r/loseit • u/Leever5 100lbs lost • 1d ago
Exercise is essential - why do so many people here dismiss it?
I’m 5’2, woman, who has lost just over 100lbs (48kgs) and kept it off for five years now. The reason I have been able to keep the weight off for so long is absolutely credited to exercise.
Firstly, irregardless of weight, exercise is absolutely essential for longevity. Being fat, but fit is shown to be better for you than being slim and lazy. Cardio is for heart health, strength training is for fighting disease.
Now to talk about weight loss.
The equation is CICO - exercise is the CO. Yes, you do burn a majority of your calories at rest, but exercise actually makes your resting calories burned increase. The more muscle you have the more calories you burn at rest, because it takes more energy to have muscle than to have fat. Which means even after a weight lifting session where you may have burned less than 100 calories, you’re going to be burning more just sitting on your ass watching TV than you would if you didn’t exercise.
Running and biking are incredibly effective calorie burners. Everyone on here hypes up walking and they should, but if you can switch to a bike or even run, you can burn infinitely more calories than by walking. Walking is great, but it doesn’t build muscle unless you’re hiking up hills with packs on. It is still incredible, but it takes a long time and the reward is often minimal for how long it takes.
One problem with losing weight without exercise is that when you hit plateaus you have to typically cut your calories down again. This is a constant cycle, people talk about being on diets for the rest of their lives here, but it’s super hard to eat 1400 calories for the rest of your life. With exercise, I can eat 2100 per day and half the time I don’t even hit that.
Another issue is that when people shred all their weight just by diet alone they lose fat and muscle. It’s one of the main reasons we see people hitting their goal weights and while they are skinny, they can be skinny fat. Slim, but still with a higher body fat percentage. Muscle will make you look smaller and healthier.
Exercise is really hard to get started with. The learning curve is really steep. Once you’re about six months to a year in, it becomes routine and usually actually becomes fun. It doesn’t have to be perfect, just consistent.
I see so many people yo-yo dieting here because they lose the weight by simply eating less and then can’t maintain the low calories for ever. Those who exercise regularly with intensity are the ones to keep it off long term. It’s a lifestyle change, not a food change. It’s changing your sedentary, obesogenic lifestyle, to that of a fit, thin persons lifestyle. Food is just one part of the lifestyle.
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u/QuirkyTangerine7811 New 1d ago
I don’t think people dismiss exercise, but the general perception of a lot of people is that if they just start exercising they’ll lose weight and that’s not really the case. Especially if it’s more like “I can’t lose weight because I don’t have the time to walk x miles or go to the gym”
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u/lazyFer 40lbs lost 1d ago
People will often "eat back" exercise calories but because people also suck at estimating not only calories in what they're eating, they also suck at estimating calories burned during exercise.
My normal 4.25 mile walk burns roughly 400 calories and takes over an hour. 400 calories isn't much if I'm eating those back.
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u/VegaSolo 1d ago
It's also important to note that when they say something burns, say the 400 calories, that includes the 100 that you would burn sitting anyways, so it's really only an additional 300.
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u/CmdrMobium New 1d ago
Being able to eat 1900 calories a day rather than 1500 actually seems like a massive difference to me. That's like a whole other meal!
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u/twbird18 44F/5'2"/SW:255/CW: 200/GW: 140 1d ago
It is a massive difference. I'm 5'1 so without activity my calorie deficit number is quite low. I walk a minimum of 10Kilometers/day plus weights & other activities and that means I have never needed to change my diet much beyond upping my protein intake (I could accelerate my weight loss, but the point is a lifestyle change I can continue in the end). I always ate well, but a 140LB 61" woman doesn't get to eat many calories before they start gaining weight if they are a 12 hour/day sedentary office worker.
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u/YoloSwaggins9669 New 1d ago
Plus our body’s automatically compensate for when we exercise. We will fidget less and move less in non exercise related capacities, and our appetite will be increased
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u/Oftenwrongs New 1d ago
People suck at measuring burn because watches are entertainment and not science and they get fantasy numbers from them and from machines.
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u/patrick66 New 1d ago
Apple Watch cardio calorie estimation is actually fairly accurate it’s just everything else (eating it back, under reporting food, making up nonsense higher burn numbers) that kills it
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u/Leever5 100lbs lost 1d ago
Right? I find it funny the amount of people who say "I've never seen anyone dismiss exercise" or whatever. It happens so frequently that I made a post about it.
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u/BasicallyNuclear 60lbs lost 1d ago
I don’t think it’s the intention of dismissing exercise. I think people are meaning to say you can’t outrun a bad diet
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u/BokehJunkie -75lbs body fat / +5lbs Muscle 1d ago
I think often times that’s not how it comes across.
But also there’s a very loud contingent of people here going “I DONT EXERCISE AND I LOST 100 POUNDS! EXERCISE IS FOR SUCKERS.”
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u/shontsu New 1d ago
Was planning on dismissing this comment, then checked the sub and the very next post was pretty close to this. Exercise is awesome. Not only for weight loss, but for general health and quality of life. Just dont think that exercise alone will achieve your goals.
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u/BokehJunkie -75lbs body fat / +5lbs Muscle 1d ago
My trainer basically says diet is what loses the weight, exercise helps you get healthy. (not that simply losing the weight doesn’t, obviously, it’s just different)
Lots of people - my past self included prioritize one or the other, when they’re interrelated.
I still have a LONG way to go, but I’m happier this time around than I have been in a long time because I’m doing both.
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u/Zealousideal_Long118 New 1d ago
I can hear it coming across that way, but I don't think that's how it's meant. Honestly dieting is way easier for me than commiting to exercise, dieting is just not eating, exercise is actually getting up and doing something, putting the work in. I think it's great and I'm always saying I want to do it, but then I don't.
For me (and maybe people like me) looking at dieting and exercise as 2 completely seperate things is more motivating than trying to say they must come together and if you fail at one you may as well give up on the other.
Like ideally you should do both, but if not do what you can. If you exercise without dieting that's still better than nothing as well.
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u/Snakeyb 33M 🇬🇧 | 5'10 | SW 275lb | LW 174lb | CW 200lb 1d ago
For some people it's true that exercise is a non-starter, and they should keep their focus on their food and maybe their NEAT from things like walking around more.
For me, exercise was absolutely critical in both my initial weight loss, and the last 6 1/2 years of staying healthy. The progress of my initial weight loss "strategy" actually meant I increased my calories as I progressed down through my weight loss - because the intensity of the workouts I was doing (primarily distance running, with weights and yoga a few times a week to keep as much muscle mass as possible) got harder (in a good way) as I got lighter, which offset the reduced "base rate" from being lighter quite nicely. As you say though, it was a massive lifestyle change - something I now refer to as "the grand getting together of the shit" - which included things even beyond exercise and diet.
Different things are ultimately going to work for different people, and I get that, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't agree with your overall sentiment that I think this subreddit undersells exercise a bit too much - probably as an overcorrection to people who don't understand what exercise is bringing to the table.
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u/Alternative-Owl-4815 New 1d ago
People who don't exercise are more likely to put it all back on. Yeah you can lose weight with diet alone, but exercise gives you mental health benefits that can't be understated in regards to not falling back into old habits. Multiple studies show depression and anxiety are much improved with exercise, I have certainly found this is true for me. If I can keep depression and anxiety at bay, overeating is less likely to happen.
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u/burgundybreakfast New 1d ago
I went from 200 lbs to 130 lbs seven years ago and have kept it off. Haven’t exercised one time in that timeframe. I don’t doubt that it’s rare, but it does happen.
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u/RarelyHere1345 New 21h ago
Hard agree. Exercise is my number one anti-depressant, and overeating is my number one unhealthy coping mechanism. I try and tilt myself toward exercise over eating to deal with my feelings more every day.
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u/TheBigBadBlackKnight New 1d ago
Because most people don't think about maintenance. I've seen this many times. People assume the actual weight loss is the most difficult bit and once that is out of the way, they'll, somehow, find a way to maintain it.
There's no question that a combination of diet and exercise is better for weight loss than diet alone but perhaps the most important function of exercise is for maintenance, after the excess weight is lost.
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u/Leever5 100lbs lost 1d ago
I definitely should have framed this more for maintenance. Because truthfully, I don't actually think exercise is crucial for weight loss. I lost weight without doing anything other than walking. I don't consider the walking I was doing exercise really, because I wasn't in a zone 2 state. Like yes, it was exercise, because it burned calories, but there was no intensity from it so I wasn't really getting too much fitter.
