Exercise calories

krishildy
krishildy Posts: 23 Member
edited September 26 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi. I'm brand new at this, so if this question has already been answered, I apologize.

I think I get the concept of our recommended calorie intake already having a deficit built in, then when we exercise, we need to make up those calories so we don't go into starvation mode.

I have two questions that I can't seem to find the answer to.

1) Wouldn't it just be easier to NOT exercise? Why should I motivate myself to exercise if I need to eat the calories that I burn anyway? I know there's benefits to exercise, but just for discussions' sake, please humor and enlighten me.

2) How close do we have to get to our recommended calorie intake to stay away from starvation mode? I would imagine most of us are short or over our recommended calorie intake. What is the acceptable range on both sides?

Replies

  • nicole9898
    nicole9898 Posts: 1
    they add your calories from exercising into your goal calories for the day.... I did a spin class today- 350 calories... so I was able to eat an extra 350 calories... :)
  • annacataldo
    annacataldo Posts: 872 Member
    they say that 1200 is the minimum to go, anything less is starvation mode territory.

    excercise will help you tone up, and ur skin tighten, etc... imagine if u just sat in one place for 2yrs, lost all ur weight by diet alone and no excercising.. i could imagine my body having extra flaps of skin and not looking how i want it to.

    i hardly excercise.. few minutes a day (90min a week), sometimes going over that if i have something going on--like last week my bf's dad died so i helped the family keep their house clean and take care of the farm while they coopped with their emotions...but generally, 90min a week is it for me... i have an injury though, so i cant over exert myself without being in pain.
  • emadigan
    emadigan Posts: 89 Member
    Yes, it is possible to lose weight from diet alone, but you'll find, especially as you get closer to your goal, that it will be a lot harder. I'm within my last 10 pounds and am allotted 1200 calories a day. I find it really hard most days to stay at 1200 without exercise giving me an added bonus.
  • tigerblue
    tigerblue Posts: 1,526 Member
    If you are short and small-boned, you don't get many calories per day, even on maintenance(1400 per day is maintenance for me). So I exercise to earn calories so I can eat enough to keep from feeling hungry all day.
  • princessekrystale
    princessekrystale Posts: 114
    In my case, I like to eat no more than the number of calories am allowed to eat without exercising (1370 cal) ... and I don't eat the calories I burn; even if I burn 500cal, I won't eat more.
    But that's just me.
  • annacataldo
    annacataldo Posts: 872 Member
    im tall and big boned, and right now being 290ish lbs my calorie is 1680 a day. I dont need extra calories, im able to eat just fine, and actually have trouble going all the way up to 1680... someone thats only allowed 1200calories a day has it rough. lol.
  • hyde1977
    hyde1977 Posts: 476 Member
    Your questions are vaild! Excercise will help with more things then losing weight! It is essential!
    Try to hit those calories every day...the recommended ones......I thought it would be hard to do but its not.....Set your settings up to include your protein/carbs/fibre or whatever else and make sure you are balancing it.

    When you exercise...try to eat back some of those calories. People will tell you to eat them all back,k some will tell you to not eat any of them back, and some will tell you to eat 1/2 or so back....you have to learn what is best for your body.

    In 45 days I have lost 19 pounds....I always hit the recommended calories and I always add more when I do exercise. Just pick the right things. Banana at night, milk, etc....Things that are good for your body! Bowl of cereal! Just something....balance is key!!!!

    You look like you want to lose a fair amount of weight! Slow and steady does win! This site is amazing to help you balance your diet and make other choices!!!!!
  • liscar
    liscar Posts: 311 Member
    I lost a bunch of weight three years ago without exercising.....I wish I could show you pictures of then and now.....you would have all the motivation you need to go to gym lol. Seriously though, I lost weight -- fat and muscle will go if you aren't working out - I got wrinkly and saggy and old looking. I looked older then than I do now and I'm three years older :)



    AND....The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn in a 24 hour period.....I'm trying to build muscle because as we get older we naturally lose muscle if it's not used. That's why you'll hear older people say "I eat exactly what I use to eat but now I gain weight"

    As far as the other question goes....we are all different and you have to play around with the numbers. For me it's logging every single thing I put in my mouth AND staying away from anything processed when possible.
  • annacataldo
    annacataldo Posts: 872 Member
    some people dont eat their excercise calories, and some people eat half of them. but you always want to be sure to at least have a net calorie goal of 1200 minimum at the end of the day.. alot of people day if they dont eat them back they dont loose as much as they do if they eat them back...
  • liscar
    liscar Posts: 311 Member
    If you are short and small-boned, you don't get many calories per day, even on maintenance(1400 per day is maintenance for me). So I exercise to earn calories so I can eat enough to keep from feeling hungry all day.

