Discussion
Anonymous-poster said:
The thing is that most people who are training regularly to compete will be watching what they eat a lot more carefully than a couch potatoe who thinks going for a stroll twice a week with a bottle of Energy drink stuck to their fat face!
They don't really watch what they eat. They have a lifestyle where exercise is more important than food, which is a secondary concern. They view food mainly as fuel, as do many who adopt an active lifestyle. It's a mindset, and this is where exercise becomes more important in the cals in/out equation than diet to someone who exercises regularly. The reverse is true I think of a person wanting to lose weight who is new to exercise: in this instance initial weightloss if far more easily accomplished via a calorie controlled diet and exercise can seem like torture!popeyewhite said:
Just a quick comment on this misconceived constantly popping-up phrase: When I was running competitively I knew many runners who loved beer, pies, chips, curry etc. Whilst it's true they didn't stuff their face, it's also true they paid scant regard to calorie or portion control and they let their energy expenditure from training take care of all the calories. If you devote enough time to your exercise of choice you can actually out train a bad diet. More or less, anyway.
These habits seem to be why ex-sportspeople and ex-servicemen and others with occupationally high calorie expenditure sometimes inflate enormously when they stop doing what they do. They stop the exercise and keep the intake. otolith said:
These habits seem to be why ex-sportspeople and ex-servicemen and others with occupationally high calorie expenditure sometimes inflate enormously when they stop doing what they do. They stop the exercise and keep the intake.
I think you're right, it catches a lot of them out. otolith said:
These habits seem to be why ex-sportspeople and ex-servicemen and others with occupationally high calorie expenditure sometimes inflate enormously when they stop doing what they do. They stop the exercise and keep the intake.
But surely their weight still just remain as it is, because, er, the body maintains it 
Anonymous-poster said:
At least there’s no hyperbole there with the numbers, if you fed a very active person 500 calories a day extra and he was cycling the transcontinental race do you think he would gain or lose weight?
If I cycle for just over 1 hr per day either on a trainer or outside I can burn 1000 calories and walking briskly can burn maybe 250-300 ph so burning calories can be done but if you want to lose weight then you must watch how many calories you stuff into your face as as the saying goes “you can’t out train a bad diet” but you can burn off 1000 calories if you are committed but wasting your time if as you say you are eating 5000 extra per day!
This isn’t really looking at top flight athletes who we know consume and burn a vast quantity of calories. It is about baseline activity and requirements. It would be interesting to do a study like this on a range of athletes but I don’t think it’s been done. If I cycle for just over 1 hr per day either on a trainer or outside I can burn 1000 calories and walking briskly can burn maybe 250-300 ph so burning calories can be done but if you want to lose weight then you must watch how many calories you stuff into your face as as the saying goes “you can’t out train a bad diet” but you can burn off 1000 calories if you are committed but wasting your time if as you say you are eating 5000 extra per day!
Your cycling example would fall into the boundaries of these studies. It is unlikely over a week those calories would not balance out. It’s not enough. The tribe discussed in this particular study (there are others) were walking about 8 hours a day and didn’t need any more calories than a sedentary Brit sitting on their couch all day eating pizza.
If you want to lose weight it is far easier not consume an excess of calories than to consume them and try and burn them off. Surely that is uncontroversial?
Anonymous-poster said:
At least there’s no hyperbole there with the numbers, if you fed a very active person 500 calories a day extra and he was cycling the transcontinental race do you think he would gain or lose weight?
If I cycle for just over 1 hr per day either on a trainer or outside I can burn 1000 calories and walking briskly can burn maybe 250-300 ph so burning calories can be done but if you want to lose weight then you must watch how many calories you stuff into your face as as the saying goes “you can’t out train a bad diet” but you can burn off 1000 calories if you are committed but wasting your time if as you say you are eating 5000 extra per day!
Only time I ever excercised enough to eat whatever I liked was when I lived in London and cycled to and from work every day. You can out exercise a bad diet but it involves a lot of exercise. Now that I don't have the time for that much exercise I have to combine it with dieting. If I cycle for just over 1 hr per day either on a trainer or outside I can burn 1000 calories and walking briskly can burn maybe 250-300 ph so burning calories can be done but if you want to lose weight then you must watch how many calories you stuff into your face as as the saying goes “you can’t out train a bad diet” but you can burn off 1000 calories if you are committed but wasting your time if as you say you are eating 5000 extra per day!
popeyewhite said:
Anonymous-poster said:
The thing is that most people who are training regularly to compete will be watching what they eat a lot more carefully than a couch potatoe who thinks going for a stroll twice a week with a bottle of Energy drink stuck to their fat face!
They don't really watch what they eat. They have a lifestyle where exercise is more important than food, which is a secondary concern. They view food mainly as fuel, as do many who adopt an active lifestyle. It's a mindset, and this is where exercise becomes more important in the cals in/out equation than diet to someone who exercises regularly. The reverse is true I think of a person wanting to lose weight who is new to exercise: in this instance initial weightloss if far more easily accomplished via a calorie controlled diet and exercise can seem like torture!gregs656 said:
Anonymous-poster said:
At least there’s no hyperbole there with the numbers, if you fed a very active person 500 calories a day extra and he was cycling the transcontinental race do you think he would gain or lose weight?
