Why increase calorie intake with exercise

alencse
alencse Posts: 5 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I am confused why you need to eat more calories if you work out?? Is that not why we work out to get rid of calories.

Replies

  • TattooedMuffin
    TattooedMuffin Posts: 174 Member
    check out
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/61706-guide-to-calorie-deficits
    and
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/402707-why-does-exercise-increase-my-daily-calorie-intake
  • PAQ64
    PAQ64 Posts: 2
    Think of your metabolism like a car engine. If you don't have enough gas in your car your engine won't run. You exercise to lose fat. If your "engine" runs out of gas it will burn muscle not fat. The trick is to find the right balance. :wink:
  • pomeraniamania
    pomeraniamania Posts: 9
    Wait, I'm confused. Isn't the purpose of fat to provide our bodies with nutrients in times of famine? So, if we are enduring a "famine", then wouldn't your body burn off the fat before it had to resort to muscle?
  • bajoyba
    bajoyba Posts: 1,153 Member
    Wait, I'm confused. Isn't the purpose of fat to provide our bodies with nutrients in times of famine? So, if we are enduring a "famine", then wouldn't your body burn off the fat before it had to resort to muscle?

    The more muscle you have, the more calories your body requires to use and maintain it. Your body can reduce it's caloric needs by reducing its lean body mass, which it will do if you force it to function at too great a deficit.
  • ladynocturne
    ladynocturne Posts: 865 Member
    Wait, I'm confused. Isn't the purpose of fat to provide our bodies with nutrients in times of famine? So, if we are enduring a "famine", then wouldn't your body burn off the fat before it had to resort to muscle?


    CR=calorie restriction

    Musculoskeletal losses:

    Short-term studies in humans report loss of muscle mass and strength and reduced bone mineral density.[23] This is to be expected as part of the weight loss that accompanies CR. Beyond using lean tissue as an energy source, the presence of catabolic hormones, such as cortisol, and the lack of anabolic ones, such as insulin, disrupts protein synthesis, amino acid uptake, and immune response.

    After prolonged fasting, the body begins to degrade its own skeletal muscle. In order to keep the brain functioning, gluconeogenesis will continue to generate glucose, but glucogenic amino acids, primarily alanine, are required. These come from the skeletal muscle. Late in starvation, when blood ketone levels reach 5-7 mM, ketone use in the brain rises, while ketone use in muscles drops.


    Biochemistry:

    The brain also uses glucose during starvation, but most of the body’s glucose is allocated to the skeletal muscles and red blood cells. The cost of the brain using too much glucose is muscle loss

    People who lose weight as a result of CR but who are sedentary have a reduced capacity to perform exercise compared with those who lost similar amounts of weight from exercise alone,[24] emphasizing the need for strength training in CR practitioners.

    TLDR?: Brain needs Alanine
    Alanine comes from skeletal muscles.
  • alencse
    alencse Posts: 5 Member
    thank you for the speedy help with this question. You guys are great help.

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