A post I read a few weeks ago destroyed my motivation.

I'm still sticking to calorie-counting and doing great with it. However, a few weeks ago there was a post on here called, "the best article i've read in a while" or something like that. One of the things that it said, flat out, was that "Exercise really doesn't make that big a difference unless its an extremely lengthy, intense work out" Now, I was going to the gym 3-5 times a week, maybe an hour at a time, a few weights here, elliptical there.. I felt like it was working. After I read that, I thought- oh, that must be BS, any exercise helps. But now that I think about it, I haven't been to the gym in almost 3 weeks. SOMEONE please debunk that stupid theory from that article because I need to get back there and feel like I'm doing something good for myself.

i don't know a whole lot about the science of this stuff, but i know one thing - exercising makes me feel good. so you should go to the gym anyways, because even if it doesn't significantly improve your weight loss (which i call BS on anyways, i just don't have the facts to back it up) it makes you feel MUCH better, physically and psychologically. so hell, do it anyways, just to make you feel good!

hi sugar how are you today?!!

you gotta get back to the gym. i HATE going and i feel like it does nothing most of the time. but i always just feel better because i got off my fat butt and sweat a little.

your already down to 125 right? thats AMAZING try using more weights now rather then cardio so you can get nice and lean and toned

that is really depressing...i guess i don't really know if it actually does make a difference but atleast mentally it's helping me.  and i'm sure you've read how exercise (in any amount) releases endorphins, puts you in a better mood, you get better sleep etc.  also--for me it minimizes cravings and i eat less if i exercise during the day and no matter whether i run 10 minutes or 40 i still feel like i've lost 20 pounds when i'm done.

go back to the gym, you'll feel better about yourself and hey...every calorie burned counts right? :)

and i didnt mean to type 125, haha i was typing to fast. are you working tonight? my sister and i are going in to see Jen tonight. ill give you a pep talk while im there! haha

I guess!! i  was just so unmotivated to begin with ahah, and the only thing keeping me going was thinking, at least this is helping and making some kind of difference.

I wish I was down to 125!! 120 is my goal and I weighed in this morning at 139 (which was excited because I haven't seen the 130's in a long time lol)

I guess I just need to GO! lol I mean, I am payin for the damn membership.

haha! I'm not working tonight, just today! Lol, next time for sure

Ok so you go from never working out to working out.  Already in the small amount of time that you have been working out you are increasing your endurance.  Specifically you are making your heart, bones, and body stronger.  Fortunately that also means you are making more muscle.  And while you are building that muscle (which does weight a little bit more than your fat) it burns your fat faster the more muscle you have.  SOOOOOO what? right.  Well because you are counting your calories, exercising more than 20 minutes 3-4 times a week, you WILL (let me repeat WILL) loose weight faster than just eating fewer calories alone.

Trust me I have a long way to go before I get to my goal but I have been running 4 miles 3 times a week (started out at 1 mile) and even though I haven't lost a ton of weight with in my first month, everyone looks at me and sees the difference.  Your body is benefiting from the exercise so DON'T STOP.  Keep it up you are doing great!!!!

Going to the gym 3-5 times a week for an hour at a time seems pretty lengthy and intense to me.  If it was making you feel better then I think it was doing something for you and maybe hitting it again will make you feel good again. 

Exercise is good for your head and your body.  It does release those feel good endorphins, it can help you with stress, it keeps the blood flowing, the weights help you build strong muscles and a faster metabolism.  There's just too many good reasons to keep working out. 

I hope this helps. 

Well, my physiologist says weight loss is 80% diet, 20% exercise.  I don't know about you, but I want every% point I can get.  If you don't exercise, it'll take at least 20% longer to lose the weight, and you'll be more skinny-fat.  You'll look better, quicker, by exercising.  So just do it.

I don't mean to be too sarcastic, but we're on a website that promotes being able to lose weight not by WHAT you eat, but just by counting the calories and taking in less than you burn.

Ergo, if the gym burns calories, then it must help.

 

Also the physiologist who said 80/20 is an idiot.   The differential is variable, depending on how much work you do in the gym.   I burn a calculated 2350 calories in the gym daily, plus my basal metabolistic rate of 1975 gives me a caloric deficit that lets me eat about 3400 calories and still lose weight.

 

I follow a low carb diet however, because a calorie is not a calorie is not a calorie.   they're all different.   The gym is critical.

 

If i made a post that told you dieting wasn't going to help you lose weight, would you stop dieting?  Don't believe all the tripe you read.   People in the gym look fit, don't they?  You think that maybe has something to do with them being in the gym?

I saw this article in Allure magazine, a couple of months back, I believe. Claiming that the majority of weight loss came from diet, and that exercise was more important in the maintenence phase.

I have to disagree with the article because exercise is what has lifted my mood, improved my ability to walk further without collapsing in exhaustion, strengthen my core, my legs etc. Simply changing what I eat might help me lose weight, but my hips and legs are not smaller and more toned for it. I attribute alot of this to my exercise.

