Ok stillllll confused about eating workout calories
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Well if your main focus is to lose weight, then, why not just eat less and not workout? It sure would make it a lot less painful. I know working out helps you to tone muscle, but some people are more worried about the SCALE. I don't eat my exercise calories, and I feel great and losing the weight. I think proof is in the pudding.0
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I think we all vary a little in the way our bodies work, although calories in - v - calories burned is clearly the basic equation. I do a lot of exercise, and take a more relaxed attitude towards my calories, but never eat ALL the exercise calories. Some here complain the weight loss stops if they eat em all. Up to last week I lost 18lbs in 6 weeks, and never went into starvation mode. I try to eat something every 3 hours or so to keep the system ticking over... An apple, banana, biscuit, whatever...
rgds, David0 -
Well if your main focus is to lose weight, then, why not just eat less and not workout? It sure would make it a lot less painful. I know working out helps you to tone muscle, but some people are more worried about the SCALE. I don't eat my exercise calories, and I feel great and losing the weight. I think proof is in the pudding.
Be careful with not eating them as you may end up lose just as much muscle as fat in the long run. The closer you get to your goal the smaller caloric deficit you need to ensure muscle retention. Where you still have a lot to lose you may be able to get away with not eating them for now, but this will not last, once you hit a plateau try eating them back.0 -
LOL I get it guys, and thank you. I forgot the site automatically puts you at a deficit. When he sends me emails im sometimes like...wait hold on....and then i remember this site does all that stuff for you..so i get confused. I forget that 1200 calories is restrictive for some, and for me it has become the norm LOL. (wow it really has! i guess thats progress). so eating the healthy foods to make up the calories makes sense bc your body needs it as fuel to help you not be sick, muscle regeniration etc. thanks again
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Well if your main focus is to lose weight, then, why not just eat less and not workout? It sure would make it a lot less painful. I know working out helps you to tone muscle, but some people are more worried about the SCALE. I don't eat my exercise calories, and I feel great and losing the weight. I think proof is in the pudding.
Be careful with not eating them as you may end up lose just as much muscle as fat in the long run. The closer you get to your goal the smaller caloric deficit you need to ensure muscle retention. Where you still have a lot to lose you may be able to get away with not eating them for now, but this will not last, once you hit a plateau try eating them back.
Thanks, I will keep that in mind.
Currently, the doctor I am seeing has a scale that tells you your lean body mass, water, and body fat. So, I do keep a close eye on that. Currently, I have 116.4 lean body mass. I step on this scale every four weeks.0 -
Here's an analogy that might help you think about exercise calories differently. When you exercise, you are breaking down muscle, and then during rest, you rebuild that muscle better and stronger. Now for the analogy: You are a builder asked to rebuild a cathedral torn apart by a tornado. Would you choose to rebuild using the scrap and debris from the storm, or would you buy new, quality materials to build a beautiful, lasting creation?
Now we are talking about your body here. Do you want to build muscle using junk, or high quality foods? If you don't fuel your body with enough calorie and nutrients to rebuild, it will start pulling those building blocks from lean muscle, bones and organs, like it does in anorexia. Others have said it already, you don't want to starve your body, but it isn't just about calories. Think of it as fuel and building blocks instead.0 -
Another note on this topic - there are more reasons to exercise besides immediate fat-loss.
As you get closer to your goal it's going to be harder and harder to lose the pounds. The muscle you build with exercise helps you burn those calories. The less muscle mass, the less you burn. Not exercising is basically sabotaging yourself in the long-term.
Muscles are the "engines" of your body, the more you have, the more fuel you burn. That's why if you can only do one type of exercise for fat-loss (or only have time for one!), any 'in the know' trainer will tell you lifting weights or resistance training is more effective than cardio.
In that case, why do cardio? Cardio is cardiovascular health and burns a ton of calories, but it's not effective for building muscle (look at a professional runners body). So, while it may not build 'engines' for burning calories, it can help you meet daily calorie goals and has the real benefit of adding to your endurance. The better your heart and lung health, the more blood and oxygen you can get to your muscles, the longer you can work out and the more muscle growth you can support.
