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Comment by hmppark7 | Hacker News Reader

I used to think that running on a treadmill was the only way to lose weight. So I was eating 3,600 calories of pasta every single day and ironically trying to burn those extra calories with a 30 minute walk. Fat loss is done through proper eating, I wish the fitness industry would stop advertising more advanced ab workouts for losing belly fat.

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One more data point: last year I managed to lose some weight (82Kg -> ~75Kg) mostly by reducing sugar intake. I did not increase exercise (I kept doing the same 3Km daily walks as before).

Wrote something about it on my blog: http://joaoventura.net/blog/2016/chart-diet/

Last month, I tried to limit my calorie intake. I lost about 1 kg/week. And I didn't do any exercise, at all.

Maybe I'd achive greater weight loss if combined with exercises, though.

You would. Calories in - calories out.

Simple math. That's not all there is to it, but if you're trying to burn fat, it'll take you most of the way there.

It is not that simple. Regular exercise raises also your base energy consumption while you are not exercising. All that muscles, greater heart, bones etc. have to built somehow after exercise, that uses energy. You are not getter faster, lighter and stronger while running, but in the rest.

The maintenance burn on a pound of muscle is pretty small.

Like 5-10 calories a day.

It is not only maintenance but also building burn.

   > You would.

No, and that's specifically what the article is about. Specifically the quote you are looking for is:

"Physical activity seems to set off a cascade of changes that can affect how much you eat, how many calories you use, and in turn, your body weight."

I mean that's saying that because you exercise you will probably get more hungry to offset the calories burned so if you eat more you could end up with a net negative.

There are studies (eg. [1]) that show that your resting metabolic rate increases significantly if you do strength training (although from what I've read the effect is limited to men). RMR is like 70% of your total calorie burn - so increasing it by 7-9% from strength training is a significant chunk.

So from my experience it's possible to cut fat and gain muscles by doing strength training if you can keep your calories in check - and it's faster than just dieting (tried both). The number on the scale will go down as at about the same rate because you'll be packing on some lean body mass and you'll see the BF % go down faster.

[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11283427

    > I mean that's saying that
    > because you exercise you
    > will probably get more
    > hungry

It might also be saying "your body responds to exercise by burning less calories during the day by making you more tired to conserve calories", or any number of other things.

>your body responds to exercise by burning less calories during the day by making you more tired to conserve calories"

But that's proven wrong, eg. in the link I posted above and numerous others and goes against common sense of anyone who tried it. Feeling fatigued is a newbie thing, after you get used to it you will have more energy not less.

It's less about calories in - calories out as it is about giving those calories something better to do than turn into fat cells. Exercising breaks down muscle, you need energy to build it back up.

If you exercise too much then you'll get hungrier, it's easy to overeat in this situation if you're not careful. So just keep it to light walks or cardio and prioritize the diet.

As you said, that's not all there is to it. I wonder if we can improve that simple saying with a couple of other simple easy to understand sentences. Sort of like Pollan's: "Eat food, not too much, mostly plants".

"Weight change = calories in - calories out. Exercise makes you hungry."

But I'd also like to add a simple sentence that captures the essence of what happens on a radical calorie restriction without exercise, like lowered metabolism and muscle loss. Suggestions?

But as the article notes, the third sentence I want is less important than the first two.

There's a difference between losing weight and being fit. You'd typically end up unhealthily skinny if you want to have a flat belly without exercising. Many people complaining about their belly aren't even that fat and just need to have proper abs (as well as back and perineal!) training to hold their viscera and prevent them to try to run away forward because gravity rides everything.

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