Eating exercise calories

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sunshines4nate
sunshines4nate Posts: 22 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
If we are aiming for 1200 and burn 400.. mfp says to then eat 1600..

What then is the point in burning the 400 at all? Alobviousky exercise makes you healthier on the inside but as far as weight loss goes do we have a scientific explanation in here? Thanks NSX

Replies

  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
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    This is one of my favorite write-ups on the subject: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/818082/exercise-calories-again-wtf/p1
  • ogtmama
    ogtmama Posts: 1,403 Member
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    sunshines4nate wrote: »
    If we are aiming for 1200 and burn 400.. mfp says to then eat 1600..

    What then is the point in burning the 400 at all? Alobviousky exercise makes you healthier on the inside but as far as weight loss goes do we have a scientific explanation in here? Thanks NSX

    So you can eat more!
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    eveandqsmom wrote: »
    sunshines4nate wrote: »
    If we are aiming for 1200 and burn 400.. mfp says to then eat 1600..

    What then is the point in burning the 400 at all? Alobviousky exercise makes you healthier on the inside but as far as weight loss goes do we have a scientific explanation in here? Thanks NSX

    So you can eat more!

    Winner winner, chicken dinner!
  • sunshines4nate
    sunshines4nate Posts: 22 Member
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    Ahthis is fab.. i use MFP whih says i should eat 1200 but i just mean.. if i then workout and burn 400cals.. and i then need to eat 400cals. Why bother working out at all? Lol. I know thats lazy but it seems couter productive pushing yourself to do both diet and exercise (which neither im used too) if im eatinf everything im burning lol! X
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
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    MFP's base calorie goal is so that you lose without exercise.
    When you exercise you increase your total calorie burn for the day. This means to maintain the deficit you have you need to eat more. Exercise is good for health, mood and body composition.

    If your deficit gets too large, your body will start using your lean body mass for fuel (muscle, organs, ect). You are also likely to feel tired all the time, be hangry, and it could lead to a binge.
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
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    sunshines4nate wrote: »
    Ahthis is fab.. i use MFP whih says i should eat 1200 but i just mean.. if i then workout and burn 400cals.. and i then need to eat 400cals. Why bother working out at all? Lol. I know thats lazy but it seems couter productive pushing yourself to do both diet and exercise (which neither im used too) if im eatinf everything im burning lol! X

    Some of us look at it from the perspective of eating back the 400 calories helps us fuel our next workout. Creating a large deficit, especially when at a low calorie goal like 1200, can be counterproductive in fitness goals.
    It isn't counterproductive to exericse and diet. You can make fitness gains while losing weight. Losing weight can improve fitness gains. Win-win.

    Also, what shadow2soul said.
  • st476
    st476 Posts: 357 Member
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    sunshines4nate wrote: »
    Ahthis is fab.. i use MFP whih says i should eat 1200 but i just mean.. if i then workout and burn 400cals.. and i then need to eat 400cals. Why bother working out at all? Lol. I know thats lazy but it seems couter productive pushing yourself to do both diet and exercise (which neither im used too) if im eatinf everything im burning lol! X
    you don't have to exercise. It's just that if you do, you can eat more calories. If you don't eat exercise calories back, you're technically only eating 800 calories which would be really unhealthy. If you'd rather eat 1200 and not exercise, you would get the same results as if you were to eat 1600 and burn 400 (assuming that you know for sure that you're actually burning 400)
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
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    One of the main reasons I exercise is so i can eat more.

    I pre-log my day every morning, and 9 times out of 10 i'm over my daily calorie goal, but i can quickly turn those numbers from red back to green by exercising.
  • pebble4321
    pebble4321 Posts: 1,132 Member
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    Exercise is great for your cardiovascular health, for your bones, your muscles, your mood, your digestion.

    You're right that you don't have to exercise, you could just stay still and eat less and you would still lose weight.
    For me, it's a double bonus - exercise makes me feel good, and I get to eat more. Why wouldn't I want to?
  • Happysoul0317
    Happysoul0317 Posts: 119 Member
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    I like it. I'm still hungry of I eat only 1200 calories. So I burn calories and get to eat more and I still hit my goal. It's accountability I guess. Yes you can eat more but if you wanna drop pounds, you have to earn those extra calories.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,866 Member
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    Reasonable exercise, properly fueled (i.e., eating back most/all of the exercise calories) reduces stress, reduces the likelihood that your body will slow down to compensate for reducing calories, builds muscle which burns more calories even at rest . . . all of those things help achieve and sustain weight loss.

    But you don't have to exercise, it's optional . . . unless, y'know, you like to feel better, be healthier, and eat more.

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