A question about exercise...

[saturday97]

OK gang, I have a friend who has said on several occasions that you CANNOT lose weight by exercise alone. I can't remember seeing any studies that confirmed this one way or the other, and I haven't personally ever tried to lose weight by doing exercise without modifying my diet. I can't see how you wouldn't lose some weight by increasing your exercise (especially cardio), but she is adamant about this and I'd like to get your input, since I'm sure someone here has a story about this.

Thanks in advance!

 

[TiffJ]

Well, I have been training for the 1/2 marathon in Jan. And coming from being a couch potato to this , it was a huge increase in exercise. I didnt start losing any weight until I modified my diet. I did, however, allow me to eat more without gaining any.

Just my experience.

 

[norma1223]

When I was training for a marathon, I lost 5 pounds even though I was eating more. Clearly, it had to be the exercise alone that caused the weight loss. Unfortunately the weight came back after the marathon.

 

[pearlieq]

Of course you can lose weight through exercise alone, but not usually much and not usually very efficiently.

It's just basic math. For a 150 lb woman, even the most vigorous workout will only burn about 300 calories in half an hour. You can easily drink 300 calories worth of froofy coffee in 10 minutes.

Exercise is great for improving health, boosting metabolism, and creating muscle mass, which burns more calories than fat while at rest. But in order to lose 2 pounds per week you have to create a 1000 calorie deficit between what you need and what you take in every single day.

Exercising enough to burn 1000 calories per day would take forever, be very hard work, would make you very prone to injury, and would likely cause burnout pretty quick.

 

[Tiger Lily 03]

The way I understand this is that it is a combination toward success. Exercise gets the metabolism ramped up in order to more efficiently handle the fuel you provide to your body. No matter what, the answer I've gotten from the docs around here is that what goes in stays if it is more than the body needs and that is the key. Exercise will allow for the metabolim to increase so that there will be that boost to get some of the fuel burning.

I have read this over time and I know the keys we have passed around here are increase your drinking water to allow for the body to move some of the food around and through, increase your movement (exercise) and make healthy eating choices (not the "D" word). Healthy eating choices includes eating minimum of 3 meals, but balance is the key. I also understand it would be even better if we could break up those 3 meals into 6, just not the portions we see in our 3 meals. Smaller quantities over more times. This will allow for the increased metabolism to more efficiently make use of the fuel we provide.

Bottom line is it takes a combination to be efficient. Following only one of the points may allow for success, but healthy is the combination of all and the goal we should all seek.

I could continue, but I think I have rambled and may not have provided the exact answer you seek.

 

[xterratri]

Sure, you can lose weight with exercise alone, I've done it. It's called Ironman training. But training for a race that consists of a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and 26.2 mile run is not a normal, reasonable workout load that everyone has the time for or should do.

A smart combination of exercise and healthy eating that adds up to a combined caloric deficit of 500 calories per day is the usual recommendation for weight loss and should result in the suggested 1-2 pound per week. Sustainable lifestyle modifications are the key to long term weight loss. The caloric deficit can be created through exercise alone but without dietary modifications the weight will come back if the exercise load isn't carefully matched once a goal weight is reached.

Disclaimer: this is theoretical as taught when I got my MS in exercise science and in the nutrition class first year med school. My 'weight loss goal' would be to be around 115-120(I'm 5'4") while maintaining muscle mass and I'm currently a size 2, 123 lbs. I've never been in the shoes of being someone larger so while professionally I'll need to give counsel, I won't be able to say that I truly understand the weight loss struggle from a personal basis.

 

[saturday97]

Fantastic replies! Thanks everyone for settling this for us! I personally do so much better when I understand the science behind it!