What the *&^%?? Why EVEN EXERCISE?

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  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,578 Member
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    I don't eat mine back. I will only go over my budget of cals if I've exercised and i'm really hungry. otherwise I just eat what I'm due to eat. I find eating them back doesn't work for me all the time so it's never intentional for me.
    Diet is great but it's not the be all and end all eventually you need to exercise. And what would be the point of watching what you eat and losing weight but never toning what you've lost?

    I went through IIFYM.com for my cal amounts and spoke to a few PT's and Nutritionists and make my own goals on MFP. That way I go by my TDEE and don't eat back anything else.

    Good luck
    If you go by TDEE, you're not supposed to eat back your calories. The OP is using MFP as her guide. Different methods.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • Turnaround2012
    Turnaround2012 Posts: 362 Member
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    I totally agree with the consensus - exercise is just good stuff. In addition, I would add that it provides yet another indicator of progress and success. When you first start walking, running or lifting, you will probably feel tired, winded or weak. Remember that feeling. As the weeks progress, and your body weight lessens and you become fitter, one day during your workout you will be thinking "holy crap, this is so much easier today than it was before! I'm a totally strong, kick some *kitten* rockstar!" That is a GREAT feeling.

    ^^^ this!
  • Turnaround2012
    Turnaround2012 Posts: 362 Member
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    bump
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,951 Member
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    Okay, so here it is : WHAT is the point of exercising, if I’m going to be forced to eat all my calories back?

    Who is forcing you?

    THANKS OBAMA!
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,951 Member
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    that's not true. your body gets it's energy at that point from stored fat. if you're a pro athlete with no fat stores what you say would be true but for most of us we have ample fuel for our body. the 1200 rule is for nutrients. they say it's very hard to get all the nutrients we need below that number. If you've eaten that amount not eating your exercise calories back is not a big deal at all. Especially for people whose daily needs aren't that high anyway.

    The incorrectness in this post makes baby pandas cry. Don't make baby pandas cry anymore, please.
  • SoDamnHungry
    SoDamnHungry Posts: 6,998 Member
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    Because I want to eat more.

    Because it's good for my heart.

    Because it's good for my lungs.

    Because it's good for my mental health.

    Because it makes me stronger.

    Because it makes me feel way sexier.

    Because everyone agrees I look way sexier.
  • 123tryingtobefree
    123tryingtobefree Posts: 328
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    Exercise is also good for your bones, moods, and also your over all health.

    That!
  • Ohnoes
    Ohnoes Posts: 98 Member
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    'cause muscles, and because i want to eat more. MFP has me at 1500, to lost 1.5 lbs a week. i want to eat about 1800, otherwise i am hungry, feel deprived, and i cant fit a treat into my calories at the end of the day. so i exercise more, eat more, and i am strong. simple.
  • LindseySprake
    LindseySprake Posts: 333 Member
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    Your goal of 1200 calories already has a deficit built in.

    If you really don't want to bother with eating your exercise calories back, you can set a fixed calorie goal based on your total daily energy expenditure, or TDEE. This is the method I use (along with many other MFP members).

    Search "in place of a road map" on the forums for more information on that method.

    ^^^THIS^^^ :flowerforyou:
  • aspalmer3
    aspalmer3 Posts: 28 Member
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    Your goal of 1200 calories already has a deficit built in.

    Example:

    Let's say that you would maintain your current weight by eating 2000 calories. (That's a completely random number, as I don't know your stats.)

    You then tell MFP that you want to lose, say, a pound a week. Because you need to create a deficit of 3500 calories per week to lose one pound, MFP will take 500 calories off of your daily goal.

    So now you're eating 1500 calories per day. Even if you don't exercise, you're eating at a deficit and you'll lose weight.

    Now let's say that you exercise and burn off 500 calories. Your net calories are now just 1000. That's a deficit of 1000 calories, which in your case is probably too big. (When it comes to deficits, larger is not always better.)

    So you eat back those 500 calories. Now you've consumed 2000 calories, but burned off 500 through exercise, leaving you with a net of 1500. You're now on track to lose one pound per week, as you originally planned.

    ETA: HOWEVER,

    If you really don't want to bother with eating your exercise calories back, you can set a fixed calorie goal based on your total daily energy expenditure, or TDEE. This is the method I use (along with many other MFP members).

    Search "in place of a road map" on the forums for more information on that method.

    This is what I do. I had stalled and at the recommendation of SideSteel and Sara I changed some things up to follow TDEE and the scale has definitely started moving again. I feel better as well!
  • aumint
    aumint Posts: 19
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    For overall health...? I exercise for my health first and foremost, not JUST to lose weight.
  • kkzmom11
    kkzmom11 Posts: 220 Member
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    as many have already said, exercise is good for MANY other reasons than losing weight. but, for those that exercise regularly, they have to eat back the calories they used to exercise so the body is getting the nutrition it needs to function properly. if you don't eat enough calories in a day, especially if you are exercising regularly, your body will think it is being starved and hold onto what fat it has. so, exercise regularly, eat your calories, and live healthy.
  • Turnaround2012
    Turnaround2012 Posts: 362 Member
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    This topic spurred me to write this...

