Does exercise really matter?

darbylicious

My thought is that is that exercise gives me a nice buffer zone, so that I can eat a bit more each day and not feel hungry. Since I'm focusing on a longterm lifestyle change, I want to be able to have 2000 calorie days sometimes and not worry too much about it. The more active I am, the better I feel, and the more I can eat (need to eat, actually, because my body needs fuel!). The more active I am, the more active I can be, thus making my long-term lifestyle change something much more realistic, manageable, and ENJOYABLE. That's why I exercise.

I think just a calorie deficit alone would be really hard to maintain over the longterm.

jdploki70

Yes, exercise matters. If you don't use your muscles, your body treats them just like fat and uses them for energy. Unless you are going for the starved super waif look, exercising keeps your muscle mass constant as you lose weight

DaddyJoJo

I love the question actually :
Boiling it down to a math-type formula might help:

1. Diet + Exercise = FITNESS

2. Diet only = MAINTAINS your current metabolism only

3. Exercise only = MEAT-HEAD/ BIFF (if you're a guy)

lporter229

both options should have you lose weight at the same rate, the difference being #2 will make you much more healthy, and if #2 consists of strength training then a higher % of your loss will be from fat, not lean mass (some of which would be muscle)

This comment got me thinking (serious question)...It takes 3500 calories to burn a lb of fat...how much for a lb of muscle? It would seem to me that it would not be the same because they have different composition.

heybales

Sounds like a stupid & controversial topic, doesn't it?

What I mean to say is....

#1 - If you stay under your calories just by eating
VS.
#2 - If you eat over your calories and then do exercise to burn off extra calories

And the end of the day you end up with the same # of net calories.

Is the #2 option going to make you lose weight faster? Any other advantages?

The amount of deficit also plays a part here in what you are left with.

If a deep deficit, studies have shown you will lose muscle mass unless you do resistance workouts.
Even cardio didn't help as much, and no exercise was the most loss.

If you take a reasonable deficit though, the no exercise route can work and you can retain your existing LBM.

What normally happens though, you get down to a "safer" weight for exercise, whatever that means to you, and then you pick it up and starting make body changes related to health too.

While being overweight does indeed have negative health consequences, so does not exercising.

kelseyhere

do you want to be 'skinny fat' or do you want to look good naked?

if you want to look good naked (or in a bathing suit), then you better get some exercise. otherwise you'll be thinner but blobby. blobby in a bikini isn't exactly the look fo the season.

mcarter99

both options should have you lose weight at the same rate, the difference being #2 will make you much more healthy, and if #2 consists of strength training then a higher % of your loss will be from fat, not lean mass (some of which would be muscle)

This comment got me thinking (serious question)...It takes 3500 calories to burn a lb of fat...how much for a lb of muscle? It would seem to me that it would not be the same because they have different composition.

3500 only applies to a pound of fat.

UticaBoy51

If you have an excessive amount to lose, should you still eat your excercise calories? It doesn't seem to work for me.

SingeSange

It hasn't mattered for me. I can't exercise very much because I have a foot injury. My doctor said as long as I'm eating healthy I should lose weight and that exercise isn't for weight loss but for having an even healthier body.

heybales

This comment got me thinking (serious question)...It takes 3500 calories to burn a lb of fat...how much for a lb of muscle? It would seem to me that it would not be the same because they have different composition.

1 lb of muscle can supply about 600 cal's of converted energy. Hence the reason it's so easy to lose "weight" by burning through some muscle.

Not really a great way to go, though in reality there is likely some muscle that won't be used at lighter weight, so who cares if big calves for instance is burned off because they no longer carry the mass they used to.

raerae514

do you want to be 'skinny fat' or do you want to look good naked?

if you want to look good naked (or in a bathing suit), then you better get some exercise. otherwise you'll be thinner but blobby. blobby in a bikini isn't exactly the look fo the season.

