Why exercise if you eat back the calories?

Trilby16

I am no expert but, for me, it helps keep me motivated to exercise, which I believe is a good thing. So far it seems to be working, I eat back, and am losing weight.

Cinnamonhuskies

Because my calories are based on not exercising and if I exercise I consume more and can thus eat more without affecting my planned speed of weight loss.

So as an example, if I can eat 1600 calories and lose .5 per week I can do that without any excercise. If I exercise daily, I can either speed up my weightloss by not eating them back or eat more. Of course only to a point. You can't be on a 1200 cal diet and exercise say 500 cals worth a day and be healthy if you not eat those cals back. I am at a point where slow loosing is just fine, so I eat back the calories.

And obviously exercise has tons of other benefits as PP listed.

I am on a 1200 cal a day diet and most days I exercise 460 calories a day.

peachfigs

(Bah.. The forum crashed when I posted this the first time...)


But from the comments I'm realising that exercise doesn't have to be about weight loss, and it doesn't have to be the dreaded necessary evil that comes with losing weight. Weight loss aside, I'd actually love to be able to run marathons and be much more flexible!

droneofvelvet

I'm going to start off by saying that I have only been experimenting with eating exercise calories back. One thing I think about when I eat them back is, "How am I going to fuel my healthy lifestyle without eating them back?". When I was athletic in highschool (2 hours + of physical fitness each day) I ate whatever I wanted. The moment I stopped exercising that appetite stayed with me so I still had the mentality to eat like an athlete. Many of us gained weight because our above normal appetite for whatever reason. To balance out your hunger you need to train like an athlete, or at least take your claim on a chunk of that.

If you truly became used to consuming at a deficit, lets say 1200 calories a day for a year, how do you expect to maintain body and muscle mass once you are done dieting? Most people say the key to their lifestyle will then be exercise. How do you plan on maintaining the energy for exercise? You have to eat more.

ninerbuff

Better yet....................why even exercise? All you need is calorie deficit if weight loss is your goal.

Of course you won't be any stronger. Your body will just look like a smaller version of how it looks now. There won't be any muscle tone. And whatever physical activities you want to do, you probably still won't be able to do because you'd still be out of shape.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

massage_gal

here it what i was told
my husband and i have a trainer and here is how she put it
I dont have as much body fat and weight to lose as my husband so she has said that i should try and eat back about 1/2 of my calories burned until i get to my goal weight then i can slowly add more back . And my Husband as more to lose than i do and she said to us that he isn't to eat back ANY of his until he has his Body fat a lot lower

This is what I do. I don't eat back all my calories because of my BMI. I am far above obese and need to eat just the regular amount each day and exercise/cardio to lose weight. It's really working for me so far!!

blondie0922

I have been wondering the same thing that past few days. Thank you for asking.

Ibelievenme2

I've always eaten back my exercise calories. I'll tell you why I exercise:
-for cardiovascular fitness
-to maintain muscle mass (especially important while I was losing weight)
-to maintain good bone density
-to manage my moods and keep me sane (cardio)
-to learn to do something (running) that I never thought I could do - massive confidence boost
-because there is a lot of research that indicates that exercise helps ward off all kind of lifestyle-related diseases
-because it's fun
-to raise my TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) so that I can eat more. Some people are a bit sniffy about this reason, but having a couple of hundred extra calories a day to consume makes a low calorie diet much more manageable, and enjoyable. I'm not ashamed to say I like to eat.
-because since I started heavy lifting, my body looks a lot better than it did before, and than it would if I was just doing cardio
-because it makes me feel strong and able to do physical tasks in every day life (and will hopefully reduce the risk of injury in such tasks)

There are probably a lot more. The reason I always ate those calories back was because I was following MFP the way it was designed (there are other ways) and to keep my calorie deficit reasonable. I didn't want to lose too much lean mass as I lost weight, and I didn't want to feel tired and lacking in energy. There was a time when my calorie deficit was too large (I always ate back my execise calories but my basic calorie goal was too low) and I felt tired all the time, had dizzy spells and my mood really suffered. I was trying to start running and never had the energy to put the required effort in. That would have been even worse if I hadn't eaten my exercise calories.

This well said

jesindc

I find it kind of sad when people say they exercise to eat more. Is eating really that exciting a part of your day that you're willing to exercise just to obtain more food? IMHO, that's the mentality that leads to obesity in the first place.

Food is fuel for your body. It isn't your friend, your security blanket, your hobby, a reward, your lover or the reason to exist. Exercise is for fitness and feeling strong and healthy, not a gimmick to earn more food.

Most people over estimate their calorie burn (especially using MFP numbers) to start with and under estimate what they eat so doing 20 minutes of 30DS to earn more food seems really pointless.

I can't disagree with this more. I've never been remotely close to obese in my life, I'm currently a size 6, and Yes, I love food. I love it. It's not a security blanket, friend or lover, but personally, I think it's a little sad to think of it purely as fuel. I like to think of meals as an event. It is a time to sit down with friends and family, spend time together and enjoy what we are putting into our bodies. I like to contemplate every bite I take and savor good flavors. I am a firm believer in eating healthy, but I also see no problem with enjoying what you eat.

So enjoying food aside, I also really enjoy the way I feel after a challenging work out. Exercise releases endorphins. Endorphins make you feel good and happy. There is a reason exercise can become addicting.

Finally, I've decided that I really love my little muscles. I'd love them even more if they were a little bit bigger and they aren't going to get any bigger if I don't eat back some of my exercise calories.