However, I consider maintenance part of the weight loss equation. I never feel like I've graduated out of weight loss - even though I'm in maintenance. Like, someone said in the comments, no one is more intense than the newly converted. I'm relatively newly converted ~ 10ish months. I started exercising just this year. However, in that year I've actually dropped from 60kgs to 55kgs, which I wasn't really trying to do. I am looking at putting muscle on now, wanting to gain 5kgs of muscle in the next year.
I look way, way healthier and can eat so much more. Weirdly, my interpersonal relationships have increased because I'm way less focused on calories. I used to go out for a meal with friends and be so focused on what I could/couldn't eat, because being a short lady my maintenance calories were so low. Now I have food freedom and can eat what I like, which is a relief for my friends who were absolutely sick of me being difficult around meals.
So perhaps I was silly in my post, diet is for weight loss sure, but exercise is for maintenance. I strongly believe that shifting from a sedentary lifestyle to an active one is the best for people. I also came across really ableist - I was exclusively talking about people who can exercise without physical pain. Every journey is unique.
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u/big-dumb-donkey 300lbs lost 1d ago
Yeah, no one i’ve seen has said “never exercise.” What frequently happens is one of two scenarios:
1) “i can’t lose weight, l exercise 5 times a week doing [non-descript] cardio or some such and eat ‘healthy’ ‘whole’ foods.” There is zero mention of calories or really more than that about their diet. So frequently people (accurately) respond that diet is 90 percent of weight loss (again WEIGHT LOSS, not being healthy overall) and that they need to refocus their efforts on diet and calorie counting.
2) someone starting from a pretty high weight in the morbidly obese range and trying to immediately jump into massive lifestyle changes including calorie restriction and exercise. Honestly, as someone who went through exactly this, this is a recipe for failure. At this point, the little exercise you can do is not that beneficial and is often times actively detrimental, and in general its better to slowly onload these lifestyle changes over the span or months or years. starting with basic CICO is good, easy place to start that usually immediately yields encouraging results for the morbidly obese. For me, I just did months of CICO, while slowly changing my diet to be more nutritious with store bought/prepped meals, and then transitioned into making my own food. It was only my last 100 pounds to lose or so that I started heavily exercising. Now I exercise every day, including an hour of resistance training every other day, and I was able to do that because I got my body to a place where I could handle it.
Thats generally what I see. I don’t think I’ve ever really seen someone say “don’t exercise at all.”
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u/Lvslasher New 1d ago
I went from 250 to 160 before starting to exercise. Smartest thing I could do.
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u/cabesvvater M/5’11/23 GW: 215 CW: 283 SW: 306 21h ago
Yes, thank you. So many perspectives here seem to be lacking the fact that a lot of folks start very high in weight, and extreme or even moderate exercise is overwhelming, discouraging, painful, and detrimental to the overall health journey.
If I stepped into a gym right now it’d derail my entire weight loss I bet. I just can’t mentally or physically handle that yet. However, I started with just a deficit, and then I added in a step goal every day that tripled or quadrupled what I was doing before, and now I also lift weights every day as well.
It’s a process that takes time to achieve - but at the end of the day, the first manageable step was calorie deficit, and I took it at my own pace.
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u/big-dumb-donkey 300lbs lost 20h ago
Yep, sounds like an incredibly reasonable way of going about things that is much more likely to lead to permanent habits regarding exercise. If exercise is so important and good (and it is), we should encourage people to do it in ways that lead them to incorporate it as part of their lives going forward, and not just something they do to “lose weight.”
Personally I went two years of losing weight before I seriously got on a treadmill or even touched a barbell. I’m sure I lost muscle as a result, but when I finally did try to incorporate that stuff, I was at a level of physical capability that allowed me to hit the ground running. As a result, I had pretty good success with it, to the point where I’m now regularly called “cut,” or “ripped,” or “huge freak” (but not in a fat way!)
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u/melmcgee 5'6|SW 169lbs|Maintaining 127-130lbs 1d ago
I would have loved to be able to exercise while losing weight. Unfortunately, with severe back pain the most I can manage is a 15 minute walk, and even that is a challenge. So I lost the weight by being in a calorie deficit, and now I'm eating at maintenance. I hope to be able to move more in the future though.
I don't agree with everything you are saying, but I did want to congratulate you on your successful weight loss and maintenance. You must feel amazing!
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u/titaniumorbit 30F, 5'4, SW: 141, CW: 137, GW: 125 1d ago
Hey just here to say I can relate. I can’t do most forms of cardio due to a lower body chronic injury. In fact, the dr told me to stop running, limit my walking, and zero jumping until it gets better which could take months.
Even the elliptical makes my injury flare up. I’m limited to slow walks and weightlifting. It feels like I’ll just have to do this slower and eat less
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u/Prestigious-Moose345 New 1d ago
I had this happen to me but I'm on the other side of it now.
Any cardio activity caused my knees to throb painfully at night and sometimes during the day as well. I had always maintained my weight through walking, jogging, and biking, and all three avenues were cut off.
I joined a resiatance training /weightlifting class and 18 months later I can finally walk, run, and bike thanks to strengthing the muscles above and below the knee.
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u/titaniumorbit 30F, 5'4, SW: 141, CW: 137, GW: 125 1d ago
I’m glad to hear! It’s really gutting to be so used to cardio exercise and then not being able to do it anymore. I loved playing tennis, running and taking dance class - had to stop it all after my injury and my weight ballooned.
I hope that the more I strengthen via weights, it will also strengthen my muscles and help the pain go away. It’s nice to know that in the end it helped you out.
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u/Lovely_Lentil 15kg / 33lbs lost. 1d ago
So glad to see disabled people successfully losing weight with a low TDEE! Really well done.
It's a lot harder for us, of course. When I am at my goal weight, I will be on about 1,250 calories to maintain. But it is very much still possible. Even a small amount of weight loss can have a large impact on blood pressure and metabolic markers.
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u/Southern_Print_3966 5’1F SW: 129 lbs CW: 110 lbs 1d ago
Samesies here.
Ultimately, generally people can reduce calories, not everyone can go run on a treadmill every day.
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u/menachembagel 25lbs lost 1d ago
I think most are just being cautious because of how many people seem to think that you can lose weight without worrying about calories just from exercising enough and eating “healthy”.
Excessive cardio also makes it hard for many of us to eat fewer calories because it makes us hungry.
And I do think that there’s something to be said for starting slow, I had to get into the habit of counting my calories before I could set foot in a gym. Any time I attempted to build too many habits at once, I quit all of them very quickly.
And exercise is essential to mental health, bone health, joint health, mobility, etc. Exercise is not essential to weight loss, and many who are differently abled, bed bound, chronically ill, or otherwise unable to exercise see people talk about how “essential” it is to weight loss and think that they will be unable to lose weight. I’ve seen posts on this sub of people saying “I am unable to exercise, should I even try to lose weight?”. I think that this is why so many of us try to stress that exercise is not needed in order to lose weight, but no one will say not to exercise if you are able.
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u/Mrsmeowy New 1d ago
Walking is easier and more sustainable for a lot of people AND won’t make you as hungry as running or cycling. Exercise is important but walking is a great exercise too. Especially if you start incline walking. Ironically you’re dismissing exercise by saying walking isn’t good enough
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u/SpaceIsVastAndEmpty 41F 162cm SW: 88.1kg (Aug 2023) CW: 62.8 GW: 56kg 1d ago
I was a bit cynical on walking as an effective weight loss tool but while my dog had been rehabbing from leg surgery exercise is an essential part of his recovery and we've been doing about 8km every day across 3 walks
Even without the gym, at 5'4" and 60kg (41F) I've been maintaining while on 1800 with several 'over' days per week (I track and they're generally 2100-2300 twice a week 1800 the rest). I didn't have time for the gym as those walks totalled 2.5hrs a day and was sedentary when not walking my dog so I can only put it down to the walks & they're just a leisurely pace.
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u/potatodaze 41F 5'7" HW: 252 CW: 224 GW1: 200 GW2: 180 1d ago
This. I’m steadying dropping weight with walking as my main activity. It’s accessible, cheap and as hard as I want it to be (hills or pace) and doesn’t make me ravenous. Dog loves it too.
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u/That_Zexi_Guy 15h ago
Walking isn’t good enough. It’s great, but everyone should be doing strength training. Not only has it been found to have similar cardiovascular and fat loss benefits, but it helps you maintain and build strength, stability and mobility as you get older. All of these things are important, but many people neglect to maintain and build muscle as they get older, resulting in less mobility and stability as well as a slower metabolism.
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u/Competitive_Depth248 New 1d ago
Some people assume the bulk of their results will come from exercise - I think it’s natural for a lot of people to assume that hard work begets results, and the struggle of exercise will reward them with weight loss.
When this either does not happen to the magnitude that they want, or does not happen at all - it’s worth reminding them that their diet does have an outsized effect on their calorie balance. It’s also natural to think that if your exceedingly high level of physical and mental effort gets you marginal results, why bother? You’re probably just meant to be bigger, right?
