An obese person does not need to do one iota of exercise to lose weight

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  • jorinya
    jorinya Posts: 933 Member
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    I don't know if you have the TV programme, Super sized vs Super skinny. They get two people, one really thin and one really big, weigh them separately then bring them together to stand in front of a plastic tube in which the food they eat for the week is put in, nasty stuff sometimes. Then its off to the feeding clinic where they swap diets for the time they are there, which is normally a few days. The one that undereats has to eat what the one that overeats normally eats and visa versa. Sometimes one or both of them end up crying and realise the harm they are doing to themselves. After that they go home separately and have their diet plan, tailor made to fit their needs. After some weeks they are brought back, weighed separately again and again brought back together to hear their progress. Most of those that are on the programme exercise along with diet and the results can be amazing. Point I'm making exercise can help you lose weight and also gain weight along with a nutritionally balanced diet and determination
  • eric_sg61
    eric_sg61 Posts: 2,925 Member
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    999tigger wrote: »
    eric_sg61 wrote: »

    That is because one of them is an Atkins Foundation funded researcher. While i agree that you don't need exercise to lose weight, but exercise sure beats laying around on the couch all day eating tiny portions.

    Interesting but im not disagreeing with you about the value of exercise just relaying waht the article says because most people seem fine with commenting on it without having read or understood what it says. Depressing.

    looks like one of the other authors is in hot water
    http://www.iol.co.za/lifestyle/noakes-faces-probe-over-banting-tweet-1.1848659#.VTkPYJMYHOt
  • gpstreet
    gpstreet Posts: 184 Member
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    Still convinced from empirical data that diet is the most effective, only, way to lose weight.
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,658 Member
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    gpstreet wrote: »
    Still convinced from empirical data that diet is the most effective, only, way to lose weight.
    Does the empirical data explain why, when I exercise, I lose more than calorie deficit from diet would explain? Or why, if I exercise more, the difference increases?
  • LAWoman72
    LAWoman72 Posts: 2,846 Member
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    For weight loss, no, but for overall health I think our bodies biologically expect some form of exercise and function better on it - and the overall look of the body, even at the same comparative weight, tends to be better if you do a little working out. ;)
  • LAWoman72
    LAWoman72 Posts: 2,846 Member
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    jorinya wrote: »
    I lost most weight from not exercising but that was by choice, exercise can be anything even walking up stairs or even ironing and household chores or weight and strength training. The gyms where I live are too expensive so my husband buying my dumbbells and other equipment to help me workout at home. I live in a hot climate so sometimes have to wait till the sun goes down before I can go for a long walk. If I run, there will be looks and comments so I don't bother. When I go home for summer hols i will run the 5k track they have marked out around my area. Each to their own!

    100F+ summers for generally three months straight (with the occasional 95, 97 or whatever day thrown in there) right here! I too wait for sundown if I'm doing something outdoors, or else I just work out indoors.

  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,658 Member
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    LAWoman72 wrote: »
    For weight loss, no, but for overall health I think our bodies biologically expect some form of exercise and function better on it - and the overall look of the body, even at the same comparative weight, tends to be better if you do a little working out. ;)
    Well, the entire thread and the statement that I quoted are both about weight loss, so I was asking in the context of weight loss.

  • LAWoman72
    LAWoman72 Posts: 2,846 Member
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    DeguelloTex wrote: »
    LAWoman72 wrote: »
    For weight loss, no, but for overall health I think our bodies biologically expect some form of exercise and function better on it - and the overall look of the body, even at the same comparative weight, tends to be better if you do a little working out. ;)
    Well, the entire thread and the statement that I quoted are both about weight loss, so I was asking in the context of weight loss.

    Yes, I got that.

  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    gpstreet wrote: »
    Still convinced from empirical data that diet is the most effective, only, way to lose weight.

    What empirical evidence demonstrates that diet is the ONLY way to lose weight?

    What does that even mean?
  • amazon35
    amazon35 Posts: 98 Member
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    My mother has lost about 100lbs twice and is currently loosing the 60lbs she gained back. Everytime no exercise what so ever. EVER! lol She is jiggly but she doesn't care she's a senior and retired. She's doing what she wants. It's all about clothes for her lol. Myself on the other hand have never lost weight on diet alone. I never tried until this go around. I've lost 13lbs in 3 weeks with no exercise. I was amazed. I will probably wait another 20lbs or so to start. I don't want to hurt myself this time trying to push to hard to soon. SO until then it's all about food. We'll see...
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,576 Member
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    Surely all adults know that you can lose weight without exercise. But the editorial references in the article wasn't really about that. It was more saying that we shouldn't look to exercise as a method of weight loss. That diet is the most important thing.

