Prentice, A., & Jebb, S. (2004). Energy intake/physical activity interactions in the homeostasis of body weight regulation. Nutrition Reviews, 62(7 part 2), S98-104.
Foster-Schubert, K. E., Alfano, C. M., Duggan, C. R., Xiao, L., Campbell, K. L., Kong, A., . . . McTiernan, A. (2011). Effect of Diet and Exercise, Alone or Combined, on Weight and Body Composition in Overweight-to-Obese Postmenopausal Women. Obesity.
Cox, T. L., Malpede, C. Z., Desmond, R. A., Faulk, L. E., Myer, R. A., Henson, C. S., . . . Ard, J. D. (2007). Physical Activity Patterns During Weight Maintenance Following a Low-energy Density Dietary Intervention[ast]. Obesity, 15(5), 1226-1232.
The articles referenced above and others that I have read support what I am about to tell you. My assertion is NOT new, but research continues to support it.
Most importantly: Physical activity is essential to health, the prevention of disease and disability, and the ability to bounce back from injury or illness. Physical activity is proven to boost mood and reduce frailty. Exercise and weight or resistance training can also improve metabolism.
Everyone benefits from physical activity and everyone needs it. Current recommendations are anywhere from 45 minutes 5 days a week to 60 minutes every day.
When we are looking at weight loss and maintenance, the studies above show a differential impact by method. Persons who combine diet and exercise lose the most weight, but in the second study above, the group that only exercised lost about 2% of their body weight while the group that only changed their diet (less calories) lost over 8% of their starting weight. The combined group did the best at over 10%. That study was specific to post menopausal women who were predominantly (85%) White. I found it amazing that the women all weighed over 180 pounds, had BMIs of 30 and above, waist circumferences over 37 inches, fat percents in the 40s, ate over 1800 calories a day and exercised less than 40 minutes a week. Actually, the reasons they have high weights and BMIs is explained by their lack of activity and high calorie intake. I.e. I exercise about 420 minutes a week (10 times more than those women) and eat less than 1800 cals a day.
The first article listed above was not a research study in and of itself but a discussion of weight gain in Americans as a result of consuming incredibly high calorie, high fat foods and doing very little activity in regards to catching, growing or otherwise obtaining those foods. The researchers in that piece suggest that the body's physiology has become impaired due to the types of foods that we eat. Research studies on weight loss are noted in this article and "exercise alone is not an effective means of losing weight." The reason for this may be, and I have said this before, that it is easier to reduce a certain amount of calories than it is to burn them. It is also said in this article that low activity can drive the imbalance, but does not cause obesity. The problem is that we are doing less but eating as if we were not. But - they contend- the body's ability to tell us to eat less is ineffective. That being said, as an individual, you have to override the brain and eat what you need, not what you want.
Lastly, the EatRight study followed women who had lost weight during an intervention and found that the majority were able to maintain the weight loss and to do so by eating less calories with low energy dense foods (my Volumetric :)). The study looked at those who maintained their weight loss compared to do those that did not. Between the two groups, the amount of exercise was the same.
I understand that the idea of cutting calories is overwhelming and that many people think of restriction and fight to avoid it - but if you learn about food and change the way you cook, it is possible to eat MORE food but less calories.
Exercise, which is necessary for good health, will assist your weight loss efforts.
I do not have statistics to back up this assertion, but what I have read and heard is that people prefer exercise over reducing calories - but in practice, they do neither.
None of this is going to work if you do not do it.
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