Does exercise really help you lose weight?

sijomial

It makes a huge difference for me in terms of adherence - far happier with a high volume of food while still creating a calorie deficit.

At the moment I'm effectively eating at non-exercise maintenance levels and creating a big deficit on most cardio days and a small deficit on strength training days. I don't find it a problem to burn 3500+ exercise calories a week even in winter, in summer it's far more.

Being fitter, stronger and feeling more energetic is also a great motivator.

But without calorie counting it's far harder to know I'm eating at my maintenance level. In the past I've easily compensated for 8 hours hard training a week with increased appetite. That's why "research" has to be in context of people monitoring their intake or not.

ladyreva78

I count calories to lose weight.

Lift weights to help prevent the osteoporosis which is common in my Mom's side of the family.

skysiebaby

leahcollett1 wrote: »

skysiebaby wrote: »

Francl27 wrote: »

Yes it's purely about diet but in the end I would NEVER have lost weight without exercise, because I like eating, I have a big appetite, and I need the extra calories.

This is me too. I would rather do a long run three days a week to create a deficit/maintenance than cut my food down. And its worked for the last 8 years.

do you go by tdde method or MFP, do you struggle on non exercise days to eat low?

I use MPF when actively trying to lose weight and keep my midweek calorie intake fairly low on my 2 non-run days so I can 'bank' them for the weekends. It is hard but knowing I can eat *more or less* what I want at the weekends helps alot. And as I don't have much to lose I know its not long-term. But that's just what works for me. While maintaining I didn't count calories at all, ran 20 miles a week, and found it easy to keep to within 2-3lb of my weight.

diane1223

I think it does help. With discipline and with energy level. You can lose weight without dieting, but you are not creating good habits. I think our bodies are meant to move and everyone no matter what age needs exercise. I have quit walking because of cold weather and am tired all the time. Time to get moving in spite of the chilly temps!

cwolfman13

KatieAnneEtcetera wrote: »

So I've been reading a lot about how "new" research (I'll admit, I haven't read the actual research articles, just the articles ABOUT them) shows that exercise does not really help you lose weight. Basically, they say it's really only about dieting. I just wanted to hear some of your personal stories. Do you think that exercise has caused any weight loss for you?

Yes and no...exercise can help with weight management in that it increases your energy expenditure, but exercise in and of itself doesn't ensure you are in a deficit of energy and really, the expenditure is relatively immaterial to your overall expenditure in a 24 hour period. for example, I "burn" around 2,800-3,000 calories per day...only about 500ish of those are from actual exercise...sometimes a little more and sometimes a little less.

Exercise should really be viewed as it is...it is for fitness and general well being and health. Weight management is 99.9% diet....exercise is for fitness. I ride roughly 80-100 miles per week and lift 3x per week and walk my dog 3 miles 3-4 times per week and take the family on regular hiking outings or recreational bike rides, etc...I have lost weight, maintained weight, and gained weight doing all of that. Do you know what the difference in weight was? Hint...not the exercise...it was how much I was eating.

Domicinator

Just to add another little wrinkle to this--

Both my rheumatologist and my primary care doctor are both SO HAPPY that I've lost so much weight and gotten healthy, but now they're both warning me that as I get older, I will begin to lose muscle mass. The weight loss does not exactly help this situation. They are both suggesting weight lifting and cardio just to keep my heart and muscles healthy. So these days I exercise more for those reasons than I do for weight loss.

Over the last couple of years, I've found that even at 38 years old, I still love biking. I got a bike last summer and rode it several miles almost every single day. For the cold months, I got an Airdyne AD-6 stationary bike, and I absolutely LOVE it. It works the arms, legs, and core and gets my heart pumping for a few minutes every day. Both are almost completely impact free on my joints, and the Airdyne adds in some fantastic upper body strength training because you have to use the handlebars to work the machine too.

So anyway, even if exercise doesn't create MUCH of a defecit, it's still good for you. I recommend it.

earlnabby

KatieAnneEtcetera wrote: »

So I've been reading a lot about how "new" research (I'll admit, I haven't read the actual research articles, just the articles ABOUT them) shows that exercise does not really help you lose weight. Basically, they say it's really only about dieting. I just wanted to hear some of your personal stories. Do you think that exercise has caused any weight loss for you?

Anything that gets you moving and burns more calories than you eat will help lose weight. Exercise can help with the calorie burning and help you retain your lean body mass. You cannot exercise away a bad diet. You need to start in the kitchen, then exercise will be a great adjunct activity.

Exercise also helps you feel better about your self. It lifts the mood and can help you keep going when you feel like you are in a rut. The mental aspect of weight loss is important, and exercise is really good for that.

jennk5309

Yeah, but there are also lots of articles these days about how losing weight and keeping it off is impossible, and we're all destined to be fat forever. If I listened to all of that, I'd still be morbidly obese and in pain all the time. I am still fighting the last 20 or so pounds, but 9 years ago I was 120 pounds overweight! I've lost about 100 pounds and kept it off all this time because I did what I felt was right and ignored the naysayers!

As for exercise specifically, when I look around at the people I know, the people who are overweight do not exercise and the thinner peod do. In my family, most people are very overweight and many are obese. The people who exercise consistently are not.

That is enough anecdotal evidence for me, no research studies needed to get me up and going.

Need2Exerc1se

KatieAnneEtcetera wrote: »

I just wanted to hear some of your personal stories. Do you think that exercise has caused any weight loss for you?

A calorie deficit caused my weight loss. Exercise was a huge factor in creating my calorie deficit. I gained weight slowly. Less than 2 lbs per year. So I was able to create a calorie deficit by eating the same as I had been while adding more exercise (hence my username).

earlnabby

jennk5309 wrote: »

Yeah, but there are also lots of articles these days about how losing weight and keeping it off is impossible, and we're all destined to be fat forever. If I listened to all of that, I'd still be morbidly obese and in pain all the time. I am still fighting the last 20 or so pounds, but 9 years ago I was 120 pounds overweight! I've lost about 100 pounds and kept it off all this time because I did what I felt was right and ignored the naysayers!

