Exercise and weight loss
feefee84
Posts: 27 Member
Hi, trying to lose weight and wondering how many times I need to exercise a week, I do Metafit 3/4 times a week is that too much or too little?
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For weight loss, none.
Exercise is for cardiovascular health and aesthetics. A calorie deficit is for weight loss.4 -
You don't have to exercise for weight loss. You can lose weight by eating less and/or moving more.
That said, exercise is great for your health and fitness. I exercise the same amount that I intend to exercise when I get to goal. Exercise is another lifestyle change for me.....one that will help me stay at goal (this time).4 -
Eat at a caloric deficit to lose weight.
Exercise for health and fitness, to retain lean muscle mass while eating at a deficit, and to give yourself a few more calories to eat throughout the day.3 -
Exercise does not induce weight loss...if it did, people trying to maintain their weight who exercise/train on the regular would simply wither away.
You burn fat when energy coming in is less than energy being expended. A calorie is a unit of energy...if you consume a balance of energy, you will maintain...if you consume energy in excess of expenditure, that energy will be stored as body fat (backup generator)...when you consume less energy than you expend, that backup generator kicks on and you burn fat (stored energy) to make up for the deficiency.
Regular exercise has numerous health benefits and the added bonus of expending a bit more energy than you otherwise would...but in most cases, it pales in comparison to the energy you expend merely existing and then going about your day to day.
If I can maintain my weight without exercise consuming 2400 calories, I will lose about 1 Lb per week without exercise consuming 1900 calories. If I exercise regularly and maintain on 3,000 calories with that exercise, I will lose about 1 Lb per week with that same exercise and consuming 2500 calories...conversely, with that same exercise, consuming 3,000 calories would result in maintaining weight...despite the fact that I'm exercising.
There is no universally correct answer to your question. The AHA recommends 150 minutes of light to moderate activity for general health...that equates to 30 minutes 5x per week. Other fitness aspirations would come into play after that.8 -
You don't have to exercise at all. A calorie deficit will give you weight loss, and as I'm on the exercise reserve (healing from surgery, can't exercise) I can assure you that it works. I do like to do cardio and some 'light' hand weights just for overall body health but it's not necessary.3
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I try to be active every day. Getting some cardio at lunch prevents an afternoon crash for me. Depending on the season, I walk, garden, or show shoe. I like to practice yoga a few times a week (I'd do it every morning if my sleep would cooperate
), and go to the gym to lift weights at least 3 times per week.
None of this is directly related to weight loss - I do it b/c I feel better, sleep better, make better food choices, and earn calories so I can eat more.3 -
Thank you all for replying, I have learnt a lot from
Your replies, thanks for taking the time5 -
The rest of my message didn't show up for some reason0
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I agree with the others it isn't necessary. It can be helpful to increase how much you can eat. I walk about a mile each way to work 3 times a week and three quarters of a mile at lunch, and it makes about a 200cal difference in terms of how much I can eat that day - which is really significant in terms of how easy it is to stick to my calories. That sort of small exercise is easy to incorporate and can give you extra wiggle room (as well as being healthy).
As for bigger exercise - find something you love and do it in amounts that you enjoy. I have a trike that I used to cycle to the supermarket and do the weekly shopping. I have just recently got it back on the road after repairing a crack in the frame, so the weekly shopping trips are back on the go. Cycling that 60lb beast 4 miles to the shop and then 4 miles back carrying its own weight in groceries buys me about 600 extra calories for a Friday night treat, plus I love every minute of it - but I would go mad trying to do the same amount of time on an exercise bike in the gym. It's all about what you enjoy, and what fits in your life.
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Exercise isn't required and yet I seriously doubt that I could have lost weight if I hadn't incorporated it into my routine. There were days when I was so hungry I could think of little else. I would reach the end of my set calorie goal and I wanted more. But after going for an hour long bicycle ride I had more calories. And yes, there were times I ate every last one of them. I still exercise and I enjoy it more now than when I was overweight. But now, it isn't that I have to exercise to stay within my goal, but because I do exercise I can get by with the occasional piece of cake after dinner or a donut that someone brings in to work even though I've already had breakfast. I can't eat just anything and everything, but I have more flexibility.8
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CI must be less than CO to create weight loss. Specifically, a person needs to consume (CI) 3500 fewer calories than they use (CO) to lose one pound.
Holding a person's current diet and activity level steady and then adjusting variables...
* Food alone can create that imbalance. So, eating less than they had been.
* Physical activity alone can. Moving more than they had been.
* A combo can. Eating less and moving more.
