Is there a need for exercise?

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lazy8ee
lazy8ee Posts: 20 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I'm on my 13th week of weight loss and I'm starting to wonder if it's necessary to exercise. I'm on 1200 calories a day and don't eat back my exercise calories. I work out at the gym 3-4 times a week and maintain 10k steps a day. I have lost 29.5lbs so far ... beside telling me exercising is good for your heart, good for the body. I want to know in term of weight loss what is it doing for me? Would sitting here and watching my calories intake give me the same result? On Anyone here lose more than 10lbs a month with diet and exercise? And how many of you lost 10lbs a month just from watching your food intake?
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Replies

  • jimmie65
    jimmie65 Posts: 655 Member
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    Nope, no need at all. That is, if you don't mind being skinny and unhealthy instead of fat and unhealthy.
  • JenMc14
    JenMc14 Posts: 2,389 Member
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    You don't need to exercise for weight loss, although it can help speed the process up. Also, without exercise, specifically weight training, some of your loss will not be from fat, but from muscle and other lean tissue. This can result in a "skinny fat" look.
  • MeganG12345
    MeganG12345 Posts: 66 Member
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    Nope, no need at all. That is, if you don't mind being skinny and unhealthy instead of fat and unhealthy.

    Don't we get enough snark and judgment other places without getting it here too?
  • MeganG12345
    MeganG12345 Posts: 66 Member
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    OP you should really be eating back your calories, especially if you're only eating 1200 a day.
  • MightyDomo
    MightyDomo Posts: 1,265 Member
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    Definitely eat your calories back when working out with that kind of daily calorie goal.

    I would actually suggest eating much more, eating between BMR and TDEE-20% is a great range and if you calculate in your activies then it would be accounted for and you would not need to eat any activity calories back :)

    Also exercising helps to increase lean muscle mass while you burn excess fat deposits. If you don't exercise and keep a low calorie diet you could be burning muscle and fat at the same time and that would give you the skinny fat look rather than a skinny with tone look.
  • 1Fizzle
    1Fizzle Posts: 241 Member
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    As everyone else said....No, you don't "need" to do exercise, but it also depends on what your goals are.
  • cdpark617
    cdpark617 Posts: 316 Member
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    Nope, no need at all. That is, if you don't mind being skinny and unhealthy instead of fat and unhealthy.

    Don't we get enough snark and judgment other places without getting it here too?
    Didn't anyone tell you jimmie65 is the be all and end of judge of us all. He has all the answers and is really worth listening too. Shame on you for questioning his wise judgement. SHAME!
  • eyeshuh
    eyeshuh Posts: 333
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    OP you should really be eating back your calories, especially if you're only eating 1200 a day.

    ^^^ If you are eating that little with exercise, it is most likely that your weight loss is not fat. You are losing muscle.

    To answer your question though, technically for weight loss you do not need exercise. You just need the calorie deficit. However, you should exercise because you want to be healthy and fit, not because you are trying to create a massive deficit for yourself and end up under eating.
  • MeganG12345
    MeganG12345 Posts: 66 Member
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    Nope, no need at all. That is, if you don't mind being skinny and unhealthy instead of fat and unhealthy.

    Don't we get enough snark and judgment other places without getting it here too?
    Didn't anyone tell you jimmie65 is the be all and end of judge of us all. He has all the answers and is really worth listening too. Shame on you for questioning his wise judgement. SHAME!

    LOL. My mistake!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,871 Member
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    For fitness, yes...for weight loss, not necessarily, and not with the MFP method as a caloric deficit is already built into your diet to lose weight. I lost a lot of weight before I started getting into exercise. In reality though, losing weight...being at a "healthy" weight is only part of the equation...you should exercise for at least your heart health if not overall fitness, endurance, and strength.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    For weight loss cardio will allow you to eat more and lose the same amount of weight you could do with diet alone. If you feel the need to eat more, cardio is a great way to allow you more cals.

    Now when it comes to strength training it is very important, as if you don't partake in strength training a higher % of your loss will come from lean muscle, not just fat, vs the amount of muscle you would lose if you did strength training. So to lose weight strength training not needed, but to ensure that you are losing as much fat as a % of total weight loss, then strength training and enough protein are essential.

    If you are on such a restricted diet like 1200 cals/day, you should be eating exercise calories back.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,871 Member
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    OP you should really be eating back your calories, especially if you're only eating 1200 a day.

    And this^^^^ You should absolutely never net below 1,200 calories
  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
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    The exercise helps you maintain muscle. In addition to any benefits this will have once you lose the weight, your body burns a lot of calories just maintaining muscle, even while you are sleeping. This may only be around 100 calories a day, but that is for every single day, so it adds up.

    To get this most of this particular benefit, you should incorporate weight/ resistance training to your routine.
  • subconscious_ink
    subconscious_ink Posts: 194 Member
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    OP you should really be eating back your calories, especially if you're only eating 1200 a day.

    This is true. It is generally best to eat back at least some of your exercise calories. It seems counter-intuitive, I know, but it actually helps in the long run.

    On your exercise question in general, it depends on your body and your metabolism. A lot of people can simply watch their food intake and lose weight. However, other people (myself included) HAVE to exercise to see any significant weight loss -- however, I have an underlying medical issue that affects my metabolism. Also, as others have stated, exercise generally helps you lose more of your weight in *body fat* rather than losing both body fat and muscle.

    TL:DR version: Exercise is good. You may or may not need it for weight loss, but it improves your body and health.
  • CJ_Holmes
    CJ_Holmes Posts: 759 Member
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    Depends if you just want to be smaller, or if you want a better body! Also, building muscles will help you maintain weight-loss.
  • MystikPixie
    MystikPixie Posts: 342 Member
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    Well it's necessary if you want to look nice once you get to your goal weight. Otherwise you'll be flabby and un-toned. Lightweight BUT flabby.
  • Goal_Line
    Goal_Line Posts: 474 Member
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    I've read research that exercise is a key factor is keeping the weight off. Exercise stimulates muscle growth. Muscle is where calories are burned, so more muscle equated to a greater baseline BMR.

    Plus exercise makes you look better.
  • AnnInTexas
    AnnInTexas Posts: 75 Member
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    In answer to your question - no.
    I started out my plan weighing 277 pounds. My poor old knees and ankles really couldn't handle the exercise.
    I lost 40 pounds in 6 months with just counting calories, making healthy choices. I found I could do my "unofficial" exercise, such as gardening, house cleaning, shopping, etc much easier. Only then did I add in exercise.

    However exercising definitely helps you get over those weight loss plateaus.
    In my case, it also helped address that extra "flab" leftover from the weight loss.

    Just my humble opinion/experience of course.

    Ann
  • hatethegame
    hatethegame Posts: 267 Member
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    I believe your question is what is exercise doing for you in terms of weight loss? IMHO... it's creating a calorie deficit that wouldn't otherwise be there. Also, a body composition that is higher in lean muscle, will burn more calories. All of this contributes to your weight loss effort. Can you lose weight without exercise? Sure but there is no argument in favor of a program lacking exercise versus one that includes it.
  • lazy8ee
    lazy8ee Posts: 20 Member
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    Okay, I was looking at my weekly graphs where it average out my calories intake & it only show my net calories. There are days I do go over the 1200 calories. I have researched and read about eating back your calories, or not eating back your calories and that is a ongoing debate I don't know who to listen to ... so I'm listening to my body and eat when I'm hungry.

    I guess I got a little discourage & also curious. In the end the weight loss number got the best of me. But I'm still going to continue to exercise because it does feel good and I do see my body toning up. Thank you for your input. :wink:

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