Do I need to be exercising?

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Sarah040791
Sarah040791 Posts: 2
in Fitness and Exercise
This has probably been asked before but I wanted to ask specifically for me.
My calculated goal is 1200-1300 a day which 99% of the time I do quite easily and I've lost 11.8 pounds since July 10th. I know that 1200 a day is the minimum amount of calories you should be eating to stay healthy, so what do I do about exercising?

If I burn say... 200 calories doing a workout, then that means I've eaten 1000 calories and am under. So to make it back up again I have to eat back those 200 calories so... why bother working out? I understand the need to do strength exercisies and toning but I don't know where I am in regards to actual exercise? Help!
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  • Kelley528
    Kelley528 Posts: 319 Member
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    1200-1300 calories are not long term goals. They are meant to help you lose weight. Eventually you will have to eat more. For those nights that you splurged at some restaurant, drank alot of alcohol, or consumed too many goodies thats why you exercise. To burn off the excess to maintain your weight or to condition your body and health. When you are eating more than your recommended maintenance calories thats when exercise means you dont have to eat more. When you are eating at a big deficit like 1200-1300 daily calories you need to actually have those calories without burning more. So if you are exercising and burning 200 calories, yes you need to eat them. Your body will stall and you will not lose any weight because your body will start storing calories because it thinks you are starving it.

    You have to eat to lose weight.

    I started at 1200 calories. My only exercise was from walking but I ate those calories back every day and I lost 1-2lbs every single week. If I didnt eat them back, I wouldnt have lost a thing.

    Im eating 1430 now. With exercise I eat 1600. I am still losing weight. I lost 1 lb two weeks in a row. At this point I dont think I could go back to 1200 calories a day. It was easy in the beginning, I was scared to eat more food, I was scared to eat back the exercise calories, but I never gained a pound back and I am eating more.
  • Sarah040791
    Sarah040791 Posts: 2
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    Yes thats what I thought, so I'll just save the exercise for my bad days and focus on toning too! Thanks.
  • murphy612
    murphy612 Posts: 734 Member
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    No, you don't NEED to exercise to loose weight. It's really up to you and what your goals are. Simply put, your diet will determine your weight/fat loss. Exercise is for fitness and body composition. You can't exercise away a bad diet :)
  • corgicake
    corgicake Posts: 846 Member
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    Exercise is good for any size body. Makes your heart happier and looks nice.
  • JenMc14
    JenMc14 Posts: 2,389 Member
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    Well, personally, I'd rather eat a bit more, so I exercise. I don't think it's healthy to only exercise to justify a binge, though. Also, cardio is good for your heart and lungs, and you'll like the way you look a lot better if you're doing resistance/strength training then if you don't.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    1) How do you plan on toning if you aren't exercising? If you start off as a big marshmallow then lose a bunch of weight, you'll just end up a smaller marshmallow. Most people don't want to be soft marshmallows. Most people want to be fit and healthy (and strong and fast and whatever else)

    2) Exercise has TONS of benefits, one of the least important being weight loss.

    .
  • alehundrah
    alehundrah Posts: 156 Member
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    Although you don't necessarily need to exercise to lose weight I like to do so a couple times a week. A long time ago I used to do zumba but I ate A lot so I didn't really lose much weight. It wasn't until I started watching what I ate that I started losing. When I started counting cals I didn't exercise much and I was losing but it wasn't until I started exercising that I began to lose inches! I do believe that your diet is the most imp in weigh loss but imo exercise helps as well.
  • alehundrah
    alehundrah Posts: 156 Member
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    Although you don't necessarily need to exercise to lose weight I like to do so a couple times a week. A long time ago I used to do zumba but I ate A lot so I didn't really lose much weight. It wasn't until I started watching what I ate that I started losing. When I started counting cals I didn't exercise much and I was losing but it wasn't until I started exercising that I began to lose inches! I do believe that your diet is the most imp in weigh loss but imo exercise helps as well.
  • alehundrah
    alehundrah Posts: 156 Member
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    1) How do you plan on toning if you aren't exercising? If you start off as a big marshmallow then lose a bunch of weight, you'll just end up a smaller marshmallow. Most people don't want to be soft marshmallows. Most people want to be fit and healthy (and strong and fast and whatever else)
    2) Exercise has TONS of benefits, one of the least important being weight loss.
    This!!! This is what got me exercising. One of my good guy friends told me that if I lost weight only through my diet that I was going going to look the same just smaller (skinny fat) idk if its true but that was enough motivation to exercise.
  • Camille0502
    Camille0502 Posts: 311 Member
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    There seems to be a focus by some users of this website on exercise as a weighloss tool. Even if a person is not trying to lose weight, they should exercise. Exercise keeps your heart stronger, your bones strong, staves off diabetes and other diseases and maintains lean muscle mass. You should think of exercise as a lifelong habit not something you simply do when you are trying to lose weight.
  • bobbystrongarm
    bobbystrongarm Posts: 72
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    No, you don't NEED to exercise to loose weight. It's really up to you and what your goals are. Simply put, your diet will determine your weight/fat loss. Exercise is for fitness and body composition. You can't exercise away a bad diet :)

    This.

