Diet? Exercise? Or Both? (And Why Such A High Failure Rate)

[bcalvanese]

There is a lot of debate about this subject for getting to, and maintaining a healthy weight.

Some may say you can do this by dieting alone, and that exercise counts as little to nothing, and that weight loss happens only in the kitchen.

Some may say you can do it through exercise alone, and that dieting accounts for little to nothing, and that weight loss happens only by burning calories.

Some may say one is more important than the other, and even go as far as using percentages of which one is more important than the other.

Here is my take...

There are 2 factors involved here.

1. calories in.
2. calories out.

So that gives us 2 choices.

1. you must eat less calories than you burn.
2. you must burn more calories than you eat.

This should be a very simple and basic way to look at it, and I often wonder why people overcomplicate this so much, and even to the point of making an already difficult thing almost impossible.

The above mentioned factors (calories in/out) are the only two weapons we have to fight this battle, yet some people only go to battle with one weapon or the other because maybe they think it's the only way thay can win, or they just don't know they have two weapons.

Dieting Alone (calories in)

To do it this way you must eat less calories to lose weight. You must cut at least 500 calories out of your diet every single day to lose 1 lb. per week (3,500 calories = 1 lb.). That is pretty close to a whole meal, and you are going to be hungry all the time after a while. You are going to have to weigh everything down to the gram to insure you get every last calorie that you can eat, and this is where most people eventually fail. You can only go hungry for so long before you start overeating and wind up gaining more weight back than you started with in the first place (been there a couple times). If you are not at a good fitness level (as i was), you are going to have an even harder time because your body is NOT healthy enough to maintain the proper blood/chemical levels needed for good health.

Exercising Alone (calories out)

To do it this way you must burn at least 500 more calories per day to lose 1 lb. per week (3,500 calories = 1 lb.). If you do it this way and still over eat, you will feel like you are working so hard and not losing weight (and maybe even gaining weight if you over eat too much). If you exercise the right way you will increase your fitness level, but if you gorge on junk food a lot, you will still be suseptical to all the health issues associated with a bad diet.

Exercising And Dieting (calories in/out)

This is where you can use both weapons and use the advantages of both. The CDC recommends 150 minutes (2.5 hours) of moderate/vigorous aerobic activity per week, and 2 days of muscular exercise that works all major muscle groups per week. Keep in mind that these recommendations are to maintain a normal fitness level, and if you are at a poor fitness level (as I was) you will have to double up until you reach a good fitness level (as I am doing now).

The CDC also has good recommendations on a proper diet as well. Basically you should eat a balanced and well rounded diet that consists of mainly healthy foods of all the food groups, and limit junk foods to a once in a while treat instead of making it part of your daily diet. Some people may call this a cheat day, but I just call it a treat, and it does go into my calories in for that day.

If you increase your fitness level to a good level and eat a well rounded balanced diet, you will be much more likely to succeed than doing one or the other, and you will be an all around healthier person. You can burn 120 calories a day and eat 250 calories less per day and lose 1 lb. per week. You can burn 500 calories per day and not have to eat any less calories per day and lose 1 lb. per week. You can burn 1,000 calories per day and eat 500 more calories per day and lose 1 lb. per week. Well you get the picture.

This is by no means an easy thing, but having two weapons is much easier than one weapon, and you can be right in the middle of your healthy weight range and still be unhealthy. If you are going to do something about your weight, why not do something about your health at the same time?

I always use the 1 lb. per week approach because it is a healthy goal for just about everyone, and it also allows plenty of time to develop good habits and get rid of bad habits. Nature happens very slowely, and it took me 20 years to become obese. Why would I try to rush the reverse?

If you eat a lot of unhealthy foods, don't shock your system and try to go to the cut everything out all at once. Limit them a little at a time and give your body a chance to adjust. Many people fail just by going from one extream to the other.

One of the biggest enemies is expecting too much too fast.

Exercise Recommendations

Steady State Cardio

This is what you want to do if you want to increase your cardio endurance, but you must do it long enough to get a training effect. A training effect is the threshold that you cardio capacity improves, and to get a minimum training effect you must keep your heart in the cardio zone (70 to 85 percent of your maximum heart rate) for a minimum of 20 minutes (non stop), and a minimum of 3 times per week. If you want more than the minimum training effect you can increase the time and/ ofr frequency. There seem to be many types of these extream workouts that get your heart rate way up for like 10 minutes at a time followed by rest periods, but they are more geared toward speed and agility and will not give as good a training effect as steady state will.

