working out just to eat more

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  • xxoneluckygirlxx
    xxoneluckygirlxx Posts: 52 Member
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    thanks guys-- I've read all of your post and appreciate the advises :)
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,576 Member
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    lauriedenneyknowles wrote: »
    Okay, silly question here, but unless you exercise, and burn what you eat daily (for instance 1200 calories) you won't start losing weight until you burn 1200 calories??

    You will likely burn 1200 (probably more) just being alive. Your organs, digestion, breathing, standing, sitting, thinking, etc. All that takes engergy to complete. If you are eating only 1200 calories per day as a base, you should follow the MFP plan and eat more calories when you are not sedentary.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    xxoneluckygirlxx wrote: »
    My MFP is set up so i lose 1.9 lbs per week...I work out only so i can eat more---- is this ok to do? is it counter productive? will i still lose? Is there anyone who succeeded that did it this way?

    Any thoughts would be appreciated.

    Thanks!!!

    Let look at the math...Let's say WITHOUT exercise you get a calorie goal of 1200 calories to lose about 2 Lbs per week...this means that MFP is estimating your maintenance without exercise to be around 2200 calories per week (1,000 calorie deficit). Now lets say you exercise and burn 300 calories. Your new estimated maintenance would have also increased with that activity to 2500 calories which means you could lose the same amount of weight eating 1200 + 300 = 1,500 calories.

    It's all just math.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    lauriedenneyknowles wrote: »
    Okay, silly question here, but unless you exercise, and burn what you eat daily (for instance 1200 calories) you won't start losing weight until you burn 1200 calories??

    You don't need to burn what you eat...you "burn" calories 24/7 just existing...then you have your day to day type of stuff. WITHOUT any exercise whatsoever, the average female is going to maintain weight at around 1800 - 2000 calories...that 1200 calories is already a big deficit from that maintenance number to lose weight...again, WITHOUT any exercise.

    You don't eat 1200 calories and then try to burn all of that off. The biggest piece of your "burn" is you merely existing...your body requires a lot of energy (calories) just to perform bodily functions like breathing, heart pumping, etc...
  • csuhar
    csuhar Posts: 779 Member
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    xxoneluckygirlxx wrote: »
    My MFP is set up so i lose 1.9 lbs per week...I work out only so i can eat more---- is this ok to do? is it counter productive? will i still lose? Is there anyone who succeeded that did it this way?

    Any thoughts would be appreciated.

    Thanks!!!

    As long as the calorie balance is correct and you're burning more than you consume, you will still lose.

    And when it comes to the aspect of "I work out only so I can eat more", that's also perfectly fine. You have recognized that you want to eat more, and you have recognized that you need to work out to compensate for that.
  • bambarby
    bambarby Posts: 10 Member
    edited January 2015
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    I would advise against this, as it did not work for me. I find myself getting really depressed from having to do cardio an hour a day just so I could enjoy a cupcake. It's not worth it.
    Now I set my daily caloric intake to a constant number, and stick with that no matter what. That way I'd never have to worry about burning off extra food, and I could work out whenever I please. It's been working really well and I start to lose weight again after a long plateau.
  • xxoneluckygirlxx
    xxoneluckygirlxx Posts: 52 Member
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    awesome-- i will take all into consideration.
  • TheMannon
    TheMannon Posts: 36 Member
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    I exercise specifically to eat more only on a few occasions – what I have found, however, is that working out allowed me to eat a ‘normal’ amount of food every day and still lose weight – so I don’t feel deprived in any way. That’s been incredibly important to my success. In fact, people at work kept asking me how I was losing weight when I seemed to be eating all day long.

    Listen to what people say here but the most important thing is to do what works FOR YOU. Unfortunately there are few on MFP who love to throw shade –
  • xxoneluckygirlxx
    xxoneluckygirlxx Posts: 52 Member
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    :)

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