Is it better to eat more and burn more or just to eat less?

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charlotteisabellek
charlotteisabellek Posts: 2 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So ive heard from lots of different sources that it is very bad for weight loss if your body has less than 1200 calories to run on, but does that mean its better to eat 1200 and not exercise away many calories or is it better to eat say 1800 and burn 600 calories through exercise? Im currently eating 1200 4 days a week and not exercising on these days, and eating about 1800 on 3 days a week and burning 600 calories off through exercise on these days. But will i lose weight when im eating 1800 calories even though im burning the extra calories off? Or am i doing right by not going below 1200 calories after exercise? Should i eat 1200 everyday and still exercise 600 calories off 3 days a week or will this make my intake too low? I'm 20, 190 pounds, 5"8 and hoping to lose 3-4 stone.
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Replies

  • auddii
    auddii Posts: 15,357 Member
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    Six of one, half dozen of another. You will lose weight either way. If you want to be "fitter" or have better cardiovascular health, then it's better to exercise and eat more. Or if you want to eat more, it's better to exercise :laugh: Basically there are only three reasons to do cardio: 1) you love it, 2) to improve cardiovascular health, and 3) to eat more. If 1 and 3 don't apply, then I'd argue you could improve your cardiovascular health through other means such as lifting weights or going for hikes (if you don't consider that cardio).

    Basically, find what you enjoy doing, do it, and eat enough to support what you're doing while on a moderate deficit.
  • Melo1966
    Melo1966 Posts: 881 Member
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    If I just eat less my metabolism shuts down and I just wanna sleep.
    So for me I need to eat more and move more to lose more.
  • WinnerVictorious
    WinnerVictorious Posts: 4,735 Member
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    having a reasonable daily calorie deficit is all that you need. how you do it is up to you.

    some exercise more to eat more. some just eat less. don't eat too low though.
  • weatheredcheese
    weatheredcheese Posts: 112 Member
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    If you simply cut down on what you eat it breaks down the fat and some of the muscular tissue, so it seems best to excercise more to eat more, and at the same time this should prevent your body from going into starvation mode.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    1,200 calories + your exercise calories. Netting below 1,200 calories isn't a very good idea. If you're exercising and don't eat exercise calories, you're only netting 600 calories...very bad to do this on any consistent basis.
  • fit4lifeUcan2
    fit4lifeUcan2 Posts: 1,458 Member
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    Due to medical issues I can't do massive amounts of exercise. I can walk and do light weight lifting. So for me I don't eat a lot because I don't burn a lot. When I was eating a lot and not burning thats how I got fat. I would love to be one of those people loaded with energy but I'm not. Thanks to MS and fibro I use up my energy for the day quickly. It wouldn't matter how much I ate I wouldn't have the energy to exercise to burn it off. Just not in me period.
  • anifani4
    anifani4 Posts: 457 Member
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    Does MFP set your calorie goal at 1200 per day? or is that number you arbitrarily chose to use?

    If part of your goal is to be healthy as well as slimmer, then do your exercise and add those calories to your total for the day...and eat them with healthy choices of lean protein, fruits and veggies, and some dairy.
  • T1mH
    T1mH Posts: 568 Member
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    Weight loss is 100% diet, fitness is 100% exercise. You can lose weight by eating less, you will increase fitness by moving more. Loseing weight thru diet you will look good with your clothes on, lose weight with exercise and you will look good with your clothes off.

    Google the term "skinny fat". You can lose weight just by eating less but what your goals are will determine how you go about doing it.

    Exercise is any movement, many discount or belittle the power of walking. You burn as many calories walking a mile as you do running a mile so don't think of walking as not exercising. It's the same, running just gets you to the same point faster.
  • nel0311
    nel0311 Posts: 248
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    You body needs fuel to burn fuel you just have to find that balance. and you want to burn more cals than you are putting in throughout the week in order to lose.
  • scarrletti_girl
    scarrletti_girl Posts: 479 Member
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    everyone is different so it just depends on how ur body works lol it might help to ask ur doctor.
  • charlotteisabellek
    charlotteisabellek Posts: 2 Member
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    This is what MFP has set my intake at...thankyou that makes a lot of sense!
  • ironanimal
    ironanimal Posts: 5,922 Member
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    Eating more and burning it off has always made more sense to me as it ensures you are eating enough volume and variety of foods to cover not just your energy requirements, but vitamin, mineral and other micronutrient requirements as well.
  • Topsking2010
    Topsking2010 Posts: 2,245 Member
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    Weight loss is 100% diet, fitness is 100% exercise. You can lose weight by eating less, you will increase fitness by moving more. Loseing weight thru diet you will look good with your clothes on, lose weight with exercise and you will look good with your clothes off.

    Google the term "skinny fat". You can lose weight just by eating less but what your goals are will determine how you go about doing it.

    Exercise is any movement, many discount or belittle the power of walking. You burn as many calories walking a mile as you do running a mile so don't think of walking as not exercising. It's the same, running just gets you to the same point faster.


