The FastDay Forum

For what it is worth, the Biggest Loser trainer says diet beats exercise for weight loss: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/08/1 ... ight-loss/

Yep. Totally agree. The quote seen often around the web is that weight loss is 80% diet and 20% exercise. That doesn't mean you should just chuck it all and sit on the sofa watching TV, though. If you watch Biggest Loser you will notice there is no shortage of exercise on that show.

20% is way high:

"The Observer:

More and more research in both the UK and the US is emerging to show that exercise has a negligible impact on weight loss. That tri-weekly commitment to aerobics class? Almost worthless, as far as fitting into your bikini is concerned. The Mayo Clinic, a not-for-profit medical research establishment in the US, reports that, in general, studies "have demonstrated no or modest weight loss with exercise alone" and that "an exercise regimen... is unlikely to result in short-term weight loss beyond what is achieved with dietary change."

You can't outtrain a bad diet.

It is true, you can't out run a bad diet. But, that being said...my hubby has a part time gig chip timing marathons, triathlons and bike races. It isn't often that you see obese runners. I have shared many meals with the racers and most don't shy away from food or drink not during training and definitely not after the race. I have also heard of many people gaining weight while training for a marathon--probably muscle--but, even among the walkers you don't see a lot of fat people out there. So, I'm hedging my bets with the exercisers. To each their own, though.

Go on Runners World, there's always people moaning about weight. I've done a lot of walking & you're right but then I'm eating more now + losing weight. As for the runners, in the functional fitness world, they tend to be considered skinny fat...chronic cardio is a term bandied about...all too political for me. (-;

I am a (previously) yo-yo dieter and gym rat extraordinaire. I love fitness classes and used to be able to burn 750 calories every evening (according to various heart rate monitors and devices I used over the years). It is true - you cannot out-train a bad diet. Pure and simple. As a matter of fact, I found that low-impact, gentle exercise like simple walking took pounds off of me much more efficiently than kick boxing 750 calories off every night! Years of experience and I am just finally realizing that I love strength training, but need to approach it in a very low-key manner to gain the best benefits. Otherwise I do throw my body right into stress/cortisol. As for 5:2 - I'm wishing I learned about this years ago as the best strategy to even out my eating and feel fantastic.

I often find I lose more when exercising less (I guess it's the water retention and cortisol - but that's just on a weekly view. Taking a longer, bigger picture view: exercise improves my endurance which gives me more energy longer term which allows me to increase my NEAT which enables me to burn more calories... You get the picture. I also weight train and have noticed the increase in muscle means I'm able to eat more yet still lose.

I agree that diet beats exercise for weight loss, however there is no question that in terms of looking better, someone who exercises and tones up their body is very likely to have the edge over a same-weight couch potato. So I choose to compliment one with the other.

There is of course the added impetus to diet that I feel when I'm exercising regularly (which I admit hasn't been happening much recently) in that there's nowhere to hide in Lycra!

My daughter was an Ironman competitor, even to qualifying and competing in the World Championship in Hawaii in 2011. She always lost weight when she cut down her exercise regime.

Hmmm. It makes me wonder. When I was low-carbing a few years ago, all I did was walk each day and I lost a ton of weight. These days I'm 4:3'ing and doing HIIT 3 times a week and there's not a great deal happening. I'd love an excuse not to exercise but I need it for my mental health, not just physical!

I often find that more intensive exercise = me 'rewarding' myself with more treats or eating more because I 'need' it. Which kinda offsets any exercise benefits when it comes to weight loss!

Sure, you need to eat less to loose weight, but for overall health, exercise is absolutely essential.

Yep like a set of old fashioned scales nutritionally balanced diet over all and exercise in a balanced way

Ugh. I hate all the threads here that seem to be discouraging exercise. Weight loss isn't everything. You may not be able to outrun a bad diet, but skinny people aren't always healthy. I, too, need exercise for my mental and physical health. If running makes me put on water weight to repair muscles, so be it. [In spite of the temptation, I try not to let exercise be an excuse to eat junk, or to eat more in general.]

Perhaps not completely relevant, but I found this on Krista Varady's Every Other Day Diet Facebook page:

"Do our bodies really have a set point weight?"

The "set point theory" suggests that the body strives to maintain a specific preset weight, and as such, when you lose weight, your body will try to gain it back. Although this theory is fairly well known, there is no convincing evidence to show that a "weight set point" actually exists.

The main reason that people gain back the weight they have lost is because their metabolism has decreased. When a person loses weight, 75% of the weight lost is fat, and 25% of the weight lost is muscle. Muscle mass is a key determinant of metabolism, and as you lose muscle, your metabolism decreases (generally by 200-400 calories/day). It is very difficult for people to adjust to the drop in metabolism, and therefore, they tend to gain the weight back.

The only way to prevent this drop in metabolic rate is to exercise 5 times per week for 45 min/session (which increases your muscle mass). Increasing muscle mass will ensure your metabolism stays high, which can help keep the weight off long-term.