Muscular Exercise

You should do this a couple times per week and work all major muscle groups. For strenght training use more weight and less reps, and for endurance use less weight and more reps. Do 3 sets, and do each set until you can't do another rep. This will insure that both muscle fibers have broken down. If you want to build muscle eat more protien and carbs, but if you are trying to lose weight at the same time it will be difficult to do this, but you can still keep the muscle you have in good shape even at a deficit.

Total Health

We are all here because we want to lose weight and be healthier, but as I mentioned a person can be at a healthy weight and be unhealthy. On the other hand, a person can work out like crazy and eat badly and be unhealthy.

Most people who try one way or the other WILL most likely fail, but most that focus on both WILL most likely succeed.

This is only my opinion, and I think both are equally important to maintaining a healthy body weight and good health.

I hope this basic aproach is helpful, and I wish you all the best of luck on your journies.

[SunsetRunner]

Thank you for your thoughtful and well researched remarks on this subject!  You make a lot of excellent points that will be very helpful to many people.  However just for fun, I'd like to challenge you on your basic assumption that there are only "2 factors involved here".   I think you've actually come pretty close without connecting the dots but there is at least one other major factor involved. 

You state that "You can only go hungry for so long before you start overeating and wind up gaining more weight back".  Why is that?  Is pure will power not enough?  What's happening that you can't fight? 

When discussing the exercise only route, you state "If you do it this way and still over eat".  Again.... why? Why doesn't our body understand that we have too much body fat and we just want to burn some of that off? Come on body!

A few other questions for you:  

We know that not getting enough sleep leads to weight gain.  What's going on there?  

We also know that people under chronic stress tend to gain weight, especially in the belly.  What's up with that?  

And as long as we're talking about stress, what about extreme acute stress like a death, major illness or a divorce, how come some people completely lose their appetite (and that pounds melt overnight faster than they should) when that happens? 

How come people drinking diet soda tend to eat more calories?  

And what about weight loss plateaus? How come those happen and how can you get past them?  And what about this crazy "set point" theory, is that real? I wanna change that!

How do prescription drugs affect weight gain/loss?

And can we just mention perimenopause and menopause!?!?  What the hell is going on there?  Imma right, ladies?  

And if a calorie deficit is all that matters, can I eat 1,200 calories of nothing but pop tarts and lose weight?  What's the difference between eating 200 calories of skinless chicken breast and 200 calories of a brownie?  WIll my body respond the same way?

Why are doctors so concerned with a women's thyroid function?

The missing piece to the puzzle is hormones.  Yes! you must have a calorie deficit to lose weight (or hopefully body fat) but you must also have a hormonal balance.  You must work with your body's response to the stresses you put it under in order to achieve the adaption you desire.   Insulin, Ghrelin, Leptin, Adiponectin, Glucagon, Cortisol, HGH... and on and on and on. 

I don't think you can simplify this to just eat less and exercise more, it's more complicated than that. We're getting there but our biology are still a mystery.  I mean, I haven't even talked about the gut microbiome  http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-gut-bacteria-help-make-us-fat-and-thin/ 

Don't mean to pick on you... again great post... just a little "food for thought"

[bcalvanese]

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@SunsetRunner wrote:

Thank you for your thoughtful and well researched remarks on this subject!  You make a lot of excellent points that will be very helpful to many people.  However just for fun, I'd like to challenge you on your basic assumption that there are only "2 factors involved here".   I think you've actually come pretty close without connecting the dots but there is at least one other major factor involved. 

You state that "You can only go hungry for so long before you start overeating and wind up gaining more weight back".  Why is that?  Is pure will power not enough?  What's happening that you can't fight? 

When discussing the exercise only route, you state "If you do it this way and still over eat".  Again.... why? Why doesn't our body understand that we have too much body fat and we just want to burn some of that off? Come on body!

A few other questions for you:  

We know that not getting enough sleep leads to weight gain.  What's going on there?  

We also know that people under chronic stress tend to gain weight, especially in the belly.  What's up with that?  

And as long as we're talking about stress, what about extreme acute stress like a death, major illness or a divorce, how come some people completely lose their appetite (and that pounds melt overnight faster than they should) when that happens? 

