Do you eat the extra calories earned from exercise?

katie9730

I agree that only consuming 1200 calories a day is putting your body into starvation and also that two pounds a week is too much to lose. However, eating all of the calories you burned off doesn't make sense to me unless you're trying to maintain the same weight. If you're literally not hungry and you've consumed the correct amount of calories that your doctor has advised you to eat, why eat the extra calories burned off?

I'm not trying to create an argument by the way, I'm just genuinely interested.

ladyhawk00

I agree that only consuming 1200 calories a day is putting your body into starvation and also that two pounds a week is too much to lose. However, eating all of the calories you burned off doesn't make sense to me unless you're trying to maintain the same weight. If you're literally not hungry and you've consumed the correct amount of calories that your doctor has advised you to eat, why eat the extra calories burned off?

I'm not trying to create an argument by the way, I'm just genuinely interested.

Well, it has to do with how MFP is designed. It works like this:

It takes your BMR (what you burn just being alive, as if in a coma). Say this is 1400, as an example. It then adds the cals you burn in daily activity (sedentary, active, etc), such as watching tv, brushing your teeth, cooking dinner, what you do for work. So add another 400, again, as an example. These two numbers together is your maintenance cals - what you would eat to maintain your current weight = 1800. This does not include any purposeful exercise.

MFP then subtracts the amount necessary for your chosen loss per week goal (your deficit). So, 500 cals per day for 1 lb, 1000 for 2 lbs, etc. We'll go with 1 lb.

1800 - 500 = 1300

This is the initial daily cal goal - what you would eat if you do no purposeful exercise. However, if you go exercise, you've burned off more cals, making the deficit larger. So if you burn 400, your total cals burned for the day is:

1800 + 400 = 2200 cals burned

So if you still only eat 1300, your deficit becomes 900; and you're basically expecting your body to run off of a NET intake of 900.

2200 - 1300 = 900 Deficit
1300 - 400 = 900 Net intake

If this happens once in a while (or if you have a large amount to lose, 100 lbs or more), it's not a huge issue. But if done on a consistent basis (3-4 days/week or more) over weeks, your body begins to adjust your metabolism to deal with what it considers to be too little fuel to support your organ functions and activity level. It figures there isn't enough fuel coming in, so it needs to conserve where possible. So your metabolism begins to drop. The larger the deficit, and the lower the Net intake, the slower your metabolism gets. So this means that you begin burning less calories.

If done for a long enough period, this will also change the ratio at which your body burns fat and muscle. Again, someone with larger fat stores will always burn a large amount of fat and just a tiny bit of muscle. But as you get leaner, even if you are eating enough, you will burn a little bit more muscle along with the fat. Each person's body has a range of deficit in which the body feels comfortable accessing fat stores, without using too much muscle for fuel and the range is dependent on the amount of body fat (and some other factors).

The body (especially for women) prefers to have a cushion of fat. So when you make the deficit higher than that "comfort zone", the body starts to compensate, trying to preserve the fat stores. It lowers metabolism and eventually starts using more muscle as fuel (because it is easier to access than fat). So instead of burning 80% fat and 20% muscle, you start burning 60% fat and 40% muscle (just an example). And the more your muscle mass decreases, the lower your metabolism goes... It creates a vicious cycle where you can eat less and less, and still maintain weight. And it results in being "skinny fat" - being thin but having little muscle mass and a high body fat percentage.

Does that help explain it a bit?

PS Sorry this got so long, I was going to keep it short (but I guess that rarely happens with me.) :laugh:

basilbrushthefirst

I'd say no - I try and eat the recommended 2500 per day and use the exercise, rather than the reduction in calories, as a way of losing a bit of weight. That way, your body gets a healthy, not a starvation diet. If I've burnt off a lot of calories, say on a long bike ride where I can burn off 7000 calories, then I will eat the contents of the fridge

jellybaby84

It does make sense ladyhawk but it makes me wonder what the point of exercising for weight loss is at all. I mean I know all the health benefits and stuff but, let's be honest, that is not the primary reason for exercise for many many people. Is MFP not including exercise as a weight loss factor at all? It seems like you should lose the same amount of weight whether you exercise or not according to that explanation.

waterbabeAD

This is a very big question!

I have been exercising and watching what I eat for 7 months. I have just started using MFP to shift the last few stubborn kilos so i can run a bit faster for a half marathon I am training for. I also took up triathlon a few months ago, so I train daily. Last week I was really struggling to eat my "exercise" calories, and on Friday I didn't. On both occassions it was after long-ish hard road cycles.

