Question about burning calories..

Hi, i always wondered this, and im sorry if it's been asked before..

Lets say someone normally ate 1200 calories in order to loose weight without excersize (being sedentary). Okay, so what if that person ate 1500 calories but burned off 300 through excersise, would that be the exact same as just eating 1200 without the excersise?

For me i loose more weight when i dont excersise, but eat less calories (not the same numbers as i used above). When i eat more and excersise more i usually just maintain or even gain!! 

So yeah, pretty much what im asking is if someone just ate 500 calories would it be the same thing as if someone were to burn 500 in excersise and eat 1000 calories? I mean would your body take it in the same and loose weight like it would be if you only had eaten 500?

(im not promoting eating 500/1000 calories, i was just using it as an example)

Yes I think it would be the same.  The reason you probably see a gain/maintain when you eat more while exercising more is because your body hasn't had enough time to use the food that you ate.  There is more weight in food inside your body so that would account for the weight 'gain', but you wouldn't gain fat.   Another possibility if this is over a longer period of time is that you are gaining muscle through exercise or at least maintaining it.  Losing weight without exercise means losing muscle as well as fat.  Hopefully that sort of answered your question. 

I can't find the cite for the study, but, yes, the research suggests that it's the same. A caloric defict is a caloric deficit, regardless of the origin.

The flipside to that is regular exercise has 843 other benefits rather than weight loss.

It is the same overall, except that the exercise does contribute to your overall health.  In the short term, you will experience more fluctuation due to water retention by muscles that are worked.

Thanks everyone for the replies, 

Thanks for your information. I started my diet today and will start exercise as well.

I think its the same amount of net calories, but if you're doing excersize can build muscle and increase metabolism, and be more fit and healthy =)

you know i have the same problem

i loose weight better wit diet but if i diet and exercise i either gain weight or maintain weight.. it's really strange.. and wen ever i comment this i get yelled at and people always tell me I'm probably eating more then usual!

I'm not eating more than i usually do! i always eat the same!

lol (need to get this out... people can be so rude sometimes...)

okay sorry getting off topic for a minute XD but seriously i totally understand where you are coming from

I have said this so often it is probably boring to me as well as others!..........but we all have to find our combination of what works for us.  I get a bit upset when people speak so definitely........"this is not good"  "that will not work", etc.  We are all different and what works for me may not work for you.  Find your spot and go for it.

I am almost the opposite.  If I eat "smart" and don't exercise, I usually gain a bit or stay the same.  If I eat "smart" and exercise I usually lose a bit or stay the same.  So for ME I choose to exercise and eat smart..........until it quits working then I will start looking for another pattern that works for me.

Good luck!

Barbara

Original Post by beckkkahhhx3:

Lets say someone normally ate 1200 calories in order to loose weight without excersize (being sedentary). Okay, so what if that person ate 1500 calories but burned off 300 through excersise, would that be the exact same as just eating 1200 without the excersise?

When I first starting to lose weight I was just over 200 lbs and was counting calories and began working out. At that time I was going to Curves, walking, and sometimes biking. My coworker also started to lose weight, she weighed more then me and just went to WW with no exercise. We lost weight at about the same rate, but I was eating more then her. Within a year she had lost about 60 plus lbs and I was down about 40 lbs. Shortly after this point she wasn't able to lose anymore and I kept encouraging her to exercise with me. She didn't, saying no time and other excuses. Her calories were very low and she seemed to give up, within no time her weight started to go back up. I continued to challenge myself, joining the Y and doing a variety of new exercises. She gained all her weight back, plus. I have continued to lose on and off, depending on how much I was watching my diet and exercising.

I firmly believe that exercise needs to be part of every weight lose effort. I would not be able to sustain a daily calorie allowance of 1200. It is not something that I could keep up for a very long time. Exercise is a wonderful thing. It helps you keep your muscle, build new muscle, keep your energy up, improve your mood, surpresses your appetite, and for me, makes me feel powerful and strong.

The whole calorie thing makes my head spin sometimes. I just yesterday read every piece of information on the site about counting calories, carbs, fats, etc, and before i knew it i was like my gawwdd how will i ever keep all of this straight..lol.

I started my healthy way of eating two months ago. I stopped drinking cokes ( I was an addicted to about 8 a day) completley kicked the habit after about two weeks of tappering off. I gave up fast food and am just eating healthy and counting calories. I have lost almost 15 lbs. so far and i feel great. I also belong to a gym and try my best to go on a regular basis.

Everyone is different and I do agree that you have to just find what works for you through trial and error.

Oh boy.

ACTUALLY you burn more if you exercise, period.  The deficit is the same when you exercise the calories away, PLUS the calories burned from an elevated heart rate for up to 24 hours following exercise.

http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/anatomyand physiology/a/rmr.htm

Original Post by trayceebee:

 

I firmly believe that exercise needs to be part of every weight lose effort. I would not be able to sustain a daily calorie allowance of 1200. It is not something that I could keep up for a very long time.

Ditto.

Which is why I always prefer eating more and exercising more. My body feels better, I have more energy during the day, I'm less anxious and I don't have to worry so much about not going over those 1200 calories.

The person who eats more and exercises more will lose more than the person who eats less and doesn't exercise.  Eating more increases the metabolism and will cause you to burn calories at a higher rate when you aren't exercising.

More food and more exercise is always better than less of each.