Does exercise really make any useful mpact on weight loss?

Yes. I lost 30lbs by hiring a PT. I really didn't change my diet that much at all. You have to work hard though and be ready to really sweat. And not eat cake.

Yes.

The problem is that most people vastly overestimate the amount of exercise that they do, and underestimate how much they eat.

If you combine weights and cardio, and work out hard for hour-long ssssions several times per week, you will lose fat and gain muscle.

It might not show on the scales (as muscle weighs more than the equivalent volume of fat), but you will look slimmer and feel much better

I've heard it's about 80/20 - 80% diet and 20% exercise.

I find doing exercise makes me hungrier, and also lulls you into the trap of 'well I did a 45 min spin class, I deserve this glass of wine and dessert' - and you can guarantee that they'll total more than the 450 cals burnt in the gym.

If you're eating healthily though, exercise will of course accelerate fat-burning and tone you up as well, since the calorie deficit will be greater - but if you're adding muscle, your weight won't necessarily go down.

You have to do A LOT of exercise for it to make a difference in wait loss. Of course it is good for fitness and toning, but really food is the focus to shed pounds.

I say that as someone who has struggled to the gym at 6am to be beasted by a PT twice a week for the last year and is still 10kg heavier than when I had DC1.

For it to help with weight loss you have to do sustained aerobic exercise. This isn't currently fashionable, they want us to think lifting heavy weights is what works. Lifting heavy is brilliant exercise but you need to torch calories, raise your metabolism and kick your appetite into touch for weight loss, hello cardio.

I haven't stopped laughing yet at Geri Halliwells 90's assertion that yoga turned her into a stick insect. Oh no it didn't!

I find that I eat better when I exercise as it makes me more aware of what I am doing. I know how much exercise I would need to do to burn off a family pack of crisps so I save myself the trouble and don't eat them in the first place!

Exercise is good for my general health and well-being - possibly toning as well - but it doesn't over ride a bad diet.

IME? No.
I joined a gym in December of last year and went 4 x pw religiously until end Jan. I lost 3lbs over that 2 months, with Christmas in the middle, and tbh, didn't really diet. I continued through February and put it back on again.

Gave up in March, went back in April... with more focus on dieting. No change.

I'm giving up the gym membership now - it just doesn't work for me though I used to be a 3x per week for years and years. But I was slimmer then, not dieting and just did it because I enjoyed it.

I'm trying the Michael Mosely blood sugar diet right now. I'm neither diabetic nor prediabetic but it just makes sense. Hardly any carbs or sugar. Slow progress - but it IS progress. 4lbs in 3 weeks. Nothing like what you hear other people have lost but it's the first time in 10 years I've actually managed to lose anything. So I will persevere.

It did for me. I really dislike restricting what I eat so I regularly go to the gym and eat a balanced diet with some treats now and then.

I am more toned and, due to the increased muscle, have a better metabolism now.

Realise it won't work for everyone but it has to be exercise you like doing.

IME it makes me slightly less likely to stick cake in mouth because I remember how hard it is to work it off and also has a marginal appetite suppressing effect.

But in terms of burning off calories, not really. I couldn't do enough to shift the amount of weight I need to.

Generally diet is more important for losing weight. However exercise is associated with lowering risks of the same lifestyle diseases associated with being obese, among it's many other benefits.

In my bitter experience, no, unless you're doing lots of it, and combining it with something else.