Dieting and Exercise Aren't Effective Fat Loss Tools

Originally posted by buddhistpunk
I never said it didn't but its not necessary for fat loss.Diet first every time.NEXT.

You will lose more weight in a shorter time period by combining a healthy diet with a regular cardiovascular workout i.e. training between medium to high intensity 3 times a week. NEXT

Originally posted by Death_Kron

Originally posted by buddhistpunk
I never said it didn't but its not necessary for fat loss.Diet first every time.NEXT.

You will lose more weight in a shorter time period by combining a healthy diet with a regular cardiovascular workout i.e. training between medium to high intensity 3 times a week. NEXT

Thats true but most people fail because of diet.High intesity is no good for overweight and out of shape people.

Originally posted by buddhistpunk
Thats true but most people fail because of diet.High intesity is no good for overweight and out of shape people.

Hence the reason I mentioned Swimming as the poster I was replying to is recovering from a broken patella, the same reasoning can be applied to someone who is overweight; intense cardio could be counter productive as it will place stress upon their joints.

Swimming, cycling on fixed bicycle or rowing would all be good alternatives.

Interesting thread.

I'm a qualified Personal Trainer/Sports Therapist and all of the people i've done programmes for in the past have succeded by partaking in exercise (both cardio and a weights routine if they are able), and a good nutrition programme.

I also have lost much weight in the past by exercising and watching what i eat. Not starving myself, not restricting major amounts of a particular food group. Little and often has always worked for me as far as nutrition is concerned, but it hasn't worked for everyone i know.

I know this though, from the avaerage Joe doing their own programme at home, to the most successfull trainers in the world, i think many would argue that diet and exercise are not effective fat loss tools.

There are other threads around ATS and the wider web that people really need to be careful of taking it as gospel.

Yes much of your results are what you eat (and drink....water water water!)...but you don't need to be a trainer or scientist to get results.

Smaller portions...you are allowed to stop eating when you are full.

Water.....drink plenty every day.

Cardio....whatever that may be for you....get some each day.

Weights/strength routiine....if you are wanting to change your shape....3 times a week for no more than an hour WILL get you results.

Most imortantly, enjoy what you do. Cutting out everything thats bad might get you results, but if you're miserable all the way through the programme, is it really a healthy thing for you and those around you? You don't have to be a nutition expert to know if you have a plate of crap in front of you, but let yourself have that naughty snack now and again too.

Unless you are going for specific fitness/sport goals, the above will help you. Just don't stress over it, do it for at least a couple of months before you decide that it doesn't work....and lastly.....don't listen to anyone who says that diet and exercise cannot lose you that tum.

Try it for a couple of months.

CX.

Cue Standard Mod Speech

Hi People,

Please can we keep it focused on the post and not the posters...

Attack the topic and not eachother...and please also keep it on topic.


Cheers.

Thank you DevolutionEvolvd for a very educational post.

I don't have a weight problem but my wife is struggeling to keep her weight down, trying this and that diet, exercises as well without results.

What you say here absolutely makes sense; and it's something worth to consider and try out.
You earned my first flag given

reply to post by Final Solstice


So you wouldnt recommend a permenent ketogenic diet for bodybuilders or people in general?. I myself am considering trying the ketogenic diet, while still doing a lot of weightlifting and some cardio workout.

calm down deadtruth, we don't want you to end up on yr table cos of high blood pressure. I'm just pointing out the hostility i'm reading. You, by right, have an opinion but just chill. I admire you for your free services. Just keep your cool.

"High intensity is no good for overweight and out of shape people."

It depends on what you are talking about. The machine I am standing on was actually designed for someone who is 300kg with mobility issues. As a mortician that was my "worst case scenario" I worked in mind with.

There is a position called "ski the slopes" that works out all major muscle groups while keeping the head above the heart ( to keep blood pressure even ) . It solely works on eccentric contractions taking the muscle to fatigue quickly.

( like jumping off a chair and landing over and over again )

Not the whole picture, not cardio, but better than nothing and it is hard work. I have gotten people who will not even walk to their letter box to exercise.