If I cycle for just over 1 hr per day either on a trainer or outside I can burn 1000 calories and walking briskly can burn maybe 250-300 ph so burning calories can be done but if you want to lose weight then you must watch how many calories you stuff into your face as as the saying goes “you can’t out train a bad diet” but you can burn off 1000 calories if you are committed but wasting your time if as you say you are eating 5000 extra per day!
This isn’t really looking at top flight athletes who we know consume and burn a vast quantity of calories. It is about baseline activity and requirements. It would be interesting to do a study like this on a range of athletes but I don’t think it’s been done. If I cycle for just over 1 hr per day either on a trainer or outside I can burn 1000 calories and walking briskly can burn maybe 250-300 ph so burning calories can be done but if you want to lose weight then you must watch how many calories you stuff into your face as as the saying goes “you can’t out train a bad diet” but you can burn off 1000 calories if you are committed but wasting your time if as you say you are eating 5000 extra per day!
Your cycling example would fall into the boundaries of these studies. It is unlikely over a week those calories would not balance out. It’s not enough. The tribe discussed in this particular study (there are others) were walking about 8 hours a day and didn’t need any more calories than a sedentary Brit sitting on their couch all day eating pizza.
If you want to lose weight it is far easier not consume an excess of calories than to consume them and try and burn them off. Surely that is uncontroversial?
popeyewhite said:
Anonymous-poster said:
Well I don’t agree that elite level runners/cyclists don’t watch what they eat!
Nor do I, but AFAIA no one has mentioned elite level runners/cyclists! 
The thrust of my discussion was dedicated competitive runners... .
Anonymous-poster said:
popeyewhite said:
Anonymous-poster said:
Well I don’t agree that elite level runners/cyclists don’t watch what they eat!
Nor do I, but AFAIA no one has mentioned elite level runners/cyclists! The thrust of my discussion was dedicated competitive runners... .
anonymous said:
[redacted]
Never understood this. Why would anyone just want to lose weight? it is just a number on a machine, what benefit is in that? what do they think it promises? Most people who are successful in losing weight do indeed lose weight but they end up turning themselves from a fat person into a smaller fat person - why?Changing the way they look and function is what people really want if they take the time to dig into it and that is better achieved with a more considered and holistic approach.
272BHP said:
anonymous said:
[redacted]
Never understood this. Why would anyone just want to lose weight? it is just a number on a machine, what benefit is in that? what do they think it promises? Most people who are successful in losing weight do indeed lose weight but they end up turning themselves from a fat person into a smaller fat person - why?Changing the way they look and function is what people really want if they take the time to dig into it and that is better achieved with a more considered and holistic approach.
272BHP said:
Most people who are successful in losing weight do indeed lose weight but they end up turning themselves from a fat person into a smaller fat person - why?
.
They mostly lose weight through reducing their fat stores, becoming more slender (or less round)..
No one I k ow has lost.weight through reducing their height, or through muscular atrophy.
The why? Is simple. Either for vanity or health. Losing weight can have a number of health benefits, such as reducing the risks of diabetes, or reducing joint issues.
My point is that you can indeed go on a diet and go from say 200 pounds to 170 pounds but unless you also embark on a properly constructed strength and conditioning regime then you are not going to get the results you expect.
I have seen it a hundred times "I lost 30 pounds!" of course I congratulate them and smile wanly but what I am really thinking is, so what? you still look like crap, just a little bit smaller.
Weight loss as a goal in itself is nonsense. Train for performance and the physique and health benefits will come along with it.
I have seen it a hundred times "I lost 30 pounds!" of course I congratulate them and smile wanly but what I am really thinking is, so what? you still look like crap, just a little bit smaller.
Weight loss as a goal in itself is nonsense. Train for performance and the physique and health benefits will come along with it.
272BHP said:
anonymous said:
[redacted]
Never understood this. Why would anyone just want to lose weight? it is just a number on a machine, what benefit is in that? what do they think it promises? Most people who are successful in losing weight do indeed lose weight but they end up turning themselves from a fat person into a smaller fat person - why?Changing the way they look and function is what people really want if they take the time to dig into it and that is better achieved with a more considered and holistic approach.
Others want to look more muscled
Everyone wants different things.
RMDB9 said:
First of all, I want to be less fat. The is fat and fat - the fat inside is particularly damaging.
Then I want to work on my endurance, stamina and posture.
Looking "ripped" comes last, or never.
Don’t talk yourself down, you’re going to be transforming your flabby dad bod into a beach bod for summer 21. Then I want to work on my endurance, stamina and posture.
Looking "ripped" comes last, or never.
When covid ends and everyone heads on holidays or the seaside, all the girls will be like “look who’s been working out” when you walk by!
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