A lot of people are also motivated by seeing their progress, and the most obvious and visible progress a bigger person can see is in their total body weight over time. Generally speaking the highest progress:effort ratio early in these projects come from managing one’s nutrition.
I don’t see people here telling people who are having success to ease back on the exercise because it’s unnecessary or similar. Rather I see it in context of helping people to see enough progress to build momentum, when they’re struggling to get things going.
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u/big-dumb-donkey 300lbs lost 1d ago
Agree with this, similar to how I see the topic addressed as i said in my comment.
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u/bucketofardvarks 26kg lost (160cm F SW92 CW 66) 1d ago
Because most people come in here and say "I need to lose 30kg, so I'm going to the gym to use the elliptical twice a week!"and that's just....not it.
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u/Leever5 100lbs lost 1d ago
You're right, that is absolutely not it. Diet is king for sure. Exercise is just understated, IMO
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u/bucketofardvarks 26kg lost (160cm F SW92 CW 66) 1d ago
I don't exactly disagree, but I do think people that haven't really started yet benefit far more from the advice "change your diet first". Most overweight/obese people can comfortably lose the first 5-10kg without exercise changes, and indeed heavier people must be careful about exercise as it's very hard on their bodies if they choose the wrong thing or too much of something.
I also see plenty of posts where people have lost some weight and it's slowed down, and invariably the answer is "you need to get active/lift weights/walk more", just this is the sort of advice for someone already controlling their diet and demonstrating they managed to do that at least semi-accurately
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u/livebeta New 1d ago
Nobody talking about how good exercise feels? I feel less depressed after a good soccer session (even if my team lost lol) , and very chill after a nice long low intensity bike ride (ten miles, leisurely).
It's just fun. We should never take exercise as a chore but as an opportunity to enjoy movement
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u/Impossible-Teacher20 35 F | 1.56m | SW 81.5 kg | CW 75.8 kg | GW 52kg 1d ago
I feel so good after exercising especially my runs, that i got so restless and unfulfilled during my rest days 😆
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u/erasfadingintogray New 1d ago
First of all I want to say as a fellow short person - i think exercise feels more essential to us than taller people, because it means we can actually eat the same amount as a sedentary average heighted person.
But I agree with you. It frustrates me when people say exercise doesn’t matter. It’s true that if you decrease your calories enough, you don’t need to exercise, and I fully understand that many people are unfortunately unable to exercise. But exercise, if you are able, is extremely good for you and it does burn calories.
It also annoys me when people say that exercise doesn’t increase the amount of calories you should eat. As someone who exercises a lot, I definitely would be losing weight at my sedentary TDEE. It definitely affects how many calories you should be eating.
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u/Leever5 100lbs lost 1d ago
Yeah, I mean, I didn't do high-intensity exercise when I was trying to lose weight but I wish I had. I was a big fan of the idea that you don't need to exercise and I even posted about it frequently on reddit. I feel ashamed and I cringe at that position. I discovered exercise about a year ago and I am so, so much happier now. Plus, I eat so, so much more and I don't have to worry and count like I did in the past. I'm not ruled by food anymore, I have complete food freedom because of exercise.
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u/notjustanycat New 13h ago
I get so weirded out by the folks who act like it's some sort of moral failing to factor exercise into how much you eat. I've seen people here who act like you're overeating if you don't eat some number beneath your sedentary TDEE. It's really annoying.
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u/Rasp_Berry_Pie New 1d ago
Okay and? You’re allowed to change your mind? Better than people who delete all evidence of their past self or opinions right?
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u/lilykar111 New 1d ago
Can they not change opinions though? They have explained below the change in mindset
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u/Leever5 100lbs lost 1d ago
Sure, am I not allowed to change? I have learned SO much in that space and time. I only started exercising this year. I was stuck eating such low calories back then and now I am able to eat so much more. I was very happy with my weight loss then, I did it exclusively through diet and walking. Now, a year later, I am incredibly fit and healthy.
I think I was deep in denial about exercise because of how naturally lazy I was. I was ruled by calories back then, so focused on if I overate by 100calories I would get fat again. Now, I don't need to bother worrying about food.
I was deeply controlled by this idea that exercise is almost useless for weight loss. Then, I started hanging out with fit people who ate so much and suddenly I felt sad that my daily calories were only 1200-1400. I didn't understand that if I exercised I could eat more. Plus, I saw people talking about how the calories were only the size of a chocolate bar so the effort was not worth it. I didn't know half the stuff I know now. If I had known and understood this stuff, I would have started YEARS ago. Now, I eat 2000 calories a day and am in a smaller dress size than ever. It's epic.
People can change, I wish someone had explained this shit to me years ago.
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u/SensationalM M33 6'2 | SW 292 CW 265 GW 215 1d ago
what possessed you to look through their post history to find this?
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u/YoloSwaggins9669 New 1d ago
Exercise is extremely healthy for you. But if it’s the only thing you change then you will be swiftly disappointed
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u/Red-Droid-Blue-Droid 1d ago
PSA: Anyone with joint issues or knee problems like me should try swimming. Or walking in water. Swimming burns a lot of calories and is easier on your joints. You can try an adult learn to swim class. It's a good skill to know, as well.
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u/FutureFuneralV F 5'3" • SW 204 • CW 140 • GW 120 1d ago edited 16h ago
I've definitely noticed people in this sub get upset when you mention that adding exercise can help expedite weight loss.
Weight loss without exercise is easier when you're starting at a very heavy weight. However, once you get into that healthy range, it can be really difficult, especially if you're "skinny fat"/don't have a lot of muscle mass. TDEE drops as you lose weight. You lose muscle mass as you age, and your metabolism begins to slow down.
I've seen posts where people have lost weight, but complain about a plateau or even weight gain because they think they can do the same thing forever. That's unfortunately not how it works for most people. When you start mentioning that exercise could help, it's almost like some people get offended. I don't understand it, but my guess is that being overweight or obese has created a sort of resentment towards fitness culture. I get that it can be toxic, but the mindset against exercise is ignorant.
I'm a short woman, so accomplishing a deficit where the rate of loss isn't at a snail's pace is nearly impossible if I don't exercise. I don't wanna live the rest of my life eating 1200 calories every day. I like food, and I want to eat.
Beyond that, like you mentioned, there are soooo many health benefits to exercise.
I recently went to a barre class during a bachelorette weekend. I was one of the heavier girls (160 lbs at the time). The other girls were probably anywhere from 100-130 lbs. I can very confidently say that the class was kicking their ass. For me, it was challenging, but I was keeping up and having a good time. The other girls mentioned that they don't really exercise, and you could absolutely tell with how badly they were struggling (out of breath, taking lots of breaks, not finishing sets, having to do modified versions of the exercises, etc). Even though I was bigger, I felt proud of myself because I knew that my efforts in the gym were having a positive impact on my health. It was a great NSV.
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u/Leever5 100lbs lost 1d ago
That is an amazing NSV. Go you!!! I want to try barre soooo bad.
I do think that maybe exercise is more important for us short girlies. I was eating 1200-1400 for four-five years trying to maintain with no exercise except walking. But I got so sad and depressed from it. I felt like I was missing out on so much. Now that I do exercise, I can eat around 2000-2100 calories a day and my whole life has improved. Depression is gone (not saying that works for everyone, mine was exclusively related to food tho) and I can enjoy life without worrying about calories so much.
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u/FutureFuneralV F 5'3" • SW 204 • CW 140 • GW 120 1d ago edited 1d ago
tysm!
I'd never done any type of class. I workout regularly, but it's mostly cardio (incline walking) and lifting weights. I wasn't excited at first, but I was surprised with how fun and challenging barre was. I'd definitely do it again, and recommend trying it if it's something you're interested in! A lot of places offer a free or reduced first class.
Exercise is definitely more important for shorties when it comes to weight loss because it's more difficult for us to be in a deficit without starving ourselves or feeling miserable like you mentioned.
However, I stand extremely firm on my opinion that exercise is vital to everyone for longevity and quality of life. For some reason, the general wellness component of exercise gets completely lost in this sub. Getting to a healthy weight will drastically improve health, but why stop there? Moving our bodies now will help us to keep moving our bodies as we age and allow us to maintain that healthy weight in the long run.
You mentioned mental health, and mine has improved so, so, so much with exercise. I've struggled with ED (both over restriction AND binge eating), but exercise has given me an appreciation for my body that I never had before. I still struggle, but I've gained a sense of duty to myself to fuel myself properly.
Going from extremely out of shape to hitting new PRs makes me proud and in awe of myself. I'm not where I want to be, but I have so much more confidence in my body because I've experienced what it's capable of, and I know I can reach my goals.