Having a limited idea of "exercise" is what holds us back as animals.

reply to post by essxjay


Sorry not meaning to come across "angry" It is just so frustrating being at the coal face of the obesity epidemic, and knowing it is partially cased by ignorance and excuse enabling.

Even the so called fitness industry is designed to make over-sized people uncomfortable and self conscious. I have yet to see a gym with a proper obesity program in place.

I understand that insulin levels have a large part to do with metabolism.

You're forgetting one major essential component though.

Oxygen

The bodies' rate at which it metabolizes fat is due to how much Oxygen the cells are getting.

That also equals more energy for the person in whatever situation. Find ways to increase oxygen levels cellularly to the body. That means breathing deeper, taking in anti-oxidants and whatever assimilates a better oxygen flow in the body.

This is the core issue, insulin takes a second.

reply to post by DevolutionEvolvd


Hi,

I did not read all of your post, but I can tell you the best way to lose weight is to eat in moderation, meaning, it's okay to have carbs, sweets, meat and yes a coke once in awhile. Stay away from diet foods, period, they have asparatame and splenda in it, that # will make you gain weight faster then you can blink. I was on it for 5 years, once getting off all of my weight and bad symtpoms went away. I eat what I want I weigh 125lbs, and I eat in moderation! I stay away from drinking all day, i have my two drinks in the morning, then I spend the day drinking water or decaffienated tea. I workout on my elliptical, and go for walks. I also would stay away from energy drinks as that stuff is disgusting anyway, and yes it will cause you to gain weight.

You want tlose weight eat a ton of vegetables, fruits, and anything else in moderation, get rid of microwavable meals, diet meals, diet anything, because that is where the problem lies! Yes, working out is great for you!! Good luck!

I read an article recently that said in essence we should always strive to eat foods that are alive eg fruits, vegetables, etc, rather than foods that are dead eg processed foods, meats, etc. Ive found this a good principle to go by when making decisions as to what to eat when faced with a choice.

reply to post by Nonchalant


60-70% of your daily intake of nutrients should be in raw/cold/natural form

Originally posted by Albastion
reply to post by DevolutionEvolvd

 

No, I read your thread and understood it, so don't say I didn't "get it".

Well, you certainly miscontrued the analogy....so.....

I DISAGREE with you. You are making the mistake of taking my disagreement with your argument and personal anecdote/opinion as a lack of understanding. You are wrong to do so.

What personal anecdoate? The OP is based on physiological facts derived from observations and clinical studies regarding metabolic reactions to caloric intake and physical activity. It is in fact NOT based on opinion.

You attributed a lot of weight loss to hormone imbalances. I have no disagreement with you there. Some people are born with thyroid disorders or other genetic problems that makes them fat. This is a small minority, however.

Thyroid, yes. But I'm not talking about thyroid hormones. And while genetic expressions do play a role in fat distribution, I'm still not talking about genetics.

I'm talking about dietarily influenced metabolic hormones. Specifically insulin.

Diet and Exercise are known to help regulate your hormone levels, which leads to healthy physiology.

Of course. This is why I made the distinction between exercising to burn calories (jogging, walking, etc.) and exercising to improve insulin resistance (resistance training, interval training, etc).

Your argument is basically Hormone Imbalance (leads to) Fatness, and fails to address the underlying cause of the hormone imbalance in the first place, which is lack of exercise.

My argument is basically that specific dietary choices have negative influences on metabolic hormones that, over time, lead to a disruption in hormonal equilibrium resulting in excess fat deposition, starvation at the cellular level, hyperphagia and lethargy. Therefore, approaching the symptom of this disruption, obesity, with intent to create a negative caloric balance is absolutely ridiculous and it ignores the primary cause. A lack of exercise, or innactivity, did not cause the hormone imbalance; however, metabolic exercise can improve hormone sensitivity, thereby improving equilibrium.

Lack of exercise is caused by lack of motivation.

