What's the point of exercising?

moonlightturk

My daily goal is 1,420 calories to lose 2 lbs per week. Although I was "under" my calorie limit today it still totalled out to be 2,141. Now that I think about it..I run for an hour, sweating, and wheezing just to burn 800 calories, just to eat them back again?
I understand the physical benefits of exercise such as building stamina, endurance, and other benefits but let's talk weight loss wise... should I even be eating those calories back?

MSimm62385

Well I'm one of those that sticks to my calorie limit every day but does NOT eat the cals back. If I ate them back I would not be losing 1 lb a week.

So cals burned only speeds up the weight loss process.

Meganalva

I suppose it's not absolutely positively necessary to LOSE the weight...but if you'd like to tone up and gain some muscle, it's definitely necessary. I lost weight after my 2nd child and looked thin and sickly, no muscle. After my 3rd child, I worked it off and I feel so much better. I'm firm & tight, I look leaner, I fit in smaller clothes than I did when I had no muscle. Well worth it!

kaseysospacey

I don't eat back.

darrcn5

Personally, I find that I lose weight easier by exercising some of the calories off versus just calorie restriction. I think it is better for my metabolism to eat 1700 calories and burn 350 calories rather than just eat 1350 calories. Also, resistance training and weight lifting have helped firm my body up. Calorie restriction alone can't do that!

ptak1sm

Whether or not you eat back your exercise cals back is entirely your choice, although I would recommend eating at least some of them. I eat back a portion of mine, but not all, and my current settings are for 1lb/wk weight loss. Eating back the exercise cals hasn't hurt me at all.

pastryari

It's not necessary for weight loss if you're in a caloric deficit. But why would you not want the added benefits of exercise? Heart disease, high blood pressure, strength, stamina, etc.

Edited: Sorry, didn't answer your last question. Yes, you should eat back your calories or at least a portion (in case you calculated your food wrong or your exercise cals aren't accurate). You need to refuel your body.

megsmom2

Exercising is good for you. Your body was designed to function in motion and you will not only look better but feel better if you use it! Diet helps you look good....exercise helps you look good Naked. As to eating back your calories, that's how MFP is designed to work. You have a built in deficit. If you don't exercise,you're still at that deficit and should lose weight. If you're like me, you want a bit more food than that...you exercise and earn it. Its win-win.

meshashesha2012

the way you exercise will determine how much of your lean body mass you keep while you lose.

if you're following the MFP wauy you should eat back your calories because it doesnt take your complete TDEE into account when figuring out your calorie goal.

i personally dont eat my exercise calorie goals back, but then again i manually changed my calorie goal to something that takes my activity into account. so for instance instead of eating 1200 calories +exercise calories, i eat 1750-2000 calories a day and log my exercise calories as 1

momtokgo

I eat back if I'm hungry, if I'm not, I don't.

But I work out because it makes me feel good, I like running, wheezing and sweating, it makes me feel great actually. And as a mom of 3, my time at the gym is the only quiet time I get usually.

invictus8

If by exercise you mean (1) running or jogging for 50-60 minutes or (2) doing anything on the elliptical (etc.) for 50+ minutes... the answer is no. I stick to lifting heavy objects and sprinting (more or less).

Vonwarr

My daily goal is 1,420 calories to lose 2 lbs per week. Although I was "under" my calorie limit today it still totalled out to be 2,141. Now that I think about it..I run for an hour, sweating, and wheezing just to burn 800 calories, just to eat them back again?
I understand the physical benefits of exercise such as building stamina, endurance, and other benefits but let's talk weight loss wise... should I even be eating those calories back?

It can be for several reasons. I wouldn't recommend sweating off as much as 800 "just" to eat them back every day... In fact, I struggle to fit that many more calories into my already somewhat packed day! But... if you were going out for a night... or to a fancy restaurant, etc... you could work out earlier in the day, and enjoy a wider range of selections in the evening!

Another reason, exercise will help you maintain your lean body mass while losing fat. With only dieting you lose muscle as well as fat - an extreme deficit can cause up to 30% of the weight lost to be muscle. Losing fat isn't a sprint, it's a marathon... You're better off (and will be able to maintain at a weight better) if you lose weight in a slower, controlled manner.

Yet another reason that many exercise is that they don't feel full on the lower level of calories, so exercising allows them to eat more food. If you feel like you "have" to as opposed to "want" to, then don't worry about it.

Personally, I highly recommend eating back a good portion of the exercise calories - I try to eat back at least 50% of them, or 75%+ for small burns (< 300 calories). Too large of a deficit will eventually hurt you - especially if you are consistently eating well under your BMR.

xshortiex

I never eat back all of the calories I burn.
If I get hungry, I'll eat some of them back (maybe half, depending how much I burned), otherwise I don't worry about it. If you're not hungry, don't eat your burned calories back.

eatcleanNtraindirty

Yes. When you workout whether it be run, bike, swim, or lift weights you are building not only cardiovascular stamina but you are also building muscle tissue. You might not think having muscle tissue is necessary or a "big deal". Maybe you don't need/want muscle tone, or maybe you don't want to "have big muscles". But the necessity of muscle tissue is that it helps to protect your vital organs. If you say, bumped your side, oblique, stomach on a corner or edge of furniture or you car. Your vital organs like your kidneys or liver wouldn't get bruised if you had maybe half an inch more muscle tissue to buffer the impact.

