Exercise doesn't help you lose weight...say what?
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bcalvanese wrote: »I have to disagree and say that fitness is just as (if not more) important than diet. I know I will be attacked for this, but I just cannot agree.
Fitness is key to weight control. If a person is at a good fitness level, they would have to literally be a glutton to become over weight. In addition, the more over weight a person is, the lower their fitness level.
Let the attacks begin...
I agree, to an extent. I think it depends on the amount of exercise.
When I was training for tournaments, I would literally burn an additional 1500-2000 calories daily from 4-6 hours of training. I would lose weight even though my intake was much higher than my usual maintenance amount. So in that case you could say it was 100% exercise (because I didn't reduce calories at all; in fact, I increased them)
Now, I probably burn 200-500 a day and diet is a bigger portion of the equation.2 -
Yep. Turns out I have a genetic predisposition toward developing blood clots.
I didn't figure I had anything at all to worry about. I'm active, I wasn't at all overweight then, and I'm the one walking up and down and up and down the airport when I travel.
But as the plane was circling Melbourne, I felt my left calf cramp. Oh well, I thought, I'll just walk it off. 6 weeks later I was in hospital with my left leg absolutely chalk full of clots. They kept me in for 2 weeks and by the time they let me out, I couldn't walk around the block without having to stop and rest.
And yep, even though I did try to adjust my diet ... I put on weight.
That must have been terrifying! What luck you had that nothing happened during those 6 weeks, and that you got help in time! Glad you pulled through. It's worth a bit of extra padding
The 2 or 3 days just before I was hospitalised were the most terrifying. All of a sudden, I couldn't breathe. On the Monday, I walked out to meet my husband on his way home from work, like I usually did, and couldn't cover the 2 kilometres. I just couldn't breathe. He found me sitting on the path gasping for air.
The next day, I was trying to sweep the floor ... and couldn't do it. I just couldn't get enough air in to move a broom. And then suddenly the door swung open and my husband dashed inside, took one look at me, and practically carried me out to the car and to the Dr.
He said he had been working when all of a sudden he felt so strongly that he needed to get to me and get me to a Dr. Thank goodness he did. Even the ultrasound technician wouldn't let me leave the hospital, I was in that bad shape.
There is nothing scarier than feeling your body betray you like that. What a nightmare. Strong connection you and your husband have, lifesaving, even 0 -
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Weight loss happens in the kitchen, fitness happens in the gym. I love to exercise , but I don't need it to lose weight, I just need a calorie deficit.0
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NFL Offensive/Defensive lineman are probably much more conditioned/fit and faster than many average lean fit people. And many are gluttons and are overweight for their size.bcalvanese wrote: »I have to disagree and say that fitness is just as (if not more) important than diet. I know I will be attacked for this, but I just cannot agree.
Fitness is key to weight control. If a person is at a good fitness level, they would have to literally be a glutton to become over weight. In addition, the more over weight a person is, the lower their fitness level.
Let the attacks begin...
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Yep. Turns out I have a genetic predisposition toward developing blood clots.
I didn't figure I had anything at all to worry about. I'm active, I wasn't at all overweight then, and I'm the one walking up and down and up and down the airport when I travel.
But as the plane was circling Melbourne, I felt my left calf cramp. Oh well, I thought, I'll just walk it off. 6 weeks later I was in hospital with my left leg absolutely chalk full of clots. They kept me in for 2 weeks and by the time they let me out, I couldn't walk around the block without having to stop and rest.
And yep, even though I did try to adjust my diet ... I put on weight.
That must have been terrifying! What luck you had that nothing happened during those 6 weeks, and that you got help in time! Glad you pulled through. It's worth a bit of extra padding
The 2 or 3 days just before I was hospitalised were the most terrifying. All of a sudden, I couldn't breathe. On the Monday, I walked out to meet my husband on his way home from work, like I usually did, and couldn't cover the 2 kilometres. I just couldn't breathe. He found me sitting on the path gasping for air.
The next day, I was trying to sweep the floor ... and couldn't do it. I just couldn't get enough air in to move a broom. And then suddenly the door swung open and my husband dashed inside, took one look at me, and practically carried me out to the car and to the Dr.
