Eating less vs exercising more?
Relaxingmind
Posts: 55 Member
Over a 1+ year period I lost a good amount of fat because I used to be overweight. I made sure to eat at a 300-500 deficit from my TDEE (according to myfitnesspal). This was before any added exercise. I did exercise but not much, and I still do. The problem is I'm only 7 pounds away from my goal weight and I feel like I just can't do counting deficits anymore. It's getting too difficult so I was wondering would I still see results if I instead ate at maintenance and increased my exercise and activity?
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There is a good chance you will see results ... try it.
Just calculate your exercise low ... pick a slower speed than what you figure you're doing or round down the time/distance. For example, I select the "light" choice when I ride my bicycle on the trainer even if I've been doing pretty intense commercial intervals. And I don't count warm ups and cool downs.2 -
If you eat at your current TDEE and add more activity then you should still lose - provided you're burning an additional 300-500 calories per day. Make sure you track your weight regularly so you know if you are losing at the rate you'd like because as you lose weight your BMR will decrease as will the amount of calories you burn from exercise so keep this in mind. For example a 70kg person has a higher BMR than a 60kg person and will also burn more calories doing the same amount and intensity of exercise. In addition to this your body will adapt to exercise and become more efficient even without a change in weight (i.e. you will burn less calories for the same amount of exercise as your body adapts).1
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I personally do not believe that one can effectively lose weight with out both eating in a deficit and exercising. One with out the other leaves more room for error. Now how much to do of both is up to the individual. MFP is suppose to already have you eating at a deficit (if you have your profile set to lose) so if you stick to that on top of exercising you will be golden. But test it out. If it ends up not working or you dont like it then you can go back to what you were doing.0
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djspacecaptain wrote: »I personally do not believe that one can effectively lose weight with out both eating in a deficit and exercising. One with out the other leaves more room for error. Now how much to do of both is up to the individual. MFP is suppose to already have you eating at a deficit (if you have your profile set to lose) so if you stick to that on top of exercising you will be golden. But test it out. If it ends up not working or you dont like it then you can go back to what you were doing.
Interesting. I lost over thirty pounds with just adapting my calories in versus calories out to create a deficit. Once I exercised I found my appetite went way up and my weight loss slowed considerably!
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djspacecaptain wrote: »I personally do not believe that one can effectively lose weight with out both eating in a deficit and exercising. One with out the other leaves more room for error. Now how much to do of both is up to the individual. MFP is suppose to already have you eating at a deficit (if you have your profile set to lose) so if you stick to that on top of exercising you will be golden. But test it out. If it ends up not working or you dont like it then you can go back to what you were doing.
You are wrong. A calorie deficit can be created in anyway and is the only way to lose weight. Someone completely sedentary can lose weight by restricting calories to create a deficit. Exercise is not required, however can be very useful to increase your deficit.6 -
djspacecaptain wrote: »I personally do not believe that one can effectively lose weight with out both eating in a deficit and exercising. One with out the other leaves more room for error. Now how much to do of both is up to the individual. MFP is suppose to already have you eating at a deficit (if you have your profile set to lose) so if you stick to that on top of exercising you will be golden. But test it out. If it ends up not working or you dont like it then you can go back to what you were doing.
But sure you believe that weightloss just by exercising is pointless? I think here we all believe that effectively loosing weight can only be achieved by first having your food intake in order. I that case exercising is the 'extra'. Not the base0 -
djspacecaptain wrote: »I personally do not believe that one can effectively lose weight with out both eating in a deficit and exercising. One with out the other leaves more room for error. Now how much to do of both is up to the individual. MFP is suppose to already have you eating at a deficit (if you have your profile set to lose) so if you stick to that on top of exercising you will be golden. But test it out. If it ends up not working or you dont like it then you can go back to what you were doing.
I beg to differ with your opinion since I've barely exercised at all during this last year in which I've lost 95lbs.5 -
I think it's harder to increase exercise without a related increase in appetite so you will have to continue to log accurately ..even if that logging is at your old maintenance
So I don't see any direct benefit in changing your approach to be honest ...but it's certainly worth trying
Benefit in terms of weight loss of course, rather than fitness / body composition3 -
Yeah I've lost my first 14lbs without exercising. I have now started to incorporate exercise but that's partly so I can eat more and partly because I want to be stronger. I could have continued as I was and continued to lose weight.1
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hjlourenshj wrote: »djspacecaptain wrote: »I personally do not believe that one can effectively lose weight with out both eating in a deficit and exercising. One with out the other leaves more room for error. Now how much to do of both is up to the individual. MFP is suppose to already have you eating at a deficit (if you have your profile set to lose) so if you stick to that on top of exercising you will be golden. But test it out. If it ends up not working or you dont like it then you can go back to what you were doing.