    Wrong you burn more calories running than walking!!!
  • MyChocolateDiet
    MyChocolateDiet Posts: 22,281 Member
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    I think it depends on what you are trying to achieve. in the past when i just wanted the scale number to be as small as possible i lost weight thru diet alone since i couldn't workout. this made a lighter but not very strong me, but i was injured anyway and couldn't have lifted weights as milk cartons were a challenge. this time around i am healed of that problem and having been strong in the past prefer to be strong in the future and so i try to eat to accommodate workout calorie expenditures. I want to end up thinner but strong at the end of all this. just my experience, but i hope this helps you decide.
  • stackhsc
    stackhsc Posts: 439 Member
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    i eat less to lose weight and to improve my health
    i exercise to feel better and to improve my health
    I eat more when i exercise mainly because i can and i like to eat lol but i dont exercise just to get to eat more.

    oh yeah i did some research in the walking burn vs running and the old school was that they were the same but it seems that the different body mechanics of running cause you to burn more per mile. That said its not substantial and realistically you can find some numbers based on weight age etc for a given speed and use that as an average... it doesn't really matter if you are off 20 or 30 cals per mile travelled unless you are logging some serious distance.
  • dlcarroll13
    dlcarroll13 Posts: 65 Member
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    So ive heard from lots of different sources that it is very bad for weight loss if your body has less than 1200 calories to run on, but does that mean its better to eat 1200 and not exercise away many calories or is it better to eat say 1800 and burn 600 calories through exercise? Im currently eating 1200 4 days a week and not exercising on these days, and eating about 1800 on 3 days a week and burning 600 calories off through exercise on these days. But will i lose weight when im eating 1800 calories even though im burning the extra calories off? Or am i doing right by not going below 1200 calories after exercise? Should i eat 1200 everyday and still exercise 600 calories off 3 days a week or will this make my intake too low? I'm 20, 190 pounds, 5"8 and hoping to lose 3-4 stone.

    Your already eating too little. Your calculated BMR is about 1700....that is the minimum amount you should be eating in a day....in addition to any exercise calories.
  • MaraDiaz
    MaraDiaz Posts: 4,604 Member
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    My completely unscientific theory is that it's better to eat more and burn more. We didn't evolve as a species to sit around on our butts all day, at least during our younger years.

    That said, we did evolve to store energy so exercise can actually cause excess hunger. Some people actually lose weight easier by not exercising because of this. I know I can out-eat my exercise calories any day if I don't keep track. I also know I am a much happier, healthier person when I can work out. And nicer. My favorite saying that I learned on MFP is, "You are one workout away from a good mood!"

    Also didn't a couple of studies on this come out recently? One showing that sitting all day is bad for you even if you do work out regularly but also one showing that regular work outs even if you are overweight are better than nothing.
  • albertine58
    albertine58 Posts: 267 Member
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    Weight loss is 100% diet, fitness is 100% exercise. You can lose weight by eating less, you will increase fitness by moving more. Loseing weight thru diet you will look good with your clothes on, lose weight with exercise and you will look good with your clothes off.

    Google the term "skinny fat". You can lose weight just by eating less but what your goals are will determine how you go about doing it.

    Exercise is any movement, many discount or belittle the power of walking. You burn as many calories walking a mile as you do running a mile so don't think of walking as not exercising. It's the same, running just gets you to the same point faster.


    Wrong you burn more calories running than walking!!!


    nope! you burn the same amount of calories running a mile vs. walking a mile. walking just takes longer!
    Running burns more calories per minute, yes, but that's not what he's saying.
    I absolutely agree that people underestimate the power of walking! Get a pedometer and hoof it instead of taking the train/bus/elevator (love my Fitbit, by the way). Torches calories all day long. I burn more calories on days when I walk a lot than the days when I just work out really hard for an hour (which is most people's fitness routines!)
  • mustgetmuscles1
    mustgetmuscles1 Posts: 3,346 Member
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    Eating more and burning it off has always made more sense to me as it ensures you are eating enough volume and variety of foods to cover not just your energy requirements, but vitamin, mineral and other micronutrient requirements as well.

    ^this. When talking very low calorie levels like 1200 per day it is better to do exercise so you can eat more to ensure you are getting enough micro nutrients and not just bare minimum calories. Malnutrition can be more than not eating enough calories but being deficient in vitamins and minerals also.
  • CMGoodie
    CMGoodie Posts: 93 Member
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    I can tell you what I'm finding is working for me...... Maintain the required caloric intake, exercise and try to maintain reason within that added "bonus". I find for me having room for reward is awesome, without the guilty feeling of cheating. I am beginning to realize that that extra 100 calories from a brisk walk is worth the chocolate truffle after dinner. I need the endorphine rush of chocolate.

    I am just beginning to moderate how much I eat of that extra bonus. I say tweak it until you find what you can handle without feeling you are denying yourself.

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