MyFitnessPlus adds calories burned from cardio to my goal; so why do cardio?

junkmail4379 wrote: »

Please don't read my question as snide. It's an honest question.

MyFitnessPal begins the day by setting my daily calorie goal at 1,500. That's about 500 less than my average daily calorie requirements (which means I'm losing weight, which is good).

But if I add an exercise and burn (let's say) 300 calories, it adds that to my daily goal, from 1,500 to 1,800. So either way, I'm losing weight at the same rate (500 less than my daily requirements).

So my question is: is there any point to doing cardio at all?

Maybe there is. I'm finding that as I up my daily calorie goal, I have to eat more, which makes me feel less hungry throughout the day. I also imagine that cardio has many other health benefits than just losing weight. Am I right?

Yes, you're right. There's more point to it.

Think about it: Why do they call it cardiovascular exercise? Because it's good for your heart, blood vessels, blood pressure, etc.

It has other physiological benefits, too: Cortisol (stress hormone) reduction, cellular health stuff like telomere length, etc.

It has positive consequences in daily life: More endurance, higher energy level. (That last, as long as you don't overdo for your current fitness level. A manageable challenge to current fitness will improve fitness. As you get fitter, increase duration, frequency, intensity, or change exercise type to keep that mild challenge.)

Eating more calories not only can potentially reduce hunger, it also allows you to get more nutrition: More protein, more healthy fats, more servings of varied, colorful veggies and fruits. That nutrition is good for your health, too.

Here's a radical thought: Cardio doesn't cause weight loss. Whaaatt??!!

No, what causes weight loss is eating fewer calories than you burn (from everything you do, including just being alive, daily life stuff, exercise of all types). Cardio burns calories, sure.

Personally, I became a short-endurance athlete while still obese, trained hard 6 days most weeks, even competed (not always unsuccessfully, in age group competition). But I stayed obese for another dozen years that way, until I got my eating in line with my calorie burn. Yeah, the exercise made me fitter, healthier (not fully healthy), and improved my quality of life. But I stayed fat, because it was easy to eat those few hundred extra calories on average daily, especially when not calorie counting.

Furthermore, I also have a muscle building goal. My trainer tells me that if I want to lose weight (fat) while also build muscle, I have to remain in a sort of "goldilocks zone". If the gap between calories consumed and calories burned is too small, I won't lose fat weight (at least not at a reasonable rate). If it's too large, I won't build muscle (my body will just burn muscle as well as fat). So this consistent gap of 500 calories might also be built in to help keep me in this goldilocks zone for building muscle. Am I right about that?

Yes, that's right - approximately. But it's a continuum. The faster you lose weight, the less likely you are to add muscle mass.

Think about it: You're trying to gain weight (muscle) at the same time you're trying to lose weight (fat). That's a balancing act.

The maximum muscle-mass gain potential (in calorie terms) is with a calorie surplus (i.e., gaining scale weight over time). Anything less than that - weight maintenance or loss - limits muscle-mass gain potential. Somewhere at the faster loss end of that continuum is where loss of muscle mass starts to be a bigger risk. Good nutrition (especially but not exclusively adequate protein) and a good strength training program will limit the potential muscle mass loss to the extent feasible, and encourage muscle mass gain to the extent possible at reduced calories.

Results will vary individually, but you'll see them with patience and time. Expect to gain strength fairly fast at first when starting out, maybe even see some more muscle definition. The early stages of that aren't mostly muscle mass gain, but rather better recruiting and using existing muscle fibers (neuromuscular adaptation), and some "pump" from water retention for muscle repair, plus maybe thinning of the overlying subcutaneous fat layer letting muscles show more. It's all good stuff. Actually adding muscle fibers comes later and slower.

You're on a good track, sounds like your trainer's giving you good advice.

P.S. I do cardio because it's freakin' fun. My favorite types - rowing skinny rowing shells on water, riding my bike on the local trail system - are so fun I'd do them even if it weren't good for me (but they are). I do some other cardio (in our icy, snowy Winter) to stay in shape for the fun stuff. If your cardio isn't fun, or at least tolerably pleasant and practical, find different cardio. There are dozens or hundreds of options and only some of them are in a gym.

You want to exercise to get fitter and leaner and healthier. The app is only telling you how much calories you are burning when you exercise. If you want to lose weight quicker then DON'T eat these calories.

junkmail4379 wrote: »

Thanks for the feedback everyone!

The take away I'm getting from this is, no, cardio isn't technically necessary to achieve my goals, but there are certainly many health benefits to be gained from it anyway.

Exactly. And the way MFP is set up, giving you a calorie goal and adding the exercise calories on top as kind of a reward for doing something good for your health can strengthen this habit. With most calorie calculators an estimate for workout calories is already included in your deficit. Thus you might be getting 1500+300 here, but elsewhere you'd get 1800 to start with.

Cardio is exercising your cardiovascular system which keeps your heart healthy. Not to mention it increases your overall cardiovascular fitness so physically demanding recreational activities. Cardio can also be a lot of things, not just droning away on stationary equipment at the gym. You'll rarely find me doing that. Most of my cardio is cycling, mountain biking, hiking, and walking my dog with a bit of kayaking and swimming thrown in...and occasionally kicking around the soccer ball with my kids.

DJill68 wrote: »

There is a setting somewhere to choose whether to add your burned calories to your total, or not. It might be under the goals section.

Only in premium MFP though, not free MFP.