"Why You Shouldn't Exercise to Lose Weight"

In this article featured in Vox the authors examine over 60 articles regarding exercise and weight control.  Read the full article here.

"In general, diet with exercise can work better than calorie cutting alone, but with only marginal additional weight-loss benefits. Consider this chart from a randomized trialthat was done on a group of overweight folks: The group that restricted calories lost about the same amount of weight as the group that dieted and exercised, though the exercisers didn't cut as many calories:

The calorie restriction groups lost more weight than the group who both dieted and exercised.

If you embark on a weight-loss journey that involves both adding exercise and cutting calories, Montclair's Diana Thomas warned not to count those calories burned in physical activity toward extra eating.

"Pretend you didn't exercise at all," she said. "You will most likely compensate anyway so think of exercising just for health improvement but not for weight loss" (Vox).