Exercise to lose weight MYTH? (or way overstated)

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1914974,00.html

Finally, an article and scientific study of something I have started to suspect, after 10 years of sometimes near crazy gym-rat behavior (ex: 1 hour bike to work in the morning, kickboxing class at noon, weightlifting for 45 min after kickboxing, 1 hour bike home after work, coaching youth soccer for 2 hours in the evening). As a weight loss/control tool exercise is almost irrelevant, its all about managing food intake.

Edit:
I forgot to add, despite all that working out (and eating healthy foods, just not worrying about quantity much), still OBESE on the BMI rating at 249lb start weight (232 this morning). Sure I was fit, but also fat.

How much time/effort does it take you to burn 2000 calories?

How much time/effort does it take you to consume 2000 calories?

There are very few people (as in, I have yet to meet one but I acknowledge that they, like the tooth fairy, might exist) who cannot out-eat any workout program they may do.

Re: BMI ..... don't take too much stock in this number. This is just ONE number, like the one on the scale. BMI does not really reflect your overall health. People can be very lean & muscular & have a high BMI

I look at exercise this way. The only way (for me) to maintain weight loss is to "diet" for the rest of my life OR add regular exercise which gives me some breathing room.

I workout and watch my caloric intake and have always. Exercising, for ME, is a means to maybe have a little treat, or one cheat meal a week. Like 3 pieces of pizza and some fries, or, like today, some of my sweetie's bday cake. I've lost inches doing the workout i do, including 30 Day Shred, an hour on the treadmill, or pilates. Soon, i'll incorporate the Brazil Butt Lift into my routine. I could never see myself where i am today, if not for eating right AND working out. Im almost 15 lbs down from where i was in mid January.,

hey if you're okay looking mushy and flabby as a skinny person then by all means, do you.
i personally want to look good naked as well as clothed.

i agree with those who say that for weight loss it's about calorie deficiency. eat a little less, move a little more. i personally love working out and that will always be a part of my life, but i didnt start losing weight until i decreased my calories.

the main difference i see between me who works out and a friend of mine who just cut her calories is
1)she's had to cut way more calories than i have in order to get the same 2 lbs a week loss (we're similar height,weight and age) 2)we've lost about the same amount of scale weight, but people are asking me if i've lost twice as much because i'm primarily losing fat.
3)i'm more than likely not going to have to decrease my calories further as i lose weight because i'm adding muscle whereas she will need to decrease her calories the more she loses
4) the entire weight loss process is much less stressful for me, so i dont have to freak out if i have a spike day. when she has a spike day it definitely affects her weigh in. when i have one, it has no affect.

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1914974,00.html

Finally, an article and scientific study of something I have started to suspect, after 10 years of sometimes near crazy gym-rat behavior (ex: 1 hour bike to work in the morning, kickboxing class at noon, weightlifting for 45 min after kickboxing, 1 hour bike home after work, coaching youth soccer for 2 hours in the evening). As a weight loss/control tool exercise is almost irrelevant, its all about managing food intake.

Edit:
I forgot to add, despite all that working out (and eating healthy foods, just not worrying about quantity much), still OBESE on the BMI rating at 249lb start weight (232 this morning). Sure I was fit, but also fat.

This isn't exactly a new discovery. If you eat fewer calories than you expend, you will lose weight.

AND, your edit hits the nail on the head "just not worrying about quantity so much" <<<- HERE'S YOUR SIGN.

I think it depends on the person. My friend lost 50 pounds and didn't change her diet at all. She just runs outside now for about an hour every morning. I've watched the just weight melt right off her over the past few months, while she eats great big Chipotle burritos for lunch.

I don't know if that would work for me though. Of course an hour running outside in the winter burns a ton of calories!

Yeah but you said her diet didn;t change at all - as in she has always ate giant Chipotle burritos which means that she is creating a deficit from the exercise. The article was saying that a bunch of the people added a burrito as a post work out treat and that is why they gain or only maintain.

Both are equally important I think. If you lose weight with no exercise, you wont gain muscle. Lean muscle mass is important the more muscle you have the more calories you burn at rest alone. So yes exercise is important when it comes to weight loss.

You can lose weight just by dieting---but why lose weight if you wont gain any muscle. Muscle is what makes you appear smaller, more cut, lean, etcc.. ( whatever word you wanna use).

I don't by any means speak for everyone but I have a friend who lost OVER 140LBS last year and she did NO exercise! No gym, none of it. Just eating.

why lose weight if you wont gain any muscle. Muscle is what makes you appear smaller, more cut, lean, etcc..

Well, LOTS of reasons. Seriously, do you really think this? Weight loss is good for you. Exercise is too, but losing excess weight, even without exercise VASTLY improves your health. And, the lack of fat also makes you look 'smaller' and 'more cut' because there actually are muscles under all that fat, after all.