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Why exercise wont make you thin


IheartTesla

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People tend to underestimate how much exercise it really takes to lose weight. It takes an hour of running to work off one Big Mac. So if you exercise to have an excuse for keeping up a bad diet you will of course not lose weight. You need to burn more calories than you eat. The easiest way to achieve that is to eat less.

Another thing people tend to underestimate is the effect of snacks, candy, ice cream, and soft drinks, including fruit juices. All of that stuff is full of fat or sugar. A salad for lunch won't help you if you drink coke all day.

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Another thing people tend to underestimate is the effect of snacks, candy, ice cream, and soft drinks, including fruit juices. All of that stuff is full of fat or sugar. A salad for lunch won't help you if you drink coke all day.

Drinking a a normal glass of OJ (375ml) equates to one of my meals. Drink water and take a good time release multivitamin.

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This reminds me of an article long ago which pointed out that the slogan "No Pain, No Gain" was dangerous. I think reasonable people know the difference between 'Pain' which is the result of an unhealthy strain of muscles and 'Pain' which is the result of working them.

Undoubtedly there are people who hear the slogan 'no pain, no gain' and proceed to pull muscles and screw themselves up. Those are the people the article was meant to reach.

However, there are also people reading the article who will conclude that anything which causes discomfort is bad for you and therefore they sit back in the lazy-boy and feel that they are doing the right thing by passing up that opportunity to get active.

The trouble is that trying to define a middle ground and a sensible course of action is in direct opposition to getting people's attention. 'Debunking' a 'myth' will get people to click on that link. A headline reading "Study Says: Be Active and Avoid Junk Food" will get nothing but rolling eyes.

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IIRC It should be mentioned though that weight gain isn't the sum total of health or even close to it: It's still healthier to excercise regularly and be slightly overweight (even if it isn't muscle..) than to not excercise at all and remain average weight.

As long as you don't overdo it of course.

EDIT: That assumes of course that health is your goal when losing weight, and not eg. aesthetics.

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You know what else makes you hungry and prone to overeating? Dieting. By their logic neither diet, nor exercise is effective for weight loss.

Dieting isn't effective for long-term (stable for five years plus) weight loss; large numbers of studies have demonstrated such, and when I get home from work I'll find a couple. In a cynical mood I'd wonder whether this is because the industry that has built up around dieting is financially dependent upon people staying on a diet, i.e. the concept of a commercial diet functions best as a business model if the diet works at first and then fails so the dieter keeps on and on trying it.

Diet as in permanent and sensible change of food intake - yes, can work. Diet as in commercial diet - nope.

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Again: "Oh please."

You don't need to do any of that shit to lose weight, lose fat and gain muscle definition. Not unless by "lose weight, lose fat, and gain muscle definition" you mean "Look like a super model/body builder".

The focus on drastic measures only ensures less people pursue a healthy lifestyle.

Personally, I want to see the results of busting my ass. If I have abs, I'm not showing them off, but when I see them in the mirror it's the reward for giving up things like white sugar and flour. They are evil.

Shryke, tell you what; when I'm done with this whole growing a parasite thing and am ready to do some serious weight loss without it being detrimental to myself or my child, I'll go back to my clean diet, and you do whatever it is you believe you're supposed to do in order to shape up. I'd love to compare. I mean, I can already tell you that eliminating things like sugar from your diet completely works. Once you're off the white powder it's unbelievable how saturated all our food is with it. Sure, every now and then you can have some, like recreational use. I have candy about twice a year, like dark chocolate M&Ms. A small pack of that isn't going to blow my eating habits out of order or anything. If I start cheating like that once a week, soon enough the addiction will come back and I'll start seeing the pudge again.

For people who are not used to watching their diet or exercising regularly, restricting food intake and upping physical activity will get them results. At some point there will be a plateau. Then you need to ask yourself what you have to give up and what you are willing to give up to reach your goals. I didn't lose 23 pounds last year by saying, "Oh, I've been at the gym 6 days a week this week, I can have this slice of cake." I did gain a lot more weight than I was supposed to this pregnancy by saying, "Oh... I'm pregnant, just one more cupcake." I'm paying the price now. The only way I am able to control my pregnancy weight gain is - you got it. No white sugar. No refined flours. No junk food, not too much fruit. Clean protein, complex carbs, and veggies, that's it.

Edit: My cheat days this pregnancy have been anywhere from once every two weeks to three days a week.

Eloisa is also right. Diet works if you change your mindset about food and how you approach food. Diet does not work if you follow a plan for 6 months with the intention of going back to how you used to eat pre-diet.

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That article looks like a muddled mess to me.

This is common from Time and CNN, et al. It's why I avoid Time Warner news outlets. It's a bunch of junk written by kids.

@ the article, I'll just repeat what others are saying. Good diet and exercise - the two go hand in hand. And no, you may not get skinnier but you will get in shape for your individual body type. Getting thinner is not the point. If that's all you want, go be anorexic.

People need to stop comparing themselves to unattainable ideals of beauty and start accepting what they have to work with and that feeling great and being healthy is far more satisfying than looking like a model or movie star. jeezuz

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Eloisa is also right. Diet works if you change your mindset about food and how you approach food. Diet does not work if you follow a plan for 6 months with the intention of going back to how you used to eat pre-diet.

Yep - diet is whatever you are feeding yourself with. The problem that exists with the majority of the "short term diets" is that your body can not continue to function based on what most of the prescribe which is why they fail the people using them. Functionally, you NEED the carbs, the fats, the proteins, etc. It all comes down to how you are eating them and making sure you aren't overloading one portion versus another.

