Exercise doesn't help you lose weight...say what?

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Replies

  • cross2bear
    cross2bear Posts: 1,106 Member
    cdahl383 wrote: »
    Anyone here lose serious weight with changes in diet only and little to no exercise?

    I have lost 115 lbs without intentional exercise - medical issues. I did swim last summer (and expect to do so again this summer) but I have never set foot in a gym, or done a single jumping jack or squat or whatever. I just cant. I am thinking of trying out yoga, though some positions will be impossible (cant kneel or overflex knees) or maybe tai chi.
  • comeonnow142857
    comeonnow142857 Posts: 310 Member
    There's typically a lot more room to adjust CI, vs adjusting CO (especially if you're not at a spectacular fitness & endurance level).
  • BABetter1
    BABetter1 Posts: 618 Member
    Merkavar wrote: »
    Cherimoose wrote: »
    You can't out run a bad diet

    Not sure i agree with this cliche. Many have lost weight while eating foods perceived as "bad", simply by increasing their calorie output.

    "Most studies indicate that .. when combined with dietary restriction, exercise has a synergistic effect and enhances weight loss beyond the effect of diet alone."
    www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23174547



    I think in this case bad isn't greasy cheese burger, but 2000 calorie surplus etc

    As in you can't perform enough exercise in a day if your eating too much.

    In my experience I burn like 8-10 cal per minute on a treadmill etc. if I was over eating by 1000 or more calories I would have to use the treadmill for like 1.5 hours just to maintain my weight.

    This. I think those who are making the argument against the cliché may be working from the assumption that the person in question is just eating at maintenance. Maybe OP is, in fact, eating at maintenance. But, how do you know unless you are already controlling/tracking your diet? Personally, I didn't get fat (necessitating my efforts to lose weight) by eating at maintenance level. Maybe I was a "glutton" as someone mentioned in an earlier reply. But, my need to lose weight was definitely a result of overeating, and I can confidently say I would not have been able to lose weight with exercise alone. I might have slowed the weight gain or stalled it, but I wouldn't have lost. Just my 2 cents . . . .
  • RamboKitty87
    RamboKitty87 Posts: 272 Member
    I have to agree with a lot here it's 80% diet 20% exercise, I'm limited to 1370 calories per day, I exercise so I can live on around 1600 calories with a calorie net of 1300, without the exercise so I can eat a little more I would be starving and really not a joy for people to be around me lol, I weigh everything and count everything that goes into my mouth (even mints) and I have been losing 1-2lbs per week for a few months now, it works for me but it may not work for everyone, it's all about finding what works for you without overdoing it, everyone seems to have their own methods for it, livestrong goes by the whole burn more than you eat, I did that for 4 days, I was in a minus net calories for 4 days and by the 5th I was really depressed, had no energy and was just hungry all the time, we all make those mistakes, just find what works best for you and go by that, if it stops working then adjust and try new things till it starts working again. :smile:
  • merekins
    merekins Posts: 228 Member
    I think of it like this: weight loss is to exercise as getting sick is to going outside with wet hair during winter. While it's ridiculous that wet hair would "catch" bacteria or viruses, there is something about getting cold that may lead to you being less likely to fight something off. Technically, the old wives tale is false but getting overly chilled could lower your immune system. While you can lose weight watching tv all day, it seems that exercise does something that makes it easier to make healthier choices. Is it because exercise creates new habits? Gives you more energy? Relieves anxiety/stress? I have no idea but there seems to be a correlation between weight loss and exercise.
  • rylieistrapgod
    rylieistrapgod Posts: 4 Member
    From excercise alone i went from a size 50 in pants to a 38 thats without changing my eating habits.
  • cerise_noir
    cerise_noir Posts: 5,468 Member
    edited May 2017
    Zombie thread needs moar brainz.
    Or not.
  • cdahl383
    cdahl383 Posts: 726 Member
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    cdahl383 wrote: »
    Anyone here lose serious weight with changes in diet only and little to no exercise?

    Op - you have not figured this out in the past two years???,,,

    Haha yeah, I just like to stir the pot! :)
  • Bradley_J84
    Bradley_J84 Posts: 110 Member
    I've lost nearly 60 and not a day in the gym...
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,979 Member
    From excercise alone i went from a size 50 in pants to a 38 thats without changing my eating habits.
    So you burned more than you consumed. That's called a calorie deficit. If you consumed your TDEE, you won't lose weight. Exercise doesn't cause the weight loss, it's not eating up to your TDEE.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    9285851.png
  • chrislee1628
    chrislee1628 Posts: 305 Member
    Doesn't matter how much you exercise, if you eat too much you will gain

    Eating less is what mainly helps you lose weight, but also fuel those muscles, provide nutrients etc

    Exercising helps you lose weight quicker and build muscle as well as making you body healthier, such as heart, lungs etc which eating does not