How come people drinking diet soda tend to eat more calories?  

And what about weight loss plateaus? How come those happen and how can you get past them?  And what about this crazy "set point" theory, is that real? I wanna change that!

How do prescription drugs affect weight gain/loss?

And can we just mention perimenopause and menopause!?!?  What the hell is going on there?  Imma right, ladies?  

And if a calorie deficit is all that matters, can I eat 1,200 calories of nothing but pop tarts and lose weight?  What's the difference between eating 200 calories of skinless chicken breast and 200 calories of a brownie?  WIll my body respond the same way?

Why are doctors so concerned with a women's thyroid function?

The missing piece to the puzzle is hormones.  Yes! you must have a calorie deficit to lose weight (or hopefully body fat) but you must also have a hormonal balance.  You must work with your body's response to the stresses you put it under in order to achieve the adaption you desire.   Insulin, Ghrelin, Leptin, Adiponectin, Glucagon, Cortisol, HGH... and on and on and on. 

I don't think you can simplify this to just eat less and exercise more, it's more complicated than that. We're getting there but our biology are still a mystery.  I mean, I haven't even talked about the gut microbiome  http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-gut-bacteria-help-make-us-fat-and-thin/ 

Don't mean to pick on you... again great post... just a little "food for thought"

---

You pose some good questions. I am not a scientist, but I think all the questions (with the acception of the thyroid condition) fall under the same two factyors.

Things happen in life.

Stress

Tragedies

Medication

Depression

Water weight

That time of the month

You name it

These things can change behavior and eating habits, but it still comes down to burning more calories than you eat or eating less calories than you burn.

As far only going hungry for so long thing. That is the main reason most diets fail in the first place. Maybe most people dont have enough pure will power. Are you saying most diets work?

As far as trhe exercise rout thing. There are plenty of people who think that because they exercise, it gives them a free ticket to be a glutton, and that they dont have to eat healthy. I was trying to say that in a nice way though.

You pose some good questions, but I think you may be overcomplicating things a little.

And this is only my opinion anyway. I am not the know all be all guru of exercise and diet. I only know the basics, and basically what I am trying to say is...

By following the basic principles, and using both exercise and diet as your weapons to fight this battle, you are much more likely to succeed if you do it over time and develop good habits.

Thank you for your post.

[mush97]

A good article.

Plese tell, what if I canot use wieghts as I had a Bye-Pass and Doctor discourage me to put too much stress.

Thanks.

[SunsetRunner]

Mush97 - did you complete a cardiac rehab?  If not, clear with your doctor but a recumbent bike is a great place to start.  Also water exercises/classes once you are healed enough and the doctor clears it. I don't know how old you are but eventually, a find a facility like The Y that offers senior exercise classes or look for Silver Sneakers programs.  These are fantastic and you should be able to start with just your body weight then move to 1, 2 or 3 lb weights. 

bcalvanese - The point I didn't make very well, is that hormones are behind each and every one of those situations that I mentioned and are the answers to the questions that I posed.  The reason drastic calorie cutting and upping the cardio will not work in the long run is that your body recognizes this as a stress and produces the appropriate hormones to slow the metabolism, conserve the fat (it's energy after all), use up the muscle (it's using the enregy I don't have to spare), make you tired (conserve energy) and be very very hungry (get me energy).  But if you work with your horomones and understand how they wil react then you have a better long term success.  I loved the question am I saying "diets don't work". Yes! that is exactly what I'm saying!  I love this quote from a researcher looking at the preformace of different diets:

"The main conclusion (of this study) is not that low-fat diets are pretty bad compared to other diets, but that they're all bad," said Kevin D. Hall, senior investigator at the National Institutes of Health National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. "None of the diets did particularly well, and after one year, they are all pretty abysmal," said Hall, who wrote an editorial that accompanied the research article.''  Link here: http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/30/health/low-fat-low-carb-diets-failures/

As a society we haven't got it figured out yet.  A "healthy livestyle" is a good place to start but that's different for everyone and what works for one won't work for another.  First step is to recognize that a change needs to happen and figure out what we can live with, we've got to figure it out for ourselves and experiment for ourselves but we do have to try something.  there's only one way to lose weight.... and it's different for everyone. 

[bcalvanese]

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@mush97 wrote:

A good article.

