How Important Is Exercise For Weight Loss?

[grizzlyblake]

Been doing that since October. Not one ounce lost.

Ate one meal a day. After work. Chicken, fish, occasional red meat. Salad with no dressing. Some kind of good carb. Walked my dog 30min 3 times a day. Fast walking, slow, minor jog, uphill, downhill. ZEROS results!

Prior to this, 2 years of exercise, cardio and weight. Meal prepping, good clean food. Weighing out portions, counting calories Gained muscle, lost zero weight

What you describe would break the laws of physics and biology.

You must not have been properly counting your calories. Otherwise you are an incredible medical marvel who doesn't require food energy to live.

In your second statement you say you were gaining muscle but not losing weight. Yes, that's how it works. If you're gaining muscle mass you are eating a calorie surplus.

[Arik]

What you describe would break the laws of physics and biology.

You must not have been properly counting your calories. Otherwise you are an incredible medical marvel who doesn't require food energy to live.

In your second statement you say you were gaining muscle but not losing weight. Yes, that's how it works. If you're gaining muscle mass you are eating a calorie surplus.

Not really. The one meal a day is called intermittent fasting. Look it up.

Counting calories isn't rocket science for what I eat. Yesterday I had 7oz chicken breast and a small lettuce salad with with one table spoon of each greans peas and beans. Later in the evening I had an oz of almonds. This is now.

When I was exercising I ate 3 meals a day.
Morning would be 2 eggs, half avocado, 1 serving of tuna. Lunch and dinner would be similar to what I just posted above (one 6-8oz meat, small salad) except add in a serving of sweet potatoes/whole grain pasta/whole grain bread/brown rice. And one whole fruit a day.

And yes I gained muscle but didn't loose fat. Still couldn't fit into skinnier pants, still had the same gut. All I did was add muscle to what I already had. Kinda frustrating considering that I would come home and get on the treadmill after the gym and then again on weekends. M,W,F gym and treadmill. Sat or Sun treadmill. Weekdays it would be a half hour jog and weekend intermittent running and slow jog. Run as fast as you can for 30sec, jog for a min. Do that for 30min.

[grizzlyblake]

Yeah, I've been doing IF for years.

My point is that if you are trying to lose weight, but are eating a calorie quantity that allows you to gain muscle mass, you are by definition eating a calorie surplus and thus you will not lose weight.

If you are not losing weight and are tracking an accurate daily calorie count the answer is that you simply are not in enough of a calorie deficit. You are eating too much. Eat less.

[LowSpeed_HighDrag]

Lose It and My Fitness Pal are great calorie counters. Just make sure you do not enter your exercise into the app!

[themonk]

Its all about running a caloric deficit. You can do that through diet or exercise or both. There is no doubt that the easiest way to do that is in a state of ketosis.

[Arik]

I wish I kept my food logs. My daily caloric intake was between 2000 - 2500. For the last few months it been around 500 - 1000 and not 1lb difference. I'm not trying to argue with you guys. I believe the same thing I just wish someone would tell my body. I gained 65lbs in a little over a year without changing my diet. What I was eating in 2006 - 2013 as 165lb was the same thing I was eating a year and a half later at 220lbs. That not gradual increase over time due to age and activity level. At the end of 2013 before the holidays I was 165. The summer of 2014 I was 190ish. No food changed. By Christmas time of 2014 I was 220. Now I'm at 226.5 as of yesterday.

I'm sure something changed but it wasnt the food/calories. I can't begin to explain how frustrating and infuriating it is. Just eat less calories! Ok sure. For the last several months a 1000 or less calories a day consisting of lean meat or fish and a salad. You'd think there will be at least one pound difference....just one!!! Nope!


Here's what I've ate yesterday. 7oz chicken, salad.

[WillBrink]

Its all about running a caloric deficit. You can do that through diet or exercise or both. There is no doubt that the easiest way to do that is in a state of ketosis.

Read OP article? Good luck trying to do it via exercise. It has a surprisingly minimal impact on weight loss.

[grizzlyblake]

Dude, Arik, you need to see a doctor. If you're legitimately 225lb eating less than 1k calories a day for months with no weight loss something is majorly wrong.

[themonk]

Read OP article? Good luck trying to do it via exercise. It has a surprisingly minimal impact on weight loss.

I did read the article. As I said, you need to run a deficit. You can do that through exercise, but you need to know your numbers and once you actually know the numbers I think most people will be surprised that you are not getting as much bang for their buck. That’s where running a caloric deficit with food matters. The easiest way to run a caloric deficit with diet is though ketosis. After the initial adjustment, it is very easy if you have body fat to run a deficit because your body is burning its own fat for fuel. At the end of the day it is calories in and calories out.

[Arik]

Dude, Arik, you need to see a doctor. If you're legitimately 225lb eating less than 1k calories a day for months with no weight loss something is majorly wrong.

Have an appointment at the end of the month.