Diet vs. Exercise For Weight Loss
AnvilHead
Posts: 18,343 Member
Great read for those who wonder if diet or exercise is the more powerful driver of weight loss. Long story short, the answer is "Why Not Both?"
Recent study (published Sept. 2017) involving 40 women randomly divided into groups: Resistance Training only (RT), Diet only (Diet), Resistance Training + Diet (RT+Diet). Study is here:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/319499045_Resistance_Training_Combined_With_Diet_Decreases_Body_Fat_While_Preserving_Lean_Mass_Independent_of_Resting_Metabolic_Rate_A_Randomized_Trial
For those who don't want to read all the details, the results were simplified/summarized in an infographic graciously created by ISSN:
Recent study (published Sept. 2017) involving 40 women randomly divided into groups: Resistance Training only (RT), Diet only (Diet), Resistance Training + Diet (RT+Diet). Study is here:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/319499045_Resistance_Training_Combined_With_Diet_Decreases_Body_Fat_While_Preserving_Lean_Mass_Independent_of_Resting_Metabolic_Rate_A_Randomized_Trial
For those who don't want to read all the details, the results were simplified/summarized in an infographic graciously created by ISSN:
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Replies
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Haha, I rolled my eyes when I saw the thread title, then saw it was you
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Good read
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I'd like to see a study that compares diet, resistance training and cardio because ....... curiosity.
My guess is that cardio alone would produce a small loss assuming calories and NEAT remained the same. Just know that in reality many that rely solely on cardio tend to eat a bit more and move a bit less when not exercising which defeats the purpose for weight loss.0 -
It is in my opinion a bad idea to rely solely on exercise as a means to a calorie deficit - what happens if you become injured or your circumstances change and you can't exercise as much or at all, then you still end up having to adjust your diet or risk undoing your hard work.3
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Great info. Thanks for posting it.0
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tinkerbellang83 wrote: »It is in my opinion a bad idea to rely solely on exercise as a means to a calorie deficit - what happens if you become injured or your circumstances change and you can't exercise as much or at all, then you still end up having to adjust your diet or risk undoing your hard work.
Did you read it? Even the infographic says resistance training alone had no effect on fat mass.
A tiny study with only 40 participants (10 per test group)... I find it interesting that 9 people dropped out of the study. Of the 9, 2 control group people dropped (lol), 1 Diet only, 1 Resistance training only, and 5 resistance training and diet people. Whaaat. So doing resistance training and diet together is most likely to give you largest fat loss, BUT half of you will drop out. Of course they weighted the results, but if you only test 5 people with resistance+diet, all it takes is 1 person doing extra work to really mess with the data.10 -
Good read, but I'm not so sure about that stock photo.0
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we must be in a FB Group together.
I saw the exact same thing there this morning.
Can't say I was surprised...
only thing I will say is recomp????0 -
Same here.Nony_Mouse wrote: »Haha, I rolled my eyes when I saw the thread title, then saw it was you
Important point: Protein was roughly 1.4g/kg/day per the infographic
"Fat intake was set at 20% of total calories. Protein intake was calculated using a factor of 3.1 g of protein per kg of fat free mass (Helms, Zinn, Rowlands, & Brown, 2014). Carbohydrate made up the balance of the remaining calories."
130 lb woman at 25% body fat = 97.5 lbs FFM / 44 kg FFM
44kg FFM * 3.1 gr protein/kg = 136 grams of protein per day.
That also works out to around 0.8 gr to 1.0 gr protein per pound of "body weight" for someone whose body fat is not more than ~ 25% (men) or ~30% (women).
This is the protein recommendation commonly cited by many people who strength train regularly.
Few women I know are getting anything close to that much protein.
The exceptions are the women who already know the value of RT / strength training. Go figure.
Most people probably get less than 1/2 as much protein in a day and eat 2 or 3 times as much fat.
Full disclosure: Researchers included Alan Aragon & Brad Schoenfeld..
