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You can burn nearly 400 calories running for 30 minutes at a relatively moderate pace.

by ch4s3 2y ago

olleromam91 2y ago
And an average human can probably ingest 400 calories in under a minute, with significantly less fatigue.
- ch4s3 2y ago
  Who is arguing otherwise?
- kyriakos 2y ago
  It's still 400 calories deficit regardless
  - tsimionescu 2y ago
    Not true, on two counts: - one, your body may crave more food because of the energy loss - the Lipostat model suggests that your body has a target weight (well, fat level, more precisley), and will adjust hunger up if calory expenditure goes up - your internal processes use way more energy than you can consume through exercise in a modern lifestyle (2000+ calories a day just from sitting still, for many adult males), and there is a lot of room for the body to adjust those up and down to make up for the extra exercise to keep up your current weight. So if you consume 2000 Cal a day with 0 Cal from exercise, with moderate exercise you will end up conauming 1600 Cal a day from internal processes + 400 Cal a day from exercise after some time (a one time run will absolutely consume extra, if your run every day, you'll get less and less extra Cal from your runs, until you reach about net 0, assuming you're not increasing the amount of exercise constantly).
dgfitz 2y ago
I think the point is, you can consume nearly 400 calories drinking a smoothie in 30 seconds. Diet is and always will be the key to weight loss.
- ch4s3 2y ago
  No one is suggesting that you can out run an increasing calorie surplus. You can however keep your diet the same and add two hours of running to your week and lose weight.
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
  - energy123 2y ago
    Ask anyone who has been obese and subsequently lost weight and they'll tell you the same thing. Eating less is both a sufficient and necessary condition to losing weight. Exercise is neither sufficient nor necessary because the caloric surplus these people are on significantly exceeds the amount that you can practically burn through exercise. While you're right that exercise can help on the margin, it's just not a useful intervention that moves the needle much as far as weight loss goes.
    - timrichard 2y ago
      Yup, can confirm - for me, at least. At one stage, I started walking home from work at my fastest pace. 5 miles, 5 days a week. No other lifestyle changes. No significant weight loss. A few years later, I started tracking calories with myfitnesspal and keeping to a limit (1600 initially, 1400 when it became easier). No exercise, but steady and impressive weight loss. I seem to have kept most of it off. I think a lot of it becomes psychological - not being afraid to feel appetite or skip meals if already satiated from earlier.
    - ch4s3 2y ago
      I don't know why anyone here has the idea that I'm arguing that exercise alone is key for weight loss. I have very clearly only claimed that all else equal increasing exertion will lead to a calorie deficit. > While you're right that exercise can help on the margin, it's just not a useful intervention that moves the needle much as far as weight loss goes. There's more to exercise than just the thermodynamic effects of calorie expenditure. Building muscle and/or cardiovascular capacity will improve your quality of life and will complement any weight loss. You can improve your mental health by becoming more physically active, and this is well established. Those mental health gains and physical health improvements make it easier to maintain a better diet. Beyond the marginal, but significant calorie expenditures you can create a positive feedback loop.
skirmish 2y ago
Then eat a "healthy" avocado toast and gain 400 calories back.
threeseed 2y ago
Being able to run for 30 minutes implies that you are already fit. And likely already at a low body fat otherwise it would be crippling for your joints.
- Fricken 2y ago
  If one were getting the doctor recommended amount of exercise running for 30 minutes or some commensurate activity would not be intimidating, and it's far less likely that you would have a weight issue in the first place. Doctors recommend about 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise per week. Imagine doing that every week, for your whole life.
  - threeseed 2y ago
    30 mins of running = 5km marathon. Most people can walk 30 mins but I would doubt if most can run a marathon.
    - throwup238 2y ago
      That’s why there are programs like Couch to 5K which slowly work up to a nonstop 30 minute run. It doesn’t even take that much determination and it’s practically designed for obese people. I was able to complete it weeks ahead of schedule at a BMI of 30 and the 4-5/wk runs it enabled helped me lose 35 pounds in 2024 - the vast majority of the weightloss happening during the weeks that I ran. Nitpick: a marathon is 42 kilometers (by definition). Most people would struggle to even walk that.
    - Fricken 2y ago
      There's no such thing as a 5km marathon, that's a contradicition in terms. However, if one were running 150 minutes a week on a regular basis then a (42km) marathon would likely not be too intimidating a prospect. Suffice to say, most are not getting in their doctor recommended level of exercise.
ijidak 2y ago
Sadly in the first minute after the run a milkshake will add back 400 calories. The insane efficiency of the body is the problem. 30 minutes of agony -- the jog -- can be thrown out the window with literally one minute (60 seconds) of overeating. That's why I think exercise plus GLP-1 medications once a year might be the future gold standard for weight loss and maintenance. Any thoughts on GLP-1 meds being the game changer we need?
- Gigachad 2y ago
  It’s more the insane energy density of the milkshake. If you spent the same time eating a carrot you wouldn’t have this issue.
- tsimionescu 2y ago
  Don't GLP-1 meds currently have bad side effects for a lot of people?
- monsieurgaufre 2y ago
  The only game changer is to stop taking shortcuts and start really taking care of yourself. GLP-1 are crutches and if you need it once a year.
  - ijidak 2y ago
    But that hasn't been working for the average American, right? Aging is rough. And the high calorie to nutrient ratio in this country makes it really hard to avoid adding pounds. This country is calorie and diet obsessed, and yet average weight seems to keep increasing.