Love this! I definitely do NOT want to be blobby! I want to look IMPRESSIVE, not just wear a size 6 and be floppy! Bathing suit season of NEXT year will be MUCH better for me than this year... if I start working out more (man i am so lazy)

lporter229

This comment got me thinking (serious question)...It takes 3500 calories to burn a lb of fat...how much for a lb of muscle? It would seem to me that it would not be the same because they have different composition.

1 lb of muscle can supply about 600 cal's of converted energy. Hence the reason it's so easy to lose "weight" by burning through some muscle.

Not really a great way to go, though in reality there is likely some muscle that won't be used at lighter weight, so who cares if big calves for instance is burned off because they no longer carry the mass they used to.

Interesting...Thanks!

ChgingMe

Questioning the need for exercise vs only focusing on caloric intake, is like saying you could "loose 80 pounds overnight," by simply cutting-off both of your legs with a chainsaw...

LMBO... too funny

_tjejen_

do you want to be 'skinny fat' or do you want to look good naked?

if you want to look good naked (or in a bathing suit), then you better get some exercise. otherwise you'll be thinner but blobby. blobby in a bikini isn't exactly the look fo the season.

Love this! I definitely do NOT want to be blobby! I want to look IMPRESSIVE, not just wear a size 6 and be floppy! Bathing suit season of NEXT year will be MUCH better for me than this year... if I start working out more (man i am so lazy)

I find that if I get it done in the morning it helps even more to motivate me to eat well.

There is no way Im going to sweat it out at the gym or walk for an hour in this heat to waste it all with unhealthy food

frhenderson

If you have an excessive amount to lose, should you still eat your excercise calories? It doesn't seem to work for me.

In my experience it is good to eat back at least some of your exercise calories. Where you have to be careful is in figuring out how many calories you are REALLY burning with exercise. If you have a lot of weight to lose and are in it for the long haul, I think it's a good idea to invest in two things as soon as you have money to spare (I "rewarded" myself with these when I reached milestone weights, but wish I had done so sooner).

1. Good kitchen scale that measures in oz or g.
2. Heart rate monitor that gives a calories burned readout based on your age, weight and resting heart rate.

Underestimating how much you are eating and overestimating how many calories you burn when you exercise can both lead to lack of weight loss.

I use my heart rate monitor calories rather than what the exercise equipment or online calculators estimate. I even go one step further and subtract the number of calories I would have burned just sitting around for the same amount of time from the number my heart rate monitor gives me (ie, if I normally burn 2 calories a minute sitting on the couch, and my HR monitor says I burned 160 calories walking for 30 minute, I only log 100 calories for that 30 minute walk).

taso42

I think you are failing to realize the purpose of exercise - exercise governs fitness level; whereas diet governs weight gain or weight loss. One doesn't exercise to "lose weight'; one does so to get stronger or fitter.

gguynes

My understanding is that calorie goal you set to lose weight is independent of the exercise; the calorie goal is based on how much weight you want to lose and how active your lifestyle is. If you eat the amount of calories you burn exercising, you will likely stay on the target you set. My opinion is that you may increase the amount of weight loss temporarily while you body tries to adjust to the increase in activity. Plus, your body may continue to burn calories as it recovers from the exercise depending on your effort level.

However, I'm an overweight old guy with no fitness expertise; this is just my opinion...

Yoshimi1977

besides all the really smart things people are answering your question with as far as how healthy exercise is for you i find that the fact that i can eat more calories when i earn them through exercise makes me feel more satisfied. seriously, for example there are days when i've eaten my calorie allowance for the day but haven't done much exercise. i feel like i'd like to eat more and so exercise to earn some more. you'd think the extra expenditure of energy from the exercise would leave me that much hungrier, but not so. getting to eat more because i've burned more calories feels physically better than eating less and not exercising. go figure. good question though!

