Exercise and diet and during loss versus maintenance

alias1001

I will premise this by saying that as it's a Yahoo! article, it's already a little sketchy.

I came across this today: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/talked-exercise-scientist-more-important-155511951.html

The gist is that while diet is more important while losing weight, those who regularly exercise is a key factor in determining who will keep it off.

As I have found strength training to be tremendously helpful in this attempt at losing weight and something I plan on doing once I hit maintenance, I'm curious of your thoughts.

jemhh

Snickers bars are 250 calories, not 500. I mean yeah, you could eat two but why use an example like that for an online article when it is so easy to look up the calories for one bar.

Back on topic. I have not found strength training all that helpful with losing weight but I do find it helpful with making my body look better and feel better. Exercise in general is definitely a mood booster for me.

This is a really fluffy article but other than the Snickers silliness I can't really disagree with it.

DeguelloTex

Is more exercise the key to keeping off the weight or do the people motivated enough to keep the weight off exercise more?

alias1001

DeguelloTex wrote: »

Is more exercise the key to keeping off the weight or do the people motivated enough to keep the weight off exercise more?

It didn't say. It did seem like a correlation rather than a causative claim.

I was curious what that meant. I suppose it's because in my previous attempts at weight loss I never exercised routinely, and would give up after a month or so. This time, I've been doing strength training since getting some kind of running-related injury two months ago and at four months I'm still at it and feel great.

jaga13

My guess? It's a correlation...I bet those who lose slow and steady through a reasonable deficit are more likely to maintain later because they've developed sustainable habits...which include exercise. This is in contrast to those who lost the weight via quick fix/gimmicks and then went right back to their previous habits afterwards (which didn't include portion control or exercise).

DeguelloTex

jaga13 wrote: »

My guess? It's a correlation...I bet those who lose slow and steady through a reasonable deficit are more likely to maintain later because they've developed sustainable habits...which include exercise. This is in contrast to those who lost the weight via quick fix/gimmicks and then went right back to their previous habits afterwards (which didn't include portion control or exercise).

What about those of us who lost quickly with an "unreasonable" deficit but who also exercise?

jaga13

DeguelloTex wrote: »

jaga13 wrote: »

My guess? It's a correlation...I bet those who lose slow and steady through a reasonable deficit are more likely to maintain later because they've developed sustainable habits...which include exercise. This is in contrast to those who lost the weight via quick fix/gimmicks and then went right back to their previous habits afterwards (which didn't include portion control or exercise).

What about those of us who lost quickly with an "unreasonable" deficit but who also exercise?

I can't say exactly what is reasonable or unreasonable. It just seems from observation that those who lose weight and keep it off have at some point learned a lot of healthy habits along the way, including exercise. Unfortunately I know people who lost weight from surgery, or from banning entire food groups, and they eventually gained some or all the weight back. Those folks didn't include exercise because they were relying on other methods and didn't work in the long run..I think...

Unknown

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lemurcat12

DeguelloTex wrote: »

Is more exercise the key to keeping off the weight or do the people motivated enough to keep the weight off exercise more?

This is the thought I always have.

That said, I find exercise was extremely helpful to losing weight and tends to be important to maintenance, because exercise/fitness goals tend to be a way to help me stay motivated and I tend to eat better when I'm focused on them. Also, being around people with similar goals can reinforce your efforts, so meeting people through fitness activities can help too.

Need2Exerc1se

sobriquet01 wrote: »

DeguelloTex wrote: »

Is more exercise the key to keeping off the weight or do the people motivated enough to keep the weight off exercise more?

It didn't say. It did seem like a correlation rather than a causative claim.

I was curious what that meant. I suppose it's because in my previous attempts at weight loss I never exercised routinely, and would give up after a month or so. This time, I've been doing strength training since getting some kind of running-related injury two months ago and at four months I'm still at it and feel great.

I think it's based on statistics. Statistically, those who exercise regularly are more prone to maintain weight loss. Which seem completely logical to me.

1. You are routinely in exercise clothes.
2. Exercise is easier when you aren't fat
3. If you are motivated to exercise regularly it's almost always for health or vanity, both of which are also driving factors in weight control