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    Why exercise to lose weight?

    Posts: 112 Member
    edited December 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
    I know that exercising is important and will make you healthy, toned, etc.... but if you're going to eat back the calories you burn anyway, then what's the point?

    If weight loss is all about calories in and calories out...why exercise when you can just eat less and your net calories are the same? Won't you get the same results? Sure, you'll be unfit and "skinny fat" perhaps, but you'll still lose the same, right?


    Sorry if this is a really silly question! Hahaha :)

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    • Posts: 5,754 Member
      you'll get results faster.
    • Posts: 108 Member
      Exercise can be an aid to weight loss i.e. burns calories you don't need to replace. However, it's more about general fitness and a toned appearance. If you don't want to exercise then don't. You will still lose weight. However, I run to feel healthier, fitter, more athletic body etc. I want to be the correct weight AND fit. Not just the correct weight. It's a personal choice.
    • Posts: 56
      1. Increase your metabolism so you burn more calories even if you do eat back exercise calories
      2. tone up loose skin, which you definitely will get if you have 40lbs+ to lose.
      3. to be generally healthy as well as "skinny"

      I would be pretty unhappy if I lost all my weight and had loose skin and no muscle definition. But then maybe thats just me, I just want to look the best I possibly can. I guess you can still lose the weight but I imagine its a little slower than not exercising because of having a lower metabolism.
    • Posts: 43
      for me: to be able to eat more overall and still lose
    • Posts: 763 Member
      Also keep in mind that exercise helps tone your body. You can still look like you have more to lose at a lighter weight without exercise and you can look thinner than your actual weight if you do exercise. It's not just about what you see in the scale, but what you can see in the mirror.
    • Posts: 104 Member
      Because the cardio makes our heart and lungs healthy, the weight training will make our bones strong. It's not about living in the now, it's more about our future health.
    • Posts: 169 Member
      95% of the time I do not eat eat back the calories I've burned. I don't think you are supposed to in general. The tracking just let's you know that if you NEED to , ie if you're still hungry, you can do so and still not gain weight ...

      Do most of you really eat back teh calories you burn in exercise? I never have.
    • Posts: 9,026 Member
      Because you'll look goddamn sexy.
    • Posts: 314 Member
      95% of the time I do not eat eat back the calories I've burned. I don't think you are supposed to in general. The tracking just let's you know that if you NEED to , ie if you're still hungry, you can do so and still not gain weight ...

      Do most of you really eat back teh calories you burn in exercise? I never have.

      I don't unless I'm hungry... but I usually have enough calories from my normal allowance left to fill me up. I've been steadily losing weight, although it's slowed down since I've reached a lower weight.

      I exercise because I'm trying to work on my cardiovascular health as well as "tone" up. Exercise is part of a healthy lifestyle and this is a lifestyle change. I feel better about myself when I exercise and when I accomplish a goal I feel awesome.
    • Posts: 133 Member
      MFP already has a deficit calculated in for you. For example, if you set your goals to sedentary you will burn around 1700 a day with sitting around. So, you eat 1200 which gives you a 500 calorie deficit each day by not exercising at all.
      If you exercise on top of that, you can eat your exercise calories back without you losing the 500 calorie deficit a day!
      If you don't eat your calories back, you will be netting to low which can cause you to plateau. You can also choose to eat back half the calories you exercised, in case you overestimated the calories burned or whatever.

      It's really important that you are not netting to low, it won't help your weight loss. I ate 1200 each day in the beginning with intense exercise, but now I've upped my calories I'm still losing weight!
    • Posts: 371 Member
      ive not lost any for ages and stuck at 9 stone 3lbs no matter what i ate even under eating wasn't working ive now started to excerise 4 times a week and have now lost 4.5 lb in a month..not much i know but ive lost 3 inches off my hips, 2 inches of my waist and 3 inches off my thighs, im about a uk size 10 now so ive dropped only 5lb but a whole dress size, best of all my butt doesnt wobble anymore when i run!
    • Posts: 372 Member
      Also keep in mind that exercise helps tone your body. You can still look like you have more to lose at a lighter weight without exercise and you can look thinner than your actual weight if you do exercise. It's not just about what you see in the scale, but what you can see in the mirror.

