How Important Is Exercise For Weight Loss?

Preparation, Preparedness & Prevention Fitness and Nutrition
1

If you’d asked me a decade ago what was the best method of weight loss, if I choose only exercise or diet, but not both, I would have said exercise all day. That is, increase exercise, lean body mass, and so forth, to create a caloric deficit vs reducing calories if I could only choose one. That conclusion appears to have been wrong, and I’m here to explain why. On the surface, that appears to turn a sacred cow of the fitness world on its head, but in retrospect, I think we knew it all along. Hey, someone said “you can’t out exercise a bad diet” and that’s essentially true. Who ever said it, just didn’t realize just how true it is.

Cont:

http://www.brinkzone.com/articles/exercise-and-weight-loss-how-important-is-it/

2

Based on personal experience, I think you could rephrase “Once you hit 30, you can’t out exercise a bad diet.”

3

30?! LOL. 40 appears to be the number where metabolic changes take place where most people really notice it. You’re a kid at 30. To the point, it gets more difficult with age, with 40 being a fairly good marker, but the base conclusion does not change. I could eat damn near anything as a kid, but I was also moving a lot, etc. These days, we see obese kids all the time, so…

4

Yep and if you have good genes that number is 50.

The answer is both diet and exercise are critical.

5

As always, we are looking at averages and the bell curve, which depends on variables such as genetics, life style, etc. None that changes the base conclusion of that article. Both are important, but exercise does not contribute nearly as much as once thought as it pertains to weight loss. Obviously, there’s a long list of reasons to get exercise regardless. Bottom line, as it pertains to weight loss, exercise is not as critical we thought.

6

You can have a good diet and never exercise and still live a fairly healthy life. If you had a shit diet, but exercised all the time, you’d still be unhealthy imo. Of course there a ton of factors and variables to consider, but if you had to choose one, I’d go with diet over exercise all day.

7

Diet all day long. Doesn’t matter what you eat, or what you do, so long as a caloric deficit is in place. That said, it won’t do your HEALTH any favors if you do it poorly.

8

Diet. I lost sixty pounds in five months, and sadly put it all back on…but I didn’t work out once.

I just removed sugar from my diet and was smart about where carbs came from. I gorged myself on vegetables, eggs, and lean red meat. I guess I was relatively low carb, because I didn’t eat much bread or any pasta.

But the weight melted off. Granted I have a lot of muscle mass left over from playing sports at a medium high level…which means I needed more calories to just exist.

When exercising or running? LOL it would have taken years without a dietary change.

Diet to fit in clothes that make you look good, and exercise to look good naked.

9

I can’t say I buy it totally. The more I exercise by doing things at the ranch the more weight I seem to keep off. And I’m the guy who lives for food and beer.

10

Well I mean, you absolutely CAN lose weight purely by hard work/exercise. And you can definitely keep weight from slowly accumulating.

As was pointed out, it’s all about the differential. Roughly 3000 excess calories create one pound of fat. It’s a hell of a lot easier to kill 3000 calories via diet than it is exercise. Run one of those calculators to see how many calories you’re burning some time. It’s a depressingly low number for the amount of work you’re doing.

You can run one mile, or you can skip one Coca-Cola to be in the same place.

You should definitely do both, but I don’t think there’s any question as to which has a bigger impact on obesity.

11

Actually, that premise has been challenged in terms of how to applies to the realities of weight. Forgive the formatting issues. It’s a new site and I’m fixing the formatting issues currently:

"A pervasive dieting mantra is that a cumulative reduction of caloric intake of 3,500 will result in a weight loss of 1 pound. This dieting rule popularly states “because 3,500 calories equals about 1 pound (0.45 kilogram) of fat, if you cut 500 calories from your diet each day, or burn 500 calories extra per day from exercising (or a combination thereof) you’d lose about 1 pound a week (500 calories x 7 days = 3,500 calories) and 52 pounds in a year.
This simple weight loss rule continues to be cited on weight loss websites as well as authoritative nutrition textbooks [1, 2], scientific articles [3-6], and expert guidelines.[7] It is even common among health care professionals to believe in the 3,500 calorie rule [8], and the Patient Page on “Healthy weight loss” at The Journal of the American Medical Association website states in the first sentence on “What you need to know about weight loss” that… “A total of 3,500 calories equals 1 pound of body weight. This means if you decrease (or increase) your intake by 500 calories daily, you will lose (or gain) 1 pound per week (500 calories per day × 7 days = 3,500 calories).” [9]

However, is this really true? Most people who have ever been on a diet are probably skeptical. And rightly so. In this article I will highlight what’s wrong with the 3,500 calorie rule and present a more accurate calculator that you can use to more precisely predict how much weight loss you can except in real life from a given daily calorie reduction."

Cont:

https://brinkzone.com/is-the-dieting-rule-3500-calories-per-pound-weight-loss-correct/

12

Correct me if I’m wrong Will, but the way I interpret that article isn’t that 3000-3500 kCal does not equate to a pound of body fat, but that you cannot set a deficit at the beginning of a diet, and expect that what is a deficit as a 300 pound man will remain a deficit at 200 pounds. Rather that as your body composition changes, what number represents a deficit changes. I don’t think the concept that a certain number of calories equates to a certain mass of fat was disputed.

I’m making these numbers up as an example. I could lose weight today eating 3400 calories per day. At some point, I’ll begin gaining weight with that number…because it no longer represents a caloric deficit. I adjust my math, because a deficit now may be 2900. Once that deficit equates to 3500 calories, I’ll again see a pound of fat gone.

