5 hours ago, impulse said:

 

One thing I learned on the treadmill after my bypass surgery is that an hour of brisk walking eats up the calories in a small order of french fries.  That's over 6km.  Just the small fries.  Doesn't include the hamburger.  That's another 2-4 hours on the treadmill.

 

Bottom line, I can't exercise enough to compensate for a bad diet, no matter how many steps I get in.

 

The 10,000 steps are a great plan for keeping from the barstool atrophy suffered by many here in LOS.  But losing weight?  That's a diet thing.

 

I agree totally with what you have written.

 

In trying to discover the individual level of daily caloric intake, at which weight is neither added or lost, it is important that a person does not exercise since this skews the figures. I followed guidance on this point by substituting protein shakes for meals periodically and following closely the impact of that regime on my weight, I did not do any exercise at all - you can adjust your intake up or down to arrive at a stable number. 

 

Once you know what that number is you can adjust your daily diet to more pleasing levels by adding exercise to compensate for the additional intake of calories. In simple terms, if today you don't do that certain amount of exercise, you can't have that favorite meal for lunch. FWIW my stable number is 900 calories per day (at age 70), at that level I neither gain nor lose weight. If however I eat a burger and fries for dinner for example, I will gain weight the following day, assuming my exercise levels remain constant. So, the moral of the story is that you have to plan not only your diet but also your exercise routine, get either one wrong and your weight will be impacted.

 

It's a fairly simple science.

1 hour ago, saengd said:

If however I eat a burger and fries for dinner for example, I will gain weight the following day, assuming my exercise levels remain constant. So, the moral of the story is that you have to plan not only your diet but also your exercise routine, get either one wrong and your weight will be impacted.

 

It's a fairly simple science.

 

I gain and lose 5x that much water weight each day, skewed even more if I take oral rehydration salts. 

 

So I can't tell you whether I'm gaining or losing weight on a daily basis.  Over a period of a month, sure. 

 

That said, I do feel bloated the next day.  But I'm not sure that translates into actual weight.  More like the crash after a sugar buzz.

 

The seasons of the year can make the numbers appear misleading. In summer I retain water which after cutting the grass in large garden and sweating buckets can lead to a significant weight loss. In winter when it's cold we burn fat to stay warm, a few weeks in the UK during winter and your diet can change massively and you can eat what you want. But yes, it's best to average over a month, the daily ups and downs can also be misleading unless you understand shy they occur. That said, it's a lot easier to manage a weight gain of a few pounds than it is a few stone.

9 hours ago, losworld said:

A friend told me body building is 80 percent diet and 20 percent exercise.

Losing fat is 99% diet. You really only need light walking like doing things. No formal exercise reqd.

 

Building muscle is lifting heavy weights. Different thing.

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