To explain that exercise does not affect your weight, or impact on obesity rates

[allmyown]

I see this misconception all over MN every day.

Exercise is fantastic for your physical and mental health in many ways, but it is not a weight loss tool.

Posters are forever quoting energy in -minus energy out = energy stored, etc, as if we are petrol engines or something! we are not - this is not how our body works.

It is more like energy available / energy required to maintain weight= energy body decides to use.

Your body burns off excess energy if you are taking in more than your homeostatic systems think you need. Your body slows down and uses far less energy if you have taken in less than your homeostatic system thinks you need.

And so if you lose weight, and go below what your body wants you to be, then your metabolism will just slow down massively to make the weight go back on. And if you exercise a lot, your metabolism will just adjust to accommodate that.

The key to weight loss is making sure your homeostatic systems decide you should be a healthy weight. You can lower the weight your homeostatic systems is attempting to maintain, with healthy eating, cut out sugar, HPF, vegetable oil, margarine, and cut down on wheat.

Eat plenty of fresh food and greens, nothing long dated.

Unless you are running 10K every single day, you are not exercising enough to change your weight, and even if you are, it won't stay changed.

The obesity epidemic is related to sugar, highly processed food, vegetable oil, margarine, etc, and poor diet in general, not too little exercise.

But don't get me wrong, there are other health problems caused by too little exercise, I am not saying exercise is bad, just that an obese child is not necessarily a child getting inadequate exercise, as so many people seem to think.

Read "Why we eat too much" by Andrew Jenkinson, he explains the up to date science in so much more detail.

I can only speak from experience.. I have an awful diet, love sugary snacks but lost 3 stone after purchasing a treadmill and doing some speed walking every morning. Tbh I did not improve my diet and assumed all the weight loss was through exercise?

How long on treadmill?

More muscle, more calorie burn. So it pays to exercise or be active to be toned, with lesser body fat. I never step on the scales worrying, I know my weight range varies between 10.5-10.75 stone and I eat a balanced diet with treats! Exercise is important to exercise your brain too! You think better for it.

This might be the case for some people but not for me, sorry.

With the finding that tribal people burn the same number of calories as sedentary Americans despite being more active is it not also true that they are much smaller and thinner than sedentary Americans?

Is that not the whole point? That the thinner you get the less energy it takes to keep you alive so the body reaches an equilibrium. Unless of course you really can't get enough food at all and then you become ill and die.

Is the study saying that tribal people are as likely to be overweight as Americans despite doing more exercise??

I go swimming for half an hour every morning. I couldn’t go for the past month because I was sorting my house out to put it on the market, I put on half a stone 🫤

Complete rubbish if you exercise enough you will burn fat. If you sweat you lose weight (water) although this is of course temporary.

You are wrong.

Exercise builds muscle and muscle burns more calories by increasing metabolism. It also uses calories.

If you eat loads of really unhealthy processed food you still will not lose weight even if you exercise. Also if you exercise for an hour a day then sit still for the rest of the day you will not lose weight. The other explanation for not losing weight despite diet and exercise is if you have a medical condition e.g. hypothyroid.

You definitely do burn more calories when you exercise more. That's why olympic athletes are literally eating 8000 calories a day and are slim/ fit/ ripped.

You’re right. You can’t outrun a bad diet.

45-60 mins .. I’ve been using a treadmill with the ifit programme and actually enjoyed it because it has a screen and they walk round beautiful places and tell you all about them .. I’m not an exercise lover tbh

I’m sorry that you don’t know how science works.

I don’t agree
It does help with weight loss

Nonsense op, I have lost 10ibs just by starting goimg to the gym and walking more. My diet hasnt changed. Yes, people need to cut down in suger, but exercise is a very important factor

‘How science works’
🤣

I think it’s obviously very different for different people as someone upthread said. Also listening to Michael Mosley who said he did an experiment on canabinoids(?) that were released in some people after exercise but not him. Explains why some love running and others hate every minute.

I can’t say I understand. If I move more I tend to lose weight.

You've only got part of the story. To lose weight, you need to eat healthily and exercise.
There are people who cannot lose weight as they are on medication or have medical issues which increase weight.
I lost 30lbs by exercising 3 times a week for 15 minutes. When I stopped exercising I put the weight back on.
There should be no obese children. They need plenty of exercise and should be encouraged to participate in sports.
Remember fat babies become fat people. Encourage exercise and healthy eating.

Oh this is fascinating! I get depressed/down every time I exercise for about 24 hours afterwards.

No idea why - but I don't get an exercise high, the opposite in fact. Interesting that everyone's bodies respond differently

This

Some people need things reeeeeeallly dumbing down

Totally, I always tell people that exercise will tone you but won’t reduce your weight, being a good weight is 95% what you eat.

Working my way through this thread as I find the whole topic interesting. This is my favourite post so far!

Hmm, you’re a bit behind the times Op. Aerobic exercise is extremely beneficial for reducing visceral and subcutaneous fat. The benefits of exercise can last up to 3 days after. Exercise is extremely important for peri menopause and menopausal women. You might have bad hips but you can exercise in your chair with weights.

Rubbish every single persons body is different. Just walking 10k steps a day plus still eating what I want causes me weight loss…

she isn't saying that- if you go for a 10 mile run, you will burn calories of course but your body isn't daft, it will then think bloody hell we will starve if we carry on like this and it brings your metabolism to a screeching halt to try and hang onto the calories. We cannot outsmart our bodies/evolution so easily - that is why we are so successful as a race, otherwise we would have died out.