The "best" method depends on the individual.
Many, for example, find exercise alone less effective because it increases their appetite so they eat more calories. If they eat enough to balance their CI and CO, then no weight loss. Even worse if they eat more than their CO can afford!
Personally, my appetite doesn't increase proportionally with my CO. I can burn an extra 300 calories a day and have an increased appetite of only 100 calories, if even that. So I easily drop weight when I increase my physical activity (even when I'm not carrying extra weight and don't want to lose any.)
Another thing to keep in mind is that if someone's eating far more calories than her physical activity can reasonably match, then those calories MUST go down to achieve a CICO equilibrium at a healthy weight. CO just can't balance out an exorbitant amount of CI. Not everyone is overweight because of this type of imbalance though.1 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »Exercise does not induce weight loss...if it did, people trying to maintain their weight who exercise/train on the regular would simply wither away.
Weight loss is all about the right CICO balance, absolutely.
I think it's misleading though to say exercise doesn't induce weight loss. ? If CO increases and CI holds steady, then there's going to be weight loss. The people you mention are increasing their CI to compensate, so no weight loss.
I mean, you could say calorie restriction doesn't induce weight loss with the same reasoning. If you take an active person and reduce their CI but also reduce their CO proportionally, then they too aren't going to lose weight.
The relationship between the two is what matters, and changes to either end *can* cause weight loss/gain.
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I guess I'm one of those people who just can't separate out health and weight loss. I exercise for an hour (give or take) a day to sustain weight loss. It is more than just the "CO" part of "CICO" that a lot of people throw out. It helps your mood, which, if one eats for emotional reasons, can be extremely beneficial. It gives you an energy boost and can help control your appetite. Weight bearing exercise and strength training helps you to not lose so much muscle mass when you are eating at a caloric deficit which is a great thing! I just wouldn't lose weight without a decent exercise program to go with your dietary changes. But that's just me.3
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mactaffy428 wrote: »I guess I'm one of those people who just can't separate out health and weight loss. I exercise for an hour (give or take) a day to sustain weight loss. It is more than just the "CO" part of "CICO" that a lot of people throw out. It helps your mood, which, if one eats for emotional reasons, can be extremely beneficial. It gives you an energy boost and can help control your appetite. Weight bearing exercise and strength training helps you to not lose so much muscle mass when you are eating at a caloric deficit which is a great thing! I just wouldn't lose weight without a decent exercise program to go with your dietary changes. But that's just me.
This.
Exercise is important. You can lose weight without it, but you're going to have a lot of saggy skin/your overall health will not be great.
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Look_Its_Kriss wrote: »you lose weight by eating at a calorie deficit, MFP already gives you one
Excersize as much as you want to.
Yes but the MFP system incorporates exercise as an option for creating a calorie deficit. It does that by increasing the calories that can be eaten according to the calories that were burned. So some people could conceivably create their deficit in MFP by eating their same CI and adding in exercise. The lower the deficit the person chose to construct, the easier it is to do this.
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If I had to put numbers to this, I'd say it's 80% diet and 20% exercise.
Why people stress diet over exercise (and rightly so) is that you can lose weight by tracking you calories (diet) and knowing how many you burn without exercise, but you probably won't lose weight by doing a lot of exercising with no knowledge of your calories. So many come on here asking why they are not losing weight when they are hitting the gym 6 days a week and working their *kitten* off. But when asked about their diet, it turns out that they have started eating more because they are hungry from all the exercising and are not in a calorie deficit.
So set you stats up, don't be too aggressive on the weight loss goal (start at 1 lb a week) and don't overdue the exercises to the point of hurting yourself. As @teabea said above, try to do the same amount you think you would be doing if you were at your goal weight.
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Tacklewasher wrote: »If I had to put numbers to this, I'd say it's 80% diet and 20% exercise.
This ubiquitous statement is such a pet peeve of mine.
Good points otherwise though.
What I'm hearing in your 2nd paragraph is the importance of being aware. Knowing one's CI and CO (or, at lest getting as close to knowing those numbers as our imperfect tools allow).
I agree that's very helpful.
But I think people can take different strategies from that point, using purely CI or purely CO or a mix to lose and maintain. It really depends on the individual which method is best for weight management.
Saying it's 80% diet seems to say that diet is 80% responsible for a person's weight. But it's a two part formula. Both are equally important for creating a balance that results in a specific weight. I think some people throw the equation out of whack primarily with food (greatly overeat), some primarily with activity (way too inactive), and others with a mixture of the two. Correcting the equation depends on what's wrong with it in the first place.0 -
For me it tends to be around 40-60 in favor of evercise.
