Exercise doesn't help you lose weight...say what?

1192022242531

Replies

  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,943 Member
    555_FILK wrote: »
    mccindy72 wrote: »
    No, the assertion has not been made that exercise has zero impact on weight loss.

    Except, it has:
    cdahl383 wrote: »
    One of my friends said that exercise does not help you lose weight, it's 100% diet.
    SLLRunner wrote: »
    Fitness is very important--I weight lift and run and do other cardio, but I am very well aware it has nil to do with the very basics of weight loss.
    SLLRunner wrote: »
    Weight management happens in the kitchen.
    Kexessa wrote: »
    I think exercise has zero bearing on losing weight.
    Exercise, in the big picture, is mostly irrelevant for most folks.

    You are twisting my words to fit your own agenda.

    (1) What is the number one basic about weight loss? Any sage will tell you it's eating less calories than you burn. Calories in = food, calories out = basic life. Hey, add in exercise if you want, raise those calories to properly fuel your body, and you're good to go. Whether or not you exercise, you still have to eat less calories than you burn or you will either maintain or gain weight.

    (2) hat do we love to do every day in the kitchen? Why, we love to prepare food, and it's here that we decide what we're going to eat and how much. If we're trying to reduce, then some of us just intuitively reduce our potions, and still others of us weigh our food, etc. It doesn't really matter how we get to this point. Whether or not you exercise, you still have to make sure you eat less calories than you burn or you will either maintain or gain weight.

    Like I said, I exercise because I love it so much. It makes me feel good. On exercise days, I get to eat just a bit more, which means an extra snack for me. However, I don't exercise to eat, I eat to properly fuel my body for the exercise I choose.

    Now, does this really sound like I'm saying exercise has zero impact on weight loss?
  • Tahlia68
    Tahlia68 Posts: 204 Member
    aaron_mc29 wrote: »
    I agree that it's 80/20, and I can lose weight through diet alone, but I've found that doing both together keeps me more motivated. If I exercise regularly I tend to make better food choices, because I don't want all of that exercise to be for nothing.

    That!! I agree and it is the same for me. I will say that you can eat junk, as long as it is within your calorie allowance, and still lose weight. It's not healthy and you may not lose as much fat and you will lose muscle most likely from ONLY focusing on food intake but it can be done.

    Personally, I've done it both ways and I prefer to lift and do cardio (mostly in the form of HIIT and LISS), the benefits far outweigh any excuses and I feel amazing while I'm doing it, after, and the results speak for themselves.

    So, yes, diet or the food you eat is of utmost importance but to relegate exercise as unnecessary would be a travesty! Exercise, such as cardio, is important for the heart and your body in general. Lifting weights increases fat burning and muscle growth and maintenance which keeps you leaner which sheds weight and fat helping your bones and helping with strength.

    Fitness and diet go hand in hand; while diet (the food we eat) is super important and healthier (if it is a proper diet), fitness is very important too-they work together.
    Absolutely agree 100%. Everybody needs some form of exercise. It's also great for the mind, not just the body. :smile:
  • cdahl383
    cdahl383 Posts: 726 Member
    422 replies! Wow! Haha!

    I can say over the past month I have lost 8 lbs by watching my diet and exercising more, so apparently it can help you lose weight after all! :)
  • CSARdiver
    CSARdiver Posts: 6,257 Member
    cdahl383 wrote: »
    422 replies! Wow! Haha!

    I can say over the past month I have lost 8 lbs by watching my diet and exercising more, so apparently it can help you lose weight after all! :)

    Nice loss brother!
  • esorcel
    esorcel Posts: 459 Member
    I look at losing weight as 80% diet and 20% exercise. Sure, you can only focus on what you eat, and you'll lose weight, but it might not give you the results you want. Same thing if you only focus on exercise. I believe it takes a healthy combination of the two working together.

    Although that percentage may be accurate, I feel that 70% diet and 30% exercise might be more effective for losing weight. I find that long duration of exercise combined with weigh training is more effective than a half an hour of low moderation exercise. There needs to be a strong emphasis on exercise, but a whole lot more on diet.
  • mrsdrshot
    mrsdrshot Posts: 154 Member
    Here's how I see it. In life, nothing is ever 100% this and 0% that. Yes, weight is reduced faster with just food modification (and hey, even faster if you starve yourself! But I digress.) However, including an exercise routine is going to make your body burn (lose) calories more efficiently and help in many other areas that diet alone cannot compensate for.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    Kalikel wrote: »
    For people who have never exercised, the effort of even slow swimming is much greater than slow swimming done by people who do it regularly, so they'll burn a little more than I would if I swam at the same speed, because it's harder for them.

