Is Exercise really necessary when you are on a diet?

[Richard]

I did extensive Keto in August and I lost 15 pounds of fat and kept my muscle mass. I didn't exercise at all pretty much with the exception of hockey. My acceleration felt like I was ten years younger.

The previous summer I worked out twice a day and counted calories and I lost like 5 pounds and bulked and felt like shit.

It's as much about WHAT you eat than HOW MUCH you eat as well.

 

[MAHJ71]

Former personal trainer.. Restricting yourself to 1000-1400 calories is basically a crash diet. Yes you'll lose weight at first, but then your body will adjust and you'll start having a harder time doing so. Could also lead to increased binging and cravings, general fatigue, and a slew of other deficiencies(hormone imbalance, vitamins, etc) that can lead to more serious health issues. On top of all that, by only dieting you miss out on the benefits working out provides in terms of cardiovascular health and less bone density issues (risk of osteoporosis) when you get older..

 

[John Price]

Could also lead to increased binging and cravings, general fatigue, and a slew of other deficiencies(hormone imbalance, vitamins, etc) that can lead to more serious health issues. On top of all that, by only dieting you miss out on the benefits working out provides in terms of cardiovascular health and less bone density issues (risk of osteoporosis) when you get older..

That's been going on before my diet.

What is going on right now is caloric control and it's helping me lower my weight to 149. Today I had a 200 calorie soup for lunch and a burger 800 cal for dinner. I saw the fries were 600 so I said no. In the past I probably would have gotten them.

That said I'm hungry at the hockey game now but trying to control my hunger.

Also if I were at home it's a good opportunity to fill hunger with low cal snacks like grapes and fruit. It helps change your line of thinking nutriotinally

 

[tyhee]

Mostly whatever I want as long as it's under 1400 calories or around that

I strictly count calories and measure myself every day.

I also agree with snakeye. What you eat is more important than how much.

If you're eating cheeseburgers and pizza (I'll presume you aren't eating chocolate bars and potato chips) then you're going to need to severely limit calories to lose weight, it is extremely difficult to sustain in the long term and you may be increasing your risk of heart disease, some cancers, dementia and other chronic diseases in your senior years-or even during your middle age.

If your goal is to lose weight and be healthy frequent but moderate exercise is probably the best way to go. If your exercise is intense enough to bring joint and muscle pain it has to be more difficult while you're losing weight, especially if you're doing it by consciously limiting calories. Light to moderate aerobic exercise on the other hand helps with the weight loss and shouldn't be hard on muscles and joints.

 

[John Price]

I also agree with snakeye. What you eat is more important than how much.

If you're eating cheeseburgers and pizza (I'll presume you aren't eating chocolate bars and potato chips) then you're going to need to severely limit calories to lose weight, it is extremely difficult to sustain in the long term and you may be increasing your risk of heart disease, some cancers, dementia and other chronic diseases in your senior years-or even during your middle age.

If your goal is to lose weight and be healthy frequent but moderate exercise is probably the best way to go. If your exercise is intense enough to bring joint and muscle pain it has to be more difficult while you're losing weight, especially if you're doing it by consciously limiting calories. Light to moderate aerobic exercise on the other hand helps with the weight loss and shouldn't be hard on muscles and joints.

But exercise and diet isn't doing anything to reduce weight loss. I said this multiple times. If I was losing weight off this I wouldn't be here complaining. The most efficient way I found to lose weight was to reduce caloric intake, even from a recommended 2000 cal per day.

I exercised every day and rode a bike too for 30 minutes with excruciating knee and joint pain without A SINGLE POUND shed. Not one. Measured myself every day and tracked the analytics. 160. Every day give or take.

 

[Tobias Kahun]

But exercise and diet isn't doing anything to reduce weight loss. I said this multiple times. If I was losing weight off this I wouldn't be here complaining. The most efficient way I found to lose weight was to reduce caloric intake, even from a recommended 2000 cal per day.

I exercised every day and rode a bike too for 30 minutes with excruciating knee and joint pain without A SINGLE POUND shed. Not one. Measured myself every day and tracked the analytics. 160. Every day give or take.

So excercise and diet isnt doing anything? But just diet is?

That makes no sense.

Its a simple thing of calories in vs calories out.

