Those discouraging articles and videos.

Fatvaporizer · January 2017

Recently I've come across some articles and videos which say that exercise or working out doesn't contribute to weight loss at all, and that it's all just because of diet. Reading that stuff is discouraging because I want to be motivated to work out and exercise consistently to lose weight, only to have these articles and videos say it's pointless. And just to focus on dieting.

How do I know what to believe anymore? The videos and articles are sometimes by 'so and so phd people or doctors' but it seems so unreasonable of them to say exercise has no effect on weight loss.

In one video, it said that calories burned from exercise isn't even that much and a snack or a small meal could make you gain it all back, which is why it's pointless. Can someone please refute this and explain why exercising still makes you lose weight then? Thanks...

I just want my motivation back and not feel like I'm wasting time exercising to lose weight. I feel like all the progress I've made so far is just because of my diet, and I hate feeling like all that exercise I did over time didn't contribute to my weight loss, feeling like I wasted my time working out or exercising at the gym.

Therealobi1 · January 2017

You have let your colleague get into your head
Get him/her out now
Do you like exercising, how is it making you feel
What are the benefits of exercing

Therealobi1 · January 2017

I know someone who lost alot of weight with no exercise at all
She is very slim now
But when she wears swimwear you can see the wobbly bits, which make her feel uncomfortable

ieroen · January 2017

Fatvaporizer wrote: »

I just want my motivation back and not feel like I'm wasting time exercising to lose weight. I feel like all the progress I've made so far is just because of my diet, and I hate feeling like all that exercise I did over time didn't contribute to my weight loss, feeling like I wasted my time working out or exercising at the gym.

Sorry to break it to you, but that's all true. Exercise doesn't cause weight loss, it just burns calories. But everything you do burns calories: just by living and breathing. So you don't need exercises to burn calories, your body already does that. Exercise is for building muscle. Weight loss comes from eating less calories than you burn in a day.

So these are two different things to focus on, depending on what motivates you:

- eat less calories if you want to lose weight
- do workouts in the gym to gain muscle

But you can combine them of course. Doing workouts during your diet period will prevent that you lose muscle, but you will not really gain much muscle. It's always a good idea to do this, or else your body will burn muscles AND fat. If you do workouts after your diet period, you will start to gain muscle.

kami3006 · January 2017

Weight loss comes down to being in a calorie deficit. You can do this through diet, exercise or a combination of the two. The number one factor to watch is your calorie intake as it will have the biggest influence on your deficit. Exercise is wonderful for your health and body composition and thus never a waste of time. It all comes down to numbers.

How much a person burns during exercise is highly individual and for many it's very easy to eat enough to cancel out the calorie burns.

I encourage you to continue exercising as it makes all the difference in how you look once you've lost the weight. Particularly if you are doing some resistance training to retain muscle. It will help shape your body so the end result of weight loss is not just thin, but thin, firm, and shapely.

Lastly, if you're using this site to log your food, then your deficit without exercise is already built into the number you're given. It expects you to eat the calories you're burning at the gym so you end up netting the goal number it gave you. This keeps you from losing too fast and will help fuel your workouts. This always comes with the caveat that you should be cautious of your added calorie burns because many calculators over-inflate them.

Believe me, I understand feeling discouraged about exercise. I bust my rear power lifting several days a week and I only really burn 150 calories each session. Nonetheless, it's totally worth it as the effects are so much more than weight loss.

Edited for grammar.

aurandrm · January 2017

For weight loss, yes i suppose. For body composition, diet alone will not make significant progress towards a reasonable body composition goal

AnvilHead · January 2017

You're so locked in on the exercise thing that you're not seeing the forest because you're too busy looking at one tree.

You lose weight by eating less calories than you burn. Period.

See that "burn" part in the previous statement? Exercise is part of that "burn". Your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) involves three components (actually four, but the last one is insignificant for purposes of this discussion):

Basal metabolic rate (BMR): The calories expended just keeping your body alive - your heart beating, digestive system working, brain/nervous system functioning, etc. (This is actually the majority of your calorie burn).

Non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT): The daily things you do beyond lying in bed immobile, but not including purposeful exercise. Walking, standing, talking, cooking, driving, fidgeting, talking on the phone, mowing the lawn, washing your car, etc.

Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (EAT): Your workouts.

All of those things together make up how many calories you burn in a day. To lose weight, you need to eat less calories than you're burning. Exercise is a part of that. Or it can not be a part of that for some people - it doesn't matter either way for purposes of weight loss as long as the "calories in" is less than the "calories out".

