Day 3 of my diet...

You're absolutely right I couldn't agree more - but it's the total system and total amount of input and output throughout the whole period of time rather than the particular hour that you're exercising.

The evidence is that other than those who are paid to exercise or those who are more than slightly obsessive - over a fairly short term period of about a week - don't actually exert any more effort in total - even people like Jay who are convinced they are more active.

Watch "the men who made us thin" - Great documentary detailing what a con the whole weight loss industry is - with only something like 1.25% of the dieting population actually maintaining a weight loss of greater than 10% of their body weight for more than 5 years - but yet the industry still makes millions.

If this was a cure for something like cancer - they'd have packed up and gone home years ago with results like that.

There really is only one solution if weight loss is your goal. Stop stuffing stuff in thi gob.

But to the point of the conversation weight loss alone doesn't actually cure much either. A few bone / joint related ailments at best.

Most of the problems - diabetes / heart disease / cancers, etc come through poor diet and lack of fitness - not how much timber you're carrying round.

Whilst this might seem one and the same to some people - it is subtely and critically different.

It's like saying all Manchester United fans are glorying hunting tw@ts.

Whilst there is a significant chance of someone wearing a Manchester United shirt being an honourless glory hunting **** I have actually met one from Newton Heath - and another from Salford who go every week.

Similarly just because someone is 20 stone it doesn't mean they are stuffing their faces with pies and cakes and have high blood pressure / cholestorol, etc. and aren't doing any exercise.

And frankly some of us like a bit to cuddle on a lady - so it aint all bad.

However I'd say most men aren't out to loose weight for the look of it. Personally I'm trying to loose weight so I can excercise more comfortably to improve my health and give me a better chance of seeing my grandkids.

So all of it is probably ok.

 

I started dieting and exercising because my cholesterol was high. I weighed almost 16 stone and now I weigh about 12. So I've lost 25% of my body weight. I'm assuming that's fat as I'm no weaker than I was, I feel stronger actually, and I've got much more stamina. I wasn't a great big fat b.stard, I'm 6 foot three, so I could carry the weight, but I definitely look a lot better without it.

I got the weight off relatively quickly and I've been at a stable weight for about a year now. I got down to 11 and a half stone, but I put half a stone back on and I've plateaued at that. But I'm no longer on a diet. I now eat pretty much what I ate before, pretty much what I want, but my weight remains constant. When I've lost weight in the past, I haven't kept up the exercise and I've piled the pounds back on, even when continuing to watch what I eat. This time I sacked the diet off once I reached the weight I was happy with, but continued with the exercise and the gardening and that. I've stayed slim. Even after holidays and Christmas when I've splurged on cake and booze I may put on a few pounds but they quickly came off again. It seems the exercise I do now, without the addition of a diet, keeps me at about 12 stone. The amount I used to do kept me at about 16 stone.

And my bloods are fine. I got the cholesterol down pretty quickly on the diet to very good levels and although it's increased slightly since then it's still under the target level.

I'm not obsessed with exercise by any stretch of the imagination. I never even break out in to a run, but I know for certain I do far more now and expend far more energy than I used to.

I don't even think of my walk as exercise any more, it's something I do that I enjoy. I get to listen to music for an hour on me walkman, I walk round the res and see the wildlife, I particularly like grebes, duuno why I just really like grebes, I can empty me head of all the **** that usually clogs it up and I feel better. We now even go on holidays to go on walks. Not to exercise, to see nice stuff. To drink beer and eat nice snap too of course, but also to go walking. The thought of me doing that a few years ago was laughable. Me wife is much happier with me, I look better (although still a bit of a tramp) and I now like walking, which she has always enjoyed.

A couple of weeks ago we went to the Lake District and I climbed a mountain. A genuine ******* mountain. I was a bit puffed like, but no more so than my wife who runs marathons. Turns out walking suits me. I definitely expend more energy than I used because, despite the cakes and pies, I remain slim. But I never give a thought to exercise and the best example I can give of that is I still smoke 40+ a day.

 

I wasn't in the gym to lose weight. I was in the gym to keep my fitness up before running my next 10K run for charity.