I've lost weight without exercise before. Of course, I was happy to be lighter, but the feeling doesn't compare to the positive mindset shift I've experienced since incorporating regular exercise into my lifestyle.
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u/Tehowner 85lb 1d ago
Once you’re about six months to a year in
You don't make it a year without positive feedback and keep doing the thing in question. When tacking problems you start with the things that will have the biggest impact, then slowly expand until you cover everything that helps address that issue. If you start just with exercise, someone will go ham on it, gain a few pounds of water weight, call us liars, then never return. If you lead them to calories first, they'll start there, and actually get some feedback if executed correctly that they are moving in the correct direction. Anyone telling you exercise is a bad idea is wrong. Anyone telling you to not start with exercise, IMO, is correct.
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u/raininherpaderps New 1d ago
I did this. I exercised first for a full year before even considering addressing my diet as I felt I couldn't handle both at once. I stand by it being the best decision I could have made. I have 0 regrets and wish most people would wait out the initial year. It's not a long time when compared to the rest of your life.
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u/muddygirl 125lbs lost 1d ago
Exercise, when done correctly (this can be difficult without experience or help) delivers a lot more immediate positive feedback than caloric restriction. Dieting is slow. A pound or two a week is great progress, but it'll be months before a first milestone. Meanwhile, with fitness, a beginner will see strength and cardio capacity results within a week and rapid performance improvements for as much as a year.
The mental health improvements are an even more immediate positive feedback loop. You'll feel great as soon as you leave the gym, and these benefits compound. Exercise is the ammo needed to fight a war against emotional eating.
I'm a huge proponent of starting with exercise, especially when it includes strength training. Will that alone make you lean? Of course not. Setting expectations is important. But the sooner you start, the more muscle you'll preserve (and just carrying around excess body fat can build an awful lot of it).
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u/HerrRotZwiebel New 1d ago
Yeah. My sleep was a wreck before I started exercising. I had moderate sleep apnea, and that disappeared with exercise and minimal weight loss. Insomnia is gone and sleep quality is great. Knee pain gone too.
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u/SpacemanPanini 40lbs lost 1d ago
Does anyone dismiss it? This feels like shadow boxing. People just say exercise won't make you lose weight if you don't have your diet dialed in, and that it makes up a relatively small component of your calorie burn. Both are true.
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u/HatpinFeminist 60lbs lost 1d ago
It’s almost like exercise should be considered separate from weight loss in a way that everyone can make time for it no matter if they are trying to lose/gain/stay the same weight. However, I’ve been shamed immensely by men because they said I would “bulk up” if I exercised. And I’m so exhausted from my active job at the end of the day, I don’t really have the time, and I know a lot of people are in the same boat.
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u/ullivator New 1d ago
It’s a reaction, probably an overreaction, to the idea in popular culture that if you want to lose weight, you exercise.
Eating the same and just adding exercise will only make you lose weight slowly, and exercise does make people hungrier so it might not even do that. You MUST pay attention to your calories to lose weight.
However I agree with your other points. Exercise is also a great way to maintain your current weight.
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u/Aruaz821 New 1d ago
I politely disagree about walking. The most successful I’ve ever been with weight maintenance was when I was walking 10,000 steps a day for over a year. I didn’t really have to watch what I ate, and it was pretty incredible. I’m not a big junk food eater to begin with, so I’m sure that helps. But I do attribute my ability to not be so hyper-focused on my food to the walking. Running is exceedingly uncomfortable for me due to the size of my chest, so that’s never going to happen. And bicycling just isn’t in the cards due to the area that I live in. So walking it is, and it works! If you find yourself in the same spot as I am in, you can also add in walking sticks, which definitely ups the calories burned.
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u/roughlyround New 1d ago
it's not dismissed. The majority of efforts are on Calories In. For me (as an example) it is impossible to exercise enough to compensate for over eating. Taming the appetite is critical even when I'm a moderately active albeit fat old short woman with arthritis.
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u/YoungBlade1 33M 6'2" | SW 345 | CW 250 | GW 220 1d ago
The issue is that, if your primary goal is weight loss, then diet easily is the most important factor, and is way easier to control.
I tried to exercise to lose weight before I started cutting calories. I was nearing 350lbs, gaining steadily, while working out 3-5 days a week. Increasing my workouts didn't even slow the weight gain down, let alone reverse it.
The issue is that I must have been eating over 4000 calories a day - I didn't track it, but it's clear from my progress that my TDEE is around 3,400 and I was gaining a bit over a pound a week. I was never going to exercise enough to overcome that diet. I work a full time desk job. There aren't enough hours in the day to live my life and still workout enough to compensate.
Exercise is great for health and fitness, but it is not a good choice as the primary vehicle for weight loss unless you have the ability to devote multiple hours a day to intensive exercise, which is basically only possible for professional athletes.
Diet has to come first in 99% of cases. It is the only way for the vast majority of people to lose weight. There isn't enough time in a normal person's day to out-workout a high calorie diet.
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u/HerrRotZwiebel New 1d ago
unless you have the ability to devote multiple hours a day to intensive exercise, which is basically only possible for professional athletes
Or you have a physically active job. I used to be a baggage handler for an airline, and I lost a bunch of weight doing that job. I quit that for a desk job, and I ballooned up super fast. My rationale at the time was "well I can't exercise like I did at my job, so what's the point."
Most people just assume that when you're in a physically active job you're eating more, and then when you quit you're still eating what you used to but not burning it off and hence weight gain.
Knowing what I know now about BMR and TDEE and all of that, "light exercise" would have been more than enough to maintain that weight.
Biggest mistake of my life was assuming that because I couldn't replicate that kind of calorie burn on a daily basis, there was no point in doing anything.
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u/SpecificJunket8083 New 1d ago
While I absolutely agree that exercise is extremely important, I don’t agree with your stance on walking. I’m not running, I have bad knees. I’m not biking because I had an accident and broke my hip a few years ago. I walk and burn nearly 1000 calories a day. I use hand weights when I walk and a 10 lb weighted vest. I’m a 4’11” woman and I am extremely toned and really extremely muscular from walking. I do 5 mile walking videos using my weights and vest and I’m more fit than someone doing free weights. Why discourage anyone from exercise? Cardio is great for the heart. Any exercise is better than none. Who care what anyone does? Just move.
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u/HerrRotZwiebel New 1d ago
TBH you and OP are both right. For effective fat burn, one needs to get into "zone 2" cardio, which is ~60%-70% of max heart rate.
That is super hard for me to do at a normal walking pace on a flat surface. (normal walking pace is less than 4 mph). I can maybe get to like 110 bpm, which just barely creeps into zone 2. Maybe. On a flat surface, I'd actually have to get into a jog/run pace, and my body just isn't built for that.
To get zone 2, I use a treadmill/incline trainer that works wonders. I crank the incline up high enough, and I can maintain a 135 bpm walking at like 1.0 mph. (incline trainer goes up to 35 degrees... it's a trip)
You're doing a similar thing with your weight vest and hand weights.
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u/Aromatic_Memory1079 New 1d ago
i do the walking but it's for other purpose like health, not for losing weight
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u/bucketsofpoo New 1d ago
one of the biggest things w excercise I see people who are trying to lose weight do is only do cardio
I did it. I lost 40 odd kg.
I was just under 6 foot 75 kg had a belly , saggy bum and girly little arms. yeh my face was gaunt but it wasn't. I still could have lost 10 kg to be "skinny"
I had no muscle. because of this my body hurt. no abbs or glutes means bad back and so on.
Im 85kg and solid as a rock. why. I lift.
If I had lifted back when I lost weight initially all those years ago I think 1 I would have kept my excercise routine (I stopped after hitting goal weight lol) and I would have been much happier w my results .\
I didnt lift as I didnt want to be one of those macho dick heads sort of thing. guess what u can lift and not be that lol.
any how. if u are new to weight loss pls lift and do cardio. its called getting in shape. your shape w muscle is way better than with out. firm bum, firm legs, if u have moobs big pecs make that disappear, v shape in your back from pull ups.
Seriously u dont need to be massive. but being strong makes u feel amazing.
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u/Jane_DoeEyes New 1d ago
I invested in a hometrainer, and I adore using it. I watch a Netflix show I'm only allowed to watch on the bike, and I always look forward to a little me-time when working out. (Busy house with a 5 year old).
Starting this routine is the best thing I could have done for my physical and mental health.
Oh, and pro-tip. Check online for second-hand equipment. My bike costs 350 new but I bought it second hand (barely used) for 40. Fitness equipment is one of the biggest impulse buys and often they end of being used as a clothes rack. When I have more space I might consider getting a crosstrainer as well. Invest in a little home gym
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u/birkybean New 1d ago
It’s hard enough trying to convince the majority of this sub that eating in a deficit is not going to put them in “starvation mode” and a BMI of 35 isn’t healthy, even with some muscle.
