7 ms·

When I get to the end of the article and it says in large print > Why you shouldn't exercise to lose weight and then the heading over a video > The science i

by gavinpc 10y ago

When I get to the end of the article and it says in large print > Why you shouldn't exercise to lose weight and then the heading over a video > The science is in: exercise isn't the best way to lose weight I can't help thinking that this kind of web journalism is itself just junk food. /rant Anyway, I wonder what the author would call breakfast in Spain. I was recently in Barcelona, and the breakfast there was, just as my wife remembered from years ago in Valencia, chocolate croissant with cafe con leche, where "leche" is what we'd call condensed milk, and they give you three tube-shaped packets of sugar to go with it. I looked for a good while to find an "English" breakfast, i.e. eggs, and they served them with French fries. edit: To clarify my rant, I wasn't objecting to the claim about exercise, so much as the presentation. It's the endless gravy train of tabloid-style "x is good/bad," at once patronising and pandering, which only further undermines its credibility by claiming that "the science is in." Oh really, the science is in this time. I'm glad we can finally put this behind us.

peteretep 10y ago
Personal experience suggests that the best (only?) way to actually lose weight is the fork put-down, and increasing my level of exercise only ever makes it harder to practice portion control.
- rnovak 10y ago
  Interesting, exercise has been the biggest factor for me, and it's actually kind of two fold. 1: it burns calories, 2: because I dislike working out, it makes me not want to waste it by eating shit food. A lot of people I think take the approach of "well, I exercised, so I can afford to eat this cheesecake", or something like that. I took it as: "ugh, I hated that workout, so I had better not eat this cheesecake" I think the biggest battle is mental, and not so much physical.
  - eru 10y ago
    Exercise also decreases appetite for some people. At least acutely. (I think it's because of the adrenaline, but not sure. Stimulants like adrenaline, caffeine and nicotine suppress appetite.)
    - thisone 10y ago
      wish I had that problem. After a good run, I'm craving food.
      - eru 10y ago
        I'm also happy to eat directly after working out. But some of my friends have the opposite problem.
  - peteretep 10y ago
    > A lot of people I think take the approach of "well, I > exercised, so I can afford to eat this cheesecake" Perhaps, but for me it definitely increases the degree to which I'm hungry and the degree to which I enjoy my food afterwards > I think the biggest battle is mental, and not so much > physical Can certainly agree with that. I've found the principles of "Mindful Eating" to be pretty helpful, specifically having read this: https://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Chocolate-Yo-yo-Dieting-Weight/dp/0749927089 https://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Chocolate-Yo-yo-Dieting-Weight...
  - tzs 10y ago
    It might be useful to distinguish between intentional exercise and incidental exercise. By intentional exercise I mean exercise that you consciously set out to do in order to help lose weight or improve your fitness. By incidental exercise I mean exercise that happens incidentally to doing other things. I've lost a fair amount of weight over the last 10 months (110 pounds, or 50 kg). I haven't really done much intentional exercise but because as I've lost weight my energy level and stamina have improved, I've ended up doing more things that provide incidental exercise. For instance, I used to put off mowing the lawn because it was physically taxing. Now it is no big deal and so I mow about 4 times as often, and I mow places that previously I was content to leave overgrown. So I now get a lot of incidental exercise from mowing the lawn. I've also done a bunch of other garden work that I would not have done 110 pounds earlier, and have plans for a bunch more. I used to prefer to shop at a smaller supermarket, because I got tired walking around a big store. Now I regularly shop at a large market that has lots of locally grown food, and also at a Walmart superstore. So now I get a lot of exercise incidental to shopping. I'll probably be doing a few more home projects if it ever decides to actually start being summer here (Pacific Northwest), which will give me more incidental exercise both from doing the actual work and from shopping trips to Home Depot. I used to enjoy bicycling, not specifically to exercise but just as an enjoyable form of transport. I was a regular bike commuter when I lived in Cupertino in the early 1990s, but when I moved to Seattle in 1992 that stopped. I took one ride around the block my first day in Seattle, and learned that fat cyclists and hills do not get along, and have not been on my bike since. But I still have my bike (1990 Miyata Triple Cross). I just pulled it out of its corner in the garage, and checked it out. Most things still work on it (although it needs a good cleaning and lubrication, a new front tire, some adjustments on the brakes and front derailleur, and maybe some new cables). A year ago, fixing it up would be too much work, but now it will be no problem, and once I do that I might take up bike commuting again. (I'm still in the Puget Sound area, but in an area that is much less hilly than Seattle). So that will be a bunch more incidental exercise. I did try some intentional exercise, such as using a treadmill, but I found it kind of depressing. I'd finish a session and feel like I'd had a good workout, and then look at the estimate of calories burned and see that I'd burned off the equivalent of a few Tic Tacs.
