Truth to the myth
 

Is it true that if someone excersises then they can eat what they want and never gain. I am asking cause it seems like the weekends are the diet killers for me. I got up late, had a late breakfast, mid day lunch, diet bar, dinner, and then I ended up eating a few crackers. I wasn't really hunger, but I ate it anyways. I did walk/jog 2 miles this morning and I will be doing it again 3 times this week. I am just tryig to brake even and/or finally beat my plateau I have been in this year.

I know there are a lot of peeps here going thro this and I am really struggling. I know that I can go to my weight center and talk to them, but I don't want them to place blame on me later fo rnot reaching my weight loss goal in time. Eventually I will get there, I am just looking for something to keep me positive.

It is also funny cause Ialso posted a thread early today about being feeling good and being positive about energy and wegith loss, lol!


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No. That is rubbish.

If you are in a plateau, are you journaling what you eat? How are you tracking? Could you up your exercise any? I am sure there are more suggestions to break your plateau.

Stay positive! You can do this!

Well, no, of course walking/jogging 2 miles, 4 times a week, doesn't mean you can eat whatever you want and not gain. But all you mentioned was a few crackers. That won't break you.

I don't know what you're calling a plateau, but if it's a week or even a few weeks, I'd recommend just keeping on. Unless, of course, you are doing a lot of extra nibbling, in which case you just re-commit and continue on. I bet you're doing fine and will see some more results soon.

I wish it were true because I exercise like a mad woman!

Sadly, despite doing some form of intense exercise every day during the holidays, I still managed to put on five lbs because I was eating off plan for most of that time.

Exercise helps in a lot of ways. It boosts your metabolism and burns calories, so you have a little more room in your diet. It can also serve as a appetite suppressant and help you stay on plan. And, if nothing else, for the time that you are exercising, you probably aren't eating. But it doesn't mean you can eat whatever you want.

No, no, no. Unfortunately! I work out 8 hours a week (OR MORE) and still have to watch my calories very, very carefully.

No matter how much you exercise, if you take in more calories than you burn, you won't lose weight.

Yes, I've gained weight in recent months despite exercising more than I ever have before.

But, exercising does give me a little more wiggle room in my diet and it makes me feel good. I've just realized that in order to maintain/lose I need to pay attention to what I eat. :)

Truth to the myth? I've never even heard of any myth of that kind.

Exercise burns at best, several hundred calories at a pop. Which is not much in the scheme of a looong day. Now, if you're really careful with your calories then burning an ADDITIONAL several hundred calories a day is a nice little bonus and will help nicely getting you that all important calorie deficit.

But by no means is is an excuse to eat whatever you want. Several hundred calories doesn't add up to all that much. You can easily wipe out those calories burned in a matter of minutes and would be totally and completely counterproductive.

Also, just wondering, how carefully are you tracking your calories? Are you weighing everything? Being real, real precise? Making sure to jot down everything? Even the little nibbles and what not? Because they can really add up - quickly!

Amen to that, Barbara. I firmly believe that a major factor of my weight loss is that I am spending the evenings at the gym and barely watch TV at all. I simply don't have time for it anymore. So not only the time I used to spend by sitting in front of TV I spend now by moving my body but that also takes care of the fact that I used to consume a lot of empty calories while watching TV.

Not even professional athletes can eat whatever they want. Walk/jogging two miles will burn up about 250 calories, the equivalent of a single slice of pizza or half a slice of oreo creme pie. Still, like others have said, exercise also boosts metabolism temporarily, and muscle mass boosts metabolism permanently. Plus, I've found that my appetite decreases on the days I exercise compared to the days I don't, and I'm sure my heart is stronger for it.

Don't listen to the "helpful" gym people who chastise you for not losing weight fast enough. Not losing "on time" doesn't mean you never will; it means you'll take a little longer than expected...and probably keep it off longer.

exercising just means you can eat a little more in your diet! :D

That's how I look at it now that I'm maintaining - maybe.

But when I was actively trying to lose weight, nu-uh, no way - I look at it as now I get to make a bigger calorie deficit. :carrot:

Depends by "eat what you want", really. I exercise a lot because its a healthy, stops-me-feeling-sluggish thing to do, and I eat what I want and am a good weight. But eating what I want does not equal a lot of food. And like another poster said, exercise doesn't burn that many calories relatively, so its more about what constitutes "eating what you want".

Its a bit of an ambigous question you ask :P

One note, though - even if you eat back all of the calories you burned off with exercise, you're not exactly back where you started. Though that particular bout of activity wouldn't boost your calorie deficit that day, it WOULD improve your cardiovascular health, sleep, and all kinds of other things related to health and not weight. And I find it makes it WAY easier to stay on plan. So don't give up on exercise just because it doesn't necessarily result in a calorie deficit that day...it still makes you healthier, even if it doesn't make you any thinner.

If you exercise 23 hours a day at high intensity you could eat all you want and not gain.

Yup, when you're dead you don't want much.