If being diagnosed with diabetes isn't enough to motivate you to exercise then there is obviously a LARGE physiological effect on the psyche. This suggests that, in unhealthy individuals, lack of exercise is indirectly caused by physiological influences...such as metabolism.

Guess what? If a hormone is making you "statistically less motivated" than the average person to go exercise, that's still your problem, it's still 100% YOUR FAULT IF YOU DON'T EXERCISE, you made the choice. If hormones could run wild dictating people's actions like you are implying, then we can never have a woman president because I don't want her starting any world wars when she's on her period.

There is a primal reason why one lacks the will and motivation to exercise when they are obese/over-fat. It's because instead of having fuel readily available...it's being stored in fat cells, leading to starvation at the cellular level. And if the body is starving, burning excess calories can kill you.

reply to post by DevolutionEvolvd


The problem with this topic is political correctness or pc for short. Your post was not about everyone falling into a certain category and being able to blame their obesity on hormones. Yes you did address certain aspects about what we as a society have been taught about weightloss and labeled it misconceptions. Again people didn't understand you were pointing out they were misconceptions because they didn't apply to everyone.Folks are posting over and over how they lost weight with diet and exercise and I believe them however their mistake is thinking this will work for everyone which is my take on your posting. I agree with you on your premise because I've witness people go through the angst of trying to lose weight. Weight technically they shouldn't have gain because of the lifestyle they lived with normal blood tests to match. These people did everything right just to not lose a pound or worst yet gain weight until they discovered they suffered from insulin resistance or some other hormonal imbalance.

Once they discovered their problem they were able to address it effectively and get back to their normal weight. Had it not been for articles and books written on the subject these people would've spent an lifetime unsuccessfully fighting their bodies possibly creating more problems by not addressing the real culprit.

The reason their doctors didn't catch the problem is because the charts for normal ranges for different chemical reactions in the body would indicate things were normal. Again people, in this case doctors, failed to realize everybody's normals will not be the same, meaning the charts they use to determine if there is an imbalance is not accurate for everybody.

From what I have read, studies have shown not much difference in eating 3 larger meals per day, vs eating 5-7 smaller meals per day in regards to same amount of calories in. They have even studied with folks eating 1 large meal per day with all your calories and it was not significantly different than eating 3 or 5+ meals per day as long as the calorie counts were the same. There have even been studies where folks eat healthy foods vs junk foods and their weight loss was similar if they just counted calories.

Of course one may indeed be healthier than another as I am sure those eating healthier foods will be better off. The major issue was that folks who ate multiple smaller meals were more alert, and less hungry and unless prompted to do so, they would actually eat fewer calories than those who ate less and larger meals. So it still boiled down to counting calories.

Healthier foods also tend to be less calorie dense than unhealthy or processed foods. So that also contributes to weight loss/gain. If you are eating lots of high sugar, high calorie junk food then you will tend to consume more calories than someone who eats a ton of vegetables every day.

I personally was 315+ lbs about a year ago, started watching my calories and exercising at least a few times per week. I have since then lost 80 lbs. I also eat whatever I want but do tend to try and lean on the healthier side and I count calories of everything I eat. I also try to stay within the daily limits for my sugars, sodium etc. I don't follow any strict diet, just exercise and watch the calories.

I am still losing 1 to 2 lbs per week, depending on how well I count my calories. As long as I don't go over my daily maintenance calories I am fine. I also make sure I am at or over my maintenance calories at least 1 or 2 days per week (weekends). Doing so has helped to ensure my metabolism doesn't become sluggish.

I have even gone weeks without working out and either maintained or actually lost weight. All this by watching what I eat and counting my calories. I also ensure I adjust how much I eat to compensate for the calories I burn while exercising. It is pretty effortless and easy.

Simply put, I burn more than I intake. If I started gaining weight by eating less than my metabolism needs to survive, then I suppose scientists should study me and try to create a perpetual energy machine with me producing more than I am consuming...

Just my thoughts and personal experience, although some of the items covered by the OP may indeed apply to some folks.

reply to post by DJM8507


Good job and I wish you continued success!!!