The men who made us thin

Tum22
Tum22 Posts: 102 Member
edited November 2023 in Getting Started
Watched a documentary earlier this week as above. A scientist was claiming that exercise won't make one lose weight because it can't be done on a big enough scale to make any difference. It also said that if one did some exercise during the day then one would compensate for the rest of the day and be less active. Well this is how I interpreted it.

Disappointed to hear this. What about exercise increasing muscle to fat ratios and raising metabolism?

Did anyone watch this? Have any opinions?
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Replies

  • Jestinia
    Jestinia Posts: 1,153 Member
    I saw this somewhere, too. Annoying, but I still exercise for general health and the mood boosting properties.
  • Minnie2361
    Minnie2361 Posts: 281 Member
    Here is the Guardian News Review on the Show
    How the Food Industry cashed in on Obesity..

    http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/aug/07/fat-profits-food-industry-obesity

    It was on interest to me that Weight Watchers has been taken to task in the UK , that only 15% of those who lose weight keep it off after two years and 5% retain weight loss after 5 years. The industry is built on failure and repeat business.

    More important is that that the Food Giants are involved in the weight loss industry.
    Nestles owns Jenny Craig,, Heinz owns a portion of Weight Watchers and that they sold off shares to a European Investment Firm for $735 million, Unilever owns Slim Fast. The guy who started Slimfast is !.2 billion richer after Unilever bought him out. Fascinating , the weight loss is a big business worth billions that is built on failure and repeat business.
  • nwg74
    nwg74 Posts: 360 Member
    I am watching it at the moment and it has taken me 4 times to try to get through it.

    The person doing the documentary basically said exercising is a waste of time for weight loss within the first few minutes. They even got a metabolism expert to agree despite nothing being said about increasing ones own metabolic rate. Exercise has helped me lose 14.5 stone / 202 pounds.

    A very bad and annoying programme.
  • stefjc
    stefjc Posts: 484 Member
    That was 'in a normal life exercise alone will not be sufficient to cause significant weight loss"

    But it is vital to sustain weight loss and other healthy lifestyle changes.

    Why - the amount needed vs the kcals needed to sustain it; the need to rest after it (especially for beginners); the revved up metabolism/exercise after burn lie; the real number of calories burned in any exercise session (walking can be as little as 2 or 3 kcals/min) and even a hard workout's kcals can be instantly replaced with one sport/hydration drink. But it increases your feel good factor, reduces depression, makes you happier, and on it goes.

    As for those who say "Ah, but if you stop exercising and make no other change you will gain weight" Well duh! That only proves you eat more kcals when you exercise!

    As for metabolic rate - that is a seriously misunderstood concept. A fat person ALWAYS has a higher metabolic rate than a thin one - often higher than very active thin ones, depends on the individuals. It takes a lot of energy shifting an heavy body (I know simplistic, but truer than most of the tut expounded on many sites)

    Restrict calorie intake for weight loss and exercise regularly for health!

    Anything else is snake oil or madness - honest!
  • LMJS
    LMJS Posts: 157 Member
    I have watched that as well and although I don't agree with the way that something's were said, I don't think the intention was to diss exercising. What they are getting at is that people are being sold the idea of loosing weight by exercising ALONE. When in reality it should be done in conjunction with a healthy eating programme. Of course exercise is good for you because of the health benefits and they did say that during the programme.
    I do also agree though that the way they said some things was a bit misleading.
    I exercise regularly now and it is helping me to lose weight but I am also on a calorie reduced diet and am exercising for health benefits as well. I guess that's what they were trying to get people to understand :-)
  • james6998
    james6998 Posts: 743 Member
    Healthy weight =20% exercise
    =80% diet

    However i refuse to believe that you could be healthy without exercise, thats beyond foolishness.
  • etoiles_argentees
    etoiles_argentees Posts: 2,827 Member
    Here is the Guardian News Review on the Show
    How the Food Industry cashed in on Obesity..

    http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/aug/07/fat-profits-food-industry-obesity

    It was on interest to me that Weight Watchers has been taken to task in the UK , that only 15% of those who lose weight keep it off after two years and 5% retain weight loss after 5 years. The industry is built on failure and repeat business.

    More important is that that the Food Giants are involved in the weight loss industry.
    Nestles owns Jenny Craig,, Heinz owns a portion of Weight Watchers and that they sold off shares to a European Investment Firm for $735 million, Unilever owns Slim Fast. The guy who started Slimfast is !.2 billion richer after Unilever bought him out. Fascinating , the weight loss is a big business worth billions that is built on failure and repeat business.

    correct. :)
  • Smudge_
    Smudge_ Posts: 17
    what a stupid thread, eat less move more.
  • stefjc
    stefjc Posts: 484 Member
    what a stupid thread, eat less move more.

    Why stupid?

    There are quite a few threads on telly programmes that have been challenging, recently.

    Some have been misunderstood, partly as the style and ability of the presenter is a bit lacking. But the debate, questions, queries and attempted answers and explanations have been interesting and informative.

    The whole point of the programmes is that we are being sold misinformation - so why not discuss it to try and understand it more.

