Over-Value Exercise in Weight Loss? And More Stuff.

Just adding my 2 cents here. I have a LOT of weight to loose and yes its very overwhelming at times. You get a lot of advise from people on here, some will be helpful for YOU and some will not be. I do agree that what you eat and eating at a deficit is the most important... but for me, exercise is what keeps me going. I had this irrational fear of going to the gym, I was ashamed and embarrassed and just knew everyone was laughing at me. But ya know what, I got the hell over it and decided I was doing this for ME and to hell with everyone else. I started water aerobics and swimming and then Zumba and other aerobics classes as well and even though I still have a lot of weight to loose I feel great! I feel better than I have in such a long time! When I go workout and log my calorie burn (which I know MFP calculates really high so I account for that), in my mind Im like... there is NO way that I just worked THAT hard at the gym and am going to RUIN it with pizza or sweets or whatever. So, I guess to each their own. Some need to start out slower, some can jump right in, its just a mindset and being able to stick with it and not give up! That is the whole thing right there, we may slip, we may fall but just don't ever give up! Good luck to everyone out there on their journey!

I have spent countless hours researching and studying and really only recently came to the conclusion that exercise has very little to do with weight loss.

Yup! Even a trainer on The Biggest Loser agrees with you: http://www.hngn.com/articles/10384/20130819/healthy-diet-better-exercise-weight-loss-tip-biggest-loser-trainer.htm

I want to exercise because I like the energy and stamina it gives me. And, I like to eat a few "fun" things to keep myself going, but make sure I burn off those calories.

bump

There is a lot of good evidence out there in support of the intermittent fasting theory, and for some people it really works. I know I am much happier having two big, satisfying meals a day than eating like a bird all day long and never feeling full.

Me too!!! I’m one of those constantly hungry if I eat breakfast, totally fine if I don’t.

I somewhat agree on exercise with the OP too, I think you cannot out run a bad diet (unless potentially if you are training for a marathon or something). I think exercise is good for you in a lot of ways, though. There is some evidence it helps with insulin resistance, which can be a problem with some people who are overweight. A hard workout occasionally makes me less hungry, but when I was doing half marathon training it made me really hungry.

It’s all in what you do. I think if people who are obese and discouraged were encouraged to do walking or biking at a reasonable pace maybe a few times a week mostly for health, instead of 2+ hrs a day for weight loss, they wouldn’t be so discouraged. You do not have to be a gym rat to lose weight. Working out, and in particular strength training, can absolutely make a difference in how you carry the pounds you have though!

I bet you also believe in the 8 glasses of water thing too? This is a borderline myth as well. All the food we eat has water in it. Take that, and have 3 to 4 glasses of water per day and you are good to go.

I agree the 8 water thing is pretty BS too Buut that said, 7-8 cups a day makes me feel better, I can feel the difference in my body when I don't drink enough water. But everyone is different!

I agree with you on a lot of points and oddly sem to be in a similar situation from reading your posts; I am 45, was 300lbs, have sleep apnea, high blood pressure etc.

On the food part, everyone must find what works for them, I hate eating breakfast so some days I do, some days I don't, at the same time, my health has not been better in at least a decade (whether I eat breakfast or not). On the most part the only changes I have made to my diet are: cutting back almost entirely on foods that are high in added sugar; lowering fatty food intake and almost entirely eliminating fast food but still having 'sit down' restaurant foods no more than one or twice a week. I have not eliminated any food that I like from my diet, I have only changed how much of it I eat.

For exercise I have to say it is undervalued, not just in weightloss. It does enable additional weight loss and also provides you with so very much more than that. I get exercise most days, I do not 'work out' though. My family and I go for long brisk walks almost every day and connect with each other and 3 to 4 times a week I go for a bike ride. I own my own business so the walks and rides allow me personal time to reflect and more importantly de-stress from my day. I very much agree that many people jump on the diet/exercise bandwagon and not too far down the road fall off of it because it really was not something that they could maintain. I do believe in slow and methodical increases in exercise until you reach a sustainable comfort level, it's the same with food changes, slow changes work much better than massive change and are much more sustainable.

Back to food / exercise / weight loss, here is my take. I like food, some foods are just awesome and taste delicious but obviously you can't eat everything, all the time (even if it's healthy) or the weight goes up! My added calorie burn (and cardio does burn calories, there is no disputing that) from exercising allows for me to be able to eat more foods that I like and still be able to loose weight.

My weightloss has not been as dramatic as some, but it has been a lifestyle change that I have been working on that has the added benefit of helping me loose weight, has lowered my blood pressure and hopefully one day may eliminate my sleep apnea (very, very hopeful) .