Why exercise if you're just going to eat the calories back?

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2

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  • brevislux
    brevislux Posts: 1,093 Member
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    So that you don't lose too much muscle mass.
  • BerryH
    BerryH Posts: 4,698 Member
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    Because I'd eat my own arm off after a tough workout if I didn't, or I wouldn't have the energy to get myself off the sofa for my next workout.
  • sarahf3092
    sarahf3092 Posts: 147 Member
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    I enjoy exercise and want to lose weight.......

    Problem I notice with some people on here is they seem to log massive calorie burns for some exercises when they probably don't actually burn as much (like posting 900 calories when i know its probably half that at 450)......if you did that then ate your calories back you would need to watch.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
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    bump for reading later :)
  • ilovedeadlifts
    ilovedeadlifts Posts: 2,923 Member
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    because exercise (lifting weights) makes my body look better.

    its not just about under-eating to lose weight.
  • Frood42
    Frood42 Posts: 245 Member
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    Why? I love to cycle, I cycle to work (20 to 30 miles a day) and I cycle at the weekend (40 to 80 miles).

    I aim for at least 180 miles a week, and I couldn't do that without fuelling my body, I would eventually just hit a wall.

    Now that the weather has started to turn nice here in the UK I can extend my distance and start doing more than 200 miles a week, I couldn't do that and some of the hills around here without fuelling my body!

    I don't go slow either, I push hard uphill and hard downhill, the uphills are worth it when you can do 30-33 mph on the downhill :happy: .
  • 41nphat
    41nphat Posts: 1
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    Its not calorie for calorie. Food intake is differnt than exercise burned calories. Depending on what type of food you replace the burned calories will make the difference in your progress. Keep movin' on :-)
  • mikeyrp
    mikeyrp Posts: 1,616 Member
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    Lets flip that on its head - if you're not going to do anything useful with that fuel, what's the point in eating?
  • RllyGudTweetr
    RllyGudTweetr Posts: 2,019 Member
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    MFP already has a calorie deficit programmed in, so if you eat the right number of calories and do no exercise, you lose weight

    if you exercise and don't eat back your exercise calories, you can end up with a deficit that is too big, which can lead to all kinds of problems including: excessive hunger, binge eating, feeling tired all the time, feeling grumpy all the time, loss of lean muscle mass, loss of bone density, and if you keep it up for a long time, your metabolism can slow leading to your weight loss stalling.

    The healthiest way to lose weight is slowly and steadily. Exercise helps to prevent loss of bone density and lean muscle mass, which can happen if you're sedentary even if your deficit is not extreme. Exercise has many, many other health benefits, although if you are not eating enough to support the amount of exercise you're doing, that can make your health worse, not better.

    Also, change your focus from weight loss to fat loss... the human body can't burn that much fat in a week... big losses in scale weight are mostly not fat, they're mainly water and could be loss of lean muscle or bone density. And change your view of exercise... exercise is to keep your bones and muscles strong, and you need to eat enough to support the exercise, for it to work. The deficit you need for slow and steady fat loss is already built in to your MFP calorie target, so you will still lose weight while eating back exercise calories.
    All of this.

    Food is fuel. Do you put the same amount of fuel in your car knowing that you're going across town as you would for a trip across country? Yes, your body has fat reserves of some level from which it can draw, but it doesn't draw exclusively from there, and in the absence of enough food for fuel, it will pull from muscles also. I hope muscle loss isn't part of your fitness goal.
  • mazdauk
    mazdauk Posts: 1,380 Member
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    1. I like exercise.
    2. I like eating.
    3. I want to look good naked and toned is so much more attractive than skinny but flabby.
    4. I like to make other people feel inferior by slipping in to conversation how I ran 10k before work this morning.
    5. It's an excuse to buy cool work out clothes.

    Yes! Except I'd put eating (and drinking) top and swap 10K for workout (Shhhh! I don't tell people it was 20 mins, its still a glass of wine's worth!)

