Exercise to lose weight MYTH? (or way overstated)

SirZee

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1914974,00.html

Finally, an article and scientific study of something I have started to suspect, after 10 years of sometimes near crazy gym-rat behavior (ex: 1 hour bike to work in the morning, kickboxing class at noon, weightlifting for 45 min after kickboxing, 1 hour bike home after work, coaching youth soccer for 2 hours in the evening). As a weight loss/control tool exercise is almost irrelevant, its all about managing food intake.

Edit:
I forgot to add, despite all that working out (and eating healthy foods, just not worrying about quantity much), still OBESE on the BMI rating at 249lb start weight (232 this morning). Sure I was fit, but also fat.

ElizabethRoad

Calorie deficit is what makes you lose weight. You can create that by eating less, or by eating the same and exercising more, or any combination.

Meaganandcheese

I think every person falls on a different place on the spectrum. For me, losing weight is 90% eating well. I almost see exercise as serving a different purpose entirely - for fitness and health, but not for weight loss. I lose pounds in the kitchen and inches in the gym, if you want to see it that way.

But like I said, I think every person's body responds differently, especially depending on where they are in their weightloss journey and fitness level.

cmriverside

Exercise does so much more than burn calories, though. Sure, you can lose weight by calorie-deficit only.

mes1119

The people that say exercise to lose weight are the ones that pass by the drive through on the way home from the gym. You can eat your way through any workout.

So yes, it is overstated, however those that exercise look better because of muscle tone

SueInAz

I think every person falls on a different place on the spectrum. For me, losing weight is 90% eating well. I almost see exercise as serving a different purpose entirely - for fitness and health, but not for weight loss. I lose pounds in the kitchen and inches in the gym, if you want to see it that way.

This!

Restricting calories will make you lose weight. Cardio exercise will make you more fit. Strength training will increase your muscle mass so you burn more calories at rest.

SirZee

Exercise does so much more than burn calories, though. Sure, you can lose weight by calorie-deficit only.

Yep, exercise is very important (reduces all kinds of disease risks, countless studies support this), just not in terms of weight loss.

I still work out quite a bit, but now its more of building myself a "buffer" on my low cal/high protein MFP diet in case I get hungry in the evening, then I can go 200-300 cal over my goal without feeling guilty much

neverstray

I know people that decide to start exercising but have no plan whatsoever to change how they eat. They get very disappointed pretty quickly.

I think weight loss is mostly due to eating. Excercise has a different purpose.

SirZee

I think every person falls on a different place on the spectrum. For me, losing weight is 90% eating well. I almost see exercise as serving a different purpose entirely - for fitness and health, but not for weight loss. I lose pounds in the kitchen and inches in the gym, if you want to see it that way.

This!

Restricting calories will make you lose weight. Cardio exercise will make you more fit. Strength training will increase your muscle mass so you burn more calories at rest.

The article points this out. Converting 10 pounds of fat to muscle, a MAJOR accomplishment, only burns you extra 40 cal. Sure, 40cal is "more" but practically nothing when cast against a 2000 cal daily intake.

omma_to_3

Exercise is an integral part of my weight loss because if I didn't exercise, I would feel deprived food wise. I am able to eat more BECAUSE I exercise and I know from past experience that simply restricting calories to a level where I lose is too hard to maintain for long.

SirZee

.... I lose pounds in the kitchen and inches in the gym, if you want to see it that way. ...

I love that, just became my new mantra

bcattoes

Well of course it's about managing food intake. But that doesn't make exercise irrelevant. It makes it a method to achieve food management. Exercise more so you can eat more. The fact that exercise also makes you look better and reduces your risk of most diseases is a really nice perk.

Jeff92se

You can kill yourself in the gym and burn 2,000 calories. Might take 2-3 hours. But you can eat that back in about 20 min via fast food.

So if you are working out alot and not losing, it's your diet.

But exercise can get you into a net deficit if you choose your foods correctly. It can go from having to be hungry to being able to eat a decent meal and still be under your calorie count

firedragon064

Calorie in , calorie out. It does not matter whether you do it through eating less or work out.
Sometimes I don't do cardio work out because I know I would be so hungry after so I decide just to stop eating for the rest of that day.
But exercise makes me feel good about myself, reduce stress, build more muscle mass, it helps me stick to my diet.

devinbugland

In my past experiences losing weight, I have discovered that successful weight loss is due to equal parts lowering your calorie intake & increasing the amount of time you exercise. also, hydration during your workout is a key factor as well.

SirZee

"Last year the International Journal of Obesity published a paper by Gortmaker and Kendrin Sonneville of Children's Hospital Boston noting that "there is a widespread assumption that increasing activity will result in a net reduction in any energy gap" — energy gap being the term scientists use for the difference between the number of calories you use and the number you consume. But Gortmaker and Sonneville found in their 18-month study of 538 students that when kids start to exercise, they end up eating more — not just a little more, but an average of 100 calories more than they had just burned.

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1914974,00.html#ixzz1oSqs1LQD"

Bingo!

This has got to be the most important article I read in the last 10 years...

kateroot

For the sole purpose of weight loss, diet is by far the most important. However, for FAT loss and overall health, in my experience it's 50/50 diet and exercise. I'm sure that's not the case for everyone, but it has been for me.

Jeff92se

I lift an exercise so I won't be a boney mess if I lose weight. I don't want to sacrafice muscle mass for a # on the scale.

SueInAz

I think every person falls on a different place on the spectrum. For me, losing weight is 90% eating well. I almost see exercise as serving a different purpose entirely - for fitness and health, but not for weight loss. I lose pounds in the kitchen and inches in the gym, if you want to see it that way.

This!

Restricting calories will make you lose weight. Cardio exercise will make you more fit. Strength training will increase your muscle mass so you burn more calories at rest.

The article points this out. Converting 10 pounds of fat to muscle, a MAJOR accomplishment, only burns you extra 40 cal. Sure, 40cal is "more" but practically nothing when cast against a 2000 cal daily intake.

My point, of course, is that you should be doing all three. And while 40 calories seems like "nothing", you have to think long term. Once you're in maintenance and no longer restricting calories, that 40 calorie difference is 14,600 calories for the year or just over 4 pounds of fat gain. 4 pounds per year is actually a pretty substantial weight gain when you're looking at it year over year.

ElizabethRoad

This has got to be the most important article I read in the last 10 years...

Really? I thought this was pretty basic.

bcattoes

I know people that decide to start exercising but have no plan whatsoever to change how they eat. They get very disappointed pretty quickly.

I think weight loss is mostly due to eating. Excercise has a different purpose.

I think this is often true, but not always. I didn't really change the way I eat at all when I decided to lose weight. I switched to healthy eating years ago, but I'm hungry if I eat little enough to keep me thin without exercise. All I did was get off my lazy *kitten* and start exercising regularly again. I never had any clue how many calories I was eating until I joined this site, and I was almost to goal by then.