Exercise not key to losing weight - BBC

_mr_b

Interesting article here from the BBC which is a bit 'tabloid' in it's title and seems to have missed the point entirely - what do you think?

There's the usual piece on calorie deficit = weight loss but I think another important message has been lost in that it's not only about eating to a calorie target, it's about a balanced diet - basically you could only eat Mars Bars and stay on target and while you'd still lose weight you'd also have potential health problems.

I know I'm preaching to the choir here but it frustrates me how poorly we seem to be doing on educating people about their diet and general fitness.

[edit] the Actual article it's referencing is here [edit]

TheMrWobbly

Very much a banging of the drum. Pretty much everything still get referenced back to exercise, can't sleep - exercise, feeling lethargic - exercise. What we eat is extremely important though I don't believe for a second anybody believes that having a 'McDonalds' athletics meeting makes people think a Big Mac and fries is good for you.

Unfortunately people will continue to eat what is convenient as that is the lifestyle we have evolved into and there is very little that is healthy and convenient. The big food companies spend a fortune persuading us to buy their product and people fall into their trap, not because they don't understand good foods from bad but because they can't muster the effort to choose a better option.

bluefish86

Body composition is 80% due to diet.
I could work out for an hour a day, 7 days a week... and then undo all that hard work with a couple of really bad meal choices - eating McDonald's or KFC.

bunsen_honeydew

I think exercise is key for many people to learn to appreciate and care for their bodies, which in turn leads them to make healthier food choices, which may or may not lead to weight loss but either way will be a healthier lifestyle.

People risk falling prey to diet food industry nonsense if exercise is not promoted.

Shadowsan

It all goes back to the "Moderation, Moderation, Moderation" mantra really.

It amazes people when I tell them "Yes, you really can eat anything - You just have to understand what isn't great for you and eat it sparingly and track your calories. Substituting is one of the best ways to hit that goal"

Some people think "ooh, i'll not eat carbs" - others think "I'll just cut X out of my diet completely"

These people more often than not fail because it's just unsustainable long-term. They can get to their goal weight and will just crack and binge on all the stuff they denied themselves.

Ah well, explaining to people that it's not a 'diet' it's a lifestyle change - that's the REAL magic trick.

bluefish86

“Everything in moderation, including moderation." - Oscar Wilde

spyro88

It's a shame that the BBC have published this article (must have been a slow news day) because it is not really saying "exercise is bad" but that is the message people might take away from it.

Of course you CAN lose weight by eating less without exercising.... IF you can cut back enough calories from your diet. I have always struggled to do this. Exercise certainly helps to increase the deficit and I have never lost weight purely because of diet and without exercise... mainly because I don't have the willpower to eat as little as I would need to do that. Even if I stay within my 1,500 calorie allowance on here (before exercise), if I don't also exercise I don't lose weight on that amount. I would have to eat about 1,000-1,200 to lose without exercise and that's not sustainable for me.

I think people sometimes underestimate just how much change you have to make to lose weight, and it has to be sustainable or you will go right back to how you were before!