But sure you believe that weightloss just by exercising is pointless? I think here we all believe that effectively loosing weight can only be achieved by first having your food intake in order. I that case exercising is the 'extra'. Not the base
Like the OP, I want to lose about 5-7lbs, and I am doing it by eating at pretty much what I take maintenance to be (1800ish) but not eating my exercise calories (admittedly there are quite a lot of these). It's working fine, as obviously I *am* creating a deficit by burning more calories than I am consuming. There is nothing wrong with my food intake, as I'm already a healthy weight and quite close to my goal, and when I reach my goal I'll be able to eat more than 1800 as I'll still be exercising. Indeed, I'll *have* to eat more than 1800 so as not to lose even more. I'm quite looking forward to it.
However, even though I haven't built a deficit into my MFP goals (because I don't think I need to eat a deficit every day if I don't feel like it, especially on rest days, and I find it discouraging to have a lower baseline than 3 reasonable-sized meals + snacks), I do still find it useful to track my intake.2 -
Well, you can eat in a smaller deficit and exercise more. So, instead of eating a 500 calorie deficit per day, you could do 300 calories. Then burn an extra 200 calories in exercise. Just make sure you are getting as accurate as possible calorie burn.
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Relaxingmind wrote: »Over a 1+ year period I lost a good amount of fat because I used to be overweight. I made sure to eat at a 300-500 deficit from my TDEE (according to myfitnesspal). This was before any added exercise. I did exercise but not much, and I still do. The problem is I'm only 7 pounds away from my goal weight and I feel like I just can't do counting deficits anymore. It's getting too difficult so I was wondering would I still see results if I instead ate at maintenance and increased my exercise and activity?
Sure, you can certainly create a calorie deficit this way.0 -
Exercising more boosted my appetite, unfortunately, so it doesn't really work.1
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Relaxingmind wrote: »Over a 1+ year period I lost a good amount of fat because I used to be overweight. I made sure to eat at a 300-500 deficit from my TDEE (according to myfitnesspal). This was before any added exercise. I did exercise but not much, and I still do. The problem is I'm only 7 pounds away from my goal weight and I feel like I just can't do counting deficits anymore. It's getting too difficult so I was wondering would I still see results if I instead ate at maintenance and increased my exercise and activity?
What is it about 'counting deficits' that's getting too difficult? And if you're not counting your calories (in spite of increased exercise) how will you know whether or not you're eating at maintenance?1 -
When I was your age, I found it very easy to lose weight without exercising... Now that I'm older and wiser I really wish I had started working out more regularly when I was in my 20's! I'm pretty fit now (and I have way better muscle definition than I did when I was a skinny twenty-something)--but I can only think how much better it would be had I started sooner.
Try adding some exercise--it probably can't hurt.0 -
personally I think eating is 80% of it and its much easier to do cico versus increased exercise, but try it out and see. or maybe go maintenance for a short time to give yourself a break and then start back up.0
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Eating at maintenance would mean no weight gain or loss. Find your TDEE (that includes exercise and activity) and eat 250 calories less.Relaxingmind wrote: »Over a 1+ year period I lost a good amount of fat because I used to be overweight. I made sure to eat at a 300-500 deficit from my TDEE (according to myfitnesspal). This was before any added exercise. I did exercise but not much, and I still do. The problem is I'm only 7 pounds away from my goal weight and I feel like I just can't do counting deficits anymore. It's getting too difficult so I was wondering would I still see results if I instead ate at maintenance and increased my exercise and activity?
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Be careful... be very very very careful... exercising can become HIGHLY addictive....
The more you do, the easier it becomes, and the easier it becomes, the more you do.... soon, you have to eat LOTS just to keep up!!! ;(0 -
hjlourenshj wrote: »djspacecaptain wrote: »I personally do not believe that one can effectively lose weight with out both eating in a deficit and exercising. One with out the other leaves more room for error. Now how much to do of both is up to the individual. MFP is suppose to already have you eating at a deficit (if you have your profile set to lose) so if you stick to that on top of exercising you will be golden. But test it out. If it ends up not working or you dont like it then you can go back to what you were doing.
But sure you believe that weightloss just by exercising is pointless? I think here we all believe that effectively loosing weight can only be achieved by first having your food intake in order. I that case exercising is the 'extra'. Not the base
Nope. A) he's already got his eating in order and lost a significant amount of weight that way and b) any way you create a deficit will cause you to lose weight.0 -
Everyone's experience is different, so you will have to try it to see if it works. However, my advice would be to not try it. Again, everyone is different, but my experience is that more cardio equals more appetite and I can quickly erase whatever deficit I created through exercise. I still do cardio for heart and brain health and because I like it, but I don't consider it a part of weight control.