I’d also fully acknowledge that at the beginning of a diet, particularly carb restricted diets, the absence of glycogen equates to not only the loss of what was the glucose but the two parts water that become glycogen in our bodies?

I’m not arguing, I fully acknowledge that you’re the SME here…just trying to hash out the details in a way that I understand.

13

Yes, per above, not challenging the lb of fat = approx 3500 calories, but challenging to linear advice often given to lose that lb of fat. Ongoing adjustments must be made.

14

I’ve always lived by the philosophy:

  1. Eat only when you’re hungry
  2. Eat only until you stop being hungry, not until you’re full
  3. Exercise often, but do something interesting so you keep doing it
  4. Avoid sugars and excess carbs unless you are compensating with extra activity
  5. Eat the good fats and try to limit the bad fats

Not that I’m skinny, but my weight stays pretty stable.

15

I can see this. When I got into my 40’s it is like my metabolism just slowed to a crawl. I exercise, but to lose weight I have to almost stop eating. Right now I eat a light breakfast, no lunch while at work, and a light dinner when I get home. I have recently cut out bread, too.

16

Worst part is when you do great all week. Then have 1bad night of booze and food and it was all for nothing. That is what over 40 is about. Lame

17

Exercise and physical activity will help keep a person from gaining weight, but are of marginal value in losing weight. As long as you can eat more calories in 5 minutes than you can burn in one hour jogging, weight loss is going to be about calorie intake, not calorie burning.

18

I’m at my wit’s end with this. Have been trying to loose weight for 4 years with no success. Have a doctor’s appointment in a few weeks to get tests done AGAIN!

Up until end of 2013 (33yrs old) I was 165lbs at 6ft tall. Towards the end of that year I started feeling that certain clothes were getting a little less comfortable. Within a little over a year I gained about 60lbs and was hovering around 217- 220. First I went to the gym but felt kinda lost there. Like I wasn’t using my time efficiently to get the best workout so I got a personal trainer at a private gym. I was with him for 1hr a day, 3 days a week for 2 years. We did circuit training, high intensity, low intensity, etc…etc… It worked for gaining muscle not for loosing weight. With the muscle gain my weight went from 217 to 229. Now I hover around 227-230.

The kicker is I don’t eat bad. You won’t find any chips at my house. I buy them mostly for parties. I don’t eat carbs, never had a taste for it. I’d rather have meat over pasta. Don’t like bread because it doesn’t taste like anything and takes up space where tasty meat can go!! [emoji16] I don’t eat fast food, haven’t since I was a teenager. Don’t drink soda or soft drinks. All this stuff my mother was very much against and growing up we almost never had it in the house. Had 2 slices of pizza and some wings at work two weeks ago. Last time I had either of those was at least a year ago if not more. I cook for myself. Over the weekend I’ll typically make a weeks worth of food. I’ll make several salads and meats. Enough to bring for lunch work and for dinner. Food consists of a meat or fish, and a salad. Meat would be chicken, skin off, fat cut off. Or red meat…fat trimmed. Seasoned and cooked on the skillet/grill or oven with olive/avocado oil, and its own juices never any greasy trans fatty sauces. Same with fish. Salads vary but I typically try to add some kind of carb to them…beans, chickpeas, red/black/wild rice…etc to have a more rounded meal. One thing I made yesterday was fish soup. Salmon, potatoes, carrots, garlic, red peppers, spinach. Salt, pepper, curry, paprika to taste. That’s it. No added broth, nothing from a can and nothing pre-made. Along with that I made chicken breasts seasoned with salt, pepper, turmaric. and 2 sea bass with salt, pepper and lemon. And two different salads with greans and fresh veggies, no dressing

I’ve tried several diets. Right now I’m on the one where you eat only once a day towards the end of the day. Tried for 3 or 4 months now, hasn’t done a damn thing. Was debating on trying the keto diet next! Either that or a more Mediterranean diet consisting of less meat, a little more fish and mainly vegetables and good carbs with good fats

I do occasionally get chips but once a year or so and even then I’ll have the bag for a few weeks. My weakness is beer but even that I don’t drink daily or even weekly! I had two beers yesterday while cooking. Before that, a few bottles, maybe 2+ weeks ago?!?!

Last time I was at the doctor he said my testosterone was in normal range and everything else looks normal. This time I want to get checked for shit they may not normally look at… whatever that may be!

19

Have your thyroid checked. Mine basically slowed way down (which affects metabolism)so I have to take levotheroxin daily.

20

That does not mean a damn thing. Always ask for a copy of your blood work see what’s tested. Two, you may be 2 points above the bottom of the “normal” range and be sub clinical and in need of further testing and or some intervention. The range for T for example is very wide, and varies depending on the lab used, etc. Two, start counting calories. It’s a PITA at first, but easy after a while. In my day, it was done with a book of foods and cals, pen and paper, and calculator, and that was a real PITA. You have a ton of online resources to do that now. Three, don’t jump around “trying” different diets. Not a one is going to be the magic effective one. Eat a quality balanced diet, (Mediterranean is such a diet with a ton of data), get regular exercise, perhaps throw in a few supps, like quality multi, fish oil etc. Yes, around mid 30s ish, the minimal effort needed does not work as it did for some. Aging sucks. :cool:

Consistency over diet chosen wins every time.