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People's obsession with weight and weight loss is so fucking stupid. It hurts yourself and it hurts those around you. It's the last form of acceptable predigest there is, and no one cares.

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seeing as how we've strayed a bit from our original topic, which was laser-like in it's focus, (thanks be to Cyr) having lost 30 lbs over the last seven months, and been on various diets since the porky age of 14, I agree with the generic statement that weight loss is 60% diet and 40% exercise. There's plenty of examples of people who have fabulous diets and are extremely fit without exercising, as well as people who eat loads of junk (ahem, Nakkie) but work out like a beast, and so are fit because of that.

I will say however that it is extremely hard, and extremely slow going to lose fat without changing the diet that made you fat, trying to rely on exercise alone. I spent a long time in denial before I absorbed this.

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I've lost 50 lbs with a combination of diet and exercise. I lift weights, box, go for long walks around the office building during the day. As for diet, I eat a lot of grilled chicken, rice, and raw or steamed vegetables. I do eat a lot of fruit -- mostly berries or apples as a snack during the afternoon (I've also taken to eating 4-5 smaller meals over the course of the day as opposed to three big meals). I'm not incredibly strict about what I eat, and allow myself a cookie during the day, or a burger or a slice or two of pizza on the weekend.

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There's plenty of examples of people who have fabulous diets and are extremely fit without exercising, as well as people who eat loads of junk (ahem, Nakkie) but work out like a beast, and so are fit because of that.

I'll be the first to admit, I don't eat as well as I should. Yes, I exercise more than normal people, but my diet is pretty good considering the amount of calories I need in order to maintain that regimen. I eat 2 cheat meals a week (mexican food, pizza, etc...) The rest of the week I eat very little sugar, no white flour, lots of meats and vegetables, as well as a good amount of grain. A large portion of my diet consists of milk and fairly fatty foods (Great way to get the energy your body needs). The breakdown of my diet is about 40% fats, 30% protein, 30% carbs.

Edit: simple math rules...

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I'll be the first to admit, I don't eat as well as I should. Yes, I exercise more than normal people, but my diet is pretty good considering the amount of calories I need in order to maintain that regimen. I eat 2 cheat meals a week (mexican food, pizza, etc...) The rest of the week I eat very little sugar, no white flour, lots of meats and vegetables, as well as a good amount of grain. A large portion of my diet consists of milk and fairly fatty foods (Great way to get the energy your body needs). The breakdown of my diet is about 40% fats, 40% protein, 30% carbs.

40%fats?!?

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Yep, good fats mind you, but yeah. I take in about 5000 Calories a day, hover right around 170 lbs (5'11" tall). I could put on some weight and gain a good bit of strength, but my run and swim times would suffer quite a bit. I could also easily lose some weight but the strength loss isn't worth it. Overall it works well for me.

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People's obsession with weight and weight loss is so fucking stupid. It hurts yourself and it hurts those around you. It's the last form of acceptable predigest there is, and no one cares.

You've had this weird mentality for a long time. It is not a bad thing to want to be healthier and fitter. It is not going to hurt you or anyone around you if you decide not to eat a cookie, not to have the second slice of pizza, to substitute water for Coke, to take the stairs instead of the elevator. Is it an obsession? It may be, for people who know how their bodies will react to fatty, sugary, unhealthy food.

Weight and weight loss is a serious issue in America, and becoming a serious issue in other countries around the world. We are fat. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it. In order to prevent dying at the ripe old age of 45 from a heart attack, it's necessary to watch what you eat and make sure you get enough physical activity. There are people who eat Big Macs and smoke cigs all their lives and nothing ever happens. Amazing that in a population of over 300 million in the US alone that there are outliers. You cannot base your statement on outliers alone.

You're free to have your opinion, but there are a lot of us here who are quite interested in prolonging our health and our lifespans who will get angry at what you say. You have a differing opinion. In this case, I think it'd be best if you found someone who agrees with you and talk to them, and not say anything about it on this thread. Because then you'll get people like me who will jump in and wonder what the hell is your problem.

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Ok, I see I don't have to read the article, since the overwhelming consensus is it's total crap. lol

But my take on weight loss vs exercise is this. 7 months ago, after having spent almost a year nicotine free, I decided to get serious about the gym. My weight at that time 192 lbs. This morning, after 7 months of working out a minimum of 5 days a week, an hour or better workout with weights and running at least a mile every day, usually more ... my weight this morning. 200lbs. lol.

Now, I am a type 2 diabetic and do not do sugar at all, count my carbs at meals, and drink mostly water, (flavored but no carb or sugar water mostly). So I know my diet has improved tremendously since I found out about my diabetes. ( 2 years ) On the plus side, I was strutting around this summer in my Black Wife-beater and slacks, and getting more than a few comments about my new physique ( wow, you've been working out was the most common.lol) but I would be happier if I dropped about 15 lbs. I just "feel" heavy. My doc says the increase in muscle mass contributes to the gain ( muscle weighs more than fat) and my bmi has shifted. But I still wanna drop these pounds.

What I'm learning is exercise is beneficial, both mentally and physically, but its not enough, even with diet. I just started roller-skating again, next will be getting back in the dojo and maybe even joining a fencing club. I'm determined to lead a much more active lifestyle, that I think will be the final piece of the puzzle.

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People's obsession with weight and weight loss is so fucking stupid. It hurts yourself and it hurts those around you. It's the last form of acceptable predigest there is, and no one cares.

Odie,

I understand. I used to (tell myself I) feel this way when I was depressed and loathed myself about my weight. You don't mean a word you say here, but you're really angry. Mostly at yourself. Trust me, I understand.

If you want my help, it's here.

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