Calories vs Exercise Question

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wclassy
wclassy Posts: 20 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I was hoping someone would know... if MFP allows me 1410 calories as my goal and I've been shooting for min of 1200, without exercise cause I don't want to stay "starvation mode". I would think less is better, as I may drop weight a bit faster? Would it help if I ate less of my goal on carbs, protein, and fat? ( mostly stay at the goal set for these). If I exercise I believe I have to eat the calories back for that day.. Does exercise alone speed up the process?? I'm over 40! I got get this fat movin!! :)

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  • ChinUp4Life
    ChinUp4Life Posts: 61
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    Along with calorie restriction, I believe exercise will speed up the process of fat loss.

    Of course we all know that exercise burns calories, but people don't consider the other benefits of exercise. Intense exercise has been shown to activate genes involving many metabolic processes. In other words, exercise forces your body to send internal signals that help to regulate hormones, blood sugar, and energy use.

    Exercise more and keep your calories around 1400 so you don't starve yourself. Walks in the morning / strength training in the afternoon / stretching at night, etc.

    Carbs in the morning + after exercise
    Protein in the morning + after exercise
    Fat --> consume more Omega-3's. Also, use coconut oil for cooking instead of butter. Coconut oil, while saturated fat, supports healthy metabolism and immune system.
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
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    I also find that slightly lower carbs is helpful in keeping me from being hungry (40%). This is especially true if you've been overweight a while.

    The important thing about exercise is that it keeps you from losing muscle mass. So you wind up thinner with relatively more muscle and relatively less fat.
  • jaysayres
    jaysayres Posts: 15
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    I would recommend exercising as much as you can. As stated earlier, their are cardiovascular benefits. I will normally do about 60-90 minutes per day on the elliptical (except over the last 3 days due to vacation) for 5-6 days per week. Even though i'm 290lbs, my blood pressure is 120/80 and has beem for a while.

    Also I try not to eat all my calories back. I will normally only eat back no more that half of my exercise calories primarily for two reasons. first we tend to underestimate serving sizes and eat more calories that we know. Second, exercise machines tend to overestimate calories burned.

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