    This is the key right here! You NEED to eat your exercise calories --- type "eating exercise calories" in the search box under the community tab.
  • stormieweather
    stormieweather Posts: 2,549 Member
    Yes you can lose weight without exercise, that's how the MFP plan works. I am not formally exercising right now either, and am losing.

    But exercising helps us not end up looking skinny-fat (which is like you did when you were fat, except smaller). It helps your metabolism increase, because doing cardio and weight lifting cause you to burn more calories even after you're done.

    Starvation mode doesn't happen for a looooooooooooooong time or with huge deficits for a long time. It's more that avoiding nutritional deprivation helps you stick to the diet. By eating enough, you reduce the chances of binging or stalling out or giving up. And keeping your deficit to reasonable levels allows you to go back to eating normally (at maintenance) after you reach your goal, without gaining back a bunch of weight.
  • ejohndrow
    ejohndrow Posts: 1,399 Member
    Exercise is what helps to speed up the metabolism, speeding up your metabolism will in turn make your body work harder throughout the day to burn more calories while doing normal daily activities,since even breathing and sleeping burn calories, although minimal. It also depends on where you get your calories from, since they are a unit of energy you want food that actually energizes and gets your body the essential nutrients it needs throughout the day. You can lose weight with diet alone-depending on how healthy your diet is, how unheatlhy it was, how much you need to lose etc. It's all relative to the individual. But once you get into a good routine of diet and exercise then you will see the lbs come off faster than just by diet or exercise alone.


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  • Azuleelan
    Azuleelan Posts: 218
    You don't really need to eat the exercise calories. The whole point of the deficit is that you are forcing your body to go into its fatreserves. Just don't eat less than 1200 a day, eat 40% protein, and you're good to go!

    To understand why I'm telling you this, you'll need more research outside this site. This site works adding the calories because it is safer for people who do not have fat reserves (i.e. want to lose only a few pounds), but for people who do have fat reserves, eating the calories you just burned just slows down your progress... do some research because most people around here tend to only get their info from this one site :)
  • chasekilgannon
    chasekilgannon Posts: 123
    Since I've started changing my diet, I have lost about 8 pounds in four weeks. I don't exercise, but that doesn't mean I don't plan to. Without getting super explanatory, I believe that exercise is the part that boosts your metabolism from what it has been used to.
  • stormieweather
    stormieweather Posts: 2,549 Member
    You don't really need to eat the exercise calories. The whole point of the deficit is that you are forcing your body to go into its fatreserves. Just don't eat less than 1200 a day, eat 40% protein, and you're good to go!

    To understand why I'm telling you this, you'll need more research outside this site. This site works adding the calories because it is safer for people who do not have fat reserves (i.e. want to lose only a few pounds), but for people who do have fat reserves, eating the calories you just burned just slows down your progress... do some research because most people around here tend to only get their info from this one site :)

    Yes, most people really DO need to eat them (or part of them). This site (unlike MOST sites), has a built in deficit for whatever weight loss goals you entered in your settings. It is unwise to increase these deficits to enormous levels by exercising and not eating those calories back.

    Most sites = calorie goal of 1700, you burn 500, do not eat them back = 1200 net calories
    MFP = calorie goal of 1200, burn 500, eat back 500 = 1200 net calories

    What is not wise to do is to eat 1200, burn 500 and net = 700 calories because that is simply not enough to sustain the human body over any length of time (UNLESS you are obese AND under a doctor's supervision).
  • ladyhawk00
    ladyhawk00 Posts: 2,457 Member
    You don't really need to eat the exercise calories. The whole point of the deficit is that you are forcing your body to go into its fatreserves. Just don't eat less than 1200 a day, eat 40% protein, and you're good to go!

    To understand why I'm telling you this, you'll need more research outside this site. This site works adding the calories because it is safer for people who do not have fat reserves (i.e. want to lose only a few pounds), but for people who do have fat reserves, eating the calories you just burned just slows down your progress... do some research because most people around here tend to only get their info from this one site :)

    This is NOT the only site/source to recommend a moderate deficit for healthy, sustainable weight loss. Very few experts (doctors, dietitians, health organizations) condone losing more than 2 lbs per week unless it is medically necessary or a person is morbidly obese (ie for upcoming surgery or immediate health risks.) Rapid weight loss (whether obese or not) carries many serious risks, including but not limited to: loss of lean mass, gallstones, arrhythmias, hair/skin issues, menstruation issues, bingeing, slower metabolism, and weight regain.

    Replacing cals burned through exercise using the calculations MFP uses (if your settings are correct) prevents having too large of a deficit.
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