He said he had been working when all of a sudden he felt so strongly that he needed to get to me and get me to a Dr. Thank goodness he did. Even the ultrasound technician wouldn't let me leave the hospital, I was in that bad shape.
There is nothing scarier than feeling your body betray you like that. What a nightmare. Strong connection you and your husband have, lifesaving, even And although we had been married for almost a year by that point, we had only just started living together. Strong connection developed over a long distance!!
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I agree. I see " exercise " more for toning etc. If you want to lose pounds then eat less and better.0
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The way my nutritionist said it was: "exercise alone will not help you lose weight. You must reduce your calories otherwise there are still too many to burn off." Exercise is essential in losing weight in order to increase the metabolism, however, the kind of exercise will determine how quickly and where the fat comes off. Weight lifting and "burst training" are the best methods to burn more fat, more quickly and over a longer period of time during the day, even when you're not exercising. Look up the new statistics for burst training weight loss. We have more sophisticated machines now that can measure this kind of exercise, despite it being around since the Greek Olympics.1
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Got into a discussion with some friends the other day regarding diet and exercise and losing weight, etc. One of my friends said that exercise does not help you lose weight, it's 100% diet. I disagreed and said that whether you take in less calories (diet) or burn more calories (exercise), if you're in a deficit you'll lose weight, therefore exercise does in fact help you lose weight. She disagreed with me still.
Your thoughts?
Do what works for you. There are many of us here who find adherence to a deficit very difficult without significant exercise - so for us, weight loss is basically all about the exercise.
You and your friend may be the same, or different.1 -
In addition to supporting adherence/motivation with dieting, some kinds of cardio can reduce appetite in some people.
And for fitness, not even a question, do what you can.
Exercise has always increased my appetite, however, that doesn't mean I shouldn't do it. If I eat the right things, it doesn't matter how hungry I am; I will still lose weight.0 -
Weight loss happens in the kitchen, fitness happens in the gym. I love to exercise , but I don't need it to lose weight, I just need a calorie deficit.
Weight loss happens wherever you are able to create a calorific deficit. I really dislike the above saying SLL because it blurrs the issue, whilst pretending to be clear. All things being equal 500 calories not eaten is going to be the same as 500 calories burned in the gym.1 -
I think the argument is more about the wording.
Overall deficit matters, not how you get there.
Exactly this!
A good thing to point out, a lot of smaller women have very low calorie allowances when losing weight, so therefore we cannot just eat less, because often that puts us below safe guidelines for nutrition and intake, we must instead move!!
So exercise does help some lose weight faster!! And it does build muscle which burns larger amounts of calories proportionately. So in a lot of words...yes and no to your question lol.
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Exercise if done well has as a side effect water weight gain first.
Only thing exercise does for weight loss is make you burn more daily.
When you eat less than that to lose weight, you get to eat more with exercise than if you did no exercise.
That might help you adhere better, getting to eat more.
Better adherence is better results.
And the exercise transforms the body usually by way of more inch changes than you may see pound changes.
That may give you a more positive attitude, actually seeing improvements, and others seeing and commenting on it.
So in a round-about way exercise can help with weight loss - but not directly.1 -
Almost all my weight loss was without exercise. So it's totally possible. However, exercise is good for other reasons, and can be a good tool for weight loss. But you can do it without. I started walking in Janurary for a class, and continue to do so to try and get my asthma under control, but weight loss is a side effect of it for me.0
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I really cnat see why many of you are just confusing the issue. Cityruss said it more succinctlyOverall deficit matters, not how you get there.3
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Weight loss happens in the kitchen, fitness happens in the gym. I love to exercise , but I don't need it to lose weight, I just need a calorie deficit.
Weight loss happens wherever you are able to create a calorific deficit. I really dislike the above saying SLL because it blurrs the issue, whilst pretending to be clear. All things being equal 500 calories not eaten is going to be the same as 500 calories burned in the gym.
+1
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The first time I trained for a marathon (many, many years ago) I was shocked to find that I had actually gained weight over the course of my training. I think that was because I wasn't tracking my calories at the time. I was obviously eating above and beyond the calories that I burned running. Exercise helped me to be fitter, but it didn't cause weight loss by itself. During my recent trainings, I have managed to maintain or lose because I have been actively tracking my calories.
