Why you shouldn't exercise to lose weight

[OakLeaf]

*sigh*

There's so much more to it than simple math.

Yep. High on the list of health-related urban legends that make me crazy. Even if the metabolic end of the equation were true, calories in food are calculated by simple combustion without regard to bioavailability. According to those charts, you could gain a lot of weight by drinking a gallon of gasoline.

It's also pretty clear though that physical activity is a pre-condition for maintenance. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27128671

[zoom-zoom]

I've always found that being active...particularly being COMPETITIVE, makes it harder for me to lose. Exercise makes me hungry, especially if I'm training hard for a race. I have never been able to lose weight when competition or many hours/week of activity are my focus. I have always lost weight when I'm exercising little, but really focusing on food/calories.

BUT -- keeping weight off. For me that's very much related to activity. Because I can't eat like a bird forever. I'm good eating at a deficit or low calories for only a month or two before I want to hurt somebody.