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Excercise to eat more???

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Replies

  • kanerz14
    kanerz14 Posts: 85 Member
    zyxst wrote: »
    I walk a lot because I like walking and it's better for me than sitting on my butt all day. I did teeter on the edge of "I ate this so I have to exercise now", but when I got it through my head how much exercise I had to do to burn off the 2 Ho-Hos/Swiss cake rolls I just ate, I stopped exercising to eat more. I'm always surprised at reading people tell others "exercise so you can eat more" because I have half the mentality to eat a bag of potato chips and go try to burn all those calories off. That's on me though. I understand the people giving that advice aren't suggesting to go scarf down a block of smoked cheddar cheese, then go work it off.

    I prefer to work foods into my day than push myself to exercise in order to accommodate those foods.

    Yeah I can relate to that.
    My calorie burns for a short run of around 4 miles is fairly low anyway, so it only gives me a wee bit of wriggle room, but the flexibility I appreciate and if I know I'm going to be eating more, such on days off from work or social occasions I tend to see my longer runs as both enjoyable for fitness and mental health, it also allows me to eat more. Prior to my journey when I was off work my release would tend to be alcohol and food. Now it's excercise and food.

    All in, the impression I get from the replies isthat there is not so much a yes or no camp but a whatever fits your lifestyle. To be mindful not to go full blown I.e running all day and eating all night and find decent balance.

    Hopefully I can get the balance and not be ravenous on my rest days. A wee bit about my routine. I maybe run around 5 days a week average of five miles sometimes upto 10. And on my rest days I do strength excercise. Maintenance calories are around 1800 and I eat back my excercise calories. (Only recently been doing this) I use a garmin forerunner to track calorie burns and has been accurate to date.

    Enjoy running (mostly when finished though lol)

    5 foot 7 and 124 pounds.

    All the best folks;)
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
    I absolutely exercise so I can eat more. I mean, I don't mind doing it and often I get bored on rest days, but being able to burn calories so I can eat more (or have a bigger deficit/make up for a bad day) is the reason I do it even when I don't feel like it.

    I use TDEE though so I don't log exercise.. I just know that even 100 burned calories is better than nothing.

    I don't have exercise goals, frankly... it's just part of my lifestyle now.
  • kanerz14
    kanerz14 Posts: 85 Member
    I like the idea of not having particular excercise goals more of a lifestyle and being content where you are;)
  • BinaryFu
    BinaryFu Posts: 240 Member
    edited May 2016
    You know, I'm of two minds about this and not just because I hate exercise, or movement in general.

    On one hand, if I know I'm going to some fancy dinner and they're going to have some of the finest steak and potatoes and drinks galore...then you better bet your sweet bottom I'm going to bust my bottom working out as much as I can that day so I can EARN that pig-out.

    On the other hand, generally speaking I've noticed that when I workout more, I tend to be hungrier so I wind up eating more anyhow. So, unless I'm trying to improve my cardio-vascular or my muscle tone/mass...I don't really want to bother with working out to justify eating more food (That I'm going to crave anyhow).

    Now I suppose it could be said if you were addicted to eating large meals all the time and psychologically felt happier after eating them; working out would be a guilt-free way of satisfying that psychological desire.
  • Meganthedogmom
    Meganthedogmom Posts: 1,639 Member
    I have grown to enjoy exercise, and I do it for several reasons. In no particular order: to become stronger/faster/to meet fitness goals. To eat more. To help with anxiety/stress/depression.
  • xmichaelyx
    xmichaelyx Posts: 883 Member
    Everything involving your calories is at best an estimate. What you eat, what you burn exercising, what you burn doing nothing ... it's all very inexact.

    Eating back your exercise calories adds yet another inexact measurement, so I don't do it. I already know that my calories are right where I want them, because I continue to make my weight goals. There's no need to add any more complications.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,970 Member
    I think it's a lousy idea (but very typical) to exercise with the intention of "burning calories". It's not optimal for fitness, it's just grinding yourself up. For what? To stuff your face a bit more?

    How do you figure? Running is great for cardiovascular health, no matter what your motivation is. It's not like exercise is good for you if you do it to feel good but bad if you do it to look good, good if you do it on weekdays but bad if to eat food, good if you wear bright clothing and bad if you do it to be seen by the opposite sex. No, exercising benefits your fitness, period.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,970 Member
    I think it's a lousy idea (but very typical) to exercise with the intention of "burning calories". It's not optimal for fitness, it's just grinding yourself up. For what? To stuff your face a bit more?

    How do you figure? Running is great for cardiovascular health, no matter what your motivation is. It's not like exercise is good for you if you do it to feel good but bad if you do it to look good, good if you do it on weekdays but bad if to eat food, good if you wear bright clothing and bad if you do it to be seen by the opposite sex. No, exercising benefits your fitness, period.
  • rankinsect
    rankinsect Posts: 2,238 Member
    I think it can be very mentally unhealthy if you get into a cycle where you overexercise to "punish" yourself for going over on calories.

    On the other hand, eating more is a very real benefit of being more active. It's not the only benefit, but I don't think it's wrong to see it as a benefit.
  • feisty_bucket
    feisty_bucket Posts: 1,047 Member
    No, exercising benefits your fitness, period.

    When I say "grinding", it's not that simple.

