The men who made us thin
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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.
Yep, agree entirely, and blaming companies for failure struck me as unfair also, never been to any gym or weight loss classes except MFP, so no idea if they stress importance of change for life or not0 -
Yes, I watched it too and was totally shocked to hear this, but they did also state that diets didn't work and is the industry's way of keeping us coming back, if it worked they'd all be out of a business, which I agree with, because its really all about a life style change and counting the calories, as this Site proves, that makes you loose the extra weight. I have lost 10 pounds so far on MFP and have probably just over that much again to go before I reach my ultimate goal-weight, and then its just a case of maintaining it, but I have never had such a success as I have had on here, just by logging it all down, keeping the tally here has been a godsend and there in NO way I am going to yo-yo back up again to my former weight. I found this Documentary disappointing too to find that they are saying exercise doesn't make you loose weight....well, something has made me loose weight and so easily too, steadily at between one pound and half a pound a week, so either its the calorie counting that is doing it or the exercise in conjunction with the calorie counting. Four years ago I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and it has made it harder for me to control my increasing weight and to loose it in the previous three years and keep it off, and I became lethargic and tired and slowed down even more and grew fatter and it became a vicious circle, but this method here on MFP is almost as easy as breathing and does most of the ground work for you! The scientists did not, however, say how to get the extra weight down or off, which I found rather unhelpful. I am on a plateau at the moment and stayed the same now for three weeks, so I know increasing my exercise and my calories that I have earned back have stopped my body from going into starvation mode and is maybe thinking about it (what is she doing next?) lol . The week I didn't exercise because of the heat and humidity it slowed down, but I still lost half a pound so maybe its the calorie counting and not the exercise that is the secret to weight loss. Re-educating your eating habits and changing how and what you eat I believe is what does it. Exercise keeps us fit, toned and helps keep the blood pressure down. Calorie counting makes sure we don't overfill our fuel tanks! :laugh:0
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The point being made is exercise in itself , alone is not the answer to losing weight. It doesn't say do not exercise. It is very important to be active and get the cardio up.
But if one relied only on exercise to lose vast quantities of weight one's energy would be very depleted because of the number of hours and the intensity of exercise needed.
The point being made is you can't eat all the junk food you want cuz exercise will take care of the weight. It doesn't.
What is important is a lifestyle change.
My opinion on the matter is junk foods with high in sugars , trans fats, high fructose corn syrup should come with warning labels much those put on tobacco..0 -
Most scientists are clueless; I know, I used to be one and I have worked with hundreds. A lot of doctors are too. Anyway, if you move you use energy, exercise is vigorous movement. Bike for an hour a day and keep the same diet and you will see the weight fall off.0
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Most scientists are clueless; I know, I used to be one and I have worked with hundreds. A lot of doctors are too. Anyway, if you move you use energy, exercise is vigorous movement. Bike for an hour a day and keep the same diet and you will see the weight fall off.
Must surely depend on "same diet"?
Full English for breakfast, couple of pints plus burger & chips in Weatherpsoon's for lunch, pie, chips & beans for dinner then maybe a cheese sarnie and a few pints down the pub, with perhaps a bag or so of pork scratchings or crisps later and maybe a Chinese or Indian takeaway on way home?
I doubt even if you rode bike to pub it would have much help with weight loss
OK I really know you meant sensible diet, but I took the programme to be saying that some seem to think, possibly ill informed , may be by deliberate omission in adverts & commercialism selling exercise, they can eat as above, go to gym, or ride bike, or whatever once a week and it will negate all the calories0 -
Most scientists are clueless; I know, I used to be one and I have worked with hundreds. A lot of doctors are too. Anyway, if you move you use energy, exercise is vigorous movement. Bike for an hour a day and keep the same diet and you will see the weight fall off.
Must surely depend on "same diet"?
Full English for breakfast, couple of pints plus burger & chips in Weatherpsoon's for lunch, pie, chips & beans for dinner then maybe a cheese sarnie and a few pints down the pub, with perhaps a bag or so of pork scratchings or crisps later and maybe a Chinese or Indian takeaway on way home?
I doubt even if you rode bike to pub it would have much help with weight loss
OK I really know you meant sensible diet, but I took the programme to be saying that some seem to think, possibly ill informed , may be by deliberate omission in adverts & commercialism selling exercise, they can eat as above, go to gym, or ride bike, or whatever once a week and it will negate all the calories0 -
The point being made is exercise in itself , alone is not the answer to losing weight. It doesn't say do not exercise. It is very important to be active and get the cardio up.