    So both is just as important as each other
  • Latestarter2018
    Latestarter2018 Posts: 21 Member
    I think men seem to respond better to weight loss through excercise than women (just my experience) I have lost about 30 pounds and did it through calorie deficit. I have tried many times to lose weight by excercise and being sensible with food. It just didn't work for me. The harder I worked out the more hungry I became and the more I ate....
    I just try and get in as much "incidental" activity as I can through taking the stairs and parking further away ect. For me - it is all about the food.
  • fatcity66
    fatcity66 Posts: 1,544 Member
    I've never been able to lose a significant amount of weight without increasing my activity/exercise, so it works for me! :smiley:
  • Nony_Mouse
    Nony_Mouse Posts: 5,646 Member
    @fatcity66, you're bumping posts that are over two years old ;)
  • fatcity66
    fatcity66 Posts: 1,544 Member
    @Nony_Mouse Sorry, I'm bored at work. The last post was actually just June of this year though, in my defense. LOL
  • Amanda387575
    Amanda387575 Posts: 1 Member
    I’ve heard that exercise does help you to lose weight in conjunction with a balanced diet but it’s the myth that getting your heart rate going etc will help you lose weight that is wrong...that’s what I read anyway.
  • Caralarma
    Caralarma Posts: 174 Member
    So I agree with the comments above that diet is the most important thing, with exercise being a good way to supplement your weight loss and help you look lean. So that being said, why do shows like The Biggest Loser focus so much on exercise and hardly show anything regarding diet? I've always wondered what the obese contestants are eating because they make it seem like rigorous exercise is all these people need and if they miss a workout they wont lose weight. If weight loss meant being tortured with intense exercise the way they are.. I would have thrown in the towel ages ago
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    Caralarma wrote: »
    So I agree with the comments above that diet is the most important thing, with exercise being a good way to supplement your weight loss and help you look lean. So that being said, why do shows like The Biggest Loser focus so much on exercise and hardly show anything regarding diet? I've always wondered what the obese contestants are eating because they make it seem like rigorous exercise is all these people need and if they miss a workout they wont lose weight. If weight loss meant being tortured with intense exercise the way they are.. I would have thrown in the towel ages ago

    Because they discovered years ago even the snippets of them sitting at table eating a small portion of food and complaining about it is boring TV compared to complaining about a killer workout.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    I’ve heard that exercise does help you to lose weight in conjunction with a balanced diet but it’s the myth that getting your heart rate going etc will help you lose weight that is wrong...that’s what I read anyway.

    If by balanced diet you mean eating less than you burn in total - then correct.

    All the exercise does for weight loss is allow you to eat more than you could without exercise to keep the same deficit.

    Now, it could very well be that eating more is what is needed for you to adhere and sustain the diet.

    But it's a whole lot easier for majority of people to cut 500 calories from existing eating level than attempt to burn 500 extra each and every day, to lose the same amount.

    Exercise is for heart health and body transformation - it actually has side effect of increasing weight. And in free-living individuals (not counting calories) it actually causes them to usually eat more than they even burn.
  • missysippy930
    missysippy930 Posts: 2,577 Member
    Calorie deficit = weight loss, burning more calories than you consume.

    Exercise is beneficial to overall health, but you need to eat less calories than you burn for weight loss
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    Calorie deficit = weight loss, burning more calories than you consume.

    Exercise is beneficial to overall health, but you need to eat less calories than you burn for weight loss

    Or, as you noted in your first sentence, you need to burn more than you consume. That's where exercise helps.
  • missysippy930
    missysippy930 Posts: 2,577 Member
    Calorie deficit = weight loss, burning more calories than you consume.

    Exercise is beneficial to overall health, but you need to eat less calories than you burn for weight loss

    Or, as you noted in your first sentence, you need to burn more than you consume. That's where exercise helps.

    Exercise doesn't help you lose weight unless you eat at a calorie deficit. You burn calories just living. You do not have to exercise to lose weight.

  • wizzybeth
    wizzybeth Posts: 3,578 Member
    Cherimoose wrote: »
    You can't out run a bad diet

    Not sure i agree with this cliche. Many have lost weight while eating foods perceived as "bad", simply by increasing their calorie output.

    "Most studies indicate that .. when combined with dietary restriction, exercise has a synergistic effect and enhances weight loss beyond the effect of diet alone."
    www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23174547


    Unless you define a "bad diet" as one in which you consistently overeat [any] foods and consume more calories than you burn.

  • missysippy930
    missysippy930 Posts: 2,577 Member
    Calorie deficit = weight loss, burning more calories than you consume.

    Exercise is beneficial to overall health, but you need to eat less calories than you burn for weight loss

    Or, as you noted in your first sentence, you need to burn more than you consume. That's where exercise helps.

    Exercise doesn't help you lose weight unless you eat at a calorie deficit. You burn calories just living. You do not have to exercise to lose weight.

    You don't have to eat at a deficit, you can eat to maintenance and then exercise to create that deficit. Its just easier to make a deficit with food then it is with exercise.

    Semantics. You are burning more calories than you are consuming. Eating less calories than you are burning.
    Calorie deficit = weight loss, burning more calories than you consume.

    Exercise is beneficial to overall health, but you need to eat less calories than you burn for weight loss

    Or, as you noted in your first sentence, you need to burn more than you consume. That's where exercise helps.

    Exercise doesn't help you lose weight unless you eat at a calorie deficit. You burn calories just living. You do not have to exercise to lose weight.

    If a person is overeating by 200 calories a day (enough to gain 20 lbs a year) they could easily burn their way to a deficit with zero dietary changes.

    Again, burning more calories than you are consuming.

  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    Patently false. Completely untrue. Execute burns calories, and that helps with weight loss, there's no way around it.
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