why cardio and eat back calories?

nanainkent
nanainkent Posts: 350 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
if a person is following say a 1500 calorie meal plan (with 500 defecit already figured in) and doing cardio only and eating back the cardio calories burned. What is the point. If you are not building muscle by just cardio (stationary bike) and you are not creating more deficet to lose more by burning calories then why do the cardio , why not just eat the 1500 and not cardio? And if it is just for skin hang reasons wouldn't a moderate program 3-4 days a week work just as well since the goal is not to burn more calories.

Replies

  • kenazfehu
    kenazfehu Posts: 1,188 Member
    Cardio is excellent for the heart. Your heart is pretty important, you know.
  • BrideToBe101212
    BrideToBe101212 Posts: 81
    There are other health benefits of cardio besides weight loss. It is really good for the heart!
  • repmlrs
    repmlrs Posts: 154
    plus the after burner effect will keep your body at a higher motabilizim for alot longer than sitting around
  • harleigh67
    harleigh67 Posts: 131
    I agree what is the point if you are not creating a slight deficit for the purpose of losing weight, If you are trying to maintain weight and stay in shape then that makes sense!
  • RainbootsToBikinis
    RainbootsToBikinis Posts: 465 Member
    It gives you the ability to eat more. For people who have trouble sticking to the lower calorie number, burning a couple hundred calories doing cardio gives them some room to eat a bit more.
  • RobynLB
    RobynLB Posts: 617 Member
    I enjoy cardio, and I like being able to eat a lot.
  • Yogi_Carl
    Yogi_Carl Posts: 1,906 Member
    It enables you to eat more if you wish.

    It is good for your heart and lungs.

    Strength training is not the only way to increase your metabolic rate - there is an after effect of cardio is your calorific burn carries on for a while after exercising.

    Cardio can decrease your appetite for hours after.

    It helps to make you feel good.

    So - what's not to like about cardio?
  • jenniferinfl
    jenniferinfl Posts: 456 Member
    For my heart. My resting heart rate was a horrible 115. After 3 weeks of regular cardio, this morning I counted it at 82 here at the computer and that was after a cup of coffee and walking around the house. With a few more weeks, I'll probably be at an even better number.

    My cousin just died of a heart attack, he was a fit looking construction worker, but, turned out he wasn't as healthy as he looked.

    I don't want to die in my early 40's. That's my motivation for doing cardio even though I may re-eat the calories.
  • rvicini
    rvicini Posts: 252 Member
    If you ALREADY have a low cal diet of 1200 cals a day, you are losing weight regardless of your exercise. The exercise should allow you to obtain the benefits of cardio and eat back some of the calories you burn so you could have a more pleasant weight losing experience.
    If we embarked on a different lifestyle, two weeks more or less in reaching a weight loss goal won't make a difference in a lifetime.
    It took a long time to gain weight, we won't be able to stratch that too quickly. It is just a matter of exercising and enjoy the ride eating right.
    What concerns me, eating right does not mean a great effort for me now that I know... It is just mostly cooking from stratch and choose the eating habits you like with the quantities you can afford, and exercise to add up to them until you reach your level of sustainability.
    Suffering will not get anyone there and I realize that losing weight is not suffering.... If done right..
  • kuntry_navy
    kuntry_navy Posts: 677 Member
    cardio=better endurance
  • CarolynB38
    CarolynB38 Posts: 553 Member
    Cardio does use muscles so some muscle toning will occur, even though you might not be building biceps of steel. My muscles feel sore the day after a karate session or a run. My muscle tone improved greatly with both. Not to mention all the other health benefits of cardio, physical and mental. I enjoy a little cardio myself :wink:
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
    In terms of weight loss cardio is optional. It definitely has other benefits though.

    Weight lifting is best for preventing muscle loss and reaching your goal with better body composition.
  • californiagirl2012
    californiagirl2012 Posts: 2,625 Member
    if a person is following say a 1500 calorie meal plan (with 500 defecit already figured in) and doing cardio only and eating back the cardio calories burned. What is the point. If you are not building muscle by just cardio (stationary bike) and you are not creating more deficet to lose more by burning calories then why do the cardio , why not just eat the 1500 and not cardio? And if it is just for skin hang reasons wouldn't a moderate program 3-4 days a week work just as well since the goal is not to burn more calories.