So, in short:
1) muscle building = long term calorie burning and weight loss
2) cardio = short term but extreme calorie burning, supports muscle building indirectly
A combination of both is your best bet. So, when you eat those exercise calories back don't be shortsighted! It's easy to look at every calorie when you're doing this and not want to put it back in your body, but you need to provide that fuel for long-term health and fat-loss. 0 -
I truly just started intergrating excercise and do not use my workout calories...Friend me and we will see at my weigh in on Monday if the results are worth it. I bet they are. You are creating more of a calorie deficit so you should see more results, Melanie
Bad advice, a large deficit may lead to less weight loss, if you body thinks it is starving it will hold on to calories and store them as fat for the future. Why do you want to lose so fast, fast weight loss is not healthy and those that lose fast are more likely to put the weight back on.0 -
When you tell MFP how much you want to lose each week (.5, 1, 1.5, 2 lb/week), it sets you up with a caloric deficit. So when you work out, you want to eat back some or all of those calories so that you do not create too big of a defecit and hinder your weight loss.
With the statement you are reading, it is assuming you are eating your maintenance level calories where you are not gaining or losing. So if that were the case, you could work out and not eat those calories back and that would create your appropriate deficit.
Hope that helps 0 -
Here's an analogy that might help you think about exercise calories differently. When you exercise, you are breaking down muscle, and then during rest, you rebuild that muscle better and stronger. Now for the analogy: You are a builder asked to rebuild a cathedral torn apart by a tornado. Would you choose to rebuild using the scrap and debris from the storm, or would you buy new, quality materials to build a beautiful, lasting creation?
Now we are talking about your body here. Do you want to build muscle using junk, or high quality foods? If you don't fuel your body with enough calorie and nutrients to rebuild, it will start pulling those building blocks from lean muscle, bones and organs, like it does in anorexia. Others have said it already, you don't want to starve your body, but it isn't just about calories. Think of it as fuel and building blocks instead.
Thanks for that!!!0 -
The other thing that is often discussed here is that the estimate of calories burned is often VERY high. Compared to everything else I have read, this site seems to give way too high of a number so it may be good to use some caution in eating back all those calories0
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Another note on this topic - there are more reasons to exercise besides immediate fat-loss.
As you get closer to your goal it's going to be harder and harder to lose the pounds. The muscle you build with exercise helps you burn those calories. The less muscle mass, the less you burn. Not exercising is basically sabotaging yourself in the long-term.
Muscles are the "engines" of your body, the more you have, the more fuel you burn. That's why if you can only do one type of exercise for fat-loss (or only have time for one!), any 'in the know' trainer will tell you lifting weights or resistance training is more effective than cardio.
In that case, why do cardio? Cardio is cardiovascular health and burns a ton of calories, but it's not effective for building muscle (look at a professional runners body). So, while it may not build 'engines' for burning calories, it can help you meet daily calorie goals and has the real benefit of adding to your endurance. The better your heart and lung health, the more blood and oxygen you can get to your muscles, the longer you can work out and the more muscle growth you can support.
So, in short:
1) muscle building = long term calorie burning and weight loss
2) cardio = short term but extreme calorie burning, supports muscle building indirectly
A combination of both is your best bet. So, when you eat those exercise calories back don't be shortsighted! It's easy to look at every calorie when you're doing this and not want to put it back in your body, but you need to provide that fuel for long-term health and fat-loss.
Aw, everyone already answered everything. :laugh:
Excellent points, Sw, and well explained.
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What i have read it should be like this "You can do that by reducing extra calories from food and beverages OR increasing calories burned through physical activity. " You should try and cut 500 calories a day from your diet. By which means is up to you. You can do 500 less food/drink intake OR 500 via exercise OR half and half. MFP does the 500 (250 if half pound a week) in calorie intake. So when you exercise you then get what you exercise as extra calories.
Waite am I reading the original question wrong? I thought he said "AND" in his statement not "OR" like you pointed out in your quote. "AND" implies to do both and "OR" implies to just pick the one you would sooner do. The way I take his original post is that we should not eat back work out calories.