    Trying to close it down with a 'god but you're stupid' post is just rude, selfish, not what t'internet is about!!
  • Didn't like the program , its more about the the person doing the interviews' ego than about science.

    Deliberate misinformation.

    Calories and exercise are derived from the most precise of the sciences which is Physics, and this guy is trying to say otherwise , I am sure he has a book coming out soon!
  • bound4beauty
    bound4beauty Posts: 274 Member
    I haven't watched this, but what I assume they are trying to say in the typical sensationalized style of most documentaries, is that exercise alone is not enough to lose weight. First of all, most people over estimate the number of calories they burn with exercise. Then there's the misnomer that if I just exercise more, I can eat more. It doesn't work that way. You can lose a lot of weight without doing any cardio at all. What you should be doing is strength training so you don't end up at your goal weight with no muscle and a high body fat percentage.

    That doesn't mean that cardio doesn't have it's place. It's good for your heart and it's been proven effective in elevating your mood. But, after about the first 20 minutes, the effectiveness of cardio begin to diminish so killing yourself doing 1 to 2 hours of cardio a day is pretty ineffectual. If you do it because you love then go for it but don't expect that to be enough to help you lose weight and more importantly, keep it off.

    What's more important, is adding muscle and NEAT. The number of calories you burn through non-exercise activities. The more you fidget and move around during the day can have a significant impact on how many calories you burn, depending on the individual. Stand instead of sit. Park far away and walk. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Just getting on the treadmill for 30 minutes and then sitting on your *kitten* the rest of the day is not going to help you lose weight.
  • Minnie2361
    Minnie2361 Posts: 281 Member
    I agree , exercise alone is not enough to lose weight, I joined a spin class last year and noticed that many of my fellow spinners were regulars and had been spinning over a year and still were carry pounds, I notice after 3 months it had very little impact on my weight and at the same time I was doing an hour a day of walking.

    Came to realize that a change in diet was needed. I had to look at my eating habits, what I was eating , how often I was eating , how much I was eating and make the major changes there upping the fresh fruits and vegetables cutting out most sugar products , looking for healthy fats , meats and oils adding in whole wheat whole grains, Eating a healthy breakfast and that has done more in 3 months than the spin class.

    Exercise is important, weight training builds up bone density, walking and hiking is good for cardio and it aids in weight loss.

    Coke has an ad that suggests more exercise means you can enjoy coke. Never have been a soft drink fan, and diet coke with aspartine is deadly. Got a juicer, if I need a sugar boost get it through fresh orange juice.
  • ACVG999
    ACVG999 Posts: 2 Member
    losing a ton of weight while having NO muscle mass does not make a pretty picture...
  • crandos
    crandos Posts: 377 Member
    Healthy weight =20% exercise
    =80% diet

    However i refuse to believe that you could be healthy without exercise, thats beyond foolishness.

    i feel rest is as important as excercise have you ever woken up after good nights sleep and you feel more lean?
  • Graelwyn75
    Graelwyn75 Posts: 4,404 Member
    what a stupid thread, eat less move more.

    What a nasty post.
    Your glowing personality really shines through here.
  • Minnie2361
    Minnie2361 Posts: 281 Member
    BBC Documentary "the men who made us thing" a hard look at the diet industry is now on You Tube for watching

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5Bxgnc4964
  • clarebailey355
    clarebailey355 Posts: 113 Member
    I watched the first programme and was annoyed that (exercise issue aside) it was used as another opportunity to have a go at Weight Watchers. I lost 25lb on WW a couple of years ago and have kept it because I changed my eating habits - it's obviously not going to work long term if you don't maintain healthy eating habits once you've reached your goal weight.
  • TheRealParisLove
    TheRealParisLove Posts: 1,907 Member
    The experts no nothing about weight loss. Just ask a room full of weight loss experts if it is a good idea to eat dairy products. You will get a wide variety of answers, and no one will know who is right.

    One thing is for sure, lack of exercise is deadly. Sedentary people die younger and have more disease than active people. Best to just exercise and be on the safe side. :smile:
  • farway
    farway Posts: 1,264 Member
    I watched the first programme and was annoyed that (exercise issue aside) it was used as another opportunity to have a go at Weight Watchers. I lost 25lb on WW a couple of years ago and have kept it because I changed my eating habits - it's obviously not going to work long term if you don't maintain healthy eating habits once you've reached your goal weight.

    I have watched both programmes, and think people should look through some of the annoying, or does nor fit into what you believe ideas, and look at the underlying message, which is diet, weight loss and exercise are a big money making industries, so first create the problem, then sell you solution

    Which as programme one pointed out, most will fail at because they do not change lifestyle or eating habits, so go back & spend more money doing it all again, and again
  • TheBitSlinger
    TheBitSlinger Posts: 621 Member
    Didn't see it but can tell you it's total horse feces.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    Without exercise I wouldn't have lost any weight. I didn't really cut calories at all at first. Just started exercising regularly again. That got me to my original goal.
  • caitypants86
    caitypants86 Posts: 278 Member
    Exercise and a clean diet 90% of the time are the only two things you need in order to lose weight/get in shape. There are millions of people who have done it that way, including myself. No magic pills/WW/JC needed. Nature has given us the tools. People need to stop over-complicating things.
  • mhfitbit
    mhfitbit Posts: 6 Member
    I watched the first programme and was annoyed that (exercise issue aside) it was used as another opportunity to have a go at Weight Watchers. I lost 25lb on WW a couple of years ago and have kept it because I changed my eating habits - it's obviously not going to work long term if you don't maintain healthy eating habits once you've reached your goal weight.

