Exercise

[PumpkinP]

I’m starting to diet but I was going to exercise aswell (I have a lot to lose!) but I read the exercise was pointless for losing weight? Is this true? It said it was all about diet and not bother with exercising.

Hi Pumpkin. I think what people mean when they say that is that it's difficult to use up lots of calories exercising at any normal kind of intensity. e.g you can run 5k and burn 300-400 calories - which is equivalent to one doughnut. So you can't out-exercise a high calorie diet, and many people will 'eat back' their exercise calories.
So the success of weight loss is more dependent on decreasing your calorie intake than increasing your calorie burn, since that will have a bigger impact.
That doesn't mean there aren't benefits for your fitness, body shape and self-esteem in starting to exercise. Do both, but treat any exercise as a bonus and don't factor any exercise calories into your daily allowance! Good luck.

Diet is the key to losing weight but exercise will help (so long as you don't do it in a way that makes you ravenous and then think you deserve a muffin). The best exercise that will serve you long term is to build up some muscle. Exercise is so beneficial in other ways that it would be a terrible mistake not to bother.

Thank you both. I was going to start aerobics but after what I read I thought it would be pointless. I’ve started walking a lot more now aswell so good to hear it helps and isn’t pointless!

Exercise is so good for us. Even walking is great. We should be doing a bit of cardio ( just getting our heart rate up a little) and a bit of weight resistance as it's good for our bones alongside other health benefits. I'm not talking heavy weightS or spinning for days. My body shape changed when I took up yoga and some light resistance workouts. I never had a defined waist before.

Those calories burnt can make a real difference, though! It might not seem much in terms of doughnuts but in terms of real food it is like a bowl of soup with a slice or bread! Work out your TDEE and decide whether you think it is worth it.

tdeecalculator.net/

You'll also be fitter, get better muscle definition, better circulation plus exercise can help prevent conditions such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and high cholesterol.

When you are working with a calorie deficit, anything that can bump your burn up is good news!

For example my sedentary TDEE is 1547 cals to maintain weight. To lose using a 500 cal deficit that would leave me with just 1047 calories to play with. Yet if I run just over 4 miles I can burn 500 calories and I can bump that up to 700 if I have a walk into town. So then I could eat 1747 and still maintain a deficit.

I've just been doing workouts on YouTube for free. You can find pretty much anything to suit you, and it's not going to do any harm. Diet is important too.