However, strength training is a whole different story. By strength training, I saw fantastic gains in how I looked even without actually losing weight. You might find you are more happy with your body even without losing those last couple pounds if you added resistance training. And, for me, strength training does not produce the same levels of hunger that cardio does. But, you have to choose a good program, and do it correctly. StrongLifts is a very popular beginner program.0 -
I love working out...and I love eating...so for me, moving more to eat more makes sense. My overall calorie deficits are much bigger when I workout.0
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I have to do both or I get no weight loss/fat loss results. It seems if all I do is count cals, I just end up slowing down physically so that I burn much less. If I just exercise, I probably eat more without noticing. I have to count cals AND work out regularly if I hope to get any positive results at all.0
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I'm within a few pounds of goal and any deficit I get these days comes from exercise. I just can't eat any less at this point. Fortunately for me exercise, especially cardio, decreases my appetite fairly significantly. Not sure what's up with that but not complaining!0
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Oh, and meant to add that I totally get where you're coming from. Eating at a deficit for long periods of time, especially if you have a low number to start with is HARD. Great job on your loss.0
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djspacecaptain wrote: »I personally do not believe that one can effectively lose weight with out both eating in a deficit and exercising. One with out the other leaves more room for error. Now how much to do of both is up to the individual. MFP is suppose to already have you eating at a deficit (if you have your profile set to lose) so if you stick to that on top of exercising you will be golden. But test it out. If it ends up not working or you dont like it then you can go back to what you were doing.
I've lost weight before without exercising. So just because you personally believe something that doesn't make it true. But I do agree that the best way to lose weight is to eat at a deficit and exercise. But just eating at a deficit will work.
OP, if you want create your deficit through exercise rather than through eating less then that is fine. For most people it is easier to eat 500 calories less than before rather than add 500 calories of exercise. But if you are tired of eating at a deficit then you should be able to still lose weight by increasing your activity.0 -
djspacecaptain wrote: »I personally do not believe that one can effectively lose weight with out both eating in a deficit and exercising. One with out the other leaves more room for error. Now how much to do of both is up to the individual. MFP is suppose to already have you eating at a deficit (if you have your profile set to lose) so if you stick to that on top of exercising you will be golden. But test it out. If it ends up not working or you dont like it then you can go back to what you were doing.
I've lost weight before without exercising. So just because you personally believe something that doesn't make it true. But I do agree that the best way to lose weight is to eat at a deficit and exercise. But just eating at a deficit will work.
OP, if you want create your deficit through exercise rather than through eating less then that is fine. For most people it is easier to eat 500 calories less than before rather than add 500 calories of exercise. But if you are tired of eating at a deficit then you should be able to still lose weight by increasing your activity.
Because it's her personal belief, it makes it true for her, personally.
As for the second bolded part, I "personally" disagree...I find it much easier to get in 500 cals worth of exercise over 24 hours than I do to eat 500 calories less.0 -
If you're losing weight, by definition you aren't eating at maintenance. How you get there can vary: you can eat less than you need to maintain at your current activity level (including exercise), or you can be more active.
It's like saying that you want to start saving another $50/month for vacation. You can either spend less or earn more (part-time job, ask for a raise, work overtime, etc.). Either way, if you stick with it you'll have $600 at the end of a year. Weight loss is analogous.1 -
JustMissTracy wrote: »djspacecaptain wrote: »I personally do not believe that one can effectively lose weight with out both eating in a deficit and exercising. One with out the other leaves more room for error. Now how much to do of both is up to the individual. MFP is suppose to already have you eating at a deficit (if you have your profile set to lose) so if you stick to that on top of exercising you will be golden. But test it out. If it ends up not working or you dont like it then you can go back to what you were doing.
I've lost weight before without exercising. So just because you personally believe something that doesn't make it true. But I do agree that the best way to lose weight is to eat at a deficit and exercise. But just eating at a deficit will work.
OP, if you want create your deficit through exercise rather than through eating less then that is fine. For most people it is easier to eat 500 calories less than before rather than add 500 calories of exercise. But if you are tired of eating at a deficit then you should be able to still lose weight by increasing your activity.
Because it's her personal belief, it makes it true for her, personally.
As for the second bolded part, I "personally" disagree...I find it much easier to get in 500 cals worth of exercise over 24 hours than I do to eat 500 calories less.
She didn't say that she could not lose weight effectively without both. She said she didn't believe one could effectively lose weight without both. Plenty of people effectively lose weight without exercising.
And I didn't say that it was easier for everyone to eat 500 calories less. I said it was easier for most people. You are obviously not most people.1 -
You're right, I'm not. Are you? I said I "personally" disagree..."I".0
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