As for exercise specifically, when I look around at the people I know, the people who are overweight do not exercise and the thinner peod do. In my family, most people are very overweight and many are obese. The people who exercise consistently are not.

That is enough anecdotal evidence for me, no research studies needed to get me up and going.

The National Weigh Control Registry has a list of the most common characteristics of people who have lost weight and kept it off. http://www.nwcr.ws/Research/default.htm

2 interesting stats:

1. 94% increased their physical activity while losing, with the most frequently reported form of activity being walking.
2. 90% of those who have maintained their weight loss exercise, on average, about 1 hour per day.

Pretty substantial anecdotal evidence IMHO

I don't care how much of it is physical benefits and how much is psychological benefits. Exercise, in some form, is good and helps with weight management.

Unknown

This content has been removed.

williams969

cityruss wrote: »

Increased activity increases deficit.

For those if us who eat our exercise calories, it makes our predetermined deficit "easier" to maintain, not necessarily bigger. If I didn't exercise, I'm super sedentary, and would have a daily intake of 1320 to lose. That little food makes my sad (and hangry). So I exercise and can eat 1800 to lose at the same rate. Happiness for me.

Additionally, the strength training I do (and anyone who chooses) promotes muscle retention during the losing phase. And makes me feel like a warrior as I am challeged in my stength goals. It can be good for us emotionally and mentally.

meganmoore112

I think the OP may be referring to this study:
cell.com/current-biology/abstract/S0960-9822(15)01577-8

Here is an article about the study:
bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-01-28/more-exercise-doesn-t-always-mean-losing-weight

It says that higher amounts of exercise doesn't help you lose more weight than moderate exercise because your body adapts, and thus burns similar amounts of calories. I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around that concept because it seems like if I ran twice as long as my usual amount throughout the week, but kept calories the same, I should lose more weight.

I just started again trying to lose weight. I have about 20 pounds to go. I'm using my Fitbit to get an estimated TDEE and try to eat 500 less than that each day. I've added weight training 3 times a week, which is something I've never tried before, so I hope it helps.

senecarr

If you're tracking your calories, exercise definitely helps, allowing a person to eat more at the same deficit, or have a higher deficit with the same food.
If you're not, then the idea that exercise or increased activity will change weight is mixed. I believe some research suggests that a variant of a gene tends to predict if increasing physical activity will cause weight loss. I'd hypothesize that variants in that gene determine if a person's appetite rises equivalent or higher than the the calorie burn, or if they exercise without a concomitant appetite increase, thus creating a deficit.

Research at the National Weight Control Registry suggests that exercise is nearly essential for maintaining weight loss. Around 90% of the participants who have kept weight off long term exercise regularly, and I think at least 60% exercise (even if just walking intentionally) for an hour a day or more.

JodehFoster

I use exercise as a tool to keep me in check with my diet...if I'm taking the time to workout, I'm less likely to blow my exercise efforts by overeating.

sijomial

geogirl0626 wrote: »

I think the OP may be referring to this study:
cell.com/current-biology/abstract/S0960-9822(15)01577-8

Here is an article about the study:
bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-01-28/more-exercise-doesn-t-always-mean-losing-weight

It says that higher amounts of exercise doesn't help you lose more weight than moderate exercise because your body adapts, and thus burns similar amounts of calories. I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around that concept because it seems like if I ran twice as long as my usual amount throughout the week, but kept calories the same, I should lose more weight.

I just started again trying to lose weight. I have about 20 pounds to go. I'm using my Fitbit to get an estimated TDEE and try to eat 500 less than that each day. I've added weight training 3 times a week, which is something I've never tried before, so I hope it helps.

@geogirl0626
It's not that they are saying you are adapting and the exercise burns less - you adapt to more exercise by reducing your other activity.
Allegedly!

Sounds like tosh to me - unless I've done something very extreme just feeling fit and energised spills over into the rest of my life and I move more. More likely to take the stairs, cycle to the shops, less likely to slob out in front of the TV.....

mikejdeleon85

i think it can help some casue at one time over 6-8 month span I lost 60-70lbs merely on only changed diet no exercise but what I was getting from work and at the time I worked as a warehouse supervisor so walking daily in the warehouse was my only kind of exercise.

Domicinator

GuitarJerry wrote: »

Domicinator wrote: »

Just to add another little wrinkle to this--

Both my rheumatologist and my primary care doctor are both SO HAPPY that I've lost so much weight and gotten healthy, but now they're both warning me that as I get older, I will begin to lose muscle mass. The weight loss does not exactly help this situation. They are both suggesting weight lifting and cardio just to keep my heart and muscles healthy. So these days I exercise more for those reasons than I do for weight loss.

Over the last couple of years, I've found that even at 38 years old, I still love biking. I got a bike last summer and rode it several miles almost every single day. For the cold months, I got an Airdyne AD-6 stationary bike, and I absolutely LOVE it. It works the arms, legs, and core and gets my heart pumping for a few minutes every day. Both are almost completely impact free on my joints, and the Airdyne adds in some fantastic upper body strength training because you have to use the handlebars to work the machine too.

So anyway, even if exercise doesn't create MUCH of a defecit, it's still good for you. I recommend it.

This is cute. The bolder part is mine. WTF? Lol.

Haha--what I was getting at is that there are a lot of things that just aren't fun anymore as I get older. Sledding and riding my bike around the neighborhood are two of the big things I've found to still be SO MUCH FUN. Even though they both hurt my butt sometimes.