But if one relied only on exercise to lose vast quantities of weight one's energy would be very depleted because of the number of hours and the intensity of exercise needed.
The point being made is you can't eat all the junk food you want cuz exercise will take care of the weight. It doesn't.
What is important is a lifestyle change.
My opinion on the matter is junk foods with high in sugars , trans fats, high fructose corn syrup should come with warning labels much those put on tobacco..
Pretty much this!0 -
I'm always surprised by what people get out of these programs. Clearly some people see a confirmation of personal position or focus on that.I'm not sure we saw the same episode.0
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Not all documentaries are factual. Exercise is very important to lead a healthy life.0
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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?
That was part of what was in it, but this summary misses the bigger picture it was trying to point out.
Unless you can work out a very great deal, it's rather difficult to work off excess calories consumed. It takes a lot of workout time to work off a cupcake. And, counterintuitively, there are studies that working out at times CAN lead to a person overcompensating with yet more calories as they become hungrier. They eat more so they work out which makes them hungry again, etc. You need to be mindful of how many calories you consume and expend. Exercise cannot (consistently) fix a bad diet.
The docu was not saying, however, that working out is pointless or that you should not work out. Quite the opposite.
There are benefits to working out. Working out definitely helps insulin resistance. Working out helps you utilize your stored glycogen, which in turn helps you have a better balanced metabolism. It helps your muscles, your heart, your respiration... And raising your NEAT (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12468415) also helps to raise your metabolism.
Basically, the best way to lose weight is to mind what you eat.
Exercise is a great tool for improving your health, though.0 -
I watched it..I exercise because it makes me feel good, I eat carefully to lose weight.0
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Most scientists are clueless; I know, I used to be one and I have worked with hundreds. A lot of doctors are too. Anyway, if you move you use energy, exercise is vigorous movement. Bike for an hour a day and keep the same diet and you will see the weight fall off.
Must surely depend on "same diet"?
Full English for breakfast, couple of pints plus burger & chips in Weatherpsoon's for lunch, pie, chips & beans for dinner then maybe a cheese sarnie and a few pints down the pub, with perhaps a bag or so of pork scratchings or crisps later and maybe a Chinese or Indian takeaway on way home?
I doubt even if you rode bike to pub it would have much help with weight loss
OK I really know you meant sensible diet, but I took the programme to be saying that some seem to think, possibly ill informed , may be by deliberate omission in adverts & commercialism selling exercise, they can eat as above, go to gym, or ride bike, or whatever once a week and it will negate all the calories
Agree. If you are maintaining your weight, regardless of whether you are thin or fat, and you make no changes other than to add exercise, then you should lose weight because the exercise will create a deficit.
If you are actively gaining weight, then whether added exercise causes you to lose would depend on whether your daily surplus before the exercise was more than the added burn.0 -
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.
^^ This.... I feel this is very correct in most cases. Healthy calorie deficiency with a good diet and lots of moving is key for most to loose weight and change your lifestyle. Adding at least some muscle is important if you want to look fit and toned as you loose weight. No one wants to loose a bunch of weight and have extra skin hanging everywhere. I think a nice healthy mix of diet, cardio, strength training and stretching is the best way to get an all around healthier you! Exercise alone can help you loose weight, but it all depends on how much you are eatting and what kind of exercise you're doing as well. So, I think this documentary is not entirely true but it does point out that you need to combine methods for the best weight loss and not just exercise alone.0 -
Exercise is good for you. It makes you healthy. But you can't out-train a bad diet.
I ride the recumbent Cybex bicycle at the gym in fat loss mode for 30 minutes on level 4 every trip to the gym. I typically burn 108 calories doing this.
That's not even equivalent to a bag of popcorn.
The key to weight loss is maintaining a calorie deficit. Exercise can help do this, but most people will find it takes far more effort to exercise off a Snicker's bar than it does to not eat the Snicker's bar in the first place.0 -
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.0
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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?
Ok, that's episode 2.
Yes, exercise is not an effective way to work off calories IF YOUR DIETARY INTAKE IS EXCESSIVE. This is what the documentary says. Basically you cannot work off a bad diet. Especially with mindless cardio in a gym.
If you focus on health and happiness - excercise has a great role.
If you want to focus on weight loss - cardio (and strength training) exercise can help on helping build a calorie deficit along with diet.
If you want to focus on looks - a balance of strength training (and some cardio for some) can help on body fat and composition.
The message I saw was focus on health goals and it all comes together.0
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