whats the point of excercise if I eat back the calories?

Options
1356789

Replies

  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
    Options
    Bad advice. Fast weight loss isn't good weight loss.
    Exercise should not be about calorie burns.


    then what about the overeweight person who loses 10 pounds a week until they get within 20-to-50 pounds of their goal?

    If exercise shouldn't be abotu calorie burns then why exercise?
    Why exercise:
    For health.
    For fitness.
    For retention of lean mass while at a caloric deficit.
    For learning good and sustainable habits to last a lifetime.

    You are giving out the most appalling advice in your efforts to set up a business - please stop as all you are encouraging is unhealthy weight loss and yo-yo dieting.
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,224 Member
    Options
    The purpose of the exercise is not to lose weight, it is to make a person more healthy. The vast majority of overweight people are not just fat, they are unfit. Simply losing the weight will not correct the fitness aspect of their life. They will simply be a smaller version of their unfit self. Exercise deals with that, which is the point of exercising.

    As to what to do. Strength training is essential. I am not personally sold on the huge amount of cardio many people here do, but some is good for the heart.
  • beachlover317
    beachlover317 Posts: 2,848 Member
    Options
    I mean, why burn 400 calories on a kick *kitten* workout like insanity and then turn around and eat it all back?

    Because you get hungry?

    I can't believe you run a diet website.

    Exercise (usually the more intense it is) blunts your appetite but yes... some people may have an increased appetite hours after a tough workout but here's the point guys...

    IF you eat back EVERYTHING YOU BURN OFF then you are simply wasting your time exercising

    See? There you go again. We do not exercise to eat. We exercise to make our bodies more healthy. I think that is one of your disconnects.
  • LiminalAscendance
    LiminalAscendance Posts: 489 Member
    Options
    never "eat back" your exercise calories UNLESS you want to lose weight slower OR if for some reason you are hungier (which happens with increased activity) but my advice is to NOT eat those calories back. If defeats the purpose of exercise.

    You should exercise to burn extra fat, calories or lose weight faster.

    You shouldn't exercise just so you can eat more

    Funny....I dropped on average about 1 Lb per week (40 Lbs down total) as per my goals that I input to MFP...I did so using this tool properly and eating back my exercise calories (allowance made for overestimation of burn)...because that is the way this tool is designed. Eating a mere 1300 calories and going to the gym and burning off 600 - 1000 calories is a pretty friggin' horrible idea and extremely unhealthy.

    So, if someone lost oh, I dunno, 2 lbs. per week (for the same 40 lb. total) WITHOUT eating back their exercise calories, do they win?

    (Without losing all their teeth, or some other horrible side-effects, obviously.)
  • Trichey66
    Trichey66 Posts: 1
    Options
    It is perfectly acceptable to have a large deficit if you have large fat stores or if you are obese. If you have a high initial body fat percentage, then you are going to lose more fat relative to lean, so you may need a larger deficit to lose the same amount of weight as compared to a lean person. For someone with 70 lbs.or more of body fat, a 2100 calorie deficit is okay, as long as calorie intake exceeds about 1600 calories. . For someone with 20-30 lbs of body fat, a 400-600 calorie deficit is appropriate. I am currently on a 1500 calorie deficit (taking in 1600), and I feel better than i have in years. Losing 5 lbs or so weekly, and I am not hungry all the time. Of course, I listen to doctors, and not just internet kooks.
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
    Options
    it's no doubt you WILL lose weight eating back your calories but eating back those calories is simply the same thing as you just going on a diet alone and...

    NOT eating back those calories is a bonus helping you lose faster but once you hit a platuea which you probably will - you may want to think twice about eating back those calories you burned working out.

    I mean, why burn 400 calories on a kick *kitten* workout like insanity and then turn around and eat it all back?

    Because the purpose of exercise is fitness.

    A female doing Insanity is recommended to eat about 1900 calories, I believe, to support the intensity of the workout. Your average female on MFP, if following MFP recommendations, is eating perhaps 1200-1500. Well below what they need to be eating when doing a vigorous workout. This is why you eat back calories, because MFP calculates your calorie needs BEFORE exercise.
  • AdrianBry
    AdrianBry Posts: 138 Member
    Options
    exercise is also good for all the benefits many of you have listed but focusing on exercise for weight loss...

    WHY even worry about EXERCISE FOR WEIGHT LOSS if you're eating back everything you burn off? that's all im saying
  • YesIAm17
    YesIAm17 Posts: 817 Member
    Options
    OP... do what you want, but just on the second page of this thread, you have three people that have lost 566 lbs combined.

    We're all three telling you to eat them back.

    Now, you choose.

    We don't have our own websites for weight loss and we're not trying to talk you into doing something crazy, like not eating enough... but hey, to each their own, right?

    This.

    /endthread

    This This!