If you do the same diet you're doing now, and add 30-60 minutes of cardio, you will lose more weight than just being on the diet.

 

[John Price]

So excercise and diet isnt doing anything? But just diet is?

That makes no sense.

Its a simple thing of calories in vs calories out.

If you do the same diet you're doing now, and add 30-60 minutes of cardio, you will lose more weight than just being on the diet.

But I haven't lost any weight doing this which is why I just decided to cut down on calories and portion sizes. I was really perplexed how I was exercising daily and not losing weight.

 

[Tobias Kahun]

But I haven't lost any weight doing this which is why I just decided to cut down on calories and portion sizes. I was really perplexed how I was exercising daily and not losing weight.

Because you should be exercising AND dieting.

Both is better than one.

 

[John Price]

Because you should be exercising AND dieting.

Both is better than one.

I did this though.

 

[JMCx4]

@John Price ... Read this article & reflect.

 

[Dingo]

Some people work on the engine, some people only care about the paint.

Is what it be.

 

[BigBadBruins7708]

Basically yes.

Can you lose weight with just dieting? Sure.

Is that loss sustainable? Not really without exercise.

You need exercise as part of the lifestyle change needed to keep weight off. It's relatively easy to lose weight, but keeping it off is the challenge. No one can stay on a deficit diet forever, and exercise is the piece that lets you maintain the healthy weight with a normal calorie amount.

Not even getting into the added physical benefits of more strength, the cardiovascular benefits, heart health, etc.

And exercise doesn't have to mean becoming a gym rat. Even basic things like walking a few miles a day are good for you

 

[Took a pill in Sbisa]

But exercise and diet isn't doing anything to reduce weight loss. I said this multiple times. If I was losing weight off this I wouldn't be here complaining. The most efficient way I found to lose weight was to reduce caloric intake, even from a recommended 2000 cal per day.

I exercised every day and rode a bike too for 30 minutes with excruciating knee and joint pain without A SINGLE POUND shed. Not one. Measured myself every day and tracked the analytics. 160. Every day give or take.

If this was the case, you were at maintenance calories with your exercise. You may have thought you were dieting when you did the exercise, but you would have been compensating the exercise with more calories than you'd normally have had before you started doing exercise. It's calories in vs calories out. A side effect of cardiovascular training is hunger as your body is trying to make up the calories. Whatever 'diet' you think you were on was just maintenance calories. Take away the exercise and not only do you have to account for less calories to lose weight, but even more for all the calories you would have burnt with exercise.

Nothing that I said was my opinion. It's just how the body works.

 

[Tobias Kahun]

If this was the case, you were at maintenance calories with your exercise. You may have thought you were dieting when you did the exercise, but you would have been compensating the exercise with more calories than you'd normally have had before you started doing exercise. It's calories in vs calories out. A side effect of cardiovascular training is hunger as your body is trying to make up the calories. Whatever 'diet' you think you were on was just maintenance calories. Take away the exercise and not only do you have to account for less calories to lose weight, but even more for all the calories you would have burnt with exercise.

Nothing that I said was my opinion. It's just how the body works.

Pretty much this.

 

[John Price]

I walked a mile to the stadium Sunday and a mile back. When I got home I had gained 3 pounds. So unless that's muscle mass exercise isn't doing shit. Went from 148 to 152 almost immediately.

"It's water weight bro."

It's still 151 today. f***ing weight loss man. And by the way, do you all have tips on when to weigh yourself? I weight myself constantly and track the figures in a excel spreadsheet. I develop these wacky theories that I have to "purge" my body before weighing myself, meaning everything in the body that is causing weight is all let's say "expunged" from the system, including fluid waste. How do I account for food intake that's in the stomach, cause obvious that weighs something lol

 

[Tobias Kahun]

I walked a mile to the stadium Sunday and a mile back. When I got home I had gained 3 pounds. So unless that's muscle mass exercise isn't doing shit. Went from 148 to 152 almost immediately.

"It's water weight bro."

It's still 151 today. f***ing weight loss man. And by the way, do you all have tips on when to weigh yourself? I weight myself constantly and track the figures in a excel spreadsheet. I develop these wacky theories that I have to "purge" my body before weighing myself, meaning everything in the body that is causing weight is all let's say "expunged" from the system, including fluid waste. How do I account for food intake that's in the stomach, cause obvious that weighs something lol

The lightest you will weight is in the morning.

