Someone discouraged me.

Keep it up, you're doing great!

You don't have to exercise to lose weight. Paralysed people can still eat less calories than their body burns to live, and lose fat.

Some people gain weight running marathons. BUT, they would get to eat a HUGE amount more than a non-marathoner before gaining an ounce.

I run and walk a lot. This earns me lots more lovely calories to eat. I'd feel sorry for your friend, but he's not worth bothering about.

Good luck, and well done!

Exercise has loads of benefits, but strictly speaking you don't HAVE to exercise to lose weight. A lot of people say that weight loss is 20% exercise and 80% diet. That being said, body recomp ia probably mostly reliant on exercise . Ive heard a lot of people say similar things about the cardio . I think that like other posters have said, cardio (or other exercise for that matter) helps on the Calories Out part of CICO. And exercise (esp cardio) is important for cardiovascular health etc. What good is it to be skinny but unhealthy right ? So keep on doing what you are doing.

For myself, I actually found it really helpful to realize how much more important diet is than exercise in weight loss because I could spend a lot of time and effort working out, and easily ruin the weight loss effects just by not understanding the import of how I eat. Now I focus on eating nutrituous food and staying under my calorie goal and exercise is a 'bonus' towards toning, cardiovascular health, etc. It also helps keep me on track so that if I don't get to a workout, I don't end up throwing in the towel and eating badly too. Maybe your friend was a little like me that way . (Not that that means he should discourage you from something that is obviously working for you). I've noticed that, in general, if people find something that works for them, they think EVERYONE MUST do it their way. But there are a lot of paths to the same goal so if you found one you like, then just keep going!

2 months ago a trainer I meet with once a month, tried to get me on the core trainer and I couldn't do one rep.

2 months later after the other core exercises stopped working. I decided to get on the Core trainer and could do four reps. Now I'm up to seven and using a four pound ball with a wall sit.

I find I'm digesting faster and the more muscles you have, the easier it is to burn fat.

Results speak for themselves. It's his own fault for not finding time to exercise. Don't let it get you down.

Keep going and ignore the other guys complaints.

Of course exercise can be a means to help with weight loss.

Also, it's independently good for you and will likely result in you looking better when you'd lost the weight (and personally I think it's very important to keep up now I'm a healthy weight). So telling you not to exercise is ridiculous.

Your friend is wrong.

But so what? Why would that make you feel discouraged?

Fatvaporizer wrote: »

So I was talking about how I had been working out consistently trying to lose weight, along with cutting back on what I ate/dieting, and the person started this whole lecture about how exercise is useless and that only watching what you eat matters to lose weight. So I said, so you're saying cardio and all that is useless to lose weight, what's the point of gyms and such? He was like people just want to make money.

I then pointed out that I actually did drop a lot of pounds from consistent exercise and diet over time. And he said well, that's all just because of your diet, and tried convincing me not to exercise anymore, but instead just diet and do zero cardio/workouts. I got a bit angry at this point as it seemed like he just said all the months of working out didn't contribute to any weight loss, and it was just my diet/eating less.

I concluded and asked him where he got his information from and he said a few videos on YouTube say exercise does not make you lose weight and it all depends on diet alone.

What's your take on this? I found it discouraging and somewhat felt I was being sabotaged of my weight loss. Thanks for your feedback and I apologize if this thread comes off a bit ranty.

PS: No offense but this person himself was trying to lose weight but always said he had no time to 'work out.'

Sorry to be bearer of bad news, but he is right. You can exercise all you want, but if you aren't eating in a calorie deficit, you won't lose weight. Exercise has its benefits, but not needed to lose weight.

I suspect taking up running has helped me lose weight by giving me more calories burnt.

Having said that, food is key. I'm sure I've lost weight through eating less, but what has CHANGED my body shape is the exercise.

oh, and I'm fitter, don't get out of breath walking up hills anymore and generally FEEL more active

It seems to me that this individual was looking for any source that justified the conclusion he wanted. He probably doesn't want to exercise so he looks for anyone that says exercise is not important and uses it to calm the voice that tells him he really should. The more he can convince others of this, the more justified he is in not exercising.

I have had people tell me exactly the opposite, that unless you are exercising, you are doomed to failure because your metabolism will tank without something to kick it back up as you cut intake. They have their sources just like this guy.

You stated diet and exercise have worked for you so why worry about this guy's opinions, especially since you don't seem to believe his program is working for him?

Exercise is good for you, but whether or not it will make any difference in your weight is heavily dependent on how much you eat. When I was losing weight I used exercise to let me eat more. Now that I am trying to maintain my weight, I find that exercise keeps me from overeating, both because it burns calories and because it gives me something to do with my free time other than sitting around snacking.

Fat vaporizer.. It doesn't bother me what others say nor does it discourage me. I know what I am after. He is just not seeing the whole picture. While exercise isn't always the factor in losing weight I'm sure it helps and tones you up more. Plus there is a reason for exercise, cardio...good for your heart. Your body ,muscles, and bones all benefit from exercise. Just nod, as another said and continue on.