    It further goes into the importance of diet for overall health, regardless of whether you are overweight or not.

    I doubt any of that will generate much controversy. The stuff about low carb and high fat might though.
  • PRMinx
    PRMinx Posts: 4,585 Member
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    Weight loss happens in the kitchen. Fitness happens in the gym.
  • tracie_minus100
    tracie_minus100 Posts: 465 Member
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    I would agree with that. But I think exercise makes it easier to stay on track, at least for me. It allows me to eat a little more, and it occupies my mind/time more, meaning less room for boredom eating. It's also great for my mental health.
  • freeoscar
    freeoscar Posts: 82 Member
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    To go from sedentary and mindlessly eating above maintenance, to active, calorie-counting and eating below maintenance is a big change. And many are overwhelmed with the belief that they have to do it all at once, so they either don't start at all, or get frustrated and quit quickly.
    You can start with either one, but I think it is easier for many, if not most, to start by taking control over what and how much they put in their bodies. Learn how to do that, see the results, and then add in exercise. It also makes it easier because you are adding in calories as you add exercise to your life. When you do it all at once you are simultaneously cutting calories and increasing activity, which is a difficult thing to do - both physically and mentally.
  • Gamer_2k4
    Gamer_2k4 Posts: 36 Member
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    Given that we're on a website started solely for the sake of counting calories, I'd say you're preaching to the choir.
  • pawoodhull
    pawoodhull Posts: 1,759 Member
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    Weight loss comes from burning more calories than you are eating in a day. Hard to do without exercise. Plus muscle burns more calories than fat, so you exercise, increasing muscle and reducing fat to help your body burn calories more effectively. Guess my point is that exercise is essential for health, weight loss and maintaining that loss in my opinion. Obviously I disagree with the general premis of the article.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited April 2015
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    I think one problem is that people think exercise means doing sweaty stuff at the gym or while watching a video. Which can be great and all (I tend to like lots of more intense exercise), but I wouldn't advise any obese people to wait to get more active if they can just include more walking in their days. I think making changes positive ones and not just doing without can be really motivating to some people.
  • LAWoman72
    LAWoman72 Posts: 2,846 Member
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    Gamer_2k4 wrote: »
    Given that we're on a website started solely for the sake of counting calories, I'd say you're preaching to the choir.

    That's pretty much what I was thinking.

  • Koldnomore
    Koldnomore Posts: 1,613 Member
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    00figg wrote: »
    yeah, i'd say i lost the majority of my poundage in the kitchen, not in the gym. it wasn't until i lost some weight that i was ready to start adding in some exercise. works for me.

    Same for me. For most people who have a LOT of weight to lose (I started here 2 years ago with over 100 to lose) aren't capable of much exercise and depending on how much weight they have to lose some can barely get out of a chair without serious physical exertion for them just 'living' is as much as they can handle. In these cases and others where exercise can potentially do more harm than good (greater likely hood of injury etc) or even when people have never done anything previously and are scared or have convinced themselves that they NEED to starve themselves and exercise their butts off or they will never get anywhere I highly recommend tackling the diet first.

    Once you learn to eat correct portions it's not that hard to start walking around a bit more etc.. it's all about the baby steps. In my experience - seeing people come and go from here over the past 2+ years the ones that start slowly are more likely to still be here at the end as opposed to those who go all out, join a gym, throw out all the 'bad food' etc. I'm not saying that those types don't make it - only that in MY experience they are less likely to do so and more likely to get into the rut when they plateau etc.

    Considering that adding exercise will normally (not always) lead to a gain on the scale while your body adjusts (there used to be a really good article here http://www.sparkpeople.com/blog/blog.asp?post=why_the_scale_goes_up_when_you_start_a_new_workout_plan in the event that this is new information for someone) starting a heavy exercise program before you've got a good start on your weight loss and a good handle on your diet can be a serious DE-motivator.

    Absolutely no disagreement that doing BOTH diet and exercise will get you the best results long term but for beginners I will always recommend diet first.

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