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See also: Why you shouldn't exercise to lose weight, explained with 60+ studies https://www.vox.com/2016/4/28/11518804/weight-loss-exercise-myth-burn-calories

See also: Why you shouldn't exercise to lose weight, explained with 60+ studies https://www.vox.com/2016/4/28/11518804/weight-loss-exercise-myth-burn-calories https://www.vox.com/2016/4/28/11518804/weight-loss-exercise-...

wredue 3y ago
I dislike this article. 1 hour of intense exercise does account for approximately 500-700 active calories, which increases your daily caloric budget by 36% at the higher end. All that matters for weight loss is that you burn more calories than you consume, and expanding your daily budget will certainly help that. What most people need to start doing is actually counting their calories. Staring 600 calories in the face of your Starbucks coffee might get some people to think twice.
- lemming 3y ago
  I agree about calorie counting, I think it's a valuable tool, and I recommend it to everyone who's interested in losing weight. I don't do it all the time because it's a pain in the ass, but I do it periodically when my weight starts going up for whatever reason. It really clearly illustrates how little idea you have of what you're putting in your mouth if you don't do it. I'll disagree on the article, though. I thought it did a great job of illustrating why the "extra calories due to the exercise I did" argument is too simplistic. Compensatory behaviours, metabolic compensation, and all the rest mean that the calories out part of the equation is much more complicated than the standard linear model would suggest. I use MacroFactor when I'm tracking which automatically adjusts my calorie budget based on my food intake and weight movement, and it's astonishing how little difference exercise makes.
strken 3y ago
Title of the article: > Why you shouldn't exercise to lose weight Content of the actual article, many paragraphs down: > [P]eople who have had success losing weight have a few things in common: They weigh themselves at least once a week. They restrict their calorie intake, stay away from high-fat foods, and watch their portion sizes. They also exercise regularly. I mean, I agree with the general thrust of the article, but really now! Exercise is important for reasons that have nothing to do with immediate weight loss. You shouldn't quit smoking to lose weight either, and in fact nicotine is an appetite suppressant, but you should still quit smoking.
- lemming 3y ago
  The title is a little ambiguous, but it's accurate if read: "You shouldn't use exercise to achieve weight loss". If you read it as: "You shouldn't exercise if you're trying to lose weight", then it's a little ridiculous, sure. But reading the article will show that that's not the intended interpretation, since it makes it clear that exercise is good for all sorts of reasons and will probably help with weight loss to some minor degree too. But it shouldn't be the main intervention, nothing beats just eating the right amount. Interestingly, they don't discuss the most important exercise when losing weight - resistance training is super important to make sure you lose fat rather than muscle, which they don't discuss at all. But that's not what most people think of when they think about exercising for weight loss.

wredue 3y ago

I dislike this article. 1 hour of intense exercise does account for approximately 500-700 active calories, which increases your daily caloric budget by 36% at the higher end. All that matters for weight loss is that you burn more calories than you consume, and expanding your daily budget will certainly help that. What most people need to start doing is actually counting their calories. Staring 600 calories in the face of your Starbucks coffee might get some people to think twice.

lemming 3y ago
I agree about calorie counting, I think it's a valuable tool, and I recommend it to everyone who's interested in losing weight. I don't do it all the time because it's a pain in the ass, but I do it periodically when my weight starts going up for whatever reason. It really clearly illustrates how little idea you have of what you're putting in your mouth if you don't do it. I'll disagree on the article, though. I thought it did a great job of illustrating why the "extra calories due to the exercise I did" argument is too simplistic. Compensatory behaviours, metabolic compensation, and all the rest mean that the calories out part of the equation is much more complicated than the standard linear model would suggest. I use MacroFactor when I'm tracking which automatically adjusts my calorie budget based on my food intake and weight movement, and it's astonishing how little difference exercise makes.

strken 3y ago

Title of the article: > Why you shouldn't exercise to lose weight Content of the actual article, many paragraphs down: > [P]eople who have had success losing weight have a few things in common: They weigh themselves at least once a week. They restrict their calorie intake, stay away from high-fat foods, and watch their portion sizes. They also exercise regularly. I mean, I agree with the general thrust of the article, but really now! Exercise is important for reasons that have nothing to do with immediate weight loss. You shouldn't quit smoking to lose weight either, and in fact nicotine is an appetite suppressant, but you should still quit smoking.

lemming 3y ago
The title is a little ambiguous, but it's accurate if read: "You shouldn't use exercise to achieve weight loss". If you read it as: "You shouldn't exercise if you're trying to lose weight", then it's a little ridiculous, sure. But reading the article will show that that's not the intended interpretation, since it makes it clear that exercise is good for all sorts of reasons and will probably help with weight loss to some minor degree too. But it shouldn't be the main intervention, nothing beats just eating the right amount. Interestingly, they don't discuss the most important exercise when losing weight - resistance training is super important to make sure you lose fat rather than muscle, which they don't discuss at all. But that's not what most people think of when they think about exercising for weight loss.