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1071235-if-i-did-not-lose-a-singlelb-kg-stone-i-would-be-happy
  • Ninkyou
    Ninkyou Posts: 6,666 Member
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    Exercise for ice cream :)

    Hehe this :)

    BTW, There's some really good information in this thread.
    I find that if I exercise, though hard, makes me feel happier and healthier on the whole. It might not help the scale like a calorie deficit does, but it makes me feel like I'm making progress everytime I do it.
    Added bonus is being able to eat more, and have room for ice cream and not go over my calorie goal.
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,951 Member
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    I hope someone has mentioned that old saw:

    Weightloss happens in the kitchen.

    OR:

    You can't out work a bad diet.
  • thenance007
    thenance007 Posts: 35 Member
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    The most important reasons to exercise in relation to weight loss are biochemical:

    According to the book "Deep Nutrition", the most important roles of exercise (in regards to weight loss) are "1) increasing insulin sensitivity, which tells your fat cells to slow down the conversion of sugar into more fat. 2) It reduces the stress hormone Cortisol. Cortisol packs fat around organs where it produces lots of pro-inflammatory chemicals, which in turn tell the body to produce still more fat. And 3 ) Exercise makes blood sugar levels drop."

    "Exercise is important because it generates signals to transdifferentiate your fat. . .Once fat cells store energy, they guard it jealously, reluctant to give it up. But when you convert fat to muscle, you rev up your metabolism, which drains fat cells. . .Then the shriveled fat cell gets a signal to dedifferentiate into a more mobile cell type. The cell exits the fat tissue by way of the bloodstream and, once in circulation, is directed to go wherever growth is occurring--a muscle, say. Once there, it redifferentiates into a muscle cell." And it is the mitochondria in the muscle cells that burn fat--the more mitochondria, the more fat is burned.
  • Dunsirn
    Dunsirn Posts: 82 Member
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    prolly shoulda googled it to get my facts straight before posting, but the analogy is sound - if the body broke down fat to power the body none of us would be fat ever, the problem is that its easy for the body to get energy from food, but difficult to break down the fat in the body. that's the point i was making!
  • megsmom2
    megsmom2 Posts: 2,362 Member
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    Eating a net calorie intake of 1200 with exercise is much more beneficial than eating a net of 1200 without exercise. Exercise isn;t just about creating a net loss of calories but also helps prevent health conditions and disease, improves your mood, energy levels, sleeping patterns, etc.

    exactly! exercise can help you create a calorie deficit, or on MFP earn you more calories to eat. But that isn't the only or even the best reason to exercise! Its just good for you in so many ways, and if you're doing something you enjoy doing...its fun too. Stop looking at exercise as an ordeal or chore and do it for the right reasons.
  • bauhausfrau
    bauhausfrau Posts: 15 Member
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    No, I think it just adds your exercise calories burned back so you know what you would need to maintain your weight. I don't pay attention to that part, I just look at the line that tracks my calories consumed. Honestly a random computer program can only give you so much accurate information about your metabolism anyway. I just follow what I know from experience are my calorie levels to lose or maintain weight. I just like to be able to track my food and exercise. Before I started tracking my food with this program I had no idea I was eating so much sodium, and from foods I thought were healthy, like raw chicken breasts, cottage cheese & raw shrimp. I guess I never really thought to look at the lables because those are all supposed to be such healthy, natural diet foods. I digress. Exercise is important so you don't end up skinny fat, and flabby. Exercise doesn't really burn that many calories anyway. If I run 5 mph for an hour I burn about 350 calories. That is a lot of really hard work for an out-of-shaper like myself for such little payoff. However, after a month of keeping it up anyway I can see a big difference in the shape of my butt and legs. My thighs look thinner even though they are the same circumference, my calves are bigger, and my butt fills out my underwear on the top instead of oozing out the bottom so much. I've only lost 6 pounds in a month, but everyone keeps asking me about it as if I had lost 20.
    Also, once I have gotten to my goal weight I like the idea of eating more food through exercise calorie deficit because it's the best way to get all your vitamins & minerals. Pills should be a last resort. The more broccoli I can feed myself, the longer I can hopefully put of cancer, or other horrible aging diseases.
  • bauhausfrau
    bauhausfrau Posts: 15 Member
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    The most important reasons to exercise in relation to weight loss are biochemical:

    According to the book "Deep Nutrition"

    "Exercise is important because it generates signals to transdifferentiate your fat. . .Once fat cells store energy, they guard it jealously, reluctant to give it up. But when you convert fat to muscle, you rev up your metabolism, which drains fat cells

    Fat absolutely cannot be converted to muscle. They are completely different, in the same way that butter cannot be converted into beef. You can burn fat, and you can build muscle, but you can also lose fat without building muscle, or build muscle without losing fat. One cannot be turned into the other. You can only lose fat through calorie deficit, and you can only build muscle through exercise. I am positive that I learned all of this as a biochemistry major in college. I'm not sure this book should be relied on.

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