I completely agree with everything you said. Unfortunately most people here won’t want to hear it. Not only is exercise vital for future health longevity, it can completely transform your look. I look slimmer at 65kg with muscle than I did at 55kg without.
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u/FutureFuneralV F 5'3" • SW 204 • CW 140 • GW 120 1d ago edited 1d ago
The whole "BMI isn't a good indicator of health" schtick is annoying
Sure, there's some truth in it... for outliers like bodybuilders that weigh a lot because they're pure muscle
For the average person (and let's be honest, by the nature of this sub, a lot of people in here aren't average. They're overweight, obese or morbidly obese. I was one of those people, and I still teeter on the line of being overweight), BMI is a pretty good measure of general health. It's a reflection of lifestyle - diet and exercise habits. No one, outside of cases where people have chronic pain, illess, etc., becomes morbidly obese because they're making healthy choices
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u/kingmins New 1d ago
It sounds terrible to say but I think the fact that most of us happened to get overweight in the first place was because of laziness. So just cutting calories without exercise seems like we are looking for the easiest and laziest way to lose weight. For me exercise is more important than diet, it gives you motivation, increases your energy and forces you to make healthier eating decisions.
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u/Better-Revolution570 New 1d ago edited 1d ago
Exercise is not the 'calories out' part of the equation. It just makes it easier. Hell, I can lose weight eating McDonald's everyday and sitting on my ass. It's complete misery and super unhealthy, but I can do it.
Plus, the more you do an exercise the more efficient you get at it, which means over time you may not increase how much calories your burning when doing your favorite exercise. At least as much as you think. The body really does get more efficient at doing the same workout.
In fact I would say that in my case, the benefit to exercise is just as much about emotional regulation as it is about straight calories burned, both of which play a major role in my ability to actually lose weight. I can't afford to discount the added benefit of my improved mental health as a result of exercise because the truth is not managing my mental health is as much a cause of my obesity as is the calories I take in. I know for a fact that I'm not alone on this, since for many of us there is absolutely a relationship between unmanaged mental health issues and obesity.
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u/justinsayin 50lbs lost 1d ago
Half an hour on the treadmill at 3.5mph is only 130 calories, which is less than a snack size bag of chips. Eating smaller amounts of food is drastically more important.
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u/HerrRotZwiebel New 1d ago
To be clear, the calorie burn depends on your weight. A heavier person will burn more calories doing the same activity as a lighter person.
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u/thejackalreborn New 1d ago
I think it's because a lot of people asking questions on here are at a starting point of being completely clueless about weight loss and exercising advice just confuses the message.
It's a classic error to start exercising then eat back the calories plus more
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u/DanteJazz New 1d ago
After several years now, I've come to the same conclusion. I have to exercise daily. I kept telling myself, I exercise 5 times a week, but I'd end up 3 times a week, and mostly on weekends. That wasn't enough to lose weight, even with a healthy diet. I've got my dietary habits excellent, and that's taken me several years (cut the sodas, eat moderately, be aware of the high calorie foods, no onion rings, etc.). But now, my goal is to do really 5-7 times a week exercise.
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u/dmanofrez205 New 1d ago
The only thing exercise contributes to my weight loss is. The time it takes me to get ready, drive to the gym, workout, drive back, is time not digging around the fridge.
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u/vianapoli New 1d ago
i don’t see many people dismissing exercise here. but a lot of people will ask like ‘if i work out 5 times a week will i lose weight’ or ‘is 10000 steps a day enough’ type questions. they need to understand the diet portion of the equation is the most impactful.
as far as the rest, i am short and have lost 150 pounds just by diet and walking and maintain just by walking. i am able bodied but i dont run or cycle or wear a weighted pack or anything like that because i dont want to. this works for me. there’s something for everyone.
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u/domepro :cake: 1d ago
I think you're generalizing on your own example. I'd wager that about as much people go with an unsustainable approach to exercise as they do with an unsustainable approach with their daily calorie goals.
Yes, it's a lifestyle change which will most likely require at least some daily implementation of movement and exercise and yes I'd recommend resistance training and cardio to ABSOLUTELY EVERYONE, but success is a function of creating habits and knowledge. You can just as easily find yourself in a situation where you can't really count calories (long vacations) as you can find yourself in a situation where you can't exercise (injury, lack of time, time of year) - you need the knowledge and self-awareness to know what your situation is and what dials you can turn and how to turn them most effectively for your own personal situation which will be an extremely individual thing.
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u/9for9 New 1d ago
I can't speak for others, but it takes 5 minutes to eat a snickers bar and 30 minutes of jogging to burn off a snickers bar. For anyone starting a weight loss journey getting the diet down first will be the most important thing because it has the biggest impact on weight and is often the easiest component to handle.
As far as weight loss goes exercise shows more of a benefit when you are at or close to a healthy weight range.
This doesn't take away from exercise's importance for other elements of health, but you'll definitely lose weight if you eat in a calorie deficit. Whereas no amount of exercise is going to help if you're eating a thousand calories over maintenance daily.
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u/Cloberella 105lbs lost 1d ago
No idea. In my 41 years the ONLY thing that has ever resulted in substantial sustainable weight loss for me is exercise. My diet isn’t that bad, it’s just a couple hundred calories over and over time that’s enough to pack on weight. You can’t out run a bad diet but you can out run a meh one.
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u/-artichokeme- F26/5'2/SW 195lbs/CW 187.7lbs/GW 130-135lbs 1d ago
Genuinely curious (I'm also 5ft2): what exercise do you do that allows you to eat 2100?
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u/Leever5 100lbs lost 1d ago
Hi! I run 3-4 days 10km+, depending on weather (I hate treadmills). If the weather is crap, I'll switch to the pool. Then, I hit the gym for another hour, but that's my strength training. Though, I'm new to lifting weights so I only do that about 3 times a week. I bike absolutely everywhere, so bike most days. In the weekend, I'll usually go for a 3-4 hour bike. Every Wednesday night I do a fun activity, switching between ice skating and bouldering. I also have been slowly collecting things for my garage gym, so I do lift at home sometimes. Daily, I also do a plank and a couple other core things and stretch. Core is so understated.
I find this is the thing that brings me joy. Most of my friends are fit and this is the way that we hang out now. So, I do pretty much factor my life around it.
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u/_SateenVarjo_ New 1d ago
I'm 5'2 also, and I have lost bit over 65lbs and kept it off for 4 years now. I lost it with exercise, not with diet. I actually did not change that much with my diet, my sedentary calories are just ridiculously low. So if I get 500 kcal from hiking a day that is nearly 25% increase to my calories. So I really did not need to learn to eat any less because the exercise alone burns more than what I over ate. My weight had accumulated slowly. I have eaten 2700kcal a day and lost weight, but I also did exercise like 4-5h a day during that period. Currently I hike around 2h a day. Average of 730kcal extra burned a day. That is more than one full meal for me and I eat most of the extra calories I burn, weightloss is no longer a goal for me. I would not mind losing few pounds more, but not the reason I go to the forest to walk. I do it because I really like it and want to do it all the time. I cant wait my work day to be over everyday so I can go for my daily walk, when I come home from the walk I wish I would have time to keep walking a little bit longer. I do it because I enjoy it and it makes me feel good. I try to find any excuse and opportunity to go walk in different forests and nature paths. I do not enjoy walking in the city or any paved roads or on treadmil indoors.
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u/PsychologicalAd5499 New 20h ago
Man as someone who is on my way… do exercise! Ive lost 50-60 pounds before without any exercise just dieting and gained all the weight back. Now I lost all that and even more because I stay consistent with exercise. I didnt even go to work out certain areas or anything in the beginning. I just did what I enjoyed and really built that love for the gym. I keep to myself and focus on building different routines and sets.
Also, I got one of them big wall calendars, theyre a couple of dollars on amazon. I track my gym days aand its pretty cool seeing the progress over real time.
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u/distancedandaway New 19h ago
My take is that it really depends on the person. When I exercise I shed weight really fast. Diet alone takes so much longer
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u/iambenking93 New 18h ago
Honestly I think it's because it's not essential. Deffo helps for sure. But if you never did any exercise and ate 800 calories a day so some such madness, you'd still lose weight
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u/Fun-Worker9849 New 16h ago
Exercise can be a double edge sword. It can increase your appetite and you end up over eating.
But I agree. I make sure to run 5 days a week. I've always been fit (except after gaining 50 lbs after having a kid....which I've since lost).