  - Scarblac 10y ago
    Hating the exercise you do doesn't sound like the most effective way to go in the long term, it's going to take will power every time. Couldn't you do some alternative kind of exercise that you find more enjoyable?
SixSigma 10y ago
Well the no exercise part is mostly true. Diet is the most important factor.
- lloeki 10y ago
  Can we stop with sweeping statements? Exercising when on a bad diet all the while being definitely overweight sure won't work, while fixing your diet will help even withojt exercise (although it'll help, especially as regular exercise helps in regulating hunger) But currently I need do shed only a little bit of excess weight, and short of starving myself "fixing" my diet more won't help at all, only exercising will do.
  - SixSigma 10y ago
    Running a calorie deficit does not require starvation. You can easily live on 1500 kcals a day and lose as much as you like. I know because I have done it.
    - cableshaft 10y ago
      Well congrats on having a body that doesn't constantly scream for food when you only eat 1500 calories a day, because mine does (and probably a lot of obese people). That being said I have successfully fought through it and lost significant weight before. But I felt hungry the entire time. I'm trying a different approach by adopting a low carb diet this time around, though.
      - SixSigma 10y ago
        > only a little bit of excess weight > obese I just knew you were weasel wording. Fats are always in denial. You wouldn't be hungry after eating a kilo of carrot & cabbage salad. So all you're telling me are the lies you tell yourself.
        lloeki 10y ago
        What? It's not even my reply. Anyway currently if I reduce calorie intake my body just gets into a massive slump mode as it tries to minimise calorie burn, resulting in zero weight loss unless I downright fast. Conversely, just having a balanced diet and going running regularly keeps my body very close to optimal weight.
gambiting 10y ago
Well, even if you do absolutely no exercise and still eat less than you burn every day, you absolutely will lose weight. There is no magic trick to it and it works for everyone. Exercising is important to be healthy, of course, but if you exercise to lose weight it usually doesn't work as planned, mostly because you feel exhausted after training and eat more thinking that you "deserve" a big meal.
- collyw 10y ago
  Yes, I notice a number of overweight people who claim that their bodies defy physics.
jknightco 10y ago
The leche in a cafe con leche is just regular milk. Perhaps your thinking of a Cafe Bonbón?
ohyes 10y ago
When I visited Spain it was eggs and thick cut bacon, cafe au lait with whole milk. Which is basically what I eat here in the US, minus the bacon.
- Al-Khwarizmi 10y ago
  Spanish people typically don't have eggs and bacon for breakfast (a pity, I'm from Spain and I love that kind of breakfast). You probably had breakfast at a hotel or some other place that caters to foreigners.
  - ohyes 10y ago
    It was some outdoor plaza in Madrid. Might have been lunchtime. The milk was better than anything I've ever had in the US.
- karmapolice 10y ago
  No, that is generic continental breakfast or even English breakfast served in some hotel. This is more typical: https://www.shbarcelona.com/blog/en/pan-tumaca/ https://www.shbarcelona.com/blog/en/pan-tumaca/ (it says Catalan but is common everywhere) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Churro https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Churro Lots of people of course resort to cereals or some dessert (croissant, waffles...) but eggs and bacon is really weird. A toast with something on it (olive oil, butter, jam, the aforementioned "pan tumaca") is way more common.
fasouto 10y ago
This is not the typical breakfast in Spain, not even close. And cafe con leche contains plain milk, not condensed milk, you had been to a terrible place :)
- gavinpc 10y ago
  Okay, I stand corrected about the Spanish breakfast. My wife spent a year there as an artist in a sort of fisherman's villa in Valencia, and had me believing that was the norm.
paperpunk 10y ago
I just came back from Barcelona too and the Catalan breakfast I found was things like bread with tomato, octopus, tripe, etc There were plenty of bakeries selling croissants dipped in chocolate and little cafés selling eggs and french fries but I got the impression this was mostly for the tourists (at least according to the large rant we got from the hostel night manager when we asked him where he recommended for breakfast).
spacecowboy_lon 10y ago
Well if you exercise you replace fat with muscle which is denser - Though when I did 15 miles a day on a bike commuting I lost a stone in a couple of weeks so the statement that exercise does not lead to weight loss is bollocks.

