How to balance exercise?

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warcado
warcado Posts: 7
in Health and Weight Loss
I went on the treadmill for 30 mins this morning at 6.30 - 7.00 and was wondering if I had a large lunch 4 hours later (around now) does the weight just go back on? How long should you leave it?

Thanks in advance

Replies

  • kell_riley
    kell_riley Posts: 312
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    I'm a little confused by your question. It wont matter when you eat, the actual weight of the food will make your weight increase anyway, wether it be 5mins after or 4hours after,
    Also i could be wrong but when you exercise i don't believe you actually loose weight right there and then?

    I always try to eat within 30 mins of being at the gym as i have been told that you continue to burn calaries for a short while after training, plus your body needs fuel after working out in my opinion.
  • warcado
    warcado Posts: 7
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    Maybe I got confused, you know you said after you eat you continue burning calories after I think i thought of it differently, as if if you eat straight after the food will kind of eliminate the exercise? I must admit I'm confusing myself ha. But I see what you mean, I think I felt is well what's the point in exercising if you're going to eat a big meal after - but i spose it doesn't matter when you eat you'll get the same calories.

    Thanks for info though
  • Joncfreer
    Joncfreer Posts: 1 Member
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    In a very simplified way, this is how it works:

    You use energy (calories) to stay alive. All day long your heart uses it to be, lungs to pump air and many many more complicated things. So, you need energy in (food) to accomplish that.

    On top of that you likely move about all day. That takes calories too. Just stuff like sitting at the computer, getting dressed, brushing teeth etc uses up more calories, so you add that on to the total you need to eat.

    Then comes the fun one...you exercise. All exercise uses up even more energy, but cardio typically uses much more because you do it for longer periods of time. You can really burn a bunch of calories this way.

    All of that is energy used in a day. Energy out.

    The food you eat provides all this energy (and lots and lots of other things you need). Basically, you HAVE to eat enough for the first one (if you want to figure out how much that is, it;s called Basal Metabolic Rate). You also need to fuel your exercise. This will come from your food and from your stored energy (most of it in the form of fat.) All of this leads to Energy Out.

    Here is the key point: If Energy In is more than Energy Out, you'll store that energy as fat. (Kind of stinks nowadays, but it's a great advantage evolutionarily speaking). If Energy In is less than Energy Out, your body will go to it's stored energy to make up the difference and you'll lose fat.

    In a way, it really doesn't matter when you eat. There are arguments for getting calories in right after exercise (the body takes in certain nutrients more readily then). Some say eat 6-7 small meals throughout the day, other don't. In the end, this is a long term process and you can spread your calories out however you need to to feel good throughout your day. You'll hear plenty of advice on the timing of meals, but that typically has more to do with nutrient uptake, athletic performance and appetite management than when or if the calories will be added on or burned off.

    I think it is well worth the effort to understand what it is you really need. Bob on Biggest Loser says this: Believe in Yourself. Trust the Process. Change Forever. It's worked well for me (nearing 25 pounds since the start of March).

    Believe, Trust. Change.

    Good luck.
  • WolffEarl
    WolffEarl Posts: 379 Member
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    There are a bunch of different considerations here.
    Exercising (or any kind of activity) requires calories. The amount of calories depend on the length, intensity and type of exercise you do. A 20 minute jog will burn much more than a 20 minute stroll in the park. Anyway, your body needs to get those calories from somewhere, i.e. from your stored glycogen and then fat stores. Generally, the body is thought to have about 20 minutes of stored glycogen before turning to fat stores.However, your weight, except for water loss through sweating perhaps, will not change right then and there. That is a long term commitment. HOWEVER, the part of your statement you might want to reconsider is the "will eating food eliminate the exercise" part. Absolutely not, because exercise has a 100 and 1 benefits for muscle strength, heart health, endurance, mental health, etc, etc. SO even if not a single pound would be lost, exercise is still awesome.
    Regarding when to eat, some people cannot function without a bit of food prior to exercise, some always replenish right after, some wait a bit. In either case, the body want to know it is not being starved. Regardless of when you eat, the MOST important part is WHAT you eat, not when you eat. Healthy food, NOT the processed or sugary stuff is the way to go. You cannot out exercise the food you eat. Most of us here subscribe to the idea of weightloss as being at least 80% nutrition related, and the rest exrcise related. So for weightloss think about what/how much you eat, for fitness and its many benefits think about the exercising you do. Life is good.
  • warcado
    warcado Posts: 7
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    I see what you mean, I think this is why I always gave up exercising though! As I'd think 'I've just done an hour exercise now I'm eating even more than I burnt'. But every little helps I spose :-)

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