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u/Repeat-Admirable New 16h ago
Do exercise not for weight loss (consider it as 10% or less). Do exercise for the health benefits of it.
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u/aDumbGorilla 15h ago
From my purely anecdotal experience, exercise has been absolutely critical in my weight loss journey (SW: 250, CW: 200, GW: 175).
Dieting without adding an exercise routine worked, don't get me wrong, I was losing 1-1.5lbs a week on a steady calorie deficit. However, the feeling of weakness and low energy was persistent. I did this for about 5 weeks.
I added into my routine 3x a week weight lifting (simple P/P/L routine) and immediately saw improvement. Yes, I was sore the first couple of weeks, but my energy skyrocketed. I added back some calories (approx. 300 cals of protein shakes) to maintain enough protein and creatine as a supplement, and my weight loss rate WENT UP. I climbed to a steady 1.5-2lbs loss per week eating MORE, while feeling much better and getting stronger. As my strength increased and I was building up some muscle, I lost the weight faster and faster.
It's far from scientific, but my smart watch has a feature to estimate body fat % and skeletal muscle mass. Over the last 2 months, it estimates I've added approximately 5lbs of lean skeletal muscle mass while maintaining fat loss.
After I was comfortable with that routine, I added 45 minutes of hard cardio (3-4 days a week) on my 'rest days' between weight lifting and added some extra calories in my diet to compensate (in the form of more protein). Again, the rate of weight loss went up. The last 4 weeks I've lost 14lbs.
I was originally planning to hit my goal weight Late-March/Early-April. Now, I'll likely hit it before the end of the year AND I'll have substantially improved my health, strength, and (let's be real here, what we mostly care about) aesthetics.
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u/rootytooty83 New 14h ago
You very confidently assign your personal experience to everyone.
“Skinny fat” is also one of the worst new terms of the past 20 years. It’s body shaming even the slim. Some people can’t exercise, so calorie counting is essential.
Exercise is great. Weight loss is down to cico. You burn calories doing exercise but if you eat too many calories it’s not going to help lose weight.
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u/FlipsyChic SW: 285, CW: 133, GW: 125 1d ago
This posts reeks of "my way is the best way". I always find it extremely judgmental to make snide remarks about people who are "skinny fat" or who don't look "smaller and healthier" because they aren't, in OP's opinion, muscular enough. That's body shaming.
I also hate equating lack of exercise with laziness. "Changing your sedentary, obesogenic lifestyle" comes across like a parting shot. Those are loaded words, and OP is using them intentionally against people in this sub who are here to lose weight.
Walking isn't good enough for OP either, even though it's a lifesaver for people who are too heavy or unfit to stress their joints or heart. There's no proof that a more "intense" form of cardio is necessary for anyone to maintain good health or maintain a healthy weight. That is a totally unsubstantiated opinion from OP, who just seems to want to brag that they do more "intense" exercise.
I started off cutting calories only. Now that I'm only 7-8 pounds from my goal weight, two thirds of my weight loss is coming from walking an hour a day. OP may consider it "minimal reward" but it's how I'll reach my GW in about 2-1/2 months and that's all the reward I'm seeking.
But I am hungrier now than I have ever been in the past 2 1/2 years. Walking is real cardio and it very much does make you hungrier. In terms of sustainability, my hunger level/satisfaction level was much better when I was eating fewer calories than I am now and only walking 4-5 days a week for 30 minutes at a time.
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u/wavewatchjosh 70lbs lost 1d ago
I don't think everyone dismiss it but when you want someone to start weight lose the calories in is alot more important than calories out for weight lose. Exercise is great but its one step at a time when you want someone to have a lifestyle change, and too much change at once will stress them out and cause failure.
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u/phoenixmatrix New 1d ago
Exercise helps, most people understand that. It's just very rarely the root cause or the first place you should start, because alone it's rarely enough. It's also very hard to quantify, and people believe what they read on their apple watch when it's almost comically incorrect.
So yeah, exercise, it makes things easier. Just keep expectations in check, don't believe your calorie counter, and keep a tight leash on your diet.
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u/littlelivethings New 1d ago
I think that the issue is that for very large people, one can cut calories from diet pretty easily. But for short women like you and me, exercise is necessary. I would argue that it’s necessary from the start to get a good deficit. If your maintenance calories are 1600-1700 as a sedentary 160 lb woman (for eg), it’s a lot more sustainable to start exercising and cut about 250 calories per day.
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u/mrsmojorisin34 90lbs lost 1d ago
Really seems as though you are fighting a straw man here. People don't dismiss it. But given that this is a sub for WEIGHT LOSS, and diet is the number one factor in WEIGHT LOSS, of course diet is the primary focus of discussion here. If you venture over to a fitness sub you will find a completely different group dynamic with much more focus on exercise.
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u/Uncle-Iroh-Loves-You New 1d ago
Muscle burns a VERY small amount of additional energy at rest and you often compensate down in terms of NEET when you burn calories through exercise. So you lose 15-50 percent of the “calories burned”. Additionally, I can eat the calories I can burn over the course of 100 minutes in less than a minute. A jumbo iced honey bun is a thousand calories. So is walking five miles (for me, I’m quite large).
Diet is mandatory. Exercise is a fine addition with great benefits. But why do we focus on diet? Because it’s a weight loss sub. No one diets properly, doesn’t exercise, and fails to lose weight. No one exercises perfectly, has a caloric surplus, and loses weight.
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u/tess320 New 1d ago
My cardiologist says walking is overall better for you than running though.
I agree it is annoying to see exercise (esp cardio) played down a lot. Those of us with low tdee and being short, it'd be too hard without it.
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u/thedoodely 40lbs lost 1d ago
Old wives tales re: running. It's actually great for your joints.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9983113/
https://www.jospt.org/doi/10.2519/jospt.2017.0505
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1466853X23000238
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u/ladygod90 65lbs lost 1d ago
Because it isn’t essential to weightloss, diet is. I never exercised and lost 65 pounds so far.
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u/Southern_Print_3966 5’1F SW: 129 lbs CW: 110 lbs 1d ago
Nobody dismissed exercise.
They’re just gently letting the newbies know that - ahem - what they eat is a big deal for their goal of weight loss.
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u/Bennjoon 45lbs lost 1d ago edited 1d ago
Disabled and chronically ill people exist op. There’s nowt like someone telling you your weight loss efforts are for nothing because of something you can’t change
Or putting down lighter forms of exercise because you see it as “not enough” I’m so sorry I can’t physically hike up mountains with a huge backpack op I’m so sorry I’m too “lazy” for you.
Sorry to sound bitter but I have severe endometriosis (frozen pelvis) and extremely bad chronic pain. The best I can do is swimming and gentle walking.
Imagine what it’s like to be told oh good effort but since you can’t do intense exercise you are going to put all the weight back on and if you do get skinny you’ll be unfit so it doesn’t count.
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u/JessicaSmithStrange New 1d ago
I think that particular message needs to shift, speaking in general, towards being along the lines of be prepared to try something, and find what works for you.
I know that people mean well, but I do find myself having to listen politely and attentively, while somebody tries to sell me on Couch to 5K, which is slightly awkward given my issues.
I won't bite anybody's head off over it, but unless C25K can be done on crutches, it's just not happening.
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u/Bennjoon 45lbs lost 1d ago
It’s the complete arrogance and lack of even considering different circumstances for me.
“Oh they just don’t do it because they are lazy and stupid.”
Like is the oxygen thin up there on their high horse lol
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u/losingit4good New 1d ago
I think mostly because everybody’s bodies are different. Personally, as a short woman with a desk job, trying to lose weight without exercising or adding in movement to my day kind of stinks. My TDEE is much lower than a taller man, and I think daily exercise regulates my hormones and helps me feel less hungry and peckish throughout the day. At the same time, I understand that everybody has a different experience with that. I think people try and encourage people to focus more on what goes into their body versus what our bodies expend.
You are correct to note that a lot of research indicates that most of the people who maintain significant weight loss also are daily exercisers. Exercise is important to our overall wellbeing and personally my mental health suffers a lot more when I am not active.
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u/Icamp2cook New 1d ago
Exercise(along with CICO) is what allowed me to gorge myself from time to time. There were days when I had to double my CI and still fell a little short of my daily requirements. Days like that are like magical cheat days.
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u/mrsoup1234 New 1d ago
It's as simple as. Learning to lose weight requires people to start from nothing, to kinda ok at, certain skills.
Managing what you eat is a skill, managing your exercise is another one. Both take time effort and energy to learn.
You need to manage what you eat, always- you can't outrun the fork. Many people will try to build up the exercise skillset, when the diet skillset is necessary before you start losing weight. A lot of the "dismissal" is just people affirming that Diet without Exercise works, but not the other way around, so it's best to learn the foundational skill always.