by gavinpc 10y ago

peteretep 10y ago

Personal experience suggests that the best (only?) way to actually lose weight is the fork put-down, and increasing my level of exercise only ever makes it harder to practice portion control.

rnovak 10y ago
Interesting, exercise has been the biggest factor for me, and it's actually kind of two fold. 1: it burns calories, 2: because I dislike working out, it makes me not want to waste it by eating shit food. A lot of people I think take the approach of "well, I exercised, so I can afford to eat this cheesecake", or something like that. I took it as: "ugh, I hated that workout, so I had better not eat this cheesecake" I think the biggest battle is mental, and not so much physical.
- eru 10y ago
  Exercise also decreases appetite for some people. At least acutely. (I think it's because of the adrenaline, but not sure. Stimulants like adrenaline, caffeine and nicotine suppress appetite.)
  - thisone 10y ago
    wish I had that problem. After a good run, I'm craving food.
    - eru 10y ago
      I'm also happy to eat directly after working out. But some of my friends have the opposite problem.
- peteretep 10y ago
  > A lot of people I think take the approach of "well, I > exercised, so I can afford to eat this cheesecake" Perhaps, but for me it definitely increases the degree to which I'm hungry and the degree to which I enjoy my food afterwards > I think the biggest battle is mental, and not so much > physical Can certainly agree with that. I've found the principles of "Mindful Eating" to be pretty helpful, specifically having read this: https://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Chocolate-Yo-yo-Dieting-Weight/dp/0749927089 https://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Chocolate-Yo-yo-Dieting-Weight...
- tzs 10y ago
  It might be useful to distinguish between intentional exercise and incidental exercise. By intentional exercise I mean exercise that you consciously set out to do in order to help lose weight or improve your fitness. By incidental exercise I mean exercise that happens incidentally to doing other things. I've lost a fair amount of weight over the last 10 months (110 pounds, or 50 kg). I haven't really done much intentional exercise but because as I've lost weight my energy level and stamina have improved, I've ended up doing more things that provide incidental exercise. For instance, I used to put off mowing the lawn because it was physically taxing. Now it is no big deal and so I mow about 4 times as often, and I mow places that previously I was content to leave overgrown. So I now get a lot of incidental exercise from mowing the lawn. I've also done a bunch of other garden work that I would not have done 110 pounds earlier, and have plans for a bunch more. I used to prefer to shop at a smaller supermarket, because I got tired walking around a big store. Now I regularly shop at a large market that has lots of locally grown food, and also at a Walmart superstore. So now I get a lot of exercise incidental to shopping. I'll probably be doing a few more home projects if it ever decides to actually start being summer here (Pacific Northwest), which will give me more incidental exercise both from doing the actual work and from shopping trips to Home Depot. I used to enjoy bicycling, not specifically to exercise but just as an enjoyable form of transport. I was a regular bike commuter when I lived in Cupertino in the early 1990s, but when I moved to Seattle in 1992 that stopped. I took one ride around the block my first day in Seattle, and learned that fat cyclists and hills do not get along, and have not been on my bike since. But I still have my bike (1990 Miyata Triple Cross). I just pulled it out of its corner in the garage, and checked it out. Most things still work on it (although it needs a good cleaning and lubrication, a new front tire, some adjustments on the brakes and front derailleur, and maybe some new cables). A year ago, fixing it up would be too much work, but now it will be no problem, and once I do that I might take up bike commuting again. (I'm still in the Puget Sound area, but in an area that is much less hilly than Seattle). So that will be a bunch more incidental exercise. I did try some intentional exercise, such as using a treadmill, but I found it kind of depressing. I'd finish a session and feel like I'd had a good workout, and then look at the estimate of calories burned and see that I'd burned off the equivalent of a few Tic Tacs.
- Scarblac 10y ago
  Hating the exercise you do doesn't sound like the most effective way to go in the long term, it's going to take will power every time. Couldn't you do some alternative kind of exercise that you find more enjoyable?