Everyone has to find their own combination to make their equation work. I get impatient with generalizations like "weight loss is in the kitchen; exercise is for health." For many people, the CI component is more important; but everyone is different.1 -
@Chunkahlunkah your posts are hitting the nail on the head.0
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Chunkahlunkah wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »Exercise does not induce weight loss...if it did, people trying to maintain their weight who exercise/train on the regular would simply wither away.
Weight loss is all about the right CICO balance, absolutely.
I think it's misleading though to say exercise doesn't induce weight loss. ? If CO increases and CI holds steady, then there's going to be weight loss. The people you mention are increasing their CI to compensate, so no weight loss.
I mean, you could say calorie restriction doesn't induce weight loss with the same reasoning. If you take an active person and reduce their CI but also reduce their CO proportionally, then they too aren't going to lose weight.
The relationship between the two is what matters, and changes to either end *can* cause weight loss/gain.
I don't think it's misleading at all...there are literally thousands of people I see here everyday and in my gym at home that think just because they're exercising that they should lose weight...no change...they are under the impression that the exercise itself should be melting the fat off and don't understand that it comes down to the calories they are taking in.
Exercise is for fitness and has the added benefit of a bit more energy expenditure...but again, it does not induce weight loss in and of itself, and that's what a lot of people think. Just go to about any gym and you will see it...just look at posts here about how they're exercising, but nothing is happening....these people are under the impression that the exercise in and of itself should be causing weight loss...they don't understand the energy balance...they think exercise is "magic"3 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »Chunkahlunkah wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »Exercise does not induce weight loss...if it did, people trying to maintain their weight who exercise/train on the regular would simply wither away.
Weight loss is all about the right CICO balance, absolutely.
I think it's misleading though to say exercise doesn't induce weight loss. ? If CO increases and CI holds steady, then there's going to be weight loss. The people you mention are increasing their CI to compensate, so no weight loss.
I mean, you could say calorie restriction doesn't induce weight loss with the same reasoning. If you take an active person and reduce their CI but also reduce their CO proportionally, then they too aren't going to lose weight.
The relationship between the two is what matters, and changes to either end *can* cause weight loss/gain.
I don't think it's misleading at all...there are literally thousands of people I see here everyday and in my gym at home that think just because they're exercising that they should lose weight...no change...they are under the impression that the exercise itself should be melting the fat off and don't understand that it comes down to the calories they are taking in.
Exercise is for fitness and has the added benefit of a bit more energy expenditure...but again, it does not induce weight loss in and of itself, and that's what a lot of people think. Just go to about any gym and you will see it...just look at posts here about how they're exercising, but nothing is happening....these people are under the impression that the exercise in and of itself should be causing weight loss...they don't understand the energy balance...they think exercise is "magic"
Well yes, their belief that exercise necessarily drops weight
is of course ignorant and wrong. CI must be less than CO. But exercise can and does induce weight loss when accurately manipulating that variable in the equation.
The "bit more energy expenditure" of exercise can be the difference between being fit and overweight. A consistent surplus/deficit of a few hundred calories is no small thing for the body.1 -
Chunkahlunkah wrote: »Tacklewasher wrote: »If I had to put numbers to this, I'd say it's 80% diet and 20% exercise.
This ubiquitous statement is such a pet peeve of mine.
So, FOR ME, I get 1600 calories from my NEAT less 1000 (losing 2 lb per week). I want to eat 2000 so I need 400 exercise calories per day.
Hey. 80/20
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Tacklewasher wrote: »Chunkahlunkah wrote: »Tacklewasher wrote: »If I had to put numbers to this, I'd say it's 80% diet and 20% exercise.
This ubiquitous statement is such a pet peeve of mine.
So, FOR ME, I get 1600 calories from my NEAT less 1000 (losing 2 lb per week). I want to eat 2000 so I need 400 exercise calories per day.
Hey. 80/20
Well that worked out neatly lol. I can read your 80/20 w/o cringing, thank you.
The thing though is it's not a constant. Even for you. That ratio is created in part by the rate of loss you chose. If you chose to lose weight at 1 lb/week instead, for example, you'd only need a 500 calorie deficit from your starting point of 2600 cal/day. Since you're comfortable eating only 2000 cal a day, weight loss could be 100/0 for you. Or since you're ok with 400 calories burned a day, it could instead be just 100 calories dieted, so 20/80.
