Would it be better to work out more or eat less?

Rachelphobia
Rachelphobia Posts: 60
in Health and Weight Loss
I am 18, 5'10 and 250 pounds...I am just starting out and food is one of my biggest challenges, I've been really motivated to work out because, when working out, I am allowed to eat more during the day.

I know that you should eat calories including the ones added from working out...But would it be better to eat less (also working out less) or eat more (and in turn working out more)?

Replies

  • dg09
    dg09 Posts: 754
    Work out more, eat more.
  • Dahllywood
    Dahllywood Posts: 642 Member
    Find a healthy balance. The goal (at least for me) wasn't to just hit the target, but to create a healthy lifestyle. In order to do that you have to equal out the imbalances such as poor diet and not enough exercise. By improving both, you are making it easier on yourself.

    'Diets' don't work. Life changes do.

    Good luck :)
  • Genozid
    Genozid Posts: 30
    Actually, ^ is right. Work out more, and eat 5 small meals a day. It's quite simple, and you'll be satisfied.

    Keep them around 300-400 calories each and find a good nutrition plan, to ensure you have the energy for your day!


    Message me if you need any help setting up a plan!
  • Ohbutiloveicecream
    Ohbutiloveicecream Posts: 37 Member
    Work out more, eat more.
    From "The New Rules Of Lifting":

    "With adequate fuel you get more out of your workouts--you can exercise harder and/or longer and that means you burn more calories during the workout...a harder workout produces a bigger afterburn..."

    So yes: eat more (healthy) food & move more.
    :)
  • treetop57
    treetop57 Posts: 1,578 Member
    I ran across this earlier today.
    Body Composition
    A negative energy balance generated by cardiorespiratory activity, instead of reduced caloric intake, and sustained for several months has been shown to result in weight loss that is predominantly attributable to a loss of body fat (Bouchard & Despres, 1995) . In contrast, when the negative energy balance is caused by lower energy intake (through diet alone), one also loses a significant amount of lean tissues, which may be as much as 50% of the total weight loss (Tremblay, Despres, & Bouchard, 1985) .

    Resistance training and circuit training studies have shown decreases in body weight and fat mass with comparable increases in fat-free mass (Gettman & Pollock, 1981) . One of the noteworthy benefits of resistance exercise, as it relates to weight loss, is the positive impact of increasing energy expenditure during the exercise session and on maintaining, or increasing, fat-free body mass while encouraging the loss of fat body weight (Young & Steinhard, 1995) . An impressive finding to highlight with resistance training is that the energy expenditure following higher total volume workouts appears to be elevated, with an increase in fat utilization (due to a lower respiratory exchange ratio) during this period (Melby, Scholl, Edwards, & Bullough, 1993) . The evidence unequivocally supports the combined use of aerobic exercise and resistance training for optimal changes in body composition to successfully attain weight management goals.

    http://www.unm.edu/~lkravitz/Article folder/aerovsresist.html

    I read that to mean that you can lose weight by reducing calories alone . . . but you will lose both muscle and fat.

    If you lose weight by increasing exercise, you will lose mostly fat and possibly even gain muscle.

    And if you do resistance training, you will increase your calorie burn even when you are not exercising.
  • Rachelphobia
    Rachelphobia Posts: 60
    Thanks for the responses, they were helpful :) I figured more exercise would be the better option, but I wanted a second opinion before I went out and scheduled my activities and meals.
  • SPNLuver83
    SPNLuver83 Posts: 2,050 Member
    work out more and eat more (but just make sure the things you eat more of are not junk foods!)

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