      ^this^ plus exercise is enjoyable and I can eat more afterwards
    • Posts: 91
      I personallyy dont eat my earned calories, and i do 80 minutes workout 5x a week, it seems to be working ok so far and i eat just above my bmr which is 1900 cals a day.
    • Posts: 91
      ive not lost any for ages and stuck at 9 stone 3lbs no matter what i ate even under eating wasn't working ive now started to excerise 4 times a week and have now lost 4.5 lb in a month..not much i know but ive lost 3 inches off my hips, 2 inches of my waist and 3 inches off my thighs, im about a uk size 10 now so ive dropped only 5lb but a whole dress size, best of all my butt doesnt wobble anymore when i run!

      hehe damn i cant wait for the day i can say the same about my butt :P
    • Posts: 12,294 Member
      If you don't exercise you will not be nearly as healthy and a large % of your loss will be lean muscle, meaning even at the same weight, those that exercise would have a lower BF%.
    • Posts: 94
      I eat back about half my exercise calories, unless I'm having a hungry day, then I'll eat them all! My calorie goal is set to lose 1lb a week, I'm averaging a loss of 2lbs per week.
    • Posts: 12,294 Member
      show previous quotes

      I don't unless I'm hungry... but I usually have enough calories from my normal allowance left to fill me up. I've been steadily losing weight, although it's slowed down since I've reached a lower weight.

      I exercise because I'm trying to work on my cardiovascular health as well as "tone" up. Exercise is part of a healthy lifestyle and this is a lifestyle change. I feel better about myself when I exercise and when I accomplish a goal I feel awesome.

      Since you don't have much left to lose it is vital that you eat them, as too large of a deficit will lead to the loss of lean muscle, meaning if you did eat them back you would have a lower BF%, but it would take you a little longer to hit your goal weight.
    • Posts: 83 Member
      No, you won't lose the same: without exercise, you will not only burn fat but also burn your muscle tissue. Less muscle means a lower metabolism. So when you go off the diet, you will not be able to eat the same maintenance calories as before the diet. This is the reason for the "Yo-yo" diet problem. Exercising while dieting will help to maintain your muscle mass (especially strength training).
    • Posts: 4,868 Member
      I eat at least some of mine back.. if not most.. and why? Because I like to eat, thats why.

      I could have easily not eaten any back.. but I wouldn't look as good as I do now had I not eaten them back. Plus weight training just makes me really hungry... and I'm not going to sit there with my stomach growling when I have extra calories I could use towards food consumption.
    • Posts: 334 Member
      It boosts your metabolism. Dieting alone just makes your body learn to survive on less calories.
    • Posts: 92 Member
      "skinny people look good in clothes, fit people look great naked!" Just sayin......:wink:
    • Posts: 254 Member
      All this, plus, I've found that once i'm in the habit, cardio helps to control my appetite some. (Though at first, it makes it huuuuge! But it pays off.)
    • Posts: 520 Member
      I lose about 1 to 2 lbs a week. I am doing cardiovascular 2-5 times a week and some toning now that I have begun to lose some of my weight.
      I eat back 70-80% of my exercise calories, but that is because I have my MFP set to sedentary in case I am stuck at work or otherwise unable to get my exercise in (I have MS) so some days the legs are not working well enough or my vertigo is preventing me!

      If I do not eat my calories back I plateau because I am under 1200 then....

      I am exercising for the healthy part of this journey not the weight loss part of it..
    • Posts: 1,987 Member
      exercise has plenty other benefits aside from weight loss, it's good. some people hate cardio, some people hate strength, pick what you like and do something. personally i like both equally. and rule of thumb, i eat when i'm hungry, so sometimes that's over my calories for the day and other days it's under, it all balances out
    • Posts: 267 Member
      well it depends on if you want to be healthy and feel good.

      if you do, exercise is vital.

      if you don't care about being healthy and rather spend the day being tired, then exercise isn't so important.

      exercise makes weight loss so much easier. :)
    • Posts: 2,238 Member
      Because you'll look goddamn sexy.

      ding.ding.ding...WIN!
    • Posts: 56 Member
      "skinny people look good in clothes, fit people look great naked!" Just sayin......:wink:

      Haha this for sure!
    • Posts: 996 Member
      Faster results - the health benefits of exercise go way beyond just losing weight. If you start looking at it from a "Healthy Living" point of view you will understand better the concept of eating to fuel and moving to lose.

      I use the TDEE - have that set at sedentary... that is my baseline for eating, we must fuel our bodies to function properly.
    • Posts: 23 Member
      MFP already has a deficit calculated in for you. For example, if you set your goals to sedentary you will burn around 1700 a day with sitting around. So, you eat 1200 which gives you a 500 calorie deficit each day by not exercising at all.
      If you exercise on top of that, you can eat your exercise calories back without you losing the 500 calorie deficit a day!
      If you don't eat your calories back, you will be netting to low which can cause you to plateau. You can also choose to eat back half the calories you exercised, in case you overestimated the calories burned or whatever.

      It's really important that you are not netting to low, it won't help your weight loss. I ate 1200 each day in the beginning with intense exercise, but now I've upped my calories I'm still losing weight!
    • Posts: 112 Member
      Because you'll look goddamn sexy.

      And this is reason enough to make me want to take up running and the 30-day shred. Hahaha
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