Yes I put in the OR instead of AND. As I believe you can cut the 500 calories ( to lose 1 pound a week) either via food/drink intake OR exercise OR bit of both. That is why I eat some of my exercise calories. Since MFP gives me a calorie deficit already. Ex. I am set to lose 1/2 pound a week so that gives me a daily deficit of 240. I burn about 400-600 calories via exercise. I tend to lose a bit more than a pound a week too.0 -
LOL I get it guys, and thank you. I forgot the site automatically puts you at a deficit. When he sends me emails im sometimes like...wait hold on....and then i remember this site does all that stuff for you..so i get confused. I forget that 1200 calories is restrictive for some, and for me it has become the norm LOL. (wow it really has! i guess thats progress). so eating the healthy foods to make up the calories makes sense bc your body needs it as fuel to help you not be sick, muscle regeniration etc. thanks again
Glad to see someone got it! :P0 -
HA HA HA HAAAAAAAAAAAAA! You are kidding right? How many times is this going to be discussed????? LOL LOL LOL0
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Let's do an ancedote. Everybody know somebody who has done a dramatic low-carb diet. What happens to those people when they slip up and eat 4 cookies or have a quesadilla? Their body says, "woo hoo", stores all the carbs as fat, and those people gain weight. That's why a lot of people who do dramatic no/low-carb diets gain a lot of weight back when they go back to their normal lifestyle.
That ancedote should show you that the human body is extremely adaptive to its conditions. It doesn't always act the same -- it responds to how you treat it. If you constantly underfeed your body based on what your metabolic rate is, your body will find a way to compensate by lowering your metabolism and storing fat whenever possible. Your body will essentially be doing whatever it can for survival.
How big of a deficeit is too big? The answer isn't the same for everybody. Obese people can handle more of a deficeit than people closer to their goal. If you're one of those people that works out constantly and eats a very low calorie diet, yet you haven't seen results over a long period of time, there's a good chance you're one of those people who has been systematically underfeeding yourself. I've heard 20-25% of maintainance calories a good guideline.
I think people always see what happens on Biggest Loser and assume that's the fastest way to lose weight. One thing to consider is that most of the people on that show ARE very obese and can handle larger deficeits. They also dedicate their entire lives to proper nutrition and exercise with no opportunities for slip ups. You also need to consider that they workout so much that their BMR could be 0 and they would lose weight based on what they burn in exercise versus what they eat. A lot of contestants that are close totheir goal weight do struggle to lose weight like everybody else. Every show there is that 170 pound girl that gains weight instead of loses weight. Bottom line -- you're not at the Biggest Loser Ranch and it's not realistic for you to do exactly what they do. Set up realistic goals and make a lifestyle change, not a quick fix.0 -
I didn't start losing weight until I started eating back most of my exercise calories. Not always all of them though.0
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HA HA HA HAAAAAAAAAAAAA! You are kidding right? How many times is this going to be discussed????? LOL LOL LOL
About 14 times a day :laugh:
No kidding.
Seriously.0 -
Let's do an ancedote. Everybody know somebody who has done a dramatic low-carb diet. What happens to those people when they slip up and eat 4 cookies or have a quesadilla? Their body says, "woo hoo", stores all the carbs as fat, and those people gain weight. That's why a lot of people who do dramatic no/low-carb diets gain a lot of weight back when they go back to their normal lifestyle.
That ancedote should show you that the human body is extremely adaptive to its conditions. It doesn't always act the same -- it responds to how you treat it. If you constantly underfeed your body based on what your metabolic rate is, your body will find a way to compensate by lowering your metabolism and storing fat whenever possible. Your body will essentially be doing whatever it can for survival.
How big of a deficeit is too big? The answer isn't the same for everybody. Obese people can handle more of a deficeit than people closer to their goal. If you're one of those people that works out constantly and eats a very low calorie diet, yet you haven't seen results over a long period of time, there's a good chance you're one of those people who has been systematically underfeeding yourself. I've heard 20-25% of maintainance calories a good guideline.
I think people always see what happens on Biggest Loser and assume that's the fastest way to lose weight. One thing to consider is that most of the people on that show ARE very obese and can handle larger deficeits. They also dedicate their entire lives to proper nutrition and exercise with no opportunities for slip ups. You also need to consider that they workout so much that their BMR could be 0 and they would lose weight based on what they burn in exercise versus what they eat. A lot of contestants that are close totheir goal weight do struggle to lose weight like everybody else. Every show there is that 170 pound girl that gains weight instead of loses weight. Bottom line -- you're not at the Biggest Loser Ranch and it's not realistic for you to do exactly what they do. Set up realistic goals and make a lifestyle change, not a quick fix.
Nice post 0 -
Is there some way we can sticky one of these threads? Holy cow!0
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