exercise and calorie deficit

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candysleirer
candysleirer Posts: 28 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Question.... I totally understand that this is all for the sake of being healthy and learning to live a lifestyle of healthy eating habits. That being said I know I'm not the only one who is motivated by weight loss. So, if sticking right around the calorie goal is the key to safe weight loss and exercising only adds more calories to eat....what is the motivation or incentive to exercise more often or push yourself? I mean if your only supposed to safely loose 2lbs a week and any exercise just means you have to eat more, when it comes to weight loss what is the bonus of exercise?

Replies

  • cajuntank
    cajuntank Posts: 924 Member
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    http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/fitness/in-depth/exercise/art-20048389

    So the same question can be asked about food "quality" to give you something to think about. If all it takes is eating; say for example, 1500 calories for you to lose weight, and your not motivated to eat a variety of foods or care about their nutrient or macro content, etc... then why wouldn't you just eat 1500 calories worth of donuts everyday ?
    At 1500 calories (in this example), you will lose weight, but your health will suffer as you are not getting proper nutrition. The same can be said of exercise.

  • candysleirer
    candysleirer Posts: 28 Member
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    Yeah, I see your point. But why workout 5 days a week rather than only 3?
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    I am motivated to exercise, in part because it makes me feel better and look better and makes everyday life easier (stronger muscles = can carry things more easily, better cardiovascular health = no huffing and puffing on the stairs, etc.) Plus, for me, there is joy in learning a new skill and getting better at it.
  • sjaplo
    sjaplo Posts: 974 Member
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    Nothing wrong with three days a week - listen to your body, take rest days when you need them and you'll avoid burnout and injury.

    The benefit to exercise is not being out of breath at the top of the stairs, going for a three mile walk in the sunshine and not worrying if you can make it, racing your dog to the top of a hill and if not beating him, not being too far behind, etc.
  • DvlDwnInGA
    DvlDwnInGA Posts: 368 Member
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    Because there is a LOT more to being fit than just being skinny. Skinny and weak is just slightly better than fat and weak. Being strong physically will help you in ways that are far to many to mention here. Being strong in terms of cardiovascular strength again is huge.

    There are so many scientific studies that prove that exercise is good for you. So don't discount it just because you are trying to lose weight with a calorie deficit.

    The amount of days people work out a week is really not relevant when it comes to what you yourself need. It really will depend on the type of work out you are doing and the amount of recovery time you are going to need between workouts.
  • candysleirer
    candysleirer Posts: 28 Member
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    ok so basically exercise has no added benefit to weight loss. I know y'all are gonna say I'm wrong or stupid but I was hoping there was some benefit to weight loss that I could hang on to push me to exercise extra days or maybe on days when I don't feel like it. Oh well.
  • redwoodkestrel
    redwoodkestrel Posts: 339 Member
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    If I exercise every day, I get to eat more every day. That's the benefit! :p Well, yeah, it's nice being more fit too.
  • flabassmcgee
    flabassmcgee Posts: 659 Member
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    Exercise is beneficial for your overall health and well-being. It has nothing to do with weight loss other than create more of a deficit for you.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,871 Member
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    candysleirer wrote: »
    ok so basically exercise has no added benefit to weight loss. I know y'all are gonna say I'm wrong or stupid but I was hoping there was some benefit to weight loss that I could hang on to push me to exercise extra days or maybe on days when I don't feel like it. Oh well.

    There is a benefit where weight loss is concerned...It certainly makes maintaining a deficit easier. If I didn't workout, I could only eat 2300 calories to maintain...sorry, that's not fun for me...I like food and I like beer. If I wanted to lose about 1 Lb per week that would mean I could only eat around 1800 calories per day...no thanks.

    With regular exercise, my maintenance calories get bumped to around 2700 - 2800 calories (yeah, more food and beer) and I can lose about 1 Lb per week eating around 2300 calories per day (not all that fun, but better than 1800)

    Beyond that, exercise is extremely important to your overall health and well being. Also, exercise doesn't have to be jumping around your living room like some kind of jack *kitten* or droning away for hours on some piece of cardio equipment...I know plenty of people who do nothing but go for walks for an hour or so 5 days per week.
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
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    candysleirer wrote: »
    ok so basically exercise has no added benefit to weight loss. I know y'all are gonna say I'm wrong or stupid but I was hoping there was some benefit to weight loss that I could hang on to push me to exercise extra days or maybe on days when I don't feel like it. Oh well.

    Exercise will burn calories which will either increase the size of the calorie deficit you create which could potentially allow you to lose at a faster rate or it could allow you to eat more food and still lose.

    Depending on the exercise it can improve your cardiovascular health, it can increase your muscle mass which can increase the amount of calories you burn, it can combat sarcopenia, it can improve bone density, it can improve insulin sensitivity, it can improve nutrient partitioning, it will generally make you look a lot sexier after losing weight if you compare weight loss without exercise to weight loss with exercise.

    Exercise does a lot of cool *kitten*.
  • paulawatkins1974
    paulawatkins1974 Posts: 720 Member
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    Well, besides the health benefit, you get to eat more food! I can stay within my calories better if I can eat 1900 instead of 1500. That's just me. I love treats
  • jpaulie
    jpaulie Posts: 917 Member
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    candysleirer wrote: »
    ok so basically exercise has no added benefit to weight loss. I know y'all are gonna say I'm wrong or stupid but I was hoping there was some benefit to weight loss that I could hang on to push me to exercise extra days or maybe on days when I don't feel like it. Oh well.

    i started with 3 days. if you want to think about benefit? how about the 2 little angels in your profile :)
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    candysleirer wrote: »
    ok so basically exercise has no added benefit to weight loss. I know y'all are gonna say I'm wrong or stupid but I was hoping there was some benefit to weight loss that I could hang on to push me to exercise extra days or maybe on days when I don't feel like it. Oh well.


    If your goal is to only lose scale weight, there is no benefit. If your goal is to maximize overall health and fitness, there is a benefit.
  • goD_giB
    goD_giB Posts: 1 Member
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    If you change your goals your deficit allowance changes also. The recommendations are around meeting your goals.
    The important part is you staying motivated. Being hungry is not staying motivated.
    Days I was cycling for an hour at a goodly pace I needed an extra 200-500 cals to feel anything less than ravenous than those I was not.

    A side benefit I noticed when I last did this sort of program (yep all that work losing 30kgs over about 9 months went down the tube because I went back to bad habits) is that as you get fitter / slimmer you burn calories more efficiently. The same calorie deficit as a percentage gets you more noticeable results.

    Put simply:
    Without exercise you won't feel any better.
    Without increased calories increased exercise is not sustainable.
    With increased calories and exercise that still give you a good calorie deficit you lose weight in a sustainable manner.

    For some this means dramatic changes that are clear and visible, for others this needs to be small changes and over a period of time. Do what works for you.
  • candysleirer
    candysleirer Posts: 28 Member
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    Alright, I think I've got it. I appreciate all you guys responding. I will just have to motivate myself to exercise by picturing myself thin with flappy loose skin. haha.
  • cheshirecatastrophe
    cheshirecatastrophe Posts: 1,395 Member
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    If you exercise enough to run (or walk!) races, there is often free beer at the end.

    Is that motivating?
  • candysleirer
    candysleirer Posts: 28 Member
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    haha it def would be if I still drank.
  • Zwible
    Zwible Posts: 57
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    Once i got into shape I noticed that I was able to deliberately control muscles that I didn't even know I had before :) That's something I definitely wouldn't want to give any more.

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