^^^that^^^ Yes me too! :-)

OSC_ESD

~ Exercise is not just about losing weight ... it is more geared towards a healthy lifestyle. The idea of a healthy heart and stronger muscles / bones / organs.

Yes .. you can lose weight either way ... but just look at the difference in a body that has implemented a healthy regimen with good nutrition and exercising ~ vs ~ somebody who does nothing but eat less calories. I guarantee you will see a person with less energy, not a lot of glow and probably a few health problems other than weight issues.

Not that exercising is a be all .. cure all, but it certainly helps in keeping your " machine " well oiled !

:flowerforyou:

alexbusnello

I believe exercise REALLY does help. I try to stay under or close to my calorie goal, then use exercise to get my net calories way down. I've been able to lose weight this way (36 pounds in 5 months) when I hadn't been able to lose weight for years and years. It seems to be a combination of MFP motivation, being very careful of my calories, eating lots of veggies, and exercising every single day. Hope this helps! And, God bless!

Your net cals should not be that low, they should = your MFP goal before adding exercise. Not fueling your body enough can lead to a loss of a large % of lean muscle, as you will not be getting the fuel the muscles need to rebuild.

I know this from experience I'm trying to slowly eat more and rebuild lost muscle from eating too little and over training. Gotta burn this extra fat I've gained from the major muscle loss.......

CallMeCupcakeDammit

My weightloss was stalled, but everyone kept telling me I looked smaller. That's because I work out 6 days a week, cardio and weights. Exercise does matter. Wanna feel my biceps?

saragato

I would say it matters. In 2010 I was put on a diet by my primary physician (it was basically a sheet of paper saying "eat these foods") and since I didn't have a gym membership I took to power-walking the large mall near my house several times a week for an hour or so as my exercise. No counting calories, no strict watching what I was eating or even drinking water. In 8 months I lost 60lbs. Granted I gained it all back after I became borderline anemic from the diet because I'd consumed little to no iron, but point is the walking helped me lose weight even though I wasn't being that good with my food.

skittles8810

Yes exercise matters. I have the results to prove it. I still am losing weight to get to my goal, but eating healthy alone was not doing it fast enough, and I like to be tone also! So start moving now!

xxslvrxwngsxx

Exercise helps to tone

contingencyplan

you may lose weight just as fast one way or the other, but with one the weight will be a combination of muscle and fat. with the other youll be maintaining muscle while losing fat, and growing stronger and healthier. if you dont see a difference there, then there's a problem... losing weight is not necessarily losing fat.

bohonomad

It matters! I have friends who are thin just because they were born that way, and while they are a size 4 or 2, they still look kind of pudgy. Exercise is the difference between thin and toned or "skinny-fat".

mmarcy7

I exercise so I can eat more. I don't want to have to eat 1200/day calories for the rest of my life and live in fear if I go above that I will gain it all back. Looking better and being healthier is a bonus too, but mainly it's so I can eat my big ole steaks and bacon.

chivalryder

They've actually done studies on this. If you exercise (like, REALLY exercise, not just a brisk walk or a jog), you will actually lose weight slower, but you'll be losing fat just as fast. The muscle you build will add weight to your body, but it will be slim, tones, lean muscle mass. It'll just make you feel better, run faster, and look better.

ladytinkerbell99

In the beginning (before MFP), I ate clean and was losing weight. I was NOT exercising at all. I had some health issues (my back) and I could not.

My only complaint for me was that I started to have loose skin. That scared me to death. So, I started walking. Slowly.

Yesterday, I went the farthest I have ever gone - 18 miles. I am really proud of myself.

I have also got rid of the loose skin and I have to eat more so I do not loose too much weight.

KaidaKantri

The more muscle you gain by exercising, the faster the fat is going to burn off because for every pound of muslce, it takes more calories to burn fat which equals faster weight loss. It's also healthier for you. Just keep in mind that muscle weighs more than fat, so if you really work out like the 30DS then you may not lose any weight, but you will lose fat, and you will look better.