    No, that's not correct, calorie burn will be about the same for both of them.

    The new swimmer will *feel* like they're working harder - but they're not.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    edited August 2015
    SLLRunner wrote: »
    (1) What is the number one basic about weight loss? Any sage will tell you it's eating less calories than you burn.

    Disagree.

    IME the most common response from those who succeed and maintain is to "establish health habits".


  • mccindy72
    mccindy72 Posts: 7,001 Member
    thread-resurrection.jpg

  • gothchiq
    gothchiq Posts: 4,598 Member
    Regardless of theories, it's been shown that in practice, those who exercise are those who keep the weight off.
  • cdahl383
    cdahl383 Posts: 726 Member
    Haha let's keep it going until we hit 500 replies! We can do it MFP! :)

  • cdahl383
    cdahl383 Posts: 726 Member
    mrsdrshot wrote: »
    Here's how I see it. In life, nothing is ever 100% this and 0% that. Yes, weight is reduced faster with just food modification (and hey, even faster if you starve yourself! But I digress.) However, including an exercise routine is going to make your body burn (lose) calories more efficiently and help in many other areas that diet alone cannot compensate for.

    ^ Well said.
  • stevencloser
    stevencloser Posts: 8,911 Member
    gothchiq wrote: »
    Regardless of theories, it's been shown that in practice, those who exercise are those who keep the weight off.

    That's just correlation though.
    In another thread someone said it could just be because of a common third factor being discipline. If you've got the discipline to exercise regularly, you probably have the discipline to maintain your weight. No direct dependency between the two, but they appear in the same individuals.
    That's my take on that statistic too.
  • Domicinator
    Domicinator Posts: 261 Member
    I haven't been active in this community very long. I mostly just used MFP for logging and didn't pay attention to a lot of the other features it had until lately. I think the message boards are a wonderful place to get encouragement, seek advice, and share successes and failures.

    One of the patterns I've noticed, however, seems to be the constant arguing about something that couldn't be simpler. Sprinkled all throughout these message boards are topics about whether or not exercise helps with weight loss, whether or not fad diets help with weight loss, whether or not certain foods or smoothies or supplements help with weight loss, etc. The only result of these topics is people trying to twist each others' words around to make each other sound wrong. I don't get why we have to overcomplicate something that is so incredibly simple.

    I think it's safe to say that users of MFP are largely not professional athletes, body builders, marathon runners or cyclists. We're not looking for some magical combination of protein, carbs, iron, and fat. We're probably not even looking for six pack abs or gigantic biceps. We just want to get to a healthy weight and look good in our clothes. We want to buck the trend of obesity and get our lives back together.

    Back in the day, whenever I would go to my doctor for a checkup or to get meds for a sinus infection or something along those lines, he would get on my case about my weight. He would remind me that my blood tests always indicate fatty liver and that my blood pressure is way too high. He would also tell me how much I'd gained since the last time I saw him. And then finally he would always say, "I know you're saying you exercise, and that's great, but you need to burn more than you eat in order for the exercise to help you."

    To me, for the average overweight person, that's really all it's about. The 300 calories I just burned on my bike ride don't just disappear into the air and off into the ether. I burned those by using my muscles to operate a simple machine and carry the weight of that machine plus the weight of my own body around and around my neighborhood for 45 minutes. I burned those calories because I did the work. And when I got back home, I did not eat a quarter pounder with cheese to refuel. I ate greek yogurt and raw walnuts. At the end of the day I will try to be roughly 150 calories in the green on my food log, just to account for any error on how many calories I burned. I also try to keep my water intake at a good level. I have lost 44 lbs. so far using this method. My brother lost 80 lbs. using this method. My dad lost roughly 100 lbs. using this method. I have many other family and friends that have done the same thing, some using MFP, some using other apps. The methodology behind it is sound and couldn't really be simpler.

    I think for 99% of MFP users, just forget all the calculators and charts and protein powders. Burn less than you eat whether it's by smaller portions or more exercise. Be honest in your food log. Document everything. You will lose weight. It's very hard work, but it's not complicated work.
  • mccindy72
    mccindy72 Posts: 7,001 Member
    I haven't been active in this community very long. I mostly just used MFP for logging and didn't pay attention to a lot of the other features it had until lately. I think the message boards are a wonderful place to get encouragement, seek advice, and share successes and failures.

    One of the patterns I've noticed, however, seems to be the constant arguing about something that couldn't be simpler. Sprinkled all throughout these message boards are topics about whether or not exercise helps with weight loss, whether or not fad diets help with weight loss, whether or not certain foods or smoothies or supplements help with weight loss, etc. The only result of these topics is people trying to twist each others' words around to make each other sound wrong. I don't get why we have to overcomplicate something that is so incredibly simple.