SixSigma 10y ago

Well the no exercise part is mostly true. Diet is the most important factor.

lloeki 10y ago
Can we stop with sweeping statements? Exercising when on a bad diet all the while being definitely overweight sure won't work, while fixing your diet will help even withojt exercise (although it'll help, especially as regular exercise helps in regulating hunger) But currently I need do shed only a little bit of excess weight, and short of starving myself "fixing" my diet more won't help at all, only exercising will do.
- SixSigma 10y ago
  Running a calorie deficit does not require starvation. You can easily live on 1500 kcals a day and lose as much as you like. I know because I have done it.
  - cableshaft 10y ago
    Well congrats on having a body that doesn't constantly scream for food when you only eat 1500 calories a day, because mine does (and probably a lot of obese people). That being said I have successfully fought through it and lost significant weight before. But I felt hungry the entire time. I'm trying a different approach by adopting a low carb diet this time around, though.
    - SixSigma 10y ago
      > only a little bit of excess weight > obese I just knew you were weasel wording. Fats are always in denial. You wouldn't be hungry after eating a kilo of carrot & cabbage salad. So all you're telling me are the lies you tell yourself.
      - lloeki 10y ago
        What? It's not even my reply. Anyway currently if I reduce calorie intake my body just gets into a massive slump mode as it tries to minimise calorie burn, resulting in zero weight loss unless I downright fast. Conversely, just having a balanced diet and going running regularly keeps my body very close to optimal weight.

gambiting 10y ago

Well, even if you do absolutely no exercise and still eat less than you burn every day, you absolutely will lose weight. There is no magic trick to it and it works for everyone. Exercising is important to be healthy, of course, but if you exercise to lose weight it usually doesn't work as planned, mostly because you feel exhausted after training and eat more thinking that you "deserve" a big meal.

collyw 10y ago
Yes, I notice a number of overweight people who claim that their bodies defy physics.

jknightco 10y ago

The leche in a cafe con leche is just regular milk. Perhaps your thinking of a Cafe Bonbón?

ohyes 10y ago

When I visited Spain it was eggs and thick cut bacon, cafe au lait with whole milk. Which is basically what I eat here in the US, minus the bacon.

Al-Khwarizmi 10y ago
Spanish people typically don't have eggs and bacon for breakfast (a pity, I'm from Spain and I love that kind of breakfast). You probably had breakfast at a hotel or some other place that caters to foreigners.
- ohyes 10y ago
  It was some outdoor plaza in Madrid. Might have been lunchtime. The milk was better than anything I've ever had in the US.
karmapolice 10y ago
No, that is generic continental breakfast or even English breakfast served in some hotel. This is more typical: https://www.shbarcelona.com/blog/en/pan-tumaca/ https://www.shbarcelona.com/blog/en/pan-tumaca/ (it says Catalan but is common everywhere) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Churro https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Churro Lots of people of course resort to cereals or some dessert (croissant, waffles...) but eggs and bacon is really weird. A toast with something on it (olive oil, butter, jam, the aforementioned "pan tumaca") is way more common.

fasouto 10y ago

This is not the typical breakfast in Spain, not even close. And cafe con leche contains plain milk, not condensed milk, you had been to a terrible place :)

gavinpc 10y ago
Okay, I stand corrected about the Spanish breakfast. My wife spent a year there as an artist in a sort of fisherman's villa in Valencia, and had me believing that was the norm.

paperpunk 10y ago

I just came back from Barcelona too and the Catalan breakfast I found was things like bread with tomato, octopus, tripe, etc There were plenty of bakeries selling croissants dipped in chocolate and little cafés selling eggs and french fries but I got the impression this was mostly for the tourists (at least according to the large rant we got from the hostel night manager when we asked him where he recommended for breakfast).

spacecowboy_lon 10y ago

Well if you exercise you replace fat with muscle which is denser - Though when I did 15 miles a day on a bike commuting I lost a stone in a couple of weeks so the statement that exercise does not lead to weight loss is bollocks.