    But that's the point - the vast majority of people that lose weight with WW (or any other diet) do not maintain their goal weight - quite the opposite in fact. And WW's business model (and their ilk) are predicated on people failing. Failure = repeat business.
  • toutmonpossible
    toutmonpossible Posts: 1,580 Member
    I've read many articles stating that while exercise is extremely important for your general health it should not be primarily relied on for weight loss and that the metabolism-boosting effect of strength training has been overstated. Diet remains the most important factor.
  • toutmonpossible
    toutmonpossible Posts: 1,580 Member
    I am watching it at the moment and it has taken me 4 times to try to get through it.

    The person doing the documentary basically said exercising is a waste of time for weight loss within the first few minutes. They even got a metabolism expert to agree despite nothing being said about increasing ones own metabolic rate. Exercise has helped me lose 14.5 stone / 202 pounds.

    A very bad and annoying programme.

    Exercise may have helped you lose weight because you were motivated to stick to your diet. You were more body-conscious and may have had a greater feeling of emotional well-being.
  • harleygroomer
    harleygroomer Posts: 373 Member
    Some idiot man with nothing better to do than to put DOWN women was behind this documentary. You see all these shows about how to make women better and what we do wrong. But just how many do you see about MEN????? Take everything you see and read with a grain of salt---99% of it is made up crap.
  • Dixie2111
    Dixie2111 Posts: 30 Member
    Watched a documentary earlier this week as above. A scientist was claiming that exercise won't make one lose weight because it can't be done on a big enough scale to make any difference. It also said that if one did some exercise during the day then one would compensate for the rest of the day and be less active. Well this is how I interpreted it.

    Disappointed to hear this. What about exercise increasing muscle to fat ratios and raising metabolism?

    Did anyone watch this? Have any opinions?
  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
    Healthy weight =20% exercise
    =80% diet

    However i refuse to believe that you could be healthy without exercise, thats beyond foolishness.

    I've even heard that people subscribe to the 90-10 ratio. In my experience, BODY FAT % is very effected by exercise, especially weight lifting. But you are not going to necessarily see a drop in weight, and if you are already fairly light, your weight will actually increase. That is why I am not really focusing on a goal weight, but rather a goal body fat %.
  • WendyFlynn
    WendyFlynn Posts: 139 Member
    I watched the first programme and was annoyed that (exercise issue aside) it was used as another opportunity to have a go at Weight Watchers. I lost 25lb on WW a couple of years ago and have kept it because I changed my eating habits - it's obviously not going to work long term if you don't maintain healthy eating habits once you've reached your goal weight.

    I have watched both programmes, and think people should look through some of the annoying, or does nor fit into what you believe ideas, and look at the underlying message, which is diet, weight loss and exercise are a big money making industries, so first create the problem, then sell you solution

    Which as programme one pointed out, most will fail at because they do not change lifestyle or eating habits, so go back & spend more money doing it all again, and again

    Basically you are both saying the same thing, and I agree with you!

    I watched this programme alone and was talking to the TV when the interviewer was rubbishing all of these companies as selling false hope as only a very small percentage of people seemed to be able to maintain any weight loss over the subsequent coming years. He accused weight loss companies of making money out of it's failure to deliver.... WTF, these companies DID deliver, it was the individual that failed long term in my opinion.

    I lost my weight through MFP and it's guidelines. I've maintained my weight through MFP and it's guidelines for the last 9 months. If I stop using MFP and eat what I want, and then subsequently gain weight, who's fault is it, MFP's or mine? I think the fault would lie solely at my door.

    On the debate about exercise, I did lose my weight without any exercise plan at all, it isn't pretty guys! I would recommend exercise for toning and general good health and mental well being. However, I do agree that it is hard to lose weight through exercise alone.
  • qtgonewild
    qtgonewild Posts: 1,930 Member
    Here is the Guardian News Review on the Show
    How the Food Industry cashed in on Obesity..

    http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/aug/07/fat-profits-food-industry-obesity

    It was on interest to me that Weight Watchers has been taken to task in the UK , that only 15% of those who lose weight keep it off after two years and 5% retain weight loss after 5 years. The industry is built on failure and repeat business.

    More important is that that the Food Giants are involved in the weight loss industry.
    Nestles owns Jenny Craig,, Heinz owns a portion of Weight Watchers and that they sold off shares to a European Investment Firm for $735 million, Unilever owns Slim Fast. The guy who started Slimfast is !.2 billion richer after Unilever bought him out. Fascinating , the weight loss is a big business worth billions that is built on failure and repeat business.


    this is fascinating to me. thank you.
This discussion has been closed.