    Do cardio because it's good for you. If you have fat too lose you really don't need the extra calories.

    Exercise is for making your lean body mass pretty (especially lifting weights) for when the fat is gone. Losing fat with no muscle is ugly and cardio alone will not make you pretty. You cannot out exercise too many calories.

    Try it out. Your body is the end game not the calculators. If you gain weight or don't lose weight you are eating too many calories.

    To find the exact calories needed for YOU to be in a healthy sustainable calorie deficit is the right answer. Wait, if you need to adjust by 100 do it, wait, adjust, wait, adjust, wait. The tortoise wins this race.

    All that matters is calories. A healthy balanced diet within a calorie budget for a deficit that is right for YOU is all that matters for weight loss. Don't make it complicated.
  • Lyssa62
    Lyssa62 Posts: 930 Member
    yep it's heart health. I walk for cardio and do zumba..I'm not looking for abs or buns of steel..I'm looking to be healthy and feel good. I also do NOT eat back any exercise calories and it's working for me
  • FitandFab33
    FitandFab33 Posts: 718 Member
    Cardio is great for the heart and endurance.. so for health and sport {or other :-) } performance. I see the point.

    Having said that, there is no "burner effect" of steady state cardio. There have been some studies that show that HIIT results in an increase in resting metabolic rate POST workout, but there's no such evidence for just cardio. Sorry to burst that bubble...
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    The ability to eat more, strengthening the heart and lungs, and psychological benefits. Cardio is awesome for stress relief.

    I'd rather run three times a week than have to take xanax every day.
  • jesswait
    jesswait Posts: 218 Member
    Calorie restriction helps you lose weight, cardio helps you become healthier.
  • Yogi_Carl
    Yogi_Carl Posts: 1,906 Member
    Cardio is great for the heart and endurance.. so for health and sport {or other :-) } performance. I see the point.

    Having said that, there is no "burner effect" of steady state cardio. There have been some studies that show that HIIT results in an increase in resting metabolic rate POST workout, but there's no such evidence for just cardio. Sorry to burst that bubble...

    Maybe no afterburner effect in steady state but my appetite is greatly reduced for about three hours after cardio so - same outcome.

    edit: actually, having read up a short article on HIIT, you may have a convert!
  • DawnVanSlim
    DawnVanSlim Posts: 10,468 Member
    Because cardio is good for your ticker :heart:
  • lyttlewon
    lyttlewon Posts: 1,118 Member
    The ability to eat more, strengthening the heart and lungs, and psychological benefits. Cardio is awesome for stress relief.

    I'd rather run three times a week than have to take xanax every day.

    ^^This. I do it for the neurological benefits more than anything else.

    OP If you Google you will find a TON of info on running and the brain. Like this :
    Physical activity and structural plasticity in the hippocampus
    Our lab studies the effects of physical activity on adult neurogenesis, dendritic architecture and dendritic spines in the hippocampus. Running increases adult neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus and enhances dendritic spine density throughout the hippocampal circuitry. Some of these effects are modulated by the social context in which an animal lives. Ongoing studies are investigating the effects of running and stress on the activation of new neurons as well as the contribution of running-induced structural change to alterations in hippocampal function.
    http://www.princeton.edu/~goulde/research.html
  • BrookeBQ
    BrookeBQ Posts: 163 Member
    Because MFP already gives you a deficit every day. Eg you should be eating 1400 calories and you're eating 1200. Then you work out and get 400 calories back, so you eat 1600. You're still at a 200 calories deficit. That's how I thought it was, anyways.
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
    I do cardio for cardiovascular fitness, for endurance (physical and mental), to prove to myself I can do things I never thought I could do, because I enjoy it, because it allows me to eat more, and because it makes me feel less stressed and less depressed. I eat back those calories because when I didn't, and had a larger deficit, I was tired and hungry all the time and had dizzy spells that went away when I started eating more.
  • TheRealParisLove
    TheRealParisLove Posts: 1,907 Member
    I'm building muscle on my cardio program. I'm not lifting, but I am gaining lean body mass just the same. If you work muscle groups, and keep your calorie deficits low, it is possible to gain lean body mass while doing cardio only. It is actually easier for people who are very unfit or new to training to gain lean body mass with only cardio work.

    Of course, you can only get so far this way before you have to add in additional weight training, but it can happen.

Categories