It's quite true that you can't out-exercise a bad diet, so don't expect anybody to refute that. Your calorie intake is the primary driver of weight loss. It's a lot easier to cut 500 calories from your intake by not eating a hamburger than it is to go run 5 miles to burn 500 calories. But that doesn't mean you should throw your hands up in the air and cry that exercise is useless and it's all a big waste and it isn't doing anything for you. You're burning calories when you exercise. You're also improving your cardiovascular system, strengthening your muscles, improving your balance and mobility, helping to preserve lean body mass as you lose fat and generally improving your health and quality of life overall. You're also far more likely to arrive at your goal weight with better body composition if you exercise regularly. As the saying goes, "Diet makes you look good in clothes. Exercise makes you look good naked".

Quit obsessing over small tidbits of information - put them in context and look at the big picture. Your calorie deficit is what drives weight loss. You can exercise until you drop dead, but if you're not in a calorie deficit overall, you're not going to lose weight. Your diet provides the majority of that deficit, but exercise can contribute to it also. Exercise can have an effect on weight loss, but you're not going to lose weight with exercise alone. Your diet has to be on point as well.

Machka9 · January 2017

By pursuing my sport (cycling), I've had the chance to accomplish things I never imagined, I have travelled all over the world, I met my husband and a number of other friends. I moved to a new country and pursued a new career. And I also remained slim most of my life.

In addition, I've had doctors tell me that I'm doing great with my exercise. Most recently, I was diagnosed with a low grade version of pre-cancer ... but my oncologist told me that because I'm "fit, strong, and slender" (his words), I should be able to fight it off myself with no treatment!! I will be monitored to be sure.

Even if exercise didn't contribute to weight loss (and of course it does), I certainly wouldn't call what I've done in the way of cycling, walking, and all the other things I do a waste of time. Exercise has shaped my life ... and has been life changing.

Plus a good, long bicycle ride means I can eat pizza on the weekends.

Jruzer · January 2017

Reworded for some perspective:

Recently I've come across some articles and videos which say that working a second job doesn't contribute to getting more money at all, and that it's all just because of saving money. Reading that stuff is discouraging because I want to be motivated to work more to get more money, only to have these articles and videos say it's pointless. And just to focus on spending less.

How do I know what to believe anymore? The videos and articles are sometimes by 'so and so phd people or doctors' but it seems so unreasonable of them to say working has no effect on wealth.

In one video, it said that money earned from working more hours isn't even that much and an expense or small splurge could make you spend all the extra money you earned, which is why it's pointless. Can someone please refute this and explain why working still makes you gain money then? Thanks...

I just want my motivation back and not feel like I'm wasting time working to earn money. I feel like all the progress I've made so far is just because of my saving, and I hate feeling like all that work I did over time didn't contribute to my higher bank balance, feeling like I wasted my time working.

Geocitiesuser · January 2017

Restrict calories to lose weight, exercise to look good when it comes off.

TavistockToad · January 2017

Why have you started another thread about this OP??

TertiusRoach · January 2017

Look at it this way...
Diet makes you lose weight by giving your body the proper nutrients. Exercise gives your body muscles and sexy curves for an attractive body, if you eat enough protein. If say for example, you eat almost no protein with just carbs and fat while exercising then you'll lose weight but most of it will be muscle which makes a person look awkward and lanky (Known as skinny fat). You do actually gain weight when you exercise, but it's good muscle weight, sexy weight, if you will. It's all about balance, research and consistency which after 1.5 years of experimenting I'm only starting to scratch the surface.
So don't get discouraged, have fun, make-up exercises, experiment and become your own guinea pig because to me that's the most fun when it comes to a healthy journey.

Hope this helps

benevempress · January 2017

Fatvaporizer wrote: »

I feel like all the progress I've made so far is just because of my diet...

The progress in shedding pounds is mostly because of your diet. Cutting the number of calories you eat by 500 per day is much easier to do, and has a bigger impact on weight loss, than burning an extra 100 through exercise. However, any calories burned (and not eaten) through exercise increases your caloric deficit which leads to greater weight loss.

Fatvaporizer wrote: »

Reading that stuff is discouraging because I want to be motivated to work out and exercise consistently to lose weight...

I just want my motivation back and not feel like I'm wasting time exercising to lose weight. I feel like all the progress I've made so far is just because of my diet, and I hate feeling like all that exercise I did over time didn't contribute to my weight loss, feeling like I wasted my time working out or exercising at the gym.

If you are exercising ONLY to lose weight (and therefore plan to stop if it isn't contributing significantly to that goal and definitely stop when you reach your goal), then you probably ARE wasting your time, because the number of calories you are burning through exercise absolutely can be wiped out by the food you eat and therefore not significantly contribute to weight loss. If you understand that exercise makes you a healthier person and therefore is valuable throughout your life and at any weight, then you aren't wasting your time.

Those discouraging articles and videos.

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