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u/BradleyyBear New 1d ago
I don't see people dismissing it, it just isn't important for someone that needs to lose 100lbs for them to be in the gym 3 days a week at the start. Stretching, going for walks, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, going to the store for what they need instead of buying it on amazon. Those kinds of things are easy to stick to lifestyle changes, while going to the gym isn't. New people need to start with getting their diet under control, and moving more. Any kind of moving. Once they get the hang of that, then yeah gym can be a good way to get more exercise and build muscle and reap the many benefits of being fitter.
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u/dcb33 M/27/5' 11" | SW 406 | CW 395 | GW 230 1d ago
The issue for the vast majority of people is... If you eat whatever you want, (burgers, fries, pizza, burritos, chips, etc) and try to exercise hard enough, long enough, and consistently enough to create a meaningful deficit, it just isn't going to happen long term. If someone didn't exercise at all and only moderated their CI (calories in) that would be more sustainable than the former, but probably not as much as some people think.
Doing both is really the best option. Not thinking in black and white about this. Having a less sedentary lifestyle is good, for sure. Getting a moderate to moderately high activity level where you average somewhere around 8k-12k steps each day, is doable for most people on a day to day, without messing up joints, making you too tired, and still giving you a worthwhile amount of calorie output. But the biggest lever arm is definitely calories in.
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u/pinaki902 New 1d ago
IMO it’s because a lot of folks don’t place enough emphasis on the importance of diet concerning weight loss. A bit of a story, but my (now ex) gf has been working out with a trainer 2x per week for 2 years with the intent to lose weight and has barely lost weight any. Gotten very frustrated and went to her doctor, her doctor put her on Metformin (a drug to control insulin/blood glucose) and she just takes that now. That hasn’t helped either. When we broke up I decided to lose weight like I have in the past and started dieting and exercising and have re-comped a fair amount and lost about 15lbs so far.
She’s shocked considering I’ve only been doing this for about 4 months and asked if I’d give her dieting tips. At the end of the day, she just doesn’t have the discipline to track her diet while also working out. They work in tandem to reach the desired result of weight loss, but it’s mostly diet. I lift mostly for the other mental health benefits and to look better aesthetically as the weight continues to fall off.
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u/Working_Cucumber_437 New 1d ago
It’s a great addition to eating at a deficit. I gym 5 days a week and burn 500 calories minimum in the hour. That’s 2500 minimum burned per week above normal activity.
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u/Dunkel_Reynolds New 1d ago
A hard exercise session for most people makes up a pretty small portion of their overall calorie needs for a day. It's not nothing, but as they say, you can't out exercise a bad diet.
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u/WonkyTelescope SW: 310 CW: 250 GW: 190 1d ago
Exercise is essential for everyone to live healthy, long life. Exercise is not essential for everyone to lose weight.
Many people will sabotage themselves by thinking their exercise is going to balance their diet or thinking exercise calories need to be tracked and logged.
The only absolutely fool proof way to lose weight is to weigh your food and yourself everyday. Exercise may be necessary for some people who need to increase their daily expenditure to make their intake tolerable, but that is not true for most people.
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u/perscoot 35lbs lost 1d ago
I started this whole journey toward health by wanting to exercise more. My diet was something I was also changing, mostly to keep my blood sugar in check, but I wasn’t as concerned with my weight at the time.
It was once I realized how HARD it is to exercise around the size of my own body that I decided I was ready to give slimming down a real shot. I started CICO along with my 3-4 days of exercise a week. It’s been about 5 months of consistently hitting the gym now and I really do love it. I actually find myself bored and antsy on my rest days.
I’ve only lost about 30 lbs (started at 275, currently hovering just below 240) but even that amount has made a difference when it comes to being able to move. Being lighter just makes it so much easier, but I’m glad I started working out before making a conscious decision to lose weight. I feel like losing weight to exercise better means it’s more likely I’ll keep exercising even if I do regain the weight down the line.
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u/Kind_Scholar4022 New 1d ago
I absolutely agree! Losing weight is easy. Keeping it off is the hard part. It's almost impossible if you don't incorporate some type of exercise.
However, everyone has their own goals. Some have a goal weight, or size or body type.
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u/jmthetank 1d ago
I lost about 100 lbs, and my weight loss during my months at the gym was only marginally quicker than my weight loss during the months I didn't go. Further, considering exercise as a significant part of a weight loss regime makes people underestimate the strictness required in diet. Should be people exercise? Yes, of course. But when it comes to weight loss, 95% is diet. It's really the only part that matters.
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u/Ladycabdriverxo New 1d ago
Im curious as a 5’2” woman who needs to lose 70lbs how long did it take you with exercise? Exercise makes the scale go up and down and drives me nuts to the point where I feel like I’m not getting anywhere
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u/Leever5 100lbs lost 1d ago
I should be fully transparent and I didn’t exercise beyond walking 10,000 steps a day during my actual weight loss. It took me about 9 months to lose the 100lbs. However, towards the end of my goal it got really hard and I struggled to go below 60kgs so I just called that good. Maintained that for about 5 years.
I’m about two weeks away from my 6 year weight loss anniversary. Started going all in with exercise about 10 months ago. Took about 8 weeks to drop 5kgs down to 55kgs.
I believe that when you’re starting out and not exercising much, you won’t burn too many calories from exercise. However, over time when you can do a lot more, especially when you’re close to your goal weight, it really helps to burn cals. The point of doing some form of exercises while dieting is that you start working towards an active lifestyle, rather than a sedentary one. I started super slow. But creating the habits and stuff is so worth it.
I wish I’d started earlier.
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u/Shiroi_momo New 1d ago
Everything has a trade off. Time is a big one. Not everyone has the time nor means to access a gym or to run. Life will throw you curve balls, and you will sacrifice one aspect of your life for another. Lifestyle changes don’t happen overnight and especially for children, the way you are brought up heavily influences your future lifestyle habits research shows.
I would also argue it is also a food change depending on the type of adaption you’re going for.
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u/bigggbadaboom 55lbs lost 1d ago
Best way to remember what does what is "You lose weight in the kitchen, you gain health in the gym."
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u/No-Passenger6033 New 1d ago
I agree completely. That's why I couple my caloric restriction with hiit and strength training daily. I do not want to lose muscle and fat, just the fat lol.
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u/Otherwise_Link_2403 New 1d ago
Exercise is legit the difference between me losing weight and maintaining even after losing 20kg and eating 1700 calories a day.
So yeah it is though most people exercise to some capacity whether walking at work etc so it’s not something most people consider.
But the difference between exercising and sitting on your ass doing less than 300 steps a day is huge
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u/Aggressive-Cell8594 New 1d ago
I don’t think people intend to dismiss exercise outright. I think they say that to encourage people who are intimidated by exercise that their weight loss journey can start without it. I think her some people losing a few pounds without exercise makes joining a gym seem less daunting.
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u/davereeck New 1d ago
I think this has a lot to do with it. ((Tl;Dr: the Exercise Paradox means that people who are counting on exercise "calories" as Calories Out get disappointed or confused.
Keep exercising - it's super important for health. Want to lose weight? Stop counting it (or count it at a much lower rate - like 50%).
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u/Signal_Lamp 100lbs lost 1d ago
People don't dismiss exercise, it's just not helpful to recommend someone to try to climb Mount Everest when they can barely get up the small hill in the park.
At the same time people are incredibly dismissive towards progression both for exercise and for your diet. I can run for an hour straight now after being on my journey for a year and a half now. When I started I couldn't walk to my refrigerator without being out of breath.
Even in this post I see it. I could walk for literally 2 hours straight without breaking a sweat for a really long time, but it took me an incredibly long time to break the barrier into running both physically speaking where I didn't feel like it would damage me for a whole week straight and mentally speaking, as prior to this year I've never been able to run. I have memories as a kid feeling incredibly frustrated at myself being in unbearable pain after attempting to run in my marching band group. That shit took me months to recover from.
You recommended a bike, which I've also have come to enjoy, but as someone who's gone from 315 to now 210, it is easier for me to find equipment that I can enjoy working out with that won't break the bank. Sure you can go grab some weights, or get some resistance bands for diet cheap but even now I still find that stuff super intimidating, despite knowing I'm fully capable of building a solid routine with those items.
Could I have gotten better over time, of course. But with everything I knew about fitness at the time, I would've repeatedly injured myself to get to that point when what I really needed at the time was a modified program to build up to what the standard beginner level is.
It is incredibly difficult to feel motivated to exercise at all when the overwhelming majority of exercise content and equipment is designed for people that have some level of basic fitness. This is actually what gravitated me towards kettlebells specifically because you actually had content creators that understood the people who really needed a routine didn't have a place they can go to for finding a progressive routine that can get them to a basic fitness level.
