I am talking explicitly about amateur endurance athletes, who may be doing 5 or 6 hours of exercise per week, not Olympians. And the point I'm trying to make i

I am talking explicitly about amateur endurance athletes, who may be doing 5 or 6 hours of exercise per week, not Olympians. And the point I'm trying to make is that there are likely higher-order effects from exercise well beyond the number of calories burn during that exercise. Whether it is because endurance exercise improves mitochondrial efficiency, or insulin sensitivity, or basal metabolic rate, the matter of fact is that there are plenty of ordinary people who struggled with their weight and see significant long-term weight loss as long as they continue performing a few hours of endurance exercise per week. Go talk to people in your nearest amateur cycling club if you don't believe me.