    You will see the benefits because the exercise will burn off the fat and build the muscle. And you will till be eating less than you need to maintain weight because of the built-in deficit in MFP

    Or switch to the TDEE as mentioned earlier and eat more but don't take account of exercise.
  • rabies
    rabies Posts: 62
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    Well, because you can eat more if you do. Eating things, goood.
  • agirlscamaro
    agirlscamaro Posts: 175 Member
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    I don't exercise with the purpose of eating the calories back. It does help if I have a craving for chocolate to know i have or can exercise and burn the calories off.
  • waldo56
    waldo56 Posts: 1,861 Member
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    Appearance is a consequence of fitness. Eating less doesn't make you fit.
  • theycallyoumister
    theycallyoumister Posts: 222 Member
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    I eat my calories back...and why not? A body needs balance. Otherwise I feel it's too radical and not sustainable. :smile:
  • futuresize8
    futuresize8 Posts: 476 Member
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    Because my calories are set low, I wouldn't be eating enough if I didn't work out.

    Food gives me energy to move. And, when the rest of this fat is gone, I want to be toned and lean and strong.

    I could see, MAYBE, if a person's caloric goals were set much higher that they MIGHT not eat the calories back, but at 1200, I need 'em!
  • ArroganceInStep
    ArroganceInStep Posts: 6,239 Member
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    Okay so i understand that exercising improves your general health and fitness and that it is important to do it.
    BUT talking in terms of weightloss, what is the point in working out for an hour say, burning 500 calories if you're then just going to eat the 500 calories back? like myfitnesspal suggests
    i tend to eat about the same on workout days because i feel like otherwise working out is pointless (again, in terms of weight loss)

    thanks! :)

    Why wash your clothes if you're just going to get them dirty again?
  • gxm17
    gxm17 Posts: 374
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    YMMV, but all I know is that I didn't start losing weight until I started eating more.
  • efranz12
    efranz12 Posts: 46 Member
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    This:
    Because I want to preserve my muscle mass and only lose fat.

    Because I do not want to suppress my metabolism by working my body hard but not fuelling it well.

    Because eating low cal long term makes my body rebel and makes binges more likely to occur.

    Because this is a lifestyle change and I want a sustainable plan that I can keep up for the rest of my life.

    Because I want to preserve bone density and cardiovascular health as I age.
  • mikeberthold
    mikeberthold Posts: 24 Member
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    I have MFP set on Sedentary specifically so I can eat back my exercise calories. I'm set to lose 2 pounds a week so I don't feel a need to go further than that, and I feel like I'm keeping my metabolism humming by exercising regularly and eating well in relation to how much I exert.

    So far I've lost 2 pounds a week consistently, with some weeks edging up to 3 pounds of loss.

    I also have days where I go over my goal, simply because I'm not on a diet. I'm reworking how I eat. My last two big days were Easter Sunday (around 1000 calories over) and this past Saturday (BBQ at friends with booze - 1500 calories over)... both weeks I ended up right at my goal. I don't feel any guilt for these (ok, maybe a little) because life will always have days of overindulgence. The key is to make them rare/special, not regular events.

    It's not about depriving yourself for six months or a year at 1000 or 1200 calories to get down to a goal and then letting yourself go - I've gone that route before and gained it all back. It's about finding a way to balance enjoying eating and exercise and trying to eat proper portions and finding a way to keep this up for life. I'm well on my way.
  • Sqeekyjojo
    Sqeekyjojo Posts: 704 Member
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    Because exercise isn't for the purpose of losing weight. It's to make your heart, lungs, joints, bones, muscles and soul stronger, more resilient, able to cope with obstacles and make you feel good about yourself.

    I exercise because it's fun. And it makes me wear a stupid, goofy grin when I leave the gym.

    And as an added bonus, it also means I get to pick anything I like out of the store and eat it without worrying about if it's too big a par of my daily allowance. Or drink alcohol when out with my friends.

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