What I have in mind when I talk about balancing the equation is TDEE. As an adult, I've had a relatively fixed calorie level that I intuitively eat. It's about 1700 cal a day, give or take 100. (I'm a short female.) If I eat that amount and am sedentary, the TDEE charts predict my weight is 160 pounds, which makes me obese. If I eat that weight and am lightly active, the TDEE charts predict my weight in the 110's, which gives me a normal BMI. That's a huge difference in weight from holding calories constant and merely doing (or not doing) a very reasonable amount of activity.
Most of my life I've been in the 110s. I've had a few dips into overweight, and all were due to a drop in my activity level to sedentary. So for me, my forays into overweight territory were 100% due to a lack of activity. I could eat less when I'm sedentary, but my body doesn't intuitively do so when my activity drops. Rather than restricting what I eat (which isn't an excessive number of calories to begin with), it makes more sense for me to be the weight I want by balancing my calorie level with light activity.
Everyone's different, but there are enough people who can easily make a significant difference in their weight by increasing their activity to a reasonable amount, that 80/20 claims drive me bonkers.
Except for yours, Tacklewasher. 0 -
Look_Its_Kriss wrote: »Chunkahlunkah wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »Chunkahlunkah wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »Exercise does not induce weight loss...if it did, people trying to maintain their weight who exercise/train on the regular would simply wither away.
Weight loss is all about the right CICO balance, absolutely.
I think it's misleading though to say exercise doesn't induce weight loss. ? If CO increases and CI holds steady, then there's going to be weight loss. The people you mention are increasing their CI to compensate, so no weight loss.
I mean, you could say calorie restriction doesn't induce weight loss with the same reasoning. If you take an active person and reduce their CI but also reduce their CO proportionally, then they too aren't going to lose weight.
The relationship between the two is what matters, and changes to either end *can* cause weight loss/gain.
I don't think it's misleading at all...there are literally thousands of people I see here everyday and in my gym at home that think just because they're exercising that they should lose weight...no change...they are under the impression that the exercise itself should be melting the fat off and don't understand that it comes down to the calories they are taking in.
Exercise is for fitness and has the added benefit of a bit more energy expenditure...but again, it does not induce weight loss in and of itself, and that's what a lot of people think. Just go to about any gym and you will see it...just look at posts here about how they're exercising, but nothing is happening....these people are under the impression that the exercise in and of itself should be causing weight loss...they don't understand the energy balance...they think exercise is "magic"
Well yes, their belief that exercise necessarily drops weight is of course ignorant and wrong. CI must be less than CO. But exercise can and does induce weight loss when accurately manipulating that variable in the equation.
The "bit more energy expenditure" of exercise can be the difference between being fit and overweight. A consistent surplus/deficit of a few hundred calories is no small thing for the body.
I definitely understand what you are saying and i agree, you can create a bigger deficit then what MFP gives you with excersize, of course.. for someone my size though, a bigger deficit isn't ideal simply because my 5 pounds left to lose, if i took on a bigger deficit i am leaving myself open to nutrient deficiencies so at this point my deficit is purely the one MFP gives me with a 250 calorie reduction under maintenance and the couple hours i spend in the gym, is simply for fitness and cardiovascular health, as i need to eat myself back to a proper calorie goal.
Oh no, sorry, I probably wasn't clear. I don't mean create a bigger deficit, just create one at all. For ex, if MFP says to lose 0.5lb/week a woman needs to eat 1500 calories a day, then what they're saying is she's currently averaging 1750. So that woman could keep eating 1750 and just add in 250 calories worth of exercise. When she adds the exercise into her diary, MFP bumps her weight loss calories up to 1750.
For someone who's currently sedentary and not eating that many cals to begin with, it could likely be easier to add in the totally absent exercise than drop cals. It depends on where the person is starting.
That's awesome that you're down to 5 pounds to lose!
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Chunkahlunkah wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »Chunkahlunkah wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »Exercise does not induce weight loss...if it did, people trying to maintain their weight who exercise/train on the regular would simply wither away.
Weight loss is all about the right CICO balance, absolutely.
I think it's misleading though to say exercise doesn't induce weight loss. ? If CO increases and CI holds steady, then there's going to be weight loss. The people you mention are increasing their CI to compensate, so no weight loss.
I mean, you could say calorie restriction doesn't induce weight loss with the same reasoning. If you take an active person and reduce their CI but also reduce their CO proportionally, then they too aren't going to lose weight.
The relationship between the two is what matters, and changes to either end *can* cause weight loss/gain.