You can burn nearly 400 calories running for 30 minutes at a relatively moderate pace.

by ch4s3 2y ago

You can burn nearly 400 calories running for 30 minutes at a relatively moderate pace.

olleromam91 2y ago

And an average human can probably ingest 400 calories in under a minute, with significantly less fatigue.

ch4s3 2y ago
Who is arguing otherwise?
kyriakos 2y ago
It's still 400 calories deficit regardless
- tsimionescu 2y ago
  Not true, on two counts: - one, your body may crave more food because of the energy loss - the Lipostat model suggests that your body has a target weight (well, fat level, more precisley), and will adjust hunger up if calory expenditure goes up - your internal processes use way more energy than you can consume through exercise in a modern lifestyle (2000+ calories a day just from sitting still, for many adult males), and there is a lot of room for the body to adjust those up and down to make up for the extra exercise to keep up your current weight. So if you consume 2000 Cal a day with 0 Cal from exercise, with moderate exercise you will end up conauming 1600 Cal a day from internal processes + 400 Cal a day from exercise after some time (a one time run will absolutely consume extra, if your run every day, you'll get less and less extra Cal from your runs, until you reach about net 0, assuming you're not increasing the amount of exercise constantly).

dgfitz 2y ago

I think the point is, you can consume nearly 400 calories drinking a smoothie in 30 seconds. Diet is and always will be the key to weight loss.

ch4s3 2y ago
No one is suggesting that you can out run an increasing calorie surplus. You can however keep your diet the same and add two hours of running to your week and lose weight.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- energy123 2y ago
  Ask anyone who has been obese and subsequently lost weight and they'll tell you the same thing. Eating less is both a sufficient and necessary condition to losing weight. Exercise is neither sufficient nor necessary because the caloric surplus these people are on significantly exceeds the amount that you can practically burn through exercise. While you're right that exercise can help on the margin, it's just not a useful intervention that moves the needle much as far as weight loss goes.
  - timrichard 2y ago
    Yup, can confirm - for me, at least. At one stage, I started walking home from work at my fastest pace. 5 miles, 5 days a week. No other lifestyle changes. No significant weight loss. A few years later, I started tracking calories with myfitnesspal and keeping to a limit (1600 initially, 1400 when it became easier). No exercise, but steady and impressive weight loss. I seem to have kept most of it off. I think a lot of it becomes psychological - not being afraid to feel appetite or skip meals if already satiated from earlier.
  - ch4s3 2y ago
    I don't know why anyone here has the idea that I'm arguing that exercise alone is key for weight loss. I have very clearly only claimed that all else equal increasing exertion will lead to a calorie deficit. > While you're right that exercise can help on the margin, it's just not a useful intervention that moves the needle much as far as weight loss goes. There's more to exercise than just the thermodynamic effects of calorie expenditure. Building muscle and/or cardiovascular capacity will improve your quality of life and will complement any weight loss. You can improve your mental health by becoming more physically active, and this is well established. Those mental health gains and physical health improvements make it easier to maintain a better diet. Beyond the marginal, but significant calorie expenditures you can create a positive feedback loop.

skirmish 2y ago

Then eat a "healthy" avocado toast and gain 400 calories back.

threeseed 2y ago

Being able to run for 30 minutes implies that you are already fit. And likely already at a low body fat otherwise it would be crippling for your joints.

Fricken 2y ago
If one were getting the doctor recommended amount of exercise running for 30 minutes or some commensurate activity would not be intimidating, and it's far less likely that you would have a weight issue in the first place. Doctors recommend about 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise per week. Imagine doing that every week, for your whole life.
- threeseed 2y ago
  30 mins of running = 5km marathon. Most people can walk 30 mins but I would doubt if most can run a marathon.
  - throwup238 2y ago
    That’s why there are programs like Couch to 5K which slowly work up to a nonstop 30 minute run. It doesn’t even take that much determination and it’s practically designed for obese people. I was able to complete it weeks ahead of schedule at a BMI of 30 and the 4-5/wk runs it enabled helped me lose 35 pounds in 2024 - the vast majority of the weightloss happening during the weeks that I ran. Nitpick: a marathon is 42 kilometers (by definition). Most people would struggle to even walk that.
  - Fricken 2y ago
    There's no such thing as a 5km marathon, that's a contradicition in terms. However, if one were running 150 minutes a week on a regular basis then a (42km) marathon would likely not be too intimidating a prospect. Suffice to say, most are not getting in their doctor recommended level of exercise.

ijidak 2y ago

Sadly in the first minute after the run a milkshake will add back 400 calories. The insane efficiency of the body is the problem. 30 minutes of agony -- the jog -- can be thrown out the window with literally one minute (60 seconds) of overeating. That's why I think exercise plus GLP-1 medications once a year might be the future gold standard for weight loss and maintenance. Any thoughts on GLP-1 meds being the game changer we need?

Gigachad 2y ago
It’s more the insane energy density of the milkshake. If you spent the same time eating a carrot you wouldn’t have this issue.
tsimionescu 2y ago
Don't GLP-1 meds currently have bad side effects for a lot of people?
monsieurgaufre 2y ago
The only game changer is to stop taking shortcuts and start really taking care of yourself. GLP-1 are crutches and if you need it once a year.
- ijidak 2y ago
  But that hasn't been working for the average American, right? Aging is rough. And the high calorie to nutrient ratio in this country makes it really hard to avoid adding pounds. This country is calorie and diet obsessed, and yet average weight seems to keep increasing.