Someone told me you won't lose fat with excercise.

jryan83

To me exercise is that "little something extra" you can do to boost your weight loss results. For instance, your eating enough calories to loose weight, and you do, but - you have a special event coming up and you want to pig out. Exercising can help you off-set those extra calories. This scenario can work for everyday eating as well. Some people just can't handle eating only 1200-1500 calories a day. So exercise is required for continued results.

Personally, I hate most forms of exercise. I don't like to sweat and if I have to be alittle hungry to avoid it, so be it.

elle18287

Exactly...calories in and calories out. Plus, the more muscle you create (through exercise) the more calories your body burns just sitting around.

hallie_b

Whoever told you this is probably reading Gary Taubes, and they're wrong. Weight loss = calories in vs. calories out, and exercise is definitely calories out.

Yes, yes, calories are still important (something nobody disputes) but what if the composition of the meals fundamentally affects your ability to either burn fat or put it on? Just maybe, huh? Worth a little investigation? Maybe? Or do we all just treat this as a maths problem? And struggle, feeling deprived, stressed and malnourished ...

80% nutrition, 20% exercise ... Exercise is important, nutrition is critical.

Agreed. Totally about the composition of the meal + calorie counts (and exercising for me loses/shapes inches which I am more concerned about then actual lbs.)

chachita7

deficit + exercise = faster results

brneydgrlie

The point of exercising is to build muscle. Having more muscle enables your body to use it's energy more efficiently. It also helps increase metabolism.

So, while you CAN only eat less to lose weight, it is not the optimal way to do it.

Plus, by working your muscles, you are also improving circulation, stamina, and overall health. Remember - your heart is also a muscle.

jld66

I personally think it is important to do both. With out exercise I dont lose weight but every one is different. There is a great article on Web MD:

The truth is that weight loss is about creating a calorie deficit -- in other words, burning more calories than you take in. So, they say, while running at an 8-minute-mile pace might be a great calorie burner, if you're not going to do it, it's not going to help you. Instead, start with something you can do, like walking or working out on an elliptical machine or exercise bike.

The Beef on Strength Training

In all cases, however, you'll burn more calories with cardio (aerobic) exercise than with strength or resistance training.

"Strength training itself will not lead to an appreciable amount of weight loss because it just doesn't burn enough calories," says Glenn Gaesser, PhD, FACSM, kinesiology professor and department head at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.

But what about all that talk that more muscle mass equates to more calories burned, even when you're at rest?

"It's a myth. It's not going to happen," says Gaesser.

The only successful studies to show a significant calorie burn following a weight-lifting workout (afterburn) were done with serious lifters, working out for 60 to 90 minutes at a time and lifting as much as they could on every set.

In fact, Gaesser says, at best, gaining one pound of muscle will help you burn 5 to 10 extra calories a day. You could do that chewing gum.

That's not to say that strength training isn't important for the overall health of the body. But when it comes to burning the most calories, go for cardiovascular exercise. And vary the intensity, says Quist.

"Do aerobic base-building workouts," he says, where you alternate between moderate and higher intensity, either within the same workout or on alternate days.

Quist also recommends cross-training -- that is, doing a range of different activities during your workouts. Not only does this help you keep from getting bored, it's better for your body. Doing different activities recruits different muscle groups. You're also less likely to develop an injury, says Quist, since doing the same thing day after day creates wear patterns on your joints.

kittymclewin

I must agree. But enjoy myfitnesspal as a chance to test your theory. I have lived with a veg for 3 years and even though she didn't eat meat she certainly made up for it with the cheese and dairy she ate...which is actually far more calorie rich than it's equal weight in meat. I barely eat meat...I just don't like the price/ or the prep, but if i spend my day eating bagels and granola i'd be quite overweight. i barely excercise more than 30 mins 2-3 times a week, but i eat clean with lots of veggies and fruits cause when i don't i feel cranky, sick, and unhealthy.

but the nice thing is that you can test your theory here. if you think you need excercise all the time then go for it....but my caution to folks is this: experiment with lots of different balances of food and excercise...but listen to your body and your heart....just because you burn alot doing 112 minutes of cardio a day makes you skinny it could also make you miserable. you will find a perfect balance between food and excercise so that you actually like living that way...even love it. the danger is getting alot of weight loss out of something you hate doing...then it will only come back. my advice...use myfitnesspal to find harmony between your food/excercise then spend the rest of your life enjoying it.

EvanKeel

You can exercise and not lose weight. You can eat less and not lose weight, too. It depends on how much you're eating and how much you're burning. if you're using exercise alone as a way of burning more than you consume, then great. I don't have enough time in my day usually to exercise that much, or I simply don't want to. So I just eat a bit less and exercise some more for some balance.

That aside, exercise is good for you...as long as you don't do something silly to injure yourself.

LiveEnjoyEndure

It is not just as simple as calories in and calories out. Metabolism has a lot to do with weight loss.

Metabolism is wholly encompassed by "calories out". It's really just as simple as calories in and calories out.

Calories are a measurement of energy. In this case energy in food. If the food is white granulated sugar, then your body will use very little energy to convert the sugar into glucose, glycogen or worst of all fat. if the energy is fat then the body will need to use less than nothing to convert the fat into lipids it can store on your buttocks. If the energy is in the form protein it will need to use a lot of energy converting the protein into glucose and even more to create lipids. The type of macronutrient you consume will effect the calorific benefit of the food to your body.

If you live a sedentary lifestyle then your body will be programmed to create lipids to store under the skin or in the liver. If you live an active lifestyle your body will be programmed to produce glycogen. In fact endurance athletes use this programming to do carbohydrate loading before an event (to maximise stored glycogen). Carb loading will not work for someone living a sedentary lifestyle, they will store fat not glycogen.

I have not been able to exercise for 2 weeks (because I have had an operation) and have been eating above maintenance levels for calories (2500 - 3500 calories-a-day) and MFP has been telling me I will gain weight. I have not gained weight but lost 1 lb in the last two weeks . This is because I have been training for endurance sport burning 1000-2000 calories on a daily basis for the last 6 months.

It is not just about calories-in, calories-out, lifestyle and the type of macronutrients you eat will have a big influence on fat storage/loss.