Is exercise enough?

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MirandaShelton88
MirandaShelton88 Posts: 5 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm new to this journey and I struggle with it a lot. I exercise daily but eating great is another story! I have stopped sodas! My question is, is it enough?

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  • CafeRacer808
    CafeRacer808 Posts: 2,396 Member
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    Look_Its_Kriss wrote: »
    No, most times its not, you need to take it less calories then your burning and in order to know if you're doin that you need to log your food, the TYPE of food is up to you but you need to make sure you are eating to the calorie goal MFP gave you otherwise you can very easily eat your entire workout burn with something as simple as a couple tablespoons of peanut butter

    All of this. Count calories and create a caloric deficit for weight loss. Exercise for general health/fitness and to make it easier to maintain a deficit.
  • Gallowmere1984
    Gallowmere1984 Posts: 6,626 Member
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    I once saw it put best: "the only ones who can burn a huge amount of calories without dedicated 8 hours per day to exercise are those that don't need to: trained athletes".

    Creating a caloric deficit via food restriction is much easier than trying to burn it off via movement. However, combining both is never a bad idea.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
    edited January 2017
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    OP, one way or another, you need to eat less calories than you burn.

    If you are currently maintaining your weight, and are OK with losing slowly, you can create the deficit you need only by increasing your exercise. But logging your food is still a good idea - because often people subconsciously eat more when they increase exercise. You should also note that calorie burns can vary greatly, so it can be a bit more difficult to figure out how much exercise will give you a 250 cal deficit, as opposed to eating 250 cals less.

    And if you want to lose 1 lb a week or more, it's going to be pretty tough to consistently burn off an extra 500 cals per day just with exercise. As others have said, diet is usually easier and a combination is, in my opinion at least, best.
  • Joanna2012B
    Joanna2012B Posts: 1,448 Member
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    What everyone says...You can't out train a bad diet. However, cutting soda is a good start!!
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,576 Member
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    MirandaShelton88 wrote: »
    I'm new to this journey and I struggle with it a lot. I exercise daily but eating great is another story! I have stopped sodas! My question is, is it enough?

    I can be enough if you weren't overeating by much and you don't start eating more when you exercise.

    No matter how much you exercise if you do not consume less calories than you expend you will not lose weight.
  • crzycatlady1
    crzycatlady1 Posts: 1,930 Member
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    It's very difficult to create the deficit needed to lose weight just by exercising.
  • ogtmama
    ogtmama Posts: 1,403 Member
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    It depends how much you're eating.

    If you're eating at maintenance for a sedentary lifestyle, any exercise beyond that will create a deficit and you will lose weight.

    If you're just exercising and eating whatever you want it's doubtful that you'll be in a deficit because exercise increases your appetite.

    I find exercise very helpful at keeping my calorie allowance at what I find a reasonable level (because I'm short to lose one pound a week leaves me only 1200 calories) but I definitely still have to count.
  • bigislandgrrl
    bigislandgrrl Posts: 196 Member
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    Calories in, calories out. I exercise to eat more. If I didn't work out, Id starve to death.
  • schelly81
    schelly81 Posts: 161 Member
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    I recently won a contest at my gym called the biggest mover. I took the most classes of anyone for 2 straight months. I also gained 7 pounds during this time. Food is very important.
  • jkwolly
    jkwolly Posts: 3,049 Member
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    Exercise for health
    Calories for weight loss
  • Theo166
    Theo166 Posts: 2,564 Member
    edited January 2017
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    MirandaShelton88 wrote: »
    I'm new to this journey and I struggle with it a lot. I exercise daily but eating great is another story! I have stopped sodas! My question is, is it enough?

    You won't know unless you spend some time tracking your food and exercise.

    You don't have to do it forever though. Even just a couple weeks of tracking will build your awareness and self control. Tracking teaches you how to make better choices and see the results.

    Example, logging 1400 calories one day for a bag of Doritos was a powerful experience.
  • PaulaWallaDingDong
    PaulaWallaDingDong Posts: 4,641 Member
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    It may work. It may not work. It depends on how much you were overeating and how long you can keep it up for. Personally, it never worked for me for more than 10 lbs, and then I'd burn out and rebound. Now I'm down over 90 lbs putting diet first and exercise a close second.
  • cerise_noir
    cerise_noir Posts: 5,468 Member
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    Joanna2012B wrote: »
    What everyone says...You can't out train a bad diet. However, cutting soda is a good start!!

    All you need for weight loss is a calorie deficit. MFP sets this up for you. You can still lose weight with soda, but drinking calories can be a waste unless you have a lot of calories left.

    A good option is to switch to diet/zero sodas.

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