"Several reasons could exist for the lack of effectiveness of RT reported in most weight loss studies (Donnelly et al., 2009). Possible explanations include, but are not limited to, 1) a lack of control and/or measurement of caloric intake; 2) failure to adjust dietary protein needs to support muscle growth; and 3) an inadequate RT stimulus."
The takeaway "results" are wrong in the infographic though.
The graphic simply does not match the findings in the study itself.
"The study produced several notable findings. First, while reductions in fat mass were achieved by all experimental groups, results were maximized by combining of RT and diet. Second, only the RT group showed significant increases in lean mass; combining RT with diet attenuated these increases. Finally, RMR remained unchanged over the course of the study period for all conditions; changes in lean mass did not significantly affect this outcome."
In other words, RT *alone* might not decrease body weight significantly but *does* cut body fat.
This is probably because RT alone builds some muscle while cutting fat -presuming adequate protein intake- making one's "weight" stay the same.
RT+Diet cut fat faster (and therefore dropped body weight faster) than it could create muscle. This is to be expected.2 -
tinkerbellang83 wrote: »It is in my opinion a bad idea to rely solely on exercise as a means to a calorie deficit - what happens if you become injured or your circumstances change and you can't exercise as much or at all, then you still end up having to adjust your diet or risk undoing your hard work.
Did you read it? Even the infographic says resistance training alone had no effect on fat mass.
A tiny study with only 40 participants (10 per test group)... I find it interesting that 9 people dropped out of the study. Of the 9, 2 control group people dropped (lol), 1 Diet only, 1 Resistance training only, and 5 resistance training and diet people. Whaaat. So doing resistance training and diet together is most likely to give you largest fat loss, BUT half of you will drop out. Of course they weighted the results, but if you only test 5 people with resistance+diet, all it takes is 1 person doing extra work to really mess with the data.
Yes thanks I did read it. My comment was just in general on the subject not in response to the infographic itself. A number of my friends rely solely on cardio for weight loss and maintenance, however if you do a lot of cardio it's not hard to pick up an injury from time to time, in which case you'd then have to switch to modifying your diet to maintain your balance/deficit.0 -
Diet & Exercise (especially cardio) for me!
Cardio is enjoyable ... and is a very enjoyable way to be able to eat slightly more.
And yes, sometimes you do need to make a diet adjustment, but that's OK.1 -
Great thread thank you!!0
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Lillymoo01 wrote: »I'd like to see a study that compares diet, resistance training and cardio because ....... curiosity.
My guess is that cardio alone would produce a small loss assuming calories and NEAT remained the same. Just know that in reality many that rely solely on cardio tend to eat a bit more and move a bit less when not exercising which defeats the purpose for weight loss.
You can probably infer a reasonable guess for the impact of cardio. For weight loss, it's basically just another way of creating a calorie deficit (CV benefits aside and assuming those calories aren't eaten back). If we assume that a 'normal' person would do moderate cardio for 60 minutes a day, 3X per week, we can probably say that the effort would generate a weekly deficit somewhere in the range of 1300-1600 calories. A little less than 0.5 lbs per week.
I love running and would do it regardless of the calorie burn, but I can't tell you how disappointed I was when I learned that a good 5K in the morning would barely burn off a can of soda.3 -
tinkerbellang83 wrote: »It is in my opinion a bad idea to rely solely on exercise as a means to a calorie deficit - what happens if you become injured or your circumstances change and you can't exercise as much or at all, then you still end up having to adjust your diet or risk undoing your hard work.
Did you read it? Even the infographic says resistance training alone had no effect on fat mass.
A tiny study with only 40 participants (10 per test group)... I find it interesting that 9 people dropped out of the study. Of the 9, 2 control group people dropped (lol), 1 Diet only, 1 Resistance training only, and 5 resistance training and diet people. Whaaat. So doing resistance training and diet together is most likely to give you largest fat loss, BUT half of you will drop out. Of course they weighted the results, but if you only test 5 people with resistance+diet, all it takes is 1 person doing extra work to really mess with the data.
