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[Closed] Exercise is a waste of time for weight loss

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Had a go on the treadmill at the gym and it gave me a calorie count after I finished. I only did about 15 minutes before I got bored but I worked out it was burning about 300 calories an hour. That is less than in a bottle of Lucazade.

My conclusion is that it is better just to cut out the calories in the first place rather than trying to burn them off afterwards.


 
Posted : 22/10/2010 1:16 pm
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Is this a troll?

I burn about 1000 calories an hour running ๐Ÿ™‚


 
Posted : 22/10/2010 1:17 pm
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molgrips you don't believe your HRM nonsense do you?


 
Posted : 22/10/2010 1:18 pm
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This ain't real? No one is this stupid


 
Posted : 22/10/2010 1:20 pm
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molgrips you don't believe your HRM nonsense do you?

HRM broke.

I'm going by a complete vague estimate based on the most general of guidelines and how I feel ๐Ÿ™‚


 
Posted : 22/10/2010 1:21 pm
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It's not just the calories lost while exercising.

There was a programme on a while ago and they hooked a bloke up to some machine that measured how many calories he burnt on a run - he used something like 17g of fat.
Over the next 24hrs he stayed on the machine & he lost a further 50g or so from raised metabolism & recovery.


 
Posted : 22/10/2010 1:22 pm
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WCA - I have this new idea that I'm working on. You see that big shiny thing up in the sky, I'm not all that sure that it revolves around us. I have this other idea that the world is round and not flat, but fear that I may be branded a heretic.


 
Posted : 22/10/2010 1:22 pm
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It's not just the calories lost while exercising.

There was a programme on a while ago and they hooked a bloke up to some machine that measured how many calories he burnt on a run - he used something like 17g of fat.
Over the next 24hrs he stayed on the machine & he lost a further 50g or so from raised metabolism & recovery.


 
Posted : 22/10/2010 1:23 pm
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300 calories an hour is pathetic, thats not running!


 
Posted : 22/10/2010 1:29 pm
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Sample population of one in this study, not sure I'll follow the advice.


 
Posted : 22/10/2010 1:32 pm
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If you are larger, then you should use more than the indicated 300.


 
Posted : 22/10/2010 1:33 pm
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WorldClassAccident - Member

My conclusion is that it is better just to cut out the calories in the first place rather than trying to burn them off afterwards.

correct.


 
Posted : 22/10/2010 1:38 pm
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Thank you ahwiles

Okay. The original post was intended to provoke a bit but I was still surprised how little energy was burned walking a treadmill at 4 mph.

My ankle prevents me running as it cannot take the repeated impact and my shoulders are still recovering from being dislocated at the Big Bike Bash so I thought an hour down the gym 4 - 5 times a week would help keep me in shape.

1 hour on a treadmill = 2 pints of London Pride

Interested in the continued calorie burn after stopping exercise. Also seem to remember something about eating just before or just after exercise means the food gets used rather than laid to fat. Any one any knowledge on that?


 
Posted : 22/10/2010 1:48 pm
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It's not just the calories lost while exercising.

There was a programme on a while ago and they hooked a bloke up to some machine that measured how many calories he burnt on a run - he used something like 17g of fat.
Over the next 24hrs he stayed on the machine & he lost a further 50g or so from raised metabolism & recovery.


 
Posted : 22/10/2010 1:51 pm
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rewski - I seem to remember reading something like that before ๐Ÿ˜‰


 
Posted : 22/10/2010 1:55 pm
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Exercise is a waste of time for weight loss

This does seem to be becoming the current scientific orthodoxy according to an Observer article last month or so and a R4 progam on last week about obesity amongst the young.


 
Posted : 22/10/2010 1:55 pm
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300kcal per hour is a little low for walking, but really those things are rubbish to be honest.

And walking is unlikely to raise your metabolism after exercise I'd have said, unless you do like an hour or more at a fast pace.

Any one any knowledge on that?

Well as I understand it (and I am thinking aloud here), you've got energy stores in your muscle and liver (glycogen), and in your blood (glucose..?). When you eat, your blood sugar goes up, and your insulin levels go up in response. Insulin causes your muscles to take the sugar out of your blood and store it. But their stores are limited, so if they are full then your body creates fat..(? not sure about this part).

If you've been exercising and your muscle stores are low, then eating replenishes them. If you exercise hard your muscle stores get depleted and then they'll suck energy out of your blood, and your blood sugar can get low. If you exercise gently your muscles will just use mostly fat.

If you eat or drink energy drink just before and during hard exercise then you'll be putting energy into your blood stream which will then end up in your muscles. If you are exercising slowly then I don't think it makes any difference.

Is any of that vaguely right albeit simplified?


 
Posted : 22/10/2010 1:56 pm
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funny, the treadmill I use guesses my calorie burn at about 600/hour at a reasonable 6kmh walking pace.

Of course, in a typical session, you shouldn't just use the treadmill as that can be as boring as, well a boring thing; also aim to use the bikes, the cross trainer, rowing machine, free weights and resistance machines. If you get your larger muscles worked out, I'm told they burn more calories even while at rest than flabby muscles

mind you what do I know? fat bastid that I am ๐Ÿ˜‰


 
Posted : 22/10/2010 1:58 pm
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molgrips - about 100cals per mile


 
Posted : 22/10/2010 1:59 pm
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I'm not wholly convinced that "walking for 15 minutes before I got bored" is the most accurate yardstick when evaluating the efficiency of exercise.


 
Posted : 22/10/2010 2:00 pm
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To an extent you're correct, after that you're wrong.


 
Posted : 22/10/2010 2:00 pm
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I have been switching between the cross trainers and the cycle machines. Can't do rowing or weight because of my shoulders at the moment.

