Why bother?

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Naomi91
Naomi91 Posts: 892 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hello All,

So there is something I am slightly confused about.
At 5ft 3 and 129lbs mfp puts me at 1200 calories for the day. Now first, let me tell you i FULLY understand net calories and the importance of eating them back. Thats not so much my question.

I run a 10k 4 times a week. (training for rugby) and do 2 full body weight lifting sessions and have a day of rest. But what I dont understand is this:

What is the point of exercising more if you just eat all the calories back? Like why run 6 miles instead of 3?

No matter what I am keeping my workout plan the same, given to me by a trainer to become lean and mean ;}
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Replies

  • Panda86
    Panda86 Posts: 873
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    That's the point. You DON'T eat all the calories back. MFP still leaves you with a deficit. Go to the GOALS tab and it will break it down for you so it makes sense :)
  • ashleynicoleb
    ashleynicoleb Posts: 376 Member
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    I agree. I don't really understand why you'd work out if you're just going to eat all of those exercise calories back?
  • schnarfo
    schnarfo Posts: 764 Member
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    because exercise tones your body.... eating less does not. if its purely the numbers on the scale your bothered about then dont eat them but if you want to see real results and your body changing then you need exercise.
  • lutzsher
    lutzsher Posts: 1,153 Member
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    MFP automatically calculates your calorie deficit so any additional exercise you do is putting your under your alloted calories for the day. That is the beauty of this site . . . it does the math for you!
  • Mindful_Trent
    Mindful_Trent Posts: 3,954 Member
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    I don't know about running 6 miles vs 3, but in general, exercise has SO many benefits - you will live a longer, more healthy, higher-quality life if you exercise regularly. It's not just about calories. Your body WILL thank you. Check out these great links:

    http://teens.webmd.com/benefits-of-exercise
    http://www.busywomensfitness.com/exercise-benefits.html
    http://www2.gsu.edu/~wwwfit/benefits.html
  • Naomi91
    Naomi91 Posts: 892 Member
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    That's the point. You DON'T eat all the calories back. MFP still leaves you with a deficit. Go to the GOALS tab and it will break it down for you so it makes sense :)

    see I understand that mfp leaves you with a calorie deficit. Like i said I fully understand net calories and always eat mine back. But what I am saying is why workout extra hard? Why completely bust my *kitten*? instead of just burning 300 why go for 600?

    Its kind of a confusing question haha. but i guess I am more asking why do we exercise? I do it for my sport but just curious
  • tlynnweb
    tlynnweb Posts: 201 Member
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    Because if MFP sets you to eat 1200 calories---you would normally need 1700 to maintain your weight. They put you at 1200 to lose the pound a week. If you work out and burn say 300 calories you are in essence at 900 calories for the day which is not enough. You would need to eat the 300 to get back to 1200. Does this make sense?
  • foxyforce
    foxyforce Posts: 3,078 Member
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    think of it like this, if you eat 2500 calories in a day, you need to burn 1300 (if I am good at math at all), which some people do really well and some even burn more in a day. Then you are good, you are able to eat 2500 calories and still lose weight if you are burning that much.

    However, the deficit is already there. If you are only eating 1200 calories, and you exercise and burn 1300 calories you have consumed NO calories that day whatsoever. Your body needs to function properly to be healthy, and with that, you need some calories.

    1200 calories is the minimum myfitnesspal allows because this allows you to always have some calories in your body while not eating enough to be GAINING pounds. If you are doing all you are doing and only eating 1200 calories in a day, what is your body taking in? Nothing. You need calories, just not a lot of calories.


    I hope my train of thought has helped, there are great posts on this all over the forum, you should search for them.
  • eylbrown
    eylbrown Posts: 21
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    Sometimes more is not better when it comes to excercise - it's the type of excercise that's important and the intensity. My fitness instructor told me that your body gets used to what you're doing and it requires confusion to proceed with your goal and a lot of that is changing up your routine every now and then...
  • Naomi91
    Naomi91 Posts: 892 Member
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    because exercise tones your body.... eating less does not. if its purely the numbers on the scale your bothered about then dont eat them but if you want to see real results and your body changing then you need exercise.

    There we go! thats what i thought, helps to tone and build lean muscle correct? so the more you workout the sexier body you have under the fat :]

    and btw i love your picture xD love the kitty o face
  • foxyforce
    foxyforce Posts: 3,078 Member
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    That's the point. You DON'T eat all the calories back. MFP still leaves you with a deficit. Go to the GOALS tab and it will break it down for you so it makes sense :)

    see I understand that mfp leaves you with a calorie deficit. Like i said I fully understand net calories and always eat mine back. But what I am saying is why workout extra hard? Why completely bust my *kitten*? instead of just burning 300 why go for 600?

    Its kind of a confusing question haha. but i guess I am more asking why do we exercise? I do it for my sport but just curious

    you can burn those extra calories to build muscle and eat more if you are still hungry. It doesn't hurt to exercise.
  • Lyadeia
    Lyadeia Posts: 4,603 Member
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    There are topics galore that explain this fully if you search for them.

    But in a nutshell, MFP gives you a deficit that keeps you eating at or above your BMR in net calories. That's the goal to stay healthy and keep your metabolism from slowing down.

    When you exercise, yeah, you are burning calories, but that is NOT the only reason you exercise, is it?

    You need to eat those exercise calories back to stay at your deficit that MFP originally gave you. If you don't then you are eating less than your BMR which is semi-starvation. Yeah, you will still lose weight, but over time it will start to come off more and more slowly. Your gains in fitness will not be as great because you aren't fueling your body correctly.