I don't think it's misleading at all...there are literally thousands of people I see here everyday and in my gym at home that think just because they're exercising that they should lose weight...no change...they are under the impression that the exercise itself should be melting the fat off and don't understand that it comes down to the calories they are taking in.
Exercise is for fitness and has the added benefit of a bit more energy expenditure...but again, it does not induce weight loss in and of itself, and that's what a lot of people think. Just go to about any gym and you will see it...just look at posts here about how they're exercising, but nothing is happening....these people are under the impression that the exercise in and of itself should be causing weight loss...they don't understand the energy balance...they think exercise is "magic"
Well yes, their belief that exercise necessarily drops weight is of course ignorant and wrong. CI must be less than CO. But exercise can and does induce weight loss when accurately manipulating that variable in the equation.
The "bit more energy expenditure" of exercise can be the difference between being fit and overweight. A consistent surplus/deficit of a few hundred calories is no small thing for the body.
But look at the OP...the question is how many times do I need to workout to lose weight? There is quantifiable answer to that...2x...5x...7 days per week...doesn't really matter unless there is a deficit. I could tell her 5x per week, and that would be irrelevant without controlling calories...judging by the question I'm working under the assumption that the OP believes that exercise is was induces weight loss without understanding the an energy deficiency, regardless of how it comes about is what induces weight loss.
This comes up in the maintenance thread all of the time too..."going to maintenance, how much should I exercise?" Why should exercise be any different in maintenance...a lot of people so closely equate exercise with weight loss that they stop exercising altogether in maintenance...because they think it's just for weight loss.2 -
I think both perspectives on exercise can be correct, depending on how you look at it.
Yes, it's equal in the sense that someone who eats 500cal less will lose weight at the same rate as if they exercised 500cal more.
But diet is more important in the sense that it's a hell of a lot easier to eat 500 calories than to burn it through exercise.
Today I wanted home made cookies. So I cycled for half an hour and walked for an hour. That hour and a half of hard labour bought me three cookies. Three. They did not take very long to eat!2 -
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cwolfman13 wrote: »Chunkahlunkah wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »Chunkahlunkah wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »Exercise does not induce weight loss...if it did, people trying to maintain their weight who exercise/train on the regular would simply wither away.
Weight loss is all about the right CICO balance, absolutely.
I think it's misleading though to say exercise doesn't induce weight loss. ? If CO increases and CI holds steady, then there's going to be weight loss. The people you mention are increasing their CI to compensate, so no weight loss.
I mean, you could say calorie restriction doesn't induce weight loss with the same reasoning. If you take an active person and reduce their CI but also reduce their CO proportionally, then they too aren't going to lose weight.
The relationship between the two is what matters, and changes to either end *can* cause weight loss/gain.
I don't think it's misleading at all...there are literally thousands of people I see here everyday and in my gym at home that think just because they're exercising that they should lose weight...no change...they are under the impression that the exercise itself should be melting the fat off and don't understand that it comes down to the calories they are taking in.
Exercise is for fitness and has the added benefit of a bit more energy expenditure...but again, it does not induce weight loss in and of itself, and that's what a lot of people think. Just go to about any gym and you will see it...just look at posts here about how they're exercising, but nothing is happening....these people are under the impression that the exercise in and of itself should be causing weight loss...they don't understand the energy balance...they think exercise is "magic"
Well yes, their belief that exercise necessarily drops weight is of course ignorant and wrong. CI must be less than CO. But exercise can and does induce weight loss when accurately manipulating that variable in the equation.
The "bit more energy expenditure" of exercise can be the difference between being fit and overweight. A consistent surplus/deficit of a few hundred calories is no small thing for the body.
But look at the OP...the question is how many times do I need to workout to lose weight? There is quantifiable answer to that...2x...5x...7 days per week...doesn't really matter unless there is a deficit. I could tell her 5x per week, and that would be irrelevant without controlling calories...judging by the question I'm working under the assumption that the OP believes that exercise is was induces weight loss without understanding the an energy deficiency, regardless of how it comes about is what induces weight loss.
This comes up in the maintenance thread all of the time too..."going to maintenance, how much should I exercise?" Why should exercise be any different in maintenance...a lot of people so closely equate exercise with weight loss that they stop exercising altogether in maintenance...because they think it's just for weight loss.
Well you've been around these here parts far longer than I have, and I trust your take on what you witness. But to me, those comments indicate a lack of grasping CICO, so education needed on the concept. But I wouldn't want to teach those people that exercise/CO doesn't have a big impact on weight or that it's just for fitness. It can make a huge difference in weight loss and maintenance. It depends on the individual and what their CI and CO currently look like.
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