Plese tell, what if I canot use wieghts as I had a Bye-Pass and Doctor discourage me to put too much stress.

Thanks.

---

It's great that you want to exercise after that.

You should probably get with your doctor(s) and see what types of activities would be benaficial & safe for you.

[bcalvanese]

---

@SunsetRunner wrote:

bcalvanese - The point I didn't make very well, is that hormones are behind each and every one of those situations that I mentioned and are the answers to the questions that I posed.  The reason drastic calorie cutting and upping the cardio will not work in the long run is that your body recognizes this as a stress and produces the appropriate hormones to slow the metabolism, conserve the fat (it's energy after all), use up the muscle (it's using the enregy I don't have to spare), make you tired (conserve energy) and be very very hungry (get me energy).  But if you work with your horomones and understand how they wil react then you have a better long term success.  I loved the question am I saying "diets don't work". Yes! that is exactly what I'm saying!  I love this quote from a researcher looking at the preformace of different diets:

"The main conclusion (of this study) is not that low-fat diets are pretty bad compared to other diets, but that they're all bad," said Kevin D. Hall, senior investigator at the National Institutes of Health National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. "None of the diets did particularly well, and after one year, they are all pretty abysmal," said Hall, who wrote an editorial that accompanied the research article.''  Link here: http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/30/health/low-fat-low-carb-diets-failures/

As a society we haven't got it figured out yet.  A "healthy livestyle" is a good place to start but that's different for everyone and what works for one won't work for another.  First step is to recognize that a change needs to happen and figure out what we can live with, we've got to figure it out for ourselves and experiment for ourselves but we do have to try something.  there's only one way to lose weight.... and it's different for everyone. 

---

I never said drastically cutting calories. I said the proper amount of exercise and a well balanced nuitritious diet.

The main reasons people are over weight are years of not being active enough, and years of eating too much. We have become a lazy society that sit on our butts and eat, and that IMO would wreak havoc on the chemicals in our bodies (yes hormones) than getting the right amount of exercise and eating healthier.

I appreciate that you read studies and want to share your knowledge, but I am just trying to offer a very basic approuch that would work for the majority of people, and you seem to be truning it to a scientific hormonal thing.

Studies come and go, and studies dissprove other studies in many cases.

Here is a self study for you...

I spent 6 years in the Army (1983 - 1989) and was at a very good fitness level and never had to worry about my weight. For years after getting out, I still ran 5 miles every other day and did muscular exercise a couple times a week, and never had to worry about my weight.

One night on my way home from work I was broad sided by a drunk driver. He hit right on my door and because I was driving an older car with no ibeams in the doors, my door caved into my left side and cause the following injuries.

• ruptured splene
• ruptured diaphram
• collapsed left lung
• stomach went through my diaphram and up into my chest cavety
• two partially dislocated shoulders
• minor puncture wounds from jagged metal

They mangaed to put me back together and had to remove my splene. They told me I could not do any exercise at all for at least a year so my internals had enough time to fully heal.

Over that year I got lazy. I then made a career change to having a desk job. Over the next 20 some years of sitting on my butt at work all day, then comming home and sitting on my butt all night, I became obese. I felt like crap most of the time, my bad colesterol was always high & good colesterol was always low, and other bloodwork was not good either.

Then I started having health issues. I got diverticulitis and was hospitolized several times with an abcessed colon over a 2 year period. It kept getting worse and I had to have surgery to remove an 8 inch section of my colon. During the pre surgery testing, I found out I had COPD and a small part of the boittom of my heart was slightly enlarged, and that I could have had a mini heart attack at some point (40+ years of smoking 3 packs a day).

I met many different doctors on that journey, and every one of them said that I had to lose weight, and that I needed to start exercising. The majority of them recommended walking at a brisk pace for at least 20 minutes per day.

This was a wake up call for me. I got an activity tracker and started at 5,000 steps a day (and I had trouble doing that). I then started logging my food. I set my tracker to lose 1 lb. per week, started logging my food and getting my steps in, and started losing 1 lb. per week. I learned how to eat healthier foods along the way, and eat smarter as well.

I started taking the brisk pace walks as recommendy, and when I first started I could walk about a mile at about a 3mph pace, and felt like I was going to die. Heart pounding, couldn't breath, sweating profusely, feet hurt, shins hurt, knees hurt, hips hurt, and back hurt. I had to lay down for an hour after each walk, and it was only 1 mile.