    Fer example: knee cartilage has a finite lifespan. The tiny little bones and tendons in the feet are easily overstressed. OP could run hard for two hours every day in order to eat an extra piece of pie with ice cream. And maybe blow out his knees in a few years. Or he could do a half-hour, two or three times a week, let's say that's sustainable, and stay functioning and non-crippled the rest of his life.

    Just an imaginary scenario to illustrate my lil' point. Exercising is about creating a stimulus, followed by a rest and recovery. Too much stimulus is damaging, and too much rest is missed potential for growth. Ideally, you want to find the optimum point in the middle there.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    snikkins wrote: »
    I absolutely exercise to eat more but I don't punish myself with exercise if I eat a bit too much.

    I think it's the punishment portion that you'd have to worry about if that is your mindset.

    I agree. If I happen to over eat, I'm not going to go out for a run at 11 at night to make up for it or punish myself by running myself into the ground for 4 hours on the treadmill. This is where disordered eating/thinking comes into play IMO...

  • moe0303
    moe0303 Posts: 934 Member
    Sorry if it has already been said, but there is a such thing as exercise bulimia. I don't know much about it, but I would assume it would involve some pretty extreme eating behaviors and using exercise to facilitate that.
  • snikkins
    snikkins Posts: 1,282 Member
    snikkins wrote: »
    I absolutely exercise to eat more but I don't punish myself with exercise if I eat a bit too much.

    I think it's the punishment portion that you'd have to worry about if that is your mindset.

    I agree. If I happen to over eat, I'm not going to go out for a run at 11 at night to make up for it or punish myself by running myself into the ground for 4 hours on the treadmill. This is where disordered eating/thinking comes into play IMO...

    Yup!

    And, this conversation reminds me of Part Two of the Oatmeal's comic The Terrible and Wonderful Reasons Why I Run Long Distances.
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,725 Member
    snikkins wrote: »
    I absolutely exercise to eat more but I don't punish myself with exercise if I eat a bit too much.

    I think it's the punishment portion that you'd have to worry about if that is your mindset.

    I agree. If I happen to over eat, I'm not going to go out for a run at 11 at night to make up for it or punish myself by running myself into the ground for 4 hours on the treadmill. This is where disordered eating/thinking comes into play IMO...

    Not gonna lie, I wish I had the cojones to go for a run at 11 o'clock at night, instead I lay here and whine :bigsmile:

    And I agree no one here is promoting binge eating or exercise bulimia. Frankly, those strike me as mental issues and not someone exercising a bit more so they can fit in Dairy Queen blizzards on a more frequent basis. Heck eating more foods one loves may be good for mental health, how about that!

    I'm not saying stop improving yourself and figuring out how to stay within a lower calorie goal with diet only (assuming that's an interest), but if a couple extra hours of exercise a week is what it takes to meet your goal in the short term and you can fit it in, get your *kitten* out there and get it done. There's no need to be unsuccessful short term just because you haven't yet figured it all out.
  • kanerz14
    kanerz14 Posts: 85 Member
    No, exercising benefits your fitness, period.

    When I say "grinding", it's not that simple.

    Fer example: knee cartilage has a finite lifespan. The tiny little bones and tendons in the feet are easily overstressed. OP could run hard for two hours every day in order to eat an extra piece of pie with ice cream. And maybe blow out his knees in a few years. Or he could do a half-hour, two or three times a week, let's say that's sustainable, and stay functioning and non-crippled the rest of his life.

    Just an imaginary scenario to illustrate my lil' point. Exercising is about creating a stimulus, followed by a rest and recovery. Too much stimulus is damaging, and too much rest is missed potential for growth. Ideally, you want to find the optimum point in the middle there.

    Yep defo not running two hours daily lol:)

    the middle ground is what I'm aiming for...
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    rankinsect wrote: »
    I think it can be very mentally unhealthy if you get into a cycle where you overexercise to "punish" yourself for going over on calories.

    Agreed, but that doesn't follow from simply adding in exercise due to the calorie burn. Many people who do that also end up finding something they love and seeing many other benefits from it, and regularly including an hour (say) of planned somewhat intense activity in your day doesn't mean you are punishing yourself for eating, of course.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 24,706 Member
    I enjoy exercise ... and I like the fact that exercise enables me to eat more. :)

    I love weekends because I can go out for a long bicycle ride or hike ... which I enjoy doing and think is a perfect way to spend Saturday and Sunday afternoons ... and then I can come home and have whatever I want to eat. :grin:
  • Wicked_Seraph
    Wicked_Seraph Posts: 388 Member
    edited May 2016
    I think having a bit of a calorie buffer provided by exercise helps me in that while I'm aiming for a certain amount of calories... I could have a bit more, if I wanted to. I don't function well being told I CAN'T do something (such as, "I CAN'T go over 1200 cals"), so knowing that I COULD often is enough for me to stay under or around the appropriate amount. Idk if this even makes a lick of sense. I don't put too much stock in the exercise calories given by MFP or Fitbit, so I try avoid eating too many of them back.

    I find that actually, staying on track with exercise helps me stay on track with food. Not like, "oh, I can eat whatever now," but I ALWAYS find that skipping a running day - or several - tends to be followed very quickly by eating more than I should - and foods that are lacking in the nutrition department. Skimping on exercise --> binging. If I'm doing well on working out and running, I tend to treat food more like delicious fuel and eat more reasonably.