I only bothered checking the calorie stuff on the tread mill as I was bored and walking slowly enough to be able to press the right buttons. I might have got it a bit wrong because it asked my weight in KG and I had to guess as I haven't weighed myself for ages and don't us KG anyway


 
Posted : 22/10/2010 2:04 pm
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What about leg presses etc on machines?


 
Posted : 22/10/2010 2:09 pm
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>so I thought an hour down the gym 4 - 5 times a week would help keep me in shape.<

The world is full of fat gym goers just like this ๐Ÿ˜‰


 
Posted : 22/10/2010 2:09 pm
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I burn about 1000 calories an hour running

*skip to the end*

No you don't.

300 calories an hour is pathetic, thats not running!

It's about 3 mph, so its just about walking. OP is trolling.


 
Posted : 22/10/2010 2:13 pm
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How many calories per hour does trolling burn?


 
Posted : 22/10/2010 2:22 pm
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I burn about 1000 calories an hour running
*skip to the end*

No you don't.

That number was pulled out of the air.

But out of interest, how many do you think I burn?


 
Posted : 22/10/2010 2:23 pm
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But out of interest, how many do you think I burn?

It is roughly 100 k/cal per mile.


 
Posted : 22/10/2010 2:33 pm
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Muscles need to be fed, or they will die, the energy they have stored does not last very long.
Where does the food for the muscle come from? Body fat. Calories lost.

The larger the muscle group exercised the larger the amount of fat used to feed the muscles. This is why exercises like Barbell squats are so good.

The more intense the exercise the more calories used, which is why you have to walk for a long time to use a lot of calories.


 
Posted : 22/10/2010 2:35 pm
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low and medium intensity exercise are not that helpful in weight loss, certainly not as important as diet. high intensity is much more effective but exercise is still not as important as diet


 
Posted : 22/10/2010 2:35 pm
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1 hour on a treadmill = 2 pints of London Pride

1 hour a day at the gym thoughout the week = binge drinking on Friday night. Zero net gain. Everybody's happy.


 
Posted : 22/10/2010 2:35 pm
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Oh and for the record it goes:

Running Off-Road > Road Running > Painful Splinter > Running On A Treadmill


 
Posted : 22/10/2010 2:37 pm
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low and medium intensity exercise are not that helpful in weight loss, certainly not as important as diet. high intensity is much more effective but exercise is still not as important as diet

I still disagree with this, for the record ๐Ÿ™‚ It all depends on how much time you have, who you are and what you're doing. And what your goals ultimately are.


 
Posted : 22/10/2010 2:40 pm
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Eat less = weight loss.

๐Ÿ™„


 
Posted : 22/10/2010 2:40 pm
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but exercise is still not as important as diet

Agreed, so many people say they exercise but its not shifting the weight and while they are telling me this they are munching on cake and biscuits!


 
Posted : 22/10/2010 2:42 pm
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Agreed, so many people say they exercise but its not shifting the weight and while they are telling me this they are munching on cake and biscuits!

Its cos fat people are stupid


 
Posted : 22/10/2010 2:43 pm
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high intensity is much more effective but exercise is still not as important as diet

This is useful information but using a sample of 1!
I cannot diet, although my diet tends to be quite varied and good.
Running however is fun so whilst stopping myself eating the wrong thing occasionally tests my will power running 70 miles a week didnt.

Running Off-Road > Road Running

Depends on effort. I train a lot off road but given the terrain, mud, stiles etc for a similar effort I run slower. When I run on the road I naturally run quicker for similar effort.


 
Posted : 22/10/2010 2:43 pm
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molgrips - you are still trying to peddle your 'advice' on exercise but you had no idea how to use basic gym equipment???? why don't you google high intensity exercise and fat loss...


 
Posted : 22/10/2010 2:46 pm
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exercise seems to have worked here - walk to dog 2 - 3 times a day, 20 - 30 mins at a time. No change to diet, 4 lbs lost in 2 weeks...

Not even trying to lose weight (though I should...last time I was 'only' 15-2 was after a bout of Pharaoh's revenge 3 years ago..) I just got on the scales this morning as I was wondering why my jeans felt a touch lose...


 
Posted : 22/10/2010 2:46 pm
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Its cos fat people are stupid

It's cuz their brains are full of chips.

Depends on effort. I train a lot off road but given the terrain, mud, stiles etc for a similar effort I run slower. When I run on the road I naturally run quicker for similar effort.

I was not commenting on the merits of effort used. More the enjoyment gained....i.e running on a treadmill is worse than a painful splinter.


 
Posted : 22/10/2010 2:48 pm
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It's cuz their brains are full of chips.

class!


 
Posted : 22/10/2010 2:49 pm
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My HRM knows my resting heart rate, weight, age, VO2max etc, and gives about 700 calories per hour when riding fairly hard. Running is about 800/hour, but I hate running so have never actually run for that long...


 
Posted : 22/10/2010 2:51 pm
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iDave +1

High intensity intervals is where it's at. Apart from actual mountain biking, any active exercise sessions I undertake are geared towards this.
ie Spinning, Circuits, Superset weight sessions.

Low intensity exercise is what I use for rest sessions ie Swims.


 
Posted : 22/10/2010 2:53 pm
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What an impressive piece of research with a nice cut and dried conclusion - and all in only 15 minutes. If you've got an hour spare could you find a cure for cancer? Then if you're free for a day next week maybe you'd solve world hunger as well?


 
Posted : 22/10/2010 2:53 pm
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Interval training is the answer...you'll continue burning calories for a while after training.

Alternatively go to your local muay thai gym...you'll lose more calories there than you will at the gym....or on your bike.


 
Posted : 22/10/2010 2:54 pm
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