Its normal for your weight to fluctuate and go up during the day as you consume food/drinks.

The body is not that complicated, its calories in vs calories out.

At this point it seems like this is just a bait thread, because you disagree with everything the science tells us.

Also for being 150 pounds, your TDEE will be lower than 2000 most likely.

 

[John Price]

The lightest you will weight is in the morning.

Its normal for your weight to fluctuate and go up during the day as you consume food/drinks.

The body is not that complicated, its calories in vs calories out.

At this point it seems like this is just a bait thread, because you disagree with everything the science tells us.

Also for being 150 pounds, your TDEE will be lower than 2000 most likely.

I've reviewed the science and it's not working. Science tells us exercise will contribute to weight loss. But I exercised and gained weight.

 

[Tobias Kahun]

I've reviewed the science and it's not working. Science tells us exercise will contribute to weight loss. But I exercised and gained weight.

That means you're eating more and not restricting your calories the same as when you dont exercise.

 

[John Price]

That means you're eating more and not restricting your calories the same as when you dont exercise.

It happens constantly even with caloric control. That's why I made the damn thread. Now if you want to hurl insults fine but I'm just reporting what I see off analytics and weight trends from regular weight tracking. And the numbers indicate no loss due to exercise. Trust me. In my old age if I exercised and lost weight I wouldn't complain. I'd be exercising every day. But I'm not seeing any weight loss with a 2000 calorie diet. I only saw it when I reduced it to 1200 or so. It's as you said, it's not hard. I limited my caloric intake. Exercise wasn't a factor and shouldn't be because it's not doing anything.

 

[Tobias Kahun]

It happens constantly even with caloric control. That's why I made the damn thread. Now if you want to hurl insults fine but I'm just reporting what I see off analytics and weight trends from regular weight tracking. And the numbers indicate no loss due to exercise. Trust me. In my old age if I exercised and lost weight I wouldn't complain. I'd be exercising every day. But I'm not seeing any weight loss with a 2000 calorie diet. I only saw it when I reduced it to 1200 or so. It's as you said, it's not hard. I limited my caloric intake. Exercise wasn't a factor and shouldn't be because it's not doing anything.

Have you ran your height weight and age through a TDEE? 2000 is clearly not below maintenance if you’re not losing weight with it

You would see even more weight loss if you stuck to a 1200 calorie diet while exercising.

 

[Took a pill in Sbisa]

I walked a mile to the stadium Sunday and a mile back. When I got home I had gained 3 pounds. So unless that's muscle mass exercise isn't doing shit. Went from 148 to 152 almost immediately.

"It's water weight bro."

It's still 151 today. f***ing weight loss man. And by the way, do you all have tips on when to weigh yourself? I weight myself constantly and track the figures in a excel spreadsheet. I develop these wacky theories that I have to "purge" my body before weighing myself, meaning everything in the body that is causing weight is all let's say "expunged" from the system, including fluid waste. How do I account for food intake that's in the stomach, cause obvious that weighs something lol

If you're going to weigh yourself consistently the most objective time is first thing in the morning before consuming anything at all.

 

[ceg195]

Yeah, eat 3 healthy meals a day without snacking. That’s what got me; mindless eating. Scheduled meals is where it’s at. You won’t even be hungry.

 

[EpochLink]

I exercise 4 times a week in the morning, eat between 8AM - 530PM.
No snacking, drink plenty of water, fasting as well.

 

[The Crypto Guy]

I exercise 4 times a week in the morning, eat between 8AM - 530PM.
No snacking, drink plenty of water, fasting as well.

You don't go out for a night with the boys to watch a game?

Seems like a horrible way to live and trust me I've done my dieting. But not eating after 530? That seems odd unless you go to sleep at 7pm.

 

[EpochLink]

You don't go out for a night with the boys to watch a game?

Seems like a horrible way to live and trust me I've done my dieting. But not eating after 530? That seems odd unless you go to sleep at 7pm.

I work evening shifts and I’m done around 10pm.
I’m not hungry after 530 tbh and I discipline myself on that.