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"Why you shouldn't /rely/ on exercise to lose weight" would be a less controversial title. Instead they chose a provocative, click-baity title and tone to the a

"Why you shouldn't /rely/ on exercise to lose weight" would be a less controversial title. Instead they chose a provocative, click-baity title and tone to the article. The most accurate title would be "Don't exercise in order to earn the right to eat junk food later". Which is the meager point they're actually making. The article deserves all the criticism - it has been designed specifically to provoke it. Journalists love to divide ho-hum issues into polarized opposing sides.

oalders 11y ago
Indeed. Something like "You can't outrun your fork" would have been succinct and to the point.
- visakanv 11y ago
  The running joke in reddit fitness communities is that the best workout for losing weight is Fork Putdowns
thedz 11y ago
> The most accurate title would be "Don't exercise in order to earn the right to eat junk food later". Which is the meager point they're actually making. Except that's not the only point the article makes. You might disagree with the title, but the article does attempt to back it up. Many paragraphs are dedicated to explaining why for many people, exercising might actually be harmful to their weight loss goals, due to how we tend to overestimate how many calories were burned and other factors (such as studies showing that the body may attempt to balance energy output in other areas). In that sense "Why you shouldn't exercise to lose weight" is precisely the thesis that the article is trying to support. You might disagree with it, but I don't really think its egregious clickbait. Even if the title is meant to be catchy and provocative. They clearly state why exercising could be detrimental to weight loss goals for some people. Things that the article title doesn't say: - You should never exercise to lose weight - Exercise is bad for you - You can only lose weight by dieting
- paulsutter 11y ago
  > exercising might actually be harmful to their weight loss goals, due to how we tend to overestimate how many calories were burned The actual number of calories burned exercising is unaffected by our mental estimates. Thinking you earned the right to eat junk food is the problem, not exercise.
  - epimetheus 11y ago
    Exercise makes me ravenous, I'm certainly not the only person for which that is true. Swimming is the worst offender, IME. I can be vigilant, but even knowing that I didn't burn enough calories to counterbalance that meatball sub I want to get after my workout, doesn't help all that much in keeping me from actually buying it anyway. This is similar to the problem of calories in = calories out. Dieting isn't a chemistry equation where you just need the numbers to balance it, it's psychology and in some cases physiology (leptin levels, etc), and that part of it is tricky.
    - brashrat 11y ago
      you can put your hunger to work for you, but you need to remind yourself that, if you carry extra pounds, hunger is what weight loss feels like. That ravenous feeling if you can keep it going, that right there is the success. celebrate it, and stop killing it.
      - philsnow 11y ago
        The feeling of hunger itself is not the thing that's causing you to want to eat more. The aversion to the sensation is what's doing that, but you have control over the aversion.
      - seanmcdirmid 11y ago
        There is "I'm hungry" and then there is "If I don't eat something, I'm going to crash." It is not success, it means something is really imbalanced in your diet, and if you have the mental power to successfully ignore it, well, isn't that just an eating disorder?

oalders 11y ago

Indeed. Something like "You can't outrun your fork" would have been succinct and to the point.

visakanv 11y ago
The running joke in reddit fitness communities is that the best workout for losing weight is Fork Putdowns

thedz 11y ago

> The most accurate title would be "Don't exercise in order to earn the right to eat junk food later". Which is the meager point they're actually making. Except that's not the only point the article makes. You might disagree with the title, but the article does attempt to back it up. Many paragraphs are dedicated to explaining why for many people, exercising might actually be harmful to their weight loss goals, due to how we tend to overestimate how many calories were burned and other factors (such as studies showing that the body may attempt to balance energy output in other areas). In that sense "Why you shouldn't exercise to lose weight" is precisely the thesis that the article is trying to support. You might disagree with it, but I don't really think its egregious clickbait. Even if the title is meant to be catchy and provocative. They clearly state why exercising could be detrimental to weight loss goals for some people. Things that the article title doesn't say: - You should never exercise to lose weight - Exercise is bad for you - You can only lose weight by dieting

paulsutter 11y ago
> exercising might actually be harmful to their weight loss goals, due to how we tend to overestimate how many calories were burned The actual number of calories burned exercising is unaffected by our mental estimates. Thinking you earned the right to eat junk food is the problem, not exercise.
- epimetheus 11y ago
  Exercise makes me ravenous, I'm certainly not the only person for which that is true. Swimming is the worst offender, IME. I can be vigilant, but even knowing that I didn't burn enough calories to counterbalance that meatball sub I want to get after my workout, doesn't help all that much in keeping me from actually buying it anyway. This is similar to the problem of calories in = calories out. Dieting isn't a chemistry equation where you just need the numbers to balance it, it's psychology and in some cases physiology (leptin levels, etc), and that part of it is tricky.
  - brashrat 11y ago
    you can put your hunger to work for you, but you need to remind yourself that, if you carry extra pounds, hunger is what weight loss feels like. That ravenous feeling if you can keep it going, that right there is the success. celebrate it, and stop killing it.
    - philsnow 11y ago
      The feeling of hunger itself is not the thing that's causing you to want to eat more. The aversion to the sensation is what's doing that, but you have control over the aversion.
    - seanmcdirmid 11y ago
      There is "I'm hungry" and then there is "If I don't eat something, I'm going to crash." It is not success, it means something is really imbalanced in your diet, and if you have the mental power to successfully ignore it, well, isn't that just an eating disorder?