I like these "one size fits all" articles that can be interpreted in so many ways. The real key to weight loss is, after all, to take in less calories than you burn. The idea that exercise is a contributing factor in the obesity problem is a new one, to me at least.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/2009080...9lc2V4ZXJjaXNl


Excerpt:

"In general, for weight loss, exercise is pretty useless," says Eric Ravussin, chair in diabetes and metabolism at Louisiana State University and a prominent exercise researcher. Many recent studies have found that exercise isn't as important in helping people lose weight as you hear so regularly in gym advertisements or on shows like The Biggest Loser - or, for that matter, from magazines like this one.

The basic problem is that while it's true that exercise burns calories and that you must burn calories to lose weight, exercise has another effect: it can stimulate hunger. That causes us to eat more, which in turn can negate the weight-loss benefits we just accrued. Exercise, in other words, isn't necessarily helping us lose weight. It may even be making it harder."
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I dont even have a response to it. So people should not exercise because it makes them hungry. Well that's where self control comes in. And if people don't understand the other health benefits of exercising they are stupid. Excuse my rant.
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According to my doctor exercise is the key. I have been dieting all my life and without exercise not much happens. Watching what you eat and walking or riding a bike for 20 minutes a day will take the pounds off.
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What an asshat. Where do some of these so called "experts" come from:-)

The first step for most people losing weight is knowing when to put the f*****ing fork down, not avoiding exercise, :-)
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According to the excerpt....LSU Geaux Tigers :-)
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Must be a relative of Dr Ruth....the one who put out all those "how to raise a child" books, and come to find out, she didn't have any children herself.
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This person is a great and credible "expert". An expert at what people want to hear.:-)
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What this article really says:

I'm an a$$hat who doesn't have the first clue on how to exercise effectively. So I'll write an exciting article and publish it on yahoo to make all the other a$$hats out there who share my problem feel better.

...

Anyway, I stopped reading the article after the first couple of paragraphs. Is it safe to assume that the author cited a number of "respected" medical experts who gave their "informed opinion"?

Why do doctors who have never stepped into a weight room in their life and haven't the first clue of what goes on there feel the need to weigh in on these things?
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Sound bites suck.
Exercise keeps the heart healthy. Then it's like the song "There's a hole in the bottom of the sea". It's a big picture, not a sound bite.
The end of the attached article says...
"In short, it's what you eat, not how hard you try to work it off, that matters more in losing weight. You should exercise to improve your health, but be warned: fiery spurts of vigorous exercise could lead to weight gain."
The bolded part is obvious. If you eat what you usually eat, then work your ass off, you eat more because it makes you hungry. Ultimately you end up fatter.

Mark is exactly right when he said "The real key to weight loss is, after all, to take in less calories than you burn".
Gluttony and sloth are human conditions. I'm good at both. That's why I'm fat, not because I don't exercise, because I work my ass off. :-)
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Exercise plus limiting calories is the key to losing weight. Any diet is actually bad for you and you shouldn't really follow one. If you do you need a. Doctor's guidance b. needs to be short term c. talk to a nutrionist. After that you will need lifestyle changes of regulated food intake and exercise if you want to maintain a certain weight.
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My PCP put it to me this way once:

"Excercise is the best medicine, diet, weight loss supplement you can find."
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See, now scientific evidence not to do cardio. I don't like cardio anyway so now I have an excuse!
:-)
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another excuse for people that are fat to feel sorry for themselves, and have everyone else feel sorry.
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What a crock of ****.
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Glad to see I'm not the only one who that the article was complete BS!
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:-)
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Some of the things I have read lately are incredible. This is a case of some nobody "Dr." trying to make a name for himself...I am throwing out the bullshit flag.

P.S. I do think people in Louisiana must be listening to him...there sure are a lot of fat asses here. :-)
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Yeah, THAT makes sense.

Anyone notice that McDonalds came out with a BIGGER Burger??

The new THIRD POUNDER??

720 to 860 calories PER sandwich.

Yeah....and exercise makes you fatter....:-)
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Guess I'll jump in and share my experience, which is contrary to the running theme of this thread. I'm a new guy, don't want to piss anybody off, but my experience is my experience.

I gained the "freshman 50" when i went to college in 2000, which brought me to around 235 pounds. For a while I did nothing, but around 2005 I really started trying to lose weight. I tried exercise, in the form of running, walking, and riding a stationary bike. I tried many times and failed to lose any weight. Maybe I was doing it wrong, but I started at 20 minutes 3-4 times a week and eventually would get up to 30 minutes 3-4 times a week, with intensity. It was frustrating to not lose any weight, and put in so much work. Exercise made me feel good, but it wasn't getting easier, and the scale wasn't changing a bit.

Eventually in the spring of '08 I was whining to a friend and mentor of mine about how I was tired of being fat, and he told me exercise was great for overall health, but if I wanted to lose weight all I needed to do was change what I eat. He told me to cut sugar and carbs. So I went extreme and did good old fashioned Atkins. Since then I have slowly converted out of Atkins, and have converted my diet to eating whole, non-processed foods. I avoid fast foods. I eat lots of vegetables. I eat organic shredded wheat cereal in the mornings loaded with fiber. And when I want a country fried steak or some ice cream, I don't torture myself, I just have some! I just don't eat it everyday.

As I lost weight portion size went down. I focus on organic foods, and keep to the outside aisles of the grocery store whenever possible. I avoid foods with ingredients I don't understand (yes, that means high fructose corn syrup and partially hydrogenated soybean oils).

Doing all this lost me 40 pounds, without a single second of exercise (ok, i did some sit ups toward the end of last spring). :-)

Having said all that, I am resolving to start an exercise program of some kind this spring. It may not be the weight loss solution for me, but I do believe its the true "magic pill" for a lot of health problems.

Anywho, just my experience. If you are trying to lose weight and busting your butt exercising to no avail, try concentrating more on the diet.
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