Does exercise actually hinder weight loss?

In My Humble Opinion
21

Oh, that’s true. What I meant was if you don’t ammend your diet as a whole (say you only ever eat cheesecake), then exercise is only going to help only nominally. As in the post above, rather than gaining 20 lbs, the exercise might keep weight gain to only 10 or 15, but the bottom line is that you need to balance healthy eating with a healthy lifestyle to get the most benefits from either. Diet and exercise work in partnership.

You need calories for fuel, but you don’t want to overfill the tank.

The article suggests that exercise makes you hungry which could lead to weight gain. Well, no, not if you’re eating appropriately so that the calories coming in match the calroeis going out.

I’m not providing the full context of the stylist’s ideas. She just clearly didn’t understand how much exercise is required to actually burn, say 100 calories. She grossly overestimated the number of calories used for very light activity.

ETA: She also grossly underestimated what constitutes “vigorous exercise”.

22

True, true. But she was mitigating the damage somewhat. I’m in weight loss mode right now, and I’ll have the occasional slice of cheesecake. The overall trend of my weight is still downward.

23

Actually the general focus on the scales is a bad idea for any fat person trying to lose weight. The goal is to lose fat, not necessarily weight.

You can get leaner and fitter without losing a pound. Also, you have to understand how scales and weight (of your body) works.

For one, you need to make sure you have a bathroom scale that is actually accurate and remains accurate over time. You should have a 20 lbs. weight or something near where you keep your scale, and you should weigh it every time you use your scale to make sure it is very close to being accurate. Also, you should make sure that you are standing properly on the scale, with both feet centered on it (and ideally both completely on the scale–though with some scales and some feet this may not be possible.) You should make sure the scale is resting on floor that is actually solid, and flat. Many homes with plush carpeting or maybe slight deformities in the floor will present areas where you can’t weigh yourself properly.

Finally, you shouldn’t weigh yourself every day. Day-to-day weight changes are almost entirely meaningless. To demonstrate this fact I’ve weighed myself every day for a week before, and seen fluctuations as high as 5-6 lbs. over a single day. The simple truth of the matter is it’s impossible to actually gain/lose 5 lbs. of fat in a single day without going into the realm of “weird stuff” (like surgical removal of parts of your body or something.) It’s easy to gain or lose 5 lbs. of “weight” (especially if you’re ~230 lbs like me) but a lot of that weight isn’t actually indicative of “your” real weight.

If you drink a lot of water during the day, that’s going to add to your weight, but it’s not making you fatter (nor leaner, it’s just simply, weight that is inside your body.) Likewise, after eating a nice big meal, you will definitely be heavier. But even if you eat a 16 oz. steak, you aren’t going to gain that full 16 oz. in weight, a great portion of that weight can’t be used by your body and is excreted out of you.

So to really get an accurate account of your weight I’d advise weighing yourself once per week, on the same day each week. Furthermore, you should weigh yourself in the morning when you wake up (ideally at least 8-10 hours since your last meal) AND after you’ve gone to the bathroom and excreted out any liquids/solids that were in your body from the day before. This way you’ll get reasonable close to weighing just “you” and not the 20 oz. bottle of water you had before bed or the big dinner you ate the night before.

But still, the focus shouldn’t be on “weight loss” it should be on “fat loss.” Weight is so variable and not strictly even related to how much fat is on your body that it’s not worth the obsessive concerns that many people have over weight. The primary concern should be with fat.

24

I’m a crême brulée fan, myself.

Yes, it’s good that she at least thought to try to achieve that balance, but overall, she had very misguided ideas about diet and exercise. Mainly, this particular girl had no idea what was in her food, and her concept of “healthy meal” was really not.

25

While I agree with almost your entire post, I disagree with this bit. It’s a very personal decision.

Some people say don’t use scales, notice how your clothes fit differently. My clothes seem to fit me exactly the same. But weighing myself? No matter what the scale says, I’m urged to either keep up the good work or work harder. It’s my motivator.

26

Wow, and I thought I was impatient!

For what it’s worth, my husband still is amazed at the fact that my weight varies so wildly day to day depending on what time of the month it is, how much water I’ve had, how much salt, etc. I know that if I weigh myself one day and I’m four pounds heavier than I was the day before, I need to take into consideration what I ate last night and weigh again the next day, sometimes the day after, too, to get a really accurate reading of my weight loss or gain. I can’t imagine thinking I’d lose weight during the hour I exercised.

27

It is a personal decision.

I would disagree with “don’t use scales” for a slightly different reason. I find it’s helpful in learning how your body works: how you lose weight and the natural rate that you do so (and where you tend to gain or lose), how you put on muscle mass and the rate that you do, etc.

Having a general idea of how my body puts on and loses weight, and the rate I gain muscle mass is helpful. Once I turned 30, I was able to notice some changes. Losing fat was slower, gaining muscle mass was a bit easier, so I was able to adjust my training and diet accordingly (and sleep, I’m really noticing a difference in recovering time now that I’m getting into my mid-30s). Knowing your body is always a good thing.

28

It’s all about the calories and creating a deficit = diet AND exercise. It doesn’t matter how those calories come in (fat, carbs, sugar, protein), what matters is how many calories come in through these four groups. Carb and protein diets work in the short term, but are not effective long term…only proper diet and exercise work.

I think Tom Venuto’s blog explains to a greater degree of clarity what real weight loss really entails.

The OP’s referenced article seemed biased with an agenda behind it…I stopped reading it after the 1st page.

Take it from me…a guy who has lost about 75 pounds from diet and exercise over the last 15 months. Link.