm feeling the effects of it now.. no weight lost this week and I'm wondering if I should eat more or back off. I'm currently doing the 30 day shred level one and then doing either a couple miles on the treadmill or bike after.. I wanna say that it's determination but am I over doing it? Any suggestions will greatly be appreciated

wreckage

I've heard that combining weights and cardio together can be more effective than doing them separately... that said, I don't see anything wrong with splitting them up and devoting 3 days to cardio and 3 days to weights (or however you split it). Like you said, the weight lifting days won't earn you as many exercise calories to burn, but they will help you tremendously in the long-run.

You're going to have to determine what works best for your lifestyle - there is no "right" answer - either you find a way to fit in some extra calories (there are easy ways to do this with healthy, higher calorie foods like nuts, avacado, etc.) or split your cardio/weights so that your calories from exercise aren't so high every day. I think either proposed solution is valid (it's not like you're saying you're going to STOP exercising! :laugh: ) So figure out what works best for you and go with it.

Yeah, good point, I guess there's no universal answer. I'll probably try to split up my cardio/weight days and see how that effects me. Thanks for all the responses everyone

jljohnson

What if you split the difference? Run just a little less (so you burn fewer calories, but are still getting a decent workout), and eat a little more (so you don't have to make up 500+ calories, and it's easy to make up the rest with some items that are a little more calorie-dense, like avocado, peanut butter, nuts, etc.).

@Jonjesie1984 - 30 Day Shred probably has you burning about 175-200 calories, so maybe you don't need the extra run/bike afterwards, and you could do a few calorie-dense items, like I listed above to make up any extra calories you need.

Dobsaya

Exercise will reshape your body. I eat about 1600 to 1800 calories a day and still lose about a pound and half each week.

Jonesie1984

thanks I think i'll do shred alone today- besides my calves are killing me lol