This was my takeaway too... Much too small of a sample size to apply results to the general population... The results were from a total of 30 obese premenopausal women, and as you said, with only 5 people in the diet+RT group, that makes the reliability of the study questionable - it is entirely possible if you took 40 more people (even if they are following the same criteria for selection) and end up with entirely different results.
Another issue with the study was that only the diet groups had their intake reviewed, meaning that the RT only groups may have decided to change their eating habits, and it would be hard to tell.
Overall I think the study is useful... but a lot more research is needed before concrete conclusions can be drawn.0 -
Interesting. I'm adding cardio in right now, next step is resistance. Gotta get the money for weights first.0
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Nony_Mouse wrote: »
I'm doing bodyweight for my legs, will progress to ankle weights when that gets too easy, looking for a program for my upper body now! Asking about beginners programs with weights on the fitness board because I have physical limitations, and asking a trainer friend for help to come up with a program for me.
I forgot about bodyweight for upper body! Thanks for the kick in the *kitten*!
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For me, I don't really know how you'd separate them. To put it in MFP terms, I bike and walk a lot, which raise my TDEE, and diet is about TDEE, so riding my bike is just part of the overall picture.0
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tinkerbellang83 wrote: »It is in my opinion a bad idea to rely solely on exercise as a means to a calorie deficit - what happens if you become injured or your circumstances change and you can't exercise as much or at all, then you still end up having to adjust your diet or risk undoing your hard work.
When I got hit by a car and stopped being active, my appetite mostly vanished. I lost weight through that period.1 -
Nony_Mouse wrote: »
I'm doing bodyweight for my legs, will progress to ankle weights when that gets too easy, looking for a program for my upper body now! Asking about beginners programs with weights on the fitness board because I have physical limitations, and asking a trainer friend for help to come up with a program for me.
I forgot about bodyweight for upper body! Thanks for the kick in the *kitten*!
be careful of ankle weights.
I am not a fan as they can cause injury from the extra "pulling" on the legs.2 -
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Nony_Mouse wrote: »
I'm doing bodyweight for my legs, will progress to ankle weights when that gets too easy, looking for a program for my upper body now! Asking about beginners programs with weights on the fitness board because I have physical limitations, and asking a trainer friend for help to come up with a program for me.
I forgot about bodyweight for upper body! Thanks for the kick in the *kitten*!
be careful of ankle weights.
I am not a fan as they can cause injury from the extra "pulling" on the legs.
Not only that, but any exercise that would benefit from ankle weight won't do a whole lot for leg strength.
Squatting with a ruck/vest/etc will do more for your leg strength. single leg variations will also do more.
I you can do 1-10 correct pistol squats, you can push 1-1.5x BW back squat. OTOH, the skill is not reciprocal. Meaning that being able to do 1.5-2x BW back squat does not ensure that you can do a single correct pistol.1 -
There are similar studies that have looked at diet only, aerobic only, weights only, and aerobic+weights. No great revelation, but the combo of diet+aerobic+resistance training has consistently shown better results compared to any single intervention only (although one can see positive results from any of those interventions by themselves).
Most studies of this type will have small(ish) sample sizes due to the logistical demands conducting the research. The authors will be the first ones to tell you that no study like this is definitive. But it is a good group, and their results can be trusted.2 -
Nony_Mouse wrote: »
I'm doing bodyweight for my legs, will progress to ankle weights when that gets too easy, looking for a program for my upper body now! Asking about beginners programs with weights on the fitness board because I have physical limitations, and asking a trainer friend for help to come up with a program for me.
I forgot about bodyweight for upper body! Thanks for the kick in the *kitten*!
I too would give ankle weights a swerve, not good for your knees.
Re weights, you don't need proper ones, just find something convenient to use like a bag of sugar, large container of milk etc. (even better if you save a couple of old ones and just fill them with water). Just google workouts for women without weights, there are loads of ideas out there.
Re cardio, don't get hung up on gym's/running machines, going for a half hour walk each day (at a decent pace) makes a huge difference. There are free tracking apps available (mapmywalk, strava etc.) to make them a bit more interesting.0
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