Exercise doesn't help you lose weight...say what?
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You already know the "why".
It's the reason resistance training while in a deficit is widely regarded as a Good Thing.
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The first time I trained for a marathon (many, many years ago) I was shocked to find that I had actually gained weight over the course of my training. I think that was because I wasn't tracking my calories at the time. I was obviously eating above and beyond the calories that I burned running. Exercise helped me to be fitter, but it didn't cause weight loss by itself. During my recent trainings, I have managed to maintain or lose because I have been actively tracking my calories.
It's true that exercise can help you create a deficit and earn more calories to eat, but exercise alone probably won't do anything to help you lose weight if you're eating all those calories right back. Personally, as someone who has successfully lost weight and maintained for several years now, I consider diet to be the key to weight management, and exercise to be more for improving fitness, health, mood and energy. But that's just my opinion.
Yes, you can gain weight while exercising ... if you eat more calories than you burn.
But if you're exercising a lot, you also have to be eating a lot in order to accomplish that.
As I mentioned in my first post in this thread ... it took some doing for me to eat enough to maintain my weight when I was exercising a lot.
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You already know the "why".
It's the reason resistance training while in a deficit is widely regarded as a Good Thing.
So now you wnat to compare the differences in 500 calories lost through cardio v 500 lost through resistance? Its not what the OP was asking.1 -
You already know the "why".
It's the reason resistance training while in a deficit is widely regarded as a Good Thing.
So now you want to compare the differences in 500 calories lost through cardio v 500 lost through resistance? Its not what the OP was asking.
Ah, no.
It's about body composition. How you make your deficit affects your body composition which affects the size of the deficit at any given caloric intake level.
"All calories are equal" is only true in a naive, superficial sense. Which means all deficits are not, in fact, the same.
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You already know the "why".
It's the reason resistance training while in a deficit is widely regarded as a Good Thing.
So now you want to compare the differences in 500 calories lost through cardio v 500 lost through resistance? Its not what the OP was asking.
Ah, no.
It's about body composition. How you make your deficit affects your body composition which affects the size of the deficit at any given caloric intake level.
"All calories are equal" is only true in a naive, superficial sense. Which means all deficits are not, in fact, the same.
Whew, glad you elaborated. Otherwise was going to suggest changing your avatar to this
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If you were maintaining your weight eating at a certain calorie level for low activity and then increased your activity without increasing your calorie intake then you would of course over time lose weight. Exercise has been important for me otherwise I'd have lost way slower.0
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I did not begin to do any exercise until I had lost over 90 pounds. My knees made it very difficult to do much, but getting the weight off made it easier to move more, and I began taking walks. That was almost 3 years ago now. I joined a gym on 1/25/15 and have only missed one day the past 6 months. I have lost a total of over 160 pounds and have been on maintenance for over 20 months.
Unless you are eating at a calorie deficit, it may be difficult to lose weight from exercise, but any exercise is beneficial to your health and is definitely a part of a healthy lifestyle.
One thing that I have found is that I am a lot hungrier when I exercise than I was during the time I lost my first 90 pounds without exercising.
BTW, a co worker (who is a tri-athlete and races at least twice per month) says that weight loss is mostly (90%) about eating at a calorie deficit.
Even at rest, muscle burns more calories than fat, so building muscle is very beneficial to burning more calories.
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Got into a discussion with some friends the other day regarding diet and exercise and losing weight, etc. One of my friends said that exercise does not help you lose weight, it's 100% diet. I disagreed and said that whether you take in less calories (diet) or burn more calories (exercise), if you're in a deficit you'll lose weight, therefore exercise does in fact help you lose weight. She disagreed with me still.
Your thoughts?
Your friend is an idiot
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But the whole point is that the exercise burn is creating a calorie deficit isn't it?1
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WaterBunnie wrote: »But the whole point is that the exercise burn is creating a calorie deficit isn't it?
Yes ... it can do exactly that. Unless you eat a whole lot during the day and use up that deficit. 0 -
So the friend is wrong. To my mind exercise helps you eat more on a diet therefore keeping you healthier due to more nutrients coming in. Also strengthens your body - and your resolve - meaning you get a visible improvement sooner. Better for heart health, reduces diabetes risk, improves posture... why would you want to do it without exercise?1
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I think it varies from person to person. Some people seem to respond better to exercise as weight loss method. A lot of it comes down to mentality and mindset though. I find that if I start moving and working out that the healthy diet usually ensues. If I get a bit lazy it also starts to get reflected in my diet. Exercise is a good motivator and puts me in a good state of mind which helps me make better choices, nutritionally. That being said though, I'd put it down to like 80% diet and 20% exercise for actually losing weight but exercise is incredibly important.2
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MakePeasNotWar wrote: »I think it's because most people naturally eat more to compensate for the exercise they do.
Or in my case fall asleep and reduce my NEAT
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I did an unintentional experiment a few years ago.
I was a lot lighter than I am now but still had another couple of stone to be lost ideally. I was doing triathlons so was training an average of 9 hours a week. I went through a couple of months where my diet was bang on and training full on an I was still losing weight at a reasonable rate (1lb a week average), then summer came along and my diet went to crap but training was still full on. I maintained my weight throughout this period. Then the season came to an end and diet was crap and training was hardly anything, I gained weight pretty rapidly in this phase. Unfortunately the only phase I didn't do which would have made the results more useful was good diet and no training.
So there you go, 100% scientific evidence that exercise alone won't make you lose weight!! Sort of.....
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[edited by MFP mod]
um. no.WaterBunnie wrote: »But the whole point is that the exercise burn is creating a calorie deficit isn't it?
some of us workout to train- because we have goals it has eff all to do with calorie deficit.
When I'm lifting on my programming- and I need to drop weight- the ONLY time I do cardio is when I cant' stand to eat ANY possibly less than I can stand. I'll use cardio to try to help my deficit. Otherwise- no- I maintaine through food alone- I train to train.1 -
Cardio is better1
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Diet alone is the bottom line for weight loss or weight gain. It doesn't matter what kind of food one eats or if a person exercises or not. Exercise creates a deficit if someone wants one, and provides the bonuses e.g., healthy muscles, heart, endurance, skills, strength, sanity in some cases lol!
Put it this way... at the end of her life my mother was unable to get out of bed. She was also unable to eat anything. She literally slept around the clock and ate nothing. After several weeks she had withered away to around 80lbs (if I had to guess). She didn't exercise at all. She didn't eat at all. The end.0
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