    I recently ran into this. Conservation mode can start as early as 10 days into the period you are not eating at your BMR. For 2 weeks, I was not eating back all my exercise calories and losing 1.5 pounds per week. In week 3, I continued to eat the same way and lost half a pound. In week 4 I ate the same way and lost NOTHING. This is week 5. I increased my food intake, and I have already seen benefits from it such as lasting longer in my cardio, being able to lift heavier weights, more energy, less moodiness, etc. And my clothes are looser already. I expect to see another drop this Monday.
  • Naomi91
    Naomi91 Posts: 892 Member
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    think of it like this, if you eat 2500 calories in a day, you need to burn 1300 (if I am good at math at all), which some people do really well and some even burn more in a day. Then you are good, you are able to eat 2500 calories and still lose weight if you are burning that much.

    However, the deficit is already there. If you are only eating 1200 calories, and you exercise and burn 1300 calories you have consumed NO calories that day whatsoever. Your body needs to function properly to be healthy, and with that, you need some calories.

    1200 calories is the minimum myfitnesspal allows because this allows you to always have some calories in your body while not eating enough to be GAINING pounds. If you are doing all you are doing and only eating 1200 calories in a day, what is your body taking in? Nothing. You need calories, just not a lot of calories.


    I hope my train of thought has helped, there are great posts on this all over the forum, you should search for them.

    I did search it thank you, but only got answers about eating back exercise calories. which is not all of what I was asking. once again, i know the importance of calories as a dietetics major and was not asking about food. Was more asking bout the benefits of exercise
  • Panda86
    Panda86 Posts: 873
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    That's the point. You DON'T eat all the calories back. MFP still leaves you with a deficit. Go to the GOALS tab and it will break it down for you so it makes sense :)

    see I understand that mfp leaves you with a calorie deficit. Like i said I fully understand net calories and always eat mine back. But what I am saying is why workout extra hard? Why completely bust my *kitten*? instead of just burning 300 why go for 600?

    Its kind of a confusing question haha. but i guess I am more asking why do we exercise? I do it for my sport but just curious

    Ah, I see. Ok, it was worded weird. Well, exercise helps keep you healthy. I've known some unhealthy skinny people in my life. People that wear size 0 jeans and can't run to save themselves. Your heart is a muscle, and working out keeps your cardiovascular system strong, and makes your body look better :)
  • xarrium
    xarrium Posts: 432 Member
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    Why completely bust my *kitten*? instead of just burning 300 why go for 600?

    Its kind of a confusing question haha. but i guess I am more asking why do we exercise? I do it for my sport but just curious

    Like you said, it's to get better at something... going out and giving 100% will help you tone and build muscle (which we all know is good to accelerate weight loss). And besides, what's the point of just burning 300 when you could burn 600 and feel like a million bucks for pushing that much harder?
  • JulieBoBoo
    JulieBoBoo Posts: 642
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    When you lose weight you lose muscle. Strength training rebuilds that muscle. Cardio strengthens your heart and oxygenates your body for optimal performance and health. Stretching will give you long lean muscles, inner strength, better posture and flexibility. The question "why bother" means that you're only looking at exercise from a weight loss perspective and that's NOT the way to look it at all.
  • taso42_DELETED
    taso42_DELETED Posts: 3,394 Member
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    What is the point of exercising more if you just eat all the calories back? Like why run 6 miles instead of 3?

    I guess if you're training for a marathon or something where you're trying to build endurance.

    It's probably fine to do extra cardio. If you eat it back, you've still worked out your heart; if you don't eat it back then you've helped to burn more fat (and even some muscle). But when it comes to weights, there is no reason to overtrain. The muscles need time to repair themselves, so overtraining hinders that rather than helps. From what I've read, an hour max per day with weights, and allow at least 2 days before exercising the same muscles again.
  • Naomi91
    Naomi91 Posts: 892 Member
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    I recently ran into this. Conservation mode can start as early as 10 days into the period you are not eating at your BMR. For 2 weeks, I was not eating back all my exercise calories and losing 1.5 pounds per week. In week 3, I continued to eat the same way and lost half a pound. In week 4 I ate the same way and lost NOTHING. This is week 5. I increased my food intake, and I have already seen benefits from it such as lasting longer in my cardio, being able to lift heavier weights, more energy, less moodiness, etc. And my clothes are looser already. I expect to see another drop this Monday.

    This is definately what I have noticed as well. My 10k time is getting faster and faster! On the days I dont eat too many exercise calories my performance decreased. Which definately makes sense
  • sarahliftsUP
    sarahliftsUP Posts: 752 Member
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    You push yourself to gain endurance, get stronger, build muscle! Then that muscle will help boost your metabolism and burn fat. Exercise is good for you. Weight loss is 80% diet, only 20% exercise.. it's really just about feeling healthy and looking good.
  • Naomi91
    Naomi91 Posts: 892 Member
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    When you lose weight you lose muscle. Strength training rebuilds that muscle. Cardio strengthens your heart and oxygenates your body for optimal performance and health. Stretching will give you long lean muscles, inner strength, better posture and flexibility. The question "why bother" means that you're only looking at exercise from a weight loss perspective and that's NOT the way to look it at all.

    I only put that title to get more people to read ;D

    and like I said, I dont workout to lose weight, I am an athlete looking to dominate at my sport! I was honestly just curious about the subject. great answer though :]

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