    If all you care about is fat loss and not your overall health then by all means skip the exercise. If you care about overall health then don't skip the exercise and do eat back the calories.
  • WhataBroad
    WhataBroad Posts: 1,091 Member
    Options
    He has an agenda...do NOT listen to him!!
    See EdDavenport and Trog...they know what they are doing.

    an agenda to help you burn fat faster but let me apolgize (I'm not being sarcastic) to those of you who believe in losing 1-2 pounds per week

    well you are assuming the OP wants to lose weight faster and hell yeah 1-2 pounds a week is awesome!! this site is not just about dropping weight as fast as you can and still have unhealthy eating habits. Many of us are here to stop the many years of yo-yoing due to the strategy you are suggesting the OP follow. Crazy calorie burns need fuel and yes, the excess fat stores will be used but that's not going to stop the hunger from eating at 1300 calories day in, day out.
  • _EndGame_
    _EndGame_ Posts: 770 Member
    Options
    You get to eat more.

    If you're happy surviving on 1300 calories, then don't eat them back.

    I can eat 1500 calories on just dinner, which makes exercise essential for me.

    I'd be miserable as sin if I had to survive on 1300 calories a day. Or anything under 1800 calories for that matter.
  • The_Enginerd
    The_Enginerd Posts: 3,982 Member
    Options
    Wow dude, you REALLY don't get it. Rapid weight loss is not a good thing, many of your statements are flat out wrong, and your recommendations are dangerous. There aren't enough faces and palms in this world to express the collective sigh of everyone here.

    ETA: I've some people on my list have fainting spells from trying to be too aggressive with their weight loss goals. An extreme deficit is a good way to lose weight if you aren't worried about your health I guess...
  • elyelyse
    elyelyse Posts: 1,454 Member
    Options
    Exercise (usually the more intense it is) blunts your appetite but yes... some people may have an increased appetite hours after a tough workout but here's the point guys...

    IF you eat back EVERYTHING YOU BURN OFF then you are simply wasting your time exercising
    It makes me sad that you have a fitness and weight loss web site.
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
    Options
    exercise is also good for all the benefits many of you have listed but focusing on exercise for weight loss...

    WHY even worry about EXERCISE FOR WEIGHT LOSS if you're eating back everything you burn off? that's all im saying

    Because MFP CALCULATES YOUR CALORIE NEEDS BASED ON NO EXERCISE.

    Duh.
  • bbabb82
    bbabb82 Posts: 1
    Options
    Hero
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,868 Member
    Options
    If exercise shouldn't be abotu calorie burns then why exercise?

    I'm maintaining right now...have been for about 5 months or so...by this logic, I shouldn't bother with exercise because I'm not trying to lose and don't want to have a calorie deficit anymore.

    Personally, I exercise for my fitness and overall health and well being...

    Diet for weight control; exercise for fitness....
  • csheltra26
    csheltra26 Posts: 272 Member
    Options
    never "eat back" your exercise calories UNLESS you want to lose weight slower OR if for some reason you are hungier (which happens with increased activity) but my advice is to NOT eat those calories back. If defeats the purpose of exercise.

    You should exercise to burn extra fat, calories or lose weight faster.

    You shouldn't exercise just so you can eat more

    This is terrible advice, I advise no one to follow it. Losing weight as fast as possible to the point of endangering your health is NOT the way to go.

    Plus its not sustainable and a great way to gain it all back.
  • AdrianBry
    AdrianBry Posts: 138 Member
    Options
    rapid weight loss is not a bad thing. the 1-2 pounds per week recommendation is false DEPENDING On how overweight you are. like i said an extremely overeweight person may lose 5-to-10 pounds their first week and as they get closer to their goals then they may lose 1-2 pounds or even less.
  • phjorg1
    phjorg1 Posts: 642 Member
    Options
    exercise is also good for all the benefits many of you have listed but focusing on exercise for weight loss...

    WHY even worry about EXERCISE FOR WEIGHT LOSS if you're eating back everything you burn off? that's all im saying
    Hmm, so why eat food at all then? Just eat nothing until you reach your goal.
  • trogalicious
    trogalicious Posts: 4,584 Member
    Options
    rapid weight loss is not a bad thing. the 1-2 pounds per week recommendation is false DEPENDING On how overweight you are. like i said an extremely overeweight person may lose 5-to-10 pounds their first week and as they get closer to their goals then they may lose 1-2 pounds or even less.
    ... dude... just seriously...
  • Achrya
    Achrya Posts: 16,913 Member
    Options
    I know exercise is healthy but in regards to loosing weight. I find that when I workout I end up eating the calories that I burned. So for example my goal on MFP is about 1300 calories to loose 2lbs per week.

    If I don't work out I end up eating those 1300 calories, but if I do work out MFP tells me I can eat those calories back, whats the point then to cardio workouts for loosing weight?
    My trainer at gym suggested I don't eat back all calories that I burned but I find that difficult because as it is I am already cutting enough calories to loose those 2lbs per week...

    I do enjoy working out, but should I skip cardio until I loose the weight that I want to loose?

    Any thoughts?

    Diet=Weight loss

    Exercise= Health, strength, body comp, enjoyment.

    I don't workout for the sake of calorie burn, I do it because I love lifting weights, I love hitting higher numbers, and I love what it's doing for my body. If you enjoy it, why skip it?

Categories