The importance for muscle tissue for over all FAT LOSS is such:
Skeletal muscles burn the most calories. Fat, bone, and skin burn calories at such a slow rate it isn't even mentioning. If you want to have prolonged weight loss, maintaining, or toning, you NEED lean muscle tissue. If you want to keep the weight off from losing a ton of weight, of course over all calorie intake is important, lean muscle tissue is going to help you do that.

AFitJamie

My daily goal is 1,420 calories to lose 2 lbs per week. Although I was "under" my calorie limit today it still totalled out to be 2,141. Now that I think about it..I run for an hour, sweating, and wheezing just to burn 800 calories, just to eat them back again?
I understand the physical benefits of exercise such as building stamina, endurance, and other benefits but let's talk weight loss wise... should I even be eating those calories back?

So... Let's talk weight loss... Yes, you should exercise and you should eat back a portion of your exercise calories.

In your example, if you eat 1400 calories and work out to burn 800, then for the day, you have provided your body only 600 calories. You can't do this consistently... Your body will draw from energy stores to fuel itself, but at this large of a deficit, you are likely to consume more muscle mass than you want since your body REALLY needs energy... even though you are using your muscles which helps retain muscle mass, the caloric gap is simply too strong... There are a LOT of other adaptations that your body makes when on such a large deficit - Yes your metabolic rate decreases (not to insane proportions that will offset all the calorie deficit, but), but it does decrease, and there are a number of hormonal responses that other experts here are more capable of describing and outlining the impact of.. suffice to say you don't want then to happen.

To lose weight in a healthy manner - slow and steady wins in my book every time... make this a lifestyle change you can live with forever - not a diet... so count calories, create a moderate deficit (people with more to lose can generally sustain a larger deficit, but that gets us off topic...) workout and eat back your exercise calories so your daily "net" is providing a reasonable amount of fuel for your body. (and try to get a good burn number from your exercise - a heart rate monitor may help)

there are lots of benefits to working out - not just the physical ones, you may be able to have the meal you *want* to have instead of the meal you *have* to have given the extra calories...

ladyace2078

Because the scale has been the worst indicator of my success and food restriction sucks.

emmeylou

My doctor thinks that exercising for weight loss is absolutely pointless (at least for the seriously overweight/obese). Exercising for the physical benefits? Great. But he flat out said that exercising would not make a significant difference with weight loss. I found it very interesting... and it proved to be true. I didn't start really exercising until after I lose the bulk of my weight.

yoobie

For a simple answer: Muscle burns fat. So the more muscles you build, the faster you will lose fat.

For the politically correct answer: Muscle requires more energy from your body than fat. The more muscles you have, the more calories your body needs to keep working. Now, when you eat an excess of calories, your body stores the excess calories as fat so that if they need energy later, it's there. You will only lose fat when you have a caloric deficit because only then will your body need to go into its storage and start feeding on those fat calories.

Back to your question...
By working on building more muscle, this will lead to more calorie expenditure when you're resting as well. And, when you are working your muscles, your body will be less likely to start munching on muscle weight (because you're using them). Working out will basically accelerate your weight loss journey. Be sure to include some weight-lifting! With a caloric deficit, your body won't be building up "steroid" muscles, and like I said, muscles will burn burn burn.

Warning!
You can't only do weights without cardio because since muscles are heavier than fat, your heart will need to work harder to keep moving the muscles so your cardiovascular system and your muscular build need to improve together. Without a strong cardio system to support your newfound muscles, your heart will be stressed out and can lead to complications!

AFitJamie

My doctor thinks that exercising for weight loss is absolutely pointless (at least for the seriously overweight/obese). Exercising for the physical benefits? Great. But he flat out said that exercising would not make a significant difference with weight loss. I found it very interesting... and it proved to be true. I didn't start really exercising until after I lose the bulk of my weight.

You might like this article:

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/exercise-and-weightfat-loss-part-1.html

He discusses the fact that the impact of workouts, in general, on the calorie in vs calorie out equation isn't really that large - certainly by comparison to the impact diet can have. Obviously there are reasons to workout... I found it interesting...

dvisser1

My doctor thinks that exercising for weight loss is absolutely pointless (at least for the seriously overweight/obese). Exercising for the physical benefits? Great. But he flat out said that exercising would not make a significant difference with weight loss. I found it very interesting... and it proved to be true. I didn't start really exercising until after I lose the bulk of my weight.

From a purely weight loss perspective, that's true, especially for the significantly overweight. However, from a healthy and fitness perspective it's utter nonsense. You can be thin and at proper weight without ever doing any exercise, but that does not mean you're fit.

kaseysospacey

For many, I think its easier to diet until a reasonable weight is reached and then exercise to become more fit. Many obese people have a hard time moving at all and cannot accomplish much. Age, weight, it all varies. Ad to lean body mass loss, my nutritionist and doctor told me that keeping protein higher and carbs lower will prevent lean body mass loss. Protein also helps your body burn fat. I do exercise, because it makes me feel better but I know that diet is about 100% of my weight loss at this point. I don't log it really anymore, I let my fitbit adjust if needed because my days can vary widely, depending on whats going on with my kids and stuff.