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.

Caveat: I burn 1000-1500 calories a day with exercise.

I think people underestimate how much exercise you have to do but it definitely helps me lose weight and maintain weight. If I am exercising a lot I can eat a normal diet and maintain weight. If I am not exercising I have to reduce calories.

The consensus is that obesity has a multifactorial aetiology. Exercise doesn't simply burn calories, it also improves body composition by increasing muscle mass. See also increased insulin sensitivity (in contrast to insulin resistance which comes with obesity).

A combination of sensible diet + exercise is the most sustainable way to lose/maintain weight. Your focus on oils and margarine seems too narrow - this is a multifaceted issue.

'You cannot outrun a bad diet' Yes, to some extent this is true. However there is also some truth to ' If the furnace is hot enough, you can burn anything.''

I used to walk 10 miles a day as part of my job. I developed plater fasciitis and had to stop walking for a year. I've put on a stone, so I do feel that not being a bel to walk has definitely impacted my weight gain.

that should have read, not being "able"

Although I agree with your post in the sense that an hours jog will not offset a pizza. It is not as simple as that (nothing ever is)

Exercise keeps your body healthy. A healthy body has a better metabolism. So yes exercise will help with weight loss.
Also the same when it comes to food 2000kcal a day on good foods will help you lose weight more than 2000kcal on processed foods because your body will be working better.

"You can't out-exercise a bad diet, though."

I'm getting ready to watch the Tour de France where the cyclists will be taking in approx 7000 calories per day including massive amounts of carbs so I don't think that your statement is strictly true. Previously riders lost weight over the duration of the race even when eating such a huge number of calories. Now, of course, their energy output is measured and nutritionists carefully balance their diet so they don't lose weight.

Absolute nonsense. The reason why exercise does not result in weight loss is because the amount of calories burned off by exercise is much smaller than people assume and the amount of calories people eat is much higher than they think. You can't eat whatever you want and then do a light jog with your dog around the block and a once a week Zumba class and think you're going to be a size 8.

People who do serious exercise- Olympic rowers and swimmers for example- require far more calories than the average person to be able to continue and would not be able to function on a regular 2000 calorie a day diet, no matter how much their "metabolism adjusts".

Anyone who has been WFH since the pandemic can attest to the fact that even reducing daily exercise by a small amount- the walk to the train station and back for example- is enough to see weight gain.

Programmes like My 600lb Life are good examples of how a low calorie diet is enough to loose a significant amount of weight while still being sedentary. In these cases, surgery solves the issue of hunger and helps restricts food intake which makes the calorie deficit possible. None of the patients do any vigorous exercise but still loose 100s of lbs.

Yes I think we are agreed on that, movement - which counts as exercise- can be a major part of weight maintenance.

In my early 20s I lost 3 stone over 10 months, I went from eating around 2,500 calories a day to 1500 calories, walked about 10K steps daily and did cardio at the gym 2-3 times a week. So I guess all of it contributed to my weight loss.

I then maintained over a decade mostly through regular walking as part of my daily commute /weekend socialising .

I’m healthier now as far as food choices go than I was in my 9 stone era - less processed food etc, but I do a fraction of the walking and my weight loss has been slower.

Err....

I don't even know where to start with this. 😂

"You don't burn more calories because you are exercising more"

😂

You may think it's hilarious, but the body is very good at conserving energy, because human beings' survival has often depended on it doing so. So if you do lots of exercise, your body will compensate by using less while you are not exercising. Hence the well known study quoted above, about the almost non-existent difference in calories burned by very active members of a nomadic tribe and office workers in America. Your body doesn't want to let go of its energy stores - it might need them.

Bollocks. So why do athletes have to eat thousands of extra calories a day - and not gain weight?

I've gained and lost weight in my lifetime. I count calories in and out (Apple Watch), and it almost always tallies exactly with what I would expect to lose.

Your body is a machine. Treat it as such.

Yes you're right. That's why you see those Africans walking for miles to get water and having no food still being obese.

Oh, wait..

I can lose weight without exercising, I just lose more if I do.

I understand what you are saying and why, but I think it is massively counterproductive to say that exercise is not a weight loss tool. It's highly motivating, it makes you feel great about your body, it reinforces the idea of weight loss as part of general health rather than the only measure, it means you have another way of measuring improvement of health (heart rate, stamina, strength), it introduces the idea of your body as a thing that achieves wonderful things rather than working against you by remaining heavy, it is likely to get you out into social spaces and/or open air.

All of these things make people more motivated to do other healthy things including eating healthily and joyfully rather than mindlessly and poorly. How is it not a weight loss tool?

I totally agree, @CarterBeatsTheDevil !

I think so many people get discouraged if they try to lose weight through dieting alone. Temptations are everywhere and so often only one or two things need to go wrong during any given day to result in a "fuck it I need some crisps and a glass of wine" reaction.

Since I started working out seriously some five years ago my whole attitude to my health has changed. I only wish I'd started weight training sooner as it is a total game changer. I'm 70 but superfit - I ski, I cycle, I swim, I walk and hike. It's exercise and my healthy Mediterranean diet that give me both the energy and the strength/ability to do all this.

My DH dropped three stone through cycling. I do all the cooking and serving of food, he didn’t change one thing about what he ate. Just cycled a LOT.

It's interesting OP then that I have lost over a stone in the last year, purely through increasing my exercise regime. I haven't changed my eating/drinking habits at all. In fact if anything I consume more calories - 'I can have a pudding because I did a class this morning is how my mind works.

How do you explain that if your theory is correct? That wasn't being facetious, I just don't understand why I am losing weight when the only thing that has changed is the exercise?

@allmyown I find this science fascinating because I was bought up on an ultra processed food diet and very underweight (and I spent most of my adulthood being a low healthy weight but finding it hard to put on weight).

Can someone explain why this is in the context of all this science? I was actually told to eat more UPF to put on weight, but it never worked.

Since exercising, and eating healthier, I've gained way more weight.

I guess I might be an anomaly - but when you watch shows like "super size Vs super skinny" most of the very skinny have a high UPF diet. It was like healthy food reawakened my appetite.

The type of exercise you do consistently and progressively is directly related to body shape, tone, as well as your % of muscle mass. The more mass we have, the more fuel or bodies need. They do go hand in hand if you want health, fitness, strength and definition.

Exercise does affect weight. If I didn't do exercise I would be about a stone heavier. At least. I know that, because I was! And now I'm not (and I eat significantly more).

Nope. You've failed to appreciate that bodies work differently, so well done for finding what works for you, but we're not all NPCs to your main character, sorry!

It's true that people often oversimplify (calories out - calories in = weight loss) but you're overcomplicating. For a lot of people, exercise helps them lose weight. It's that simple.

As you've said, there are multiple other benefits too, and it's a bit irresponsible to come onto a public forum and spout some pseudoscience that seems designed to discourage people from exercising.

I am the opposite..since I have started working from home I have lost weight. because I have Time to fit in a walk or go to a class during the week. now I am bot driving 5 hours a day. I am also eating better too. for me exercise is far more than exercise its so good for my head too.

Yes, if you have good self-discipline it could work like that. Unfortunately, I'm quite lazy and only do exercise if I have somewhere specific to go!

Also OP there definitely isn't a consensus on the science on this. Lots of scientists cherry pick studies to support their point/write books arguing one way or the other to make their opinion seem fact - but there isn't consensus

was at 1st now it's just routine and I actually feel a bit rotten if I don't get out for a walk. even if it's miserable I try to get out my work is very stressful so I find it really helps me calm down from that. I even get out for 15 mins the days I am in the office now which is a 5 hour round trip