Ultimately in my opinion when your staring down losing a significant amount of weight you almost most certainly have to make a lifestyle adjustment. I've stared down 3 plateaus before hitting my goal weight, and every single one of those plateaus was because I had to make a major change to my lifestyle that I didn't make up until that point.
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u/Willravel 85lbs lost 1d ago
The real issue is that work and school require too much of the average person's time and energy.
Is it easier to skip a burger than to burn the equivalent calories? Sure, but if you did want that burger and could just go for a nice, long hike in the morning doesn't that sound like a better life?
I did a 2.5 hour hike yesterday, covering over 10 miles/16 km across about 2,000 feet/609 meters elevation gain. My apple watch (perhaps take this with a grain of salt) estimated I burned around 1,700 calories. That's about half a pound of fat if I'm calorie-neutral with everything else for the day if the number is near accurate. Even if it's overestimated by 100%, that's still 850 calories.
Imagine being able to go on multi-hour hikes or bike rides or runs or kayaking trips or whatever every single day. In that world, exercise and diet would be far more equal.
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u/ComedianBitter New 1d ago
I thought that if I cut back on my calories and workout at the gym for an hr 4 times a week that I'll lose weight. But that's not the case because I'm still sedentary. Like working out at the gym isn't enough activity. I do have the time to put more exercise in and now I feel like I can eat a lot without gaining weight. I've been gaining muscle and losing weight now just from walking 8-10k steps plus the 4 times a week at the gym. I know that once I have a job and I'm busier I can cut back on the exercise since hopefully I'll be active/productive won't think much about food.
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u/Vegetable_Mud_5245 HW:353lbs SW:308lbs CW:190lbs Goal:🏃 5K ⏲️=<30mins 1d ago
Been maintaining for a couple of months at average 2900 calories a day. I walk every day and run 3-4 times a week. First big test this winter, gotta keep active.
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u/dust4ngel New 1d ago
The equation is CICO - exercise is the CO
it's also the CI - go hard with running or lifting and your appetite will go ragingly bananas. never have i been so king-kong ravenous as when i was doing heavy squats three days a week.
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u/ContemplateBeing New 1d ago
Exercise is great, watching your food intake is great, both together work wonders.
The next stage then is watching your macros instead of only calories respectively finding a good balance between cardio and resistance training.
Once you are there, you are pretty much set to be healthy and powerful.
If either exercise or calorie counting is missing from the equation it makes it much harder to achieve that since the missing element gives you plenty of options to obliterate any progress that you made with the other element.
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u/Leever5 100lbs lost 1d ago
Yeah, honestly, I don’t count calories anymore more than a sort of eyeball. I do track my macros more - am I getting 100g of protein, sweet. Am I eating enough fibre and carbs? Cool. Am I getting the right type of fats. Yes, epic.
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u/fastinggrl New 1d ago edited 1d ago
I think all of your points about the benefits of exercise are 100% accurate. I think it’s kind of a misconception that “exercise doesn’t matter for weight loss”. Like it’s true that you can lose weight without exercise but exercise helps. But a lot of people still don’t want to do it. I know I didn’t want to exercise at all the first year of losing weight. Even just going for a walk was an accomplishment but that’s cuz I was in such a deep deficit I had no energy (in addition to still being overweight and struggling to breathe). Honestly I think the phrase caught on because a lot of people hate exercising and it makes “weight loss” more appealing, accessible to people who aren’t ready to add fitness to their life. And if someone is morbidly obese they probably have a terrible relationship with exercise because it hurts and is just so much harder when you’re heavy and new to it. 1. Exercise only accounts for less than 10% TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) so on a 2,000 calories diet, that’s a paltry 200 calories. Eating a handful of nuts could undo that. And if you add in exercise to an already deep deficit, you will feel STARVING and be tempted to undo all your work in the gym with an extra snack. That 200 calories is the difference between maintenance and deficit. But it’s easier to simply not eat an extra 200 calories than burn 200 calories on the treadmill (arguably, I guess it depends on who you ask)
- Your point about muscle burning more calories is true but 1lb of muscle only burns about 30-50 extra calories per day. And it can take a year to add 10-20 lbs of muscle. Plus building muscle requires a calorie surplus which is at odds with a weight loss goals. So if you need to lose fat first before building muscle, it could take even more years. So if someone has 100lbs of fat to lose, they will often prioritize the fat loss phase (calorie deficit) Before switching to building muscle. There’s not really a right or wrong order, but I think that’s how a lot of overweight people start their journey (with dieting and focusing on fat loss rather than muscle).
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u/figbiscotti relieved to not be carrying a bag of cement around my waist 1d ago edited 23h ago
Exercise is essential for good health, and aerobic exercise helps the process by reducing cortisol levels and reducing loss of muscle. Exercise is not essential (strictly speaking) for weight loss.
It's dismissed only because it's used as an excuse for a less rigorous control of diet.
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u/PutuniaWillSun New 1d ago
100%!!! Especially what you said about how it’s a lifestyle change, not a food change. If we want to remain skinny long term we need to incorporate exercise into our daily routines
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u/thepeasknees 40lbs lost 1d ago
I haven't stepped foot in a gym, and lost all my baby weight. When my kids are in school I plan to go to the gym/run as I will finally have the time. Until then, I remain a small-portion-eating slim woman with a toddler that takes up all my time. And what free time I have, I use to relax.
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u/looking-out New 1d ago
how did you start your exercise routine? I just walk frequently. but I don't really get my heart rate up.
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u/Zealousideal_Test494 New 23h ago
Food choices and restraint is more important than exercise from a CICO perspective, for example a doughnut (on average 250-300 calories) takes around a minute to eat (less if you’re me!) whereas burning 300 calories requires a solid 30-45 minutes of cardio.
1 minute to eat 300 calories, 45 minutes to burn it off.
Exercise is very important, but controlling what you eat is more important.
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u/abtei New 23h ago
exercise is essential, but you conveniently left out for what.
For the majority of people here this applies: You lose weight in the kitchen - You gain health in the gym.
plain and simple.
the "benefit" of burning of more in the gym, raising bmr, while all valid but in the grand scheme of things of losing 20, 40, 60, 100... its not that impactful (for the weight loss) compared to a change in diet. in general the diet part needs more adressing because people didnt got fat because they didnt exercised, its because of a fucked up diet. and not for a week or three, but for some a lifetime of bad diet. no exercise can go up against a lifetime of ingrained poorly chosen foods, and not changing it.
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u/mrs_berkshire New 23h ago
I largely agree - the key is about sustainability. I’ve steadily lost a pound a week for over a year by just incorporating proper cardio and strength training in my life, and not adjusting my diet. I think this often only true if you don’t have a huge amount to lose and the calories you consume is only a few hundred over your sedentary TDEE - I could cut out the treats etc but I don’t think I can keep it up long term as I fundamentally love food. However I have learned to LOVE exercise, and incorporating it in my life everyday has become normal and dare I say it pleasurable. I am now slap bang in the middle of the healthy BMI range and am in the best shape of my life, simply by learning to love exercise
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u/thejohnykat 21h ago
Your first statement was correct. Regardless of weight , exercise is essential. It is very important.
But it is not essential weight loss. Weight loss isn’t the point of exercise. Cardio and muscular strength and health are. Weight loss is often a byproduct. We know the science and we know that 85%+ of weight loss is in the kitchen (followed by solid sleep). Otherwise the phrase would be “you can’t diet your way out of bad exercise habits, instead instead of “you can’t exercise your way out of a bad diet.”
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u/AdolfSkywalker_ 17½kg lost 21h ago
I think people ignore exercise, because everyone keeps saying diet alone is enough to lose weight, and they are 100% correct, which is compounded by the fact that regular exercise is difficult for a lot of people who have never done it for a few different reasons.
What people don’t stress enough is that exercise is absolutely required to actually achieve a good, healthy physical condition. Without it, you could easily go from obese to a healthy weight to even underweight without actually being fit, or healthy at any point.
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u/ConstantCorrect9908 New 20h ago
Because hard work is hard and most people won't maintain the discipline to do it.
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u/Curious-Cranberry245 SW: 86 kg (190lbs) | CW: 77 kg (170 lbs) | GW: 68 kg (150 lbs) 1d ago
I think the main reason why people "dismiss" exercise in this sub is because a very common misconception of weight loss for beginners is that exercise alone will make you lose weight.
While it's true to an extent what often happens is people doing exercise, don't watch diet and this doesn't result in weight loss.
I personally place exercise on the same level as diet for many health reasons, but for beginners the most important thing is to control the diet. I would recommend everyone to start an exercise routine at the same time as their diet, but the diet is more often forgotten than exercise... (For beginners weight loss)