    I think it's safe to say that users of MFP are largely not professional athletes, body builders, marathon runners or cyclists. We're not looking for some magical combination of protein, carbs, iron, and fat. We're probably not even looking for six pack abs or gigantic biceps. We just want to get to a healthy weight and look good in our clothes. We want to buck the trend of obesity and get our lives back together.

    Back in the day, whenever I would go to my doctor for a checkup or to get meds for a sinus infection or something along those lines, he would get on my case about my weight. He would remind me that my blood tests always indicate fatty liver and that my blood pressure is way too high. He would also tell me how much I'd gained since the last time I saw him. And then finally he would always say, "I know you're saying you exercise, and that's great, but you need to burn more than you eat in order for the exercise to help you."

    To me, for the average overweight person, that's really all it's about. The 300 calories I just burned on my bike ride don't just disappear into the air and off into the ether. I burned those by using my muscles to operate a simple machine and carry the weight of that machine plus the weight of my own body around and around my neighborhood for 45 minutes. I burned those calories because I did the work. And when I got back home, I did not eat a quarter pounder with cheese to refuel. I ate greek yogurt and raw walnuts. At the end of the day I will try to be roughly 150 calories in the green on my food log, just to account for any error on how many calories I burned. I also try to keep my water intake at a good level. I have lost 44 lbs. so far using this method. My brother lost 80 lbs. using this method. My dad lost roughly 100 lbs. using this method. I have many other family and friends that have done the same thing, some using MFP, some using other apps. The methodology behind it is sound and couldn't really be simpler.

    I think for 99% of MFP users, just forget all the calculators and charts and protein powders. Burn less than you eat whether it's by smaller portions or more exercise. Be honest in your food log. Document everything. You will lose weight. It's very hard work, but it's not complicated work.

    latest?cb=20110625132200
  • VeganAmandaJ
    VeganAmandaJ Posts: 234 Member
    Tahlia68 wrote: »
    aaron_mc29 wrote: »
    I agree that it's 80/20, and I can lose weight through diet alone, but I've found that doing both together keeps me more motivated. If I exercise regularly I tend to make better food choices, because I don't want all of that exercise to be for nothing.

    That!! I agree and it is the same for me. I will say that you can eat junk, as long as it is within your calorie allowance, and still lose weight. It's not healthy and you may not lose as much fat and you will lose muscle most likely from ONLY focusing on food intake but it can be done.

    Personally, I've done it both ways and I prefer to lift and do cardio (mostly in the form of HIIT and LISS), the benefits far outweigh any excuses and I feel amazing while I'm doing it, after, and the results speak for themselves.

    So, yes, diet or the food you eat is of utmost importance but to relegate exercise as unnecessary would be a travesty! Exercise, such as cardio, is important for the heart and your body in general. Lifting weights increases fat burning and muscle growth and maintenance which keeps you leaner which sheds weight and fat helping your bones and helping with strength.

    Fitness and diet go hand in hand; while diet (the food we eat) is super important and healthier (if it is a proper diet), fitness is very important too-they work together.
    Absolutely agree 100%. Everybody needs some form of exercise. It's also great for the mind, not just the body. :smile:

    Yeah buddy!! Mentally it definitely helps for sure; there's research on the benefits of exercise on people with depression and mood disorders. Personally, it's like therapy and me time; it helped me get through a terrible breakup by improving myself and getting those happy feelings, AKA endorphins!
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    gothchiq wrote: »
    Regardless of theories, it's been shown that in practice, those who exercise are those who keep the weight off.

    That's just correlation though.

    No, it's not. There are physiological changes that come with exercise that make it easier to fuel the body while eating less.

  • OldAssDude
    OldAssDude Posts: 1,436 Member
    I think it all comes down to the hypergleemic index being proportionate to the inverse reaction of the BMIHR divided by the caloric intake times the exercise HRM factor squared minus the mo fo calorie I/O derivitave.

    and whatever it is I've said here... exercise is pretty darn good for ya.
  • cdahl383
    cdahl383 Posts: 726 Member
    Anyone here lose serious weight with changes in diet only and little to no exercise?
  • RedheadedPrincess14
    RedheadedPrincess14 Posts: 415 Member
    cdahl383 wrote: »
    Anyone here lose serious weight with changes in diet only and little to no exercise?
    Yeah. 20 pounds from 155ish to 135ish at 5"8. I had an injury and I /just/ started working out so all that weight was purely diet and a bit of walking