It's true that exercise can help you create a deficit and earn more calories to eat, but exercise alone probably won't do anything to help you lose weight if you're eating all those calories right back. Personally, as someone who has successfully lost weight and maintained for several years now, I consider diet to be the key to weight management, and exercise to be more for improving fitness, health, mood and energy. But that's just my opinion. 0 -
well explain why then and make it as clear as possible so we arent going round in circles or retreading old ground.1 -
You already know the "why".
It's the reason resistance training while in a deficit is widely regarded as a Good Thing.
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The first time I trained for a marathon (many, many years ago) I was shocked to find that I had actually gained weight over the course of my training. I think that was because I wasn't tracking my calories at the time. I was obviously eating above and beyond the calories that I burned running. Exercise helped me to be fitter, but it didn't cause weight loss by itself. During my recent trainings, I have managed to maintain or lose because I have been actively tracking my calories.
It's true that exercise can help you create a deficit and earn more calories to eat, but exercise alone probably won't do anything to help you lose weight if you're eating all those calories right back. Personally, as someone who has successfully lost weight and maintained for several years now, I consider diet to be the key to weight management, and exercise to be more for improving fitness, health, mood and energy. But that's just my opinion.
Yes, you can gain weight while exercising ... if you eat more calories than you burn.
But if you're exercising a lot, you also have to be eating a lot in order to accomplish that.
As I mentioned in my first post in this thread ... it took some doing for me to eat enough to maintain my weight when I was exercising a lot.
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You already know the "why".
It's the reason resistance training while in a deficit is widely regarded as a Good Thing.
So now you wnat to compare the differences in 500 calories lost through cardio v 500 lost through resistance? Its not what the OP was asking.1 -
You already know the "why".
It's the reason resistance training while in a deficit is widely regarded as a Good Thing.
So now you want to compare the differences in 500 calories lost through cardio v 500 lost through resistance? Its not what the OP was asking.
Ah, no.
It's about body composition. How you make your deficit affects your body composition which affects the size of the deficit at any given caloric intake level.
"All calories are equal" is only true in a naive, superficial sense. Which means all deficits are not, in fact, the same.
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You already know the "why".
It's the reason resistance training while in a deficit is widely regarded as a Good Thing.
So now you want to compare the differences in 500 calories lost through cardio v 500 lost through resistance? Its not what the OP was asking.
Ah, no.
It's about body composition. How you make your deficit affects your body composition which affects the size of the deficit at any given caloric intake level.
"All calories are equal" is only true in a naive, superficial sense. Which means all deficits are not, in fact, the same.
Whew, glad you elaborated. Otherwise was going to suggest changing your avatar to this
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If you were maintaining your weight eating at a certain calorie level for low activity and then increased your activity without increasing your calorie intake then you would of course over time lose weight. Exercise has been important for me otherwise I'd have lost way slower.0
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I did not begin to do any exercise until I had lost over 90 pounds. My knees made it very difficult to do much, but getting the weight off made it easier to move more, and I began taking walks. That was almost 3 years ago now. I joined a gym on 1/25/15 and have only missed one day the past 6 months. I have lost a total of over 160 pounds and have been on maintenance for over 20 months.
Unless you are eating at a calorie deficit, it may be difficult to lose weight from exercise, but any exercise is beneficial to your health and is definitely a part of a healthy lifestyle.
One thing that I have found is that I am a lot hungrier when I exercise than I was during the time I lost my first 90 pounds without exercising.
BTW, a co worker (who is a tri-athlete and races at least twice per month) says that weight loss is mostly (90%) about eating at a calorie deficit.
Even at rest, muscle burns more calories than fat, so building muscle is very beneficial to burning more calories.
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Got into a discussion with some friends the other day regarding diet and exercise and losing weight, etc. One of my friends said that exercise does not help you lose weight, it's 100% diet. I disagreed and said that whether you take in less calories (diet) or burn more calories (exercise), if you're in a deficit you'll lose weight, therefore exercise does in fact help you lose weight. She disagreed with me still.
Your thoughts?
Your friend is an idiot
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But the whole point is that the exercise burn is creating a calorie deficit isn't it?1
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WaterBunnie wrote: »But the whole point is that the exercise burn is creating a calorie deficit isn't it?
Yes ... it can do exactly that. Unless you eat a whole lot during the day and use up that deficit. 0
This discussion has been closed.
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