Is it better to eat more and burn more or just to eat less?
charlotteisabellek
Posts: 2 Member
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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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.0 -
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.0 -
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.0 -
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.0
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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.0
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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.0
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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.0 -
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.0 -
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.0
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everyone is different so it just depends on how ur body works lol it might help to ask ur doctor.0
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This is what MFP has set my intake at...thankyou that makes a lot of sense!0
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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.0
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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!!!0 -
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.0
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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.0 -
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.0 -
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.0 -
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!)0 -
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.0 -
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.0 -
exercise is always better than no exercise.0
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Find a sensible exercise routine. You'll burn what you burn. Eat accordingly.0
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Weight loss is 80% nutrition and 20% exercise...always go with a clean diet!0
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This calculator seems to indicate that running burns more calories per mile than walking does. http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/WalkRunMETs.html I believe it.
Think about it: If you run, even at your walking pace, it's more effort expended, and therefore, more calories burned.
Sorry - I know that wasn't the main question, OP - I just wanted to chime in on this point.0 -
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Eat less =weight loss (fat & muscle)
Exercising (especially if you work in some strength training) + eating those extra cals =fat loss while retaining lean body mass (including muscle) which means avoiding the "skinny fat" look, plus it's good for your cardiovascular system, helps maintain good bone density, you get to eat more, and you increase your functional strength and endurance (like carrying that new TV up the stairs or running away from the inevitable zombie apocolypse)
I know which I would choose!0 -
It's true! You burn the same amount running vs. walking per mile. If you run, you can get it done faster, though.
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Depends, IMO. I eat 1450 calories a day and I couldn't imagine having to find another 600 healthy calories to eat. I probably burn 200-300 calories exercising every day (I'm honestly not sure how much). I want to decrease my bad cholesterol too though, so it's not just about losing weight.... so I can't eat junk to increase my calories at the end of the day.
I guess whatever works for you. I know I won't be able to exercise one hour a day indefinitely either, so I'm fine with getting used to a lighter diet at the same time. Plus as I said, I don't know how much I burn, so I want to overeat my exercise calories either.0 -
It's true! You burn the same amount running vs. walking per mile. If you run, you can get it done faster, though.
Not according to this:
http://www.runnersworld.com/weight-loss/running-v-walking-how-many-calories-will-you-burn0 -
According to the MFP calculator:
Walking 3 mph I would burn 80 claories/mile (20 minutes)
Jogging 5 mph I would burn 115 calories/mile (12 minutes)
Running 8 mph I would burn 125 calories/mile (7.5 minutes)
Since I burn 1.45 calories per minutes just sitting on my butt doing nothing the difference between each level is
Walking 20 minutes 80-29=51
Jogging 12 minutes 115-17.4=97.6
Running 7.5 minutes 125-10.87=114.130
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