Last week I also was starting to feel a little bloated due to stuffing more food down my face than I was used to. i was starting to doubt the "system", but I weighed myself this morning - and hey presto, I have lost 1 kg.

It does seem counter-intuitive, but it does seem to work. Just like cars, the faster you go (ie higher metabolosim achieved though increased exercise) the more fuel you need. As other posters say, just dont go below 1200 net daily, or else your metabiloism will slow down, your body will become less efficeint at exercise and nutrition processing switches to conserving the deficit.

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ladyhawk00

It does make sense ladyhawk but it makes me wonder what the point of exercising for weight loss is at all. I mean I know all the health benefits and stuff but, let's be honest, that is not the primary reason for exercise for many many people. Is MFP not including exercise as a weight loss factor at all? It seems like you should lose the same amount of weight whether you exercise or not according to that explanation.

Well, clearly the main reasons are for the overall health benefits. Yes, MFP is designed for you to lose with or without exercise. And part of the reason for that is that most of us, at some point, fall off the exercise wagon - whether for a few days or a few months. Also, some people are quite limited in the amount of exercise they can do (because of physical limitations, time limitations, whatever.)

But if you want to look at it solely from a weight loss standpoint, there are two main reasons you still want to exercise at least some. First is that by exercising (especially strength/resistance training) you help to maintain the muscle mass. You won't generally increase your muscle mass (VERY difficult to do while in a caloric deficit), but it can decrease the percentage of muscle lost. And the more muscle you have, the higher your metabolism. And obviously, when trying to lose weight you want your metabolism at an optimal level.

Second, is that by maintaining that muscle mass you also help to avoid the dreaded "skinny fat". If you do no exercise, you will tend to lose more muscle mass. And frankly, skinny but flabby isn't a particularly attractive look. We want lean and strong.

Two smaller reasons: By maintaining the muscle mass you also help to decrease the risk of excess loose skin. Not as much of an issue for people trying to lose just a little bit, but very important for those with a lot to lose.

And...let's be honest here. We all like to eat. That's the major reason most of us are here. And burning more cals allows us to eat more, while maintaining the deficit that allows for weight loss. I don't know about you, but sometimes I'm pretty darn hungry and wouldn't make it through the day on my initial daily goal. So it allows me to handle weight loss better psychologically, because I don't feel deprived. I get plenty to eat and never feel starved. And I can have my little indulgences, because by burning more cals they fit into my daily goals AFTER I've met my nutritional needs for the day. And I don't have to feel guilty about having them. And when I get to maintenance levels, I'll be ready for them, without having to make a huge adjustment to my eating habits.

Remember, a whole lot of weight loss is about the mental game and doing it in a way that you can continue long term. Yeah, most of us can (and have) try the route of eating very little, exercising a ton and losing weight quick. But that doesn't change the reasons why you were overweight in the first place - it doesn't change your eating habits and help you learn balance. Losing slowly and steadily, while developing healthy eating habits AND good exercise habits mean you're much more likely to keep the weight off. If it's not habits you can maintain long term, you'll end up back where you started (or worse.) Which is why extreme diets rarely work for long term weight loss.

katie9730

My nutritionist told me it would be best not to consume the extra calories. However, obviously doing the opposite has worked for a lot of people. I think the method you should chose depends on a lot of factors - starting weight, body type, age, etc. I'm trying to lose 25 - 30 lbs. The best way for me to lose the weight could differ greatly from a person trying to shed more weight. Therefor, I'd really recommend going to your doctor or nutritionist for a question like this. He or she will know what's best for you.

ladyhawk00

My nutritionist told me it would be best not to consume the extra calories. However, obviously doing the opposite has worked for a lot of people. I think the method you should chose depends on a lot of factors - starting weight, body type, age, etc. I'm trying to lose 25 - 30 lbs. The best way for me to lose the weight could differ greatly from a person trying to shed more weight. Therefor, I'd really recommend going to your doctor or nutritional for questions like this. They will know what's best for you.

You are correct, the strategies for someone who is obese is different than someone who is within a healthy or borderline healthy BMI. But the difference is that the leaner you are, the MORE you need to eat and the smaller your deficit should be.

At any rate, that's fine, as long as your nutritionist understands how MFP is designed - most do NOT, because MFP is radically different than most counters/plans. As long as your nutritionist is aware that there is a built in deficit and that not consuming the cals makes the deficit larger - then by all means, listen to their advice if you trust them.

I will note, however, that there are MANY doctors (and even nutritionists) who do not receive an education in weight loss nutrition (or frankly anything other than basic nutrition such as how to recognize/treat vitamin deficiencies.) So be sure to check their qualifications first.