Everybody needs to figure out what their own goals are and what works for them. I enjoy a good meal, I like that my cholesterol is significantly lower, I like that I don't get winded very easily, I like the way exercise makes me feel, and I like the way it makes me look.

mrsjas2000

I try very hard not to eat my calories back and if I add a nice big salad with low cal. zesty italian dressing (5 cals) I am not hungry or grouchy and I still want to workout, I have never thought it was a good idea to workout just to eat, I do think the weight will come back on, what happens when you don't have time to workout and keep eating. I don't have time to workout everyday but I do try to do something.

TheStephil

tagging this to read later

PRMinx

I find it kind of sad when people say they exercise to eat more. Is eating really that exciting a part of your day that you're willing to exercise just to obtain more food? IMHO, that's the mentality that leads to obesity in the first place.

Food is fuel for your body. It isn't your friend, your security blanket, your hobby, a reward, your lover or the reason to exist. Exercise is for fitness and feeling strong and healthy, not a gimmick to earn more food.

Most people over estimate their calorie burn (especially using MFP numbers) to start with and under estimate what they eat so doing 20 minutes of 30DS to earn more food seems really pointless.

Aren't we a little...judgy?

I totally disagree with this. Making food a part of your life in a positive way that does not reduce it to "fuel" does not mean that you are heading down the path to obesity. That's absurd.

If you are using food as a security blanket, lover, friend, etc. than there are larger issues that are at play than just diet. If you simply enjoy food, than all the power to you!

I'm a total foodie. Cooking is one of my favorite pastimes, I enjoy entertaining friends and family and I enjoy traveling and experiencing the types of foods that other cultures eat. It's a big part of my life. I diet and exercise so that, when the time comes, I can eat a great piece of cheese and not feel guilty about it. I look forward to those days. And, I have never been obese.

Mokey41

here it what i was told
my husband and i have a trainer and here is how she put it
I dont have as much body fat and weight to lose as my husband so she has said that i should try and eat back about 1/2 of my calories burned until i get to my goal weight then i can slowly add more back . And my Husband as more to lose than i do and she said to us that he isn't to eat back ANY of his until he has his Body fat a lot lower

Excellent point. If you have a lot of fat stored on your body you really don't need to be feeding it. BMR is based on your total weight and gives you a number to maintain that weight. Do you really need to feed that extra fat?

loseweightIhope

There are lots of good responses, I exercise so that I can build muscle, so that I am not skinny fat.

KimJohnsonsmile

Because my calories are based on not exercising and if I exercise I consume more and can thus eat more without affecting my planned speed of weight loss.

So as an example, if I can eat 1600 calories and lose .5 per week I can do that without any excercise. If I exercise daily, I can either speed up my weightloss by not eating them back or eat more. Of course only to a point. You can't be on a 1200 cal diet and exercise say 500 cals worth a day and be healthy if you not eat those cals back. I am at a point where slow loosing is just fine, so I eat back the calories.

And obviously exercise has tons of other benefits as PP listed.

THIS! I have a sedentary job, which puts me at 1600 cals to lose .5 lbs a week. Say I work out for an hour and burn 500 cals... if I stick to my original goal of 1600 minus the 500 I've burned, 1100 overall cals is not enough for me. So, I eat more to make up the difference... if I'm hungry. But, I never ever go below 1200. For me personally, if I go below 1200 I'm weak when I wake up the next morning.

MissKitty9

This is all great information, but I think the OP really just wants to know if eating back your exercise calories just undos that hard work.

Which, no. MFP already puts you at a deficit. If you're set to 1200, exercise & burn 250, then eat a bagel or something---you're still somewhere around 1200 calories, which makes you STILL at a deficit for the day. 1200 is ALREADY a deficit. (Because you were probably eating way more before MFP.)

LorinaLynn

Sometimes I exercise to eat more, and sometimes I eat more to exercise more. If I didn't eat the way I do, I couldn't lift as heavy or run as hard. If I didn't lift so heavy and run so hard, I couldn't eat the way I do. On different days, I have different priorities.

I don't think exercising to eat more is sad at all. I love food. Food is supposed to be more than fuel. It's supposed to be pleasurable. Just like clothes are for more than just to keep my body warm, a house is more than just shelter, and sex isn't just for baby-making. :laugh:

As hard as it would have been at one time for me to believe, exercise can be pleasurable, too. I just got in from a 4 mile trail run in the mud, bouncing down the side of a mountain like a happy little goat. Somewhere between childhood and adulthood, I forgot the sheer JOY that comes from exerting your body. I'm glad I found that joy again.

sogoobtastic

MFP gives you the minimum amout of calories as your goal to lose weight without exercise. If you told MFP that you want to lose 2 lbs a week, they tell you what cals you need everyday to get that done. Exercise allows you to consume more calories and still lose weight but also helps you get fit and raise your metabolism

AnnofB

Exercise for health and fitness, cut kcals to lose weight.

This.

tstancom

I eat back the calories to fuel the exercise - your body needs fuel to build muscle and repair tissues that you stress when you exercise. MFP is already factoring in a deficit, so I just have to make sure I net my daily amount to lose the amount I programed in to the site. I exercise to build the muscle and boost my metabolism so I burn more calories when I'm not actually exercising, and to make myself fit. As others have said before, I'm also miserable on what 1200 daily allows me to eat, so I exercise so I am eating enough that I don't feel horribly hungry every day. When I hit my goal weight, I also prefer to have a good body composition that is fit and strong, rather than a skinny-looking body that is weak and blobby.