And, before I even started to change what I eat, I started off with exercise. Alot of people claim that they started off this way, which led to healthier changes in food choices. :)

 

 

Yeah...that's crap. the act of exercising burns more calories. Depending on intensity it KEEPS burning calories after you are done. It builds muscle which uses more calories to maintain. It decreases appetite (in some) which in turn burns more calories. It releases endorphins which increases your mood and a better mood makes you want to stick with your diet/exercise routine so you burn more calories. If weight loss is all calories in/calories out, then how on earth could anyone say that exercise doesn't play a big role?

and although I do agree with kyp that those percentages depend entirely on what you do for exercise, I have heard that it's 60% diet 40% exercise. I have never heard 80/20. and even if the percentage thing were a real fact, I believe that diet is greatly influenced by exercise. Not an expert. Just what I've learned from years and years of experience. So, summing up, EXERCISE!!!!!!!!!

Another thing to keep in mind is that the one thing I have read over and over again is that exercise is the variable that often indicates whether someone is able to keep weight off or not.  People that stop exercising, or who do not exercise as part of their weight loss, are much less likely to keep weight off.  So if the health benefits don't inspire you, this certainly should.  Also, every calorie you burn is just that, a calorie burned.  It all adds up, and will certainly help you los weight more quickly.

The thing to keep in mind when reading this stuff is that no matter how much time you spent in the gym, one trip through the drive thru can give back you all the calories you just burned.  That is why diet is of primary importance.  Sure, exercise burns calories and it makes you feel better, but if you aren't watching your diet, you aren't going to lose.

Exercise is critically important to maintain health long term.  Studies on many different ailments say so.

That being said... the math of weight loss is calories, and exercise in moderate amounts doesn't burn many calories.  One high calorie dinner can "undo" the calories burned from a week of workouts.

So, should you exercise?  Yes, for many many reasons.  Will weight loss be "significantly" impacted by the calories you burn doing so... not really.

If you read the two paragraphs at the beginning, you will see that what it means is that it easier to restrict your calories by 500-1000  and lose weight that way, than it is to rely on exercise -- because most people will NOT burn 500-1000 calories with just exercise.  It doesn't say exercise is useless.

Furthermore, it goes on to stress that exercise IS important for maintaining your weight once you lose it (my bolded/underlined phrase).

Does exercise help?
Exercise has many health and emotional benefits, but it doesn't make a huge difference when it comes to weight loss. You can restrict your food intake by 500 to 1,000 calories starting tomorrow, but you have to work out for a long time, or at a very high intensity, to burn as many calories.

What's the second stage?
Maintenance. And that's when exercise becomes much more important. By burning a few hundred extra calories a day, you can eat a little bit more, which makes the diet tolerable and easier to maintain. Exercise helps you find a healthy balance between the calories you consume and the calories you burn. Successful dieters typically exercise a lot — 60 to 90 minutes a day. That's not just a short walk. They really prioritize daily, vigorous physical activity.

You also have to remember that any article is written generically -- what works for a lot of people, may not work at all for some people.  There are many people on CC who are losing weight without exercising (not me, I enjoy eating too much), just as there are many who are losing with exercise alone, or with a combination of exercise and calorie restriction.

Don't give up your exercise -- even if it didn't lead to weight loss, the physical and emotional benefits are almost more important

I have lost 70 lbs with out any exercise.  At some point I will do something but if you have a high BMI just let the fact that you burn more calories just by living get you through the first several months (or year) before you start working out.  and I am fully aware that exercise is good for you and necessary in general but I am proof you do not need it to drop some lbs. 

Exercise (specifically walking and swimming) has given me nice firm legs that don't jiggle around too much even though I'm still over 200 pounds. I think that's something...

I've been working out just like you described (3-5x a week, about an hour, mix of cardio and weigh training) since May and I have seen a HUGE transformation in my body.  My stomach is flatter, and legs are leaner, my arms are more defined.  And this is just from working out, since I am not trying to lose weight (though I may have lost a pound or two just from the exercise).  So yes, working out is VERY worthwhile, and you don't need to kill yourself doing it.

A few years ago I started watching what I ate.  Lost about 0.5lbs/week.  A month later, I joined a gym and went 3 days a week, doing 40 minutes on the elliptical (so I was sweating) and 20 minutes of weights each visit.  I lost about 2.5lbs/week the first couple of weeks and then moved to maintenance (I was only aiming to lose 10lbs).  It made a SERIOUS difference for me since I was a fairly sedentary person otherwise.

When people write articles like that they don't necessarily include all the details you'd like.  Sometimes it's "in the majority of people studied" which leaves a bunch of other people that it doesn't apply to. 

Also, look at it this way.  Exercise alone may not lead to weight loss.  Exercise and eating a lot more certainly won't.  But if it puts you in a better mood, you're less likely to emotionally eat.  If it gives you more energy, you're more likely to be more active in other parts of your life (and burn more calories).  Building muscle lets you burn more calories day-to-day, even outside of the gym.  All the time you spend at the gym, travelling, showering is time you can't be eating junk food.  All the money you spend on your gym membership is money you can't spend on junk food.