    Matters on your goals.

    It is not required as long as your diet is in check to meet your goals.

    Personally I find being really skinny and unfit unappealing as a guy so I would never set myself up for a routine that set me in this course. My goal is to get in shape, not just get skinny. However, I am a guy so my goals might not match your own.

    My advice, spend some time thinking about your ideal body. Once you have that determined your routine and diet should reflect your goals.
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
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    This has probably been asked before but I wanted to ask specifically for me.
    My calculated goal is 1200-1300 a day which 99% of the time I do quite easily and I've lost 11.8 pounds since July 10th. I know that 1200 a day is the minimum amount of calories you should be eating to stay healthy, so what do I do about exercising?

    If I burn say... 200 calories doing a workout, then that means I've eaten 1000 calories and am under. So to make it back up again I have to eat back those 200 calories so... why bother working out? I understand the need to do strength exercisies and toning but I don't know where I am in regards to actual exercise? Help!

    If you understand the need to do strength exercises, why would you ask "why bother working out?"

    What specifically are you confounded by?
  • lesteidel
    lesteidel Posts: 229 Member
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    Do you want to just lose weight or be healthy?

    If you just want to lose a number on a scale, then do what you are doing.

    A healthy lifestyle, however, requires exercise. Weight bearing and something that gets your heart rate up. So it really just depends on what you want.

    I would exercise. But that's me.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    1. Exercise because you CAN. There are people who can't exercise and those who have lost the ability to exercise. Use it or lose it.... exercise for good health

    2. Exercise - resistance training (while dieting) ..... to KEEP muscle. Those who do little exercise will lose more muscle mass than those who do exercise. Weight bearing is muscle and bones / cardio is for healthy heart and lungs.

    3. Yes - you eat your exercise calories because MFP gave you a deficit BEFORE exercise. Too large a deficit (adding exercise will increase it) ... will "help" you to lose muscle mass. Too fast weight loss is not healthy weight loss

    4. Exercise because weight loss should be looked at as a lifestyle change for you. Adding exercise gives you a little cushion when maintenance time comes.

    5. Exercise because it helps you sleep better, relieves stress, and elevates mood. Find something you enjoy doing. Exercise shouldn't be a punishment..... if it is, you won't be consistant.
  • MissBenes
    MissBenes Posts: 18
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    1. Exercise because you CAN. There are people who can't exercise and those who have lost the ability to exercise. Use it or lose it.... exercise for good health

    EXACTLY.
  • lifeskittles
    lifeskittles Posts: 438 Member
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    If you don't exercise (such as strength training) you will most likely lose muscle tone along with the fat you are losing. When you exercise at a deficit it helps your body say "Hey, I'm using this muscle so i should keep it" and you will burn more fat and less of your muscle mass. If you don't, you could enter into the delightful category known as "skinny fat"....Where you have hardly any muscle and you can't eat hardly anything before you start gaining weight because your metabolism has slowed from loss of muscle mass.
  • RacerX_14
    RacerX_14 Posts: 578 Member
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    There is never a reason to not exercise in some way! Your body, inside and out, will thank you!
  • AlsDonkBoxSquat
    AlsDonkBoxSquat Posts: 6,128 Member
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    You can lose weight on a deficit without exercise, but it looks softer than with exercise. Additionally, if you strength train you can maintain more lean mass than either with just a deficit alone or a deficit built from cardio. Exercise also promotes health and not just weight loss.

    squats-no-squats.jpg

    The above shows two of many ideals, one with strength training and on without. My preference is on the right. I find the more I work my glutes the less visable cellulite I have, at any weight. My goal is to have one beautiful round hard booty, my husband supports me in this desired goal. Some people prefer less of a pronounced bubble, however it can be more difficult to hide all the little imperfections with the body on the left. You need to chose your ideal and then pick a program that will help you attain it. However, if one of your goals is overall health, than yes exercise should be a part of your lifestyle.
  • lifeskittles
    lifeskittles Posts: 438 Member
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    I want that butt too!
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
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    I want that butt too!

    Me too. Wait...

    prank caller!

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