This made me realize how pathetic I had become, so I upped my game. I started suffering through those walks 2, 3, 4 times a day. Then I started increasing the distance. After months I finally got to the point where I could keep my heart in the cardio zone for 20 to 30 minutes on a single walk, and what that means is that I finally reached the point where I could get a cardio training effect and actually increase my cardio capacity (I have that knowledge from when I was a fitness instructor in the army). Once I crossed that hurdal I started realy noticing a difference in my fitness level. I got a fitness watch the measured my VO2max and when I started, my fitness level measured in the "poor" range.

I kept upping my game and the walks became a habit, and I could go faster and further as time went on. Currently I can power walk over 8 miles at a 4.5mph pace on very hilly terain and keep my heart in the cardio zone the whole time, and my VO2max now measures in the "good" range.

Over the past year I have lost 57 lbs. I went from a size 40 pants to a 32, and my doctor is in AWE of my progress. My heart and lungs are fine now, and all my bloodwork comes back normal now. I still have 20 lbs. to lose to get the the middle of my healthy weight, but I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that I will meet that goal, and all I did was follow the basic principals.

Was it hard?

**ahem** straight.

Was it worth it?

Double **ahem** straight.

I eat more now than I did before because of all the calories I burn getting the proper amount of exercis and eating healthier, and even better, I'm not sitting around thinking about eating.

I think this basic approach will work for the majority of people. Sure there are going to be special cases that need special circumstance, and maybe that is where the science may be beneficial.

I think keeping it simple and basic makes it much easier to do, and even easier to maintain once you reach your goals.

[emili]

I think you are both right. Exactly right. For some of us in vs out is magic (me) for others their brain is so trained to respond to every stimulus and emotion with food, lethargy, excuses that in vs out is not even a consideration (my friend). For those who have medical issues on top of that (hormones, heart, diabetes, etc) in vs out is doable but with so much work, sweat and pain that most give up. So you are both right. If we all responded the same way, there wouldn't be a billion experts, books, diets, blogs, gurus, wrap yourself in this to lose weight, take this pill- you might poop yourself but think how skinny you'll look, out there to take our money, make promises and help people believe in a miracle that will ultimately fail- but its not the guru's fault- its the poor incompetent fool's fault. It all really comes down to learned behaviors and triggered responses with a side of medical issues. Get all that figured out and you will be delightully fit. Again, I am a lucky girl - and I thank my mind and body!

[USAF-Larry]

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@SunsetRunner wrote:

As a society we haven't got it figured out yet.  A "healthy livestyle" is a good place to start but that's different for everyone and what works for one won't work for another.  First step is to recognize that a change needs to happen and figure out what we can live with, we've got to figure it out for ourselves and experiment for ourselves but we do have to try something.  there's only one way to lose weight.... and it's different for everyone. 

---

This is the key - A Healthy Lifestyle!  I have so many friends that have lost massive amounts of weight by spending money on things like Nutrisystem, Atkins Diet, Medifast, etc., etc., etc.  When they achieved what they considered their goal weight, they went back to living the way they always had before. And, before you know it, they found all the weight they had lost. Then, it was time a "new" diet....

That yo-yo dieting is actually worse for the body than carrying a few extra pounds. A sensible diet with a lifestyle change will result in slow, consistent weight loss while improving overall health. My doctor was very insistent when we were developing my plan that a good weight loss rate was one pound a week, by reducing calories and increasing exercise.

[bcalvanese]

This has turned over complicated which is fine. Everyone has their own thoughts on this subject, and there are other factors that can affect weight.

But...

The main cause is... lack of exercise, and eating too much, and the main cure is... getting the right amount of exercise and eating a nuetritious well balanced diet.

It's not just a good start, it's the main solution, and if you cannot adjust your behaviour to make the commitment, you need a kick in the butt.

Back when I was in the army, the only fat person was the "Mess Sergient".

Why?

Because he didn't have to exercise & run with us every morning. He had to prepare the morning chow while we were exercising & running.

We got a new commander who noticed this and started making the mess sergient do PT with us, and it almost killed him at first. But, before long he looked just as healthy as the rest of the soldiers.

People can over complicate this and make it so much harder, and some people may over complicate it so they have an excuse not to do it, but it will work for most people, and that's not just a theory or a study. It's a fact.